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Mafia author shares dark stories behind Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/mafia-author-shares-dark-stories-behind-garden-state-gangland-the
2018-03-12T16:45:37.000Z
2018-03-12T16:45:37.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafia-author-shares-dark-stories-behind-garden-state-gangland-the" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237101088,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237101088?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Organized crime in New Jersey goes way back and features some of the most colorful characters and powerhouses one can imagine. Gangsters Inc. sat down with mob author Scott Deitche, who details this rich and violent history in his new book <em>Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey</em>.</p>
<p>It’s based in New Jersey? Why not New York? said pretty much every television critic when The Sopranos aired on HBO. Here was this expensive, well-written Mafia drama and it all took place in Jersey?!</p>
<p>Author <a href="http://www.scottdeitche.com/" target="_blank">Scott Deitche</a> understands the surprise. “New York City is the largest American city and a dynamic center of business, finance, food, culture, and lots of other things,” he says. “It is the center of the single largest metro area in terms of GDP in the country, twice that of the second largest, Los Angeles. The point is that New York City is the big attraction, so New Jersey by the very nature of being next door, sits back a bit. Taking that idea in south New Jersey, the same can be seen with the Philadelphia metro area, where the Jersey suburbs are not the big attraction.”</p>
<p>Though the location of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Sopranos" target="_blank">The Sopranos</a> surprised many viewers, to those in the know the scenery couldn’t be more fitting. The state has a long criminal history dating back to the early 1900s when Italian immigrants were preyed upon by fellow countrymen operating under the Black Hand. These men would deliver a letter to their victims – usually wealthy businessmen - and sign it with a print of a black hand. These were simple criminal activities and considered easy money by the extortionists.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Rags to riches</strong></span></p>
<p>When <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Prohibition" target="_blank">Prohibition</a> arrived, criminal activities became much more sophisticated. All these Black Handers, strikebreakers, gamblers, and hitmen suddenly found an activity that was both respectable and lucrative. With its ports and presence near New York City, New Jersey became an important transit point for shipments of illegal booze, not to mention a favorite holiday destination for both the wealthy gangster and Joe Public.</p>
<p>Rich off alcohol, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a> rose. In New Jersey this meant the founding of the Mafia family that would eventually become known as the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-decavalcante-crime-family" target="_blank">DeCavalcante crime family</a>. Much like their base of operations, this family too is overlooked quite a bit.</p>
<p>“The DeCavalcantes, who are a homegrown crime family based in Elizabeth, they naturally can’t compete with the five mob families in New York or even the mob in Philly in terms of how they are viewed,” Deitche admits.</p>
<p>But the state housed more than just the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-decavalcante-crime-family" target="_blank">DeCavalcante family</a>. “The New York families had the biggest presence in New Jersey. You had members of all five families operating throughout the state. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese family</a> had the largest presence, followed by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family" target="_blank">Lucchese family</a>. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family" target="_blank">Philadelphia mob</a> had a large presence across the Southern half of the state, as well as a lone outpost in the Ironbound section of Newark.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Mysterious</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-left" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237101455,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237101455?profile=original" width="247" /></a>Despite their New York ties, however, many of these Jersey mobsters went unnoticed as well. “Everyone knows New York’s five families and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gotti" target="_blank">John Gotti</a> and the killing of Paul Castellano. How many people know of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Catena" target="_blank">Jerry Catena</a> (left) and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/whack-out-on-willie-moretti" target="_blank">the killing of Willie Moretti</a>?” Deitche points out.</p>
<p>Catena was among the most powerful figures in America’s gangland history, but remains shrouded in mystery. Deitche: “Yeah, Gerardo - I saw his shorthand name alternately referred to as Gerry or Jerry, I chose Jerry in my book for consistency - Catena is a perfect example of an incredibly influential mob figure who sat well below the radar. He was a figure on the mob scene in New Jersey from the 1930s through the 1980s. He even got to die in his own bed from old age, a rarity. He started as a protégé to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Zwillman" target="_blank">Abner “Longy” Zwillman</a> - another interesting mobster - and instead of being all flashy with his money and blowing it all at the track, he invested in a wide array of businesses, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bally" target="_blank">Bally Gaming</a>. In another life he could have been a successful entrepreneur or CEO. He was a quiet powerhouse who guided the Genovese family in New Jersey for decades.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Take a Mafia tour</strong></span></p>
