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2024-03-29T01:50:56Z
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Fitness Behind Bars: Gangsters tell how they train their bodies and minds in prison
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/fitness-behind-bars-gangsters-tell-how-they-train-their-bodies-an
2021-05-19T17:30:00.000Z
2021-05-19T17:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/fitness-behind-bars-gangsters-tell-how-they-train-their-bodies-an" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237151455,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237151455?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>Doing time is no picnic. In prison you’re away from your loved ones, your home, and surrounded by stone-cold killers, gangsters, and crazies, who could shank you if they feel like it. How does one remain sane and healthy in such an environment? Gangsters Inc. sat down with two guys who tell us how to come out of prison fitter than ever.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cecchetelli" target="_blank">David “Chicky” Cecchetelli</a> is no stranger to doing time or hanging around with serious individuals. As an alleged associate in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-springfield-mafia-crew-of-western-massachusetts-a-family-busi" target="_blank">Springfield crew</a> of late <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family" target="_blank">Genovese crime family</a> capo <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bruno-hit-how-the-genovese" target="_blank">Adolfo Bruno</a>, he dealt with the pressures of working under the always watchful eye of law enforcement and the subsequent heat that came with it. He spent several stints in prison for bookmaking conspiracy. Rather than let it get him down, he made the best of it.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237151479,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237151479?profile=original" width="192" height="331" /></a>“People don’t realize that if you put your head on straight in there it is real easy,” Cecchetelli (right) tells us. “You do your time and don’t let the time do you.” While serving his time in Canaan penitentiary in the mid-2000s, he got straight into his routine. “I walked 6 miles every day in the morning and afternoon. I didn’t have new weights but I made do. I ate healthy. I ordered off the commissary, cause you’re not gonna eat and lose weight off of the food they give you. You do a routine and you’re not drinking, not smoking cigarettes, and then you can come out looking like a movie star.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/top-5-of-true-stand-up-wiseguys" target="_blank"><strong>Top 5 of True Stand Up Wiseguys</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Cecchetelli says he has always struggled with his weight. He goes up and down like a yoyo. “Back then I was huge when I went in. In less than a year I lost almost 200 pounds. I had a tan and looked like I had done a spa thing on the Bahamas.”</p>
<p>Former drug kingpin and writer/producer of hit Netflix documentary “WHITE BOY” <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ferranti" target="_blank">Seth Ferranti</a> can relate. “I would do cardio, pushups, pull ups, burpees, planks, and set ups every day for an hour or two,” he writes to Gangsters Inc. “Distance running and sprints and the exercise bike. Plus I played a lot of sports too. Soccer, basketball, football, volleyball, softball, I did it all.”</p>
<p>He had plenty of time to do it. While still in his teens, Ferranti (right) set up a drug ring that spanned five states, selling <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Marijuana" target="_blank">marijuana</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LSD" target="_blank">LSD</a> to college kids. He was caught by the DEA in 1993 when he was 22 years old. Authorities slapped the kingpin label on him and sentenced him to over 25 years in prison. He was released in 2015 after serving 21 years.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237151901,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237151901?profile=original" width="183" height="328" /></a>Serving the long stretch that Ferranti (right) served, he also watched his diet. “I used to get a guy from the kitchen to smuggle me vegetables like onions and green peppers. I paid the butcher in the kitchen to bring me raw meat which I would cook in the prison microwaves. I would usually mix this with some rice and then boom I had a nice and healthy home cooked meal. I ate a lot of tuna and oatmeal too plus peanut butter and protein bars were the staples of my diet. I combined this with a vigorous exercise routine.”</p>
<p>Despite his vigorous workout routine, Ferranti says there were other inmates whose workouts made his look tame. Ferranti: “They would lift weights all day - bench press, squats, deadlifts. I used to hit the weights when I was younger but as I did time and got older I moved away from weights and did mostly body weight exercises. Some guys did Tabata routines or CrossFit type of stuff. They were vicious with it. There would always be a crew of dudes that seemed to be out on the yard working out all day. And they were shredded up and cock diesel.”</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Working out with Mafia boss Vinny Basciano</strong></span></p>
