Boston Mob enforcer, Derek A. Capozzi.on the run from kentucky prison van escape

A former Beverly man who was convicted of playing a role in grisly gangland murder of a young woman in 1996 has escaped from federal custody by kicking out the door of a van during a prisoner transport in central Kentucky.

Authorities in Massachusetts said they had been alerted to the escape of Derek A. Capozzi. “He is a bad guy and hopefully he’ll be caught quick,” said Deputy US Marshal Frank Dawson, a spokesman for the agency’s Boston office. “He is extremely dangerous.”

A multidepartment manhunt is under way in Kentucky for the fugitive, said Versailles, Ky., police spokesman Pat Melton.

Melton said Capozzi was being taken to Lexington, Ky., on Thursday to be flown to another facility out of state. He kicked open the door of the corrections van as it was turning onto the Kentucky 33 exit off the Bluegrass Parkway.

Capozzi, 37, was slated to be released from prison in 2046.

Capozzi was convicted by a federal jury in 2005 of helping to cover up the killing of Aislin Silva, 19, of Medford. Silva was killed by a Mafia-connected gang of drug dealers and thieves who feared she might cooperate with authorities. Capozzi helped to hack her body into small pieces and bury them after a fellow mobster strangled her.

Capozzi was convicted of joining the conspiracy to kill Silva, being an accessory after the fact, and conspiring to commit robbery. He was sentenced in August 2005 to 23 years in prison. He was already serving a 30-year sentence for a 1999 conviction on weapons and extortion charges.

Several other gang members were convicted in the Silva case. Gang member Kevin Meuse, who allegedly strangled Silva in Medford on Nov. 13, 1996, hanged himself in prison in 1997.

Joseph P. Silva, Aislin Silva’s father, said he had been notified by local law enforcement officials of the escape. He said he was confident that Capozzi would be caught.

“I hold great faith with them. They know what they’re doing,” said Silva. “I don’t believe he’ll get out of Kentucky.”

Doreen Henderson, Aislin Silva’s mother, said that hearing Capozzi’s name again had brought back painful memories.

“I’m hopeful that he will be apprehended very soon,” she said

Mafia figure Roberto Settineri connected to Scott Rothstein pleads not guilty

The reputed mafioso brought down by Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of money laundering and obstruction of justice.

The reputed mafioso allegedly brought down by Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of money laundering and obstruction of justice, and will remain in federal custody for the time being.

Roberto Settineri, 41, appeared in court wearing khaki jail scrubs and handcuffs. He did not have to say a word to U.S. Magistrate Robin Rosenbaum during the brief hearing — his attorney did the speaking for him.

Settineri and two of his reported associates — security firm operators Daniel Dromerhauser, of Miami, and Enrique Ros, of Pembroke Pines — were indicted March 10 on federal charges for reportedly shredding two boxes of documents at Rothstein's request and laundering $79,000 for him, before Rothstein himself was arrested Dec. 1 in a massive $1.2 billion investment fraud scheme. Dromerhauser and Ros had already entered not-guilty pleas.

Hollywood Goodfella: Gangster turned TV pundit jailed for 12 years

A professional gangster and TV pundit who wrote an autobiography entitled The Art of Armed Robbery and supposedly renounced crime was jailed for a minimum of 12 years after being found guilty today of masterminding a series of violent cash raids.

Terry Smith, 50, who appeared on chat shows and worked as a film consultant capitalising on his criminal expertise, inflicted near fatal injuries on a commuter who went to the help of an assaulted security guard.

While publishing his memoirs and providing commentary on such events as the £53m Securitas raid in 2006, Smith was plotting a series of cash-in-transit attacks that netted his gang £172,000.

Chelmsford crown court heard that during one of the raids at Rayleigh railway station a passerby, Adam Mapleson, was blasted in the chest as he rushed to help a female security guard.

Mapleson, 26, said he was walking to work in May 2007 when he saw a man carrying the snatched cash box running towards him. Mapleson was shot but survived after the bullet ricocheted off his collar bone, away from a major artery.

Smith, from Canvey Island, Essex, was found guilty of conspiracy to rob between 1 September 2006 and 30 April 2008 and conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to commit robberies.

Smith told detectives "this is outrageous" when he was arrested at his home at dawn in May 2008. Patricia Lynch QC, prosecuting, told the jury that members of the gang had been seen meeting at the Dick Turpin pub near Basildon, Essex.

Smith was asked by his defence counsel, Martin Hicks QC, about his book, which described him as a notorious armed robber. Referring to the exact phrase used in the book, he replied: "I believe the term is infamous armed robber."

