The Cicale Files

[Wiseguy]

Finished reading this the other day. More like a big pamphlet than a book but it was a good read. Some of the more interesting things...


* Contrary to reports, including in The Sixth Family, Cicale says there was never any formal break between Rizzuto and the Bonanno family. Vito turned down Massino's offer to replace Sciascia as captain and didn't buy the story about Sciascia being killed in a robbery or drug deal. It got to the point where rumors started to get back to Massino about Rizzuto and "he did not like what he was hearing so he immediately sent for Vito to get his ass down to Maspeth, Queens, in New York where Joe informed Vito who the boss was and that Canada was still under the control of the Bonanno family. Vito may not have agreed with what Massino said but he listened. The monies were still coming in from all the illegal activities in Canada, even after the murder of George Sciascia" (which is where many have speculated the break happened). "Vito had no choice. If he did not show, he could have easily gotten killed - even by someone close to him in Canada. Keep in mind that everyone is always looking to move up in the ranks. Rizzuto carried out other orders issued from New York. Massino sent word to Vito to open a strip club in Canada and Massino and Vito would be 50-50 partners. Vito did as he was told." Cicale believed the strip club was a test to see how Rizzuto responded. The Christmas during which Anthony Urso was acting boss Rizzuto sent $25,000. Later, when Basciano was acting boss on the street, he told Rizzuto he would have to "step it up" and send $100,000. So Vito sent the money."

* Cicale and Basciano made a pact to kill Massino if he ever tried to kill either one of them.

* The plot against Galante briefly brought the Rastelli/Massino and Sonny Red factions together. Rastelli and Massino were the ones who got Commission approval but it was Sonny Red who put the hit together with his son leading the hit team. Cicale felt Sonny Red had a good argument because Rastelli wasn't providing strong leadership from behind bars.

* Basciano made several trips to Canada to meet with Rizzuto in order to reopen the drug pipeline, which would bring in huge quantities of high-grade marijuana and ecstasy. It stopped later on when the drug couriers were busted.

* "George from Canada" wasn't from Canada at all. He was an Italian citizen, permanent resident of the U.S. and his crew was based in the Bronx. Basciano borrowed $265,000 from Sciascia shortly before his murder, knowing his days were numbered. Nobody replaced Sciascia as captain after his murder and his crew members were spread around to various captains.

* Cicale had no love lost for Michael Mancuso who he accused of always making himself scarce whenever there was "heavy work" to be done.

* Confirmed that cunnilingus is taboo (considered "sucking dick by proxy").

[Wiseguy]

A funny anecdote about a meeting with Urso:

Anthony "Tony Green" Urso was also interested in attractive young ladies - to a fault. On street corner meetings, he was known to suddenly lose interest in the topic of discussion whenever a fetching young woman happened into his field of vision. "Tony thought he was God's gift to every woman who passed by," Cicale said. "He'd make it so obvious too, looking a woman up and down."

"Urso was single and in his late 60s-early 70s. He looked good for his age," Cicale said. "Tony Green stood about 5-foot-8 and weighed around 170 pounds and was always hanging out at the gym, the tanning bed, and nightclubs." Cicale recalled a time when he and Basciano were waiting for Urso to meet them. "Urso steps out of his tricked-out, pimped-out black Hummer H2 wearing bright, shiny, royal-blue skintight spandex. Urso actually looked as if he was about to get on stage at a male strip club."

"Vinny and I were standing in the supermarket parking lot waiting for Urso. We watched him park his car farther down the lot from us. When Urso got out of the Hummer in that outfit, Vinny starts whispering shit to me without moving his lips so Urso doesn't notice. 'Oh my fucking God,' Basciano told me. "Is this man crazy or what? Dom, look at his sagging balls. They're huge. This guy is fucking kidding, right?'"

Smiling at the recollection, Cicale said, "Tony was only several feet away and I'm trying to hold in a major bursts of laughter. I'm trying to keep my lips together and stop myself from losing it. Then whispered again, like a ventriloquist: 'Bo, shut the fuck up. You're gonna make me bust out laughing right in this guy's face. You're gonna get us killed.' I'm busting a gut inside, thinking if any of the other families see this guy, then we're all gonna get killed, the whole fucking crime family."

Urso walked towards them, arms outspread to give both Vinny and Dominick the standard wiseguy greeting with a kiss on each cheek. Basciano's whispered commentary still rang loudly in Dominick's head and Dominick was having great difficulty maintaining his composure. As Vinny and Urso hugged, Dominick suddenly leaned over.

"A loud sound had come out of my mouth, " Dominick said. "I acted like I was gagging to cover up my laughter. I knew at this moment that Vinny wanted to kill me. Finally, after what seemed like forever, I straightened back up with tears rolling down my cheeks. I kept acting like I was choking."

Dominick, pretending that he had something stuck in his throat, walked back to his car to get a drink as Vinny had thoughtfully suggested. As he was halfway to the car, Tony started calling out to Dom, with true concern in his voice: "Dom! You sure you're okay! You need help?" Dominick raised his hand, indicating that he was okay and didn't require the Heimlich maneuver, which Urso appeared ready to apply.