<p>Cecchetelli knows the type, but was especially impressed by the mental toughness of some fellow inmates facing life in prison, or worse, like alleged <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Basciano" target="_blank">Vincent Basciano</a>, who was housed in the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan, New York. “It's a bad place,” Cecchetelli says of the MCC. “You’re in lock down all the time. It's a heavy hitter joint. I was there before I was transferred to Canaan penitentiary.”</p>
<p>He was only there for 2 months, but immediately hit it off with Basciano. “He took a liking to me for no other reason than I made him laugh,” Cecchetelli explains.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/a-personal-table-at-rao-s-bonanno-mobsters-chat-about-loot-from-l" target="_blank">A personal table at Rao’s</a>: Bonanno mobsters chat about loot from Lufthansa heist at famous East-Harlem restaurant</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>While they were housed together, Cecchtelli got an up-close look at Basciano’s discipline and focus. “I have never seen a guy do better time than Vinny Basciano. He would run up and down the stairs between the bottom and top tier and sweat would drip to the floor. It was a great workout and Vinny was religious in doing that every single day.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237152866,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237152866?profile=original" /></a>Basciano (right) had a strict routine that began with a shave and shower in the morning. At 8 o’ clock sharp, he would be in the prison library studying his books to fight his case. He would work on that all days until around 4 pm. Then he’d put on his sweatpants, shirt and sneakers and do his workout consisting of running the stairs and bodyweight exercises like burpees.</p>
<p>“I would watch him for a week and then he would bust my chops,” Cecchetelli says. “’Come on! Let's go! Join me!’ he would say, but I could never keep up with him. He would run up the stairs back and forth forever. But by doing the steps, walking the stairs with Vinny I was losing a lot of weight in those 2 months.”</p>
<p>What struck him most, was how relaxed Basciano looked. “He was always smiling, tan, like he was on vacation. I was in there for a lousy bookmaking case and he was in there facing the death penalty so that was a big difference. This guy is going in for the rest of his life and he’s laughing with me!”</p>
<p>Inside, all you have is a positive mindset to keep you going. And if you want to stay fit you have to think outside the box. Despite what you may have seen on television, prison is not outfitted like a gym. Inmates have to get creative.</p>
<p>Cecchetelli: “Guys would take a broom and unscrew the broom off the stick. Then they would take these big plastic milk cartons which would hold 4 gallons of milk and replace the milk with rocks or sand from the yard and put them on the stick so they had a barbel of dumbbell for weightlifting.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237153093,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237153093?profile=original" /></a><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Gang workouts</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237153486,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237153486?profile=original" /></a>Working out helps one to cope with the insanity that goes on in prison. It keeps the mind quiet and the body lean. In turn, this helps when things get dangerous, which, behind bars, can happen in the blink of an eye. If you are attacked, you need to be able to defend yourself. A strong body helps with that. No wonder then that members of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/street-gangs" target="_blank">prison gangs</a> have turned a simple workout into something else altogether.</p>
<p>Cecchetelli: “Everyone does these workouts, but these groups do it altogether and it sets them apart from the regular prisoners. You might have six Italian guys working out together, to keep each other company, but not in the numbers that these guys are doing it in. That's very noticeable when you are in a yard with these people.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>ALSO READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-guards-go-on-assaulting-inmates-without-consequences" target="_blank"><strong>How guards keep assaulting inmates without consequences</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>“The Surenos would be out en mass doing burpees on the yard,” Ferranti adds. “Their routine consisted of 113 Navy Seal style burpees (see video below by Moses Cuevas for an example). Then they would hit the track for a five mile run. These dudes didn’t fuck around. There would be 20-30 of them exercising together. Shirts tied around their heads, tattoos representing their hoods and gang affiliations. It was quite a sight. They were known as the most vicious dudes on the yard and their exercise routine confirmed. They didn’t fuck around in anything they did. They went hard as fuck.”</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ijm1mtRKv8I?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Back on the streets</strong></span></p>
<p>As inmates are finishing up their sentence, they should be looking like a million bucks of pure muscle, ready to impress the ladies. But back home, they are stripped of their strict regime and faced with lots of temptations.</p>
<p>“I got out and was buff and trained,” Cecchetelli tells us. “Got out and was in a parole house in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Boston" target="_blank">Boston</a>. Still kept good. I was enjoying the food again, but I watched what I ate and ate healthy. Then as time goes on, on a date or with the fellas, I would have a glass of swine. In the life, no matter where you go, there is food. No matter where you went there was food. Go to their houses: food. Go to dinner: food. Food is everything! When people die, there is food. When people celebrate, there is food. When people are sad, they have food. Whether people are happy or sad, they have food. Now, anything, whether it's gambling, sex or food, anything in abundance is no good No matter what it is.”</p>
