Reputed Colombo crime family mobster Angelo “Little Angelo” Spata is facing up to 21 months in prison on illegal gambling and money laundering charges after his 2011 arrest during a major mafia sweep. Now the wiseguy is looking for a little divine intervention in hopes of a more lenient sentence by submitting letters from an NYPD Chaplain and almost a dozen other priests on his behalf. The letters praised Spata for many charitable donations and call him a good friend of the church and his community at large. They point to several occasions including aftermath from Hurricane Sandy in which Spata and his company which operates local feasts and carnivals donated items such as food and even generators to power a local high school gym.

“Angelo Spata (center)”

But federal prosecutors have a much different opinion of Spata and paint a much darker picture. Spata holds a unique position in the New York Mafia being the son-in-law of Colombo family boss Carmine Persico and brother-in-law to acting Colombo family boss Alphonse “Allie Boy” Persico. According to prosecutors Spata was proposed for membership into the Colombo family in 2010 but for unknown reasons the ceremony was called off. But even though he was not a made man in La Cosa Nostra his family ties to the Persico’s allowed him to have much more power and influence with in the Colombo family then any other associates. He used this reputation and his standing as mob royalty at the Brooklyn festival called Figli di Santa Rosalia to extort fees from festival vendors.
 

The feds told sentencing judge Kiyo Matsumoto that all of Spata’s charity should be dismissed because he was simply donating free services from his company so he could reap the public relations benefit. These letters from the “Godfellas” on behalf of mobsters are not exactly uncommon so its unclear as to if they will have any effect on Spata’s sentencing.

The former underboss of the Colombo crime family Gennaro “Gerry Lang” Langella died Sunday at the age of 74 while serving out his 100 year prison sentence. The former New York Mafia leader was one of eight defendants tried in the most highly publicized mob cases in history the “Mafia Commission Trial” held in the mid 1980′s. Other defendants in the case were top Mafia leaders which included Carmine “Junior” Persico then boss of Colombo family , Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno then boss of the Genovese family, and Anthony “Tony Ducks” Corallo then the boss of the Lucchese family. All of the defendants were found guilty on RICO charges and were all sentenced to 100 years in prison in November of 1986. Langella had been sentenced to a 65 year prison for a previous racketeering conviction but was allowed to serve both sentences concurrently.

“Gennaro Langella”

Starting in 1996 Langella began making what seemed to be a never ending bid to be let out of prison on parole but was unsuccessful. Prosecutors were able to provide testimony from several cooperating witnesses including Gregory Scarpa Sr that Langella had ordered multiple murders on behalf of the Colombo crime family. Langella was also fingered for attending a meeting between the Colombo family and the DeCavalcante crime family from New Jersey where the families divided up territory for the sale of narcotics. In the book “Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires” writer and former investigative reporter Selwyn Raab describes Langella as being a ruthless drug trafficker and loan shark. He was a throw back to a different era of the Mafia and mobsters.

Reputed Colombo crime family mobster Scott Fappiano is headed to trial in Manhattan for extortion charges. He is charged with helping to orchestrate an effort by New York Mafia families to control the garbage-carting industry in New York and New Jersey. Prosecutors claim Fappiano tried to shake down the owner of a waste hauling company on behalf of the mob to secretly assume control of their business operations. He was one of 31 reputed mobsters arrested in January in a massive mob take down involved with the extortion scheme. Prosecutors say Fappiano is part of the Colombo family but he also has deep ties in the Gambino crime family through three of his uncles Michael “Mikey Scars” DiLeonardo, Frank “Frankie Fap” Fappiano, and Frank DeCicco who were all high ranking made members of the Gambino’s.

“Scott Fappiano”

Fappiano was arrested in 1983 when he was a 22 year old wannabe wiseguy for the rape and sodomizing of a cops wife. A Jury found him guilty and sentenced him to 20 to 50 years in prison and was sent to Attica before being cleared due to new DNA evidence collected by the Innocence Project proved he could not have committed the crime. He spent 22 years in prison before being cleared and set free in 2006. But since then Fappiano has not been able to keep his nose clean getting arrested again in the massive mafia sweep in 2011. He coped a plea to loan sharking and extortion charges then and was sentenced to one month of time served and three years probation , a light sentence influenced somewhat by his previous wrongful conviction.
 