He said that he had not agreed with how his publishers had promoted the book, saying it had glorified him.

He was asked directly by Hicks: "The allegation against you is that you are a serious career armed robber."

"That's not true," replied Smith. He said he was a serious crime reporter.

After being sentenced to 31 years in prison for armed robberies committed during the 1980s, Smith had claimed that he was going straight. He wrote The Art of Armed Robbery – The True Story of Britain's Most Infamous Armed Robber, published in 2003.

The book's cover shows a shaven-headed robber carrying a bag of swag and pointing a handgun at the camera. The publicity material said: "Terence Smith was much more than just another criminal. With a penchant for learning and his sophisticated clean-cut image, his tale is told with a finesse and intelligence. He is now fully reformed."

He was said to be "one of the most ­daring armed robbers of his generation" and Britain's most wanted criminal, before allegedly giving it all up for his young family – his wife Tracey and children Terence, Bradley, Jade and Sonny.

After being sentenced in June 1983 to 15 years for armed robbery, he escaped in a prison van in November 1984 and spent two years on the run. During his time as a fugitive he conceived his fourth child Sonny and committed more robberies before his arrest in June 1986, when he was given a further 16 years imprisonment at the Old Bailey.

Smith was released on parole in 1995 before deciding to go straight. In 2004 he was part of a gang of reformed gangsters who took part in a Channel 4 programme called The Heist where the former crooks successfully kidnapped a £1m racehorse called Lucky Harry.

He has also appeared on the Sky programme Inside the Perfect Bank Robbery, on the BBC religious show The Big Question and as a consultant on a Spike Lee film The Insider.

In May 2005 he published another book called Two Strikes and You're Out and gave interviews as a crime pundit during the police investigation into the £53 million Securitas raid in February 2006. He published a third book called Blaggers Inc - Britain's Biggest Armed Robberies.

Smith's brother Lenny, 52, a bricklayer from Dagenham, was cleared of charges of conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to possess firearms with intent to commit robberies.

Carlo "Charlie Big Ears" Majuri ,DeCavalcante crime family

Carlo Majuri also known as "Charlie Big Ears" (born December 28, 1940) is a New Jersey mobster and Caporegime within the DeCavalcante crime family, which he attempted to gain control of in the 1990s.
Majuri became involved in the DeCavalcante crime family as a teenager.


His father, Frank Majuri, was once the Underboss of the DeCavalcantes, and later longtime Consigliere. The younger Majuri's criminal record would eventually include illegal gambling, larceny, stolen property, and bookmaking, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.


At some point between the early and late 1970s, Majuri is to have become inducted into the DeCavalcante crime family, but toward the early 1980s and longtime and infamous Mob boss, Simone "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante retired, Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi, the longtime Underboss, substantly promoted Majuri to the rank of Caporegime or Captain of the family in the Newark faction.

In 2000, Majuri was indicted on 19 counts of bookmaking, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, and labor racketeering, and on two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. Following his indictment, Majuri was officially excluded by the State of New Jersey from any of its casinos. In 2006, Majuri was convicted and sent to prison. He was released around April 28, 2009.

John Alite ,Gotti Rat

Mob turncoat John Alite has had a lot to say about his old buddy John (Junior) Gotti -- but he's also found time to tell the feds some amazing stories about corrupt cops and detectives.Alite -- set to be a key witness at Gotti IV -- has given the FBI names and details regarding rogue cops who he claims helped him deal drugs and murder a possible dozen victims who dared to cross him over the years.
Since he began talking to the FBI in 2007, law enforcement sources say Alite has fingered more than a dozen men in blue for crimes ranging from bookmaking to murder. Two allegedly had roles in a drug-related Queens rubout -- one of three slayings that Gotti is charged with in the racketeering indictment that goes to trial today.Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-capeci/gotti-turncoat-we-had-lot_b_292863.html

Richard Cantarella aka Shellackhead", Bonanno crime family

Richard Cantarella, also known as "Shellackhead", was a New York mobster who became a caporegime for the Bonanno crime family and later a government witness..As a skinny kid with jet-black hair, Cantarella got the name "Shellackhead" from the hair oil that he used. In October 2002, Cantarella was indicted on racketeering charges that included , loansharking, extortion, illegal gambling, and money laundering and murder..Cantarella flipped and testified at the murder trial of Bonanno boss Joseph Massino.and he testified at the murder and racketeering trial of Bonanno mobster Vincent Basciano As of 2009, it is assumed that Canterella and his family are part of the Witness Protection Program.

