Gangland news 24th august 2017

[Hailbritain]

By George Anastasia

Skinny Joey And The Rooster Talk About 'Work'

Gang Land Exclusive!Joseph MerlinoIt was just two wiseguys talking about the way they do business.

"It's easy to kill somebody," said Philadelphia mob boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino.
"It's simple," agreed Genovese capo Eugene (Rooster) Onofrio.
"You're my friend," continued Merlino, spelling out how easy it is. "You trust me. I tell you, 'Listen, drive me home right now.' Get you in the car. I shoot you in the fuckin' head and it's over with."

Whether Merlino or Onofrio, who uttered those words in one of more than 800 tape-recordings made during a federal investigation that stretched from New England to Florida, have ever shot anyone in the head is a matter of conjecture. Neither has ever been convicted of murder. Onofrio has never even been charged. Merlino, on the other hand, has beaten several murder and attempted murder raps.

Merlino and Onofrio are two of six defendants who have thus far turned down government plea deals in the racketeering conspiracy indictment last August of 46 mob members or associates from five different crime families. All six are slated for trial in January, although the consensus is that by the time jury selection begins, Merlino, and perhaps Onofrio will be the only defendants left.

In a 62-page memo filed last month federal prosecutors tried to refute and rebuff a series of defense motions that included a call to dismiss the indictment because of what Merlino's primary lawyer, Edwin Jacobs Jr. of Atlantic City, has termed "outrageous misconduct" by the government.

Eugene OnofrioOnofrio's court appointed lawyer, Thomas Nooter, has joined in all the motions and has also asked that his client be tried separately from Merlino. He has argued that should the prosecution introduce evidence about Merlino's reputation for violence his client would be unduly prejudiced.

In his motion, Nooter argued that it was "likely" that prosecutors would attempt to introduce evidence that would allege Merlino was the boss of the Philadelphia mob and that "in that capacity, is alleged to have been involved in many criminal activities, including possibly as many as eleven homicides or attempted homicides."

Nooter cited a Wikipedia profile of Merlino to back up his claims. The article details Merlino's organized crime history, his trials and convictions and notes that "during the 1990s, Merlino began a mob war within the crime family and survived numerous assassination attempts."

Any evidence or testimony linking Merlino to murder and mayhem would unduly prejudice Onofrio, his lawyer argued, and would deny him the right to a fair and unbiased trial.

John RubeoThe prosecution's response, in the memo filed last month, painted Merlino and Onofrio as willing partners in crime, using the "it's easy to kill" tape as one example. The memo cited another conversation, recorded in February 2014, in which the two men said "we're brothers."

Those conversations were picked up on a body wire worn by John (JR) Rubeo, the mob associate-turned-government-informant who recorded hundreds of conversations for the FBI during the probe. Other tapes were made by an undercover FBI agent whom Rubeo introduced to Rooster as a friend.

The FBI's supervision of Rubeo — or lack thereof — is apparently at the heart of misconduct allegations that have plagued the investigation. But since most documents referring to that issue have been filed under seal, it's impossible to determine exactly what went on. Gang Land has tried without success to have those documents made public.

Judge Richard Sullivan has, thus far, also denied a pre-trial motion by Jacobs and co-counsel John Meringolo to obtain FBI reports about its internal investigation into allegations of misconduct by three FBI agents so that they can decide whether to call one or more of the agents as a defense witness.

Edwin JacobsNooter has asked Sullivan to hold a pre-trial hearing "to place on the record the exact nature and extent of any misconduct committed by government witnesses in this case," a request that the judge has also rejected.

Prosecutors have conceded there was a problem, but in that same memo filed last month they noted that "none of the alleged conduct rises to the high bar of outrageous government misconduct" claimed by the defense.

The memo also offers a look at Rubeo's role in the investigation. It's clear Merlino, Onofrio and others were comfortable in his presence, so comfortable that they felt they could talk about murder.

The memo also refers to a tape in which Rooster and Skinny Joey discuss protecting JR who had apparently found himself in a dispute with members of the Luchese organization over a gambling debt.

On that tape, the government contends, Merlino and Onofrio agree that no one was going to "bother" Rubeo, adding that "we're brothers." Other sources have said that Merlino went to bat for Rubeo and may have saved his life in the gambling debt dispute which centered around a mob-linked bookmaking operation in Costa Rica and tens of thousands of dollars in missing funds.

