The Edcia Saga

Edcia was a company formed by “Mob Wives” Alicia Garofalo and Debra Specchio and operated under the name Big R Trucking.  It was listed the office at the same address as a porn company and later had its trucks at the Bonafide yard in Brooklyn. On February 11, 2005, Edcia filed an application for an exemption from licensing and a trade waste registration with the City of New York Business Integrity Commission.

If you look at the name you can see where they came up with Edcia.  Eddie and Alicia.

Debra Specchio is the wife of Steve Marcus who would later wear a wire against Eddie and the Persicos.  Steve was caught on tape by me and the FBI was able to go up on their phones.  Steve was confronted by the FBI and they made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Steve joined Team USA.  

On August 18, 2006, the Commission issued a 15-page recommendation that the application be denied.

Eddie and Steve Marcus were already doing business all over New York and parts of New Jersey.  

One of the reasons the Commission denied the company and exemption was Eddie’s friendship with Teddy Persico Jr.  Teddy was released from prison on April 28, 2004 after 16 years for dealing cocaine.  Eddie knew full well what Teddy was going to do when he got out.  Eddie arranged Teddy’s limo ride home. Eddie knew Teddy was going to eat at a restaurant in the city with other Colombos.  Eddie was supposed to keep Teddy out of trouble while he got acclimated to being free.  Eddie knew Teddy most of his life and after Eddie’s father was killed Teddy stepped up for him so he could make a living.  Eddie knew without a doubt that Teddy was in the Colombo family.  

Eddie was recorded by the Commission telling them he knew Teddy all his life and they were friends and that he did believe he was what they claimed.  The Commission used the tape I made in Eddie’s truck with Teddy yelling about Craig Marino and his brother Carmine having dirty bullets in his gun.

Eddie also claimed to the Commission that he was helping out Teddy because he had no family and his father was in prison.  Really?  Danny, Sean, Carmine and all the cousins?  

May 27, 2004 a month after Persico’s release and during the same time period Persico possessed the gun charged in the indictment, Persico incorporated T&E Leasing Corp. (“T&E”) which is for Teddy and Eddie.  Eddie had him buy some trucks and then lease them to him so he had something to show money coming in monthly.

Eddie told the Commission that he did not know Teddy was a member of Organized Crime until he got Teddy’s indictment from his brother and he read about Teddy.  

Even after Teddy took the plea deal Eddie still would not believe he was a Colombo.

The biggest farce is that Michael Persico loaned Eddie the money to start Edcia on a handshake and promise. Don’t most people get 100k on just a handshake from the boss of the Colombo family's son?  He had to go back and ask Michael for an extra 50k.

Eddie worked for Edcia for free and did not take a salary.  I wonder how he paid for his gambling and vacations?  He told the Commission that he was his wife’s “fire man,” “If there is a fire, I go put it out.”

Eddie is now free and back with his family.  Teddy is locked up and Michael is still awaiting sentencing.   He and his wife sure got off easy.

Michael Persico and the Colombo Family

Michael Persico is the son of Carmine Persico and the brother of Allie Boy Persico.  Michael was always known as the straight son.  Michael was never inducted into the Colombo Family but he didn't need to be because he was the son of the boss and the brother of the acting boss.

Michael Persico has lived with all the perks of being a Mafia Boss without the exposure.  He has watched as his father went away for a hundred years, his brother for life and many relatives.  Never has Michael been in trouble until recently and that is mostly because of a man named Steve Marcus.  I met and recorded Steve and his son Jeremy while I was wearing a wire.  Jeremy was the part paper owner of D.M. Equipment Leasing with Eddie Garafolo's wife Alicia and he was a bouncer at a Mob run stripclub in Manhatten.

Michael took a really good plea deal where he would plead out to one count of extortionate extension of credit, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.  This was a great deal considering what he was charged with at the time.  Michael gave Anthony Preza $100,000 for a shylock loan and he gave it to Teddy Persico Jr, James Bombino and a Cooperating Witness.  Michael did this to disguise the fact that he was giving the loan.

The Feds claim in the indictment and his sentencing memorandum that he took part in the murder of Joseph Scopo. They claim that he passed on the order for the murder along with his cousin Teddy Persico Jr for the hit.   They also write that Michael assembled the team of shooters to carry out the job.  They were Frank Guerra, Eric Curcio, Johnnie Pappa, Anthony Russo and John Sparacino.  He then provided the guns that would be used for the hit.  

They would murder Joseph Scopo and not long after Eric Curcio and John Sparacino would be murdered.  Johnnie Pappa would murder John Sparacino and then with the help of Anthony Russo they would cut off his penis, place it in his mouth before setting his body on fire.

These are wonderful people and they are what helped Michael Persico live the life of a Mafia Prince.  He ran a number of businesses thanks to his father and brother.  I was told by his cousin Teddy Jr that he would bring word from Carmine who was in Lompoc Federal Penitentiary.