Alphonse Capone, aka. Al, Scarface

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1899, of an immigrant family, Al Capone quit school after the sixth grade and associated with a notorious street gang, becoming accepted as a member. Johnny Torrio was the street gang leader and among the other members was Lucky Luciano, who would later attain his own notoriety.
About 1920, at Torrio's invitation, Capone joined Torrio in Chicago where he had become an influential lieutenant in the Colosimo mob. The rackets spawned by enactment of the Prohibition Amendment, illegal brewing, distilling and distribution of beer and liquor, were viewed as "growth industries." Torrio, abetted by Al Capone, intended to take full advantage of opportunities. The mobs also developed interests in legitimate businesses, in the cleaning and dyeing field, and cultivated influence with receptive public officials, labor unions and employees' associations.
Torrio soon succeeded to full leadership of the gang with the violent demise of Big Jim Colosimo, and Capone gained experience and expertise as his strong right arm.
In 1925, Capone became boss when Torrio, seriously wounded in an assassination attempt, surrendered control and retired to Brooklyn. Capone had built a fearsome reputation in the ruthless gang rivalries of the period, struggling to acquire and retain "racketeering rights" to several areas of Chicago. That reputation grew as rival gangs were eliminated or nullified, and the suburb of Cicero became, in effect, a fiefdom of the Capone mob.

Perhaps the St. Valentine's Day Massacre on February 14, 1929, might be regarded as the culminating violence of the Chicago gang era, as seven members or associates of the "Bugs" Moran mob were machine-gunned against a garage wall by rivals posing as police. The massacre was generally ascribed to the Capone mob, although Al himself was then in Florida.
The investigative jurisdiction of the Bureau of Investigation during the 1920s and early 1930s was more limited than it is now, and the gang warfare and depredations of the period were not within the Bureau's investigative authority.
The Bureau's investigation of Al Capone arose from his reluctance to appear before a Federal Grand Jury on March 12, 1929, in response to a subpoena. On March 11, his lawyers formally filed for postponement of his appearance, submitting a physician's affidavit dated March 5, which attested that Capone, in Miami, had been suffering from bronchial pneumonia, had been confined to bed from January 13 to February 23, and that it would be dangerous to Capone's health to travel to Chicago. His appearance date before the grand jury was re-set for March 20.

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James "Whitey" Bulger now small potatoes

Where’s Whitey?

Who cares?

Not Warren Bamford, the very earnest and squared-away gentleman who runs the FBI’s Boston office. Not really. Don’t get me wrong, Bamford said all the right things when he stopped by the Herald yesterday. Yes, he knows that James “Whitey” Bulger is a “career criminal” who killed at least 19 people we know of. And yeah, Bamford is still expending the “appropriate resources” to find the Southie gangster who still haunts post office walls right behind Uncle Osama. But the fact is, the White Man is coming up on 80.

And though he’s just miserable enough to live another 20 years, nobody on the FBI’s “Bulger Task Force” expects this seasoned killer to board a train or drive through a tunnel with a bunch of plastic explosives strapped to his chest.

Whitey may be a wrinkled monster. But he’s no terrorist.

And at this moment in time, terrorists are to Warren Bamford what an Italian mobster was to J. Edgar Hoover. In other words, the White Man’s basically a pimple on the arse of the universe. Bamford has bigger fish to fry.

To understand how much the world has changed since 9/11 is to hear Warren Bamford speak about how his FBI office reached out to the Somali community in Boston. Why? To alert them to the possibility of young Somalis returning to the homeland for terrorist training.

None of his agents are venturing over to the Beer Garden on East Broadway to address the boyos about a geezer psycho, who may or may not be stalking the green fields of Kilarney.

When I asked Bamford whether the FBI would consider allowing U.S. marshals to join the Whitey hunt, he seemed wide open to the possibility. The more the merrier. That’s when I knew that Whitey had indeed become small potatoes on today’s FBI playlist.

While Bamford may hold a federal management position under the big tent of the U.S. Justice Department, he declined to venture an opinion on the raft of civil suits, or millions in claims handed down for the past sins of imprisoned local G-man John “Zip” Connolly.

A week from now, Warren Bamford and his Whitey Task Force will call the media in for a Whitey update in advance of the old killer’s 80th year in this vale of tears. There will be accounts of new tips, new look-alike photos - maybe even a “we just missed him” tale. But no Whitey.

Truth is, Warren Bamford couldn’t care less. Sooner or later this awful old gangster will either die on the road . . . or have his brother bring him back to die in jail. In the meantime, we got all those terrorists to worry about.