John MeringoloThe snippets of conversation mentioned in the government memo provide a tantalizing look look into the investigation and raise some intriguing questions as the case moves forward. Are these the tip of the iceberg or the best the feds have to offer? If murder was a topic open for discussion, what else did Merlino and Onofrio say while Rubeo was recording? Are there other, more damaging tapes, in the prosecutorial arsenal?

Time and more pre-trial arguments may provide the answers. Relevance is certain to be an issue.

Defense attorneys are likely to argue that the how-to-commit-murder discussion was nothing more than braggadocio. They will also point out that it has little relevance to the pending racketeering case since there are no murder charges in the indictment.

But that conversation could be an effective tool for prosecutors hoping to paint a picture of Merlino and Onofrio as dangerous mobsters for the jury.

Thomas NooterThat ploy worked very well for prosecutors at a racketeering trial in Philadelphia in the 1990s, when they opened by playing a tape in which mob boss John Stanfa and soldier Sergio Battaglia discussed a plan to lure Merlino and mobster Gaeton Lucibello to a meeting where they would be killed.

Stanfa, who was particularly upset with Lucibello, said on the tape, "You know what I'll do? I'll get a knife …I'll cut out his tongue and we'll send it to the wife. That's all…We put it in an envelope. Put a stamp on it."

The plot to kill Merlino and mutilate Lucibello was never carried out. But the tape, introduced as the first piece of evidence in a three-month trial, set the tone for the rest of the proceeding. Stanfa, Battaglia and six co-defendants were convicted of every major charge in the case.

Mob Hitman Goes Gastronomic

Philip NarducciPhilip Narducci did nearly 25 years for his conviction in a murder-racketeering case in the late 1980s that took down mob boss Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo and most of his organization. That's ancient history, says Narducci, who's now a big presence in the restaurant business.

Narducci, 54, was a young hitman for the volatile mob boss during what was one of the most violent periods of underworld history in the City of Brotherly Love. Narducci's father, Frank (Chickie) Narducci, was one of Scarfo's many victims. Nevertheless, his two sons, Philip and Frank Jr., were Scarfo soldiers who were convicted with Little Nicky and a dozen others in that big racketeering case.

Now back in South Philadelphia and finally free of the restrictions that come with supervised release, Narducci and his wife Gina have jumped big time into the restaurant business, opening a swank gastropub called Chick's on Washington Avenue. Housed in a converted autobody shop and garage on the fringe of one of the city's new up-and-coming neighborhoods, Chick's has gotten glowing reviews and is attracting a young, hip crowd, according to media reports.

Chick'sNarducci has told friends he is spending 60 hours a week helping his wife, the owner of the business, realize her dream.

"The past is long gone," he told a reporter from Philadelphia Magazine back in March, shortly before the restaurant opened. "The place is 100 percent Gina's and I'm just here to assist her."

Narducci's standing in the underworld — he's frequently referred to as a "legitimate tough guy" — has given the joint some street-smart cache, no doubt an attraction for first time visitors. He's also an engaging storyteller and has a friendly way with paying customers. But it's the quality of the food and service that has kept them coming back.

Difficult to please Philadelphia Inquirer restaurant critic Craig LeBan liked almost everything about Chick's.

Frank NarducciIn a review last month, he cited the "cavernous-yet-stylish dining room of the converted auto-body shop" and what he called the "multi-culti chaos on its affordable menu." While Italian at its core, LeBan wrote, the dining choices included "Asian-fusion dishes, tacos, retro comforts, trendy avocado toast and two dozen craft beer taps worthy of any gastropub."

The brawny Narducci, who owned a couple of South Philadelphia steak shops before he "went away," has gone upscale in this venture.

In that regard he is following a trend that began several years ago when Angelo Lutz, a Merlino associate, returned from prison and opened his now highly successful Kitchen Consiglere Café in Collingswood, a South Jersey restaurant mecca. A few years later Merlino lent his name to a posh Boca Raton eatery. That business folded when financial backers, spooked by the indictment handed up in New York last August, backed away.

