Crime never pays, you will always get what's coming.  The latest made guy to find that hard truth out is Bonanno crime family soldier Ronald Giallanzo.   A lifetime criminal who has been with the Bonannos for over 16 years, Giallanzo been involved in everything from stock schemes to bookmaking.  

In fact, he was arrested along with my old friends John Baudanza, Little Craig Marino and Jerry Degerolamo in 2006 when they were busted for their stock pump-and-dump business.

They stole more the 20 million dollars with their penny stocks.

They used familiar sounding stocks to draw victims to buy them.  They had names like, America's Hedge Fund, Orex Gold Mines Corporation, Legends Sports and Motorsports USA, so you can see how people, mostly a lot of retired senior citizens, would fall for it.

They controlled over 20 brokerage houses where they paid brokers commission, over 25%, to push these so called “house stocks.”  The bonuses were paid in cash because most of these businesses brought in little or no revenue.

Giallanzo’s life of crime seemed to pay off. He made millions over the years, managing sportsbooks for the family.  

He was among those caught by the FBI going to a Bonanno family Christmas party a few years back.  He and most of the others were still on parole, and they had “do not associate” rules in effect.

The FBI set up and used video and still pictures to get a number of the mobsters violated.

Giallanzo had to go before a judge because he still had time on his parole.  The US Attorney wanted him to serve 2 years for the violation.

Giallanzo’s lawyer argued that the same judge had given other men in similar situations a year and a day.  The judge ended up giving him a year and a day.

The Federal government now wants their pound of flesh, so they served Giallanzo legal papers to seize his Queens home.  It's a nice 3,500 square foot home on 86th in Howard Beach.  

It is owned on paper by his wife, but the Feds claim the money to construct, remodel and purchase all came from criminal proceeds. The seizure laws are in favor of the government, because anyone that faces seizure of property must prove that it is not from illegal activity.

Last year Giallanzo’s Uncle Vincent Asaro, who was part of the crew that robbed Lufthansa airlines for 6 million in cash, was acquitted on those charges and murder.  Yet Vincent Asaro and the rest are marked men.

Theodore Persico Sr aka Teddy passed away this week.  He was the brother of imprisoned Colombo family boss Carmine Persico.  He was a capo and part of the ruling panel for the Colombos.  He was also one of the point men during the civil war in the 1990’s.  He was one of the reasons his son Teddy Jr. was so eager to give the go ahead to murder Joe Scopo.  Teddy Jr. gave the order while attending his grandmother's funeral in Brooklyn while on furlough from prison.  

I will write more on Teddy Sr next week.

Crime does not pay just ask Teddy and Ronald

Crime never pays, you will always get what's coming.  The latest made guy to find that hard truth out is Bonanno crime family soldier Ronald Giallanzo.   A lifetime criminal who has been with the Bonannos for over 16 years, Giallanzo been involved in everything from stock schemes to bookmaking.  

In fact, he was arrested along with my old friends John Baudanza, Little Craig Marino and Jerry Degerolamo in 2006 when they were busted for their stock pump-and-dump business.

They stole more the 20 million dollars with their penny stocks.

They used familiar sounding stocks to draw victims to buy them.  They had names like, America's Hedge Fund, Orex Gold Mines Corporation, Legends Sports and Motorsports USA, so you can see how people, mostly a lot of retired senior citizens, would fall for it.

They controlled over 20 brokerage houses where they paid brokers commission, over 25%, to push these so called “house stocks.”  The bonuses were paid in cash because most of these businesses brought in little or no revenue.

Giallanzo’s life of crime seemed to pay off. He made millions over the years, managing sportsbooks for the family.  

He was among those caught by the FBI going to a Bonanno family Christmas party a few years back.  He and most of the others were still on parole, and they had “do not associate” rules in effect.

The FBI set up and used video and still pictures to get a number of the mobsters violated.

Giallanzo had to go before a judge because he still had time on his parole.  The US Attorney wanted him to serve 2 years for the violation.

Giallanzo’s lawyer argued that the same judge had given other men in similar situations a year and a day.  The judge ended up giving him a year and a day.

The Federal government now wants their pound of flesh, so they served Giallanzo legal papers to seize his Queens home.  It's a nice 3,500 square foot home on 86th in Howard Beach.  