<p>Talking about Zwillman, Deitche points out that one can still find remnants of his influence in Newark located at the Rivera Hotel - his old headquarters - and the Blue Mirror Lounge, located just up the street.</p>
<p>“Newark has a good concentration of places,” Deitche adds. “The Ironbound/Down Neck section was and is home to old and still active social clubs. There is the old Casablanca Club at 1011 Broad St, which was the scene of a 1950 heroin bust; Charles “The Blade” Tourine’s old tavern at 186 Oliver St. You can also get a great Portuguese meal at Portucale restaurant, site of a Genovese family money laundering operation a few years back.”</p>
<p>But in nearby Elizabeth, the mob’s presence can still be felt as well. “416 Palmer St in Elizabeth is the Ribera Club, an Italian social club that used to, and maybe still does, serve as the headquarters of the DeCavalcante family for years. You can drive by the old Casella’s restaurant in Hoboken, visit old haunts of the Sicilian Gambinos in Cherry Hill, and grab dinner at Chef Vola’s in Atlantic City, a wiseguy hangout.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>The Mob in New Jersey today</strong></span></p>
<p>The chance of running into a mobster is getting slimmer, but they’re still out there doing their thing, Deitche says. “There is still a small active DeCavalcante family around. It mainly operates out of Elizabeth and nearby areas in New Jersey. There is also supposedly a small ‘crew’ in Toms River. The 2015 arrest of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-of-decavalcante-crime-family-capo-charles-stango" target="_blank">capo Charles “Beeps” Stango</a> in Las Vegas and some associates (including his son Anthony), showed that the family was still active in loansharking, illegal gambling, and drugs. Of note too was that a number of the associates arrested were in their 30s and 40s.”</p>
<p>Still, just as many other mob families in the United States, the one in New Jersey has felt the impact of law enforcement scrutiny. “Being a small crime family, the DeCavalcantes were affected greater by law enforcement activity,” Deitche explains. “Certainly, the big investigations around the turn of the 21<sup>st</sup> century that netted pretty much the entire hierarchy, was a huge hit to the family’s fortunes. You had a few high-level mobsters become witnesses, including the reputed boss at the time, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/turncoat-mobster-once-again" target="_blank">“Vinny Oceans” Palermo</a>. In all, over 40 members and associates were arrested during that time.”</p>
<p>The end result of this was that the family’s most recent boss, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-jersey-mob-boss-francesco-guarraci-dies-at-age-61" target="_blank">Francesco Guarraci</a>, stepped into a pizza parlor himself, personally demanding ownership. “It’s almost as if the mob has come full circle back to the early days of low level extortion of shop owners and merchants,” Deitche muses. “It’s really telling, to me, that the family had become so small and ineffective that the boss was doing low level muscle work.”</p>
<p>It’s far cry from the days when the family ruled both business and politics in the area. “Indeed,” says Deitche, “Bayonne Joe Zicarelli had not only cops, lawyers, and judges on his payroll, but also had his tentacles into New Jersey politicians operating in Washington DC. Mafia boss Sam DeCavalcante had relationships with local and state political figures. And the mob controlled the city of Newark through the mayor and police chief.” </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>“I like to go to a place to get the feel of it”</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237101487,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237101487?profile=original" width="251" /></a>All the details of the corruption and the New Jersey Mafia’s rackets can be found in Deitche’s <a href="http://amzn.to/2p1j8QU" target="_blank"><em>Garden State Gangland</em></a>. Through thorough research, both online, but also the old-fashioned way, by going to the city archives in Newark, libraries, visiting primary sources, the seasoned mob writer uncovered some great nuggets of information. </p>
<p>“Another part of my research is ‘place’,” he adds. “I like to go to a place and walk it to get a feel of where the stories came from.” While becoming immersed in the subject of organized crime, years back, Deitche found out the mob could be found much closer to home than he thought: His grandfather was a mob-connected bookmaker who did time.</p>
<p>Deitche, who can be seen in the photo on the right: “He passed away just as I was really getting into the study, so I never got to talk about it much with him. I have heard the stories from other family members and found some information, including his jail intake card at Trenton State prison. He spent about eight months in Trenton and another prison. After his release, he retired from the bookmaking life. I suspect, based on other information, that his partner, the real money behind the operation, may have been tied to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-decavalcante-crime-family" target="_blank">DeCavalcante</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family" target="_blank">Colombo</a> families through an individual named James “Whitey” Danzo. It’s a hypothesis at this point.”</p>
