Ray Ferrito

This week I thought I would tell a story about a person you may know only from a short, explosive roll in a movie.  On April 8th 1929 Remo Ferretti was born on the West Side of Erie Pennsylvania.

The Ferretti family changed their last name to Ferritto and Remo was Americanized to Raymond and so he became known as Ray Ferritto.  Many know him simply as the guy who blew up Danny Greene in Cleveland in the movie “To Kill An Irishman.”

Ray was much more than a guy who detonated a bomb.  I touched on his story when I was writing about Jimmy Frattiano in the Los Angeles family.

Ray Ferrito

Ray began his criminal career in the Little Italy neighborhood of Erie by learning the art of burglary, not of houses, but of businesses.  Once he was caught in action and was beaten by a beat copper who had Ray remove his shoes so that he could beat the bottoms of his feet with a nightstick.  This very painful episode pushed Ray to the next level instead deterring him.  He waited and waited and when the incident was no longer fresh in the officer’s mind,  he pounced on him from behind while he was walking down the street.  The brass knuckles Ray was wearing made quick work of the copper who curled up in the fetal position only to be kicked repeatedly. He was away from his beat for months after the attack.  This incident made its way around underworld circles until it reached a local crime boss named Serafino Romeo.  Serafino was Ray’s cousin’s stepfather but he chose to bring Ray into his business because he was tough and smart. Serafino was big in the vending machine rackets, so Ray quickly learned the game and soon he was off dealing with the customers.  He received a draft notice and joined the Marines but because of an earlier foot injury he was Honorably discharged.

Once back on the street, Ray quickly picked up where he left off with Serafino, collecting cash and busting heads.  Serafino saw that Ray was a capable guy so when he was meeting with crime boss Russel Buffalino and a problem needed to be taken care of, he lobbied for Ray to handle it.  Buffalino was against it at first, but after listening to Serafino talk about young Ray he gave the okay.  Ray went away for the weekend and took care of the problem.  He did it without a hitch, but because he was the type of man who kept things to himself it would bother him for years.  

Ray was on his way up in the Italian Underworld and soon he was putting together his own crew of like-minded young guys. Soon Ray and his fellow crew member Anthony "Cy" Sciotti were pulling down scores.  They had learned how to bypass alarms and even crack safes. Things went well for the crew until someone dropped a dime on them one night and they were caught in the act.  Ray was sentenced to 3 years in Rockview Penitentiary and this turned out to be a good thing, kind of like going away to college.  Ray was locked up with many of the guys who would play great roles in his life. There were guys from the Cleveland Combination, Warren-Youngstown all run from Murray Hill in Cleveland.   Ronnie "The Crab" Carabbia, Allie Calabrese, Frank "Skinny" Vellotta  and many others.  After he was released he made the trip to Murray Hill and met with Jack White Licavoli and John Scalish.  The Cleveland bosses made a call to Russell Buffalino, who let them know know Ray was a capable guy.

They soon were pulling down large scores from jewelry stores and markets, bypassing the alarms and cracking the safes.  

Danny Greene

Ray then proved how capable he was to bosses.  Jack White had been ripped off for 75k from a deadbeat who was hiding out inside his home which was a fortress.  Ray dressed up like a priest and the man’s wife let him inside along with Julius Petro.  Once inside, they grabbed the wife and found the deadbeat who begged for his life.  The man then made another stupid move as if he was going for a pistol.  Ray quickly shot him twice, one to the chest and the other in the head.  The widow quickly showed them where they kept the cash so they tied her up and left with the cash.  This made Ray in Cleveland because he did the work and brought back the cash.  

Ray was never one to sit idle so when a former engraver from the US mint came to him with a proposition he jumped on it.  The guy could make perfect plates for 20's and 100's and soon they were moving it all the way in Las Vegas.  Thanks to some Chicago Outfit connections they were able to pass a lot of the cash in the count rooms of casinos for the next two years. Then, like all criminal enterprises, it had to end and he moved on to other rackets.

Ray came up just like most Mafia Associates except he was able to put in the work when asked.  It is a falsehood that all Mafia men are killers.  Many take part in murders as a driver or back up shooter but few can pull the trigger. So Ray was special, much like his friend Jimmy Frattiano, who was also a killer.  

Bosses love to use guys like Ray and Jimmy but when they are not being useful they are being feared.

Next week I will show you just how much honor the Mafia really has for its men.  They use everyone and then they discard them, and this is why they are in so much trouble today.

Please read

An Assassin Scorned -This book is great!