This time around Fappiano may not see the same sort of lenient sentencing if convicted. According to his lawyer Fappiano may testify on his own behalf in a effort to make a sympathetic plea to the jury. This is a seldom seen move by mobsters because it opens them up to being cross-examined about mafia activities they may have been involved in. Fappiano said he was unsure if the jury would be sympathetic after hearing his story because the cards are stacked against him in federal court.

The last year has been very interesting for La Cosa Nostra families across the United States. Many mafia families have seen changes with in their hierarchy due to law enforcement convictions, death natural or otherwise, and other various reasons over the last year. We have put together a list of the current 2014 mafia leadership for each of the active mafia families across the United States going into 2014. This list is compiled from information from several sources including mafia insiders and details from various law enforcement sources like the FBI and are as accurate as possible. It contains all known information on not only the current mafia family boss but also the rest of the families leadership. We are sure as we get further into 2014 their will be changes to these mob family leaders which we keep updated at our Mafia Family Leadership Charts page so be sure to check it out for future updates.

Gambino Crime Family (New York)

“Domenico Cefalu”

Boss: Domenico “Italian Dom” Cefalu
Underboss: Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali
Consigliere: Arnold “Zeke” Squitieri / John Gambino (?)
New Jersey Crew Boss: Nicholas “Nicky Mita” Mitarotonda

Colombo Crime Family (New York)

“Carmine Persico”

Boss: Carmine “Junior/The Snake” Persico (Life IP)
Street Boss: Andrew “Andy Mush” Russo (IP,UI)
Underboss: John “Sonny” Franzese (IP)
Acting Underboss: Dominick “Donnie Shacks” Montemarano
Consigliere: Unknown
Acting Consigliere: Thomas “Tom Mix/Mr. T” Farese

Genovese Crime Family (New York)

“Liborio Bellomo”

Boss: Unknown
Acting Boss: Unknown
Street Boss: Liborio “Barney” Bellomo
Underboss: Venero “Benny Eggs” Mangano
Consigliere: Dominick “Quiet Dom” Cirillo
New Jersey Crew Boss: Unknown

Bonanno Crime Family (New York)

“Michael Mancuso”

Boss: Michael “The Nose” Mancuso
Acting Boss/Underboss: Thomas “Tommy D” DiFiore
Consigliere: Anthony “T.G.” Graziano (IP)
Acting Consigliere: Anthony “Fat Tony” Rabito
New Jersey Crew Boss: Joseph Sammartino Sr

Lucchese Crime Family (New York)

“Steven Crea”

Boss: Steven “Stevie Wonder/Herbie” Crea
Underboss: Unknown
Consigliere: Joseph “Joe C.” Caridi
New Jersey Crew Boss: Ralph Vito Perna (UI)

New Jersey Mafia (Decavalcante Family)

“Giovanni Riggi”

Boss: Giovanni “John the Eagle/Uncle John” Riggi (IP)
Acting Boss: Francesco “Frank” Guarraci
UnderBoss: Joseph Miranda
Consiglieri: Stefano “Steve the Truck Driver” Vitabile (IP)
Acting Consiglieri: “unknown”

Philadelphia Mafia Family

“Joseph Ligambi”

Boss: Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi (UI)/Joey Merlino (?)
Acting Boss: Steve Mazzone
Underboss: Joseph “Mousie” Massimino (IP)
Acting Underboss: “unknown”
Consigliere: George Borgesi (UI)
Acting Consigliere: “unknown”)

Detroit Mafia Family

“Jackie the Kid Giacalone”

Boss: Giacomo “Black Jack” Tocco (semi retired)
Acting Boss: Jack “Jackie the Kid” Giacalone
Underboss: Joseph “Joe Hooks” Mirabile
Acting Underboss: Anthony La Piana
Consigliere: Dominic Bommarito
Acting Street Boss: Peter Tocco
Street Counselor: Allen “The General” Hilf

New England Mafia (Patriarca Family)

“Anthony DiNunzio”

Boss: Anthony “Tony” DiNunzio/52 (IP)
UnderBoss: “unknown”
Consiglieri: Carmen “The Cheese Man” DiNunzio (IP/2015)

Cleveland Mafia Family

“Joseph Lacobacci”

Boss: Joseph “Joe Loose” Lacobacci (possibly retired)
Acting Boss: Russell “RJ” Papalardo
Underboss: “unknown”
Consigliere: “unknown”

Kansas City Mafia Family

Boss: John Sciortino
UnderBoss: Peter Simone
Consigliere: “unknown”