<p><strong><em><a href="http://amzn.to/2p1j8QU" target="_blank">Garden State Gangland</a>: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey is available <a href="http://amzn.to/2p1j8QU" target="_blank">online</a> and at bookstores near you. Author Scott Deitche can be found at his <a href="http://www.scottdeitche.com/" target="_blank">personal website</a> and on social media, both <a href="https://twitter.com/Scottyyz" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Scott-M-Deitche-Author-211094778568/?ref=ts" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. This coming March 15 he will doing an appearance at Las Vegas’ <a href="https://themobmuseum.org/" target="_blank">Mob Museum</a> as part of its Wiseguy Speaker Series.</em></strong></p>
<p><em>Photo credits: Scott Deitche headshot by Djamel Ramoul, photo of Gerardo Catena by Myron Sugerman.<br /> </em></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-decavalcante-crime-family">DeCavalcante Crime Family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
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Profile of Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, infamous boss of the Philadelphia crime family, who died in prison at age 87
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/nicodemo-little-nicky-scarfo-boss-of-the-philadelphia-crime-famil
2017-01-15T13:30:00.000Z
2017-01-15T13:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nicodemo-little-nicky-scarfo-boss-of-the-philadelphia-crime-famil"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237086297,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237086297?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Infamous <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philadelphia mob</a> boss Nicodemo Scarfo passed away in prison on Friday, underworld sources told mob reporter George Anastasia, who <a href="http://www.bigtrial.net/2017/01/report-nicodemo-scarfo-has-died-in.html" target="_blank">broke the news yesterday</a>. Scarfo was 87. He was serving a 55-year sentence for racketeering and murder and had been housed at a federal prison medical facility in Butner, North Carolina, for over a year now. Scarfo will go down as one of the most erratic and violent Mafia bosses in recent American crime history.</p>
<p>Originally from <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brooklyn">Brooklyn</a>, New York, Scarfo’s family moved to New Jersey in the early 1940s. By the 1950s, Scarfo was working for his uncle Nicholas “Nicky Buck” Piccolo, a member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philadelphia crime family</a>. Nicknamed “Little Nicky” for his diminutive size, Scarfo made up for his small stature with a hair-trigger temper and a lust for deadly violence.</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4uUUNVjL298?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>This temper established his fearsome reputation within the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia">Mafia</a> but also got him in trouble with the law. In 1963, for instance, he stabbed a man to death at a restaurant over an argument that got out of hand. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was released from prison after less than a year.</p>
<p>He then went to Atlantic City to run the Philadelphia crime family’s interests there. Back then, the city was a cow town. Gambling had not yet arrived and Scarfo was scraping by with a small-time gambling and loansharking operation. Though he hated every day spent there, he endured, biding his time. By then, legalized gambling in Atlantic City was on the horizon, promising endless possibilities for an enterprising gangster such as Scarfo.</p>
<p>The 1970s was the decade that Scarfo’s fortunes changed. It started off with him spending quality time in Yardville Correctional Center with several powerful mobsters, including <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-boss-angelo-bruno">Angelo Bruno</a>, leader of the Philadelphia mob. It was always good to be able to get close to those in power. Then, in 1976, New Jersey legalized casinos in Atlantic City and Scarfo’s good years had arrived.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/high-profile-philadelphia-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-latest-gangst">Philadelphia Mafia boss Joey Merlino banned from casinos</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>All of a sudden, money was pouring into the city. Scarfo made sure all his businesses profited royally. He remained involved in gambling and loansharking, of course, but also held interests in bars and construction. His stature in the Philly mob was also on the rise, he was now their official man in a booming Atlantic City.</p>
<p>In 1980, after <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philadelphia-boss-angelo-bruno">Angelo Bruno</a>, Philadelphia’s “docile” and respected Mafia leader, was shot to death in front of his home, Scarfo rose even more. Bruno’s underboss, Philip Testa, succeeded him as boss and appointed Scarfo as his consigliere. But Bruno’s murder was just the starting shot in a bloody power struggle and Testa himself was murdered in March of 1981 when an explosive device went off at his house and blew the newly crowned mob kingpin to bits.</p>
<p>Shortly thereafter, an extremely angry Scarfo ascended to the throne, hungry for revenge. What followed next can only be described as bloody carnage. Scarfo went after anyone he felt had been involved in Testa’s murder. When he ran out of targets, he invented new ones and carried on with his reign of terror.</p>
<p>Under his leadership, the Philadelphia crime family began to fester and burn from within. Scarfo demanded loyalty, but would turn on his men in a second if they’d failed to show up to a meet or said something that he felt was out of line. He would become especially deadly if he deemed you a threat to his power.</p>
