Since people are talking about Philly history again and I never get tired of that subject, it's a good time to bring up Tony Caponigro.
He was born in 1912 in Cook, Illinois, but within a few years, when his brother Anthony was born (strange they had a son named Antonio "Tony" and another son named Anthony, right? Anthony was also a criminal), they were living in Indiana. Then flash forward a couple of years and the sister Susan (who later married Freddy Salerno) was born in Philadelphia. By the time Tony was in his last teens, the family was living in Newark. There were several Caponigro families living in Philadelphia back then and my guess is that they were relatives, though there is no known connection between any of the Caponigros and the Philly mob aside from Tony.
The big question is how did Caponigro became a member of the Philly mob when he was living in Newark by the time he became an adult? Maybe he was technically "on record" with the mob as a teenage criminal living in Philly ... we know they were recruiting teenagers in those days. He could have had a mob mentor in Philly and stayed connected to the family even after his move, who knows. Also keep in mind that Joe Ida and Joe Bruno, two of the bosses during Caponigro's earlier days with the family, were based far up in Jersey.
I don't know who his first captain was, but by the time John Simone was a captain, Caponigro and other northern Jersey members were reporting to Simone in Trenton. Angelo Bruno wanted Caponigro to be a captain by the 1960's, but the Genovese family opposed the move, particularly Richie Boiardo who had a beef with Caponigro. Interestingly, those hearing charts from that time incorrectly list Caponigro as a Genovese member in Boiardo's crew. We all know the role that the Genovese played in his final years. By the early 1970's, he was a captain and might have even gotten the promotion as early as 1968 but not sure on that.
He and Angelo Bruno also had problems going back to the 1960's and Caponigro supposedly wanted to kill him even back then. Seems Bruno always saw him as a threat and was looking to appease him by promoting him to captain, then consigliere. He was seen as a big player in the Calabrese faction and that factored into him replacing the Calabrian leader Joe Rugnetta when he died. Like Nick Caramandi talks about, Calabrian members like Mickey Diamond took to Caponigro after Rugnetta passed. Another candidate for consigliere in 1977 was Nicky Scarfo, another Calabrian, who Phil Testa suggested.
A lot about the Bruno hit is still a mystery. The only guy we know for an absolute fact that was part of the conspiracy is Tony Caponigro, though you can also assume Freddy Salerno at least knew about it. There have never been any alternate theories for why Caponigro was killed. However, there are other theories about the other likely conspirators, John Simone and Frank Sindone. We know from Gravano that Simone was looking to take over the family and that was how the Gambinos earned his trust -- offering support and shooters. Now that doesn't mean that he wasn't part of the Bruno murder... he could have helped with that AND then tried to take over the family, but the info just allows for other theories. Sindone was sort of similar in that one idea that was floated when he was killed is that he was taken out for being the last big Bruno loyalist and Testa's regime wanted him gone. However, we know from the bugs at Sindone's HQ that he had begun complaining a lot about Bruno and I don't think there's any question that he was a part of the conspiracy.
Fresolone believed that Caponigro himself shot Angelo Bruno, but that is ridiculous in my opinion. Freddy Salerno's name has also been suggested. There is info however that Felix Bocchino supplied the shotgun and that Riccobene's top hitmen, Victor DeLuca and Joseph Pedulla, were the hitters. Does this mean Riccobene was another conspirator? He was a rat and rulebreaker who had no problem challenging his bosses, so it's possible.
Other possible conspirators:
- John Stanfa. I don't think so, though. Not only was Bruno, a Sicilian, his lifeline to the rest of the family (many of whom saw him as a "greaseball"), but he helped build Bruno's house and was close to the boss despite being a low-level soldier. The reason Caponigro, Sindone, and Simone met with him was because he was a witness to the murder and as leaders it was their job to "investigate" by asking him about what he saw. Stanfa was also in the direct line of fire and got knicked with buckshot and probably would have been killed had he not run back to his house instantly, leaving his personal car behind. Not to mention the fact that he was apparently chosen randomly to drive Bruno home that night...
- Long John Martorano. Even though it was Riccobene who had blackballed him from getting made, ultimately it was Bruno who wouldn't make him and I believe Martorano was bitter about his status. We also know that someone in the restaurant that night was involved in the Bruno hit, and Long John just happens to be the guy who begged off from driving him home and selected Stanfa as a replacement. He was also incredibly paranoid after the Bruno hit and traveled with armed bodyguards. I think he was in on it.
- Pedulla and DeLuca. Not sure why they haven't been investigated more but they were accomplished hitmen and it's possible they were used.
- Bocchino. He supplied the shotgun, but that doesn't mean he knew how it was going to be used.
Now as I said earlier, Caponigro was part of Simone's crew up until about 10 years before the Bruno murder, give or take a couple years. That tells me there may have been some trust between them, enough trust to agree to kill their boss. In the other topic, I also mentioned how I think Sindone was a member of Simone's crew, so that just strengthens the ties between all of them.
The Funzie Tieri situation has been discussed at length and I'm not going to go into it, but I more or less believe that's how it played out. The Genovese have a history of that type of behavior, but in my opinion it wasn't Funzie alone in the Genovese hierarchy who knew about the plot.
As for Caponigro's murder, I don't really believe the Mad Dog Sullivan story. It's a weird hit to take credit for, not like Iceman's claims, but it doesn't really match up to me. He says he gunned Caponigro down in a social club, but the evidence shows he was shot with multiple weapons, stabbed, tortured, beaten, and his body desecrated. Now the rest of that stuff could have been done posthumously, but I think he was tortured and interrogated and that it was, to quote Goodfellas, some real "greaseball" shit. Also Salerno was taken out in a similar way, so there you go.
Some sources unrelated to this have said that Chin Gigante was in charge of enforcement for the Genovese family during this period and the Gotti situation shows he would go to any length to avenge the killing of a boss, so I think his people handled it, which is what was originally suspected.
I'll probably have other thoughts on this to add later and I'm feeling like Little Joe Shots with this rambling, unorganized mess, but just wanted to put some info out there and get the discussion rolling.
RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
Moderator: Capos
Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
RESPONSE FROM B.:
I don't think DiGilio was suspected in the Caponigro killing... rather, the bodybag that was used in the Caponigro hit was linked to the same source as the bodybag in the DiGilio hit some years later, indicating that the same people might have killed both Caponigro and DiGilio. The Caponigro murder is the most brutal mob hit I'v'e ever heard of. He was choked, all of the bones in his face were broken, he was shot, stabbed, and had torn dollar bills stuffed up his ass. I've never heard of a killing, aside from the related Salerno murder, that had that level of brutality and symbolism.
I understand why you guys might say Riccobene had it good under Bruno, but having it good doesn't mean much. Most of the guys in the Castellano hit except for John Gotti had it very good under Castellano, but that didn't stop them. In the Riccobene case, there are a number of factors. For example, when he originally went to prison on his long drug conviction, he left Angelo Bruno to manage his rackets and Riccobene eventually got cut out of his own business and was not happy about it. Riccobene was also one of the people caught on wiretaps talking bad about Bruno in the late 1970's, though of course complaining about Bruno was a common theme on wires during that time even for non-conspirators like Testa, Narducci, etc. Also, who else had it good under Bruno? Caponigro. He controlled his own territory up north, got promoted to capo, then consigliere, had direct access to NY, etc. but he still wanted Bruno out of the picture.
I would need to know more about the DeLuca and Pedulla theory and whether they were exclusively under Riccobene at that time, too. Personally, I don't think the hitter(s) came from North Jersey and my gut feeling is that Long John didn't just set Bruno up at the restaurant, but that he may have also supervised the murder itself. I want to know if DeLuca and Pedulla also worked with Long John since there was crossover between Long John and the Riccobene crew back in the day.
Another aside about Riccobene... when Nicky Scarfo was introduced to him as a member in jail in the 1960's, Riccobene was very upset and ranted about how cosa nostra was basically going to the dogs. Translate that to when Scarfo became boss and you can imagine how Riccobene felt. I'm not sure we know the full story about the "Riccobene war" anyway. When the original murder contract was placed on him, Chuckie Merlino told people it was because Riccobene was an informant (which, it turns out, was true). So it's sort of a chicken and the egg argument, but did Riccobene start opposing the Scarfo regime once he learned about the contract on his life, or was he already against them?
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
Harry was a CI for many years when he was in prison but he mainly gave info on the history and structure of the family. I don't even think he was giving information anymore when Bruno died.
Mario testified in court and was killed when he came back to South Philly. Harry purposely blocked his brother from being made and they had a troubled relationship even though Mario worked for Harry. I don't think Mario knew all of his brother's secrets by any means. I actually think it's unlikely that Riccobene was involved, but I'm just trying to explore the possibilities since we still don't know exactly what happened after all of these years.
One thing to consider is that if Caponigro and the others thought they had Commission approval, they may have included more people in on the conspiracy than they would have if they thought they were acting without support.
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RESPONSE FROM ROCCO:
Looks like Baldy Dom's crew Clipped Tony
Senator NUNN. Do you have any knowledge regarding the
murder of Tony Bananas? I believe the formal name is Antonio Caponigro.
Mr. CAFARO. Well, when the old man Bruno got killed in Philadelphia.
.
Senator NUNN. That is Angelo Bruno?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes. And he had got killed, he was the boss of the
Philadelphia mob. And there was supposed to have b~en a power
struggle the:r;e between this fellow, Chicken, he was the underboss·
there, and this Tony Bananas.