Bonanno crime family mobster Anthony “Skinny” Santoro claims he is being charged for a cache of guns found by authorities that aren’t even his. In February of 2012 authorities raided the upper level of a two family home where Santoro and a gal pal were living and found seven guns. Santoro’s attorney says his client was living in the upper level apartment and the weapons were found in the lower apartment that belonged to a deceased elderly female neighbor. They even claim authorities search warrant was defective because the building contained two separate apartments and the warrant failed to identify which one of the units they were allowed to search. This leaves prosecutors no basis to charge the portly wiseguy with weapons charges of any kind for guns found that have no connection to him other then fact they were found by authorities conducting an illegal search of the neighboring apartment.

“Anthony Santoro”

Santoro was busted in July as part of a 158-page indictment extortion and corruption case which also included charges of grand larceny, perjury, enterprise corruption, and criminal usury. The foul mouth mobster was caught on secretly recorded phone conversations making multiple threats including flying off handle during one saying “Im gonna split his f—ing head with a hatchet, to be honest with you”. He was indicted along with aging Bonanno family leader Nicky “Cigars” Santora and other reputed mobsters. The fifty year old Santoro is being held with out bail and is facing up to 25 years in prison of convicted.

Salvatore Larca a reputed soldier in the Genovese crime family has been sentenced to nice and a half years in prison for his role in an illegal drug operation. He was part of a massive marijuana distribution scheme which also involved former reality star Anthony Zoccolillo and three sons of former Bonanno family boss Vincent “Vinny Gorgeous” Basciano. The weed was being imported from California and distributed by the group in the Bronx area of New York. Authorities found over 40,000 pounds of marijuana in a warehouse owned by Larca and approximately $30,000 of cash at his home when he was busted last year. Basciano’s sons Stephen, Vincent Jr, and Joseph have all pleaded not guilty to narcotics conspiracy and could face up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

“Basciano sons leave court after posting bail”

Larca’s attorney argued in a pre-sentence letter that marijuana laws have drastically changed over the last several years along with society’s view of the drug saying it has become mainstream. He said he believed that an 84 month sentence would be appropriate for his clients crimes but the feds were seeking a sentence from 126 to 159 months which was at the high end of the sentencing guidelines. The judge admitted that society was having new conversations and second thoughts about marijuana but the case was more about drug trafficking then about marijuana itself before sentencing the mobster to 114 months. Larca’s defense attorney said his client was ready fully serve his sentence and was appreciative of the one year reduction from the maximum sentencing guidelines given to him by the court. Another case showing the drug business has become a major money maker for the mafia.

A powerful Genovese crime family captain Frank “Punchy” Illiano unlike most mobsters passed away at home from natural causes. He was a major force with in the Genovese family serving on several committees and ruling panels through out the 1990′s and into the 2000′s as other top family leaders including former boss Vincent “Chin” Gigante were being prosecuted and sent to prison according to mob sources. He was spotted in the mid 1990′s on walk talks with high level Genovese mobsters including John Barbato and Dominick Cirillo according to law enforcement. Both Barbato and Cirillo are still major players and high level leaders in the Genovese family on the streets today. Illiano was also said to be a close associate of one time Genovese family acting boss Daniel Leo.

“Tony Abbatermarco. Albert Gallo and Frank Illiano in January 1962″

Although Illiano enjoyed a rewarding career with the Genovese family he began his life in the mafia as a member of the Colombo family. The tough Brooklyn based mobster was part of the rebel Gallo brothers faction during the Colombo wars of the 1960′s and 1970′s. He was arrested more the 15 times during the Profaci-Gallo war in the 1970′s but spent less then a year total in prison. The illusive mobster even beat murder conspiracy charges in 1965 along with Larry and Albert Gallo getting charges reduced to misdemeanor assault and getting a six month sentence. Then in the mid 1970′s Illiano along with other Colombo mobsters were released by the family allowing them to become part of the Genovese family in a move to get rid of remaining rival faction rebels and stop internal family war.
 

This move to the Genovese family was worked out during a high level mob meeting between Colombo leaders and Toddo Marino a top Genovese family capo. But sources say that Gigante at time a powerful capo by his own right in the Genovese family was the driving force behind the agreement being an old boxing buddy of Illiano’s. Gingante has Illiano added to the crew he was leading and over the years Illiano prospered himself rising to the rank of capo. Although he began as a member of the Colombo’s he was respected by the Genovese family mobsters and one source said he was beloved part of the family for his take charge attitude and his work ethic. In recent years he was often seen is his neighborhood exchanging pleasantries with everyone according to local neighbors.

