The Persico Life

I heard from a friend this week that Daniel “Danny” Persico passed away.  I've called Danny a few names over the years, but he was not a bad guy.  I remember the last time I saw Danny I was in Aero in Brooklyn. Danny was at the bar and he asked me if I wanted to go to the Blue Zoo.  I went, and that was the last time I would be on that street.  

Danny is the son of Colombo Capo Theodore Persico Sr., who is the brother of the boss Carmine “The Snake” Persico. Danny’s brothers were Carmine, Sean and Teddy Jr.

Danny was the one who helped set up the limo ride for his brother Teddy when he was released from Greenhaven after 17 years.  

Danny was also the person Teddy called on the phone when we were on the way to his mother's home to get his gear.  

Danny was indicted in a pump and dump stock case in 2000. He was involved with White Rock Partners and State Street Capital Markets, two firms which pumped up the value of penny stocks.  Investors lost 40 million dollars in the scams.

Danny used to work hard as a kid.  He always had a job.  He was good at sports and he loved them.  It was only after his brother Teddy went away that he started frequenting the bars.

A lot of people think life in the mafia is glamorous.  It is not.  Danny never really had a chance to make the most of his life.

Theodore Persico Sr., his father, went away for 22 years and was only recently released.  Danny’s brother Teddy just took a deal for 12 years in prison.  His brother Carmine has been in the system for years.  Allie Boy Persico is away for life for ordering the murder of Wild Bill Cutolo and other crimes.

Carmine “The Snake” Persico, at 82 years old, the only defendant left from the Commission Case, is still incarcerated.

He filed a motion for a sentence reduction based on some newly received information from the FBI.  Carmine has been away 31 years but he still is the boss of the family, so let's see how the FBI and the Judge react to his motion.

He kept control through the war in the 1990’s when Vic Orena and Wild Bill Cutolo tried to break away and take over the family.  Allie Boy took over and since he went away the family has been run by panels of capos and street bosses that ultimately answer to Carmine.

Carmine’s son Michael Persico, who for a long time portrayed himself as a legitimate businessman, is facing some time away.  Michael keeps trying to put off his sentencing and take back his plea.  He better be careful, this is ground his father covered and he ended up with a long sentence.

Carmine may live and get out. What is left?  The streets have changed.  Teddy Jr., who I liked, will get out - but will he change?

“What are you going to do, put me in jail? I don't own nothing. I got no wife, I got no kids. I can act like a fool. ” Teddy Persico Jr

RIP Danny Persico

The Chicago Outfit: Still Chugging Along in 2016

The Chicago Outfit is most famous for Al Capone, who was only boss for about seven years. The FBI used to called it the Capone Mob.  They thought it died when he went to prison and when they found out it was still active, they called the unit tasked with looking into the Chicago Outfit “the reactivation of the Capone Mob.”

The fact is the Outfit ran smoothly under the watchful eye of Tony Accardo aka Joe Batters for decades without the press of Capone.

Today the Outfit continues to move along just below the surface of respectable business.  The days of controling the city are over, but they still have power and influence.  People hear about some cartel or some gangbangers and they talk about the mafia losing control.  The mafia was never in the same low level businesses as the fly-by-night crime groups.  The mafia is about making money.  Unions, Trucking, Carting, Gambling and Shylock are what they specialize in handling.

Ideal Motors Dealership was what R.J. Serpico and his father called the used car business they opened in Melrose Park, Illinois. The business was started with a 300k loan from Michael "Mickey" Davis.  Mickey Davis was a longtime associate of Outfit Bosses Peter and John DiFronzo so the Serpico’s knew this was no ordinary business loan. They agreed to payback the principle in 3 years and pay 300 dollars a car they sold as interest for the loan.

The problem with the whole car lot was the senior Serpico was a bad gambler.  He owed Outfit Bookies thousands of dollars and he dipped into the car lot money to finance his losing streak.

Micky finally had enough, so he went to speak to R.J. Serpico and he showed him how much his father owed the bookies.  He then asked him to pay the loan back because it was not the deal he lent them the money for when the asked.  

R.J. Serpico fired his father and made Mickey his partner after the meeting.  

R.J. Serpico came up with 60k in cash and a car that he gave Mickey but that was not enough.