Senator NUNN. Chicken was Phillip Testa, wasn't it?
Mr. CAFARO. Philly Testa, right. He had come up to New York at
one time to see Tony. And who was there was Tony IIDu,cks", Tom
"Mix"--
Senator NUNN. Is Tony "Ducks" Corallo?
Mr. CAFARO. He is the boss of the Luchese family, Tony "Ducks"
Corallo. Tom "Mix" Santora was the underboss.
Senator NUNN. Who was Tom "Mix"?
Mr. CAFARO. He was the underboss of the Luchese family.
Senator NUNN. That is his nickname. What is his--
Mr. CAFARO. Santoro. And Paul Castellano was there and Fat
Tony. And this Chicken went and seen them. So when I seen Tony
later on, after they had their meeting in the club, he said that
there was a power struggle between Philly Testa and Tony Bananas
Caponigro, and that there was a power struggle.
And then after that, a couple of hours after that, this Tony Bananas
come to discuss it with Tony, and there w.as present Tony
Ducks Corallo of the Luchese mob; Tom Mix Santora, the underboss
of the Luchese mob; and Paul Castellano, and Fat Tony.
And whatever they discussed, I do not know. But about a week
later this Philly Testa come back. So Tony introduced me to him as
the underboss of the Philadelphia mob
So he says to Tony that he thinks Tony Bananas was guilty of
the murder of Angelo Bruno. And that was the extent to that.
Then about a week after that, Tony Bananas come up or 2 weeks
after, he wanted to discuss something with Tony, and we were
walking. And Tony said, I do not want to get involved. I do not
want to hear about it. Go see Chin.
Senator NUNN. Who was he telling that to?
Mr. CAFARO. Tony Bananas. And that was the extent of that part
of the conversation.
Then about a couple of weeks later, I do not remember the
weeks, Tony Bananas had to go to 47th or 48th Street in the diamond
center to meet Baldy Dom Cantarino, he is a caporegime in
our brugad. And he had to meet Baldy Dom, whatever his name is,
I cannot say the last name, and he had to meet him there between,
I do not know, 47th or 48th Street in the diamond exchange.
And then that day or a couple of days later, they were found in
the Bronx dead; Tony Bananas.
Senator NUNN. I did not hear that last part?
Mr. CAFARO. I says, Tony Bananas, a couple of days later or next
day or two, 3 days later; was found in the Bronx dead.
Senator NUNN. You believe there was a direct connection between
those conversations and his murder, then?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes.
Senator NUNN. Do you have any way of knowing who carried out
the hit?
Mr. CAFARO. No.
Senator NUNN. So you do not know who carried it out?
Mr. CAFARO. No.
Senator NUNN. I am puzzled by the connection between the
Philadelphia family and the New York family. Why was the New
York family, your family, concerned about I the murder of Bruno in
Philadelphia?
Mr. CAFARO. It was not only our family. It was Paul Castellano
there, Tony Ducks Corallo was there, and Tom Mix.
Senator NUNN. So there were three families?
Mr. CAFARO. Three families there.
Senator NUNN. Three New York families concerning the
murder--
Mr. CAFARO. The killing of Angelo Bruno, being that he was a
boss of another brugad. And usually it is not done that way, to kill
a boss, without discussing it. So there is where th(~ power play
must have come in.
Senator NUNN. In other words, Bruno had been killed in Phil adelphia---
Mr. CAFARO. Yes.
Senator NUNN [continuing]. And he had been killed obviously
without a discussion among the other top mob leaders--
Mr. CAFARO. Yes, Senator.
Senator NUNN [continuing]. In the country, or at least in New
York?
Mr. CAFARO. At least in New York or whatever. It was never discussed.
Senator NUNN. So they felt it was not within the overall protocol
or the rules of the mob
'Mr. CAFARO. It wasn't in the rules; no, it wasn't in the rules.
Senator NUNN. To kill the boss 'Without discussing it with other
bosses? . .
Mr. CAFARO. Without discussing any reasoning or whatever.
Senator NUNN. Did they feel that they themselves might be in
jeopardy if that protocol broke down, if they didn't enforce it?
Mr. CAFARO. I would say yes. I would say yes.
Senator NUNN. So it was something that offended them pretty
seriously?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes, Senator, I would say.
Senator NUNN. Did Tony talk to you about this? Did he go into
any detail? .
Mr. CAFARO. Well, no, after this killing with Tony Bananas, the
following week, he says, I am glad I sent him down to Chin; I did
not get involved with this.
Senator NUNN. Why was he glad he did not get involved?
Mr. CAFARO. Well, my interpretation I guess is that because of
the killing.
Senator NUNN. So he would prefer not to have been involved.
Mr. CAFARO. That is a family problem within-let them straighten
out their own problems. .
Senator NUNN. In other words, he would rather for Chin to be
the one to make that decision rather than him?
Mr. CAFARO, Either that, or he just did not want to get involved
with a family problem from another brugad.
Senator Nu."m. Did Fat Tony tell you about the killing? Is that
the way you found out about it?
Mr. CAFARO. No, I read it in the papers. It was in the newspapers.
Senator NUNN. And did Fat Tony ever tell you who he thought
did the-actually cBlrried out the killing?
Mr. CAFARO. Well, he had said to me, that is how I know about
the appointment on 47th or 48th street in the diamond exchange,
that it was a!n appointment made with Baldy Dom down there.
Senator NUN"!>!. Appointment made ~Nith?
Mr. CAFARO. With Tony Bananas and Baldy Dom.
Senator NUNN. Bald~ Dom?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes, he s a caporeginie in our brugad.
Senator NUNN. Did Fat Tony tell you that Baldy Dom's crew actually
carried out the killing? .
Mr. CAFARO. No, he did not tell me they carried out the killing.
My opinion, I would say yes.
Senator NUNN. Your opinion?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes. I misunderstood the question.
Senator NUNN. I believe in your affidavit, let me read that and
see if this is correct, you say, reading, that in April 1980-this is
page four, for counsel, page four of the affidavit. I am sorry, page
12 and 13 of the affidavit.
Let me read this to you and see where it is in error, if in error,
or whether it is accurate if it is accurate.
You say, "In April 1980, 'Tony Bananas' visited Tony Salerno, at
the Palma Boys Social Club. After this visit, Tony told me that he
had advised 'Tony Bananas' to go see 'The Chin,'because he did
not want to get involved in Philadelphia's problems. Fat Tony
thought that the matter was a Philadelphia problem, and passed
the problem off to 'The Chin.' At the time, the acting boss was (underboss)
Funzi Tieri, with Lombardo, the real power behind the
scene, and Manna, the consigliere. A short time later 'Tony Bananas'
and another guy were found murdered in the Bronx. In midApril,
1980, Salerno told me, 'It's is a good thing that I did not get
involved with this Tony Bananas thing and I sent him to see the
Chin. He had an appointment with the Chin, Baldy Dom (Dominick)
Cantarino picked him up and the other guy, at the Diamond
Exchange on 47th Street or 48th Street (New York, New York), and
they banged him out.' " Is that
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
Great, thanks for posting that. It supports my thoughts in the original post about Chin being responsible for enforcement and his crew handling the hit... with Canterino, capo of Chin's old crew, being the one to set up the killing itself. I would be curious which guys did the actual work, though.
The part about Caponigro talking to Tony Salerno and Salerno telling him to go tell Chin is interesting. That may be where this whole "Funzie approved the hit" story comes into play. Sounds like Caponigro told Salerno something that was kind of tricky, hence why Salerno later said he was glad he didn't get involved and passed it to Chin, and the most likely thing to me is that Caponigro tried to tell Salerno that the hit was approved. It also shows that Salerno did not necessarily have more power in the family than the Chin in 1980.
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RESPONSE FROM HARRY:
In 1980, the Genovese Family was run by a ruling panel consisting of Salerno, Gigante and Lombardo. According to an informant, the different crews in the Family reported directly to one of these three individiuals. So at that time, no member of the Family was more powerful than the other. This ruling panel was still in function until February 1981, when Salerno had his stroke. Another interesting thing is that members of the Genovese Family had been warned to stay away from Tieri who had obviously fallen from grace and was in the dog house at that time. One can only speculate why? But my gut feeling is telling me that it had something to do with the Bruno murder. Perhaps Tieri was caught lying and his scheming and conniving regarding the Bruno murder had been exposed? If Tieri wasn´t acting alone in the manipulations of Caponigro, then he certainly was stabbed in the back by the other high ranking Genovese members.
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
Thanks for the info, man, always appreciated.
I am not going off of any real information in thinking that other Genovese members were involved in the Caponigro double-cross, but as Nick Caramandi once said in the mob you have to watch for the triple-cross, which is exactly what may have happened to Tieri. I guess it's possible that Tieri would have known it's his word against Caponigro's, so he wouldn't have wanted anyone else involved in the event he was pitted against Caponigro.
One thing I question though is where the info originally comes from about Caponigro talking to Funzie, Funzie telling him to go for it, and then Funzie washing his hands of Caponigro afterwards. Who would have been privy to those conversations, or even one or two degrees removed from the conversations that could have shared that rumor? Fish Cafaro didn't seem to know the details of the conversations with Caponigro and I can't remember anyone else having a reliable source for knowing the background of that hit.
One thing that reminded me of this in modern times is the story Massino told about Barney Bellomo approaching him in jail and telling him how Sal Vitale and Gotti had been plotting to overthrow him (Massino) over a decade earlier. It strikes me as a classic Genovese Machiavellian move and you have to wonder if Bellomo was trying to get more power over Massino as well as discredit the Gambinos, who were still under the Gotti regime at that time. You have to figure a guy like Barney Bellomo isn't your average mob gossip, especially about something so serious, so he must have had an angle.
