Philly 1982 Photo Help

[Angelo Santino]

Just for the hell of it, here is what the PCC had for soldiers on the street in 1989.

Never seen before. Thanks.. Active or alive? What the hell was Anthony Pollina doing at age 96? Collections?

[Angelo Santino]

1990_Report_Family_Chart.jpg

From 1990.

[B.]

It definitely just means alive and not "active" in the way we use it. I'd say barely half of those guys, if that, were truly active in family affairs and rackets by then and an even smaller number of those guys were in South Philly. It's incredible they were able to recover at all.

[Pogo The Clown]

Yeah Philly has shown a remarkable ability to regenerate itself. Looking at their state in 1989 who would have thought they would still be viable family 26 years later? Especially how soon after this they suffered a war and the big Stanfa indictment.


Pogo

[Ivan]

Yeah Philly has shown a remarkable ability to regenerate itself. Looking at their state in 1989 who would have thought they would still be viable family 26 years later?

I'm willling to bet they will be the last family outside New York to die out. Their territory seems to have a virtually unlimited supply of young guys who want to get involved, but not only that, a lot of the younger guys who have come up seem to be pretty competent as far as I can tell (people like say John Ciancaglini and Steve Mazzone, for example, seem like they know what they are doing, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).

[Pogo The Clown]

I agree. A report from 2004 said a similiar thing. How the family has no trouble attracting new blood and how there is no shortage of young wannabes constantly around the fringes of the family. As we have seen over the last several years there is still a lot of LCN activity in the Philly-South Jersey area. Not only that they have also been extremely lucky over the last 15 years in having their top guy's beating almost all the major charges leveled against them.


Pogo

[Ivan]

I agree. A report from 2004 said a similiar thing. How the family has no trouble attracting new blood and how there is no shortage of young wannabes constantly around the fringes of the family. As we have seen over the last several years there is still a lot of LCN activity in the Philly-South Jersey area. Not only that they have also been extremely lucky over the last 15 years in having their top guy's beating almost all the major charges leveled against them.

Pogo do you have that report handy?

I could be wrong, but they seem to be 10-20 years younger in their membership than the families in other cities (just the impression I get from member/associate lists with ages included; I didn't actually go through and do some kind of analysis ). They're going to be around for a while.

I'm also starting to think that "the old generation of mobsters are competent and the younger generation is a bunch of idiots" thing might be a myth, or at least overstated.

[B.]

It helps that even the legitimate residents in South Philly have the same mindset they've had for decades. It's not what it once was, but it's still a much different culture than the cities where the mob has died or is dying.

[Angelo Santino]

South Philly has alot of Koreans now.

[Pogo The Clown]

Pogo do you have that report handy?

Enjoy.

http://www.state.nj.us/sci/pdf/ocreport.pdf


Pogo

[Pogo The Clown]

South Philly has alot of Koreans now.

Remember Pearl Harbor.


Pogo

[Angelo Santino]

Checked out the Leonetti book last night, about halfway through. Scott's writing style has much improved.

All these guys were raging alcoholics. In one year the Merlinos, Virgillio and Nicky Jr were all arrested for drunk driving/fighting offenses. Merlino tries to give the arresting officer his watch to let him slide and the brother Lawrence makes a terrorist threat.

Philadelphia is America's most interesting crime family.

[Ivan]

Philadelphia is America's most interesting crime family.

Indeed. Let me put it this way: if you had to write a novel about mobsters, would your imagination be able to come up with a character as interesting as Nicky Scarfo?

[Angelo Santino]

Philadelphia is America's most interesting crime family.

Indeed. Let me put it this way: if you had to write a novel about mobsters, would your imagination be able to come up with a character as interesting as Nicky Scarfo?

"I can't depend on anybody in this borgata. Everybody's drunk, stupid or incompetent. I should go get six black guys from North Philly and start a new gang. They'd be better than what I got right now." - Scarfo.

[Ivan]

Thanks Pogo! Here's the relevant part. The last paragraph is the part that talks about what we were talking about.