One day R.J. Serpico could not take it and he just walked away from the car lot, giving it to Mickey.  Mickey still wanted his cash because that was the deal.

Mickey reached out for some leg breakers and another associate recommended Paul Carparelli who wanted to move up in the Outfit ranks.

The only problem in this whole deal was George Brown, a 300lbs MMA fighter and Union bodyguard who had flipped and was wearing a wire against Paul Carparelli.

The FBI knew when Carparelli met with Mickey.  They had him on tape planning to have George Brown stage a fender bender with R.J. Serpico so he could break his legs.

The FBI stopped the whole thing before they could finish the job.

Paul Carparelli would get 3 ½ years.  Mickey would get 4 ½ years and George Brown the informant that started the investigation got just under 2 years last week.

These were all associates but Mickey Davis was a heavily connected guy.  The Outfit is still alive.

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.

Frankie Loc & John Gotti Sr.

Frank (Frankie Loc) Locascio is 78 years old and hooked up to an oxygen tank. He does not want to suffer the fate of his former boss John Gotti Sr.  That is, to die in prison wasting away toothless in some infirmary.  Frankie Loc was convicted in1992 and he was sentenced to life in prison.  He has exhausted all his appeals and now wants the FBI to release and enhance a tape he claims will exonerate him.  The tape was recorded inside the apartment above the Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy where Gotti Sr held meetings.  The FBI had wired up the place when the old lady who lived there was gone.

The tapes are great because they show how much John Gotti thought of himself while he was speaking freely.  This was one of the many reasons that Sammy Gravano flipped. John Gotti bad mouthed him to others in the tapes.

Sammy later claimed that Frankie Loc and himself were planning on killing Gotti Sr if they beat their case.  They never did and Sammy went to Team USA and Frankie Loc went down with Gotti Sr.  Frankie Loc even proclaimed Gotti Sr a great guy at the trial.

The Ailing Frankie Loc now claims his ticket to freedom is in a December 12, 1989 tape that the US Attorney used to convict him.  He claims that the inaudible part of the tape is when he told Gotti Sr that Louie DiBono was coming to see him with 50k and that he should just take it and let him be.  

This is the same tape that Gotti Sr was ranting on about Sammy Gravano killing everyone and taking companies.  I would say that Gotti’s biggest problem was his mouth.  Sounds like he just liked to hear himself talk.

The Federal Judge who sentenced Frankie Loc has ordered a hearing to consider giving Frankie Loc the tapes.  The FBI claims they would give away investigator methods.  It was 26 years ago and everyone is dead, locked up or close to dead now.  The technology has changed so much and they already played the Gotti Sr tapes at trial anyway.  It seems like the the only thing that makes sense is to enhance them and let the old guy either get out, or die trying.

Frankie Loc will not be able to attend the trial because he is too sick to travel.  They may let him out on compassionate release soon anyway.

Frankie Loc was the Gambino Family Consigliere under Gotti and after his conviction his position filled immediately.  Out of sight out of mind.  I wonder how much or if anything anyone ever sent him besides his family?  Did the Gambino family take care of him?  How many guys in power now even know him?  Do they care?  These are interesting questions.

Gotti Sr hated him even after he said such nice things about him.  Sammy Gravano wrote in his book that he and Frankie were planning to Murder Gotti Sr if they beat their case.  Gotti, I am sure, was told by somebody what Sammy wrote.  He flew into one of his rages and he asked the Aryan Brotherhood Prison gang to murder Frankie Loc.  

The Feds found out about this and Frankie Locs was put on lockdown. He stayed there for a long time and he had to file suit to get out.

John Gotti Sr. and Junior did a lot to weaken the Gambino family.  Everyone around Gotti Sr has suffered a lot.  Frankie Loc and Joe Watts have had a lot of horrible years between them.   To think they might actually make a movie about John Gotti Senior is sad.  He was never a great mob boss, but because his name has recognition they want to glorify his life on the screen.  Let's hope they tell the truth about him.   I’m sure they won't mention in the movie how he had a regular guy murdered for accidentally running over his own foolish child (John Gotti Jr’s brother).    Gotti’s son had driven a mini bike into traffic when it was not road safe and he was too young to drive.