Bonanno crime family mobster turned rat Hector “Junior” Pagan is set to take the stand as the governments star witness at upcoming mob trial. Pagan is best known for being the ex-husband of Renee Graziano one of the stars of the hit TV series Mob Wives. The former mob enforcer decided to become an informant after a drug conviction and wore a wire secretly taping conversations with fellow mobsters. These tapes lead to the arrest of former Bonanno family acting boss Vincent “Vinny TV” Badalamenti and his former father-in-law and high ranking mobster Anthony Graziano among others. Pagan cut a deal with the feds which included him admitting his role in the 2010 murder of James Donovan an alleged Lucchese crime family associate and loanshark during a botched robbery.

“Hector Pagan” 

Pagan is now the star witness against two accomplices Bonanno mobster Richard Riccardi and Gambino family associate Luigi Grasso which he claims joined him in the fatal robbery attempt. Even though Pagan himself fired the fatal shot into the leg of Donovan causing him to bleed to death he has played his turncoat card perfectly. According to Pagan he was accompanied by Grasso and helped apprehend Donovan at gun point and Riccardi is accused of supplying the guns. But defense attorney’s argue that Pagan is really the guilty party in the murder of Donovan as he fired the fatal shot leading to his death and he has been caught lying to both the U.S. attorney and Brooklyn distract attorney about the mafia murder.
 

Both Grasso and Riccardi are being held with out bail while they await trial. The mobsters are facing a sentence of life in prison if convicted.

Two alleged mobsters Anthony Bazzini and Scott Fappiano busted last year for their parts in a plot by New York mafia families to control the waste carting industry in New York and New Jersey avoid going to trial for extortion. According to feds Bazzini is an alleged Gambino crime family soldier and Fappiano an alleged member of the Colombo crime family who branched out to work with the Gambino’s. They were arrested in a mafia sweep which included several other mobsters plotting to carve up control of the lucrative waste carting business between the Gambino family, Lucchese family, and Genovese family according to the feds. But on the eve of their extortion trial both mobsters agreed to plead guilty as part of a sweet plea deal in which both will serve less then two years in prison.

“Scott Fappiano (left) and Anthony Bazzini (right)”

Sweetened offers were made to both alleged mobsters by the feds in an 11th hour move when their star witness was exposed for being part online underage sex-tryst sting. The undercover witness had agreed to wear a wire and the secretly recorded conversations were believed to have been damaging evidence in the case against both wiseguys. Now as part of the plea deals Bazzini will face only 12 to 18 months behind bars and Fappiano 15 to 21 months for their crimes. Another black eye for the feds and thier decision making process when it comes to making deals with guys looking to flip. In recent years there has been no shortage of guys turning rat in organized crime circles but the feds have in many cases dropped the ball when deciding which are worth making a deal with.

Nicky “Cigars” Santora an alleged captain in the Bonanno crime family was arrested last July along with eight other reputed mobsters in a case that include charges of racketeering, drug trafficking, loansharking, and illegal gambling. Although he has a criminal record that dates back all the way to the 1960′s he claims he has been falsely accused of being a mobster. His attorney Michael Alber told the court that his Santora was not a member of the New York mafia and did not hold the rank of Capo or Consigliere in the Bonanno family as the feds have claimed. He also argued that lunch and dinner meetings Santora had which included other reputed Bonanno family members were simply Italian tradition with old friends and not used to conduct mafia business as the feds have claimed.

“Nicky Santora in court”

Albers said restaurants and diners are where Santora liked to socialize and would often simply be eating out with friends. But prosecutors used these meetings with mobsters which included alleged Bonanno family underboss Vito Badamo as a means to get Santora’s phone taped and his home raided as part of the corruption case. According to the feds Santora and Badamo met at diners and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel festival to conduct mob business like the handing off of gambling profits. But Albers claims these meetings were simply to break bread with an old family friend. The meetings prove nothing Albers said and it is not a crime to meet people and eat.
 