Harry Riccobene, Philadelphia Crime Family

Harry Riccobene (July 27, 1909 - 2000) was a high-ranking member of the Philadelphia crime family who became a major figure in the short, but violent, gang war that followed the 1980 death of boss Angelo Bruno
.Born in Enna, Sicily, Riccobene was 5'1" tall with brown hair and eyes and had a hunchback from a birth defect that earned him the monicker "Harry the Hump."

He spoke in a high pitched voice and as he grew older he donned a long white beard. One prospective juror for one of his criminal trials described him as looking like "a little Santa Claus."

His legitimate businesses includes television tube companies in Philadelphia, Yonkers, New York and Richmond, Virginia. His arrest record included carrying a concealed weapon, larceny, and possession of narcotics.

At one point, Riccobene spent time in prison on a narcotics conviction.A longtime underworld figure in Philadelphia, Harry became a made man under Prohibition mob boss Salvatore Sabella in 1927. Riccobene witnessed the rash of violence that started with the unsanctioned murder of Bruno and his replacement by Philip "Chicken Man" Testa.

After running the family for one year, Testa was killed by a nail bomb at his home. Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo now became family boss. Riccobene led a faction against Scafo for control of family operations in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Scarfo caporegime Frank Monte informed his crew that he was going to kill Riccobene and take over his loansharking and illegal gambling operations.

Monte approached Mario "Sonny" Riccobene, Riccobene's half-brother, and demanded that Mario set up Riccobene to be killed. However, Mario betrayed Monte by telling Riccobene about the plot. Infuriated, Riccobene ordered Mario and hitmen Joseph Pedulla and Victor DeLuca to instead kill Monte, to "... get them before they get us."

Mario, Pedulla, and DeLuca camped out in van near Monte's parked Cadillac, waiting for him to come outside. Several hours later, Monte emerged and starting getting into his car. Pedulla fired on Monte three times, killing him. Later on, the men unsuccessfully attempted to murder Salvatore Testa,

Phil Testa's son, but this time they were arrested by police. Detectives soon connected the three men to the Monte murder and persuaded them to testify against Harry. Riccobene was indicted on charges of first degree murder.

During the trial, Riccobene denied any involvement in organized crime and said that he tried to prevent the three men from committing violence amid "unfounded rumors" of death threats made against them by Scarfo. In spite of this, Harry was convicted of murder and sent to prison. In 2000, Harry Riccobene died in prison from natural causes.

After Riccobene's conviction, Mario told the press that he testified against Harry in hopes of escaping from organized crime and "... to get back at the people who did what they did to my family." Mario entered the witness protection program, but left it in a vain hope to rejoin the Philadelphia crime family. Mario Riccobene was murdered soon after his return to Philadelphia

John "Buster" Ardito

John Gregory "Buster" Ardito (October 30, 1919 - December 31, 2006) was a caporegime in the Genovese crime familywho worked in the Bronx borough of New York.
Born in New York, Ardito married Fay Cerasi and was the father of John and Annette Arditio. His legitimate profession was as part owner of a butcher shop in the Bronx. Ardito was involved in extortionloan sharking and illegal gambling operations. His arrest record included seduction, possession of counterfeit currency, and narcotics possession.
After joining the Genovese family, Ardito became a button man, or killer, in the crew of Michele Miranda Miranda eventually became the family consigliere under boss Vit Genovese and help run the family while Genovese was in prison. A later indictment alleged that Ardito once ordered a beating on a debtor who owed him $150,000. During a 1983 trial for Genovese mobster Gus Curcio Curcio collapsed in court with what seemed like a heart attack. However, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) surveillance recorded that Ardito had secretly passed some medications that simulated cardiac problems to Curcio to allow him to delay the trial. In 1985, Ardito was sent to federal prison for conspiracy to obstruct justice. He was released in 1991.
In 2003, the FBI started using electronic surveillance to record many of Ardito's meetings in Bronx restaurants. After Ardito discovered one of the devices, he started holding his meetings in retail shops, medical offices, cars, and boats. Later on, the FBI also started bugging Ardito's home phone. Reportedly, the FBI was even able to turn on Arbito's cell phone without his knowledge and use that as a listening device. In 2006, using this surveillance information, the government charged Ardito, Genovese captain Liborio Bellomo and other Genovese family members with labor racketeering and other charges. The racketeering charge involved New York Local 102 of the Bakery, Confectionery and Tobacco Workers' Union and New York Local 15 of the International Union of Operating Engineers
On December 25, 2006, due to failing health, Ardito was released on bail while awaiting trial on these charges. He died on December 31, 2006 from pancreatic cancer

