Gangland news 4th may 2017

[Hailbritain]

By Jerry Capeci

Feds Act Quickly On New Mob Turncoat's Info

Gang Land Exclusive!Peter LovaglioFederal prosecutors in Manhattan are wasting no time using information from their latest controversial mob turncoat, Peter (Pug) Lovaglio. The hard-drinking Bonanno capo was immediately taken into federal custody after an angry state judge sentenced him in March to eight years for blinding a retired detective in a vicious, unprovoked, barroom assault in Staten Island.

Law enforcement sources say prosecutors have already subpoenaed two Lovaglio crew members who allegedly served as Pug's "backup" at the Takayama Sushi Lounge when he smashed the restaurant owner, a former NYPD detective, in the eye with a rocks glass in November of 2015.

But that's not all, sources say. To the consternation of their counterparts in Brooklyn, who usually get first dibs on mob doings in Staten Island, the feds in Manhattan are also investigating the unsolved murder there of a Bonanno soldier in 2009. They are also allegedly looking at a powerful Gambino capo whom Lovaglio has fingered as the crime family's "main man on the island."

Prosecutors in Brooklyn won't talk publicly about it, but privately they are fuming about this latest investigation by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office of crimes on their turf, the Eastern District of New York (EDNY.) Last year prosecutors in Manhattan, whose jurisdiction includes the Bronx, and the northern suburbs, the so-called Southern District of New York, (SDNY) arrested three suspects in the spectacular $5 million bank heists in Brooklyn and Queens. Those boroughs, like Staten Island are in the EDNY.

Anthony SeccaficoLike their counterparts in Brooklyn, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment about either case.

Lovaglio was behind bars serving 10 years for federal convictions in both Brooklyn and Manhattan when Anthony (Little Anthony) Seccafico was murdered in 2009. Seccafico, 46, was killed a few blocks from his Arden Heights home at about 4:15 AM near the stop of the express bus he took to his job at a Manhattan construction company.

But sources say Lovaglio, who attended several "captains meetings" and Christmas parties with Bonanno family Administration members after he completed his federal prison stints in 2011, has fingered members of a Bronx-based Bonanno family crew as participants in the July 2, 2009 rubout.

At the time, sources say Little Anthony had been a member of Local 79 of the International Laborers Union of North America for about 10 years and was working for the Bovis Construction Company.

Anthony FrasconeWhen he was killed, Seccafico was doing something that used to be unheard of in wiseguy circles but which sources say has become commonplace in recent years. He was a "made man" who was actually working at a real job while also serving as an active soldier in a crew headed by capo Anthony Frascone.

Seccafico and Frascone were among 20 Bonannos who were hit with state racketeering charges by the Manhattan District Attorney's in 2002. The roundup included Salvatore (Sal The Ironworker) Montagna, the Sicilian-born acting boss who was deported to Canada three months before Little Anthony was whacked.

The names of the suspects fingered by Lovaglio could not be learned. But as Gang Land reported right after Seccafico's murder, the mobster-laborer had rubbed several members of his Bronx-based crew the wrong way. Among them was then-capo, the late Patrick (Patty From The Bronx) DeFilippo, and soldier John (Johnny Joe) Spirito.

Several years later, when Johnny Joe was detained without bail, and Spirito's son, John Jr., complained that Seccafico wasn't forwarding his father's share of the spoils to his mom, sources said Little Anthony slapped John Jr. and told him: "I'm around now, not your father. If you have a problem, tell your father to come around and see me when he gets home."

John SpiritoSources said Seccafico was also suspected of shorting his mob superiors cash that he was supposed to be passing up to them.

Investigative sources say another target of Lovaglio's disaffection is reputed Gambino wiseguy Frank Camuso. The FBI has carried Camuso as a family capo who controls many businesses in the Tottenville section, running the crime family's Staten Island rackets for years.

Sources say Lovaglio, as a high ranking Bonanno mobster from Staten Island, had numerous dealings with Camuso over the years. The probe into the alleged Gambino wiseguy includes the NYPD and agents with Homeland Security, according to court records.

Camuso, 53, who has no criminal record, could not be reached for comment by Gang Land.

Lovaglio disclosed that he had been cooperating with NYPD Organized Crime Investigation Division Detective Josh Vanderpool at his sentencing by Staten Island Supreme Court Justice William Garnett.

Anthony PerrettiAccording to court records, the two subpoenaed Lovaglio crew members were present at the sushi restaurant along with a third underling, Angelo Perretti, 43, at about 2:40 am on November 1, 2015 when Lovaglio assaulted the retired detective, Fred Forte, who owned the restaurant.