If Junior Gotti really changed like he claims, he would let the family of that murdered man know what happen to him when he “disappeared” thirty years ago.

The Cost of Corrupt Cops

Today there are so many stories in the news about bad guys in law enforcement. Some are true and some are not.  The truth is that there are bad people in every aspect of society.  

Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, formerly of the NYPD, are some of the worst I've ever read about.

They worked for the underboss of the Luchese family, Gaspipe Casso, in New York while they were employed by the NYPD.  These were two sworn officers. Veterans with experience, not rookies. They were both decorated officers with a lot of arrests.

Louis Eppolito came from a family that had deep roots in the mafia. Ralph Eppolito, his father, was a made soldier in the Gambino crime family. Two other family members, an uncle and cousin, were also made men in the Gambino family and were eventually murdered.

Stephan Caracappa joined the NYPD and they were soon working together. They did well in the 1970’s when there was not much oversight. In the 1980’s the NYPD went after Louis Eppolito when he was connected to future Pizza Connection principal Rosario Gambino aka Sal.  He was linked to law enforcement paperwork found in the possession of Rosario Gambino when they raided his home.  The NYPD wanted him to go quietly but he decided to fight and he was found not guilty in court.  He was not only given his job back, he was also promoted.

They did not know that he and partner Caracappa were on the payroll of the Lucchese family to the tune of $4000 a month. They were paid between $375k and $450k by the family for information and murder.  They actually carried out hits for the family, using their badges and police vehicles. They also kidnapped men and gave up the names of informants to the Luchese family.

These two men operated above the law for many years and they lived well.  One look at Eppolito and you can see he ate his extra cash.  When they retired they moved to Las Vegas and lived on the same street.  They were sure that they had gotten away with murder.

The wheels of justice turn slowly, but justice had not forgotten about these two.

Burton Kaplan, a Lucchese-connected drug dealer, turned on them in prison after being locked up for many years, and gave them up. Then, Stephan Corso, a CPA who was caught stealing cash from his clients started wearing a wire and also caught them on tape.

The cost to the people of New York and the family of their victims is enormous.  

Barry Gibbs - not to be confused with one of the Bee Gee’s is the name of a man that served 19 years in prison for a murder he did not commit.  The media fails to mention him when they write about the Mafia Cops. Barry Gibbs was convicted of murdering a prostitute after a witness came forward that claimed to see him dump her body.  The lead law enforcement officer was Louie Eppolito.  The FBI found the murder file in his home when they arrested him in Las Vegas. They reopened the case and it turned out the witness was threatened and paid by Eppolito to lie.  Barry Gibbs was released and he was awarded 9.9 million dollars.

Last week the City of New York settled the last case with the victims of the Mafia Cops families.

The family of Nicholas Guido, who was gunned down in his car because he had the wrong name, settled for 5 million dollars.  The family of Luchese soldier Anthony Dilapi, who left the life and moved to Los Angeles, settled for $1.85 million. The family of John Heidel settled for $1.75 million. The family of Bobby Borriello, a Gambino soldier settled for $1.5 million. The family of James Bishop, an informant, settled for $1.75 million. The family of Gambino Capo Eddie Lino, killed on the Belt Parkway by the two cops settled for $1.5 million.

The last one was diamond dealer Israel Greenwald and his family received $5 million.

The cost is huge and the worst part is these two men still get their pensions.

The Check Cashing Murder

The TV Show Mob Wives is like watching a train wreck, and like a wreck, people watch it.  It may have a gotten a Gambino associate beaten up in prison.  It seems his prison mates didn't like what they were hearing about his wife being on Mob Wives.  Never mind that it not been confirmed.  What about Ramona Rizzo’s fiance Joseph Sclafani a Gambino who got 18 years?

Then we have Alicia DiMichele aka Garafalo, the wife of Eddie Garofalo.  She was the person who helped Eddie and Teddy dummy up Union papers, yet she got no time inside, unlike the two men.