Santora was caught on wiretaps setting up meetings with Badamo at the Our Lady of Mount Carmel festival where Badamo operated a zeppole stand in 2011. But Albers argues these conversations don’t include anything about illegal gambling or other mafia activities and are completely innocuous these meetings and wiretaps alone are insufficient evidence needed to establish a pattern or criminal activity or enterprise corruption. But the feds claim Santora was also caught on wiretaps grooming a mob underling telling him to “stop acting like a clown” and “When i leave your going to be taking over the neighborhood and you have to know how and what your doing”.
 

Albers claims that the whole indictment should be thrown out of court because Santora already pleaded guilty in 2012 to similar charges during the same time span and its double jeopardy. He said the charges virtually mirror each other so this current 158 page indictment should be tossed. Santora and his fellow wiseguys face up to 25 years in prison if convicted in the enterprise corruption case.

A series of predawn raids by the feds have led to the arrest of five reputed mobsters from the Bonanno crime family of the New York Mafia. Vincent Asaro was one of the alleged wiseguys to be apprehended who feds claim is a high ranking member of the crime family and is being charged in connection with the infamous 1978 Lufthansa Heist at Kennedy Airport. For more then three decades the feds have been trying to solve the JFK robbery caper and bring those involved to justice. Asaro was arraigned in federal court after his arrest this morning on racketeering charges that included the Lufthansa heist. Asaro will officially become the first ever mobster to face charges for the robbery once the indictment is unsealed. The crime netted over $5 million dollars in cash and approx $1 million in jewels in 1978 equivalent to over $20 million dollars today none of which has ever been recovered.

“Thomas DiFiore”

Also arrested in the raid was alleged Bonanno family underboss Thomas “Tommy D” DiFiore the highest ranking crime family member currently out of prison. Feds claim he was recently elevated to underboss and is a key player in an effort to rebuild the Bonanno family after recent convictions devastated its hierarchy aided by former boss Joseph Massino turning rat. The three other reputed mobsters arrested were Jack Bonventre, Jerome Asaro, and John Rigano and are expected to be charged once the indictment is unsealed later today. Feds said in a statement that the roundup against the alleged Bonanno family members had been in the works for months after acting on new information from a source led to bones being recovered at old residence of former Lucchese family associate James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke. Burke was believed to the the mastermind behind the Lufthansa Heist.
 

The home now owned by Burke’s daughter was searched and remains were recovered which DNA test matched to that of Paul Katz. Katz believed to have been killed by henchmen or orders from Burke who had reason to believe he was cooperating with law enforcement. Feds have reason to believe Katz was strangled with a chain and buried in a vacant house somewhere else in Queens before his remains were moved to the basement of Burke’s home later because he got spooked by a separate probe being conducted. Feds believe that Burke was responsible for killing just about everyone who could have directly linked him to the Lufthansa robbery. Burke and made famous by the Martin Scorsese movie “Goodfellas” being the inspiration for “Jimmy Conway” the character played by Robert DeNiro. Burke died in 1996 serving time in prison on murder charges avoided ever being charged with any role in the infamous heist.

The indictments that led to the arrests of five reputed top-echelon Bonanno crime family mobsters has been unsealed and charges laid out. Arrested were Vincent Asaro, Thomas DiFiore, Jack Bonventre, John Rigano and Jerome Asaro. The wide ranging indictment covers a alleged racketeering conspiracy from 1968 to 2013 including charges of robbery, extortion, solicitation of murder, and racketeering. Asaro currently holds the rank of capo in the Bonanno family was charged for planning and his role in the infamous Lufthansa Heist in 1978 and murder of Paul Katz in 1969. Prosecutors did not precisely list what role Asaro might have played in the heist itself in the legal filings. For years it was believed the Lufthansa Heist was pulled off by members of the Lucchese crime family led by associate and mastermind James “Jimmy the Gent” Burke but now prosecutors are convinced Bonanno family mobsters were also involved.

“Vincent Asaro (center)”

The investigation was reopened into the heist in June of 2013 after an informant believed to be a cousin of Vincent Asaro ratted them out. The informant even wore a wire for the feds capturing Asaro complaining about the Lufthansa Heist as in 2011. Asaro is caught telling the informant during a conversation “We never got our right money, what we were supposed to get,” “Jimmy kept everything,” clearly referencing Jimmy Burke. Prosecutors claim that Asaro gave some of the jewelry stolen from the heist to a Bonanno family superior at the time which is now believed to be former Bonanno family boss and turncoat Joseph Massino. Although Massino is not openly named in the indictment information about the informer helping supply prosecutors with information on current case points to him. Prosecutors also claim to have up to four cooperating witnesses from New York mafia families supplying information on the case.