Joel Cacace aka Joe Waverly

Never kill a prosecutor or anyone in law enforcement. That is a pretty clear rule that mafia families have followed. Not because they care, but in self interest.  They know that all law enforcement, and even the public, will turn on them.   In New York there is one family that did not follow that rule, and that is the Colombo Family.

There have been a few other unintentional cases where law enforcement lost lives, but none of the other families directly targeted Law Enforcement.  Rudolph "Rudy" Santobello and his buddy where in the middle of a kidnapping when an off duty NYPD officer Alfred Loreto stumbled onto the scene and was murdered. Rudy initially received life, but he beat the case on appeal and went on to have a long run with the Genovese Family. 

Then you had Costabile "Gus" Farace who was the first man to murder a DEA Agent in New York.  Gus had a set up a deal with a DEA Agent named Everrett Hatcher who was undercover.  They arranged a meeting in a remote location on Staten Island but the surveillance team lost Everrett.  Gus drove by Everrett's car on the side of the road and opened fire from a van killing him. Law Enforcement turned up the pressure on the Mafia and they ended Gus's run in Bensonhurst.

Joel Cacace aka Joe Waverly

That brings us to Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace, a real upstanding human who at 72 is locked up until at least 2020 and is now facing more time than he will ever be able to serve.

The Colombo Family has been led by Carmine "The Snake" Persico and the Persicos never follow the rules. Carmine had a brother named Alphonse or Allie Boy, who has since passed on to the big nothing.  Allie had been on the lam for 7 years until 1987 when he was caught and sentenced to 25 years in Federal Prison.  This is where the story gets murky, because William Aronwald was the head of the Southern District Organized Crime Strike Force, but he did not do much with Carmine.  He did help put Allie Boy away, but for some reason after Carmine was locked away forever in the commission case, he sent word to Joe Waverly that he wanted William Aronwald murdered because he disrespected the Colombo Family.  It is kind of strange if you look at Mr. Aronwald’s cases, he actually prosecuted Neil Dellacroce twice.  So it would seem that the Gambino's would be the ones with greater reason for the beef.

Joe Waverly is no ordinary mobster, back in the 1970's he had a florist shop in Sheepshead Bay and one day he was waylaid by 3 men trying to rob his shop.  He was shot in the chest but he wrestled the pistol away, killed the robber who shot him and shot at the others who ran away.  Joe then drove the dead robber to the local police precinct where he was quickly taken to the hospital for his wound.   

Joe survived that escapade and his legend continued to grow.  So when Carmine sent word that he wanted William Aronwald murdered, Joe took action.  He enlisted three Colombo Associates Vincent Carini, Eddie Carini and Frank Smith.  These guys were the real deal, shooters and good at hits.  He gave them a slip of paper with the name Aronwald and the address of the Brooklyn law firm he shared with his father George Aronwald.  They followed Aronwald from his Brooklyn Office and shot him in a laundromat near his home.  The only problem?  It was the elder George Aronwald, not the younger William Aronwald who was the former head of the Organized Strikeforce.  

The other four Mafia Families in New York were enraged that they killed the wrong man, and even more enraged that they had killed a judge.  They wanted those that took part in the murder gone.  So Joe had another set of killers grab the Carini brothers.  It was a brutal slaying because both brothers were found in cars but both had major defensive wounds on their hands and arms showing that they put up a fight.

I wonder why the Mafia Commission did not do more.  Why didn’t they make Carmine Persico step down?  Why did they do nothing to Joe Waverly who organized the hit?  Maybe there is more to this killing.  The Gambinos had more cause to act, but why bother?  Joe Waverly felt so bad for the Carini brothers that he married Eddie Carini's widow.  Joe also had the brothers killer’s killed in Brooklyn not long after the murder.

Joe's reputation soared after this and his crew was loyal to him.  He was close to Vic Arena and when Vic and Bill Cutolo revolted against the Persico rule, Joe joined them.  He saw Persico loyalist Capo Greg Scarpa driving down the street and he fired shots at him but missed.  Greg would catch up with Joe again in Brooklyn and they exchanged shots, this time with only Joe getting hit.  Joe drove himself to the hospital and was patched up.  Joe, being the good guy he is, later shifted sides back to the Persico side.  Joe would be upped to the Consigliare position in the family after the war.  