It is owned on paper by his wife, but the Feds claim the money to construct, remodel and purchase all came from criminal proceeds. The seizure laws are in favor of the government, because anyone that faces seizure of property must prove that it is not from illegal activity.

Last year Giallanzo’s Uncle Vincent Asaro, who was part of the crew that robbed Lufthansa airlines for 6 million in cash, was acquitted on those charges and murder.  Yet Vincent Asaro and the rest are marked men.

Theodore Persico Sr aka Teddy passed away this week.  He was the brother of imprisoned Colombo family boss Carmine Persico.  He was a capo and part of the ruling panel for the Colombos.  He was also one of the point men during the civil war in the 1990’s.  He was one of the reasons his son Teddy Jr. was so eager to give the go ahead to murder Joe Scopo.  Teddy Jr. gave the order while attending his grandmother's funeral in Brooklyn while on furlough from prison.  

I will write more on Teddy Sr next week.

Crime does not pay just ask Teddy and Ronald

Crime never pays, you will always get what's coming.  The latest made guy to find that hard truth out is Bonanno crime family soldier Ronald Giallanzo.   A lifetime criminal who has been with the Bonannos for over 16 years, Giallanzo been involved in everything from stock schemes to bookmaking.  

In fact, he was arrested along with my old friends John Baudanza, Little Craig Marino and Jerry Degerolamo in 2006 when they were busted for their stock pump-and-dump business.

They stole more the 20 million dollars with their penny stocks.

They used familiar sounding stocks to draw victims to buy them.  They had names like, America's Hedge Fund, Orex Gold Mines Corporation, Legends Sports and Motorsports USA, so you can see how people, mostly a lot of retired senior citizens, would fall for it.

They controlled over 20 brokerage houses where they paid brokers commission, over 25%, to push these so called “house stocks.”  The bonuses were paid in cash because most of these businesses brought in little or no revenue.

Giallanzo’s life of crime seemed to pay off. He made millions over the years, managing sportsbooks for the family.  

He was among those caught by the FBI going to a Bonanno family Christmas party a few years back.  He and most of the others were still on parole, and they had “do not associate” rules in effect.

The FBI set up and used video and still pictures to get a number of the mobsters violated.

Giallanzo had to go before a judge because he still had time on his parole.  The US Attorney wanted him to serve 2 years for the violation.

Giallanzo’s lawyer argued that the same judge had given other men in similar situations a year and a day.  The judge ended up giving him a year and a day.

The Federal government now wants their pound of flesh, so they served Giallanzo legal papers to seize his Queens home.  It's a nice 3,500 square foot home on 86th in Howard Beach.  

It is owned on paper by his wife, but the Feds claim the money to construct, remodel and purchase all came from criminal proceeds. The seizure laws are in favor of the government, because anyone that faces seizure of property must prove that it is not from illegal activity.

Last year Giallanzo’s Uncle Vincent Asaro, who was part of the crew that robbed Lufthansa airlines for 6 million in cash, was acquitted on those charges and murder.  Yet Vincent Asaro and the rest are marked men.

Theodore Persico Sr aka Teddy passed away this week.  He was the brother of imprisoned Colombo family boss Carmine Persico.  He was a capo and part of the ruling panel for the Colombos.  He was also one of the point men during the civil war in the 1990’s.  He was one of the reasons his son Teddy Jr. was so eager to give the go ahead to murder Joe Scopo.  Teddy Jr. gave the order while attending his grandmother's funeral in Brooklyn while on furlough from prison.  

I will write more on Teddy Sr next week.

Frank "Curly" Lino

Born on October 30th, 1938 in Gravesend Brooklyn Frank "Curly" Lino had his life's path already mapped out for him.   Frank's mother married Frank Lino Sr in a marriage arranged by the boss of the Genovese Family, Vito Genovese.  Frank would never get past the 10th grade at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn because he started running with a Mafia farm team: the Avenue U Boys.  He used to pull off robberies with the Avenue U Boys but he was soon running a floating game for a made Genovese Soldier.

Frank has lived a charmed life.  It may not have been the best life but he lived it to the max.  In May of 1962 he got involved with two other men to pull off a robbery of a tobacco store in Brooklyn.  While it was going down two NYPD Brooklyn Detectives were shot and killed.  Frank was picked up soon afterward and beaten severely in the station house by other detectives who he claimed stapled his hand and shoved a broomstick up his ass.  He did have a broken leg and arm.  The NYPD has put broomsticks up others asses, so who knows.