“Jack Bonventre”

“John Rigano”

Thomas DiFiore the reputed underboss of the Bonanno family is thought to have been a key player in the crime families efforts to rebuild their ranks and highest ranking members on streets. The Bonanno family hierarchy was devastated by recent convictions aided by former bosses turned rat Joseph Massino and Salvatore “Good Looking Sal” Vitale. The crime family allegedly named a new leader in Michael Mancuso who is still serving out a recent prison sentence. This indictment could be another major blow to the leadership of the Bonanno family taking down some of the crime families most respected members.

“Thomas DiFiore (center)”

“Jerome Asaro”

Two former Bonanno crime family leaders turned government witnesses Joseph Massino and Salvatore “Good Looking Sal” Vitale may have once again helped the feds take down key crime family members. In the latest indictments against the Bonanno family the feds mention the help of four cooperating witnesses labeled “Cw-1,CW-2,CW-3,CW-4″ which were key in their case. Included in the indictment were charges against alleged Bonanno capo Vincent Asaro for his part in the historic Lufthansa Heist and separate charges against alleged Bonanno family underboss Thomas DiFiore, Jack Bonventre, John Ragano, and Jerome Asaro. Prior information about previous Bonanno family turncoats can seemingly be used to identify two of the cooperating witnesses listed by the feds as key informants in the indictment.

Based on records filled with the federal court in Brooklyn “CW-2″ is listed as being the boss of the Bonanno family in the 1990′s which would be Massino. It also list “CW-2″ as someone previously convicted of racketeering murder that plead guilty to murder in aid of racketeering but was re sentenced for later cooperating with the feds to approx 12 years all of which match with what happened to Massino. The former Bonanno boss is also believed to have received some of the jewelry taken in the Lufthansa Heist as tribute. He may have also known about certain aspects of the robbery and supplied the feds with this information that involved Asaro. With all of the pieces laid out it seems that cooperating witness two in the case almost has to be that of Joseph Massino.
 

Court records also identifies “CW-3″ as a former high ranking member of the Bonanno family that previously plead guilty to racketeering charges and was later re sentenced to approx seven years after agreeing to cooperate. The records also indicate that “CW-3″ told feds and testified that he ordered Jerome Asaro the son of Vincent Asaro to get rid of a car that was used in murder of Gerlando Sciascia in 1999. These pieces all linked together point to “CW-3″ being that of Sal Vitale. The two other cooperating witnesses “CW-1 and CW-4″ seem to be lower ranking members of the New York mafia that turned rat and are still unidentified. This indictment may have led to more charges in the Lufthansa Heist but most of the other involved are now dead many due to a murderous rampage by Jimmy Burke years ago the mastermind of the heist.

Reputed Lucchese crime family soldier Carlo Taccetta was caught with 65 pounds of marijuana by New Jersey State Troopers. His truck was stooped in Montville, New Jersey as part of an ongoing investigation according to law enforcement sources. After being pulled over he gave Troopers permission to search his Dodge Ram pickup truck leading to the load of marijuana being found. Taccetta was charged with marijuana possession and intent to distribute marijuana. He was transported to the Morris County Jail and booked into custody but was granted a $75,000 bail. According to the State Police Taccetta currently hold the rank of soldier for the Lucchese family of the New York Mafia.

“Carlo Taccetta”

Carlo Taccetta is the son of alleged Lucchese family captain Michael Taccetta. His father is considered a high ranking and long time respected member with in the Lucchese family according to mob sources.

Putting pieces together from court records we were already able to identify two of the four government informants as former Bonanno crime family bosses Joseph Massino and Sal Vitale. Now a third informant has been identified as Gaspare “Gary” Valenti a cousin of reputed Bonanno family captain Vincent Asaro. Valenti implicated Asaro in the infamous Lufthansa Heist in 1978 and the 1969 murder of Paul Katz. Valenti himself has a long criminal past that includes insurance and welfare fraud among other crimes and was considered to be a confidant by his cousin Asaro. Court documents show the mob informant repeatedly charging Asaro and even went as far as wearing a wire for the feds secretly recording conversations with his wiseguy cousin.

