New arrests in Torretta

[felice]

New arrests last night, in the papers I will receive soon there are documented meetings with Gambino family members. Ernest Grillo for example went to Sicily a couple of years ago. Looks like he is a cocaine user.

Other names of sicilians listed as Gambino members: Silvestro Davì and Giovan Battista Badalamenti (I already mentioned him on here). Never heard about Silvestro Davì, it may be a mistake referring to Silvestro Lo Verde. I will check

[JohnnyS]

Wow looking forward to reading the info that comes out of this.

https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2021- ... ob26O.html

[Dave65827]

Here’s a better article. Mentions there was a profound sense of tension after Frank Calis murder

https://www.adnkronos.com/mafia-scopert ... 6dsVrgtA0D

[JohnnyS]

Here’s a better article. Mentions there was a profound sense of tension after Frank Calis murder

https://www.adnkronos.com/mafia-scopert ... 6dsVrgtA0D

good find.

[JohnnyS]

https://livesicilia.it/2021/07/14/lamer ... ul-tavolo/

Ernest Grillo, a leading exponent of the Gambino mafia family in New York, landed at 2 pm on 27 September 2018 at the Falcone e Borsellino airport in Cinisi.

He is not the only American mentioned in the papers of the investigation. There are also Silvester Davì and Giovanna Giovan Battista Badalamenti. They are all connected to the figure of Frank Calì, who was murdered in March 2019 in Staten Island.

Waiting for Grillo at the airport was Natale Puglisi, who had chosen one of the many luxury villas in the Anfossi area in Mondello to host his American friends. The owner is a character who had already been arrested in 2002. Puglisi himself on 3 October accompanied Grillo to find an old friend of Baucina's, a certain Enzo. The carabinieri identify him as Vincenzo Varisco, an elderly man convicted of the mafia and drug trafficking.

What was the welcome given to Grillo is reconstructed from the words of Francesco Puglisi. He spoke of a "meal" at the restaurant, organized as in the old days "together with my friends here too". On the table they also found cocaine: "... I told us I need five grams because I made an impression I put this on the table as well, beautiful it was".

From another passage of the interception it was understood that it was a tradition that of cocaine for guests: "... a few years ago I went to disturb them as well that I also had American friends".

Between March 21 and April 4, 2019 Baldassarre Puglisi, son of Natale, was in America, where he met Grillo, from whom he had received an embassy for his parent: "... tell your father that everything is okay we have all sorted out what's this". The things settled could be the new mafia balances, settled after the death of Frank Calì and above all after having been certain that a fool had killed him . It was not a crime of the mafia and the fibrillation, from New York to Torretta, subsided.

[JohnnyS]

small part of a taped phone call with Frank Cali in this video. Also recordings of the meeting with Ernie Grillo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ourd-H4wakY

[B.]

Thanks for the info.

Many connections between NYC and the Sicilian mafia in recent years.

Salvatore Davi was the name of the Torretta boss in the 1930s, could be a relation. Never learned if Salvatore was related to Nicola Gentile's Palermitano in-law Pietro Davi.

[felice]

I got the papers: looks like this Sylvester Davì is the leader of the torrettesi in NY.
Not many info about NY mafia, just the trip of Ernie Grillo who was very close to Frank Calì and now is part of the sicilian decina.

Current Torretta family situation:
Boss: Raffaele Di Maggio
Underboss: Ignazio Antonio Mannino (once involved in Iron Tower II operation, lived in Pennsylvania)
Consigliere: Simone Zito (native of NY, lived there many years)

[JohnnyS]

Thanks for the info.

We know from the Campos bust that Grillo is a captain. Is it possible he's running the 18th ave crew now? iirc felice, you said from the bust in 2019 that Lanni was acting not official captain.

[B.]

So there are Davis from Torretta in both the Gambino and Lucchese families?

Is DiMaggio a relative of the Gambino brothers' clan? Strong ties between the Torretta admin and NYC. Then you have an Inzerillo as boss of Passo di Rigano. Looks like the Gambinos still have ties to Agrigento too with Semplice and Acquista.

[CabriniGreen]

I got the papers: looks like this Sylvester Davì is the leader of the torrettesi in NY.
Not many info about NY mafia, just the trip of Ernie Grillo who was very close to Frank Calì and now is part of the sicilian decina.

Current Torretta family situation:
Boss: Raffaele Di Maggio
Underboss: Ignazio Antonio Mannino (once involved in Iron Tower II operation, lived in Pennsylvania)
Consigliere: Simone Zito (native of NY, lived there many years)

Couple questions...

This is the same Calogero who rigged the election in Sicily from Philly? For the Gambino kid?

These are the same guys, Zito and Mannino from your previous post, that were challenging John Gambino? Who is Domenico Mannino to Calogero?

Is this the same group originally under Francesco Gambino?

[B.]

Here is an old post by Toto. Did you ever see anything from this investigation, Felice? Thanks.