<p>He shocked his own loyal henchmen when he ordered the murder of Salvatore “Salvie” Testa, the son of Philip Testa and one of Scarfo’s most capable hitmen. The young Testa was considered a rising mob star with a bright future in the rackets. Scarfo feared Testa’s popularity and wanted him gone. His men did as they were told. In 1984, Testa’s best friend lured him to a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> candy store where he was shot to death.</p>
<p>The hit left a bad taste among Scarfo’s men. Paranoia increased as each feared for his life. While Scarfo felt he was running a tight ship, more and more of his once loyal soldiers began thinking about the unthinkable: They were opting to become a rat and join the Witness Protection Program where they would be safe from Scarfo’s violent orders.</p>
<p>As one after the other flipped and became a turncoat, prosecutors began collecting evidence and building cases. By the late 1980s, Scarfo was locked in a cell. With each court proceeding he was greeted by yet another former underling who had turned against him. The ultimate betrayal came when Philip “Crazy Phil” Leonetti, his own nephew and underboss, testified against him, providing prosecutors with the nail in Scarfo’s coffin as he was sentenced to 55 years behind bars for racketeering and several gangland murders.</p>
<p>From prison, Scarfo tried to maintain control over the Philadelphia underworld through his son Nicky Jr. However, unknown assassins put a stop to that in 1989 when they riddled Nick Jr.’s body with six bullets at a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> restaurant.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nicky-scarfo-junior-following-in-daddy-s-footsteps">Nicky Scarfo Junior follows in daddy's footsteps</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The mob son survived the hit attempt and – thanks to his father’s close friendship with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-crime-family-boss-vittorio-vic-amuso">Lucchese mob boss Vic Amuso</a> - was later placed under protection of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">New York’s Lucchese crime family</a>, where he became an official “made” member. He is currently serving a 30-year sentence for racketeering conspiracy.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philadelphia crime family section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out our <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/blog/gangsters-inc-on-social-media">social media channels</a></strong></li>
<li><strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/about-gangsters-inc">About Gangsters Inc.</a></strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
High-profile Philadelphia Mafia boss Joseph Merlino latest gangster to be barred from entering a casino
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/high-profile-philadelphia-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-latest-gangst
2016-09-08T12:00:00.000Z
2016-09-08T12:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/high-profile-philadelphia-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-latest-gangst"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237075685,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237075685?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Updated on September 8, 2016 - The Pennsylvania gaming control board has banned <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philadelphia</a> mob boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/joey-merlino-living-like-a-boss-in-florida">Joseph Merlino</a> from its casinos. “When Merlino visited Harrah's Casino in Chester […] he was met on the casino floor by agents of the Pennsylvania gaming control board, who wanted to serve him with a document but Merlino refused and promptly left the casino,” Fox 29 News’ Dave Schratweiser <a href="http://www.fox29.com/news/167551238-story" target="_blank">reported earlier</a>. Yesterday, it became <a href="http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160908_Alleged_mob_boss_Joey_Merlino_banned_from_Pennsylvania_casinos.html" target="_blank">official</a> when the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board voted unanimously to ban Merlino from all casinos in the state.</p>
<p>Merlino is the first (former) mob boss to be banned from Pennsylvania casinos since they opened in 2006. In the grand scheme of things, however, Merlino is just the latest in a long list of organized crime figures to be banned from entering a gambling establishment. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-crime-family">Philly mob</a> boss himself had already been placed on New Jersey’s exclusion list in 1984.</p>
<p>The practice of excluding mobsters, cheats, and undesirables from gambling establishments goes back to October 1960 when retired <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI">FBI</a> agent Ray J. Abbaticchio Junior, chairman of the Las Vegas gaming control board, listed eleven notorious mobsters as barred from entering any premises where gambling occurred.</p>
<p>The original list included men like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago">Chicago</a> mob boss Sam “Mooney” Giancana and his underlings Marshall Caifano and Murray “The Camel” Humphreys, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-facts-behind-the-kansas-city-mob-depicted-in-fargo">Kansas City mob</a> bosses Carl and Nicholas Civella, and Louis Tom Dragna from Los Angeles. Casino owners were warned that if any of these men were found inside their establishments their licenses would be revoked.</p>