“Vincent Asaro”

Valenti had pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy according to court documents but sources close to the case claim his decision to cooperate was influenced more by Asaro’s harsh treatment over the years. Court papers also claim that Valenti saved a fellow relative in the mid-1980′s from a murder plot of Asaro’s. The source close to Valenti said his children and family were totally outraged that he had decided to cooperate with authorities and flipped on his own relative. He also implicated Lufthansa Heist mastermind Jimmy “The Gent” Burke in the 1969 Paul Katz murder saying Katz was killed because Burke thought he was an informant.
 

Its seems that the turncoat hopes to follow a similar path as fellow rat and Lufthansa Heist informant Henry Hill and join the federal witness protection program in exchange for his cooperation. Their is still one unnamed mafia informant in the case according to court documents.

Colombo crime family captain turned rat Reynold Maragni has the feds in his corner requesting a lenient sentence in exchange for his cooperation. Maragni was busted in 2011 on a variety of charges including racketeering and decided to become a federal witness and cut a deal with feds. He wore a spy type watch for the feds recording conversations he had with his mafia brethren. Maragni went on to testify against former Colombo family members Tommy “Tommy Shots” Gioeli and Dino “Little Dino” Saracino in one murder trial and Colombo associate Francis Guerra in a separate murder trial. Citing his testimony in both of these trial along with other information he provided against the Colombo family and New York mafia the feds are asking that he receive a lenient sentence.

“Reynold Maragni”

But his tenure as a federal witness and rat was not a very smooth one and it is questionable if what he supplied was worth a plea deal or lenient sentence. Both murder trials he testified at ended with acquittals and his cooperation was eventually cut short after he was caught by feds turning off his wire during mafia sitdowns with out permission to do so. But despite all of the setbacks the feds still believe he should be rewarded for what they are calling substantial cooperation in the longstanding investigation into the Colombo family and catch a break at sentencing.

According to court papers Anthony “Tony Lodi” Cardinalle the owner of the Satin Dolls strip club that was the setting for the Bada Bing strip club on hit TV series The Sorpano’s is a real life mob rat. Feds claim that Cardinalle is an associate of the Genovese crime family. He was arrested along with more then 30 others as part of a mafia scheme to control the trash collection industry in New Jersey and New York last January. Cardinalle plead guilty to conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise that lasted from March of 2009 to April of 2012 and conspiring to commit extortion during that time period from July 2010 to May 2011. Facing up to 20 years in prison for his charges Cardinalle decided to play ball with the feds and turn rat.

Cardinalle agreed to a plea agreement in an effort to lessen any possible prison term he may receive. But many of the defendants in the mobbed up trash hauling scam have already pleaded guilty including Genovese family associate Carmine “Papa Smurf” Franco. Perhaps the feds believe that Cardinalle could be useful in supplying information on other New York mafia members including other in the Genovese family. For Cardinalle to qualify for leniency recommendation to the court from the feds he has to agree to answer any questions from investigators and take the stand at trial and testify. It is quite a coincidence that Cardinalle not only owns the strip club used in The Soprano’s and often visited by Tony Sprano but his illegal activities in the waste hauling business mirrors that of Tone.

Major mafia raids were conducted this morning in a joint operation between the FBI and Italian Police targeting the Gambino crime family of the New York mafia and the Calabrian Mafia or Ndrangheta in Italy. The two notorious organized crime families were involved in a drug trafficking operation that operated a new drug smuggling route from Latin America into Europe. Feds raided targets in the United States, Italy, and even Canada in an effort to break up the link between the U.S. Sicilian based mafia and the Ndrangheta. More then thirty suspects from the American mafia and the Italian mafia were being targeted. The operation being called “New Bridge” in Italy included up to 20 locations in and around Goia Tauro one of Europe’s biggest shipping ports.

“U.S. and Italian authorities hold joint press conference to announce operation and arrests“

FBI has confirmed that seven suspects connected to the Gambino family and Bonanno family of New York mafia were arrested and are set to appear in federal court at some point on Tuesday. Included in the raids in New York was Franco Lupoi an alleged associate of the Gambino family. It Italy arrested included the alleged boss of the Ursino clan of the Ndrangheta Fransesco Ursino along with Giovanni Morabito who is the nephew of convicted mob boss Giuseppe know as ‘u’ tiradrittu‘.
 

