Joseph,"Skinny Joey" Merlino

Joseph S. Merlino, nicknamed "Skinny Joey" (born March 16, 1962 South Philadelphia), is an American mafioso, member of the U.S. Cosa Nostra, and former head of the Philadelphia crime family which controls organized crime as far as Southern New Jersey. He is the son of former Nicky Scarfo underboss/soldier Salvatore "Chuckie" Merlino. He is also the nephew of deceased former Capo Lawrence Merlino.While Merlino was the boss of the Philadelphia crime family, it engaged primarily in extortion, bookmaking, drug trafficking, and loan sharking.
Merlino has been described as a particularly vicious mobster, obsessed with his own public image, and another version of New York's John Gotti, after whom he patterned himself. He is flashy, stylish, flamboyant, and "in your face." “Joey was a party guy,” said "Big Ron" Previte, cop-turned gangster-turned government witness. “He liked to go out. He liked to gamble. He liked the high life.” He invited TV crews to his annual Christmas party for the homeless, and was a fixture at the city's nightclubs, restaurants, and sporting events. With longtime buddies Salvatore Scafidi, Michael Ciancaglini, and George Borgesi he was known to beat up girls, rob people, and start fights in clubs.In the late 1990s Merlino allied himself with Steve "Gorilla" Montevergine, boss of the Pagans MC motorcycle gang. In June 1999, Merlino was indicted on charges he conspired with the Boston mob to purchase and distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison on December 3, 2001, on racketeering charges, including extortion and illegal gambling. He was acquitted of murder charges, attempted murder, and drug dealing. [9] "Ain't bad," Merlino said. "Better than the death penalty

Joseph "Joe" Colombo SR. Mafia Boss

Joseph "Joe" Colombo Sr. (December 14, 1914 - October 1, 1978) was leader of the Colombo crime family, one of the "Five Families" in the American Mafia.


Colombo was originally part of what was called the Profaci family in New York. In 1961, a gang war broke out in the family between the family leadership and the renegade Gallo brothers. During this conflict, boss Joe Profaci died and his supporter, Joseph Magliocco, succeeded him. Later in the conflict, Magliocco decided to murder Tommy Lucchese from the Lucchese crime family and Carlo Gambino of the Gambino crime family for their support of the Gallos. Magliocco gave obthe job to Colombo, who promptly notified the intended With their support, Colombo became family boss after Magliocco died of a heart attack

On June 28, 1971, the morning of the second Italian Unity Day rally, Joe Colombo was approaching the podium to address the crowd. An African American street hustler had somehow managed to obtain press credentials from the league. Disguised as a photojournalist, the gunman approached Colombo and fired three shots from an automatic pistol into his head.

Colombo's son and several others wrestled the gunman to the ground. At that point, a second man stepped out of the crowd and shot the gunman dead. The second assailant managed to escape and was never identified. The dead gunman was positively identified as Jerome Johnson.

The crowd in attendance quickly dispersed, although some made a feeble attempt to continue the festival. Colombo was seriously wounded, but survived the shooting. He lingered in a coma without regaining consciousness for nearly seven years (he was "vegetabled", in the words of Joe Gallo). On May 22, 1978, Joe Colombo died at his New York estate.

Gerado "Jerry" Catena

Gerardo "Jerry" Catena Gerardo "Jerry" Catena. Consiglieri: Michele "Mike Miranda" Miranda .... "Ernest Muscarella" Friends of Ours; was a New York mobster and a top member of the Genovese crime family during the 1950s and 1960s, ... Gerardo_Catena- along with Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo and Michael "Big Mike" Miranda. Little is known of Catena in his early days of the Luciano crime family, but reportedly he was a soldier in the crew that became the powerful Genovese crew during the late 1920s, headed by later Underboss, Vito "Don Vito" Genovese. As the time went, and Charles Luciano went to prison and later deportation in the 1940s, Genovese would organize the shooting of the Boss of Luciano crime family, Frank Costello in 1957, which forced Costello to retire. Apparently, Catena is to have rose through the ranks, as he was listed as the Underboss in the late 1950s, heading the New Jersey faction of the Genovese crime family, under the leadership of Vito Genovese.Catena was allegedly attending the so called Apalachin Meeting in 1957, and was one of the hundred mafiosi who were indicted after the convention, following the arrest of Vito Genovese in 1959. As Genovese and many others of the Genovese crime family were under indictment, Catena began cooperating with longtime captains Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo, Michele "Big Mike" Miranda and Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, and were unofficially running the Genovese crime family. After the imprisonment of Genovese in 1959, a "Committee/Ruling Panel" was to run the Genovese crime family, which consisted of Catena, Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo, Thomas Eboli and Michele Miranda. This administration continued to run the family throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, as Catena was indicted in 1970, and jailed from 1971 to 1972.