Then we have Renee Graziano’s former husband Hector Pagan.  Hector, the great upstanding guy that he was on Staten Island, took part in the robbery of a man named James Donovan. James ran a shady check cashing business.  Hector not only took part in the robbery he is the person who fired a fatal shot into James Donovan’s thigh.  The crew was waiting in ambush outside an Auto Body shop for hours waiting for James Donovan to show up with a large sum of cash.  Hector Pagan not only killed the man, he also wore a wire on his father-in-law Anthony “TG” Graziano, a high ranking Bonanno Family man.  Hector then testified against the two guys in the crew that went with him on the robbery.  I guess it worked out pretty good for Hector Pagan, who made a deal and will have to serve very little time if any.

Who was James Donovan? James Donovan was no angel.  He is listed as a Lucchese Family associate.  He was arrested for threatening a man named John Ferris who claimed he gave James Donovan and Christopher Gargiulo $500,000 to hold for him.  When he asked for it back they refused and they threatened him.  What they did not know was that a little known law enforcement agency known as the Business Integrity Commission was already involved.  There were threats.  Cars and trucks were burned and in 2008 all three men, John, James and Christopher, were all arrested. When James Donovan was arrested they found $62,000 in cash and a ledger book along with checks and deposit slip from auto body businesses.  

This really got the  Business Integrity Commission’s attention and they opened an investigation on James Donovan.  They started to unravel what was a major source of his income.

The agents thought James Donovan was collecting insurance checks from the auto body shops, cashing them for a fee.  He would hand over cash with no paperwork so the shops could hide it from the taxman.  

The agents found that James Donovan was cashing more than a million dollars a year in checks and he was taking home over a $100k.  He was using his connection with check cashing places to get the checks cashed for the auto body shops, and keeping a portion as cash profit.

The law enforcement named the sting Operation Tax Grab.  Then something happened.  The agents had a camera set up that was filming James Donovan outside an auto body shop when four men approached him on July 2, 2010.  They tried to grab him, but he struggled and was shot in the thigh. They stole $90k in cash and $60k in checks from him as they fled and left him to die.  

The agents collected cigarette butts from the scene and were able to extract DNA, but the DNA was not in the system.  They then caught a break when some of the stolen checks were deposited in a bank and that camera picked up a suspect.  While he was in jail he made some calls to a Colombo family guy and then some wiretaps brought them to Hector Pagan, Richard Riccardi and Luigi Grasso.

So Hector Pagan flipped and wore a wire when he was on Mob Wives.

To each his own. If Hector got a good deal then that is what he had to do.  James Donovan was no innocent businessman and if you lay down with dogs you will get fleas.

Twisted Logic of the Mafia

In 1996 I made the decision to walk away from the life.  It would be another 8 years before I was off the streets and on with my “fresh start.”  I got that fresh start because I wore a wire for the FBI.  That lasted more than 8 years.  When I first started writing online posts, I was attacked by people because they kept insisting that someone would not “just flip.”  I kept getting hate mail calling me every name in the book, and claiming the FBI must have had more of a case on me.  A person cannot just look at their life, see what a waste it had become, and decide to change?  I saw that it was a dead end and that I would be brought down or killed if I continued with the way things were.  All these “armchair gangsters” online do not know what it is like to be a part of the life and to make that decision.

I have one friend who was in the life from birth.  He followed his father into the life and even served a prison term. When he was able to step back from the life and see the toll it had taken on his family, he made the choice to work with the FBI.  He wore a wire on his father.  The father was an evil man who belonged to an evil organization.  The father had killed for gain and enjoyed it. How is my friend in the wrong?

Another friend grew up in the life.  He lived the Mafia life without having to go through much of what the rank and file had to go through.  When the family was involved in a civil war he was not on the front lines.  His father murdered and ordered murders,.  One day his father went to a secret meeting where a few guys were supposed to be inducted into the family.

There was no induction, there was only a bullet to the head.

When his father never came home, the vultures descended on his father's businesses to split up what his father had built. My friend saw it first hand when he went to his father's office.  A man was sitting behind his father's desk in the Union he had built up and this was before he knew his father was never coming home.  This man was a drug abusing alcoholic overweight idiot who could not have run a lemonade stand, but his last name happens to be Persico.  The Underboss of the family came to his mother's home and threatened her for money.  So many people attacked my friend for being a weakling for not taking his revenge by gun.  He wore a wire instead.