A DDA investigation found Vincenzo Brusca ex-boss Torretta visited a few times New York. His cousin is Santo Zito (Fat guy walking with Frank Cali and Pietro Inzerillo in one photo). Vincenzo was trying to invest in real estate in Brooklyn and caught talking to Salvatore Badalamenti considered a member of a New York family who can settle disputes between Americans. Salvatore is a man of Brooklyn and involved in construction.

I guess this means Salvatore Badalamenti is a Gambino member. Did this name come in any investigation in America?

Seems Salvatore Badalamenti could be a relative of the Giovanbattista you mentioned and they both could be Gambino members.

[JohnnyS]

Here is an old post by Toto. Did you ever see anything from this investigation, Felice? Thanks.

A DDA investigation found Vincenzo Brusca ex-boss Torretta visited a few times New York. His cousin is Santo Zito (Fat guy walking with Frank Cali and Pietro Inzerillo in one photo). Vincenzo was trying to invest in real estate in Brooklyn and caught talking to Salvatore Badalamenti considered a member of a New York family who can settle disputes between Americans. Salvatore is a man of Brooklyn and involved in construction.

I guess this means Salvatore Badalamenti is a Gambino member. Did this name come in any investigation in America?

Seems Salvatore Badalamenti could be a relative of the Giovanbattista you mentioned and they both could be Gambino members.

I wonder if this is him. https://www.tributearchive.com/obituari ... adalamenti

[B.]

Does it mention Torretta on his obit? There are also Badalamentis in Brooklyn from Carini. There is an active Carinesi club there and you have a lot of the same names as in Torretta, many of the same names as the old Profaci Carinesi faction too.

Note that Toto said Badalamenti could settle disputes "between Americans". Remember in the 2010 case against Gaetano Napoli he went to Florida to represent Roberto Settineri in a sitdown with the Colombo family because Settineri was a member of the Santa Maria di Gesu family and needed a US member to represent him. Seems they still respect protocol even though the Sicilians are dominant now.

Speaking of Napoli, I saw that Gaetano Napoli Jr. applied for some kind of license or card so that he could work in the wholesale meat industry and his request was denied in 2019 because of his organized crime connections. Curious if the Napoli sons are in the orbit of the new Sicilian regime in NYC... the connection to Settineri would suggest it and we know the Villabate family sent an emmissary to the Gambino family in NYC and no doubt the mafia in Villabate knows the Napoli name well.

[B.]

Saw more info in an article.

Interesting statement:

General Arturo Guarino, the provincial commander of the Arma: “The investigation demonstrates the persistence of intense relations with the Italian-American mafia, a bond that constitutes a key to understanding the criminal phenomenon that spans generations and remains an element of reciprocal identity strength and operational influence “.

- Calogero Badalamenti identified as another one of the leaders of the Torretta family. Maybe a capodecina as he is said to be in charge of the Bellolampo area between Torretta and Passo di Rigano.

- Lorenzo DiMaggio said to be an important Torretta figure who served as Palermo's liaison to Matteo Messina Denaro. A pentito said DiMaggio collected pizzini messages for Messina Denaro from all around Palermo and gave them to Calogero Caruso who drove them to Campobello di Mazara, Trapani. Could suggest Denaro is still in Trapani?

- Others arrested were Filippo Gambino, Giovanni Angelo Mannino, Francesco and Natale Puglisi, Calogero Caruso, and Paolo Vassallo. Calogero Zito of the US is also being sought for arrest.

- It says Grillo's goal was to establish new business and to help mediate some dispute going on with the Torretta leadership. If true, it means the Gambino family is getting involved in Palermo mafia politics. No doubt the Gambino family did this with Passo di Rigano's kowledge, so shows you it's not only Palermo influencing the Gambino family but also the Gambino family influencing Palermo.

- Grillo was first taken to the village Baucina to meet with an "Italian-American" whom Judge Falcone investigated in the early 1990s. This is the Vincenzo Varisco mentioned above. He is on social media, which shows photos of him in prison and says he is a Baucina native who currently lives in Baucina but formerly lived in NYC. So by "Italian-American" they mean a native Sicilian who lived in the US for a time. Never heard of him before this.

- Interesting Baucina comes up, as the mayor of Baucina was part of the investigation in 2007 that Toto mentioned, where Salvatore Badalamenti represented NYC and talked to Torretta boss Brusca.

- Grillo met directly with Torretta boss Raffaele DiMaggio. I'm reminded of the Bonanno members who met with the Castellammare boss around the same period. Doesn't seem the Sicilian bosses have a problem meeting with American members, even soldiers. Accursio Dimino of Sciacca was also eager to work with Americans and has close ties to the US.

--

Another thing... John Pennisi said he was told by Pete Inzerillo that Inzerillo went to Sicily and his uncle introduced him to the boss of a certain village. He said the boss was working outside and couldn't believe John Gotti was a real boss and not a movie character.