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!

Colombo War: A Father-Son Story (Part III)

Less than three days after Bill Sr disappeared, the FBI reached out to Bill Jr.  One of the first things the agent said to Bill was that he was reaching out to give his condolences about the death of his father.  Bill Jr was caught off guard, and said “My father’s been gone less than three days, how do you know he’s dead?”  The agent responded saying anytime a man of his father’s rank in the family disappears, its the last time they are seen alive.  The agent continued on to ask Bill Jr if he would like to help the FBI investigate his father’s disappearance.  Bill Jr agreed on the condition that he didn’t have to wear a wire.  Within two weeks he had changed his mind and was ready to wear a recording device.  

A number of devices were used, ranging from hidden devices sewn into Bill Jr’s clothing to a cell phone that was wired.  One of the first people Bill Jr recorded was Jackie DeRoss.  Jackie was soon caught up in an FBI sting.  The FBI had set up a fake Manhattan businessman who was supposedly making a lot of money in shady businesses.  Jackie sent Downtown Ronnie to go with Bill Jr to shake down this “shady businessman” who was in reality an FBI agent.  That pretty much sealed Jackie’s fate as far as extortion, but left Bill Jr no closer to the whereabouts of his father.  Billy continued to go to his father’s club and hang with the rest of his father’s crew members.  He recorded a number of them speaking candidly about the family.  

When you wear a wire for the FBI you always have to be recording, its always on, friend or foe.  Anytime you talk on the phone, its recorded.  Sometimes you end up catching friends, or those you wish no harm to, on these recordings, which has repercussions for them down the road.  

A few days after Bill Sr had disappeared, Jackie DeRoss upgraded his ride to a leather topped Cadillac, which he drove to Bill Sr’s club, where he spoke to Billy, calling him “Buff” and pretending that nothing was wrong.  He did not even acknowledge the ongoing search for Billy’s father.  This proved to be very hard for Billy Jr but he had to play along because another one of the FBI’s unbreakable rules is “absolutely no violence at all.”  

Meanwhile, the Persicos, along with DeRoss, were busy trying to locate and steal any money that Bill Sr had anywhere, his businesses, his stashes, etc.  Billy Jr was now having a hard time making ends meet, so the FBI began paying him for his expenses and time.  After months of not knowing who killed his father, the FBI would charge Ally Boy Persico and Jackie DeRoss with the murder of Bill Sr. They used Billy Jr’s tapes and testimony from others to convict them.  Still no body.  There were a lot of rumors that he was dumped at sea, that he was incinerated, that he was compacted in a junk yard, that would go on until a young man named Joey Compantello was arrested with the Colombo underboss and others for some murders.  Joey Compatello aka Joey Caves, saw the writing on the wall and decided to flip.  He gave up the location of Bill Sr’s body.  The FBI began digging and soon found Bill Sr’s body in a Long Island grave.  This ended 8 years of anguish for the Cutolo family.

The Colombo family decided to get rid of Joe Campy partly because of what he said to Billy Jr on the tapes.  One day, Joe Campy was in Coney Island at the beach.  He noticed a blue van following him throughout the day.  He didn’t think much of it, because the FBI had raided him recently, and they had driven a similar blue van.  He just figured this van was the FBI agents.  After his day at the beach, Joe was stowing his beach chair in the trunk of his Mercedes when the van pulled up, the door slid open, and someone yelled, “Hey Joe Campy!” and they began firing shots at him.  He was hit but he continued to zigzag and run.  The van took off and he laid down on the ground.  An off-duty cop happened to be on the scene, and rushed over.  He told Joe to stay down because he’d been shot in the foot and the arm.  Joe was rushed to the hospital where he soon recovered.  He kept his mouth shut even though he knew who had shot him.  The Persicos soon started taking everything of Joe’s on the street.  They even tried to take his Harley Davidsons.  That was the final straw for Joe and he too began cooperating.   

This story of the lust for greed and power will show you what the mafia is like today.  There is no honor, there is no loyalty.  If you work your way up as an earner you will get killed by the greedy ones on top.

The Life in Breakshot

The Life.

That is what I write about in Breakshot. Anyone who reads it will see it is about the life and all that it is and was. The life looks glamorous and fun. The reality of the life is that it’s a grind. I wanted it and I gave up everything for it. It was not worth it.
Joseph Avila was murdered in what should have been the prime of his life. He would never see his kids grow up. Mike Rizzi the Capo who everyone ranked as a tough stand up Guy., died in diapers after years locked away. Mike did many years; he did a lot of work, in the end all that was for nothing. I have pictures of his funeral, just family and a few friends. No big Mafia send off for Mike.

I write about Mama Coca aka Griselda Blanco, she was the female Scarface. She made millions, so many millions, yet she lived in a state of war. She had to move, hide out. Her young son had to live with others to be safe. She did 24 years straight and then was deported. She lost two of her three sons to the life.
Osvaldo, the next Pablo Escobar made it to 1992 and Uber made it till 2000.

Bill Cutolo Sr lived the life; he made it to the upper levels. Yet when he was called to make peace he did. He helped put the Illegal Colombo Family back together. Then when greed got the better of those in power he was called in and that was that. 8 years his family waited and then finally they had closure.
The killers of Bill Cutolo did not fair well. Allie Boi Persico got life and so did Jokey Deross. Tommy Man Boobs Geoli is done. Big Dino is done and may have flipped. Joey Caves got on that boat first so he will live a life..

I used to think the Mafia was this sophisticated organization, then my eyes opened and I saw it for what it was in real life. A ragtag bunch of loser criminals.
Look at those idiots who shot Joey Camp. They followed him around in one of their wives blue mini vans. They had to yell out his name before they blasted him. Chickie you should have worked on your aim. Goodbye for the rest of your life.

That is what the life is about. It is a dead end. That is the point of Breakshot.