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
I've seen it mentioned in a couple of places and I'm thinking I was wrong about Pedulla being suspected, but three witnesses saw Victor DeLuca at the scene of the Bruno murder beforehand. This article mentions it: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 86,3174457
He was also ID'd as a prime suspect at the time by LE.
DeLuca was a pretty interesting character in his own right. Joe Pedulla was more of a bookmaker who got caught up in the Riccobene mess, but DeLuca was one of the tougher guys in Philly in his day. He was a big guy, apparently pretty low key but feared. He even extorted the Pagans at one point... in other words, the type of person you'd expect to be tasked with killing a boss.
DeLuca also gave information that Riccoebene asked him to kill Long John but he wasn't able to get a shot at him.
So DeLuca is a likely suspect in the actual killing, the problem is just connecting him to the known conspirators. Long John being involved and setting up the murder is my bet, given what we know, and he would have been way more connected to DeLuca than Sindone, Simone, and Caponigro.
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RESPONSE FROM IVAN:
Interesting. Have you read the characterization of Victor DeLuca in "Breaking the Mob" by Frank Friel?
I am not sure why so many people say Caponigro was the shooter. The idea of a high level guy about age 70 personally doing shotgun work strikes me as very implausible.
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RESPONSE FROM B:
I've always meant to read Breaking the Mob. What does he have to say about DeLuca?
Something I forgot about Caponigro is he was also a suspect in the Johnny Roberts murder. Not sure if the Gambinos would have outsourced to a Philly-NJ member, but it's possible as he was definitely around a lot of NY guys and during the conflict in the Gambinos it may have been easier for an outsider to get close to him. Maybe someone like HairyK or JD knows more about other Robilotto murder suspects.
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RESPONSE FROM HARRY:
If I´m not mistaken, I think Caponigro was a suspect in the Willie Moretti murder (with Roberts). I don´t think they were made at the time. Roberts was probably killed by the Eppolitos (Roberts crew members at the time.)
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RESPONSE FROM B:
Yep, you are absolutely right. I knew that Johnny Roberts was connected to Caponigro somehow, but it was the Moretti hit in NJ he may have done. Thanks, man. Yet another possible connection between Caponigro and the Genovese.
I've seen a couple of things about Johnny Keys and Bruno. One is that Sam DeCavalcante refers to Angelo Bruno and Simone as "paisans". He's of course known as Bruno's cousin but I've never seen anything that 100% confirms that, though Charles Costello who was definitely Bruno's cousin was one of Simone's top soldiers and business partners and he may be a mutual relation between them.
Here is what I have for the Simone crew circa the mid-1960's. There may have been some Philly-based guys in his crew I wasn't able to ID.
John "Johnny Keys / Casablanca" Simone
Soldiers:
- Carmine Battaglia
- Antonio "Tony Bananas" Caponigro
- Charles Costello
- Joseph Costello
- Michael Cammarota
- Vincenzo "Jimmy Gioia / Jimmy Brown" Gioe
- Joseph Gioe**
- Carl "Pappy" Ippolito
- Frank Ippolito**
- Michael "Daylight" Tramantana
- Pasquale "Patty Specs" Martirano*
- Dominick "Tommy Adams" DiNorscio*
- Alfred "Freddy" Salerno**
- Dominick "Lolly" Luciano
- Raffaele "Ralph / Blackie" Napoli
Deceased:
Salvatore "Sammy Gioia / Sammy Brown" Gioe (brother of Jimmy)
*Likely made by then, but not confirmed
**Not 100% he was ever made but possible
I believe Carl Ippolito may have been an acting captain or at least something of an unofficial "lieutenant" for this crew.
Should add that Joseph Costello is not the same as Gennaro "Joe Costello" Boccia, a member from later. This Joseph Costello is the younger brother of Charles Costello, both Trenton-based.
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Interesting if nothing else -- Greg Scarpa told the FBI that Funzie Tieri approved both the Angelo Bruno and Caponigro/Salerno hits. Clearly the rumor must have been going around the streets about Tieri giving the okay to Caponigro.
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RESPONSE FROM HARRY:
Rocco wrote:
If anyone has a some what accurate list of made members in Baldy Doms crew during this period. Please list it. Thanks!
This is of course pure speculation from my part but it looks like Canterino inherited Gigante´s crew (the old Tony Bender crew). Valachi named Bender´s crew members back in 1963. Since we don´t know (at this moment anyway) if the members of Bender´s crew ended up under different captains later on we can assume that most of them stayed with that crew. (Three definite excepetions being Vincent Mauro who was listed in the 1970s as being under Joe "Beck" Lapi, Carlie DiPietro listed in the same crew as Gene Uricola (Generoso crew?) and Mario Gigante, listed as being member of a crew headquarted on Mulberry Street.). So going by who was still alive when Canterino took over, these made guys seems to have been under him:
- Johnny "The Bug" Stopelli
- Jimmy "Bates" Battaglia*
- Frank Caggiano*
- Larry Dentico*
- Eddie Capobianco (possibly dead)
- Mike Maione
- Mike Niccolene*
- Joseph Pagano
- Dominick DiQuarto (possibly dead)
* - Not mentioned by Valachi but I´ve seen these guys as being listed under Bender elsewhere.
Guys who were made in the 1970s/1980s include:
- Benny Mangano
- Johnny Barbato (possibly)
- Dom Cirillo
- Johnny "Red" Caserta (possibly, if made)
- Ralph Gigante
- Angelo Prisco
- Joseph Zito (later transferred to another crew)
- Vito "Bruce" Palmieri (not sure if he was made)
- Fritzy Giovanelli (possibly)
- Frank Condo (possibly)
- Daniel Pagano (possibly, if made in the 1980s)
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RESPONSE FROM ROCCO:
Here is more info on Bruno Soldier Charles Costello .
http://www.romingerlegal.com/new_jersey ... 4.opn.html
At Leonetti's first meeting, Martin sought to determine whether Charles Costello, a Bruno-Scarfo family member, put Pat Storino "on record" with the Bruno-Scarfo family. When Leonetti responded, "I don't think so" and asked why, Martin said, "[W]e just killed this guy's uncle. This guy's uncle [sic] name was Jimmy Sinatra and we're trying to claim this Pat Storino, and this Pat Storino went to Charles Costello. Now Charlie Costello is trying to claim him." Leonetti left the meeting agreeing to talk to Costello. Martin Taccetta similarly admitted to Alphonse D'Arco at about the same time that Tom Ricciardi had the police after him because, "We whacked this guy Craporatta. We whacked him with . . . a golf club." "Whack" is a crime family expression for kill. Tom Ricciardi, in another meeting with Leonetti and Martin Taccetta, admitted killing Craporatta.
Vincent Craporatta, alias Jimmy Sinatra, was murdered on June 14, 1984. Eyewitnesses identified codefendant Tom Ricciardi, a "made" member of the Lucchese family, as the one who delivered the fatal blows with a golf club which shattered Craporatta's skull. As Ricciardi delivered the beating, he was heard to have yelled "pay your debts" and "machines." Craporatta was a known associate of the Lucchese family with ties to organized crime activities in Ocean County for many years. He was the Storinos' uncle.
Before their second meeting at Angelino's two weeks later, Leonetti checked with Charlie Costello. Costello told Leonetti that Pat Storino had come to him stating he was afraid of Ricciardi because Ricciardi had told Storino that Ricciardi had killed Storino's uncle. Storino offered $1,000 a week tribute if he could be "with" the Bruno-Scarfo family.
Martin Taccetta brought Tom Ricciardi to the second meeting with Leonetti. At that meeting, Leonetti relayed Costello's message that a member of the Lucchese family, Timmy Murphy, had given Pat Storino to Costello twenty years before. Martin Taccetta claimed Costello lied and nothing was resolved.
Subsequently, there were two "sit downs" between the Lucchese and Bruno-Scarfo families to resolve the dispute. The first meeting occurred in July at a basement restaurant in the Little Italy section of New York City. The Bruno-Scarfo family was represented by boss Nick Scarfo, then underboss Leonetti, capo Lawrence Merlino, capo Ralph Natoli, and soldier Charlie Costello. The Lucchese family was represented by boss Tony Corallo, underboss, at the time, Tom Santoro, and soldiers Michael Taccetta, Christopher Funari, Angelo Russo, and Michael Perna.
Michael Taccetta spoke for the Lucchese family. Michael reiterated Martin's claim to Pat Storino and denied Costello's claim. Costello asserted Tim Murphy "gave him" Pat Storino twenty years ago. Costello also discussed Pat Storino being "scared to death of these guys." An angry Corallo interjected, stating to Costello that "if they don't want to come up with any money or they
don't want to be with us, we're going to show them. We're going to kill them. They deserve it." Corallo then suggested to Nick Scarfo there should be a meeting in Florida with Lucchese family member Timmy Murphy in attendance. "[W]e send a representative from your family and I'll have a representative of my family there and we'll get Timmy Murphy and we'll ask him, and whatever he says, if he says he gave him Charlie, then he'll be with your family, and if he says he didn't give him to your family, then he'll be with us." Nick Scarfo agreed.
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RESPONSE FROM B.