According to reports the operation began with FBI infiltration of the Gambino family back in 2012 using an undercover agent who also gained trust of some of the Ndrangetha members. The operation code name “New Bridge” may seem familiar to some because of an operation by the FBI in 2008 called “Old Bridge” that also targeted the Gambino family and its links to the Sicilian mafia in Italy. Both the Gambino and Bonanno family have long established ties to the Sicilian Mafia in Italy and recently the Ndrangheta.
 

Also taken into custody by the feds in the U.S. were Alexander Chan, a middle man between South American Cartel and Lupoi; Dominique Ali , connected to the Gambino family and Lupoi; Charles Centaro, an alleged Bonanno family associate;Raffaele Valente, aka ‘Lello’ of the ‘Ndrangheta syndicate;Charles Fasarakis,an Alma Bank of New York official. Frank Lupoi is noted as being the direct contact between the Gambino family and the Ursino clan in Italy.

Former Colombo crime family leader Thomas “Tommy Shots” Gioeli is awaiting sentencing for a racketeering conviction but not quietly it seems. The mobsters sends his rants and comments via email to family members who them post them to social media like Twitter. Gioeli decided to use his outlet to blast New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for his decision to keep schools open during a major snow storm last Thursday. The Mayors decision was questioned by numerous people and now it includes the Mafia. Tommy Shots said “How long is reckless Mayor de Blasio gonna play chicky with the lives of our children” having sent it out to his over 600 followers on Twitter.

Gioeli has even complained about his sentencing being delayed because prosecutors were granted a “snow day” which was not entirely accurate. Its Gioeli himself who has sough adjournments for his sentencing over the last couple of years. A government source commenting on Gioeli’s social media rants said “any idiot can have a blog”.

The last two decades has produced several major indictments and convictions against the five families of the New York Mafia. Plagued by cooperating witnesses from with in their own ranks and increased pressure by a strengthened effort from the FBI lead to a stiff decline in the power of the Mafia in New York. But despite these waves of convictions and a decline from its heyday all five of the La Cosa Nostra families the Gambino, Lucchese, Genovese, Bonanno, and Colombo families have all survived. Former federal prosecutor and head of the organized crime unit for U.S. Attorneys office in Brooklyn John Buretta says not only does each of the families exists but they still have a hierarchy. Amid constant rumors of their demise the New York Mafia has shown an uncanny ability to adapt and a sustain a high level of persistence.

Now with counter-terrorism becoming a top priority for law enforcement among other things like cyber crimes they have substantially cut back resources once devoted to organized crime at both local and federal levels. The FBI at one time at squads dedicated to each of the five families now only two squads remain one code named C-5 assigned to the Bonanno, Genovese, and Colombo families and C-16 assigned to the Lucchese and Gambino families. Budget constraints with in the NYPD has also caused a drastic cut back in overall detectives including ones in specialty squads dedicated to organized crime according to the president of the NYPD’s detectives union Michael Palladino. This has given organized crime a chance to reorganize and once again strengthen according to law enforcement sources and mob insiders.
 

Special agent in charge of the Criminal Division of the FBI’s New York office Richard Frankel said the 2014 New York Mafia families are now as powerful as they have been in years. Although not at the levels they once were when the mafia was at its peak they have staged a comeback in recent years and re-established themselves. He says they have adapted somewhat to law enforcement’s tactics and techniques and moved on to a more old school low level approach to doing business. The Mafia today has reverted back to its roots of operating in the shadows becoming as invisible as possible along with some new techniques for doing business to help protect its leadership.
 

The Genovese family known as the “Ivy League” of organized crime is believed to now use a rotating panel of leaders which run the day by day operations of the family avoiding the possibility of prosecutors targeting any one certain boss. Many if not all of the mob families have also adopted the “need-to-know” tactics used by terrorist cells so that each faction with in the family isn’t aware of what crimes other factions in the family are involved in making the information prosecutors can gain from informants more limited. Many of the other families have gone to the “street boss” model using a lesser known mobster to carry out orders from the hierarchy and interact with the lower level members adding an extra layer of protection.
 

The Genovese family is believed to currently be the strongest of the New York mafia families with as many as 200 made men leading the way with the Colombo and Lucchese families being the smaller of the families with approx 100 or so made members each. Even though these numbers are less the they were in years pasts the gap is not as substantial as many would think and the number of mob associates still remains in the thousands. While mafia families today still have a problem with newer members not following the mafia codes and rules as old school mobsters once did they are finding ways to somewhat counter act it to remain functional and profitable.