BRUNO
Like other elements of traditional organized crime, the Bruno LCN group, based
primarily in Philadelphia and South Jersey, has been decimated by factional violence,
internal treachery and a succession of wide-ranging state and federal prosecutions.
Despite evidence of ongoing involvement in multiple criminal activities and clear signs
of current efforts to rebuild for the future, law enforcement experts seriously question
whether this group will ever again rise to become much more than a shadow of its former
self.
The downward spiral began on March 21, 1980, when Angelo Bruno, the socalled
“Docile Don” who built the group into a successful enterprise in the 1960s and
1970s and who served as a member of the now-defunct ruling “commission” of LCN
families, was gunned down in Philadelphia. A year later, a bomb blast killed Bruno’s
successor, Philip “Chicken Man” Testa. The subsequent reign of Atlantic City-based
Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, which was marked by erratic violence, ended in 1988
with his conviction on federal racketeering charges for which he was sentenced to 55
years in prison. Upon conviction, Scarfo tapped his uncle, Anthony “Tony Buck”
Piccolo, to lead the organization, which he did until early 1991. Piccolo passed the reins
of leadership to John Stanfa of Medford, N.J., who served as boss until early 1994, when
he, Piccolo and numerous subordinates were arrested and jailed on yet another large-scale
federal RICO case. In November 1995, Stanfa and Piccolo were both convicted, with
Stanfa receiving a life sentence. Ralph Natale, who was released from a 15-year stint in
federal prison just six months prior to Stanfa’s RICO arrest, was next to seize control of
the organization’s top leadership position. Natale selected Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino
to be his underboss. Merlino then went on to assume control of the family in June 1998
after Natale was incarcerated for violating his parole by associating with known
criminals.
In the summer of 1999, federal prosecutors obtained two separate drug conspiracy
indictments against Natale, Merlino and several of their criminal associates. Both were
based on information provided by Ronald Previte, a Bruno family caporegime, who had
cooperated secretly with the FBI for several years. To make matters worse for the
remnants of this group, Natale himself became a cooperating witness for the federal
government just after his drug trafficking indictment. As such, Natale became the first
LCN boss to “flip” in the history of organized crime in the United States.
Natale’s cooperation yielded an abundance of information for law enforcement
authorities and has led to several important prosecution efforts, including the drug
trafficking case in which he was originally named as a defendant just prior to becoming a
government witness. In that matter, with the threat of Natale’s testimony looming, his
five former co-defendants, Anthony Viesti, Raymond Rubeo, John Santilli, Thomas
Constantine and Robert Constantine, negotiated plea agreements prior to trial.
Based on information Natale and Previte were able to provide, the original drug
trafficking charges against Merlino were expanded to a federal indictment aimed at the
upper echelon of the Bruno organization. Superseded on three occasions, the indictment
in its final form was a broad, 36-count RICO indictment charging nine defendants with,
among other things, murder, attempted murder, extortion, loan-sharking, illegal
gambling, theft and drug trafficking. Several former members and associates of the
Bruno group testified as government witnesses at the trial. Although none of the
defendants was found guilty of the murder charges when the verdicts were announced on
July 20, 2001, all were convicted of lesser crimes. Substantial terms of incarceration
were handed out at the time of sentencing, with Merlino and George Borgesi each
receiving 14 years.
On March 10, 2000, Bruno member Peter “Pete the Crumb” Caprio was arrested
by the FBI subsequent to his indictment for two murders. Caprio, who at the time of his
arrest was the caporegime of the Bruno group’s northern New Jersey crew, was charged
with the December 7, 1996 murder of Bruno family member Joseph Sodano and the July
16, 1994 murder of Bruno family associate William “Crazy Willie” Gantz, Sodano’s
“right-hand man.” According to the charges, Caprio conspired with longtime criminal
partner Philip “Philly Faye” Casale to murder both Sodano and Gantz. Caprio started to
cooperate with the FBI shortly after his arrest. He did so after learning that Casale had
been cooperating with the FBI and tape recording conversations in which Caprio