<p>With age comes wisdom. After getting to know his pitfalls, Cecchetelli has adapted. He goes for walks and loves to swim. He has his cheat meals on a specific day and tries to eat healthy the rest of the week. “Everyone needs that break. You gotta pick and choose your battles. In prison you can be a lot more structured. You don't have to worry about the outside world as long as your kids are healthy, your wife is happy, and you got money coming in. The only worries you have are about working out, getting through your time and finishing your sentence. That's it so when you're in there it's a lot easier losing weight. A lot easier than when you’re on the street.” </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">Organized crime in the United States section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
</ul>
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<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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Kansas City Mafia boss Nick Civella and betting on the Super Bowl
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/kansas-city-mafia-boss-nick-civella-and-betting-on-the-super-bowl
2019-11-24T07:32:21.000Z
2019-11-24T07:32:21.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/kansas-city-mafia-boss-nick-civella-and-betting-on-the-super-bowl" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237133257,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237133257?profile=original" /></a>By Gary Jenkins for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> via <a href="https://ganglandwire.com" target="_blank">Gangland Wire</a></p>
<p>In the 1969-1970 season of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=NFL" target="_blank">NFL</a>, the Kansas City Chiefs were headed to the Super Bowl against the favored Minnesota Vikings. Nationally, the Vikings were getting all the action to win with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Bookmaking" target="_blank">bookmakers</a> around the nation.</p>
<p>Locally, in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Kansas" target="_blank">Kansas</a>, the money was going down on the Chiefs. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Civella" target="_blank">Mafia boss Nick Civella</a> called the tapped North View Social Club’s phone. This was the mob clubhouse known as “The Trap.” The main bookies, Dude Fontanello and Frank Tousa were worried about the “Book” being out of whack.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: “His demeanor was very vulgar, coarse and he used many profanities” -</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/his-demeanor-was-very-vulgar-coarse-and-he-used-many-profanities" target="_blank"><strong>The Kansas City Mob and the skimming of Las Vegas casinos</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>Dude noticed too much local money going down on the Chiefs. They needed to “lay off” the Chief’s action to another city. At another city like <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Chicago" target="_blank">Chicago</a> or Minneapolis where there would be more money down on the Vikings.</p>
<p>You see, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mob</a> does not gamble with the “<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-mafia-speak" target="_blank">Book</a>.” They equalize the number of bets on each team in any given contest. The losers pay the losing bet and a 10% “<a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-s-mafia-speak" target="_blank">Vig</a>” to the bookie. The winner gets his win while the Mob keeps the “Vig.” Vig is short for vigorsh.</p>
<p>What happened next? <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> wiretaps, arrests, and a murdered snitch.</p>
<p><strong>Watch and listen in the video below:</strong></p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/c0fL7y5BBow?wmode=opaque" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">Organized Crime in North America 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>
Cocaine and Gelato: Profile of Bonanno Mafia family mobster Salvatore Russo
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/cocaine-and-gelato-profile-of-bonanno-mafia-family-mobster-salvat
2019-09-19T08:30:00.000Z
2019-09-19T08:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cocaine-and-gelato-profile-of-bonanno-mafia-family-mobster-salvat" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237131655,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237131655?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> associate Salvatore Russo is considered trustworthy by his peers in the organization. He went on to prove himself after being caught up in a wide-ranging law enforcement operation aimed at <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> groups in New York and Canada.</p>
<p>Born in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Sicily" target="_blank">Sicily</a>, Russo became a naturalized United States citizen. Instead of making a life for himself as a legitimate businessman and contribute to society, he decided to hook up with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">New York’s Bonanno family</a>. He is close to Bonanno capo <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Zummo" target="_blank">Damiano Zummo</a>, who introduces Russo as his cousin.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Selling coke from a Manhattan ice cream parlor</strong></span></p>