<p>Since those days several other gaming control boards keep similar exclusion lists, which frequently contain names connected to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>. For instance, longtime <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-colombo-crime-family">Colombo crime family</a> mobster Charles Joseph Panarella was placed in the Las Vegas “Black Book” in 1997. The New York gangster moved to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/las-vegas-sin-city">Sin City</a>, but could never set foot in any of its gambling palaces because of his criminal deeds. The exclusion order mentions the following regarding those illicit acts, “Panarella has an arrest record that dates back to 1940 with convictions for assault, burglary, extortion and possession of a loaded firearm. His last conviction came in 1994 for money laundering, where Nevada casinos were used to facilitate the crime.”</p>
<p>Joseph Merlino is not the only <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Philadelphia">Philadelphia</a> mobster to be banned from casinos either. The alleged current Philadelphia street boss, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/philly-mob-boss-joseph-ligambi">Joseph Ligambi</a>, has been officially banned from New Jersey casinos since 2003. Fellow Philly wiseguys Martin A. Angelina, Dominic Grande, and Joseph C. Massimino are also banned.</p>
<p>These type of lists seem endless and – at times – pointless. As Joe Pesci’s character in the movie classic <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-truth-behind-movie-classic-casino">Casino</a> said: “That black book's a joke. It's only got two names in it for the whole country. And one of them's still Al Capone.”</p>
<p>He’s got a point. Several names listed will never set foot in any casino ever again regardless of a ban. A guy like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino family</a> capo <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-capo-robert-bisaccia">Robert Bisaccia</a> who died in 2008 and wouldn’t even be visible if he did manage to enter a casino floor.</p>
<p>The same can be said for men like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family">Bonanno crime family</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Basciano">Vincent Basciano</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese family</a> leader-turned-snitch <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Casso">Anthony Casso</a> who are both spending the rest of their lives in prison.</p>
<p>Still, the reasoning behind these bans is sensible. Criminals can launder their ill-gotten monies using the games of chance. With their longstanding careers in loansharking and gambling, they also pose a threat to unknowing casino patrons, who might be seduced to take a gamble on the wild side.</p>
<p>In Macau, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Triads">Chinese Mafia</a>, known as the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/triads-overview">Triads</a>, have long had a presence at <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/triads-continue-to-dominate-vip-rooms-in-macau-casinos">casino floors and VIP rooms</a>. Gamblers can take out loans right next to the table where they place their bets. It’s service like only the mob can offer. Until it’s time to pay back what you owe them, of course. Then things can get pretty violent and uncomfortable.</p>
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Atlantic City “Dirty Block” Gang enforcer gets life in prison for violent heroin trafficking conspiracy
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/atlantic-city-dirty-block-gang-enforcer-gets-life-in-prison-for-v
2016-08-23T13:35:09.000Z
2016-08-23T13:35:09.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/atlantic-city-dirty-block-gang-enforcer-gets-life-in-prison-for-v"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237078672,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237078672?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Malik “Lik” Derry, an alleged enforcer for the Atlantic City “Dirty Block” gang, was sentenced to life in prison on Friday. After a six-week trial, he was convicted of conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and various violent shootings.</p>
<p>The “Dirty Block” gang was led by Malik’s brother <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/atlantic-city-gang-boss-gets-life-in-prison-for-drug-conspiracy">Mykal “Koose” Derry</a>, who himself is serving life in prison as well after having been convicted of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/atlantic-city-gang-boss-gets-life-in-prison-for-drug-conspiracy">drug and gun crimes</a>. Malik Derry acted as the gang’s enforcer, but was also active as a street level dealer, selling dope to junkies in the lucrative drug trafficking area of the Stanley Holmes public housing complex, and Brown’s Park.</p>
<p>He switched roles from dealer to enforcer whenever the “<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=DirtyBlock">Dirty Block</a>” gang’s power was questioned. Malik Derry, his brother Mykal, and other gang members routinely carried loaded handguns and engaged in at least eight drug related shootings between October 2010 and February 2013, including the shooting of a teenager on April 17, 2011, which left the victim paralyzed.</p>
<p>Additional testimony at Malik Derry’s trial established that he and his brother planned and carried out the shooting murder of a rival drug dealer in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=AtlanticCity">Atlantic City</a> on the evening of February 10, 2013. Mykal Derry told members of his gang that he wanted them to “put him down” (referring to an order to shoot the rival dealer) when they saw him.</p>
<p>Malik Derry heard his brother loud and clear and, in a scene reminiscent of television series Breaking Bad, shot the dealer in the head from close range while riding a bicycle past him as the victim stood in front of an Atlantic City restaurant.</p>