Johnny Simone's crew was very active in Florida and he lived there almost full-time beginning sometime near the end of the 1960's and into the 1970's. When Simone was in Florida, his acting captain in Trenton was most likely Charles Costello, who frequently visited Simone in Florida, and I suspect that this also led to Caponigro breaking off and becoming captain of the newly formed Newark crew. At some point around the mid or late 1970's, Simone seemed to start spending more of his time around Trenton again. I am guessing one reason he originally started spending so much time in Florida is similar to other NJ mobsters... during the late 60's there started to be a huge amount of heat on big players in NJ (i.e. Yardville).
After Bruno and Simone died, Costello lost his political juice in the family but he stayed involved in the rackets. By the way, I found something that says that Gennaro Boccia's birth name is actually Joseph Costello and "Gennaro Boccia" was an alias. He is apparently Charles Costello's son and the other Joseph Costello would be "Gennaro's" uncle.
As for the consigliere question, there has been an evolution of the position over the years. It was originally voted on by the rank and file and intended to be a mediator, but beyond that there was no rule against a consigliere continuing to be involved in rackets and even keeping a crew of soldiers direct with him. I am not sure when it first started to change, but by the 1980's in New York it was quite a bit different and instead of existing on its own plane next to the boss/UB, it began to be seen as the "number three" position in the family. You had guys like Casso and Gravano go from consigliere to underboss like it was a promotion, whereas in older times the position wasn't looked at as "lesser" than the underboss, just different.
Philly has always been a bit different, though. Joe Rugnetta is the first known consigliere of Philly, but there was likely someone before him. During his time as consigliere, Rugnetta was believed to be involved in heroin trafficking with the Magaddino and NY families and he was still fairly hands-on when it came to some of the rackets in Philly. As Romney said, the positions in Philly had more political implications and along with performing the traditional role of the consigliere, he was also the street boss for the Calabrian faction. The Philly family, like the DeCavalcantes, were a small family so soldiers and even associates had more direct access to the administration.
Tony Caponigro was probably even more hands-on with his rackets than Rugnetta, especially given that he had his own fiefdom up in Newark. That said, Caponigro regularly visited Philadephia and was a partner in Philly-based rackets, so it's not like he was operating in a vacuum. He was also a Calabrian who represented that faction, but this became less and less significant after Rugnetta died. Like Pogo said, he apparently had the Newark crew reporting directly to him as consigliere, though I have seen some stuff that indicates Tommy Adams was his acting capo for a while.
If you look at the Philly family from 1959 to 1981, there is an unbroken pattern:
Sicilian boss (Pollina>Bruno>Testa)
Sicilian underboss (Denaro>Testa>Casella)
Calabrian consigliere (Rugnetta>Caponigro>Scarfo)
I would be curious what the set-up would have been if the alleged Bruno killers had taken over the family successfully. The general thought is that Caponigro (Calabrian) would be boss, Sindone (Sicilian) would be underboss, and then we can assume Johnny Simone (Sicilian) may have been consigliere, but we have no way of knowing if they thought that far ahead.
What strikes me about Johnny Simone is that he was a serious heavyweight by his own right. He may have been Bruno's cousin, but he didn't gain power through nepotism and he was a wealthy capo for 20 years with connections to families all over the country. Tino Fiumara was originally an associate of Simone's crew and Simone saved his life and got him transferred to the Genovese family. They stayed friendly up until Simone's death, though Fiumara was off the streets by the time Simone died. Tony Salerno apparently sent word all over the country that if Simone reached out to any other families to help him, that there was an open contract and they should kill him. Simone was close to the Cleveland administration and they were planning to kill him in Florida, but instead they tipped Salerno off and encouraged Simone to return to NJ/NY.
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RESPONSE FROM POGO:
I've read that DiNorscio was the Acting Capo from the time Caponigro was killed and Scarfo finally naming a new Capo a year later. Was he Acting Capo before that?
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RESPONSE FROM ROMNEY:
George Fresolone (Blood Oath) made some statements about Jersey that conflict with Anastasia's timeline in terms of who was what when.
Fresolone mentioned members with dual roles:
-Caponigro was consigliere and jersey capo
-(Maybe not an example but) Tony Piccolo had no underboss for the first year or so.
-When Martirano was allegedly underboss, he was still overseeing Jersey with Scoops in a "first among equals" because he was acting capo when Martirano absconded.
-Fresolone claims he was made and then made capo over his own crew, and that then he assumed Martirano's underboss position after he died, for a very short time before being pulled out by the Feds. He implied it all happened around the same time and held those positions, never spoke of appointing an acting capo (over what crew, which according to him was separate from Scoops and separate from Joe Sodano).... This last one I don't entirely believe to be true but I wasn't there.
In the 1960's, an FBI report had Denaro as Underboss as well as heading his own crew.
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RESPONSE FROM POGO:
Actually he said that Martirano hinted to him that when he (Martirano) died he would become the new UnderBoss. He never actually claimed to be the UnderBoss.
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
Pogo -- I'm under the impression that DiNorscio was the acting capo when Caponigro was in prison during the 1970's, and that he then helped Caponigro manage the Jersey crew after the promotion to consigliere. I am not sure if he was officially the acting capo the entire time, though.
As for George Fresolone... in terms of informants, I really like what he has to say and aside from making himself out to be more of a good guy than he really was, I don't think he made any mistakes on purpose. That said, he does make some errors and I wouldn't trust everything he says about the timeline, succession, etc. during the late 1970's and early 80's.
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RESPONSE FROM ROCCO:
If your read Bob Delanys books which takes place in the mid to late 70s it said Tommy Adams was acting capo for Caponigro when Tommy Adams got out of jail.
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
I've never read his books, but that's what I thought. I don't know the exact timeline, but I have definitely seen him listed as an acting capo in one or two other places. What's weird is I don't remember George Fresolone mentioning Tommy Adams at all, even in passing.
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RESPONSE FROM JIMMERZ:
Fresolone also claimed that Nicky Scarfo whacked Chuckie Merlino, and a few other gross inaccuracies, which made me discount much of his story. In fact, if I recall this correctly he stated that was the reason why Joey Merlino tried to clip Nicky Jr. At Dante & Luigis. Also, his "promotion" to undergoes just happened to occur when he wasn't wearing a wire, after he'd been been wearing one day in and day out for how long? Maybe I'm off base here, but Fresolone seemed like he was trying to embellish his own importance, first to the Feds (In an effort to stay on the street as an informant, and out of prison for as long as possible I'd imagine) and then to us the readers in his book.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it was a lousy book, I just think one needs to discern what is factual and what is possibly self-serving B.S.
Take Fresolones characterization of Scoops for example, by his account Scoops was a bumbling idiot, yet which one of them got jammed up with the law and became a rat, and which of them is still on the street making money , and still captain of North Jersey 25 years later? Seriously, if you look at all of this objectively, what other conclusion can be drawn?
Anyways, I've strayed way too far off topic here, but Tony "Bananas" would make a great subject for a book or in depth article, possibly a screenplay? Another research project for you Romney!
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RESPONSE FROM B.
I believe he was being considered for promotion. He doesn't say he was promoted, only that Martirano and Piccolo implied to him he was being considered for a higher spot when Martirano died. The Newark faction was a major power base for the family at the time, as you had Mike Ciancaglini and his pals in Philly starting to push the old timers around and they had to hide Scarfo Jr. up north. It's a fact that the Scarfos were relying on Fresolone and the Jersey crew for financial support and muscle, and Fresolone was kissing their asses because he wanted to get them on tape. Also, just a short time later you had Joey Ciancaglini get made and promoted to underboss almost right away, so you can see that the family had no problem pushing a young, newly made guy into the spot.
As for Licata... Fresolone was definitely out to get him. Most books have a central "enemy" who the informant carries on a about and in Blood Oath it is Scoops Licata. I don't think it makes him out to be a bumbling idiot so much as paranoid, greedy, and opportunistic. Most guys in the mob could be painted that way.
The Chuckie Merlino mistake is pretty unforgivable. Another one is that he lists "Jack D'Amico" as running the DeCavalcante family after Riggi goes away, but he was just confusing him with John D'Amato, which is a similar name. I would blame the publisher and author for that as much as I would Fresolone. Anastasia would never let mistakes like that slip through. Speaking of Anastasia, he may not have written the book, but he became friendly with Fresolone and trusted his take on things, so take from that what you will.
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RESPONSE FROM ROCCO:
Bob Delanys book covers both Tommy Adams and both of his sons. Jackie's brother drank himself to death I believe. And by the time Fresolones era came 15yrs later both Tommy Adams and his son were both dead I believe and Jackie was in prison from a FL drug conviction and he was part of the Luchese crew by that time as well. The book is a good read its called Bobby Covert I think. It cover Tino's crew, DiGilio, gambinos crew led by Joe Paterno and of course the Bruno crew led by Tommy Adams.
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RESPONSE FROM POGO:
Actually Tommy Adams didn't die until 1999.
I don't think DiGilio was suspected in the Caponigro killing... rather, the bodybag that was used in the Caponigro hit was linked to the same source as the bodybag in the DiGilio hit some years later, indicating that the same people might have killed both Caponigro and DiGilio. The Caponigro murder is the most brutal mob hit I'v'e ever heard of. He was choked, all of the bones in his face were broken, he was shot, stabbed, and had torn dollar bills stuffed up his ass. I've never heard of a killing, aside from the related Salerno murder, that had that level of brutality and symbolism.