<p>He made one such introduction during a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> deal. Zummo wanted to emphasize that Russo had his full backing, before putting him in charge of future <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug sales</a>. “I'll just bring the kid Sal, that's it,” Zummo said during a recorded conversation. “He's the one that brings it.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ:</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/how-the-sicilian-mafia-flooded" target="_blank"><strong>How the Sicilian Mafia flooded the US with heroin</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>And bring it, they did. The two mobsters planned to sell over five kilograms of cocaine between July and October 2017. Their distribution center was a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Manhattan" target="_blank">Manhattan</a> store that sold gelato, Italian-style ice cream. On September 14, 2017, one kilo of cocaine was sold there for nearly $40,000.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Bust</strong></span></p>
<p>Unbeknownst to Russo and Zummo, the feds were listening and watching after having placed a confidential informant in their midst. On November 9, 2017, members and associates of the Bonanno and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> crime families were arrested by <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> agents. Across the border in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Canada" target="_blank">Canada</a>, officers made arrests in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ontario" target="_blank">Ontario</a>, where mobsters of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Todaro" target="_blank">Todaro family</a> in Hamilton were charged with large-scale drug trafficking.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">Operation OTremens</a>: How Mafia families in New York and Canada continue cooperating in global drug trade</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Guilty</strong></span></p>
<p>Russo was charged with the coke deal in the ice cream store. He pleaded guilty to the crime on September 5, 2019. The 46-year-old Sicilian-American Mafioso agreed to serve the mandatory minimum sentence of five years and faces a fine of up to $5 million.</p>
<p>He is currently out on $500,000 bail as he awaits his sentencing, which, as of this writing, has not been scheduled yet.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family">Bonanno 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>
</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
New York Mafia associate Paul Ragusa sentenced to 6 years in prison on gun charges
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/new-york-mafia-associate-paul-ragusa-sentenced-to-6-years-in-pris
2019-07-11T08:00:00.000Z
2019-07-11T08:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-york-mafia-associate-paul-ragusa-sentenced-to-6-years-in-pris" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237124687,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237124687?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Alleged New York Mafia associate Paul Ragusa was sentenced to 6 years in prison on Tuesday for possessing nine firearms, including three automatic assault rifles and a silencer. 48-year-old Ragusa was busted in Operation OTremens, a joint investigation which unearthed a partnership between Mafia families in New York City and Hamilton, Canada.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">Operation OTremens</a> lasted more than two years and targeted a mob crew in Hamilton, Ontario, which was especially active in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug trafficking</a>, dealing in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Fentanyl" target="_blank">fentanyl</a>, carfentanil, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Heroin" target="_blank">heroin</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Meth" target="_blank">methamphetamine</a>, MDMA, MDA, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LSD" target="_blank">LSD</a>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: Profile of</strong> <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-mafia-defines-who-he-is-profile-of-toronto-ndrangheta-boss-gi" target="_blank"><strong>Toronto ‘Ndrangheta boss Giuseppe “Pino” Ursino</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>The crew was led by brothers Domenico Paolo Violi and Giuseppe Violi, grandsons of the late Giacomo Luppino, who was known to be a founding member of the crimine, a governing body for members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ndrangheta" target="_blank">’Ndrangheta</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>FBI joins the party</strong></span></p>
<p>At the same time as authorities in Canada began <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">their investigation</a> into Mafia activities, the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> in New York conducted a parallel, but separate investigation into members of the city’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> crime families. Chief among them Damiano Zummo, an acting captain in the Bonanno family, and Paul Semplice, a member of the Gambino family. Paul Ragusa also popped up on the radar as a man working for both the Bonanno and the Gambino crime families.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">Operation OTremens</a>: How Mafia families in New York and Canada continue cooperating in global drug trade</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The two investigations were linked when one of the defendants sponsored a man secretly working confidential informant to become a full-fledged member of the Bonanno crime family and as part of the investigation, law enforcement secretly video- and audio-recorded the induction ceremony, which occurred in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Canada" target="_blank">Canada</a>.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Stick an ice pick through his head</strong></span></p>