After his incarceration, Catena was allegedly semi-retired due to illness, and became officially retired after his releasement in 1972, as he moved to Florida that same year. Gerardo Catena died in 2000 of natural causes, as he wasn't named in any indictments for almost 30 years, and died in retirement at the age of 98

Charles "Cherry Nose Gioe

Charles "Cherry Nose" Gioe (died August 18, 1954) was a lieutenant in the Chicago Outfit criminal organization and a partner in the Hollywood extortion scandals of the 1930s

.Gioe became a high ranking lieutenant for the Outfit, specializing in extortion and blackmail, under Frank "The Enforcer" Nitti after Al Capone's 1931 tax evasion conviction. In 1936, Gioe went to Des Moines, Iowa to expand syndicate operations. He eventually returned to Chicago, leaving underboss Louis "Cock-Eyed Louie" Fratto in control of the Des Moines operations. During the mid-1930s, Gioe, Paul "The Waiter" Ricca and Louis "Little New York" Campagna, began financially supporting extortion operations by Willie Morris Bioff and George Browne against Hollywood movie studios. In exchange for annual payoffs to the Outfit, the mob-controlled projectionist unions would refrain from labor strikes and disruptions
.In the late 1930s, the extortion racket was busted by law enforcement. On March 18, 1943 Gioe, Ricca, and Campagna were indicted for extortion; Bioff and Browne agreed to testify against them. On December 31, 1941, Gioe was convicted of extortion and sentenced to ten years in prison. Gioe was later paroled in 1947, despite protests from Senator Estes Kefauver, along with the other syndicate members whereupon his release becoming, second to Ricca and Campagna, as the top Chicago syndicate leader. During the 1950s however, with the death of Campagna in 1952 and Ricca's retirement, Gioe became involved in a power struggle with rivals Anthony Accardo and Sam "Momo" Giancana.
On August 18, 1954, Charles Goie was murdered by his former protegé Fratto, supposedly under orders from Giancana.

Anthony "tough Tony" Anastacio

Anthony "Tough Tony" Anastasio (February 24, 1906-March 1, 1963) was a New York City mobster and labor racketeer for the Genovese crime family who controlled the Brooklyn dockyards for over thirty years

With his brother Albert's position in Murder, Inc., Anthony Anastasio held free rein throughout the Brooklyn waterfront. During this time, while helping establish Anastasia as a major force on the New York waterfront, Anastasio's power was at its height. It is said he would severely damage foreign shipping and sabotage ships as a means of intimidation (presumably on orders from Anastasia

After Albert Anastasia's murder in 1957, Anthony Anastasio's influence began to fade. However, Vito Genovese (the main suspect in his brother's murder) did allow Anastasio to retain control of the Brooklyn docks until his death. In 1962, Anastasio started suspecting that Genovese meant to kill him and decided to meet with FBI agents. While discussing Carlo Gambino, Peter DeFeo, and Thomas Eboli with the agents, Anastasio reflected on his deceased brother: "I ate from the same table as Albert and came from the same womb but I know he killed many men and he deserved to die."

Anthony Anastasio died from natural causes on March 1, 1963. He is buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, New York City. Anastasio's grandson John Scotto, the son of successor New York waterfront racketeer Anthony Scotto, later became an informant for the Los Angeles Police Department between 1993 and 199










.