This Tuesday another man who has lived the mafia life will face a judge and be sentenced for his crimes: Michael Persico.  This so called “mafia prince” never had to get in the trenches to get his hands dirty.  He was born into power and ordered others (who were not born into the ruling class) to do his work for him.  He lived the life of privilege, wealth and power that comes with being mafia royalty.  A position he never earned.  He was able to live the way he did because of the murderous reign of his father Carmine.  

Michael Persico was never an inducted member of the Colombo Family, yet he held the power of life and death. He held a position that was higher than the capos in the family.  He was able to amass wealth from the family.  He was the conduit to his father, imprisoned-for-life Boss Carmine Persico.  He held the purse strings for the Persico Family.  When his brother Allie Boy was locked up and his ex-wife decided move on with her life, Michael was in the the thick of it.  He took calls from his brother.  He met with men who had one purpose and that was murder.  He took part in the murder of Michael Devine who was not part of the life.  Michael Devine had nothing to do with the Colombo Family or the Mafia he was a civilian.  He was shot to death in his car on Staten Island because he loved the wrong woman and that woman happened to be Allie Boys ex-wife.

Michael Persico got away with murder for 18 years until another Colombo soldier decided to change sides.

Tuesday Michael Persico will only face a maximum of 5 years.  He has had a battery of high priced lawyers (that none of the family soldiers would ever be able to afford) delay the sentencing for 3 years.  

One of the tapes the FBI used to bring the racketeering charges against Michael was made by Steve Marcus who Michael gave a $100,000 Shylock loan.  Steven was partners with Teddy Persico and Eddie Garofalo in the trucking business on Staten Island.

Eddie has already taken a 7 year deal and Teddy took 12 years.  The two people who really gained the most but face the least are Michael Persico and Alicia DiMichele. They both got great deals for pleading out.

The enterprise could not have functioned without those two.

Maybe the judge will grant Michael Persico his wish and let him take back his plea deal.  Send him to trial where he will face murder and racketeering charges.

Teddy Persico will emerge from prison ready to continue on in the family tradition because that is what he knows.  Eddie Garofalo, whose father was a big man in the construction industry in New York until he was murdered in front of his Brooklyn home by Sammy the Bull’s crew, continued on in the footsteps of his father regardless of his father’s fate.  The Gambinos wanted to take away Eddie’s business after his father was murdered, but Teddy stepped in the argument.  Teddy told them to let the kid earn a living.  Once Teddy and I were talking about a guy who bad mouthed Eddie for not doing anything about his father’s murder. The guy was talking about using a gun to get revenge. Teddy said what was he supposed to do?  He was a kid.  Fight the whole Gambino family?  A few years later Eddie was in a bad spot because nothing happened to him after I wore a wire on him.  The Colombos wondered why nothing had happened to him as a result.  I wonder also.

I hope more guys continue to get out of the life.  Maybe more will see that it leads to a dead end.  There are no happy endings in the Mafia.  There are no exceptions to the rule.

The Colombos need to take notice of how Michael lives and how many lawyers he has and how he was able to post millions in bail.  Then they need to look at what they have for themselves.  Michael, and those like him, live off the blood and sweat of others.

Scores Gentlemen's Club & the Gambino Family

Scores, the famed Gentlemans Club in New York City in the 1990’s, was a prominent feature on the Howard Stern show.  It secretly added millions to Gambino Family coffers.  How did it all start?  It all started with the takeover of National Heritage Insurance Company in Orlando, Florida by three businessmen and a New York Lawyer named Michael Blutrich.

Opening a stripclub seems to be a strange choice of business for a white collar lawyer like Blutrich. After all, he had been a founding partner in Blutrich, Falcone & Miller.

Blutrich committed fraud to help with the takeover of the insurance company.  Blutrich opened a fake bank account and then wrote a four million dollar check for the company that was no good at the time.  Once they gained control over the company they used it to cover the check.  He then was given a $300k loan from the company for Scores.  David L Davies, the new CEO of the insurance company, then put in $700k to become a secret partner in Scores.  Blutrich did not want to open another “Jiggly Joint,” one of those small seedy clubs that used to pepper Manhattan.  He wanted to open a really upscale club, like those that Miami club King Michael Peter’s Pure Platinum and Solid Gold clubs.