<p>Surrounded by snitches it is impossible to get away with anything without law enforcement knowing about it. So authorities not only knew about Ragusa’s meetings with a cooperating witness between July and October of 2017, but were listening in as well.</p>
<p>During one such conversation, Ragusa agreed to commit a murder-for-hire, stating that he did not need a gun, because he would stick an “ice pick” through the victim’s head. On October 25, 2017, the witness asked Ragusa if he knew anyone who could transport firearms. Ragusa responded, “Yeah, me! I’ll do it!” </p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>$2,000 for a job well done</strong></span></p>
<p>When the eager Ragusa showed up for the job on November 2, 2017, he was met by an undercover FBI agent who drove him to a warehouse in Nassau County, where Ragusa packed nine firearms, including two AK-47 assault rifles and one M16 rifle, into a large bag. Ragusa and the agent drove to a parking lot in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Queens" target="_blank">Queens</a>, where Ragusa loaded the firearms into a waiting undercover <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> vehicle.</p>
<p>For his hard work Ragusa was paid $2,000 in cash. Unbeknownst to him, the firearms were the property of the FBI and had been rendered inoperable.</p>
<p>Faced with overwhelming evidence, Ragusa pleaded guilty to the firearms charge in October 2018, and will have plenty of time to reevaluate his career decisions.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino 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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</ul>
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Mafioso gets over 10 years in prison for cocaine & fentanyl trafficking
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/mafioso-gets-over-10-years-in-prison-for-cocaine-fentanyl-traffic
2018-03-17T01:30:00.000Z
2018-03-17T01:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/mafioso-gets-over-10-years-in-prison-for-cocaine-fentanyl-traffic" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237100658,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237100658?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>Mobster Massimigliano Carfagna was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison on Thursday. He had pleaded guilty to trafficking in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> and the opioid drug <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Fentanyl" target="_blank">fentanyl</a>, a gun charge and a drug importation conspiracy charge, newspaper <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/03/15/burlington-man-sentenced-in-drug-trafficking-case.html" target="_blank">The Star reports</a>.</p>
<p>He was arrested as a result of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">Operation OTremens</a>, an international law enforcement investigation targeting the Todaro crime family based in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Hamilton" target="_blank">Hamilton</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ontario" target="_blank">Ontario</a>, and New York’s Bonanno and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> crime families. Authorities were able to crack the mob crews thanks to one of their own, a made member of the New York <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a>, becoming an informant.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank">How Mafia families in NY and Canada</a> continue cooperting in global drug trade</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Carfagna was part of the Hamilton group which was led by 51-year-old Domenico Paolo Violi and his brother Giuseppe Violi. Both men are considered <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> royalty with both their father and grandfather having been leading mob figures. They are scheduled to take their case to trial.</p>
<p>With his guilty plea, Carfagna just made proving their innocence that bit more difficult. As part of his plea deal, Carfagna stated that “between March 1 and October 28, 2016, he and Giuseppe “Joey” Violi of Hamilton agreed to import 200 to 300 kilograms of cocaine into Canada,” <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/03/15/burlington-man-sentenced-in-drug-trafficking-case.html" target="_blank">The Star reports</a>.</p>
<p>“As part of their plan to organize the cocaine shipment, Carfagna and Violi advised the agent that they had sent […] a male associate of Carfagna’s [...] identified as ‘Porkchop,’ to make arrangements to get the cocaine on consignment in Colombia,” the statement reads. </p>
<p><em><strong>For the entire story check out <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/03/15/burlington-man-sentenced-in-drug-trafficking-case.html" target="_blank">Peter Edwards' article in The Star newspaper</a>.</strong></em></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in-canada-from-the-mafia-to-outlaw-bikers-and-dru">Organized Crime in Canada 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> </p></div>