implicated himself in numerous criminal activities. On July 10, 2000, Caprio pleaded
guilty in federal court to murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, loan-sharking,
gambling and other racketeering activities. As part of the guilty plea, Caprio agreed to
cooperate with the federal government in return for dismissal of the March 2000
indictment against him.
On March 30, 2000 Camden Mayor Milton Milan was charged with numerous
criminal acts in a 19-count federal indictment. The indictment was made public one day
prior to Joseph Merlino and several co-defendants being charged in the sweeping federal
RICO indictment. Among other things, Milan was accused of taking bribes from the
Bruno family, laundering the proceeds of drug deals and spending $7,500 in campaign
funds on a Puerto Rican vacation. In addition, he was accused of accepting cash, home
improvements and vacations from vendors who were awarded contracts or sought to
attain contracts with the City of Camden. On December 21, 2000, Milan was found
guilty on 14 counts of the 19-count indictment. While testifying at the Milan trial, Natale
indicated that he consciously and methodically sought to corrupt Milan in pursuit of city
contracts. Natale testified that he utilized long time friend and Bruno family associate
Daniel Daidone to effectuate his plan, which included passing bribes to Milan. During
Milan’s trial, Natale testified that he utilized Daidone as a conduit to send between
$30,000 and $50,000 in bribes to Milan from 1996 through 1998. On June 15, 2001,
Milan was sentenced to 87 months in prison and 3 years probation.
On April 10, 2001, a federal jury in Camden convicted former Hammonton police
detective James DeLaurentis of extorting money from a Hammonton bar owner, as well
as accepting a bribe from the owner. The case was based on information supplied by
Previte. DeLuarentis, who handled liquor license enforcement for Hammonton, used
Previte as an enforcer to intimidate and collect $14,000 from the bar owner. DeLaurentis
used Previte to carry out the plot because of Previte’s reputation as an organized crime
figure. DeLuarentis threatened to cite the bar for violations that might lead to the loss of
its liquor license if the extortion demands were not met.
On March 27, 2001, the FBI arrested two members and seven associates of La
Cosa Nostra groups, including the Bruno family, after a federal RICO indictment was
unsealed. That indictment charged Bruno family member Vincent “Beeps” Centorino
with murder for having conspired with others to murder Sodano. Natale, Merlino, Caprio
and Casale also took part in that murder. An August 20, 2001 superseding indictment
also charged Merlino with having played a role in the Sodano murder; however, a federal
jury acquitted him of both charges – conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering – on
March 8, 2004.
Aside from the relentless attack by law enforcement, the Bruno group’s
inclination toward violent self-destruction has contributed to its decline. In the two
decades since the namesake boss’ assassination, at least 30 members and associates have
been murdered. Scores of others have either joined their former leaders behind bars or
otherwise faded from the scene for various reasons. According to various lawenforcement
estimates, approximately half of the roughly 50 individuals who are still
carried on the books as “made” members of the group are now serving time in prison. Of
the 25 or so who are not incarcerated, 15 are considered inactive due to illness or
advanced age. There now are approximately 100 associates, whereas a decade ago there
were about 270.
Although the Bruno group has shrunk to the point where it has difficulty
mustering enough members to man more than a few street-level “crews” on a regular
basis, there apparently remains sufficient criminal activity – primarily illegal gambling,
extortion, loan-sharking and narcotics enterprises – to warrant a full-time leadership
regime. The current boss is Joseph Ligambi of Philadelphia, who assumed the top post in
July 1999 amid the renewed federal assault on the group’s leadership ranks. A member
of the Bruno group since his induction by former boss Scarfo in 1986, Ligambi made his
“bones,” according to law enforcement authorities, by acting as a triggerman in the 1985
murder of associate Frank “Frankie Flowers” D’Alfonso. Although Ligambi and eight
other Bruno family members were initially found guilty of D’Alfonso’s murder and
sentenced to life in prison, the convictions were overturned on appeal, and they
subsequently were acquitted in a second trial. In 1988, Ligambi was among a large
Bruno contingent, including Scarfo, named as defendants in the sweeping federal