"Once in the car I turned on the engine, placing my head against the steering wheel. I started laughing so hard that I almost pissed myself. It took me at least five minutes to compose myself."

In addition to the skintight spandex, Urso wore a toupee - which was crooked. "It was half-on and half-off his head," Cicale said. "Not to mention, Tony was so overly tanned from hours on tanning beds that his scalp, which was normally covered by the hairpiece, was exposed and was a totally different color than the rest of him."

Domonick had finally composed himself enough to return to Urso, the acting boss of the Bonanno family, and Vinny.

I knew Vinny's every moe and if I hadn't caused such a scene, Vinny would have told Tony to fix his toupee. But Vinny knew if he did that now or anytime during the conversation, Tony would realize that my coughing fit was not a coughing fit at all. So Vinny was now forced to keep his mouth shut, and we were both forced to continue to look at this spectacle."

Once the discussion had ended, Vinny and Dominick were back inside their car watching Anthony "Tony Green" Urso drive away in his humongous vehicle. They could finally break into uproarious laughter getting it all out of their system.

"Five minutes later, we were finally pulling out of the supermarket parking lot heading back into the Bronx. Vinny told me that I could never do that again and that I had to control myself. As Vinny said that, I quickly turned my attention from the road to him. Just by my look, he new that I was thinking: 'Okay, BO, but this was no doubt a huge exception..."

And they both burst into another round of laughter.

[Pogo The Clown]

'Oh my fucking God,' Basciano told me. "Is this man crazy or what? Dom, look at his sagging balls. They're huge. This guy is fucking kidding, right?'"

OK I almost busted a lung reading this.


Great find. Thanks for posting.


Pogo

[East Bronx]

I hope Cicale and Ed Leiber get hit on the same day. Hopefully in bed with each other in the Super 8 Motel by the Pelham Bay Diner. That'd be a nice irony.

I've been posting for YEARS about the character of both Sciascia and Mancuso. But seriously, where the fuck does Cicale come off trying to tell people what happened in Canada before he was even made himself?

And Cicale has an opinion on the murder of the three captains, huh? He was twelve fucking years old when that shit happened. And ten when they ripped off Lufthansa. But the Feds used him, so it must all be true.

[Sol]

I hope Cicale and Ed Leiber get hit on the same day. Hopefully in bed with each other in the Super 8 Motel by the Pelham Bay Diner. That'd be a nice irony.

I've been posting for YEARS about the character of both Sciascia and Mancuso. But seriously, where the fuck does Cicale come off trying to tell people what happened in Canada before he was even made himself?

And Cicale has an opinion on the murder of the three captains, huh? He was twelve fucking years old when that shit happened. And ten when they ripped off Lufthansa. But the Feds used him, so it must all be true.

EB, ED is a member here, take it to the Graveyard.......Soliai

[Wiseguy]

I hope Cicale and Ed Leiber get hit on the same day. Hopefully in bed with each other in the Super 8 Motel by the Pelham Bay Diner. That'd be a nice irony.

I've been posting for YEARS about the character of both Sciascia and Mancuso. But seriously, where the fuck does Cicale come off trying to tell people what happened in Canada before he was even made himself?

And Cicale has an opinion on the murder of the three captains, huh? He was twelve fucking years old when that shit happened. And ten when they ripped off Lufthansa. But the Feds used him, so it must all be true.

I see your point about the 3 captains but, considering his close relationship with Basciano, he was eventually in a position to know about the situation with Rizzuto post-Sciascia.

[Rocco]

I hope Cicale and Ed Leiber get hit on the same day. Hopefully in bed with each other in the Super 8 Motel by the Pelham Bay Diner. That'd be a nice irony.

I've been posting for YEARS about the character of both Sciascia and Mancuso. But seriously, where the fuck does Cicale come off trying to tell people what happened in Canada before he was even made himself?

And Cicale has an opinion on the murder of the three captains, huh? He was twelve fucking years old when that shit happened. And ten when they ripped off Lufthansa. But the Feds used him, so it must all be true.

Exactly what I was thinking when I read his comments on this old shit. He could not privy to any off these subjects personally. Mancuso never stepped up yet he is Official Boss..? Sounds more personal opinion then fact. And a tad bitter as well.
Thanks for posting Wiseguy.

[East Bronx]

EB, ED is a member here, take it to the Graveyard.......Soliai

Sorry, Soliai. I had no idea. You know I don't do the graveyard, and I have no desire to discuss it any further anyway. Except to say that you know that Vinny was a friend and neighbor of mine, and I admit that I'm a little sensitive about the subject. But it won't happen again.

Ia manuia le Tausaga Fou .

[East Bronx]

Exactly what I was thinking when I read his comments on this old shit. He could not privy to any off these subjects personally. Mancuso never stepped up yet he is Official Boss..? Sounds more personal opinion then fact. And a tad bitter as well.
Thanks for posting Wiseguy.

