Chicago mafia capo Albert (Albie the Falcon) Vena is said by some to be the most-feared man in the Windy City, a new-and-improved version of Anthony (Tony the Ant) Spilotro, if you will. His emergence the past few years as a major player in the upper-echelon of the city’s mob landscape has reinvigorated his Grand Avenue-based crew, reinstalling a large chunk of the power and prestige it lost in the late 2000s courtesy of the epic Operation Family Secrets bust.

Like Spilotro, Albert Vena is tiny (just a smidge over five feet), but incredibly fearless and extremely deadly. However, unlike Spilotro, the Chicago crime family’s crew-leader in Las Vegas, killed alongside his brother in a grisly 1986 Outfit double-slaying depicted in the Martin Scorsese gangster film classic “Casino,” Vena, 66, knows how to make nice with his superiors in the mob and doesn’t let his ego get the best of him.

“Chicago Mafia gathering”

Vena’s name recently surfaced in the Chicago press due to him being mentioned at the trial of cop-turned-gangster Steve Mandell, convicted in February of attempting to kidnap, torture and murder an enemy and his wife in order to assume control of a Bridgeview strip club and another associate to seize his real estate assets.

Testimony at the trial revealed that FBI agents watched as Mandell lunched with Vena at La Scrola, the one-time favorite haunt of notorious Chicago mob capo and consigliere Joseph (Joey the Clown) Lombardo, Vena’s former boss and mentor, who ruled the city’s Westside and was in charge of the notoriously-rugged Grand Avenue crew for over 30 years. Mandell was caught telling a wired-up associate that he’d gone to Vena for permission to kill an adversary and Vena, someone linked by the government to several underworld slayings, had failed to give him the go-ahead.

Lombardo was nailed in the Feds’ landmark Family Secrets case, convicted at the 2007 trial in the brutal 1974 murder of mafia associate Danny Siefert, a soon-to-be witness for the government against him and several mob cronies, and Vena was selected to replace Joey the Clown as the new “Godfather of Grand Avenue.”

Spilotro, another Lombardo protégé, is alleged to have been part of Lombardo’s hit squad that snuffed out Siefert in broad daylight and in front of his wife and son outside a suburban plastics factory days before a federal trial was set to begin in a Teamsters Union pension-fund fraud case he was slated to be the star witness in.

The double homicide of Spilotro and his brother was also included in the Family Secrets indictment, with Outfit street boss James (Jimmy the Man) Marcello convicted of delivering the siblings to their slaughter at the house of capo Louis (Louie the Mooch) Eboli in June 1986, where they were beaten and strangled to death by a cadre of hit men as revenge for Tony the Ant running amok in Las Vegas and bringing too much heat on the syndicate’s West Coast affairs.

The diminutive, yet dynamic Vena was groomed by a slew of Outfit big shots and reputedly taught to kill by one of the Chicago mafia’s most revered enforcers. Besides Lombardo, Albie the Falcon came up under Northside capos and lieutenants like Vincent (Innocent Vince) Solano, Joseph (Joe the Builder) Andriacchi, Gus Alex and Lenny Patrick. Early on in his underworld career, Vena was placed in Joey the Clown Lombardo’s enforcement wing and schooled by the Clown’s No. 1 strong arm and hit man, Frank (Frankie the German) Schweis, a renowned assassin.

Vena and Schweis are both considered suspects in the 1983 gangland murder of Teamsters official and high-level mob associate Allen Dorfman, a killing also depicted in the movie Casino.

Schweis was brought down with Lombardo in the Family Secrets case (dying before making it to trial though) and was fiery until his last breath – the German, while frail in appearance, still managed to repeatedly bark at reporters and prosecutors alike in court proceedings that directly preceded his passing.

In the fall of 1992, Vena was indicted on a state murder beef for the gruesome slaying of low-tier Windy City hoodlum, Sam Taglia, charges he was acquitted on at a 1993 trial. Taglia, on the outs with mob leaders over stolen money and scam drug deals, was found stuffed in the trunk of his car in Melrose Park, shot in the head, his throat slit ear-to-ear. He and Vena were seen together in the hours before his unsightly demise.