I understand why you guys might say Riccobene had it good under Bruno, but having it good doesn't mean much. Most of the guys in the Castellano hit except for John Gotti had it very good under Castellano, but that didn't stop them. In the Riccobene case, there are a number of factors. For example, when he originally went to prison on his long drug conviction, he left Angelo Bruno to manage his rackets and Riccobene eventually got cut out of his own business and was not happy about it. Riccobene was also one of the people caught on wiretaps talking bad about Bruno in the late 1970's, though of course complaining about Bruno was a common theme on wires during that time even for non-conspirators like Testa, Narducci, etc. Also, who else had it good under Bruno? Caponigro. He controlled his own territory up north, got promoted to capo, then consigliere, had direct access to NY, etc. but he still wanted Bruno out of the picture.
I would need to know more about the DeLuca and Pedulla theory and whether they were exclusively under Riccobene at that time, too. Personally, I don't think the hitter(s) came from North Jersey and my gut feeling is that Long John didn't just set Bruno up at the restaurant, but that he may have also supervised the murder itself. I want to know if DeLuca and Pedulla also worked with Long John since there was crossover between Long John and the Riccobene crew back in the day.
Another aside about Riccobene... when Nicky Scarfo was introduced to him as a member in jail in the 1960's, Riccobene was very upset and ranted about how cosa nostra was basically going to the dogs. Translate that to when Scarfo became boss and you can imagine how Riccobene felt. I'm not sure we know the full story about the "Riccobene war" anyway. When the original murder contract was placed on him, Chuckie Merlino told people it was because Riccobene was an informant (which, it turns out, was true). So it's sort of a chicken and the egg argument, but did Riccobene start opposing the Scarfo regime once he learned about the contract on his life, or was he already against them?
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
Harry was a CI for many years when he was in prison but he mainly gave info on the history and structure of the family. I don't even think he was giving information anymore when Bruno died.
Mario testified in court and was killed when he came back to South Philly. Harry purposely blocked his brother from being made and they had a troubled relationship even though Mario worked for Harry. I don't think Mario knew all of his brother's secrets by any means. I actually think it's unlikely that Riccobene was involved, but I'm just trying to explore the possibilities since we still don't know exactly what happened after all of these years.
One thing to consider is that if Caponigro and the others thought they had Commission approval, they may have included more people in on the conspiracy than they would have if they thought they were acting without support.
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RESPONSE FROM ROCCO:
Looks like Baldy Dom's crew Clipped Tony
Senator NUNN. Do you have any knowledge regarding the
murder of Tony Bananas? I believe the formal name is Antonio Caponigro.
Mr. CAFARO. Well, when the old man Bruno got killed in Philadelphia.
.
Senator NUNN. That is Angelo Bruno?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes. And he had got killed, he was the boss of the
Philadelphia mob. And there was supposed to have b~en a power
struggle the:r;e between this fellow, Chicken, he was the underboss·
there, and this Tony Bananas.
Senator NUNN. Chicken was Phillip Testa, wasn't it?
Mr. CAFARO. Philly Testa, right. He had come up to New York at
one time to see Tony. And who was there was Tony IIDu,cks", Tom
"Mix"--
Senator NUNN. Is Tony "Ducks" Corallo?
Mr. CAFARO. He is the boss of the Luchese family, Tony "Ducks"
Corallo. Tom "Mix" Santora was the underboss.
Senator NUNN. Who was Tom "Mix"?
Mr. CAFARO. He was the underboss of the Luchese family.
Senator NUNN. That is his nickname. What is his--
Mr. CAFARO. Santoro. And Paul Castellano was there and Fat
Tony. And this Chicken went and seen them. So when I seen Tony
later on, after they had their meeting in the club, he said that
there was a power struggle between Philly Testa and Tony Bananas
Caponigro, and that there was a power struggle.
And then after that, a couple of hours after that, this Tony Bananas
come to discuss it with Tony, and there w.as present Tony
Ducks Corallo of the Luchese mob; Tom Mix Santora, the underboss
of the Luchese mob; and Paul Castellano, and Fat Tony.
And whatever they discussed, I do not know. But about a week
later this Philly Testa come back. So Tony introduced me to him as
the underboss of the Philadelphia mob
So he says to Tony that he thinks Tony Bananas was guilty of
the murder of Angelo Bruno. And that was the extent to that.
Then about a week after that, Tony Bananas come up or 2 weeks
after, he wanted to discuss something with Tony, and we were
walking. And Tony said, I do not want to get involved. I do not
want to hear about it. Go see Chin.
Senator NUNN. Who was he telling that to?
Mr. CAFARO. Tony Bananas. And that was the extent of that part
of the conversation.
Then about a couple of weeks later, I do not remember the
weeks, Tony Bananas had to go to 47th or 48th Street in the diamond
center to meet Baldy Dom Cantarino, he is a caporegime in
our brugad. And he had to meet Baldy Dom, whatever his name is,
I cannot say the last name, and he had to meet him there between,
I do not know, 47th or 48th Street in the diamond exchange.
And then that day or a couple of days later, they were found in
the Bronx dead; Tony Bananas.
Senator NUNN. I did not hear that last part?
Mr. CAFARO. I says, Tony Bananas, a couple of days later or next
day or two, 3 days later; was found in the Bronx dead.
Senator NUNN. You believe there was a direct connection between
those conversations and his murder, then?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes.
Senator NUNN. Do you have any way of knowing who carried out
the hit?
Mr. CAFARO. No.
Senator NUNN. So you do not know who carried it out?
Mr. CAFARO. No.
Senator NUNN. I am puzzled by the connection between the
Philadelphia family and the New York family. Why was the New
York family, your family, concerned about I the murder of Bruno in
Philadelphia?
Mr. CAFARO. It was not only our family. It was Paul Castellano
there, Tony Ducks Corallo was there, and Tom Mix.
Senator NUNN. So there were three families?
Mr. CAFARO. Three families there.
Senator NUNN. Three New York families concerning the
murder--
Mr. CAFARO. The killing of Angelo Bruno, being that he was a
boss of another brugad. And usually it is not done that way, to kill
a boss, without discussing it. So there is where th(~ power play
must have come in.
Senator NUNN. In other words, Bruno had been killed in Phil adelphia---
Mr. CAFARO. Yes.
Senator NUNN [continuing]. And he had been killed obviously
without a discussion among the other top mob leaders--
Mr. CAFARO. Yes, Senator.
Senator NUNN [continuing]. In the country, or at least in New
York?
Mr. CAFARO. At least in New York or whatever. It was never discussed.
Senator NUNN. So they felt it was not within the overall protocol
or the rules of the mob
'Mr. CAFARO. It wasn't in the rules; no, it wasn't in the rules.
Senator NUNN. To kill the boss 'Without discussing it with other
bosses? . .
Mr. CAFARO. Without discussing any reasoning or whatever.
Senator NUNN. Did they feel that they themselves might be in
jeopardy if that protocol broke down, if they didn't enforce it?
Mr. CAFARO. I would say yes. I would say yes.
Senator NUNN. So it was something that offended them pretty
seriously?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes, Senator, I would say.
Senator NUNN. Did Tony talk to you about this? Did he go into
any detail? .
Mr. CAFARO. Well, no, after this killing with Tony Bananas, the
following week, he says, I am glad I sent him down to Chin; I did
not get involved with this.
Senator NUNN. Why was he glad he did not get involved?
Mr. CAFARO. Well, my interpretation I guess is that because of
the killing.
Senator NUNN. So he would prefer not to have been involved.
Mr. CAFARO. That is a family problem within-let them straighten
out their own problems. .
Senator NUNN. In other words, he would rather for Chin to be
the one to make that decision rather than him?
Mr. CAFARO, Either that, or he just did not want to get involved
with a family problem from another brugad.
Senator Nu."m. Did Fat Tony tell you about the killing? Is that
the way you found out about it?
Mr. CAFARO. No, I read it in the papers. It was in the newspapers.
Senator NUNN. And did Fat Tony ever tell you who he thought
did the-actually cBlrried out the killing?
Mr. CAFARO. Well, he had said to me, that is how I know about
the appointment on 47th or 48th street in the diamond exchange,
that it was a!n appointment made with Baldy Dom down there.
Senator NUN"!>!. Appointment made ~Nith?
Mr. CAFARO. With Tony Bananas and Baldy Dom.
Senator NUNN. Bald~ Dom?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes, he s a caporeginie in our brugad.
Senator NUNN. Did Fat Tony tell you that Baldy Dom's crew actually
carried out the killing? .
Mr. CAFARO. No, he did not tell me they carried out the killing.
My opinion, I would say yes.
Senator NUNN. Your opinion?
Mr. CAFARO. Yes. I misunderstood the question.
Senator NUNN. I believe in your affidavit, let me read that and
see if this is correct, you say, reading, that in April 1980-this is
page four, for counsel, page four of the affidavit. I am sorry, page
12 and 13 of the affidavit.
Let me read this to you and see where it is in error, if in error,
or whether it is accurate if it is accurate.
You say, "In April 1980, 'Tony Bananas' visited Tony Salerno, at
the Palma Boys Social Club. After this visit, Tony told me that he
had advised 'Tony Bananas' to go see 'The Chin,'because he did
not want to get involved in Philadelphia's problems. Fat Tony
thought that the matter was a Philadelphia problem, and passed
the problem off to 'The Chin.' At the time, the acting boss was (underboss)
Funzi Tieri, with Lombardo, the real power behind the
scene, and Manna, the consigliere. A short time later 'Tony Bananas'
and another guy were found murdered in the Bronx. In midApril,
1980, Salerno told me, 'It's is a good thing that I did not get
involved with this Tony Bananas thing and I sent him to see the
Chin. He had an appointment with the Chin, Baldy Dom (Dominick)
Cantarino picked him up and the other guy, at the Diamond
Exchange on 47th Street or 48th Street (New York, New York), and
they banged him out.' " Is that
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
Great, thanks for posting that. It supports my thoughts in the original post about Chin being responsible for enforcement and his crew handling the hit... with Canterino, capo of Chin's old crew, being the one to set up the killing itself. I would be curious which guys did the actual work, though.