Liborio Bellomo

Liborio Bellomo

Liborio "Barney" Salvatore Bellomo (born January 8, 1957) is a high ranking caporegime, or captain, and one time acting boss of the Genovese crime family of New York City. Originally from Corleone, Sicily he is one of the fastest rising mafia members in the U.S today, becoming a Capo in his mid twenties. He was considered Vincent Gigante's logical successor as boss of the Genovese family until he was sent to prison in 1996, now out on parole his current status in the Genovese family is yet to be determined. He currently has a residence in Pelham Manor, New York Bellomo stands at 6'4". Bellomo can speak both Italian and English languages. He spent a year studying at Monsignor Scanlon's Business School in the Bronx, and then a year studying mortuary science but later attended University of Paris. It is unknown if he graduated with a diploma or certificate at this university. However, in 1977, at the age of 20 Bellomo was inducted into the powerful "West Side Mob"/Genovese crime family. The induction ceremony took place above an East Harlem pizzeria. Bellomo's father was a powerful Sicilian heroin trafficker that was connected with the Genoveses of East Harlem.Vincent Cafaro sponsored Bellomo into the Genovese family, and Bellomo became a made member of Saverio Santora's East Harlem 116th Street Crew. The crew was involved in gambling and labor racketeering, specifically in the NYC District Council of Carpenters.In or around 1982, before he turned 30, Bellomo took over the Santora 116th Street Crew, and with fellow Harlem captain Vincent DiNapoli became the pre-eminent racketeer in the New York City District Council of Carpenters and extremely influential in the New York City construction industry. During the late 1980s, Bellomo moved the crew's center base to the Bronx, where it has always maintained important rackets up until Bellomo's most recent indictment.Bellomo was the exact opposite of the flashy John Gotti of the Gambino Bellomo was the exact opposite of the flashy John Gotti of the Gambino crime family. He dressed in jeans and sweatshirts, and only met fellow wiseguys late at night in odd places, avoiding the Manhattan limelight, but steadily building his power and helping to maintain the Genovese family's dominance over New York's La Cosa Nostra.[edit] "Legitimate" businessBellomo owned several Bronx-based businesses, including a waste hauling company. Carpenters union racketeer and the Jacob K. Javits CenterIn or about 1993, Bellomo won a jurisdictional dispute against Genovese Little Italy captain Anthony Cipollo, in which consigliere Louis Manna awarded Bellomo exclusive control over Bronx Carpenters Local 17, removing all of Cipollo's influence. Furthermore, Bellomo became dominant in the rackets at the Jacob K. Javits Center on the West Side of Manhattan by installing crew members in important union positions at the center, including soldier Ralph Coppola and his Genovese associate brother-in-law and Carpenters Local 257 shop steward Anthony Fiorino. Bellomo was also close to Genovese associate Attilio Bitondo who was Local 257's Vice-President, and involved in kickbacks from NYC contractors and businesses operating at the Javits Center. around this time Genovese boss Vincent Gigante began mentoring Liborio Bellomo to take over as boss of the Genovese crime family.A report by the New York State Organized Crime Task Force indicated that an alarmingly high number of the 100 carpenters that worked at the Javits Center had ties to organized crime, some of whom were made members of one of the Five Families. These carpenters made $100,000 salaries, and 60 of the 100 had criminal records. One of whom, Vincent Gigante, was the nephew of the Genovese family's Godfather. The Javits was controlled through affiliations with labor bosses Frederick Devine, Martin Forde, Attilio Bitondo, Eugene Hanley, Anthony Fiorino, Leonard Simon, Fabian Palomino, Carmine Fiore, and Ralph Coppola.To maintain control, Anthony Fiorino, the Local 257 steward in charge of the Javits, once threatening a man's life at a Local 257 meeting in 1984, telling him his kids could be hurt if he "steps on people's toes." Fiorino was also responsible for funneling tribute payments the Genovese and the Irish Westies Mob received from contractors operating in the Javits to the labor bosses and Barney Bellomo.[edit] Acting boss and indictmentIn 1990, after Vincent Gigante's indictment in the Windows Scam, Bellomo was appointed acting boss of the Genovese family. In 1996, after serving effectively as Gigante's acting boss while Gigante was dodging indictments by faking mental illness, Bellomo was indicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges, including the murder of Ralph DeSimone, cousin of Thomas DeSimone who was portrayed by Joe Pesci in the film Goodfellas, extortion and labor racketeering. He took and passed three lie detector tests about a murder he has steadfastly denied, had his head shaved by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents looking to find evidence that Bellomo had used drugs to beat the polygraph machines, and was left sitting in prison even though no evidence of drugs was found in his system. In late 1997, Bellomo pleaded guilty to lesser charges and accepted a 10-year prison sentence.[edit] Imprisoned and second indictmentIn 2001, while Bellomo was due out of prison in 2004, he was indicted on money laundering charges related to the Genovese family's involvement in the waterfront rackets and control of the ILA. Bellomo was accused of hiding money stolen from the ILA's members pension fund account. Bellomo pleaded guilty to lesser charges pushing back his scheduled release date. While in prison, on February 23, 2006, Bellomo and over 30 other Genovese crime family members and associates, including nearly 90-year old Bronx captain John Ardito and Bellomo's attorney Peter Peluso who decided to cooperate with federal investigators, were indicted. Bellomo was charged with ordering the 1998 murder of Ralph Coppola, the acting captain that ran Bellomo's crew in his absence. Peluso pleaded guilty to his role in the murder, specifically, he admitted to passing the murder decree from Bellomo the Genovese mobsters who actually carried out the hit. The charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence. He maintains a residence in Pelham Manor, New York [
Released from prisonIn July 2008, after serving 12 years, former acting Genovese boss Barney Bellomo was released from prison. Bellomo's main rival to become boss will probably be Tino Fiumara, the purported leader of the New Jersey faction of the Genoveses and a long time capo and supporter of Vincent Gigante