racketeering case that year. While Scarfo and others eventually wound up with
substantial prison terms, Ligambi avoided trial by pleading guilty to gambling offenses
and was sentenced to only three and a half years in prison.
Ligambi, thus far, has managed to avoid indictment because he favors an
extremely low-key operating style – in sharp contrast to his immediate predecessor,
Joseph S. Merlino, who relished playing the role of a flashy wiseguy. “Skinny Joey”
Merlino built a high public profile on overblown charity stunts, verbal fisticuffs with
New Jersey casino regulators and drunken summer encounters with local police in
Margate. From his base in Philadelphia, he also became a magnet for negative attention
within the mob because of his routine failure to pay gambling debts and his tolerance of
drug abuse by associates. Ligambi’s stewardship, meanwhile, carries an echo of that of
the low-key Natale as remnants of the Bruno organization struggle to regroup. In the
long run, however, this sort of below-the-radar leadership may make little difference in
the history of the Philadelphia/South Jersey mob. The group’s remarkable propensity for
yielding turncoats has left few subordinates who can be trusted to help Ligambi do the
job.
Ligambi’s underboss is Joseph “Mousie” Massimino, who was inducted into the
LCN by former boss John Stanfa in 1992. 1n 1993, Massimino pled guilty to a New
Jersey state racketeering accusation for his involvement in loan-sharking, gambling and
drug trafficking activities. He served a five-year prison term before being released in
July of 1998. Massimino’s days as underboss appear to be numbered, as he faces a
substantial period of incarceration as a result of being indicted in early 2001 by New
Jersey state authorities for leading an extensive gambling and loan-sharking enterprise.
Until his death in early April 2004, the third person in the hierarchy, serving as
consigliere to Ligambi, was Joseph “Joe Crutch” Curro. A resident of Washington
Township, Gloucester County, Curro was paroled in 1994 from the New Jersey state
prison system, where he served a sentence for murder.
Most of the criminal enterprises that traditionally have sustained the Bruno group
continue, albeit at a reduced level. These include illicit sports and numbers betting, video
gambling, loan-sharking, extortion and general thievery. Trafficking in narcotics,
particularly methamphetamine, also remains a lucrative enterprise for the group’s
132
members and associates. The 1999 indictments of Natale and Merlino demonstrated that
top elements of the Bruno LCN increasingly choose to engage directly in drug dealing,
whereas the group’s “made” members traditionally derived income from narcotics
second-hand through the financing of drug transactions and from the collection of a
“street tax” from narcotics traffickers. The apparent increased acceptance of “hands-on”
drug dealing by family members may stem from Natale’s drug-trafficking roots, for
which he, in part, served a 15-year prison term. One particular strength that Merlino
brought to the group in this regard was an established working relationship with various
criminal motorcycle gangs, which have traditionally provided the Bruno LCN with an
effective conduit into the illicit methamphetamine trade. Meanwhile, the Bruno group
has had limited success in its efforts to undermine and infiltrate legitimate businesses for
use as fronts for criminal activities. In one instance, during Natale’s reign, the group
failed in 1998 to consummate the attempted takeover of a Cherry Hill restaurant that law
enforcement authorities say was to have been used as a base of operations.
One significant measure of the Bruno organization’s deterioration is its virtual
surrender of criminal opportunities in Atlantic City. During the Scarfo era of the 1980s,
the Shore gambling resort proved to be fertile ground for many income-producing
ventures, both criminal and legitimate. Under the Ligambi’s leadership, the organization
still seems to lack the wherewithal to mount any foray into the world of legitimate
business.
This group’s implosion over the past decade in many ways symbolizes LCN’s
overall collapse as the premier entity in the universe of organized crime. Nonetheless,
the Bruno group warrants continued law enforcement scrutiny because, while down, it is
far from out. Moreover, the task of attracting “new blood” into the group’s depleted
ranks apparently presents no obstacle. Information gathered through law enforcement
surveillance has clearly established that there is no shortage of mob “wannabes”
circulating on the fringes of this group. Much will depend, of course, on whether those at
the top can stay out of jail long enough to make their shaken enterprise thrive again.