The part about Caponigro talking to Tony Salerno and Salerno telling him to go tell Chin is interesting. That may be where this whole "Funzie approved the hit" story comes into play. Sounds like Caponigro told Salerno something that was kind of tricky, hence why Salerno later said he was glad he didn't get involved and passed it to Chin, and the most likely thing to me is that Caponigro tried to tell Salerno that the hit was approved. It also shows that Salerno did not necessarily have more power in the family than the Chin in 1980.
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RESPONSE FROM HARRY:
In 1980, the Genovese Family was run by a ruling panel consisting of Salerno, Gigante and Lombardo. According to an informant, the different crews in the Family reported directly to one of these three individiuals. So at that time, no member of the Family was more powerful than the other. This ruling panel was still in function until February 1981, when Salerno had his stroke. Another interesting thing is that members of the Genovese Family had been warned to stay away from Tieri who had obviously fallen from grace and was in the dog house at that time. One can only speculate why? But my gut feeling is telling me that it had something to do with the Bruno murder. Perhaps Tieri was caught lying and his scheming and conniving regarding the Bruno murder had been exposed? If Tieri wasn´t acting alone in the manipulations of Caponigro, then he certainly was stabbed in the back by the other high ranking Genovese members.
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
Thanks for the info, man, always appreciated.
I am not going off of any real information in thinking that other Genovese members were involved in the Caponigro double-cross, but as Nick Caramandi once said in the mob you have to watch for the triple-cross, which is exactly what may have happened to Tieri. I guess it's possible that Tieri would have known it's his word against Caponigro's, so he wouldn't have wanted anyone else involved in the event he was pitted against Caponigro.
One thing I question though is where the info originally comes from about Caponigro talking to Funzie, Funzie telling him to go for it, and then Funzie washing his hands of Caponigro afterwards. Who would have been privy to those conversations, or even one or two degrees removed from the conversations that could have shared that rumor? Fish Cafaro didn't seem to know the details of the conversations with Caponigro and I can't remember anyone else having a reliable source for knowing the background of that hit.
One thing that reminded me of this in modern times is the story Massino told about Barney Bellomo approaching him in jail and telling him how Sal Vitale and Gotti had been plotting to overthrow him (Massino) over a decade earlier. It strikes me as a classic Genovese Machiavellian move and you have to wonder if Bellomo was trying to get more power over Massino as well as discredit the Gambinos, who were still under the Gotti regime at that time. You have to figure a guy like Barney Bellomo isn't your average mob gossip, especially about something so serious, so he must have had an angle.
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
I've seen it mentioned in a couple of places and I'm thinking I was wrong about Pedulla being suspected, but three witnesses saw Victor DeLuca at the scene of the Bruno murder beforehand. This article mentions it: http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1 ... 86,3174457
He was also ID'd as a prime suspect at the time by LE.
DeLuca was a pretty interesting character in his own right. Joe Pedulla was more of a bookmaker who got caught up in the Riccobene mess, but DeLuca was one of the tougher guys in Philly in his day. He was a big guy, apparently pretty low key but feared. He even extorted the Pagans at one point... in other words, the type of person you'd expect to be tasked with killing a boss.
DeLuca also gave information that Riccoebene asked him to kill Long John but he wasn't able to get a shot at him.
So DeLuca is a likely suspect in the actual killing, the problem is just connecting him to the known conspirators. Long John being involved and setting up the murder is my bet, given what we know, and he would have been way more connected to DeLuca than Sindone, Simone, and Caponigro.
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RESPONSE FROM IVAN:
Interesting. Have you read the characterization of Victor DeLuca in "Breaking the Mob" by Frank Friel?
I am not sure why so many people say Caponigro was the shooter. The idea of a high level guy about age 70 personally doing shotgun work strikes me as very implausible.
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RESPONSE FROM B:
I've always meant to read Breaking the Mob. What does he have to say about DeLuca?
Something I forgot about Caponigro is he was also a suspect in the Johnny Roberts murder. Not sure if the Gambinos would have outsourced to a Philly-NJ member, but it's possible as he was definitely around a lot of NY guys and during the conflict in the Gambinos it may have been easier for an outsider to get close to him. Maybe someone like HairyK or JD knows more about other Robilotto murder suspects.
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RESPONSE FROM HARRY:
If I´m not mistaken, I think Caponigro was a suspect in the Willie Moretti murder (with Roberts). I don´t think they were made at the time. Roberts was probably killed by the Eppolitos (Roberts crew members at the time.)
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RESPONSE FROM B:
Yep, you are absolutely right. I knew that Johnny Roberts was connected to Caponigro somehow, but it was the Moretti hit in NJ he may have done. Thanks, man. Yet another possible connection between Caponigro and the Genovese.
I've seen a couple of things about Johnny Keys and Bruno. One is that Sam DeCavalcante refers to Angelo Bruno and Simone as "paisans". He's of course known as Bruno's cousin but I've never seen anything that 100% confirms that, though Charles Costello who was definitely Bruno's cousin was one of Simone's top soldiers and business partners and he may be a mutual relation between them.
Here is what I have for the Simone crew circa the mid-1960's. There may have been some Philly-based guys in his crew I wasn't able to ID.
John "Johnny Keys / Casablanca" Simone
Soldiers:
- Carmine Battaglia
- Antonio "Tony Bananas" Caponigro
- Charles Costello
- Joseph Costello
- Michael Cammarota
- Vincenzo "Jimmy Gioia / Jimmy Brown" Gioe
- Joseph Gioe**
- Carl "Pappy" Ippolito
- Frank Ippolito**
- Michael "Daylight" Tramantana
- Pasquale "Patty Specs" Martirano*
- Dominick "Tommy Adams" DiNorscio*
- Alfred "Freddy" Salerno**
- Dominick "Lolly" Luciano
- Raffaele "Ralph / Blackie" Napoli
Deceased:
Salvatore "Sammy Gioia / Sammy Brown" Gioe (brother of Jimmy)
*Likely made by then, but not confirmed
**Not 100% he was ever made but possible
I believe Carl Ippolito may have been an acting captain or at least something of an unofficial "lieutenant" for this crew.
Should add that Joseph Costello is not the same as Gennaro "Joe Costello" Boccia, a member from later. This Joseph Costello is the younger brother of Charles Costello, both Trenton-based.
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Interesting if nothing else -- Greg Scarpa told the FBI that Funzie Tieri approved both the Angelo Bruno and Caponigro/Salerno hits. Clearly the rumor must have been going around the streets about Tieri giving the okay to Caponigro.
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RESPONSE FROM HARRY:
Rocco wrote:
If anyone has a some what accurate list of made members in Baldy Doms crew during this period. Please list it. Thanks!
This is of course pure speculation from my part but it looks like Canterino inherited Gigante´s crew (the old Tony Bender crew). Valachi named Bender´s crew members back in 1963. Since we don´t know (at this moment anyway) if the members of Bender´s crew ended up under different captains later on we can assume that most of them stayed with that crew. (Three definite excepetions being Vincent Mauro who was listed in the 1970s as being under Joe "Beck" Lapi, Carlie DiPietro listed in the same crew as Gene Uricola (Generoso crew?) and Mario Gigante, listed as being member of a crew headquarted on Mulberry Street.). So going by who was still alive when Canterino took over, these made guys seems to have been under him:
- Johnny "The Bug" Stopelli
- Jimmy "Bates" Battaglia*
- Frank Caggiano*
- Larry Dentico*
- Eddie Capobianco (possibly dead)
- Mike Maione
- Mike Niccolene*
- Joseph Pagano
- Dominick DiQuarto (possibly dead)
* - Not mentioned by Valachi but I´ve seen these guys as being listed under Bender elsewhere.
Guys who were made in the 1970s/1980s include:
- Benny Mangano
- Johnny Barbato (possibly)
- Dom Cirillo
- Johnny "Red" Caserta (possibly, if made)
- Ralph Gigante
- Angelo Prisco
- Joseph Zito (later transferred to another crew)
- Vito "Bruce" Palmieri (not sure if he was made)
- Fritzy Giovanelli (possibly)
- Frank Condo (possibly)
- Daniel Pagano (possibly, if made in the 1980s)
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RESPONSE FROM ROCCO:
Here is more info on Bruno Soldier Charles Costello .
http://www.romingerlegal.com/new_jersey ... 4.opn.html
At Leonetti's first meeting, Martin sought to determine whether Charles Costello, a Bruno-Scarfo family member, put Pat Storino "on record" with the Bruno-Scarfo family. When Leonetti responded, "I don't think so" and asked why, Martin said, "[W]e just killed this guy's uncle. This guy's uncle [sic] name was Jimmy Sinatra and we're trying to claim this Pat Storino, and this Pat Storino went to Charles Costello. Now Charlie Costello is trying to claim him." Leonetti left the meeting agreeing to talk to Costello. Martin Taccetta similarly admitted to Alphonse D'Arco at about the same time that Tom Ricciardi had the police after him because, "We whacked this guy Craporatta. We whacked him with . . . a golf club." "Whack" is a crime family expression for kill. Tom Ricciardi, in another meeting with Leonetti and Martin Taccetta, admitted killing Craporatta.