Scores would cater to the high end customer with huge TVs, plush lounge areas and the hottest girls.

In 1991, while building Scores, Blutrich was approached by a Gambino Associate named Mikey Hop, aka Michael Sergio.  Mikey Hop told Blutrich that he would have to pay to open a club, or he would be bombed.  Blutrich took it seriously so he started with a $1k weekly cash payoff.  The Gambinos wanted the coat check concession, the right to put in their own bouncers and the right to run the valet parking.  The coat check alone would bring in more than $200k a year for the Gambinos and the then acting boss Baby Gotti.   The coat check was run by Stephan Sergio, the son of Mikey Hop, who had the great nickname “Sigmund the Sea Monster.”  

The first year the club ran in the red, so Davies wanted out.  The Gambinos let Blutrich bring in another guy named Pfeiffer to buy out Davies and run the club.  

Meanwhile, the Gambinos had taken over almost every aspect of the club.  They decided who hauled the garbage and who sold supplies like toilet paper and booze to the club.  They got a cut from the door and they partied for free.

In 1996 Blutrich and Pfeiffer were indicted for looting the insurance company in Orlando, Florida.  The FBI raided Scores and their office in New York in another investigation into the Gambino family.  Blutrich and Pfeiffer decided to cooperate with the FBI and wore wires when meeting with the Gambino Family.  

Scores was grossing more than a million a year despite the payoffs.  The FBI placed hidden cameras in the Scores offices and they wired up everything including their cars.  They would get over 1000 hours of tape during the investigation.  They caught made Gambino soldier Craig DePalma in their net.  Craig was the son of Gambino Capo Greg DePalma and he was bringing Baby Gotti his end from Scores.

The FBI brought the hammer down on Baby Gotti and  39 others with the Gambino family in 1998 based on the evidence gathered by Blutrich and Pfeiffer.

The DeCavalcante Organized Crime Family

I was just having a conversation about the FBI using deep undercover agents like Donnie Brasco and Jack Falcone.  The people I was discussing the subject were wondering why the FBI would spend so much time and money on the Cosa Nostra.  They felt that it was no longer a threat.  I explained to them that the Cosa Nostra was still International in scope and much more dangerous than the flavor-of-the-moment crime group.  

Lets go back to the 80s.  Jamaican Posse, Medellín Cartel and many Mexican groups along the border, but they have no staying power. The Cosa Nostra is like a cancer that you can't get rid of, even with aggressive treatment.  They are able to bounce back because of their structure and because they are a secret group.  When the FBI takes down a crew or the administration, others, known and unknown, can step up and keep running the organization.  

I was surprised when I heard the FBI took down a crew in the DeCavalcante family of New Jersey.  The other families in New York have such a foothold in New Jersey that I forget that the state has its own family.  The FBI had an agent undercover for 3 years in the DeCavalcante family and they were active.  Charles Stango lived in Henderson, Nevada just outside of Las Vegas, but he was still a Capo in the DeCavalcante family.  Anthony Stango, his son, lived in Brick Township, New Jersey and handled his father’s day-to-day operations in New Jersey.  Charles Stango, also known as “Beeps,” took money from the undercover FBI Agent who has been under since 2012.  The Agent had become close to Beeps and last year, just before Christmas, Beeps shared his plans to murder a member of the family.  

Beeps had given the contract to the FBI undercover and told him to kill or maim the other man known as the “Pet” because he had disrespected an older member of the family.  He wanted him shot or blown up in his business in Elizabeth, NJ.  

The order was given in Las Vegas in a meeting between Beeps and the FBI agent and it was recorded by the agent.  Beeps had assured the agent that the DeCavalcante Administration was on board with the murder.  The FBI had the proof because they had intercepted calls between Frank Nigro the family Consigliere and Paul Colella who was the go-between to higher ups in the administration. They all sought and were given permission to murder the wayward member.

Beep’s son and other crew members also distributed cocaine on a large scale in New Jersey and were caught by the FBI.

They were looking to expand into Toms River, New Jersey, where they were going to open a nightclub as cover for a high-end escort business that would cater to businessmen in the area.

Sex sells, and the amount of money that a high end escort business can bring in is staggering.

