Old interview with Nick Caramandi

[PHL_Mob]

Great find though thanks for sharing!

[dack2001]

Never should have been made? That's Leonetti revisionist bs because Crow ratted before he did. Crow did more work than 75% of the guys in an era where there was plenty of opportunity to do hits. Think Crow hangs with guys like Micky Diamond, Tony Bananas, Nicky Scarfo and others and never gets down? He was around guys his whole life and not a peep said about him until he flips? Give me a break.

And don't start with pulling the trigger nonsense. This isn't the back of some baseball card. If Crow didn't flip he would be regarded as "capable". Without a fucking doubt.

[PHL_Mob]

Tommy Del shouldn’t have been made either. Should have just been a bookmaker and left it at that

[PHL_Mob]

Stayed a bookmaker*

[B.]

Think Crow hangs with guys like Micky Diamond, Tony Bananas, Nicky Scarfo and others and never gets down?

He said at his induction Scarfo mentioned to everyone that Caramandi should have been made ten years earlier. I've always considered Caramandi one of the most honest and straightforward witnesses, not someone who makes himself out to be more or less than he was. His honesty about life after cooperation also gives him credibility.

I wonder about his heritage, too... if you look at his history, he came up around the Calabrian faction and bounced around key figures with that group when he was coming up. Didn't he talk about getting to know Joe Rugnetta through DeVito, too?

[B.]

If I could ask Caramandi any question, aside from wanting to know how aware he was of the Calabrian faction he hung around, I would ask him for his take on whether Pat Spirito was an informant.

A former LE officer claimed a Philadelphia member was cooperating in the early 1980s but was murdered. I can't remember which agency the officer was with, but I believe when it was discussed on here we figured the most likely candidate was Spirito. He had already been convicted in the RICO case and Caramandi talks about how Spirito was repeatedly avoiding murder contracts, drinking, and openly trashing the family leadership. Even though Spirito had participated in the Calabrese murder earlier, Caramandi was baffled by the way Spirito was deliberately sabotaging murder contracts during the Riccobene war. This would make sense if he had begun cooperating.

What's interesting, too, is Caramandi says he was told by Chucky Merlino that Harry Riccobene was an FBI informant. He says in his book this was a bullshit excuse to kill Riccobene, but we know it was actually the truth, at least while Riccobene was in prison in the 1960s. Not sure if Riccobene kept informing into the 1970s like Rocco Scafidi did, but Riccobene was willing to break "omerta" in his later interviews with Celeste Morello and TV producers so who knows. Did Scarfo and Merlino make up a lie about Riccobene that was "accidentally" true, or did they somehow find out that Riccobene had cooperated?

[Pogo The Clown]

He said at his induction Scarfo mentioned to everyone that Caramandi should have been made ten years earlier. I've always considered Caramandi one of the most honest and straightforward witnesses, not someone who makes himself out to be more or less than he was. His honesty about life after cooperation also gives him credibility.

I don't doubt that Scarfo said that but it is strange that he waited until 1984 to make Caramandi if he really felt that way. Scarfo had already made almost 20 guys over 3 years before he got around to making him.


Pogo

[B.]

He said at his induction Scarfo mentioned to everyone that Caramandi should have been made ten years earlier. I've always considered Caramandi one of the most honest and straightforward witnesses, not someone who makes himself out to be more or less than he was. His honesty about life after cooperation also gives him credibility.

I don't doubt that Scarfo said that but it is strange that he waited until 1984 to make Caramandi if he really felt that way. Scarfo had already made almost 20 guys over 3 years before he got around to making him.


Pogo

He didn't make anybody when he was in prison between 1982 and 1984 and it seems he wanted most of the Philly-based members to commit murders, so maybe that factored in since Caramandi hadn't done a hit until after Scarfo went away. Maybe it depended too on who was sponsoring the inductees... Caramandi was with DeVito, who was on the outs before he was killed in 1982, then Caramandi was assigned to Spirito who was a new member. Scarfo went away that summer.

It doesn't seem like all of the North Jersey guys had to commit murders to be made, but I wonder about some of the older guys he made in 1981/1982. Hard to day given how far they go back. I wonder if Sparacio was ever part of a hit for example.

[PHL_Mob]

I remember someone saying Anthony Blond babe Pungitore Sr supplied a gun for one of the murders during Testa's reign so he could get made. Otherwise he wasn't considered a killer, but had to do something to be involved with a murder in order to get down.

[NothingNew44]

Heard the Crow is living these days in a Trailer Park in the Southern Poor Shithole Florida Panhandle broke as a joke wishing he never went bad.

Pensacola?

[Antiliar]

Caramandi interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQPwOBBprWo

Harry Riccobene, Nick Caramandi and others: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJnyAoGdoyE

[TallGuy19]

There's another interview he did years ago where he took questions in writing. Wish I could recall where it was. It might not be available anymore online. Was around 2000/2002, in that ball park.

Is this the interview?

https://content.time.com/time/subscribe ... 68,00.html

[Antiliar]

There's another interview he did years ago where he took questions in writing. Wish I could recall where it was. It might not be available anymore online. Was around 2000/2002, in that ball park.

Is this the interview?

https://content.time.com/time/subscribe ... 68,00.html

I don't think so. That one has questions from a journalist. This had questions from the public. I was able to ask him a question.

[NothingNew44]

Dude was as real as it gets. Most guys always hold back once they cooperate but he seemed like an open book. He might not fit what some people deem as membership material, but if Scarfo made him I think that says a lot. While I’m not implying Scarfo had a top eye for talent, especially considering how many guys rolled. I think it’s fair to say if he inducted a guy it was with the expectation they were capable of serious violence, especially based off Scarfo’s own propensity for it. It was a no exceptions requirement.

[Makelaiusiwk]

Interesting