General Mob Questions

[gohnjotti]

gohnjotti - out of interest, what do you mean about the columbos, how do they not have crews in all 5 boroughs. not enough members?

They seem to only have a power base in Brooklyn and Long Island. They are the only NY family to the best of my knowledge without a dedicated New Jersey crew as well. It essentially comes down to the fact that the Colombo’s really tore themselves apart in the 1990s with a civil war killing 12 guys including a couple innocents and causing numerous members to be arrested or flip. On top of that, the Colombo’s weren’t able to officially induct new members from 1991-2000 (due to the war), which means smaller crews in Queens or whatever might have died off even quicker, on top of the fact that they we’re getting whacked all over the place.

[slimshady_007]

gohnjotti - out of interest, what do you mean about the columbos, how do they not have crews in all 5 boroughs. not enough members?

They seem to only have a power base in Brooklyn and Long Island. They are the only NY family to the best of my knowledge without a dedicated New Jersey crew as well. It essentially comes down to the fact that the Colombo’s really tore themselves apart in the 1990s with a civil war killing 12 guys including a couple innocents and causing numerous members to be arrested or flip. On top of that, the Colombo’s weren’t able to officially induct new members from 1991-2000 (due to the war), which means smaller crews in Queens or whatever might have died off even quicker, on top of the fact that they we’re getting whacked all over the place.

U dont think thier rebuilding? Haven’t heard of the colombos in a while makes me think they may be silently makin a comeback.

[gohnjotti]

gohnjotti - out of interest, what do you mean about the columbos, how do they not have crews in all 5 boroughs. not enough members?

They seem to only have a power base in Brooklyn and Long Island. They are the only NY family to the best of my knowledge without a dedicated New Jersey crew as well. It essentially comes down to the fact that the Colombo’s really tore themselves apart in the 1990s with a civil war killing 12 guys including a couple innocents and causing numerous members to be arrested or flip. On top of that, the Colombo’s weren’t able to officially induct new members from 1991-2000 (due to the war), which means smaller crews in Queens or whatever might have died off even quicker, on top of the fact that they we’re getting whacked all over the place.

U dont think thier rebuilding? Haven’t heard of the colombos in a while makes me think they may be silently makin a comeback.

That's one possibility. If you haven't "heard of" a family in awhile though, it is usually more down to the FBI than it is the family themselves. I think it was 2013 that the FBI Mob Squads were downsized. Formerly there was a squad for each of the five families - now there are only two squads in New York. One squad is focused on the Bonanno, Colombo, and Genovese families, and the other focuses on the Gambino and Lucchese families. It seems that the first squad has largely ignored the Colombos. There has been only one bust for the Colombo family since the squad was founded - the 2015 bust of Luca DiMatteo, which was pretty much down to a disgruntled business owner going to the feds when DiMatteo shook him down.

But, that doesn't mean the BCG squad is inept. Rather, it's had its hands very full with the Bonannos and the Genoveses. According to Pogo's Five Family Indictment List, the Genovese family has had a total of 12 different busts since the squad's creation. They put informers like Rubeo and Fyfe to good use. The Bonannos, which are comparable in size to the Colombos, have had a total of nine FBI busts, as well as a state-level bust. So naturally, the preferences seem to have shifted.

Why have the preferences shifted? It's probably because the 2011 bust really, really, really weakened the Colombo family. There was pretty much nobody left on the street to run things. All three administration members on the street were taken down. A top capo tape-recorded dozens of "captain's meetings" in which the admin discussed everything from the Sopranos to medical bills. Four capos were indicted. And if you need proof that the family wasn't in very good shape, you can look at the fact that there was no sort of power vaccuum or competition for all three vacant admin positions. None of the remaining capos or soldiers in New York wanted to stand up. So, from his Brooklyn prison cell, Andy Russo called in the long-retired Donnie Montemarano, and wealthy Florida capo Tom Farese, to run the family in the interim.

Soon after the busts, the NY Post speculated that there may have been as little as 50 active guys on the street, which is probably an exaggeration but still not too far from the truth.

[slimshady_007]

gohnjotti - out of interest, what do you mean about the columbos, how do they not have crews in all 5 boroughs. not enough members?

