Vincent Pagano (Philly) passed

[ShotgunTheRifle]

Passed away in Federal prison 2/20/19. 89 years old

[Wiseguy]

I'm big goose now.

[slimshady_007]

Rip

[jmack]

I guess he didn’t make it until 2063 when he was scheduled to get out. He was another example of the decline of the mob. The prosecutions in the 80’s changed the entire landscape. This is a guy who would have been a fringe player under Bruno. Due to circumstances he was instead a Capo under Stanfa, which was well above his capacity.

[Pogo The Clown]

Organized crime in Philadelphia got the word that Pajamas is back.


Pogo

[dack2001]

I don't think bit player is the right term. Pagano was a well-known restaurateur so well connected he was pardoned for crimes back in the 60's by Gov. Milton Shapp. He was an associate of Michael Grasso, who was a mover and a shaker and Bruno's nephew. He got picked up on a racing fixing conviction with a guy named John Disalvo, another associate of Bruno. He was also close with Harry Riccobene and Long John Martorano and did 3 years from a P2P possession case during the Riccobene wars and paroled to Florida where he was even pictured on Scarfo's boat "Usual Suspects". Came back when Stanfa came to power because Stanfa had a lot of the remnants of Harry's group around. Hardly a fringe guy. Don't know when he got made though. Probably a ceremony with Stanfa, I'd be shocked if was going around telling well connected guys he's the #3 man when he's not even made who knows.

[jmack]

I don't think bit player is the right term. Pagano was a well-known restaurateur so well connected he was pardoned for crimes back in the 60's by Gov. Milton Shapp. He was an associate of Michael Grasso, who was a mover and a shaker and Bruno's nephew. He got picked up on a racing fixing conviction with a guy named John Disalvo, another associate of Bruno. He was also close with Harry Riccobene and Long John Martorano and did 3 years from a P2P possession case during the Riccobene wars and paroled to Florida where he was even pictured on Scarfo's boat "Usual Suspects". Came back when Stanfa came to power because Stanfa had a lot of the remnants of Harry's group around. Hardly a fringe guy. Don't know when he got made though. Probably a ceremony with Stanfa, I'd be shocked if was going around telling well connected guys he's the #3 man when he's not even made who knows.

Dack, I respect you and think you have some good information, but I disagree. I think you almost made my point. He was around the top guys in the 70’s and 80’s and didn’t get made. To be honest, Scarfo was making 22 year old kids. If he was highly though if I think he would have been made then. My original point was his ascension to Capo places him in above his head. I stand by that assertion.

[dack2001]

I understand what you are saying but we are looking at the same thing a bit differently. Just because he wasn't made by Bruno or Scarfo doesn't mean that he wasn't more than a fringe player. Would you call Grasso a fringe guy? Sometimes it can be timing more than clout. He can't be much of a player when he is in prison and then on parole in Florida and by the time parole is done Scarfo is locked up for good and he gets down with Stanfa.

[B.]

Dack is on the money about Pagano. People like to make the Stanfa regime out to be the gang who couldn't shoot straight, with every member/associate being picked up off the cutting room floor, and obviously there is a lot of truth to it, but like with most mob books and stories, once a narrative like that has been established, many authors, journalists, and "mob watchers" like to make everything fit that narrative because it makes for a more entertaining story. Pagano wasn't some "hall of fame" Philly gangster but he also wasn't a nobody. Dack mentioned him being pictured on Scarfo's boat, and in line with that, members of the Scarfo group reached out to Pagano when traveling to Florida. He was close friends with lawyer Bobby Simone as well which isn't a meaningless relationship when you consider Simone's importance under Scarfo.

Sonny Riccobene is a good example of an associate who was never made but had access to higher levels of the organization for decades. Same with Martorano before Scarfo inducted him. We could pull up many other names over the decades as well. Membership counts for something but it doesn't always show the whole picture.

