Anthony Colombo Dies

Another one bites the dust.

This time it is the son of Joseph Colombo, the original man the Colombo crime family is named after. The one time boss of the Colombo crime family brought a lot of unwanted attention to the Mafia by forming a civil rights group. His son Anthony was the vice president of the Italian American Civil Rights League, which rallied Italians to the streets to protest the unfair treatment of Italians.  They were group that bullied the producers of the Godfather to remove the words “mafia” and “La Cosa Nostra” from the movie.

That all ended when Joseph Colombo was shot in the head and neck by a man named Jerome Johnson during the Italian Unity Day Rally. Johnson was wrestled to the ground and shot, but nobody was ever convicted of his murder.  Joseph Colombo remained paralyzed for the next seven years, until his death in 1978.

Anthony Colombo was a made member of the Colombo crime family, and when the war between the Persico faction and Vic Orena broke out in 1991, he choose to side with the Orena faction.  Carmine Persico was the boss of the family and Vic Orena was an acting boss who did not want to step down for Allie Boy Persico, who had been locked up.  

The war in the streets of Brooklyn and Staten Island left 12 people dead.  A number of associates also went missing.  The Colombos were barred from the Mafia Commission and most of its leadership was sent to prison.

After the war, Anthony Colombo and Gerard Clemenza, both Made members of the family, were put on the shelf by the Persicos. Which means that although they were still members of the family, they were to have no business with the family and other members were told to ignore them.

So Anthony, Gerard and Christopher Colombo formed the Colombo Brothers Crew in Orange County, New York. It was basically a traditional mafia crew that operated on its own.

Philippe Dioguardi, also known as “Fat Philly,” was a man I knew from Palm Springs, California.  He used to be with Jimmy Caci, a capo in the Los Angeles family.  He was involved with Jimmy and the guys so we used to see him a lot at the club on Palm Canyon Drive.  He was a long time friend of the Colombo brothers and Gerard Clemenza.

One day I was with Jimmy at a bagel place in downtown Palm Springs and Fat Philly came to sit down with us.  Vince Lupo ended up at the table too.  Philly explained that he was going to move to Queens.

Fat Philly became part of the Colombo brothers crew.  He was called a “bagman” by the prosecutors in the case.  Fat Philly would pick up cash in Manhattan and bring it to Anthony Colombo’s home. The problem was the organised crime squad was watching and listening to the crew.

They all ended up being charged with racketeering in the Southern District Federal Court.

The Indictment was the usual: gambling, extortion, loan sharking, etc, but they were also charged with defrauding the internet advertiser Doubleclick.

Anthony Colombo plead guilty to, among other things, getting Fat Philly a no show construction job with EDP Enterprises.  

He received 14 years.

He died at his home in San Diego, California at the age of 71 from complications due to diabetes on January 6.

Another Bonanno Capo Gets Locked Up

Peter Lovaglio, aka “Pug,” a Bonanno capo, has done two stints in federal prison and now he will be doing some state time for an assault.

In 2013 he was caught meeting with Gerald Chili, a capo from Florida who was picked up at the airport by Anthony Rabito, aka “Fat Tony.”  The FBI was watching them the whole time.  They have so many confidential human sources there are no secrets anymore.  Gerald Chili was on probation so he was later arrested.

Pug ended up pleading guilty to cover three probation violations.  

In 2013 a company known as G&S Carting Inc. wanted to obtain an exemption for the company from the New York City Business integrity commission so they could operate a trade waste business to haul away building waste from demolition and construction.

Chung Industries Inc. also applied for an exemption in 2013 to haul away trade waste.

The problem was, both of these companies were run by a man known as Carl Puma.

Christine Puma claimed to be the 100% principal operator of Chung Industries, Chung is her maiden name.  

You see, Carl Puma wanted access to jobs that were set aside for MWBE (Minority and Women owned Business Enterprises).  His wife, being both a woman and a minority, would have access if she was sole owner of a company.  So he opened a second company out of the same office and ran it under her name.  He was overheard telling someone that he informed his wife if they were designated a MWBE they could have access to a 10 million dollar contract job.

The commission did some more digging and they found out Carl Puma was friends with Peter Lovaglio, a known member of organized crime.  Carl Puma claimed he did not know him well.  Then the commission found that they exchanged 17 cell phone calls in a short period of time.  Peter Lovaglio had a company called LLN LOVA Inc.  The commission found a check SWF Trucking made out to G&S Carting Inc that had written in the memo line “for Balance due LLN Lova.”

The commission denied both companies their requested exemptions.

In November of 2015 Peter Lovaglio got into an altercation at an upscale Sushi restaurant on Staten Island.  He struck the owner in the face with a broken glass, nearly causing him to lose his eye.