Narducci's brother, Frank Jr., is also back in South Philadelphia but is not involved in the restaurant. Frank Jr., however, has already had one highly successful go-round as a would-be restaurateur. He and Salvatore Testa, the son the late mob boss Phil Testa, bought Le Bistro, an Atlantic City nightclub, in the 1970s for $250,000. They were never able to open the place, however, because New Jersey authorities blocked the transfer of the club's liquor license, contending that the young Narducci and Testa were straw buyers for their gangster fathers.

Donald TrumpLe Bistro remained shuttered for several years until a hotshot casino-hotel developer with a knack of using other people's money to back him decided he needed the property to complete the purchase of a full city block on which he would build a parking garage for his Boardwalk gambling palace.

Narducci and Testa sold it for $1.1 million, four-times what they had paid for the place. It was a time of wild speculation in a booming Atlantic City real estate market and they were just two of the many who cashed in by playing real life Monopoly.

By the way, the buyer of that property is no longer in the casino business. He now lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, DC.

Unsolved Mob Murders High On Feds' Agenda

Michael AvicolliWhile the tape of Skinny Joey Merlino and Rooster Onofrio discussing how to whack someone may prove to be irrelevant and inadmissible in the New York racketeering case, the feds in Philadelphia might be able to put it to good use. That's if investigators and prosecutors in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Southern District (aka Sovereign District) of New York have kissed and made up and agree to share information.

It's no secret that the FBI in Philadelphia continues to troll for evidence and witnesses in a series of mob murders it hopes to link to Merlino, his semi-retired stand-in boss Joseph (Uncle Joe) Ligambi, and at least a half dozen other members of the Merlino-Ligambi faction.

One of those murder victims is Michael (Dutchie) Avicolli who disappeared in 1996. Mob boss-turned-government-witness Ralph Natale has provided some details about the suspected slaying, but not enough to make a case.

Joseph LigambiAvicolli, according to several sources, was driven to a meeting in North Jersey and never returned. A North Jersey mobster who reportedly owned the property where the hit went down and where Avicolli's remains are allegedly buried was once targeted by federal authorities, but the case went cold.

Natale and others have said Avicolli's murder was part of a South Philadelphia soap opera, an affair of the heart in which different wiseguys were romancing the wives and/or young relatives of other mobsters. As Michael Corleone was told by his shotgun-totting bodyguards after meeting the beautiful Appolonia while strolling the Sicilian countryside, in the underworld a woman can be more dangerous than a lupara.

In the small world department, by the way, Avicolli once owned the autobody shop on Washington Avenue where Phil Narducci's new restaurant is located.

Ralph NataleFederal investigators have continued to question possible witnesses about several gangland-style murders and according to some recent reports, have been bringing cooperators in front of a grand jury.

"We're always looking," said one law enforcement source.

In addition to Avicolli, the list of victims on the unsolved hits list includes Ronnie Turchi, Raymond (Long John) Martorano, John (Johnny Gongs) Casasanto, Louis (Louie Irish) DeLuca, James (Jimmy Brooms) DiAddorio, Gino Marconi and Rocca Maniscalco.

While it may be "easy to kill somebody," proving it can be difficult. Just ask the feds in Philadelphia who have been working some of those murders for more than 20 years.

Editor's Note: Award-winning Philadelphia-based reporter-author George Anastasia talks about murders, the FBI and local wiseguys on the latest You Tube video, Mob Talk Sitdown, with TV newsman Dave Schratweiser.

[Hailbritain]

Jerry couldn't be bothered this week the lazy cocksucker

[100100]

I wouldve assumed we'd get some good stories on Benny Eggs. Underwhelming.

[B.]

These guest articles are pre-arranged, it's not like Capeci woke up and said to himself, "Benny Mangano died, but nah, I'm going to have Anastasia write about Philly." Maybe he's on vacation this week. Hopefully he does cover Mangano next week, though.

[SonnyBlackstein]

No Mangano mention. The term 'News' in the title is... spurious.

Imagine Willie Mays passing and MLB.com doesnt cover it due to a pre-arranged article on the Blue Jays.
I just dont get Capeci. Often.

There is zero in the above which is new or couldn't have waited until next week.

Thanks for the post HB.

[Teddy Persico]

I agree with B. Wait another week and see if he writes anything. This week was clearly given to George A.

[Cheech]

George says Rooster never tried for murder. No just manslaughter for shooting a guy to death Sigh

http://law.justia.com/cases/connecticut ... -23-2.html

[DPG]

Thanks for the post HK. George kinda recycled alot of info we already had.