<p>The murder weapon, a stolen .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun, was later recovered from the drop ceiling in an apartment located on Green Street in Atlantic City, which, at the time, was shared by Mykal Derry and his girlfriend, Kimberly Spellman. Atlantic City police detectives also found 18 “bricks” of heroin (approximately 900 individual packets of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Heroin">heroin</a>) and drug packaging materials inside the apartment.</p>
<p>When the case hit the courtroom, there wasn’t much Malik Derry and his brother could do. The evidence presented by the government consisted of recordings of hundreds of telephone calls and text messages between Mykal Derry, Malik Derry, and over 19 other members of the gang, physical evidence including the recovery of twenty firearms, ballistics evidence from shooting scenes, crime scene evidence from eight different shooting scenes in Atlantic City, recovery of substantial quantities of heroin and drug packaging materials, approximately $40,000 in drug proceeds, the testimony of dozens of FBI agents and Atlantic City police detectives, ballistics experts, a narcotics expert, and two cooperating witnesses who had previously pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking offenses.</p>
<p>They were street kings while it lasted, but now 25-year-old Malik and his 36-year-old brother Mykal will spend the rest of their lives behind bars for the criminal acts they committed.</p>
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Atlantic City gang boss gets life in prison for drug conspiracy
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/atlantic-city-gang-boss-gets-life-in-prison-for-drug-conspiracy
2016-01-08T16:51:57.000Z
2016-01-08T16:51:57.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/atlantic-city-gang-boss-gets-life-in-prison-for-drug-conspiracy"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237043482,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237043482?profile=original" width="500" /></a>PRESS RELEASE</p>
<p>The leader of the Dirty Block street gang which controlled the illegal drug trade in Atlantic City, New Jersey, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for drug conspiracy and weapons charges.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237044255,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237044255?profile=original" width="192" /></a>Mykal “Koose” Derry (right), of Atlantic City, was previously convicted of several drug charges including conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, and of using firearms to control and expand his drug business. 35-year-old Derry was convicted following a six-week trial.</p>
<p>During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Derry was the leader of the gang known as “Dirty Block,” a/k/a “Crime Fam,” “3.6.6.12,” or “3.6,” which operated in Atlantic City and controlled the lucrative drug trafficking area of the Stanley Holmes public housing complex, Brown’s Park, and the surrounding area.</p>
<p>The evidence showed that Derry and other members of the group routinely carried loaded handguns and engaged in at least eight drug related shootings between October 2010 and February 2013, including the shooting of a teenager on April 17, 2011, which left the teenager paralyzed. The trial testimony of a cooperating witness established that Derry had his cousin shoot the teenager because he was cooperating with police in an earlier case involving Derry and other drug associates’ assault of the teenager in October 2010.</p>
<p>Additional testimony established that Mykal Derry and his 24-year-old brother, Malik “Lik” Derry, planned and carried out the shooting murder of a rival drug dealer in Atlantic City on the evening of February 10, 2013. Mykal Derry told members of his gang that he wanted them to “put him down” when they saw him. Malik Derry shot the victim in the head from close range while riding a bicycle past him as the victim stood in front of an Atlantic City restaurant.</p>
<p>The murder weapon, a stolen .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun, was later recovered from the drop ceiling in an apartment located on Green Street in Atlantic City, which, at the time, was shared by Mykal Derry and his girlfriend, Kimberly Spellman (34). Atlantic City police detectives also found 18 “bricks” of heroin (approximately 900 individual packets of heroin) and drug packaging materials inside the apartment.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237044688,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237044688?profile=original" /></a>The evidence presented by the government at trial consisted of recordings of hundreds of telephone calls and text messages between Mykal Derry and over twenty other members of the drug gang, physical evidence including the recovery of twenty firearms, ballistics evidence from shooting scenes, crime scene evidence from eight different shooting scenes in Atlantic City, recovery of substantial quantities of heroin and drug packaging materials, approximately $40,000 in drug proceeds, the testimony of dozens of FBI agents and Atlantic City police detectives, the testimony of ballistics experts, a narcotics expert, and the testimony of two cooperating witnesses who had previously pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking offenses.</p>
<p>Malik Derry (right) still awaits sentencing after being convicted at trial of similar charges as his big brother. Spellman previously pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging her with conspiracy to distribute heroin and awaits sentencing.</p>
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Chili Pimping in Atlantic City
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/chili-pimping-in-atlantic-city
2011-09-13T09:30:00.000Z