[Fughedaboutit]

I don't think bit player is the right term. Pagano was a well-known restaurateur so well connected he was pardoned for crimes back in the 60's by Gov. Milton Shapp. He was an associate of Michael Grasso, who was a mover and a shaker and Bruno's nephew. He got picked up on a racing fixing conviction with a guy named John Disalvo, another associate of Bruno. He was also close with Harry Riccobene and Long John Martorano and did 3 years from a P2P possession case during the Riccobene wars and paroled to Florida where he was even pictured on Scarfo's boat "Usual Suspects". Came back when Stanfa came to power because Stanfa had a lot of the remnants of Harry's group around. Hardly a fringe guy. Don't know when he got made though. Probably a ceremony with Stanfa, I'd be shocked if was going around telling well connected guys he's the #3 man when he's not even made who knows.

Dack, I respect you and think you have some good information, but I disagree. I think you almost made my point. He was around the top guys in the 70’s and 80’s and didn’t get made. To be honest, Scarfo was making 22 year old kids. If he was highly though if I think he would have been made then. My original point was his ascension to Capo places him in above his head. I stand by that assertion.

He was also making 22 year old kids over money makers like Caramandi, and stone cold killers like Charlie White.

[Fughedaboutit]

Dack has made some very good points imo

[B.]

Scarfo was very deliberate in who he made. He made many younger guys, especially as time went on, with most of them recruited and groomed by Merlino, Salvie Testa, iannarella/DelGiornio, etc. They made a point to get certain young associates involved in murders which was a key factor in many of the inductions. Scarfo was made young himself and clearly liked having an entourage of 20-somethings around him, but I've never seen a clear explanation why they prioritized the inductions of guys like Nick Milano, Joe Grande, Tory Scafidi, and Phil Narducci, none of which were experienced in making money and managing rackets, while someone like John Ciancaglini who had a few years in age and experience over the others, along with a high-ranking father, wasn't brought in.

AtlanticCity, who was a very knowledgeable and reliable RD member 10+ years ago, attended the D'Alfonso retrial and claimed to have had lunch with the father of one of the defendants, the father himself being a longtime Philly family member or associate. He had an interesting post about this exact subject. He claimed this old timer told him that Scarfo had a couple of different "tiers" when it came to the younger members, with very specific plans for inducting certain young associates opposed to others, along with purposely holding Scarfo Jr. and Joey Merlino back, among others. The old timer told him whatever plan Scarfo had in mind fell apart after the Salvie Testa murder. AC didn't post often but was the only person on the board who had accurate information on the Ligambi/Merlino regime years before the indictment came down and confirmed much of what he said. His posts were hardly "fresh street talk", either... he was a lawyer or at least a law graduate and I learned his identity through another trustworthy RD member who had communicated with him off the board. He had a "familiar" last name; whether there is a relation or not I don't know, but it would lend itself to some of the info he supplied despite not being a "street guy".

EDIT: AC also supplied some information privately on Phil Leonetti, specifically post-cooperation, that would only come out publicly, to my knowledge, in his book. Info that might have been known by someone in certain circles at the Jersey shore or in Philly.

Anyway, this got me on a tangent thinking about why some associates were inducted over others in the mid-1980s.

[jmack]

I understand what you are saying but we are looking at the same thing a bit differently. Just because he wasn't made by Bruno or Scarfo doesn't mean that he wasn't more than a fringe player. Would you call Grasso a fringe guy? Sometimes it can be timing more than clout. He can't be much of a player when he is in prison and then on parole in Florida and by the time parole is done Scarfo is locked up for good and he gets down with Stanfa.

I actually think you and I agree much more than it appears. What I mean by fringe player, is a guy who may be an associate/soldier but will not be part of the administration.

[NJShore4Life]

It’s really shocking to me that Scarfo never made his son Nicky Jr but I guess he was way too young when Scarfo Sr was on the streets.

[Stroccos]

Organized crime in Philadelphia got the word that Pajamas is back.


Pogo

Pagano Claims not to have come back to phili until September of 93, conventially a week after Frank baldino is killed, so that means he had like what a 4 or 5 month run before being busted for the veasey hit , Likely stanfa promised him being made into a big goose to come back and work with him.

If john Vesey and joe stanfa where made in October/November 93 we have to assume Pagano was made before them if he was the truly the #3 guy

The agents had to be rolling laughing listening to the tapes of this guy