Showing his feistiness, Vena tried to run over the cops that came to arrest him for Taglia’s murder with his car. Cautious of recording devices, he’s rarely appeared on police wiretaps and is known to keep a relatively low profile around town, especially compared to his predecessor, Joey the Clown, notorious for his witty demeanor and flash-bulb friendly personality.

When Lombardo and Schweis got popped in 2005 in the Family Secrets bust – both going on the lam for almost a year trying to dodge arrest before finally being apprehended – Vena and Vincent (Jimmy Boy) Cozzo, Lombardo’s right-hand man, were running the Grand Avenue crew together, using Lombardo’s longtime driver Christopher (Christy the Nose) Spina as their messenger. After Cozzo died of natural causes in July 2007 and Joey the Clown was convicted three months later, Vena was officially upped to full-fledged capo by semi-retired Chicago Outfit boss John (Johnny No Nose) Di Fronzo.

“Albie Vena is a very serious individual,” retired FBI agent Jack O’Rourke said. “He has the reputation of being both treacherous and reliable. All the heavyweights in the Family trust him very much. In a lot of ways, he’s a throwback. He lives by the code of the old ChicagoOutfit bosses. Most people see him being a big part of the future administration. The pedigree is there, he’s been around a long time.”

Article courtesy of Scott M. Burnstein Author of Motor City Mafia: A Century of Organized Crime in Detroit (Images of America) and other great mafia titles. Be on look out for Scott’s upcoming mafia column and website launch.

Former Bonanno crime family captain turned informant Dominick Cicale wrote a letter to Judge Richard Sullivan asking for leniency for the son of former Bonanno family boss Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano. Oddly enough it was the testimony of Cicale that helped to put Vinny Gorgeous behind bars for life. Dominick was facing two life sentences for the same murders that Basciano was eventually convicted of but decided to turn rat and was awarded for his cooperation getting released in 2013 after serving only eight years in prison. In his letter he asked for leniency for Vincents son Joseph Basciano who was busted along with his two brothers Vincent Jr and Stephen for running a marijuana enterprise.

“Joseph Basciano”

Cicale wrote that everyone in jail will be watching Joseph and grooming him out of respect for his father and his status in the mafia world. He said he feared the good young man could walk out of prison feeling like he was the next John Gotti. Time in jail may only lead the young man and his brothers down the path of becoming lifetie wiseguys the letter said. He recalled Joseph as being a smart college boy back when he knew him and before he decided to help convict papa Basciano.
 

Joseph was already cut a break by Judge Sullivan with only a six month sentence considering he was facing a possible sentence of up to two years under the plea deal he agreed to. So there may not be much room left for leniency even with the urging of the mob turncoat.

Vincenzo “Jimmy” Demaria a reputed Toronto mafia boss had his parole yanked and he has been returned to custody for meeting with known underworld members. Under his parole conditions he was not allowed to associate with any known criminals but police surveillance captured him meeting on multiple occassions with members of a traditional organized crime group.

According to authorities in a 2010 report DeMaria is one of the leading GTA bosses of the Calabrian mafia also known as the Ndrangheta. He has been on parole for the past quarter century after a 1982 murder conviction over an alleged drug debt.

“Vincenzo DeMaria”

Recently he was also considered to be a GTA enemy of the Rizzuto crime family and now diceased Montreal mafia boss Vito Rizzuto. He was arrested in similar parole violations back in 2009 when he was caught associating with known members of the Ndrangheta. With the recent Montreal mafia war dragging on and seemingly finding its way to GTA mob territory it may end up being what keeps him safe.

Mob sources say it is possible that he may been a part of a hit list as members of what remains of the Sicilian based Rizzuto family strike back after the failed take over by a possible Ndrangheta backed faction.

Alicia DiMichele the sexy former “Mob Wives” reality TV star and wife of Colombo crime family mobster Edward “Tall Guy” Garofalo Jr has agreed to a new plea deal. DiMichele handled the books for her husbands mafia linked trucking company and helped to embezzle funds from Teamsters Local 282. She has plead guilty previously but withdrew that guilty plea when the union demanded $2.8 million dollars in restitution. The new plea agreement calls for the former Mob Wives star to pay $40,000 in restitution and faces up to six months in prison.