Perretti, a drug dealer, was killed last year in an unrelated $50,000 dispute with a drug dealing Gambino associate named Richard Gambale, who was given a plea deal to weapons charges when his claim of self-defense was backed up by videotapes.

"Prior to this vicious attack," assistant district attorney Natalie Barros told judge Garnett, "you can see (Lovaglio) on the surveillance camera calling for back up on his cell phone; after he intentionally smashed that glass in Mr. Forte's eye, the defendant's friends are then seen rumbling with other bar employees."

Willliam GarnettVincent Martinelli, an attorney for one of the subpoenaed "friends" of Lovaglio who were not charged in the assault, blasted the mob turncoat and the feds for trying to make an "assault in aid of racketeering" case against his client out of what was a "vicious assault by Lovaglio" when he was working for the government.

"My client may have been there," said Martinelli, "but he had nothing to do with the assault, and had no idea that Lovaglio was going to crack the owner in the face with a glass until he did it. The government is complicit in the attack, not my client. They were housing him, feeding him, putting him out on the street, extolling him to commit crimes with people. They're so upset that he almost took the guy's eye out that they're looking to bring other people into this incident to sanitize him and their involvement."

Drug Dealer Who Gave Ronnie G's Gang Fits Not Around Anymore

Ronald GiallanzoBonanno wiseguy Ronald (Ronnie G) Giallanzo and his gang who couldn't shoot straight enough to nail a rival drug dealer back in 2006 are still cooling their heels behind bars following their arrests six weeks ago. But Ronnie G and his boys don't have to worry about their old gun-toting opponent pointing a finger at them from the witness stand if they go to trial.

Gang Land has learned that the gang's drug-dealing prime rival — who defied the mob as a 20 year old rebel a decade ago — was shot to death in the Howard Beach home of another alleged drug dealer late last year in what sources say was a dispute over drug money. The murderous quarrel occurred as federal prosecutors in Brooklyn were fine-tuning their 37-count racketeering conspiracy indictment against Giallanzo and nine others.

Shooting victim Chris Cognata hailed from Ronnie G's own Queens turf. Cognata, sources say, "ran solo," never hooking up with any of the neighborhood's many wiseguys. Instead he fashioned a reputation as bold, reckless and very violent. During a three-month long shooting war on the streets of Howard Beach from June 1 until September 18, 2006, he defied Mafia elders by robbing drug loads from them and fighting them to a draw.

Chris CognataSources say Cognata, who was identified only as John Doe #5 in the indictment and other court papers, was wounded in one of four shootings, but still refused to back down.

Court papers link Giallanzo and three indicted wiseguys to the murder plot, but only Ronnie G and soldier Michael Padavano are charged with murder conspiracy and the attempted killing of Cognata. The plot ended, according to court papers, when Cognata was jailed in late 2006 for a vicious assault in which he broke the jaw of a victim he punched, kicked and battered with a blackjack, for which he was sentenced to five years.

In addition to the murder plot, Giallanzo, 46, and Padavano, 48, are charged with loansharking, gambling and extortions. Ronnie G is also charged with arson; Padavano with a home-invasion robbery and obstruction of justice.

Michael PalmaccioCognata finally met his match on November 22 in the bedroom of the high-rise apartment of Joseph Amatuccio, 34, who is charged with using a .45 caliber handgun in the shooting. Police sources say the victim, then 30, was found shot in the chest and the neck. Sources say he met his death while trying to collect an overdue drug debt from his alleged killer, who was arrested an hour later.

Meanwhile, all the Bonanno family defendants are scheduled for a status conference today before Chief Judge Dora Irizarry.

Irizarry is also slated to conduct a bail hearing for soldier Michael Palmaccio, who has appealed his detention last month by Magistrate Judge Peggy Kuo. Palmaccio, 45, is charged with gambling, loansharking and numerous extortions, as well as a home invasion robbery.

Ask Andy: Bad Good Guys

Andy PetepieceSteve Caracappa, the rogue NYPD detective who pulled Gambino capo Eddie Lino over on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn and shot him to death in November 1990 was one of the worst, but there have been quite a few so-called "good guys" who sold their shields and their souls to the mob over the years.

Caracappa, whose exploits were detailed by Jimmy Breslin in The Good Rat, died in prison at the age of 75 last month. A similar fate is also expected for his NYPD partner-in-crime Lou Eppolito, who is serving a life sentence, and for John Connolly, a disgraced former FBI agent from Boston who is serving a 40-year sentence for murder in a Florida prison.