When I told the FBI and IRS about Nici’s Girls and Exotica 2000 they could not believe the amount of money they made.

In all, the FBI was able to take down 10 members and associates of the DeCavalcante Family from two crews. This was a different bust than other recent ones, because they didn't take down a gambling or shylock operation, which is the staple of Mafia.  They did bust them for selling large amounts of cigarettes.

This quote from U.S. Attorney Fisherman sums it up well, “Though its ranks have been thinned by countless convictions and its own internal bloodletting, traditional organized crime remains a real problem.”

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!

Bonanno Family

The best inside secrets come from the guys who turn.  Nobody was a bigger coup for the government than Joey Massino.  Joey was Boss of the Bonanno family and not just any boss but the man who built it back up.  The Bonanno family had been decimated by internal strife and embarrassed by Donnie Brasco aka Joseph Pistone infiltrating the family.

Joey shut the social clubs and made a secret gesture where they tugged on their ear lobe to signify the Bonanno family.  He was able to get the family back on the Commission and he brought new blood into the family.  

Joey Massino wanted to flip even before his conviction.  He had attended a couple of proffer sessions in prison and the Government was still on the fence about a deal or no deal.  

Vincent Basciano, aka Vinny, had been in charge on the street as acting boss of the Bonanno family while Joey was behind bars.  He was able to make Captains or break them if necessary, and was the last word on the street for the Bonanno family.  Then Vinny was also arrested and housed at Brooklyn MDC. In November of 2004 Joey called a family meeting by using lawyers to set up co-defendant meeting so they could go over family business.

It was at one of these prison meetings that Joey Massino wore a wire for the FBI.  He got Vinny to talk about Randy Pizzolo, a guy who was an associate of his crew who was found murdered in Brooklyn.   Vinny spoke freely to Joey because, after all, he had been boss for over 13 years.  

Vinny had sent Joey’s wife 50k in a bottle of Dom while he was locked up.

Vinny told Joey that he had given the order to kill Randy Pizzolo because the kid was a rat and scumbag that he had brought a pistol to a meeting at Villa Sonoma with a made Bonanno family guy.  He had then gotten drunk and started running his mouth.  Vinny had chased him and he was told to go to Florida.  Randy would not leave New York and this bothered Vinny a lot.

Randy was lured to Greenpoint Brooklyn early one day and he was shot seven times by Anthony “Ace” Aiello, a made Bonanno man.  Vinny had told Joey on tape in MDC that Ace was his Luca Brasi, a fictional character from the The Godfather.  

Joey Massino also gave up how the Bonanno family inducted new members.  A Capo would place a guy who had been around them for a number of years on a piece of paper and give it to Joey.  Joey would then at his leisure look into the guy to see if he was “stand up.”  If he passed, Joey would put his name next to the name of a soldier who had died or gone away and that would be passed among the other five families.  If they had no objections he would induct them into the family.  He told the FBI that he personally attended 60-70 induction ceremonies over the years.

The Bonannos would bring a guy or two or even three into the room and say something along the lines of, “This is the life you chose. If not, there is the door, you can leave now.  If you choose this life, you are here until you die.” Once they say yes they start the ceremony.  They then go over the rules: you dont mess with a Wiseguy’s wife or daughter, you don’t sell drugs (which is a joke because they all make money this way), never bring a gun to a meeting, and you put everything on record with your Capo.

Then he said they would tell them if your wife is dying, your kids, your mother and you are called you must come. The Family, the Mafia comes first. They tell you to murder, your brother is dying, your kid, you have to murder, the Bonanno family always comes first.   They then told them that if they were told to kill their brother or best friend they had to right away.  After that they swear allegiance to the family and Omerta.  Then they are put with a Capo.  If it was a Capo who proposed them, then they are put with him.  If it was a soldier that proposed them, they are instead put with a Capo who needs another guy.

Colombo Family: Inside Secrets Revealed

The “administration” or “panel” that rules the Colombo Family is ever changing depending on who is locked up and who gets taken down.  The one constant is the boss, Carmine “The Snake” Pesico, who now lives in Butner FCI in North Carolina with 737 other inmates including Bernie Madoff.  Carmine is now 81 years old and it is doubtful he will make his release date in 2050 but he keeps the family in check with a never ending supply of acting bosses.  Many of these are relatives both by blood and by marriage. I have already written about Tommy Geoli and Joe Waverly running the family on a day-to-day basis.  