 
DiMichele’s lawyer claims that years of litigation and her husband being in jail on murder conspiracy charges has take a toll on the family financially. Her brother Anthony had to step in a assist her with the first payment of $20,000 of the $40,000 restitution that is to be paid. Alicia resigned from the show Mob Wives earlier this year but was reported to be making $8,000 per episode during her time on the show and she is still the owner of New Jersey based Addiction Boutique.

“Alicia DiMichele”

She is scheduled to appear in Brooklyn Federal Court next month where she will plead guilty as agreed upon in the latest plea deal. Whether or not she will join her mobster husband behind bars is still unknown.

Terrence “Terry” Adams the head of the Adams Family one of Britain’s most powerful organized crime families is once again being targeted by law enforcement. Considered one of the most feared and powerful mob bosses in Britain and the brains behind the Adams Family also known as the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate or A-Team. Prosecutors claim that a clothing firm owned by his wife named “N1 Angel” is not a legitimate business and was only designed to help hide the families ill gotten gains. N1 Angel claims to be an outfitter to famous stars including Tiago Silva and Neymar Jr both well know Brazilian footballers.

Adams is also currently fighting the High Court in an attempt to write off £628,000 ($1,074,916 US) of a total £750,000 that he still owes the state from a 2007 conviction for conspiring to conceal earlier criminal proceeds. Now claiming that he is broke because of little money being made by his enterprises although prosecutors claim there is a strong case that the mobster has substantial undisclosed assets. Prosecutors point to some of the couples spending habits which include spa memberships of £3,850 and £15,000 spent toward restaurants and holidays for the couple as examples of unreported assets.

“Terry Adams”

N1 Angel lists Adams as the companies head designer and then company name is a dedication to Angel, Islington (N1, London) where he was born and raised. But Kennedy Talbot for the Crown Prosecution Service told the High Court N1 Angel was not a legitimate business. Mrs Adams insist the company is legitimate and she hired on her husband because he obviously dresses well.

A High Court judge previously ruled that Adams had accumulated a considerable fortune from a highly successful criminal career he maintained over a significant period of time. Since his 2010 release from prison it is unknown as to his current status with in the organized crime family.

Joseph “The Builder” Andriacchi is believed to be the new face of the Chicago Outfit taking over for former mob boss Johnny “No Nose” DiFronzo according to sources. DiFronzo has seen his physical and mental health decline over the last few years forcing him to finally step down as boss of the Chicago mob. Andriacchi filled in for DiFronzo in the early 90′s while he was in prison for several months and has a long history in the Outfit. He is also part of the powerful Cicero Crew of the Chicago crime family.

“Joseph Andriacchi”

The position held in the Outfit today by Andriacchi has changed with time and is no longer a day to day operation type post and more so that of an elder statesman for the crime family. Top ranking Outfit mobsters which now include Albert Vena, Solly DeLaurentis, and James Iandino among others handle daily mob business and act as family advisers and it is unclear if any single Outfit member acts in the traditional role of a mafia boss today. The Outfit ranks have always been handled somewhat differently then other Cosa Nostra families around the country. The new shift in power in the Chicago Outfit will no doubt increase the influence of the Cicero crew among others.

The mafia in Chicago has taken its share of hits from law enforcement over the years and has seen the passing of previous bosses like Anthony Accardo , Paul Ricca, and Joseph Aiuppa but still remains a powerful and influential organized crime empire.

Mafia associates Joseph Graziano and Dominick “Harpo” Barone were among 13 people charged back in 2012 of running a mob controlled illegal sports betting operation. Graziano the owner of the Costa Rica based sports book and his employee Barone have both agreed to plead guilty to racketeering conspiracy. The duo operated under the control of the Genovese crime family using a website named Beteagle.com to track wagers from their bettors and then collecting payments from them in person. Court documents claim that the illegal operation was being run from 2008 all way to up until the bust in May of 2012.