The court placed him on 3 years probation after he threatened to sue the city.  The other men were given the death penalty that was later commuted to life in prison.

This was not the last time Frank would be a torture victim due to his criminal activity.  During the heyday of the Mafia, the real life “Luca Brazi” for Junior Persico, a man named Hugh "Apples" Macintosh (or just Mac) grabbed Frank out of a bar. Mac brought him to a basement where he beat him and tortured him for two days trying to make him give up the names of his friends that had a beef with Persico.  He never gave up their names even after he was beaten so badly he suffered a weird eye twitch - a blinking twitch that remained for the rest of his life. So Mac let him go after telling him 'the reason you are being let go is because you didn’t rat. If you did we would have killed you"  Frank was so afraid he never looked back until he was well away from that place.

He was made on his 40th Birthday in 1977 in Little Italy.  It has been said it was because of his cousin Eddie Lino who was with John Gotti and a major drug dealer.  Gotti was very close to Joey Massino at this time.  

Frank was asked by his Capo Sonny Red Indelicato to drive him to a peace meeting at a social club in Brooklyn. Sonny Red decided to have Frank drive him to the meeting instead of his son Bruno because he did not really trust the other Capos. He told his son Bruno to kill all the Zips and the rest of the Capos if he did not return. There was a lot of internal strife in the Bonanno Family at the time because the self proclaimed boss Carmine Galante had been murdered by Bruno and others on orders from the Commision. Rusty Rastelli was the real boss but he was locked up, so his most trusted Capo Big Joey Massino was working hard to keep the family together.  The Zip Faction, The Canadian Faction, Sonny Black and Joey Massino all lined up against the other three capos.  Sonny Red, Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone were all opposing Rusty but they were called into this last ditch peace offering.  Things seemed to be going fine when Frank saw three hooded come down the stairs into the club.  He saw Joey Massino hit Sonny Red in the head with something and another man jump out of a closet with a gun.  He saw Giaccone thrown up against a wall and shot before he fled so fast that nobody on the hit team could stop him.

He then went into hiding but the powers that be did not want him dead.  They wanted Bruno who had escaped the massacre.  Frank was close to him and knew where he was hiding out.  He met with the Underboss of the Gambino Family who gave him a chance to live, if he murdered Bruno.  Frank pretended to be looking for Bruno, when he really already knew where he was.  The Bonanno Family powers gave the contract to Sonny Black who then gave it to Lefty Ruggiero and Donnie Brasco.   Things went downhill from there because Donnie Brasco was an undercover FBI Agent and the Commission's case came down and Bruno was picked up.  

Frank was then asked to bring Sonny Black to a meeting because it had come out that Donnie Brasco was an FBI Agent and he was vouched for by Sonny Black.  Sonny knew he was not long for this world so he left his jewelry at home for his wife.  They got to the house where the meeting was to take place and Frank showed him to the basement.  Sonny went first and a few steps down Frank shoved him and when he fell the shooter fired into his body but the gun jammed.  Sonny Black told them to "Hit him one more time, Make it good"  They did.  They would cut off his hands because he shook them with an FBI Agent and Frank Lino's son helped dispose of Sonny Black.  The world of the Mafia is crazy because years later when I was at BaMontes in Brooklyn a guy wearing a black over coat was walking back and forth smoking a cigarette.  I was watching him and Nicky Santoro a Bonanno Capo told me that he was Sonny Black’s kid.  So Sonny's kid is still around those guys.

Frank did it all on the street, from drugs, robbery, pump and dump, extortion to Gambling.  He made money from Family Union contracts with school buses.  He had conspired with the Lucchese Family to kill a Gambino associate until Sal Vitale the Underboss had a sitdown with Nicky Corrozzo who told him I dont care what the kid did, what he stole its done, we have big plans for him.  So that was it for that hit.  Good for Frank because when he was locked up later he was going to get shanked in the yard of a prison.  When the huge Bonanno family indictments came down he learned that Sal Vitale had flipped and he knew it was over.  He flipped becoming the first of many Bonanno's to testify for the Government.  He would implicate his own relatives in many Mafia crimes and for that he was rewarded with just 8 years by the judge and is now out and a free man.

I hope he lives a good life and enjoys his freedom.  He is older and he knows what he did.