For many years, Connolly, 76, led the FBI's charge that decimated the New England Cosa Nostra family. Unfortunately, at the same time, Connolly was using and protecting Steve Flemmi and Whitey Bulger, leaders of the so-called Winter Hill Gang. A large number of Flemmi and Bulger rivals were allegedly killed after Connolly warned the duo that they were in danger.

In 2002, Connolly was convicted of racketeering and given a ten year federal sentence. (see Black Mass by Lehr and O'Neil, Deadly Alliance by Ralph Ranalli, The Brothers Bulger by Howie Carr). All the charges revolved around his relationship with his two star informants.

Steve CaracappaSix years later, Connolly went down in a Florida court on a second degree murder charge. Florida was able to prove that the crooked agent was involved in the 1982 murder of gambling executive John Callahan even though he wasn't even in the state. Last year Connolly lost his appeal.

Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has had its share of rogue agents as well. In the 1970s, Paul Sauve was third in command of the RCMP drug squad in Montreal. In late 1979, authorities began an investigation of Sauve that quickly hit pay dirt. He was tape-recorded making incriminating conversations with an informant and his Canada goose was cooked when he was arrested in an apartment full of cash and hashish.

About ten years later, a one-time Sauve colleague also got in trouble. Claude Savoie, also a senior RCMP drug officer, was alleged to have passed on information to major Montreal drug dealer Allan Ross. On December 21, 1992, Savoie committed suicide in his RCMP Ottawa office while investigators waited to question him. A subsequent inquiry showed that Savoie had taken $200,000 from Ross and had at least two secret meeting with him.

John ConnollyBack in the U.S., in Tucson, Arizona, in the late 1960s, FBI Agent David O. Hale allegedly attempted to stir up a conflict between two mob factions. According to court testimony, Hale had two minor hoodlums bomb the homes of retired Detroit mobster Peter Licavoli and Joe Bonanno in the summer of 1968. In all about 20 bombs went off in this renegade operation. No one was killed in any of the blasts, and somewhat surprisingly, the rival wiseguys didn't engage in a shooting war against each other.

A year later, Tucson cops arrested two mutts in the bombings and they rolled over on Hale. The FBI quietly suspended the agent and he resigned a week later when his name went public in a Tucson court hearing for the two bombers. Several lukewarm attempts were made to prosecute Hale but they all faltered for one reason or another. Needless to say, J. Edgar Hoover's honchos at FBI headquarters were anxious to sweep the whole mess under the carpet, and did so.

Throughout history there have always been good guys who either went "bad" for one reason or another while chasing bad guys, or like Caracappa, who had a criminal record before he was hired by the NYPD, were bad apples from start.

[Hailbritain]

Decent this week Jerry you cocksucker , not the usual bore fest

[SonnyBlackstein]

He was a "made man" who was actually working at a real job while also serving as an active soldier in a crew headed by capo Anthony Frascone.

.....But as Gang Land reported right after Seccafico's murder, the mobster-laborer had rubbed several members of his Bronx-based crew the wrong way.

Do we know who else is in this Bronx/Frascone crew? (I'd thought the B's were done in the Bronx).

Investigative sources say another target of Lovaglio's disaffection is reputed Gambino wiseguy Frank Camuso. The FBI has carried Camuso as a family capo who controls many businesses in the Tottenville section, running the crime family's Staten Island rackets for years.

HOOGE. An unlisted Capo. Not even on our lists as made!


Time to update your lists Pogo.

Was there a photo of Camuso in the GL article?

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the post HB

[TommyGambino]

I thought Sciandra was the top Gambino in Staten Island?

[willychichi]

He was a "made man" who was actually working at a real job while also serving as an active soldier in a crew headed by capo Anthony Frascone.

.....But as Gang Land reported right after Seccafico's murder, the mobster-laborer had rubbed several members of his Bronx-based crew the wrong way.

Do we know who else is in this Bronx/Frascone crew? (I'd thought the B's were done in the Bronx).

Investigative sources say another target of Lovaglio's disaffection is reputed Gambino wiseguy Frank Camuso. The FBI has carried Camuso as a family capo who controls many businesses in the Tottenville section, running the crime family's Staten Island rackets for years.

HOOGE. An unlisted Capo. Not even on our lists as made!


Time to update your lists Pogo.

Was there a photo of Camuso in the GL article?

This is HUGE, thanks HB and Sonny

[SonnyBlackstein]

I thought Sciandra was the top Gambino in Staten Island?

Looks like he aint the Top Tomato no more.