“Feds take down of LaScala Crew back in 2012″

The crew was being run by Genovese family capo Joseph LaScala who operated in northern New Jersey according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. An FBI informant told authorities that when he met Lascala he was introduced to him as the “godfather of New Jersey”. The 80 plus year old mobster climbed his way up the ranks of the mafia in New Jersey according to prosecutors before becoming a made man in the Genovese family of the New York Mafia.

Graziano agreed to forfeit $1 million dollars as part of his plea agreement and Barone agreed to a $100,00 forfeiture. They will each face up to 20 years behind bars and a max fine of $250,000 dollars when sentenced which is set for November. Fellow defendants Salvatore Turchio, Patsy “Uncle Patsy” Pirozzi, Johnny “Johnny Fu” Fugazi, and Jose Gotay have also pleaded guilty to conspiracy.

New Orleans mafia is said by many to have been defunct for years now but suburban New Orleans police got much more than they were expecting when they pulled over high-ranking New Orleans mafia member, Joe Gagliano and his suspected mobster-associate pal, Dominick Gullo, for having stolen license tabs on the van they were driving in.

On the side of the road bordering Gullo’s house in Metairie, Louisiana, the posh suburb directly north of New Orleans, Jefferson Parish Sherriff’s Department officers came across a somewhat spooky and shocking discovery: a vehicle equipped to kill. The white-colored Chrysler van was outfitted with gun turrets and a scope-fastened sniper’s rifle with an accompanying silencer and 80 feet of cannon fuse, used to light explosive devices.

“Dominick Gullo, 72 (left), and Joseph Gagliano, 55 “

Gagliano, 55, was the passenger in the van, which was being driven by Gullo, 75 and the owner of a business that stages poker tournaments around the country. Gullo claimed that he bought the van for $300 in the hours prior to getting stopped from a woman at a nearby coffee shop and that he was unware of the fire arm and fuse wire inside and shooting portals built into the side of the van.

The FBI entered the picture last month and charged the pair with a series of federal firearm offenses and Gullo with possession of stolen property. Acting on a tip, police officers pulled up behind the van as Gullo came to a stop in front of his residence on Old Metairie Road, leading Gagliano to departing the vehicle and walking onto Gullo’s porch.

Both are being held without bond.

The question most gangland experts and mob-watchers across the country are asking themselves is what does this arrest mean about the state of La Cosa Nostra in the Big Easy, a region long thought to be absent any significant mafia activity?

One thing known for sure is that Gagliano, 55, is a well-versed racketeer in the area, a “made” member of the New Orleans mafia and someone who hails from a lineage rich with Louisiana underworld ties.

His father is deceased New Orleans mob underboss, Francis (Muffaletta Frank) Gagliano (d. 2006). Two decades ago, in 1994 the father and son gangster team, along with New Orleans’ then-don, Anthony Corrollo and New York mafia figure, Joseph (Jo Jo) Corrozzo, currently the consigliere of the Gambino Crime Family, were indicted and subsequently convicted on federal racketeering charges related to their bilking of a Louisiana poker-machine manufacturer connected to the Bally’s casino franchise out of nearly 20 million dollars.

The younger Gagliano, according to FBI records, inducted into the mafia in a 1990 ceremony, was caught talking for hours on wiretaps related to the investigation that were placed in his father’s restaurant, Frank’s Deli, in the city’s world-famous French Quarter. The year after getting busted with his father, Gagliano was collared by the Feds for overseeing a mob crew that stole more than a half-million dollars from a Mississippi casino, utilizing paid-off pit bosses and illegal card-manipulating.

Serving close to a total of six years in prison for both busts, he was released in 1999. As of last year, Gagliano still owed a large portion of the $250,000 restitution fee levied in his first sentence. Common sentiment following the convictions in the 1990s was that they proved a deathblow to the New Orleans mob, considered by historians the first-ever American Italian mafia family, setting up shop in the Big Easy in the late 19th Century.

At the peak of the mafia’s power and prestige in the United States during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, the New Orleans crime family was extremely formidable, headed by boss Carlos Marcello, one of the most revered mob dons in American history.