And I echo Rocco's thanks to Wiseguy for posting. It has nothing to do with him. Wiseguy knows he's aces with me .

[Sol]

EB, ED is a member here, take it to the Graveyard.......Soliai

Sorry, Soliai. I had no idea. You know I don't do the graveyard, and I have no desire to discuss it any further anyway. Except to say that you know that Vinny was a friend and neighbor of mine, and I admit that I'm a little sensitive about the subject. But it won't happen again.

Ia manuia le Tausaga Fou .

Same to you buddy.......Soliai

[Angelo Santino]

If I was Ed Lieber and I came across Cicale I'd probably be doing the same thing he's doing now... Cicale, for whatever worthless junkie he allegedly was, was made and later on an acting capo. Between that and having Basciano as a mentor, I'm sure he was told alot of things. The world though flows on disinformation, rumors and heresay, lots of times two guys can witness one event and take two different things from it. Later on when one becomes an informant and shares, his side is what gets grounded as truth unfortunately... As long as Ed Lieber verifies Cicale's statements and doesn't let him run wild with unsubstantiated claims it could be a decent project.

I for one, see some credence in the Canadian except that WG posted.. That really shoots Lee Lamothe's "Fall of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto" narrative in the ass despite being a well written book.

[Angelo Santino]

I hope Cicale and Ed Leiber get hit on the same day. Hopefully in bed with each other in the Super 8 Motel by the Pelham Bay Diner. That'd be a nice irony.

I've been posting for YEARS about the character of both Sciascia and Mancuso. But seriously, where the fuck does Cicale come off trying to tell people what happened in Canada before he was even made himself?

And Cicale has an opinion on the murder of the three captains, huh? He was twelve fucking years old when that shit happened. And ten when they ripped off Lufthansa. But the Feds used him, so it must all be true.

I want someone to hit Gaetano LoGiudice.. Guy's an extra in every fucking mob movie ever made after 1990, dressed in either a jogging suit, Havana shirt or black leather blazer who just stands in the background with a constipated look on his face while waiting for one of the leads to say their lines so he can nod his fat fucking head. 24 years in and not one line of dialogue. Some life he has.

[East Bronx]

That really shoots Lee Lamothe's "Fall of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto" narrative in the ass despite being a well written book.

Well, therein lies the problem. Every book ever written about the American Mafia was based off the testimony and/or interviews of a former insider. So it's a matter of which rat do you believe?

I'm going to be careful here not to make this about the author of the Cicale tome (as I promised Soliai). But in Cicale, we're talking about a guy who is only 47 years old, yet seems to be claiming to know "absolute facts" about Lufthansa (which occurred when he was 10) and the murder of the three captains (which happened when he was 13). Now it's true that being privy to Vinny would give Cicale some insight about certain things. But that's called hearsay, and defense lawyers love that word. But you know what else? Vinny himself was still basically a kid back then, too .

Now it's an unfortunate fact that Vinny was in the habit of adopting strays. And I've posted many, many times before about the character of both Sciascia and Mancuso, and their lack of popularity in the Bronx (especially by the Westside guys, save for Prisco who was buddies with Mancuso). So where is any of this news? (and again, this isn't on the author, it's on the scumbag who the book is based on)

[Angelo Santino]

That's just it though. Lee Lamothe and Adrian Humphreys had no informants. Their book was based purely, entirely on forensically putting together all the documents and personal research they could muster. It was, is, and always will be a great book. Even if the main selling point "the 6th Family" is overblown, they did a terrific job. But for someone like myself, who does the same thing these guys did, only with an earlier era, it reminds me that the official documents don't reveal the whole story and could be wrong. As a researcher with integrity, you take pride in not passing off guesswork as fact but relying on "sources," it's an obsession almost. This serves as an example that nothing will ever be 100% correct or complete.

As for Cicale and your thoughts, I see your side of it. But I also see Ed's side, the guy wants to professionally write about this stuff, and getting Cicale to talk with him is something I wouldn't sneeze at. I wouldn't let Cicale run amonk telling his story like Joe Bonanno, but for oc outsiders like ourselves, he can provide another window. But I see you're side: he was a junkie and now he's putting out something with himself in a suit on the cover next to photos of Gigante, Gotti and Capone. It's ludicrous but that's the marketing world, put up photos of Basicano, Mancuso, Massino, DiFiore etc and no one would know who they are and their interest wouldn't be caught.

[SonnyBlackstein]

That's just it though. Lee Lamothe and Adrian Humphreys had no informants. Their book was based purely, entirely on forensically putting together all the documents and personal research they could muster.

...he was a junkie and now he's putting out something with himself in a suit on the cover next to photos of Gigante, Gotti and Capone.

I think this is the crux of the difference in comparison.

Its the same as on the stand, these guys HAVE to sell it, to literally, sell it. So why not throw in a rumour you once heard or hell, even make one up? It'll only sell more books.

And there's no thing as perjury at Amazon, just a sequel.