Vincent Craporatta, alias Jimmy Sinatra, was murdered on June 14, 1984. Eyewitnesses identified codefendant Tom Ricciardi, a "made" member of the Lucchese family, as the one who delivered the fatal blows with a golf club which shattered Craporatta's skull. As Ricciardi delivered the beating, he was heard to have yelled "pay your debts" and "machines." Craporatta was a known associate of the Lucchese family with ties to organized crime activities in Ocean County for many years. He was the Storinos' uncle.
Before their second meeting at Angelino's two weeks later, Leonetti checked with Charlie Costello. Costello told Leonetti that Pat Storino had come to him stating he was afraid of Ricciardi because Ricciardi had told Storino that Ricciardi had killed Storino's uncle. Storino offered $1,000 a week tribute if he could be "with" the Bruno-Scarfo family.
Martin Taccetta brought Tom Ricciardi to the second meeting with Leonetti. At that meeting, Leonetti relayed Costello's message that a member of the Lucchese family, Timmy Murphy, had given Pat Storino to Costello twenty years before. Martin Taccetta claimed Costello lied and nothing was resolved.
Subsequently, there were two "sit downs" between the Lucchese and Bruno-Scarfo families to resolve the dispute. The first meeting occurred in July at a basement restaurant in the Little Italy section of New York City. The Bruno-Scarfo family was represented by boss Nick Scarfo, then underboss Leonetti, capo Lawrence Merlino, capo Ralph Natoli, and soldier Charlie Costello. The Lucchese family was represented by boss Tony Corallo, underboss, at the time, Tom Santoro, and soldiers Michael Taccetta, Christopher Funari, Angelo Russo, and Michael Perna.
Michael Taccetta spoke for the Lucchese family. Michael reiterated Martin's claim to Pat Storino and denied Costello's claim. Costello asserted Tim Murphy "gave him" Pat Storino twenty years ago. Costello also discussed Pat Storino being "scared to death of these guys." An angry Corallo interjected, stating to Costello that "if they don't want to come up with any money or they
don't want to be with us, we're going to show them. We're going to kill them. They deserve it." Corallo then suggested to Nick Scarfo there should be a meeting in Florida with Lucchese family member Timmy Murphy in attendance. "[W]e send a representative from your family and I'll have a representative of my family there and we'll get Timmy Murphy and we'll ask him, and whatever he says, if he says he gave him Charlie, then he'll be with your family, and if he says he didn't give him to your family, then he'll be with us." Nick Scarfo agreed.
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RESPONSE FROM B.
Johnny Simone's crew was very active in Florida and he lived there almost full-time beginning sometime near the end of the 1960's and into the 1970's. When Simone was in Florida, his acting captain in Trenton was most likely Charles Costello, who frequently visited Simone in Florida, and I suspect that this also led to Caponigro breaking off and becoming captain of the newly formed Newark crew. At some point around the mid or late 1970's, Simone seemed to start spending more of his time around Trenton again. I am guessing one reason he originally started spending so much time in Florida is similar to other NJ mobsters... during the late 60's there started to be a huge amount of heat on big players in NJ (i.e. Yardville).
After Bruno and Simone died, Costello lost his political juice in the family but he stayed involved in the rackets. By the way, I found something that says that Gennaro Boccia's birth name is actually Joseph Costello and "Gennaro Boccia" was an alias. He is apparently Charles Costello's son and the other Joseph Costello would be "Gennaro's" uncle.
As for the consigliere question, there has been an evolution of the position over the years. It was originally voted on by the rank and file and intended to be a mediator, but beyond that there was no rule against a consigliere continuing to be involved in rackets and even keeping a crew of soldiers direct with him. I am not sure when it first started to change, but by the 1980's in New York it was quite a bit different and instead of existing on its own plane next to the boss/UB, it began to be seen as the "number three" position in the family. You had guys like Casso and Gravano go from consigliere to underboss like it was a promotion, whereas in older times the position wasn't looked at as "lesser" than the underboss, just different.
Philly has always been a bit different, though. Joe Rugnetta is the first known consigliere of Philly, but there was likely someone before him. During his time as consigliere, Rugnetta was believed to be involved in heroin trafficking with the Magaddino and NY families and he was still fairly hands-on when it came to some of the rackets in Philly. As Romney said, the positions in Philly had more political implications and along with performing the traditional role of the consigliere, he was also the street boss for the Calabrian faction. The Philly family, like the DeCavalcantes, were a small family so soldiers and even associates had more direct access to the administration.
Tony Caponigro was probably even more hands-on with his rackets than Rugnetta, especially given that he had his own fiefdom up in Newark. That said, Caponigro regularly visited Philadephia and was a partner in Philly-based rackets, so it's not like he was operating in a vacuum. He was also a Calabrian who represented that faction, but this became less and less significant after Rugnetta died. Like Pogo said, he apparently had the Newark crew reporting directly to him as consigliere, though I have seen some stuff that indicates Tommy Adams was his acting capo for a while.
If you look at the Philly family from 1959 to 1981, there is an unbroken pattern:
Sicilian boss (Pollina>Bruno>Testa)
Sicilian underboss (Denaro>Testa>Casella)
Calabrian consigliere (Rugnetta>Caponigro>Scarfo)
I would be curious what the set-up would have been if the alleged Bruno killers had taken over the family successfully. The general thought is that Caponigro (Calabrian) would be boss, Sindone (Sicilian) would be underboss, and then we can assume Johnny Simone (Sicilian) may have been consigliere, but we have no way of knowing if they thought that far ahead.
What strikes me about Johnny Simone is that he was a serious heavyweight by his own right. He may have been Bruno's cousin, but he didn't gain power through nepotism and he was a wealthy capo for 20 years with connections to families all over the country. Tino Fiumara was originally an associate of Simone's crew and Simone saved his life and got him transferred to the Genovese family. They stayed friendly up until Simone's death, though Fiumara was off the streets by the time Simone died. Tony Salerno apparently sent word all over the country that if Simone reached out to any other families to help him, that there was an open contract and they should kill him. Simone was close to the Cleveland administration and they were planning to kill him in Florida, but instead they tipped Salerno off and encouraged Simone to return to NJ/NY.
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RESPONSE FROM POGO:
I've read that DiNorscio was the Acting Capo from the time Caponigro was killed and Scarfo finally naming a new Capo a year later. Was he Acting Capo before that?
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RESPONSE FROM ROMNEY:
George Fresolone (Blood Oath) made some statements about Jersey that conflict with Anastasia's timeline in terms of who was what when.
Fresolone mentioned members with dual roles:
-Caponigro was consigliere and jersey capo
-(Maybe not an example but) Tony Piccolo had no underboss for the first year or so.
-When Martirano was allegedly underboss, he was still overseeing Jersey with Scoops in a "first among equals" because he was acting capo when Martirano absconded.
-Fresolone claims he was made and then made capo over his own crew, and that then he assumed Martirano's underboss position after he died, for a very short time before being pulled out by the Feds. He implied it all happened around the same time and held those positions, never spoke of appointing an acting capo (over what crew, which according to him was separate from Scoops and separate from Joe Sodano).... This last one I don't entirely believe to be true but I wasn't there.
In the 1960's, an FBI report had Denaro as Underboss as well as heading his own crew.
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RESPONSE FROM POGO:
Actually he said that Martirano hinted to him that when he (Martirano) died he would become the new UnderBoss. He never actually claimed to be the UnderBoss.
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
Pogo -- I'm under the impression that DiNorscio was the acting capo when Caponigro was in prison during the 1970's, and that he then helped Caponigro manage the Jersey crew after the promotion to consigliere. I am not sure if he was officially the acting capo the entire time, though.
As for George Fresolone... in terms of informants, I really like what he has to say and aside from making himself out to be more of a good guy than he really was, I don't think he made any mistakes on purpose. That said, he does make some errors and I wouldn't trust everything he says about the timeline, succession, etc. during the late 1970's and early 80's.
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RESPONSE FROM ROCCO:
If your read Bob Delanys books which takes place in the mid to late 70s it said Tommy Adams was acting capo for Caponigro when Tommy Adams got out of jail.
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RESPONSE FROM B.:
I've never read his books, but that's what I thought. I don't know the exact timeline, but I have definitely seen him listed as an acting capo in one or two other places. What's weird is I don't remember George Fresolone mentioning Tommy Adams at all, even in passing.
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RESPONSE FROM JIMMERZ:
Fresolone also claimed that Nicky Scarfo whacked Chuckie Merlino, and a few other gross inaccuracies, which made me discount much of his story. In fact, if I recall this correctly he stated that was the reason why Joey Merlino tried to clip Nicky Jr. At Dante & Luigis. Also, his "promotion" to undergoes just happened to occur when he wasn't wearing a wire, after he'd been been wearing one day in and day out for how long? Maybe I'm off base here, but Fresolone seemed like he was trying to embellish his own importance, first to the Feds (In an effort to stay on the street as an informant, and out of prison for as long as possible I'd imagine) and then to us the readers in his book.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it was a lousy book, I just think one needs to discern what is factual and what is possibly self-serving B.S.
Take Fresolones characterization of Scoops for example, by his account Scoops was a bumbling idiot, yet which one of them got jammed up with the law and became a rat, and which of them is still on the street making money , and still captain of North Jersey 25 years later? Seriously, if you look at all of this objectively, what other conclusion can be drawn?