Marcello died of natural causes in 1993. Although the Family has gone on in some form or another since the universally respected Godfather – said to have bragged of helping arrange the JFK assassination in 1963 – , passed away, it has never been the same.

When Anthony Corollo (d. 2007) and Muffaletta Frank Gagliano took over the syndicate after Marcello died they were so desperate for an infusion of goomba street talent that they reached out to Jo Jo Corrozzo and the Gambinos in New York for help.

The city of New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission categorizes the local LCN family “active, but significantly marginalized.”

New Orleans FBI agent John Selleck and Louisiana ATF agent Kevin Moran each acknowledge the mob’s current presence, although at a lesser state of functionality than in the past, in and around the Big Easy.

“We still get tips about the mob here……….we take them seriously,” Selleck said. “Those guys aren’t being ignored.”

Moran points to the region’s changing gangland landscape in the New Millennium as a reason you don’t hear as much about the New Orleans mafia and why they aren’t as influential as they once were.

“The mafia still exists here, in some form,” he said. “As a group, they’ve had to go underground a bit more and don’t have the clout they used to because there are a lot more criminal elements to deal with compared to their heyday.”

Although neither named a boss of the current organization (probably more like a loose-knit clique of Italian mobsters, scamsters and racketeers with blood ties to the original Marcello and then-Corrollo regimes), they acknowledge that Gagliano has been called a “leader” of the group.

Up until his May arrest, Gullo, a longtime friend of Gagliano’s, didn’t have a criminal record. Gullo has been the recipient of a gambling license in both Louisiana and Nevada.

Louisiana state records show Gagliano’s employment to be as a grocer and gaming entrepreneur. His brother Frank Jr, runs Frank’s Deli, famous for Muffaletta sandwiches, a regional delicacy and the origin of Frank Sr.’s nickname. Frank Gagliano, Jr. was denied a gambling license to put poker machines inside the eatery due to his family’s LCN affiliations.

Article courtesy of Scott M. Burnstein Author of Motor City Mafia: A Century of Organized Crime in Detroit (Images of America) and other great mafia titles.

Ducarme Joseph was found shot to death on the streets of Montreal hit several times in the upper body. Joseph was the founder of the Montreal street gang called the 67s street gang and was considered by police to be the most influential and powerful street gang leader in the city with a long criminal record. The 46 year old street gang leader was believed by many including authorities to be the get away car driver in the murder of Nick Rizzuto Jr the son of former Montreal mafia boss Vito Rizzuto. Nick was killed back in 2009 near the offices of Antonio Magi who was also believed to be involved in the hit.

“Ducarme Joseph”

Vito Rizzuto died in the middle of an array of mob related murders which many believed to be his revenge for the murders of his father Nicolo and son Nick Jr along with the attack on his crime family by a rival faction possibly backed by the Ndrangheta. The latest hit on Joseph may very well be the new leaders of the mafia in Montreal showing their loyalty and finishing the vengeance of their deceased mob boss.

The bloody Montreal mafia war that began with the failed attempt to destroy the Rizzuto crime family while Vito was doing a prison stint in the U.S. has continued to see the body count rise. It is still yet unknown if the hit on Joseph was indeed carried out or authorized by the new mob leaders but the tracks of vengeace are definitely one of the authorities top leads.

James Bernardone a reputed mafia soldier in the Genovese crime family was sentenced to two years in prison for mob kickbacks relating to the construction industry. Bernardone the former International Union of Journeymen and Allied Trades Local 24 secretary treasurer says he “let his members down”. He was forced to resign from his union position after he was caught taking kickbacks from contruction sites in Queens and Brooklyn for the mafia specifically the Genovese family.

“James Bernardone (right)”

He pleaded guilty to conspiring with Paul Gasparrini an alleged associate of the Genovese family to extort $2 from construction sites for ever load of soil removed. Both mobsters are also agreed to each forfeit $10,000 of their illegal gains as part of their plea. According to court documents contractors were not threatened with any physical violence it was understood that if they did not pay the mob tax requested they would not get the work.