Pizzeria Owner Who Pistol-Whipped Customer May Be Mob Informant

PALM COAST -- Sometimes a good story begins with simple introductions.
Meet Joey Calco, a noted mob informant whose testimony helped federal prosecutors convict multiple members of New York's infamous Bonanno crime family.
Meet Joseph Milano, a Palm Coast pizzeria manager accused of attacking two customers who complained about a calzone they had purchased from his restaurant, Goomba's Pizzeria.
What do Calco and Milano have in common?
For starters, a civil court lawsuit filed last year by a Palm Coast teenager claims Milano sexually harassed her when she was working at his restaurant. In court documents, she says Milano told her he had killed people and is in the federal witness protection program.
Joey Calco is a confessed killer whose testimony and cooperation with federal officials led to the conviction of several ranking members of New York's organized crime world, court records show. Calco also offered key information to international officials about the Sicilian Mafia, court records show.
Records also show Milano and Calco share the same birth date -- March 26, 1968.
There are physical similarities. In fact, an expert on Joey Calco and his mob associates, from what was once known as the "Bath Avenue Crew" in New York, says Calco and Milano appear to her to be the same person.
"That is absolutely, positively him (Calco)," Michele McPhee said in a telephone interview Thursday after seeing a recent jail mug shot of Joseph Milano.
McPhee is an author and journalist who has written books about Calco and his crew after federal officials' takedown of several members of New York's infamous Bonanno crime family several years ago. One of McPhee's books, "Mob Over Miami," gives an inside look into the Bath Avenue Crew and former mobster turned South Florida club informant Chris Paciello.
So is Joseph Milano actually Joey Calco?
That question might never have arisen if not for an 11-year-old with a picky palate.
Milano was arrested Jan. 23 and accused of beating and pistol-whipping two customers after they complained about a calzone they had purchased for one of their daughters earlier in the day and demanded a refund for the botched order.
Video footage of the alleged attack was captured on the restaurant's surveillance system. That video eventually was released by the Flagler County Sheriff's Office and played in the media for the entire world to see.
Meanwhile, numerous court documents, interviews and tips from the community led The News-Journal to investigate Milano's criminal history and personal background, which revealed several additional similarities between Joseph Milano and Joey Calco.
An employee at Milano's restaurant said in a telephone interview after the Jan. 23 attack that Goomba's startup capital and financial backing comes from Milano's mother.
Milano's application for an occupational license and other business documents filed with the state named Guiseppina Calco as the business owner. Guiseppina Calco later removed herself and named Milano as president of the business in May 2008, state business records indicate.
McPhee said a source in the New York Police Department's organized crime unit confirmed to her that Guiseppina and Calogero Calco are the infamous mobster Joey Calco's parents.
Guiseppina Calco is 64, according to voter registration documents.
Joey Calco spoke to the judge at his own sentencing after the conclusion of the federal cases he testified in against his former crime family friends, saying he'd lost a brother and his sister was hurt because of his connection to the mob. His family was forced to flee to Florida because of it, Calco told the judge.
Did Joey Calco eventually join his family in Flagler County as Joseph Milano?
Property records show Guiseppina and Calogero Calco lived in New York and had a home on the corner of Bath Avenue and Bay 13th Street prior to moving to Florida. It's where Joey Calco's climb through the ranks of a New York mob family began when he was just a child, court records show.
Calco's childhood home was just three houses away from Anthony Spero, the Bonanno family's consigliere, and just around the corner from an elite social club where New York's most well-connected mobsters often congregated, court records show.
Records show Guiseppina and Calogero Calco eventually purchased three Palm Coast properties: One in 2003, another in 2004 and the latest in 2007. Joseph Milano and Kristy Leal live in one of the properties and Milano has survivorship rights to that property in the event of Guiseppina and Calogero's deaths, property records state.
Records also indicate Milano married Leal on Jan. 29, just days after the story of the calzone attack appeared in the local media.
Other Calcos, believed to be relatives, live in the Volusia and Flagler area, some on the same Palm Coast street, property records show.
The possibility of a Calco family reunion in Florida didn't surprise McPhee. She said several of the federal witnesses who testified against Spero and other key mob figures years ago are now living "the high life" with families and friends in new cities and states. Often the new locales offer active social scenes and warmer climates.
"It seems that everyone in the Bath Avenue Crew knew exactly how to take advantage of the WitSec (Witness Security) program," the NYPD source told McPhee.
And Calco may not be the only informant having trouble staying hidden and out of trouble since testifying against his former New York crime family. McPhee said other mob-rats-turned-protected-witnesses in Calco's crew have gotten into trouble since they were given new identities.