Joe's wife divorced him and soon she married a Police Officer named Ralph Dols, and they lived in Sheepshead Brooklyn.  Joe was insanely jealous. so he sent word that he wanted Ralph Dols dead.  The tale told by one of the shooters, Big Dino Calabro, is that Colombo Underboss Tommy "Shots" Gioli gave him the order, the address and slip of paper with Ralph Dols licence plate number on it.  They could not find Ralph Dols, so Joe called Dino in for a talk.  Dino then stepped up his efforts to get Ralph Dols.  They found out where he parked his car on the street, they had someone shoot out the street light with a BB Gun so it would be dark.  Ralph Dols came home from work, parked his car, got out of his car and was getting ready to shut his door when Big Dino Calabro, carrying a 44 Magnum, and his cousin, Little Dino Saracino, armed with a 45 Auto, walked toward him.  Ralph Dols asked what was up and they opened fire on him.  He fell on the hood of his car and they shot him a couple more times.  They took off, but Ralph Dols managed to get to his house before collapsing in his doorway.  

The hit squad had no idea Ralph Dols was NYPD and they had no idea it was a jealous lovers revenge, they thought it was dealing with Colombo Family business.  Today Joe Waverly aka Joel Cacace is on trial for the murder of Ralph Dols. Tommy Shots and Little Dino were found not guilty of the murder, but were found guilty of racketeering.  Maybe this time it will be the end of Joel Cacace aka Joe Waverly.

This is what the Mafia has become: honorless slayers of law enforcement, they are just like all other low level street gangs.

A "Secret" Criminal Organization?

The FBI has downsized its Mafia Squad in New York.  They used to have a squad for every family but today they only have two squads, about twenty five agents for all the families.  One keeps tabs on the Gambino and Lucchese and the other handles the Genovese,Colombo and Bonanno.  I was working with the C-38 squad or the Colombo Squad, now they are gone.  The mob squads used to be a sought-after assignment for Agents but today its all about Terrorism, so any Agent who wants to move up in today’s ranks gets in one of the terrorism squads.


So what does this mean?  Could this be the end of the Mafia?  That is doubtful.  They need to return to their roots of operating as a secret organization. John Gotti took over the Gambino Family at the wrong time.  The FBI was determined to step up their assault on the Mafia Families.  John shot his way to the top of the family.  He basically thumbed his nose at the Mafia Commission by killing Paul Castellano without the okay from them. He really thought he was smarter than the old men on the commission, guys with 50 years of experience.  John wanted to guide the family into what he thought was a good direction.  Big Paul was much better suited for the job.  He operated on another level by using the Unions to consolidate the construction, waste and concrete business. John Gotti and his brother, on the other hand, were moving heroin and shylocking.  

John Gotti

Big Paul operated a very profitable poultry business called Dial Poultry that sold wholesale chicken all over the East Coast.  He even worked with Frank Perdue from Perdue Chicken.  John Gotti takes over and he makes his Capo's show up every week at his club The Ravenite in Little Italy and this circus made it easy for the FBI to Identify all the guys in power.  Then he strolls around in his 3,000 dollar suits when he has no job.  He was a Capo who beat up a guy honking at him and then stole a few hundred dollars. That is not boss material.  They want to make a movie about him?  So lets celebrate a guy who kills a neighbor for accidentally running into his young son.  The kid was on a non street legal mini bike and did not observe basic traffic laws and got himself killed.  So the big Mafia guy John Gotti had his men kidnap the neighbor and make him disappear so his family can not have closure. John Gotti was not a good boss and he was no Al Capone.  

The Gambinos will grow and become bigger on a worldwide scale but we will not hear about it because the new bosses will not be some hotheaded crooks from Brooklyn.  They will be men who can operate on an international level.

Tony Accardo aka "Joe Batters"

Al Capone consolidated the Outfit in Chicago and streamlined it, but his kind of flashy rule wore out its welcome.  The new bosses knew that to much publicity was bad for business.  They knew that the politicians would take their money for gambling but not drugs, so they stopped it.  Tony Accardo or Joe Batters would rule the family for many decades without spending a night locked up.  He would die a free man but his Outfit would face many problems in the future.  The new leaders would forget some of the lessons they had learned from the past.  They still have some guys on the streets but can they rebuild the family? 

The LA Family has maybe 7 or 8 guys left but how active are they?  They could go the way the Gambinos are headed, but they would need some solid men to step up.  The major problem with all the Mafia Families is where they find recruits.  Contrary to what is written in the media, it is not pressure from new criminal groups at all that holds back the mafia families.  Most of these groups will not even be around in 10 years. No criminal group controls the drug trade or things like prostitution, that is bullshit.  The old boss Peter J Milano came from another time when Italians were looked down on and many were poor.  Today this is not true, they have assimilated into American society.  

I used to talk with Jimmy Caci for hours in Terminal Island and he would talk about how messed up things had become.  Jimmy gave his life to the Mafia and at the end he told me it was a waste.  Jimmy did about half his life in prison for the Mafia. In the end Jimmy had just his family and real friends.