Prosecutors urged the judge to send a strong message to the New York mafia that mob shakedowns are no longer the cost of doing business in the local construction industry.

Daniel Pagano who prosecutors say hold the rank of captain in the Genovese crime family has been arrested on racketeering conspiracy charges. The son of Joseph Pagano the late Hudson Valley mafia boss was arrested at his home in Ramapo b y detectives from the Rockland District Attorney’s Office along with members of the FBI. Prosecutors claim that Pagano ran a crew for the Genovese family and kicked up money made from illegal gambling and other operations to mob family leaders. The indictment claims that he and mob associate Michael Palazzolo participated in a conspiracy involving both illegal gambling and extortion to collect gambling debts.

“Daniel Pagano”

Pagano has had run ins with law enforcement in the past including a 1998 conviction for leading a tax scam related to the illegal gasoline sales in connection with the Russian mafia. He ran the scam on behalf of multiple New York mafia families interests including the Gambino, Lucchese, Colombo, and Genovese families. He served nine years in prison for that conviction and three years from 1990-1993 for loan sharking and illegal gambling charges.

He was also accused back in 1983 of being involved with Al Sharpton on a drug dealing business. He was also accused of using a bank account to launder money that belonged to the National Youth Movement of Al Sharpton. Sharpton has repeadedly even to this day denied all of these allegations.

Murray Richmond attorney for Pagano says his client is pleading not guilty and will request bail and is willing to put up his Christmas Hill Road home up for collateral.

Jack Bonventre a reputed acting captain in the Bonanno crime family has been on house arrest since January wants special treatment. He was busted in a mafia sweep which included Vincent Araro accused of having a part in the Lufthansa heist among others. His attorney has petitioned the court to allow him a day trip to attend a Sullivan County Equestrian Show that his daughter has a part in. Usually these types of request are limited to important life events like funerals , births, or even graduations. His attorney said that his client should be allowed to attend because he is his daughters #1 fan and has been forced to miss off of her summer appearances.

“Jack Bonventre”

Prosecutors actually agreed originally to the request then had a change or heart when officials argued about the extravagant allowance it would take. They then pushed for a denial by Judge Allyne Ross stating that his house arrest conditions should only be altered for more important life events and a horse show did not qualify. Judge Ross eventually agreed with prosecutors and denied the mobsters request.

Alicia DiMichele a former star of the reality TV show “Mob Wives” was able to avoid prison on charges of stealing union funds. She was sentenced to four years of probation with no jail time for her role in the scheme to divert money from a trucking company owned by her mobster husband Edward “Tall Guy” Garofalo Jr. The reputed Colombo crime family soldier is currently serving a seven year prison sentence on murder conspiracy charges. DiMichele was facing up to six months in prison under terms of a plea agreement.

“Alicia DiMichele leaving court”

Under the terms of the agreement she also agreed to pay restitution to Teamsters Local 282 in amount of $40,000. She said in a statement that she knew her husband and business partner were doing something wrong and she helped but it was not who she was and couldn’t describe how embarrassed she was to be in this situation.

Her attorney called her a loving mother and said she was effectively a single mother while her husband is a guest of the government. He also said since these allegations date back approx ten years making the case that jail time would of been excessive. The 41 year old Mob Wives diva quit the show in the spring even though she was reportedly making $8,000 per episode. It was anticipated that she would fare better in court then her mobster husband.

Bonanno crime family members including reputed acting boss Tommy “Tommy D” DiFiore and captain Vincent Asaro are heading to trial and prosecutors are now asking for an anonymous jury. Recent court filings revealed that prosecutors have requested a partially sequestered and anonymous jury for the upcoming trial because of the high ranking nature of the mafia members. They have specifically asked that the names,addresses, and employment info for each juror to not be revealed to the defendants or defense attorneys and that each juror be escorted to and from the court room and during all recesses daily by U.S. Marshalls.