Anyways, I've strayed way too far off topic here, but Tony "Bananas" would make a great subject for a book or in depth article, possibly a screenplay? Another research project for you Romney!
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RESPONSE FROM B.
I believe he was being considered for promotion. He doesn't say he was promoted, only that Martirano and Piccolo implied to him he was being considered for a higher spot when Martirano died. The Newark faction was a major power base for the family at the time, as you had Mike Ciancaglini and his pals in Philly starting to push the old timers around and they had to hide Scarfo Jr. up north. It's a fact that the Scarfos were relying on Fresolone and the Jersey crew for financial support and muscle, and Fresolone was kissing their asses because he wanted to get them on tape. Also, just a short time later you had Joey Ciancaglini get made and promoted to underboss almost right away, so you can see that the family had no problem pushing a young, newly made guy into the spot.
As for Licata... Fresolone was definitely out to get him. Most books have a central "enemy" who the informant carries on a about and in Blood Oath it is Scoops Licata. I don't think it makes him out to be a bumbling idiot so much as paranoid, greedy, and opportunistic. Most guys in the mob could be painted that way.
The Chuckie Merlino mistake is pretty unforgivable. Another one is that he lists "Jack D'Amico" as running the DeCavalcante family after Riggi goes away, but he was just confusing him with John D'Amato, which is a similar name. I would blame the publisher and author for that as much as I would Fresolone. Anastasia would never let mistakes like that slip through. Speaking of Anastasia, he may not have written the book, but he became friendly with Fresolone and trusted his take on things, so take from that what you will.
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RESPONSE FROM ROCCO:
Bob Delanys book covers both Tommy Adams and both of his sons. Jackie's brother drank himself to death I believe. And by the time Fresolones era came 15yrs later both Tommy Adams and his son were both dead I believe and Jackie was in prison from a FL drug conviction and he was part of the Luchese crew by that time as well. The book is a good read its called Bobby Covert I think. It cover Tino's crew, DiGilio, gambinos crew led by Joe Paterno and of course the Bruno crew led by Tommy Adams.
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RESPONSE FROM POGO:
Actually Tommy Adams didn't die until 1999.
Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
Just to follow up on Caponigro's history, here is what Chucky shared from Joe Licata's detention memo:The big question is how did Caponigro became a member of the Philly mob when he was living in Newark by the time he became an adult? Maybe he was technically "on record" with the mob as a teenage criminal living in Philly ... we know they were recruiting teenagers in those days. He could have had a mob mentor in Philly and stayed connected to the family even after his move, who knows. Also keep in mind that Joe Ida and Joe Bruno, two of the bosses during Caponigro's earlier days with the family, were based far up in Jersey.
I don't know who his first captain was, but by the time John Simone was a captain, Caponigro and other northern Jersey members were reporting to Simone in Trenton. Angelo Bruno wanted Caponigro to be a captain by the 1960's, but the Genovese family opposed the move, particularly Richie Boiardo who had a beef with Caponigro. Interestingly, those hearing charts from that time incorrectly list Caponigro as a Genovese member in Boiardo's crew. We all know the role that the Genovese played in his final years. By the early 1970's, he was a captain and might have even gotten the promotion as early as 1968 but not sure on that.
You could write this off as an old blowhard dropping some infamous names from the past, but Joe Licata was originally an associate on record directly with Caponigro, so he would have an idea of Caponigro's history.LICATA extolled Caponigro and Dominick “Louie” Luciano, a Philadelphia LCN soldier, as real gangsters who were regularly used to commit mob murders by Albert Anastasia (former boss of the New York Gambino LCN Family) and Frank Costello (former boss of the Genovese New York LCN Family). LICATA stated that Anastasia put them with Angelo Bruno (former boss of the Philadelphia LCN Family) so they wouldn’t get killed. Both Caponigro and Luciano were ultimately the victims of mob murders, but LICATA, JG, and CW agreed that “you can’t replace those guys.”
From other research, I learned that Albert Anastasia (Calabrian) was close to Joe Ida (Calabrian), the boss of Philly, so that could have factored into Caponigro (Calabrian) transferring to the Philly family. Anastasia was also said to have a relationship with Rugnetta (Calabrian). Frank Costello (Calabrian) also isn't totally out of place in Licata's conversation as we know he was close with Anastasia as well. One definite mistake is Licata's reference to Angelo Bruno -- Bruno wouldn't become boss until three years after Anastasia's death, but since this was all years before Licata's time he is bound to miss some details like that.
So while we don't know exactly what event(s) led to Caponigro and Luciano transferring to Joe Ida's family to save their lives, I feel somewhat confident in believing that Caponigro was a NJ-based Gambino associate with a relationship to NJ-based boss Anastasia until the mid-1950s. I also don't think it's a coincidence that all of the figures mentioned were Calabrians who were known allies.
Later on, Tino Fiumara, who had been a Philly associate on record with Dominick Luciano, would be transferred to the Genovese family to save his life after his captain John Simone advocated for him, so this situation could have played out similarly, just the reverse (Philly associate transferring to NY).
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Ivan
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
B. did you ever get around to reading Breaking the Mob? In the book, according to Frank Friel, Long John admitted to being in on the Riccobene murder to Mario Riccobene when he was telling him to kill his half-brother.
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
I never did, but really need to.Ivan wrote:B. did you ever get around to reading Breaking the Mob? In the book, according to Frank Friel, Long John admitted to being in on the Riccobene murder to Mario Riccobene when he was telling him to kill his half-brother.
You said Long John admitted to being on the Riccobene murder -- do you mean the Bruno murder? If so, not surprised at all.
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Ivan
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
Yes, the Bruno murder. Sorry, painkillers.B. wrote:I never did, but really need to.Ivan wrote:B. did you ever get around to reading Breaking the Mob? In the book, according to Frank Friel, Long John admitted to being in on the Riccobene murder to Mario Riccobene when he was telling him to kill his half-brother.
You said Long John admitted to being on the Riccobene murder -- do you mean the Bruno murder? If so, not surprised at all.
Long John tells Sonny "you've got to do your duty" and he ticks off a list of the people he himself has taken part in killing, including Bruno.
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
Well that confirms it. All of the circumstantial evidence points to him and I can't see why Sonny Riccobene would lie about it.Ivan wrote:Yes, the Bruno murder. Sorry, painkillers.B. wrote:I never did, but really need to.Ivan wrote:B. did you ever get around to reading Breaking the Mob? In the book, according to Frank Friel, Long John admitted to being in on the Riccobene murder to Mario Riccobene when he was telling him to kill his half-brother.
You said Long John admitted to being on the Riccobene murder -- do you mean the Bruno murder? If so, not surprised at all.
Long John tells Sonny "you've got to do your duty" and he ticks off a list of the people he himself has taken part in killing, including Bruno.
Does it list anyone else he killed? There is the McCullough and Bouras hits he arranged but I don't know of any he was suspected of before that. Have to assume Caponigro/Sindone promised him he'd get taken off the blacklist and finally get made if he helped take out Bruno. Of course he did get made, but not by them. Still haven't found out why Harry Riccobene blocked him, but Riccobene seemed to be of the opinion that nobody deserved to get made.
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Ivan
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
I think I have the ebook. Lemme go look for the passage, hang on.
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Ivan
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
Here it is.
And yeah, Mario Riccobene had zero incentive to lie about that. I'd say we've got enough to convict Long John here in our own forum court.
Mario cuts him off before he names the fifth one. Maybe the fifth one was his role in the potential Harry Riccobene hit?"I've done five. McCullough, Stevie, Angie was no good, Calabrese..."
And yeah, Mario Riccobene had zero incentive to lie about that. I'd say we've got enough to convict Long John here in our own forum court.
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Pogo The Clown
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
I wonder what role he played in the Calabrese hit. From what I remember Joe Ciancaglini led Calabrese to the site where Tommy DelGiorno and Faffy Iannarella shot him with Pat Spirito driving the getaway car.
Pogo
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Ivan
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
According to Friel, it was Martorano who convinced Scarfo that Calabrese had to go, and Martorano took over Calabrese's meth operation after he was killed.Pogo The Clown wrote:I wonder what role he played in the Calabrese hit. From what I remember Joe Ciancaglini led Calabrese to the site where Tommy DelGiorno and Faffy Iannarella shot him with Pat Spirito driving the getaway car.
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Pogo The Clown
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
Thanks Ivan. Long John was a real snake. 
Pogo
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It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.
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Ivan
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
You gotta read the book if you haven't. Martorano is one evil, sinister motherfucker in it.Pogo The Clown wrote:Thanks Ivan. Long John was a real snake.
I coincidentally read the book immediately before Long John was killed and remember thinking when I heard the news that whoever did it deserved a medal.
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DPG
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
I got to thinking about Philly today realized Scarf had to be one paranoid fuck. I mean can you blame him for all the killing. They went thru 2 boss in a year not to mention other top members in on the murder plots. Im sure he felt like he didn't have much of a choice but to kill any possible threat.
I get it....first rule of fight club.
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Ivan
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Re: RE-POST: The Rise and Demise of Tony Caponigro
Scarfo was justified in his hits by mafia standards. Hi bloodthirstiness is overrated in my opinion.DPG wrote: ↑Thu Aug 30, 2018 12:00 am I got to thinking about Philly today realized Scarf had to be one paranoid fuck. I mean can you blame him for all the killing. They went thru 2 boss in a year not to mention other top members in on the murder plots. Im sure he felt like he didn't have much of a choice but to kill any possible threat.
Testa and Stanfa were just as trigger-happy.
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