Ahem.


@ Willy

[TommyGambino]

I thought Sciandra was the top Gambino in Staten Island?

Looks like he aint the Top Tomato no more.

Ahem.


@ Willy

Fuck sake I should have known.

[DonnieB]

I thought Sciandra was the top Gambino in Staten Island?

Looks like he aint the Top Tomato no more.

Ahem.


@ Willy

Lol..fucking hysterical.

[bronx]

carmine is a legend in his own mind

[Pogo The Clown]

Do we know who else is in this Bronx/Frascone crew? (I'd thought the B's were done in the Bronx).

The Bonannos have at least 1 or 2 Crews in the Bronx. The old Basciano Crew (likely run by Joseph Sabella) and possibly the old DeFilippo Crew run by Frascano (if it is still around and if Frascone is still Capo).


Pogo

[SonnyBlackstein]

Do we know who else is in this Bronx/Frascone crew? (I'd thought the B's were done in the Bronx).

The Bonannos have at least 1 or 2 Crews in the Bronx. The old Basciano Crew (likely run by Joseph Sabella) and possibly the old DeFilippo Crew run by Frascano (if it is still around and if Frascone is still Capo).

Good stuff Pogo. You always come through.

Question: I thought the Basciano crew WAS the old Defilippo crew?

And how did you know Sabella was bronx based? I thought he was virtually an unknown.

[Pogo The Clown]

Question: I thought the Basciano crew WAS the old Defilippo crew?

And how did you know Sabella was bronx based? I thought he was virtually an unknown.

Bascaino started out in the DeFilippo Crew but was given a portion of that Crew when he was promoted to Capo in mid-2002.


Don't know if Sabella is specifically Bronx based. He was in the Cantarella Crew which was merged with the Coppa-Furino Crew in 2003 which was then merged with the Bascaino Crew in 2004 (thanks to JD for discovering this info). Assuming Sabella is still with this Crew (which is not always certain considering how a lot of these crews get disbanded, merged, guy's get spread around, etc) he would be the Capo of it or at least a portion of it.


Pogo

[SonnyBlackstein]

Question: I thought the Basciano crew WAS the old Defilippo crew?

And how did you know Sabella was bronx based? I thought he was virtually an unknown.

Bascaino started out in the DeFilippo Crew but was given a portion of that Crew when he was promoted to Capo in mid-2002.


Don't know if Sabella is specifically Bronx based. He was in the Cantarella Crew which was merged with the Coppa-Furino Crew in 2003 which was then merged with the Bascaino Crew in 2004 (thanks to JD for discovering this info). Assuming Sabella is still with this Crew (which is not always certain considering how a lot of these crews get disbanded, merged, guy's get spread around, etc) he would be the Capo of it or at least a portion of it.

Man crush you crazy clown.

Where was the Cantarella 'car-wash crew' ( ) based? Doubt they were bronx based?

Do we have an idea of who the remaining Bronx members are? The only info I know of are Ernest Aiello (Santora crew), Seccafico, Donato, Aiello etc.
Any others apart from Frascone? Any not in jail. IE who would be active and on the streets for Sabella?

[Pogo The Clown]

The Cantarella Crew was primarily Staten Island based but was also active in Brooklyn and maybe Manhatten.


Here is a good breakdown of the Basciano Crew in 2004 after it absorbed the Cantarella and the Coppa-Furino Crews. Thanks to JD for putting this together.


1. Vincent Basciano (45y)
Acting: Dominick Cicale (37y)

Soldiers
- Anthony 'Ace' Aiello (28y) (Inducted c. Fall 2003)
- Frank Coppa Jr.
- Perry Criscitelli (54y)
- Michael 'Mike Box' DeMaria
- Anthony 'Little Anthony' Donato (46y)
- Gino Galestro (36y)
- Ally Indelicato
- Anthony 'Bruno' Indelicato (48y)
- Joseph 'JB' Indelicato (74y) (Not specifically mentioned but probable)
- Joseph Lino (43y)
- Louis 'Louie Cigars' Mele (69y)
- Nicholas 'PJ' Pisciotti (35y)
- Joseph Sabella (39y)
- Joseph Torre (52y)

Proposed
-Vincent Basciano Jr.


The DeFillipo Crew at the time consisted of Patty DeFilippo (died in 2013), Mikey Mancuso, Sal Montagna, Anthony Frascone, Manny Guaragna (died in 2008), John Spirito Sr (still in prison) and possibly others. Others known members made since then was Seccafico and Joe Spirito Jr.


Pogo