2011-09-13T09:30:00.000Z
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<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/chili-pimping-in-atlantic-city"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237001860,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237001860?profile=original" width="310" /></a><strong>SPECIAL TO GANGSTERS INC.</strong><br /> <br /> <strong>EXCERPT FROM CHILI PIMPING IN ATLANTIC CITY:</strong> <br /> <strong>MEMOIR OF A SMALL-TIME PIMP AND HUSTLER</strong><br /> <br /> <strong>BY MICHAEL MICK-MAN GOURDINE</strong><br /> <br /> This book is published by Strategic Media books. For more information go to (<a href="http://www.strategicmediabooks.com">www.strategicmediabooks.com</a>) or scroll down to bottom of this page to read the press release.<br /> <br /> <em>“Introduction to the Game”</em><br /> First off let me explain what a “chili pimp” is. <br /> <br /> A chili pimp is a small time pimp; he is a pimp who will have between one and three girls. He does not stay in the most expensive hotels or eats in the most expensive restaurants; he can’t afford to. What he relies on is his ability to give more care, attention and on the spot dependability than a “pimp” can give. All pimps started out as chili-pimps. Some pimps even refer to the stage as the minor leagues. It can also be seen as a make it or break it period in a young pimp’s career. A young kid will either develop a “stable” or he will “blow hoeless” and return to the drug or gigolo game. A chili pimp can either be an amateur or a pimp on his way up.</p>
<p>A chili pimp could also be a pimp who has become addicted to drugs, and in some strange way, the only girl he is left with is the one who really loves him, feels sorry for him, and in her way, has shown that she cares and is willing to continue working the “track” to get him his fix to make him “well.” It’s her way of mothering him, even though she is nursing him from one dope fiend fix to the next. A chili pimp can also be an old pimp who is semi-retired and has sold, retired, blown, been peeled or fired most of his stable and settled down with his “bottom” women and maybe her favorite girl who lives with them like a daughter. In this situation, they will let her recruit a girl from time to time to stay with them. <br /> <br /> A chili pimp is never a threat to the established pimp, who actually looks at the chili pimp, not with contempt but as if they are amused by the chili pimps. It’s kind of like how a father or an uncle who looks at his children or nephew’s when they wear his clothes or who are going on their first date. <br /> <br /> Established pimps are actually flattered because they know that we are trying to imitate them. That is why, while pimps are brutal in their competition with each other, they deal with chili pimps with “kid” gloves. They will front the chili pimp money, give you advice, and, if one of them takes a liking to you, he might give the chili pimp one of his girls, if his stable is too large. <br /> <br /> You must always be careful, though, because pimps are the masters of game and will run game on you, if nothing else, just to test you. An established pimp will see that a chilli pimp has only one girl and will offer him a “rib”; that is, one of his girls whom the chilli pimp will only manage for him but does not own. The two of you will split her “quota”, the target number of money she must make in one night. But in actuality, she is just a spy for that pimp, who has either become jealous or threatened because the chili pimp is starting to rise. <br /> <br /> Chili pimps have to concentrate on his budget more than anything else. While the “real” pimps are driving up and down Atlantic and Pacific Avenue in Bentleys and live in the Borgata or Taj Mahal, chili pimps have to live in the El Greco with a small refrigerator, a microwave, ande two beds (thank God). Hopefully, the pad is on the first floor facing Pacific Avenue where the chili pimp can, at any time, walk out and see if his girl is walking home, or if there was any “drama” going on the “track”. He has to keep the nicest clothes that his budget will allow: <br /> <br /> (1) So that his girl will not be embarrassed to call him her man <br /> (2) So that they can possibly attract working girls with the hope that they “choose” them over their current pimp, or that they stop “renegading” and come in out of the cold and have a man. <br /> <br /> You must always be able to feed your girl and have bail money. You must let her know that you will find her if you don’t hear from her. <br /> <br /> As a chili pimp, I let my girl know that I had all the numbers for the hospitals, emergency rooms, police departments, the morgue, bail bondsmen, and a good New Jersey lawyer who knows the ins and outs to local laws, as well as the local prosecutors and judges. <br /> <br /> You do this to let her know you have her back. Most of all, you had to let her know that you are more than willing to do what a pimp does best and that is to protect her. You breakdown the rules to her. Never go on any claimed turf and never look at a pimp in his eyes (that’s called reckless eyeballing). <br /> <br /> You take a deep breath and hit the track. You’re always on top of your budget like a damn bookkeeper. You must always set your quota lower than the local pimps. You make it advantageous for the girl to stay with you, even though that’s cheating the pimp rules. It means that if she chooses to chase another pimp, she will have to pay him more and keep less money for herself. After all, someone has to pay for that Bentley. You also try to show her what qualities you have that will set you apart from other pimps. You can, for instance, occasionally tell her to call home and check on her child. You keep a tight reign on her, but you try to make her really believe in you because you are worried about her and “love” her. <br /> <br /> My personal touch was with, believe it or not, food. I would take mental notes of her favorite foods while we talked and then do my very best to have, if not that very food, the closest to it one could find in Atlantic City waiting for her at 5:00 a.m. when she turned in. You are to provide her with all the toiletries a woman needs, especially those she needs in her line of work: douches, vaginal spray, an endless supply of condoms, female condoms, Listerine, tooth brushes, bobbie pins, scrunchies, curling irons, etc.