They seem to only have a power base in Brooklyn and Long Island. They are the only NY family to the best of my knowledge without a dedicated New Jersey crew as well. It essentially comes down to the fact that the Colombo’s really tore themselves apart in the 1990s with a civil war killing 12 guys including a couple innocents and causing numerous members to be arrested or flip. On top of that, the Colombo’s weren’t able to officially induct new members from 1991-2000 (due to the war), which means smaller crews in Queens or whatever might have died off even quicker, on top of the fact that they we’re getting whacked all over the place.

U dont think thier rebuilding? Haven’t heard of the colombos in a while makes me think they may be silently makin a comeback.

That's one possibility. If you haven't "heard of" a family in awhile though, it is usually more down to the FBI than it is the family themselves. I think it was 2013 that the FBI Mob Squads were downsized. Formerly there was a squad for each of the five families - now there are only two squads in New York. One squad is focused on the Bonanno, Colombo, and Genovese families, and the other focuses on the Gambino and Lucchese families. It seems that the first squad has largely ignored the Colombos. There has been only one bust for the Colombo family since the squad was founded - the 2015 bust of Luca DiMatteo, which was pretty much down to a disgruntled business owner going to the feds when DiMatteo shook him down.

But, that doesn't mean the BCG squad is inept. Rather, it's had its hands very full with the Bonannos and the Genoveses. According to Pogo's Five Family Indictment List, the Genovese family has had a total of 12 different busts since the squad's creation. They put informers like Rubeo and Fyfe to good use. The Bonannos, which are comparable in size to the Colombos, have had a total of nine FBI busts, as well as a state-level bust. So naturally, the preferences seem to have shifted.

Why have the preferences shifted? It's probably because the 2011 bust really, really, really weakened the Colombo family. There was pretty much nobody left on the street to run things. All three administration members on the street were taken down. A top capo tape-recorded dozens of "captain's meetings" in which the admin discussed everything from the Sopranos to medical bills. Four capos were indicted. And if you need proof that the family wasn't in very good shape, you can look at the fact that there was no sort of power vaccuum or competition for all three vacant admin positions. None of the remaining capos or soldiers in New York wanted to stand up. So, from his Brooklyn prison cell, Andy Russo called in the long-retired Donnie Montemarano, and wealthy Florida capo Tom Farese, to run the family in the interim.

Soon after the busts, the NY Post speculated that there may have been as little as 50 active guys on the street, which is probably an exaggeration but still not too far from the truth.

What about rising stars like fat larry sessa and little Angelo spata? Last i heard they were supposed to b inducted but the ceremony got called off. Pretty sure thier out of prison by now, so maybe they got an administration role.

[Pogo The Clown]

I think it was 2013 that the FBI Mob Squads were downsized. Formerly there was a squad for each of the five families - now there are only two squads in New York. One squad is focused on the Bonanno, Colombo, and Genovese families, and the other focuses on the Gambino and Lucchese families.

I thought there were 3 squads (Bonanno/Colombo, Gambino/Lucchese/Albanians and Genovese)? Where they downsized again?

What about rising stars like fat larry sessa and little Angelo spata? Last i heard they were supposed to b inducted but the ceremony got called off. Pretty sure thier out of prison by now, so maybe they got an administration role.

Spata is a joke. Got busted some years back for shoplifting of all things. He was being bullied by some Bonannos (I believe) and the Colombos had to send word to stop picking on him because he was proposed for membership.


Pogo

[slimshady_007]

I think it was 2013 that the FBI Mob Squads were downsized. Formerly there was a squad for each of the five families - now there are only two squads in New York. One squad is focused on the Bonanno, Colombo, and Genovese families, and the other focuses on the Gambino and Lucchese families.

I thought there were 3 squads (Bonanno/Colombo, Gambino/Lucchese/Albanians and Genovese)? Where they downsized again?

What about rising stars like fat larry sessa and little Angelo spata? Last i heard they were supposed to b inducted but the ceremony got called off. Pretty sure thier out of prison by now, so maybe they got an administration role.

Spata is a joke. Got busted some years back for shoplifting of all things. He was being bullied by some Bonannos (I believe) and the Colombos had to send word to stop picking on him because he was proposed for membership.