He got away that night but the police had a photograph of Peter Lovaglio that the NYPD Organized Crime Investigations unit later identified. He was arrested and just last week he plead guilty.  He was promised an eight year cap on first degree assault with a five year term of post release supervision.

Peter Lovaglio also still has a case of aggravated driving without a license and possession of a deadly weapon hanging over his head.  He was supposedly drunk and had a knife.

You have to wonder sometimes about these guys.  There was no profit to be had.  They seem instead like the types of crimes committed by men with drinking problems and a temper.

No More Little Nicky

The old school Mafia guys are starting to drop fast in 2017.  Nicodemo Scarfo Sr. aka “Little Nicky,” the ruthless boss of the Philadelphia family, has died and it may have been on Friday the 13 or early on the 14th.  It would seem more fitting for Little Nicky to die on Friday the 13th.

Born in 1929 in Brooklyn New York, his family moved to New Jersey where he would grow up.  He was always trouble and soon followed his uncle Nicholas Piccolo, a made member of the Philadelphia family, into organized crime. Piccolo aka “Nicky Buck” became a capo under long time boss Angelo Bruno.  Little Nicky proved himself capable after a stint as a boxer and a part time gig tending bar.  He went out on hits for the family and was soon proposed for membership in 1954 and was inducted into the family along with two of his uncles.

Little Nicky was always a hot head.  In 1963 he stabbed a man to death outside a restaurant in Philadelphia.  The boss Angelo Bruno did not like what he had done and contemplated killing him but instead he banished Little Nicky to Atlantic City.  Atlantic City at the time was a former resort town that had become nothing but a shell.

Fortune seemed to smile on Little Nicky in 1976, when the state of New Jersey legalized gambling in Atlantic City.  He had struggled to make ends meet with a small bookmaking and loansharking operation.  In 1976 that all changed and he changed his direction. He went into the cement business with his Nephew Philip Leonetti aka “Crazy Phil.”  

They infiltrated unions and other crime family members had a rebar company.  When the building boom started, the cash flowed in and the cement company, Scarf Inc., was able to cash in on it.

In 1979 an Atlantic City contractor named Vincent Falcone insulted Little Nicky.  As a result, he was lured to a house where Crazy Phil shot him while the others watched. A plumber named Joseph Salerno Jr. was also present during the murder, but afterwards he went to the FBI.  They arrested Little Nicky and the others but they were all later acquitted by a jury.  They did find a gun in Little Nicky's home so he was sentenced to two years in prison.

In 1980 Angelo Bruno, the boss, was shotgunned to death in front of his home. The next boss, Philip Testa, aka “Chicken Man” lasted a year before he was blown up by a bomb planted on his front porch.  It was then that Little Nicky stepped up and took power in Philadelphia.

He immediately started ordering murders, including Salvatore Testa’s - the son of the former boss.

He was able to consolidate power in the city, and he started imposing a street tax on illegal activity.  He had many people murdered and he would leave them in public to instill fear.

The money began to pour into the family and he became the New Jersey version of John Gotti or Al Capone.  He had a nice house in Fort Lauderdale, Florida along with a boat named CASABLANCA The Usual Suspects.

In 1987 the Feds started catching up to the family and Little Nicky was convicted in the extortion of a builder.  He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.  In 1988 a massive RICO case was brought against him and 16 others.  He was found guilty on 33 counts, which included 8 murders, and he was given another 55 years in prison.  

Little Nicky was convicted the next year of another murder and given a life sentence, which meant he would die in prison.  He did manage to get acquitted in a retrial for that murder, but he still had to do the other sentences.

He tried to run the family from prison but it fell into civil war and even his son Nicky Jr. was shot.  Nicky Jr. would be inducted into the Lucchese family where he would become a capo.  Nicky Jr. is currently serving a 33 year sentence for various crimes. Crazy Phil, his nephew and former underboss, would flip and tell the FBI everything.

So the violent little man Scarfo is now gone. I am sure somebody will miss him, but Philadelphia and all of his victim’s families can breath a sigh of relief.

Joe Bilotti: Old School Gambino

It was just before 6pm on December 16, 1985 when the black Lincoln pulled up and parked in front of Sparks Steak House in Manhattan.  The streets were busy, but four men dressed in trench coats and fur hats moved with purpose.  The passenger was Paul Castellano, the boss of the Gambino crime family.  As he stepped out of the car, the men opened fire on him. The driver emerged and ducked a little to look towards Paul before he was shot in the back.

The forgotten man was Tommy Bilotti, Castellano’s driver and the new underboss of the family.

Tommy had a brother named Joe that passed away last week.  Joe was real Cosa Nostra, not like the clowns that run around playing the role in Brooklyn and Staten Island.  Guys who were in the life consider Joe the ultimate wiseguy. He kept a low profile, both before his brother Tommy was murdered by John Gotti’s crew and after.