It also made sense to McPhee's NYPD source that Calco would find himself back in the criminal mix.
"Calco was feared and revered in Brooklyn," he said, adding it was likely Calco could be "lured" into old habits involving power and money.
As of Thursday, Goomba's Pizzeria was still open and serving customers but was no longer delivering food to local schoolchildren after a school district contract expired Monday. Writing on the store's windows announced that the pizzeria was under new ownership. Employees wouldn't say who the new owners are.
One employee did say on Wednesday that Milano had not returned to the restaurant since video and media coverage of the Jan. 23 incident over the calzone was made public.
Milano's home was guarded Thursday by a large dog apparently corralled by an invisible electronic fence. A neighbor said she recently saw Milano working on the eaves of the home. She said it appeared he was installing security cameras.
The United States Marshals Service, which administers the federal Witness Security Program, did not return a call Thursday made by The News-Journal. Flagler County Sheriff Donald Fleming declined to comment.
And State Attorney R.J. Larizza said through a spokesman that his agency has no knowledge Milano might be a federal informant and prosecutors intend to review and move forward with the battery case against him in the same way they would any other case.
One final note: A former Goomba's employee told The News-Journal that three men in a Lincoln Town Car bearing New Jersey license plates showed up at Goomba's the day after the first calzone attack story appeared in the national news.
They asked for "Joey Calco."
Records show Calco's life entwined with New York mob
Joey Calco spent years working as a hit man for the Bonanno crime family, court records show. His nearly lifelong climb through the ranks of the mob family began when he was just a young child.
Calco grew up in a home three houses away from Anthony Spero, a high-ranking mobster, and just around the corner from an elite social club where New York's most connected mob men often congregated, court records state.
Calco later would turn on those criminal leaders he long sought to serve, providing testimony in federal court that led to Spero's conviction for his involvement in multiple murders. It was Spero who ordered Calco to commit at least one of those murders and in the case against Spero, Calco testified as to his compliance.
Calco also provided critical testimony and information to federal investigators about the Sicilian Mafia and a variety of other faces in New York organized crime, court records show.
After the federal cases against Spero and others concluded, Calco faced his own destiny in a courtroom. He was charged with eight criminal counts, including racketeering, conspiracy, drug distribution, murder, being an accessory to crimes, and use of firearms.
All but two of those charges were dismissed by the judge at the request of state and federal prosecutors in exchange for his cooperation and testimony in other cases.
At Calco's sentencing, the mother of a man Calco admittedly killed -- Jack Cherin Jr. -- begged the court to keep a killer off the streets.
"Nothing will change the fact that Joey Calco will always be a murderer who has and always will put his own needs and desires above those of society," said Ms. Cherin, whose first name was not included in court documents.
She went on to tell the court, "we are aware that the law rewards cooperation, but how much of a reward does a repeated murderer merit?"
The judge said he felt compelled to give Calco a light sentence for his crimes in view of his crucial cooperation in the takedown of New York's organized crime problem, court records show. The sentence also was designed to encourage other organized crime members to follow in Calco's footsteps in testifying against other organized crime figures.
At his sentencing, Calco apologized to his victims and family for his misdeeds, saying to the judge, "if you give me another chance, I won't let this court down and I won't let you down, your honor."
A Look Back
1993: Joseph (Joey) Calco fired two bullets into the back of Paul Gulino's head in Gulino's mother's New York home. At the time, Gulino was the acting leader of the Bath Avenue Crew -- an organized gang of criminals that included Calco. Calco later admitted he shot Gulino as he left the room to get Calco something to drink.
1999: Ranking Bonanno crime family member Anthony Spero is indicted for his involvement in three murders, including the murder of Paul Gulino.
2001: Calco testifies against Spero, saying it was Spero who ordered Gulino's murder.
2004: Calco was sentenced for his own criminal dealings. The judge, at the request of state and federal prosecutors, dismissed all but two of the eight charges against him. He was sentenced to serve nine years in prison -- minus 10 months' time served -- and five years of supervised release.
2006-2007: The time period during which a Social Security number was issued for Joseph Milano, who also has the same date of birth as Joseph Calco.
2007: Joseph Milano opens Goomba's Pizzeria in Palm Coast.
2008: Joseph Milano is accused of sexually harassing a female employee and assaulting another a few weeks later. Both incidents reportedly occurred at his restaurant. The State Attorney's Office declined to prosecute the case involving sexual harassment and the other case remains in limbo, with the charges not yet formalized or dropped.
2009: Joseph Milano is accused of attacking two customers, pistol-whipping one when he demanded a refund for a botched calzone order. BY HEATHER SCOFIELD
SOURCE: New York federal court records; local court records; News-Journal research