There was a man named Michael Devine who lived on Staten Island and he owned a nightclub.  Michael never had anything to do with the mafia, never wanted to have anything to do with them.

Michael fell in love with a woman named Tori Persico and that would be his bad luck.

Tori Persico was the estranged wife of Allie Boy Persico who was locked up at the time.

Allie Boy was very jealous of the relationship so he had some of his men wait outside Michael’s condo complex on Staten Island.  When he pulled into the garage they were there and they shot him twice in the head and twice in the groin.  The next morning Michael was found in his still running 1991 Pathfinder dead.

The FBI had a tape of Michael Persico speaking with his brother Allie Boy about Michael Devine. Michael Persico was able to get the recording suppressed but that does not mean that he was not part of it.  

The Cosa Nostra or Mafia was never supposed to be about settling personal scores but the Persicos have broken every rule in the Mafia. They had Law Enforcement murdered, sold drugs and committed many other off-limits crimes.  

Carmine Persico was charged a long time ago in a hijacking case but he kept fighting it long after everyone else took their time which was not bad.  The case started in 1960 and it took five trials and 8 years for Carmine to be found guilty.  He ended up getting sentenced  to 8 years in Federal Prison.  Lets hope they grant Michael the right to a new trial and he gets a long time!

Blog Updates: Nicodemo Scarfo Jr, Alicia Garofalo, Shrimp Boy Chow

This week is an update to earlier blog posts.

Nicodemo Scarfo Jr. is the son of Philadelphia Mafia Boss Nicky Scarfo Sr. and a made member of the Lucchese Family.  Nicodemo has been a forward thinker in the Mafia world because he was among the first to use computers and encryption to evade the FBI.  He used computers to run his bookmaking and shylocking business and then he went into the corporate take-over business.

Nicodemo and friends used Mafia tactics to take over Irving, Texas based First Plus Financial Group, a mortgage company.  They gained control of the board using threats and other means and then they proceeded to loot the company of 12 million dollars in less than a year.  They used shell companies owned by Nicodemo and friends to bill for work that they did not need or want.  Then, after they were successful, they bought more companies and stole even more.  They were caught on wiretaps speaking to Nicky Scarfo Sr. and Lucchese Family Boss Vic Amuso about the scheme.  In one recording Nicodemo was caught telling his father, "They were a good 6 to 10 months off from helping everyone."  “Everyone” meant other Mafia associates.  I am sure both the elder Scarfo and Boss Amuso got their end first.  Nicodemo used the cash to by homes,  jewelry, weapons and a yacht which they named "Priceless".  This scheme made them 12 million plus and Nicodemo's Bookmaking made them a pile before this arrest. He is a forward thinker and a moneymaker, but the one thing I do not understand is why buy a huge house, cars and that yacht. He had to know that the FBI was going to be busting down their doors and seize all their newly acquired showy wealth.  Why not not bury the cash and then when you get caught claim poverty, take a deal, get out in 10 years and still have some hidden cash to show for it. This time Nicodemo is facing 20 years but he will probably not get the full sentence.

The next up is Alicia Garofalo the wife of Colombo Associate Eddie Garofalo.  Eddie pled out and took a deal so his wife did not have to suffer as much as him.  The problem is that Alicia then became a cast member on the TV show “Mob Wives.”  In her pre-sentencing memorandum she claims that she only took the gig to provide for her children.  The Feds countered this by rightly saying that she was glorifying the life. They are right, why should she get to profit from the life and not have to pay, unlike her husband. Her defense team claims that she was showing how bad the life was and what it does to families.  I could tell from her parties in Las Vegas and other places, running around with the cast members places that she was trying to show how bad the life is for her.  When I was wearing a wire inside the mobile home that served as Big R Trucking's office she was on the phone with Eddie billing for his other company T&E or “Teddy and Eddie,” their heavy equipment company.  She grew up in the area and knew who the Persicos were and what they do. She was not innocent or a victim.

Even before I was no longer in Brooklyn I knew they had gone up on the phones and had caught her speaking about the business.  Steve Marcus, who flipped after me, continued to give them probable cause to investigate Alicia.  

I hope the judge does not buy all the crap in her Memorandum and gives her some time and at least a 100k fine.  Unlike others who deal drugs or even Nicodemo Scarfo who stole from a company, she stole from hardworking Union members health and pension benefits.  I love how her lawyers have to point out what a hard life she has had because her father died when she was young and she is a single mother of three children.  Somehow through all that hardship she was able to enjoy the good life with Eddie: taking vacations, gambling, going out on his speed boat and having an affair.  Poor Alicia.