Hollywood will keep churning out Movies like The Gangster Squad or any number of TV shows about Mickey Cohen or Whitey Bulger but it will be the same stuff.  Guys dressed in suits screaming at their underlings. Bad writing and they wonder why people don't watch their work.

I never saw Jimmy or Teddy Persico raise their voice at a single guy in their Crew,  Hang arounds or guys who were chased, sure they would dress them down, but they would also really hurt someone, not just bark.The truth is Sammy The Bull lied out in the open and nobody really went after him.  Sure they made some moves and pretended to go after him but it was his own drug dealing that brought him down.Once you flip and join Team USA you are safe.

The Mafia will be around for a number of years but I believe that you will be hearing less about them.  The smaller families will disappear because who in their right mind would want to join them?  The bigger families will go international and it will be years until we find out what they did.

All we have to do is look at history. For many years there were no real stories.  They found out about Murder INC from Abe Reles and he spilled his guts on how it worked but he was limited.  Then you had Joesph Valachi and he had a good understanding about the structure of the Mafia.  Then it was Jimmy Frattiano from Los Angeles and he really put it on the map.  Its been one book after another and we had an actual boss flip!  Joey Massino of the Bonanno family is the biggest to flip up to today.  Why would a lowly Soldier keep his mouth shut when bosses flip.

The future is in their hands!

George Conte

There is a man in a halfway house in Phoenix that has a lot of people worried. There are guys worrying in the Bronx and Brooklyn because this guy is the real deal. Who is he? He is George Conte 45096-053 and he is 53 years old and he will be free on March 10, 2014. George or "Goggles" as he is known because of his thick glasses -  but don't let that fool you.  George Conte and his partner in crime George Zappola were in Whitestone, Queens when Democratic District leader James D. Bishop was backing his car into a space at the apartment building of a friend. They fired a barrage of 8 bullets through the drivers side window.  The 380.cal bullets smashed into James D. Bishop's body killing him instantly.

George Zappola

Why did these two Lucchese family members murder James D. Bishop? He was the Secretary Treasurer of the International Brotherhood of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 9. This Union has 6,000 members and it was virtually controlled by the Lucchese family for decades. They were the ones who decided who did what in the Union and they looted it, rigged paint bids and everything else they could do to steal money. 

Gaspipe

James D. Bishop decided to help investigators looking into the Lucchese family's control of the Union and with that he signed his death warrant. Gaspipe Casso did not trust him, so that means he was was not long for this world.  George Conte has told people in the past that Gas (Gaspipe) had him killing guys once a week and he couldn't make any money.  He was a busy man because when he took the global plea with the rest of Lucchese administration he was looking at being charged with 4 murders and a couple of attempted murders on his own guys in the Lucchese family.  They had a defendant's meeting when they were talking about the plea and one of the Avellinos didn't want to take the plea (in a global plea all the defendants have to take the deal or it is off the table) George grabbed him and told him if he didn't take the plea he would kill him right there.

George's Mr. Nice Guy act did not end there. He and the other Brooklyn Capos did not like the fact that after Gaspipe went away the power of the family shifted back to the Bronx with Steve Crea and his faction running the family. Steve Crea is more what Tommy Lucchese had in mind for the future of his family.  Steve is in construction and that is where the big money comes from for the family. So George and the others decided to kill Steve Crea but it never went down.

Steve Crea "Wonderboy"

George was in on another almost killing. Patrick "Patty" Testa was a former Gambino associate who transferred to the Lucchese family. He was a courier for Vic Amuso when he was on the lam, but Vic went down. Patty was killed in his Brooklyn car lot by a gunman who shot him 9 times. Gaspipe put out the word that it was the Gambinos who killed him in retaliation for a killing.   Frank Lasterino the Consigulare of the Lucchese family put out the word that a guy in Nicky Corrozo's crew car was seen by Patty's lot before the killings. They then planned to kill Nicky Corrozo and Junior Gotti. This plan also fizzled because Gaspipe had Patty killed and probably gave up Vic.

George was again indicted while in custody for being the Capo in charge of a Brooklyn Crack Cocaine crew led by Lucchese Soldier Jimmy "Frogs" Galione. The crew flooded the streets of Brooklyn with crack and they extorted all the dealers they could find. They brought in about 100,000 dollars a week but at what price? These are men of honor? Soon this prince of a man will be free but I am sure that some of his own "friends" are planning to send him back as soon as possible.

One final well known story around Brooklyn is when Sal Cutia was asked to kill someone but did not have what it takes to do the work. So he approached George and offered him 50,000 dollars to do the work.  George laughed and told others about him because he saw him as weak.