Chris Paciello owned two of Miami's hottest clubs and hung out with Ingrid Casares, Jennifer Lopez, and Madonna. A murder charge scattered his A-list pals -- but his gangster vibe is part of what drew them in the first place.
Chris Paciello http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/features/2758/

Gambino soldier Peter Zucarro paints Mafia's image by the numbahs

Zucarro

It was a day of naming names in Brooklyn Federal Court Tuesday. You know: Quack Quack. Johnny One Arm Vinnie Mad Dog. Little Fat Joe.. Could Big Pussy be far behind?
Turncoat Gambino soldier Pete Zuccaro took the stand to testify againstCharles Carneglia who's accused of five murders.
In a tough, gravelly voice he told why the Mafia kills people:- "He cursed at a capo in Italian."
- "He didn't pass on money (a superior) could use for snacks in the jail commissary."
- Vinnie Gotti thought he was sleeping with his wife."
- "He didn't come when he was called."
Zucarro is nicknamed "Bud" for his marijuana business, and prosecutor Evan Norris asked how much he earned for the tons of pot he brought here.
"A lot of people ax me that," he pronounced. "To put a number on the money I made, it's hard. Millions. Lots."
Zucarro, 53, described how a Winnebago would pull into Carneglia's junkyard and they would take the pot and "put it into bales and numbah dem."
The law intercepted too many imports and they turned to homegrown - hydroponics, to be exactCheech and chong "You don't use soil," Zucarro said. "You put the plants in rocks, feed them liquid nutrients under artificial light, create the best climate." He had a warehouse in Brooklyn"It was like the Epcop center.."
He would save some to smoke, no doubt because he was always around scary Carneglia, who, Zucarro claimed, killed teenager Sal Puma with a small stiletto.
"You don't need a big knife," Carneglia told him. "You can use a small one and just wiggle it."
Zucarro said he started "doing robberies" and assaults at the age of 13, when he met Carneglia.
Asked how many assaults, Zucarro threw his body back and said, "You gotta be kiddin' me!" He told of the time John Gotto asked them to "slaughter but not kill Carmine Agnello who beat up Gotti's daughter Victoria, his future wife.
He would do anything Gotti said because "I thought John Gotti was the best thing that walked on this planet."
But when he died, "I didn't feel anything. By then, I thought he ruined it. The way he was so flamboyant. ... It was supposed to be a secret society and now everything was overexposed. How do you say, "Do as I say, not as I do.'"

Sam Giancana

Sam Giancana (b.1908), Italian-American mob boss, was murdered at his home in Oak Park, Ill. He had a romance with Phillis McGuire, of the McGuire Sisters vocal group, and was credited with assisting John F. Kennedy in efforts to win the presidential election. A movie was made in 1995 that depicts the Giancana-McGuire romance.