The Billotti brothers were both known as tough guys with their hands.  They used that fear to build up a massive gambling business.  This proved a natural segway into their next business, which was loansharking.  They both prospered because of their talent as businessmen.

One of the men on record with Tommy was a man named Joe Watts, a childhood friend who grew up with the Bilottis in the South Beach section of Staten Island.

Joe Watts was known as “the German” because he was part German.  He managed the loan shark business for Tommy until Tommy was gunned down outside Sparks Steakhouse.

John wanted to get rid of Paul Castellano and Tommy Bilotti because he was caught up in the web of a heroin trafficking case and pure greed. Gotti and a few others plotted to take over the family, but they were not sure when to do it.

One plan was to put plastic down in the Watts home and invite Tommy over and murder him.

Then another man would take Tommy’s place as Paul's driver and murder him.

Instead, they settled on the midtown Manhattan spectacle.

Once Tommy was murdered, Sammy Gravano, the man who would later become John Gotti’s underboss, met with Joe Bilotti at a diner.  He told Joe that his brother’s murder was just business.

Joe Watts was urging John Gotti Sr. to murder Joe also, lest he seek revenge.  Joe agreed that he would accept it and not cause trouble.

John Gotti rewarded Joe Watts with Tommy’s loansharking book/business and it made him a millionaire.  No wonder Joe Watts was in on the murder of the boss.  He was one of the shooters.  Joe Watts might have made some money and had a few good years but he has been locked up for years.

In 2011 Joe Watts was handed another prison sentence of 13 years for his participation in another murder. At 69 years old who knows if he will see freedom.

Joe Billotti outlived John Gotti.  He was able to see him go away after Sammy Gravano helped team USA put him away.  Gotti would die inside, never again a free man.

He continued to take part in Gambino family business.  He was seen meeting with members of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra family in Florida in recent years.

Joe was a successful guy who most people don't know had a cigar factory in the Dominican Republic.  

So we say goodbye to another old timer who lived the life.

The Chicago Outfit Today

The Chicago Outfit once dominated Chicago crime, but today it has faded into the background.  If you are in the mafia, that is the way you would want it.  When murders in Chicago reach into the 740’s for the year 2016 there is little time to give the Outfit press time.

The Outfit is still operating in Chicago today.  It is a far cry from the days of Al Capone or the long steady reign of Tony Accardo.  

Last week the ATF pulled an undercover sting on one of the few members of the Outfit’s Grand Avenue crew. Charles “Chuckie” Russell who is also the brother in law of  Albert Vena who heads the crew.  Albert is a capo and the street boss of the Outfit as of now.  

The ATF got interested in Russell when he bragged to one of their informants that he was juiced up in the Outfit.  He was looking to buy some guns for a planned home invasion robbery.

Russell bragged to the wired up informant that he was head of the “Bishop Boys” a robbery/ burglary crew that is responsible for hundreds of heists.

This is where the Outfit has gone down, the quality of it’s workers. In Tony Accardo’s time a loud mouth home invader would not be around long.

In all the decades Accardo was around his only mistake was having the burglars who robbed his home tortured, murdered and left as an example.  It brought a tremendous amount of heat on the Outfit when they had gambling and other white collar crimes locked up.

Russell met with the informant and an undercover ATF agent to discuss what he was looking to buy at least eight guns an AK-47 and an UZI for the job.  He was planning a home invasion right before Christmas.  He had been watching an attorney who supposedly had a safe with 750,000 dollars in cash. He had an ex-girlfriend who was close to the attorney feeding him information.

The crew was ready and they had police scanners, masks, cars and changes of clothes. The only real obstacle would be the attorney.  They needed the attorney to open the safe and he hoped he would not drop dead from a heart attack.

People always question me about why these guys talk about past crimes.  They love to brag because crime is their world, their lives and if nobody knows about it what good is it?

Russell described to the agent how he loved to make the score, the rush from pulling it off and the counting of the cash afterwards. He recounted the time he once stole so much cash it took him all night to count it and that his hands were covered in dirt.  This is so true - most people forget about how nasty those rag paper bills get.  The old money counters would get gummed up fast from the dirt, so we would often weigh the cash instead.

He then showed the agent a picture on his phone of a bullet riddled car and a driver's license of a black man.  He told him that it was a nice piece of work and that he had shot the guy through his head. He then told them how they drove the car to a black neighborhood so it would be just another black crime.

Believe it or not this kind of bragging is common, they all want you to know just what tough guys they are in real life.

Chuckie Russell might be in some real big trouble because the Chicago PD confirmed that the man whose license he showed the agent was murdered.