Tommy McLaughlin and the Colombo Family

In the book The Mafia Hitman's Daughter there is one chapter that gets lost in all the fascinating details of the inner workings of Colombo Capo Greg Scarpa’s life. This was the chapter when Greg’s daughter Linda marries Thomas McLaughlin aka Tommy, who has been sent away for dealing drugs.  

Tommy was a kid that who was known as a tough street guy.  He was quick tempered and had a cousin who was on the rise in the Colombo family.  Tommy instead decided to go with Greg Scarpa’s crew.  He used to run messages and collect debts, but he was very much part of the crew.  He was always at the Scarpa home enjoying a meal or just watching TV.

When the Colombo war broke out and Vic and Wild Bill's men tried to murder Scarpa in front of his house, Tommy was the first one there with a 38 in his belt.  

Tommy was a man a living on borrowed time when the war started.  He had been dealing ounce quantities of cocaine all over Brooklyn.  The cops were after him and had a wiretap on his phone in which they had him talking about selling some ounces to and undercover buyer.

They were set to arrest him but he went underground during the war.  Tommy was shot while driving in his car in Bensonhurst.  He escaped with another guy but a 16 year old was wounded in the shooting.  Tommy was only grazed in the back by a bullet.

He was picked up one night in Dyker Heights and he ended up pleading out to one count of cocaine sales and tax evasion.  The cops tried everything to get him to flip but he was no rat.  

He ended up marrying Linda Scarpa while he was locked up.  He told her that he was worried about something he did a long time ago.  She told him to cooperate.  He told her no way would he become a rat.

14 years is a long time to be off the street and things change.  Tommy Gioeli who was Tommy’s cousin became the Colombo street boss and he carried out some high profile hits.

The murder of Colombo underboss Wild Bill Cutolo and a policeman Ralph Dol’s where some of them. One of Geoli’s guy’s capo Dino Calabro flipped and implicated Tommy in the murder of Frank (Chestnut) Marasa.  So when Tommy finished his 14 year sentence had gotten remarried to another women and had a child he was looking at going back again.  

He did his time and he was looking forward to enjoying the perks of being connected to the administration.  The FBI had other plans so they convinced him to wear a wire.  

People can say what they want about Tommy.  The guy did his time and now was getting hung out to dry by a high ranking member.  Tommy did what was right for him and his family.

He took down Big Anthony Russo who in turn flipped.  He also testified about how his cousin ordered the Marasa murder.  Tommy drove the car that night and later met with his cousin and Dino at a diner.

That life is over with so many guys flipped and still free.  The Hitman’s Daughter is a great look back at how that life used to be.  Read it for an inside look into a Mafia family.

The Priest, The Violin and the Mobster

Frank Calabrese Sr was such a good manipulator that he was able to convince a Roman Catholic priest to help him continue his criminal activity.  If you know Frank’s background then this will come as no surprise.

Frank spent his whole life manipulating others for his own gain.  Frank brought his brother Nicholas into his juice loan business. Nicholas had served in the Navy for two years during the Vietnam conflict, and he worked as an Ironworker after he returned home.  Nicholas had then worked as a court security officer for 11 years in Maywood, Illinois. Nicholas was not afraid to hold a real job and work hard.  In the mid 1970s he also joined his brother Frank in his loan business and worked a double life.  He had no idea it was a lifetime commitment.  Frank was not above using money and threats to keep his brother in the business.   Nicholas would end up taking part in over 14 murders for the Chicago Outfit during his time working with his brother.

Frank was not content to just use his brother in the family business.  Frank would break an unwritten rule in the Chicago Outfit and bring his sons into the family business.  Frank would control every aspect of his son Frank Jr’s life as he grew up. He would alternate between using physical threats and generosity to keep Frank Jr under his control.  He would parcel out cash to Frank Jr so he could control what he did.   He would push him so far that one day Frank Jr would have to turn on his father to stop the evil cycle.

Frank Sr would be found guilty in the Family Secrets trial in Chicago that took down the administration of the Outfit. He was given a life sentence for his part in 13 murders.  Frank Sr would mouth “You are a fucking dead man” to AUSA  T.Markus Funk after he was sentenced.  This earned Frank Sr Special Administrative Measures or SAMs which meant he would have no contact with anyone but his lawyer and certain family members under strict supervision of Federal authorities.  Each year Frank Sr was given a copy of the SAMs that would be implemented and he was informed of their continuation for the year.   In March 2009 Frank was transported to the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri where he would serve his life sentence.  Eugene Klein was a Roman Catholic Priest who had served the Bureau of Prisons for over 20 years.  He would provide religious services to the worst that the Federal System had to offer and Frank Calabrese Sr was one of them.   Before he started speaking to Frank Sr he was given the SAMs package on Frank Sr.  He also read about his crimes in the Electronic Posted Picture System, a database that the Bureau of Prison uses. Klein was fully aware of the crimes that Frank Sr had committed.  Klein started giving Frank Sr Communion and other religious instructions soon after he took in all the information.   Frank Sr was locked in a cell with a small slot in which Klein was able to pass material to Frank Sr.  While talking with Frank Sr Klein learned of a hidden violin that Frank Sr claimed was an 18th-century Stradivarius that was likely worth millions of dollars.  

The real story of the violin was this: it was used as collateral for a juice loan by a guy named Corky.  Before Frank Sr took it he found out it was worth around 100k.  It was actually a violin made in 1764 by Giuseppe Artalli.  Frank Sr would claim that it was once owned by Liberace.  He was able to suck Klein into his plot by putting him in touch with associates who were still on the street.

During some of the visits Frank Sr passed notes containing instructions to Klein in the religious material.  Klein then gave it to the associates on the outside and they came up with a plan.

The Violin was hidden in a summer house near Williams Bay, Wisconsin that was being sold by the Government to satisfy the judgement they had against him.  They had already found 800k in cash and another 300k in diamonds hidden in another house.  Klein and his confederates would pose as buyers shopping for a house and one of them would distract the real estate agent while the others would recover the Violin.  The main problem is that Frank Sr may have been losing his mind, because the Violin and everything else had been moved long before.  The other problem was the house had already been sold.  The FBI soon found out about the plot but they never recovered the violin.  The Bureau of Prisons changed the rules when it came to Frank Sr after this last incident.  Nobody was allowed to deal with Frank Sr alone, they had to work in pairs because he was so manipulative.  They did arrest Klein and charged both him and Frank Sr.  Frank Sr would die on December 25, 2012 escaping those charges.  Klein would fight the case until the second of week of February 2015 when he would change his plea to guilty.

One of my mentors, a dirty cop, used to say all you have to do is plant the greed seed and you can get anyone to do anything.  Another guy, Jerry Zimmerman, used to tell me that I had to find out what somebody needed or wanted, what was missing in their life, and then fill it - that is how you turn someone.  Why did Klein disgrace himself? Only Klein can tell us that.  Where is the violin now?  Someone out there is taking violin lessons I am sure.

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.