Now for Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow, the Dragon head or “Dai Lo” of the Chee Kung Tong (centuries old Chinese Triad or Mafia). Shrimp Boy had a bail hearing and his lawyer the great Tony Serra put together 10 character witnesses who testified that he was a changed man and sought to help the community.  He was against violence or at least the kind he did not approve.  The FBI countered that it was act and that he was a danger to the community because he was the leader and was in command of a lot of criminals.  They claim to have more than enough evidence to show that he was and is a very dangerous criminal that sought to sell stolen goods, murder and launder money.  The judge agreed with the US Attorney and ordered Shrimp Boy be held without bail.  The one thing I find wrong with this case is Senator Leeland Yee’s involvement.  This is a man that gained the public trust and swore that he would do what is right for the people of the State of California.  He voted for gun control and against violent video games, yet he was at the same time making deals to buy military weapons from Philippine Muslim Terrorists and turning around to sell them for cash.  He is right there in pictures with the criminal Shrimp Boy and yet he gets bail?  He should be the one locked up because he was pretending to be a good guy, and he clearly was not.

Recent Mafia Headlines

There was a lot of Mafia news in New York this week. A couple of the stories were funny and one of the best headlines was, “Canoli King sexually harassed waitress: Suit.”

That is correct, Reputed Gambino “Baby John” Delutro, owner of Cafe Palermo in Little Italy (where one can get the best Canoli in the US) has been sued by a former waitress.

Baby John is the son of Tony West Delutro, a respected Gambino Family man.  Baby John was busted back in 1984 for dealing drugs, and he was still on paper when he met with an informant who was wearing a wire.  Baby John was trying to negotiate the purchase of 50 Kilos of Cocaine and 50 Kilos of Heroin.  There were drug sales in Little Italy and other tapes were made, like when he spoke to the informant, telling him "I can only take 3 Kilos right now, my friends are fat from the feast".  He was talking about a big buy he and his gangster buddies bought during the Feast of San Gennero.   Baby John, what a guy!

In other headlines, Alicia Garofalo, who quit the reality show “Mob Wives” after finding out the judge does not find her reality stardom funny.    They keep talking about her crimes in the show like it is no big deal.  She stole money from hard working Union Members, their health and pension.  I was around Eddie Garofalo a lot and trust me he was no genius. In fact, the guy wrote like a 3rd grader.  She has claimed that she had no idea what was going on.  Really? The FBI has tapes of her.  In fact, she pleaded guilty to the charges before she took back her plea.

I can tell you this: her brother (who is in pictures with her going to court) knew what Eddie was about.  He was around a number of functions when I was around.  She goes on “Mob Wives” talking about how she had no idea about the criminal activity, and then talking about Eddie's dad being killed.  I did some work with a Tele Communication's company on Maiden Lane.  Eddie got about 500k from the guy who ran it and he started his trucking business.  The business had guys like Wild Bill Cutolo, George Tropiano, John Baudanza and Manny Garofalo involved.  Big R trucking was run out of Eddie's cousin’s porno business in Brooklyn with the trucks run out of the Bonafide Fuel truck lot in downtown Brooklyn.  Big R is named after Eddie and Alicia's son, and it moved to a Staten Island truck lot owned by his cousin Eddie G, a Gambino man who is locked away for life.

Big R was also a lot of other companies and he had a heavy equipment company called T and E as in Teddy and Eddie. That is right Teddy Persico was a part of the business and he was there a lot!  Yes Alicia is just a woman who has been duped into thinking her man was just a truck driving schlub who works hard.  Nevermind their home in Cherry Hill, the elaborate vacations or Eddie’s huge gambling problem.  He has pictures of himself with all these huge checks from casinos all over.  The problem?  Those pictures are of the times he won, and anyone who knows gamblers knows they lose more often than they win.

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Eddie had also been arrested before by the FBI for Pump and Dump stuff he did with others.  He went on the lam running to Las Vegas and as far as La Jolla, California, until he felt he would not go away for long.  Then there is his Uncle Manny, his father’s brother.  That man has been arrested with the “Who's Who” of the Mafia and yet now, miraculously, he gets no time?

Alicia took back her plea just this last week because the judge wanted her to pay for restitution because the Union is claiming a much larger loss.  The judge and prosecutors did not like that she lived it up on “Mob Wives” glamorizing the Mafia life.  She wanted Eddie to testify for her at her sentencing, yet she cheated on him?  She has stated that she is getting a divorce?  If she was not gaining from being around the Mafia why is she on TV, getting paid 8k an episode!

There was also Colombo news this week because a judge hit Dino "Little Dino" Saracino with a 50 year sentence for his part in the racketeering case that took out many Colombos.   Little Dino was part of Capo Tommy Gioli's crew, and he killed for him.  He walked on the biggest charges like killing NYPD Cop Ralph Dols or Wild Bill Cutolo, but he was convicted of enough.  It didn't help that he bragged to a wired up informant that he could do 17 years of a 20 year sentence and come out with a smile.

The judge gave him 50 years and this time, he wasn't smiling.  He killed real people.  He is no hero, and he could ease the pain of his victim’s relatives.  He is done.  Why not tell the family of victim Carmine Gargano where his body is hidden?