“Tommy DiFiore  (center)”

Along with DiFiore and Asaro on trial are fellow Bonanno family members Jack Bonventre an alleged acting capo, Jerome Asaro an alleged capo, and alleged soldier John Ragano. Prosecutors point to the mafia’s and Bonanno family’s long history of being able to obstruct justice including many cases of jury tampering. They outlined the capacity and willingness of defendants Vincent Asaro and Jerome Asaro to engage in such behavior including committing murder.

The defendants were part of a mafia sweep targeting the New York mafia family back in January of this year and has been touted as having links to the infamous Lufthansa heist from 1978 with Vincent Asaro being charged with crimes related to that heist. The Asaro’s are also racing murder related charges with other defendants including acting boss DiFiore facing other racketeering, extortion, and gambling charges. Both of the Asaro’s are facing possible life sentences if convicted.

John “Big Man” Venizelos has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to running a mafia linked marijuana trafficking ring. Prosecutors say Venizelos is an associate of the Bonanno crime family and was one of the biggest New York customers of Jimmy “Cosmo” Cournoyer an alleged Canadian drug kingpin. The operation was an alliance between the Bonanno family, Montreal mafia namely the Rizzuto family, and the Hells Angels according to prosecutors.

“Jimmy Cournoyer and John Venizelos”

Federal agents busted up the ring back in 2013 seizing more then $150,00 of drug money along with illegal narcotics, guns, and encrypted blackberry devices. Venizelos also got into trouble for attempted witness tampering when he was caught sending encrypted messages from a blackberry to colleagues telling them that Cournoyer was bankrolling a murder fund to whack informants.

Cournoyer also arrested in that 2013 bust is still awaiting sentencing.

Thomas Petrizzo a captain in the Colombo crime family charged with shaking down debris haulers at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terrorists attack is facing sentencing and wants off easy. His attorney claims he is a upstanding and hard working citizen who is deeply remorseful for the small part he played in the scheme. He claims his client was only briefly involved in the mafia run kick back scam back in 2009. The defense has asked Brooklyn Federal Judge Sandra Townes to sentence the defendant to probation although the recommend sentence under his guilty plea is from 10-16 months.

Prosecutors agreed to reduce the mandatory sentence guidelines down to 8 month for the aging mobster but urged the judge to sentence the long time New York Mafia member accordingly. They noted that he has been a long time member of the Colombo family and has been arrested for violent criminal activity since 1964. They also requested that he be fined $5,000 and be forced to pay back a restitution of a little over $34,000 due to his financial stability.

Letters of support were sent to the court in support of Petrizzo also asked the judge to go easy at sentencing. One even called the mob linked New Jersey contractor “the unsung hero if the building of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center back in 1970″. Sentencing has been pushed back a month to allow the Probation Department to complete a final pre-sentence report on the defendant.

Ronald Galati has been charged with murder solicitation and insurance fraud and the feds hope the severity of those charges may influence him to flip. Although he is not a made man in the Philadelphia mafia Galati has long had mob ties and was known to welcome mobsters pack from prison with jobs at his garage. He is accused of ordering a failed hit attempt on Andrew Tuono and staging bogus car wreck scene’s to defraud various insurance companies. He was convicted back in the 1990′s for insurance fraud charges but kept quiet and did his time.

According to a grand jury witness against him Galati was quoted as saying “I live my life to cheat insurance companies. My high every day is to cheat insurance companies”. The three hit men he allegedly hired for the Tuono hit Jerome Johnson, Alvin Matthews, and Ronald Walker are believed to now be cooperating with authorities. It would seem that the deck is definitely not stacked in Galati’s favor would be decide to go to trial.

Prosecutors claim he has close ties to high ranking Philly mob members like Joseph Ligambi , Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, and George Borgesi among others. These close friendships definitely make him a target for the feds to turn especially now that he faces such stiff charges with what seems like a solid amount of evidence. Ligambi’s son was also one of the men charged along with Ronald in the 69 count indictment.

Ndrangheta also known as the Calabrian Mafia were secretly recorded having a meeting in the town of Frauenfeld in Switzerland by Swiss and Italian police. The meeting of a dozen of so alleged Calabrian mafia members has given what authorities are calling an valuable insight into the expansion of the Ndrangheta and its rituals. The meeting was recorded as part of a two year long investigation which ended with the arrest of 18 alleged mobsters. The mafia gathering could of been a scene right out of The Godfather.