Andrew Russo was the acting boss in 2011, and he was another Persico relative. Benjamin “The Claw” Castellazzo was the underboss during that time who dealt with a lot of the capos around Brooklyn. Richard Fusco was the Consigliere and with him were senior capos Joseph Carna, Dennis Delucia, Ren Maragni and Anthony Russo.

They were quick to beef up the ranks of the family and replace those that were lost to death or incarceration.  They held a secret initiation ceremony in January of 2009 where they made 5 new soldiers.  They were preparing to have another ceremony on December 7, 2010 at Emanuele Favuzza’s home.  Andrew Russo and Benji Castellazzo would run the ceremony and Anthony Russo was bringing the pistol and the knife to the location, but they found out the FBI was watching so they cancelled it. They had planned on making 4 more soldiers at this ceremony.

They never seem to miss a step when it comes to crime.  They were once again inside the Union LIUNA Local 6a and this time they were extorting the “Coffee Boy”.  The Coffee Boy is where any Union Member on any job site must buy their food and beverages from.  The Coffee Boy was required to kick back at least $250.00 a week.  This adds up quick considering how many job sites there are around the city.  They still held high positions in the Union and could hand out jobs to their relatives.  

The Colombo family is not above being in the drug business unlike what movies try to portray.

They contacted some well known mafia-connected drug traffickers in Canada and arranged for a 250 pound load of marijuana to be delivered in Massachusetts.  The FBI was waiting for them when they were picking up the load.

They were all heavily involved in the mafia staples of shylocking and gambling.  They continued to loan out and collect large sums of cash.  They had bookies all over New York and Florida that brought in more than 2k a day each.  

Ren Maragni was not only a senior capo he was Cooperating Individual (CI) for the FBI and he wore a wire.  He was able to capture 90 conversations during his time wearing the wire.

When Thomas Farese was upped to the Consigliere position, he recorded him speaking about his promotion.   He told the FBI about a January 20, 2011 induction ceremony that Benji Castellazzo presided over where they again inducted soldiers.

One of the guys he gave up to the FBI is my old pal Teddy Persico Jr. He let the FBI know about his position as capo in the family.  He also told the FBI about Teddy’s participation in the murder of Joe Scopo while he was on a prison furlough.  

He gave up a lot of information on the role of Michael Persico, the unmade son of Carmine who for years was the clean Persico.  Michael was able to see his father and bring back messages to the rest of the family because of his lack of record.  

He also brought to light the pizza sauce beef, one of the funniest Mafia stories.  Big Frank Guerra, or BF, has been very close to the Persicos since his motorcycle accident many years ago.  He married into the family who owns the L&B Pizza place, where they make world famous pizza.  A former worker had left L&B and opened his own place on Staten Island which he called the Square.  BF was livid and there was a series of Mafia sit downs over the stealing of the sauce recipe.  Ren Maragni wore his trusty wire and captured for all time this laughable episode inside the Colombo Family.  BF ended up getting 4k from the Square and a lot of time in prison.

Ren Maragni gave up his whole life in the Colombo family from his start when he was with Jerry Langella to his meeting Allie Boy Persico when they were young. Their cousins had a beef and Allie fixed it.  Years later while he was still an associate Allie Boy had him keep tabs on the South Florida Colombo crew.  He would meet Allie once a month and pass messages.

Ren also told the FBI about his own induction ceremony in the Bronx at a social club in the basement.  Benji Castellazzo as the underboss was in charge that night and he along with Richard Fusco recited the words while Ren had his hand on the pistol as the saint burned in his hand.

Ren double crossed the FBI when he was wearing a wire by using a secret cell phone to call people.  He also collected his shylock debts and diverted money from secret businesses he owned.  The FBI still went to bat for him when he was sentenced!

The FBI keeps taking the Colombos down, but the next day others replace them. This is why the Cosa Nostra is still alive, the structure assures that it will continue.  Other crime groups are usually ruled by one guy and when he goes down that is it.