<br /> <br /> I really went the extra mile when trying to make my girl comfortable; I even had the girls try hydrogen peroxide after being out all night. I told them that it worked better than Listerine and that the evidence was in the bubbles. The more bubbles meant the more germs the hydrogen peroxide was killing. My girls liked it; it made them feel clean. Most importantly, it was a hell of a lot cheaper than Listerine. Don’t forget you have to be able to do all of this at certain times from one girl’s “quota”. <br /> <br /> Believe me, I never had a dime to spare. Another bonus that helped me get by in Atlantic City was that in New Jersey you couldn’t pump your own gas. You paid after your gas was pumped. I must have hit every gas station in Atlantic City, Egg Harbor, all the way up Black Horse Pike and beyond. I hardly paid for gas once while I was there. Of course, my girl didn’t know it. That would have made me look low budget. I always did it when she was working. I’m sure the “real pimps” have their problems financially, but they are the masters of the “all is well” routine. As a chili pimp you score points with your girl for running this routine because she knows that, more than anyone else, you are desperate to just make it from one day to the next. If you make it from the chili pimp faze to the show-nuff pimping faze then, to say the least, you are tried and true, purified and bona fide, and you have earned the right to be called a PIMP (WITH CAPITAL LETTERS).<br /> <br /> <span class="font-size-3"><strong>New Book Provides Inside Look at Pimping Life and Police Corruption</strong></span><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984233342/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=gangstersinc-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0984233342">Chili Pimping in Atlantic City: The Memoir of a Small-Time Pimp</a><img style="border:none;margin:0px;" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gangstersinc-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0984233342&camp=217145&creative=399373" alt="ir?t=gangstersinc-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0984233342&camp=217145&creative=399373" width="1" height="1" border="0" /> is the controversial autobiography of Michael Mick-Man Gourdine, AKA the Candyman, as he was known on the street. The book pulls no punches and provides an honest and sometimes shocking look at what one man from the wrong side of tracks felt compelled to do to achieve the American Dream.<br /> <br /> Gourdine became a pimp who operated primarily on the streets of Atlantic City, New Jersey, while working as a corrupt NYPD cop who specialized in narcotics trafficking and prostitution. Employed as a police officer from 1990 to 2000, Gourdine reportedly made an estimated $2.5 to 3 million dollars in illegal graft, bribes, prostitution and drug dealing before being fired.<br /> <br /> Gourdine was a chili pimp—that is, a small time pimp who had between one and three girls working for him. As a chili pimp, Gourdine didn’t stay in the most expensive hotels or eats in the most expensive restaurants; he couldn’t afford it. Instead he relied on is his ability to give his girls more care, attention and on-the-spot dependability than a bonafide pimp could give. Today, Gourdine recalls, “It is a sad existence that I was lucky enough to escape and maybe some readers will avoid after reading my book.”<br /> <br /> Chili Pimping in Atlantic City describes how Gourdine developed the stomach for the pimping game, became a corrupt cop, learned the pimping trade and survived on the mean streets. The author paints vivid profiles of some the interesting characters he meets along the way. He concludes with some hard lessons. “The best way to steer a young boy away from pimping is to change his environment,” Gourdine writes. “If a young boy is starving, living without heat in his house, with no real men around him, guess what he’s going to take when he sees the first person who he deems the best fit to survive in his dismal circumstances? And believe you me, he will not be a law abiding citizen.”<br /> <br /> Gourdine now resides somewhere in New Jersey where he owns and manages numerous properties, and changes residences often. He is married with four sons.<br /> <br /> <strong>Chili Pimping in Atlantic City: The Memoir of a Small-Time Pimp and Hustler</strong><br /> <br /> <strong>13-digit: ISBN 978-0-9842333-4-2</strong> <br /> <strong>10-digit: ISBN 0-9842333-4-2</strong> <br /> <br /> <strong>Paperback: $17.99</strong><br /> <br /> <strong>Buy from Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984233342/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=gangstersinc-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0984233342">Chili Pimping in Atlantic City: The Memoir of a Small-Time Pimp</a><img style="border:none;margin:0px;" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gangstersinc-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0984233342&camp=217145&creative=399373" alt="ir?t=gangstersinc-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0984233342&camp=217145&creative=399373" width="1" height="1" border="0" /><br /> </strong></p>
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