Pogo

Oh didnt know that bout spata. But fat larry sessa aint no joke. Got pinched for stabbing some guy. He’s prob a capo atleast.

[SonnyBlackstein]

I thought there were 3 squads (Bonanno/Colombo, Gambino/Lucchese/Albanians and Genovese)? Where they downsized again?

"the office is reducing the number of agents assigned to traditional organized crime cases, bringing the total remaining to roughly three dozen, people with knowledge of the changes said. Those agents are responsible for investigating some 700 so-called made members and 7,000 associates. The number of squads focused exclusively on the city’s five crime families will be reduced to two from three. "

"With the cutbacks, one squad, known by the internal designation C5, which previously had handled the Genovese family, will also be responsible for the Bonannos and the Colombos. Another squad, C16, which had long investigated the Gambino family, is now also responsible for the Lucheses."

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/29/nyre ... ators.html

June 2013

[SonnyBlackstein]

But fat larry sessa aint no joke. Got pinched for stabbing some guy. He’s prob a capo atleast.

Start Listening, stop speaking.

[Pogo The Clown]

Thanks Sonny.


Pogo

[gohnjotti]

Thanks Sonny. I remember this downsizing being brought up in the Nicky Santora case.
Regarding Slim Shady:
There is nothing to indicate that Fat Larry Sessa has any sort of managerial capabilities or any sort of desire to be a boss, underboss, consigliere, or capo. Yes, he was slated to be inducted on December 7, 2010, but after the ceremony was called off and he was busted, he was apparently inducted by the three locked-up admin members in prison.
I don't know what makes someone a "rising star" in your book, Slim. Sessa, 51, has been an on-record associate since the third Colombo war, and it took him 20 years later to be made. Doesn't really qualify as a rising star, at least in my book. As well as this, Sessa is only a soldier, and a recently-inducted one at that. His talents don't seem to go beyond collecting loanshark debts and breaking people's legs. I don't know where, in all of that, you can see a potential for 'administration.'
Pogo summed up Spata pretty well. It was Gambinos as well that bullied the shit out of Spata for being such a wimp. Spata ran to acting capo Big Anthony Russo for help, and begged him to spread a rumor he was made. In an August 12, 2009 conversation, Russo was heard stating that "he don't listen to this fucking kid Angelo," and a month later, on September 21, Russo and McLaughlin were heard complaining that 'Little Angelo' is a nightmare and a 'jerkoff.' A year later, Russo said "he wants nothing to do with 'this kid Angelo.' A week later, Russo says he will 'kick Angelo in his balls and send him from here to Hong Kong.' On December 17, 2010, Russo says he hates Angelo and wants to kill him and calls Spata ugly names."
I think if Spata wasn't the son-in-law of Carmine Persico, he'd be laughed out of every social club in New York.

[eboli]

If Sessa and Spata are the future of the Colombos the family should just disband after Persico kicks the bucket. If I remember correctly Spata was described as 'a fragile little gentleman' in one of the letters of leniency his priest friends wrote to the judge around the time he stole a few light bulbs from Home Depot. As for Sessa - being made in the can says it all.

[bronx]

sausage guy..sliced onions and peppers his whole life..little angie.

[gohnjotti]

This is just my opinion, so don’t take too much stock into what I’m about to say: The thing with the Colombo family that sets them apart from the rest is the fact that Carmine Persico runs the show like its North Korea. Carmine wanted his son-in-law made, so his son-in-law was made, against the best wishes of a lot of his men. That sort of regime is great for the Persico family and anyone close to them, but not so great in terms of the meritocracy which the mob is supposed to be. Other families don’t have that same level of control. The Bonannos are always changing hands. The Gambinos only recently got out of the Gotti administration. Vic Amuso only debatedly has control over his family. We don’t know too much about the higher up levels of the Genoveses.

[SonnyBlackstein]

New Interview with Pistone. Same crew who interviewed M Franzese in Jan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v-X06Q04w4

I haven't watched the interview so cant comment on quality.

[JeremyTheJew]

THEORETICALLY .....
Gene gets out..
says he wants rank....
tells his brother whos still boss to step back....
.... does he listen???

no I'm joking...
but it'd interesting