Antonio Nesci nicknamed “Cucchiaruni” which in Calabrain dialect means “Swiss mountain” the assumed boss is seen in video telling his fellow mobsters about the background of the local clan. He says the organization has been established since the 1970′s in the small Swiss town and tells younger members to respect the “clean” reputation that the mafia has built there. He also refers to the regulations of the Ndrangheta which date back to the 1800′s.

Nesci also says decision of murder and extortion must be referred to those in the organization that are specifically designated for those tasks in a chilling reminder of mob uncompromising violence. He says “You can work in everything – extortion, cocaine, heroin,” to his fellow members. The Swiss cell has been linked to the Fabrizia clan and Mazzaferro clan back in Italy.

It is believed that Nesci would report directly to the Fabrizia clan boss Giuseppe Antonio Primerano. The Fabrizia clan boss is said to have links to the head of the Ndrangheta or “Capocrimine” Domenico Oppedisano. The 83 year old was said to have been appointed to what the is equivalent to the “boss of bosses” in Cosa Nostra back in 2009. He was arrested back in 2010 and is now serving a 13 year sentence on charges of mafia association but maintains.

Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino has been the topic of discussion when it come to the Philadelphia mafia since his release from prison back in 2012 after serving 14 years. The former boss of the Philly mob has been in Boca Raton since his release on supervised release which ends next month. He has been rumored to still be the head of the mob family in Philly and many have speculated he could return once his supervised release ended and he was free of any stipulations. Merlino has maintained since he was released that his life in the mafia was over and he was out of the life one reason being as he stated “there were too many rats around”.

“Joey Merlino”

Now it seems Merlino may be staying down in Boca instead of returning to Philadelphia and maybe getting into to the restaurant business. Sources in Boca are reporting that former mob boss Skinny Joey and a group of investors are planning to open a high end Italian style place. It is still unconfirmed and neither Merlino or his attorney have commented on or confirmed the business venture. No information is yet available as to a name but rumors of the location being  39 SE First Avenue in Boca have surfaced.

Merlino making Boca his permanent home and getting into the restaurant business may be a clear sign that he is out if the mob life and the Philly mob is moving on with out him. But many believe he may still be pulling the strings from down in sunny Florida while members of his old crew including alleged acting boss Steven Mazzone handle things on the streets.

But it seems like a return to Philly may not be part of Merlino’s plans and maybe age and wisdom has convinced him that its time to get out while he still can. Besides it doesn’t seem like there is all that much left of the Philly mafia to be worth fighting for and with old Scarfo era mobsters back on streets there could be even more competition for control of that shrinking pie.

Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino the former boss of the Philadelphia mafia is set to come off of supervised probation in a matter of days but the feds are trying to change that. Merlino could be heading back to prison for violating the terms of his supervised release back in June of this year. He is prohibited from associating with organized crime figures or any convicted felons. But on June 18 the feds conducted surveillance of Merlino meeting with ex-cons down in Boca Raton.

“Joey Merlino”

He met with Philly mafia captain John Ciancaglini and two other men identified as Brad Sirkin and Frank Fiore both also with criminal records. The foursome had dinner at an Italian restaurant and then had drinks in the Havana Nights Cigar Bar & Lounge VIP area according to court documents. It is still unclear as to why the feds were doing surveillance on Merlino or the late night meeting.

Authorities also claim Merlino also committed another parole violation back in May when he refused to answer some questions about one of his business transactions asked by his supervision monitors. The former mafia boss has sworn off the mob life since getting out of prison. Many believe he could still be the head of the mob in Philly calling the shots from Florida with his old crew controlling things on the streets back home.

Many wondered if he would make a return to Philadelphia once his supervised probation has ended and take back control of the La Cosa Nostra family hands on. But rumors are that Joey has plans to open up a high end Italian restaurant down in Boca and go straight making it possibly his permant home. If the feds can make these probation violations stick his plans what ever they were would be changing.