Antonio Bardellino Cosa Nostra

Antonio Bardellino (San Cipriano d'Aversa, 1945 - Rio de Janeiro, May 26, 1988) was a powerful Neapolitan Camorrista and boss of the Casalesi clan, having a prominent role in the organized crime in the province of Caserta during the 1980's. He was one of the last of the old style Camorra godfathers.

He had close and powerful contacts within the Sicilian Mafia, initially with the Porta Nuova family of Pippo Calò. He was one of the few Camorra bosses who were also initiated in Cosa Nostra. Together with Lorenzo Nuvoleta and Michele Zaza he was sworn in to seal a pact on cigarette smuggling in 1975

While the Nuvoletta brothers were allied with the Corleonesi headed by Luciano Liggio and Salvatore Riina, Bardellino was allied with Rosario Riccobono, Stefano Bontade, Gaetano Badalamenti, and Tommaso Buscetta, all heads of fallen Palermo families which were defeated by the Corleonesi in the Second Mafia War, and forced to flee.

In the 1980's, Bardellino realized that cocaine, not heroin, would become the more profitable drug and organized a trafficking operation smuggling it from Latin America to Aversa via a fish flour import-export business. Heroin was smuggled as well, and shipments to the Gambino crime family were concealed inside expresso filters. When one shipment was intercepted by the authorities, Bardellino reportedly called John Gotti and told him; "Don't worry, now we're sending twice as much the other way"


According to the official version of the story, on May 26, 1988, Antonio Bardellino was murdered by his right hand man, Mario Iovine in his Brazilian home at Buzios, a beach side resort for the rich and famous in the State of Rio de Janeiro, as part of an internal feud within the Casalesi. However, this story has never been clarified because his body was never found and the alleged assassin, Iovine, was himself murdered in Portugal in 1991 while using a phone booth. These circumstances have fueled a legend that Bardellino is still alive, and has left power in the hands of the other families within the Casalesi clan in order to ensure the survival of his family.

When his old friend, Tommaso Buscetta who later became a pentito was asked about the status of Bardellino during a testimony before the Antimafia Commission, he replied: "Is it already obvious that Bardellino died? I do not know, but I do not believe that he is dead." After the news of Bardellino's death spread, his family left their homes and native areas to take refuge in Formia where they still reside. After the disappearance of Antonio Bardellino, the five families (Schiavone, Iovine, Bidognetti, De Falco and Zagaria) took control, each with their own army

Stephen "the rifleman" Flemmi

The Rifleman

Roxbury native, Stephen J. Flemmi got his nickname during the Korean War, when he was an uncanny marksman in the Army. In the 1960s, Flemmi developed close ties to both the Irish and Italian mobs, befriending Mafia boss Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme and earning a reputation as a cold-blooded operative. He later joined up with Somerville's Winter Hill gang, where he forged a close partnership with "Whitey" Bulger. Flemmi served as Bulger's front man, collecting money from bookies and inspiring fear in those who didn't pay their debts on time. He began informing for the FBI in the 1960s, a decade before his sidekick, Bulger.
Flemmi was arrested in 1995 on charges of racketeering and extortion, but fought the charges on grounds that the FBI had granted him and Bulger permission to commit certain crimes short of murder while they worked as informants. The ensuing court hearings dredged up some of the Boston FBI’s darkest secrets, including revelations of agents accepting payoffs and leaking information to help protect Flemmi and Bulger from prosecution. A judge ultimately ruled that the gangsters had received no promise of immunity, and Flemmi was sentenced in August 2001 to 10 years in prison for extortion and money laundering as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. However, the revelation that he was an informant prompted his old cohorts to turn on him, the discovery of secret mob graves and new charges of murder against him.
Under a deal that spared him the death penalty, Flemmi pleaded guilty in 2004 to 10 murders -- including one in Florida and one in Oklahoma -- in exchange for a life sentence and began cooperating with the government. He alleged that he and Bulger had paid their former handler, Connolly, $200,000 while they were working as informants, gave cash and gifts to other agents and police officers, and offered details of corruption and murder. His cooperation led to Connolly's indictment in Florida on murder charges.