Operation OTremens: How Mafia families in New York and Canada continue cooperating in global drug trade
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont
2017-11-10T11:37:40.000Z
2017-11-10T11:37:40.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/operation-otremens-how-mafia-families-in-new-york-and-canada-cont" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237102100,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237102100?profile=original" width="650" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p><em>“Always the dollars. Always the fuckin' dollars.” – Nicky Santoro, movie Casino</em></p>
<p>Authorities in the United States and Canada arrested a total of thirteen alleged members of the Mafia yesterday for their involvement in a largescale drug trafficking pipeline spanning both countries. Among those arrested are mobsters of New York’s Bonanno and Gambino crime families and the Todaro crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario.</p>
<p>“[This investigation] unearthed and dug up the roots of a partnership extending from New York City to Buffalo and Toronto to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Montreal" target="_blank">Montreal</a>, proving once again that Italian organized crime groups have evolved far beyond the neighborhood cliques of days gone by,” Michael McGarrity of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FBI" target="_blank">FBI</a> told the media.</p>
<p>The takedown is the latest example of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia" target="_blank">Mafia</a> groups in the United States and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Canada" target="_blank">Canada</a> working together in the lucrative narcotics trade. When dealing with huge sums of cash and tons of drugs it helps to be part of <em>our thing</em>, mobsters can trust one another – or at least, trust that since they are part of the same type of organization that everyone is playing by the same rulebook.</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>THE ‘NDRANGHETA IN HAMILTON</strong></span></p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237101896,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237101896?profile=original" width="600" /></a></strong></span>The coordinated investigation called Operation OTremens lasted more than two years and revealed criminal activity spanning the United States and Canada. The mob crew in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Hamilton" target="_blank">Hamilton</a>, Ontario, was especially active in drug trafficking. Nine indivuduals are charged with 75 offences including trafficking in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Fentanyl" target="_blank">fentanyl</a>, carfentanil, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Heroin" target="_blank">heroin</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Meth" target="_blank">methamphetamine</a>, MDMA, MDA, and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LSD" target="_blank">LSD</a>.</p>
<p>Undercover operations during this project saw police purchase 6 kilograms of fentanyl and carfentanil over six transactions. These drugs could have been diluted several times, meaning three times the seized drug volume would have been distributed to the streets of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ontario" target="_blank">Ontario</a> today, authorities said.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-canadian-connection-flooding-the-u-s-with-dope" target="_blank">The Canadian Connection: Flooding the U.S. with dope</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>If the dope wasn’t enough, they were also involved in bookmaking and the trafficking of weapons and contraband tobacco. The Contraband Tobacco Enforcement Team in Ontario seized over 3,000,000 cigarettes, which represents a loss tax revenue in excess of $550,000.</p>
<p>Two integral members of the Hamilton group are 51-year-old Domenico Paolo Violi (above, left) and his brother Giuseppe Violi (above, right). They are grandsons of the late Giacomo Luppino, who was known to be a founding member of the <em>crimine</em>, a governing body for members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ndrangheta" target="_blank">’Ndrangheta</a> and a longstanding associate of the Buffalo crime family. According to Canadian police the Violis have “an international reach.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>A SNITCH IN THEIR MIDST</strong></span></p>
<p>The takedown was set off when one mobster flipped and began working with the cops. “We had an opportunity to infiltrate some higher level traditional organized crime members,” RCMP Supt. Chris Leather told the media, adding that they had a source “who was respected by traditional organized crime in both Canada and the United States.”</p>
<p>At the same time as authorities in Canada began their investigation into mob activities, the FBI in New York conducted a parallel, but separate investigation into members of the city’s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno</a> and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino</a> crime families.</p>
<p>The two were linked when, in 2015, one of the defendants sponsored a confidential informant to become a full-fledged member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno crime family</a> and as part of the investigation, law enforcement secretly video- and audio-recorded the induction ceremony, which occurred in Canada.</p>
<p>With such an insider, authorities had unprecedented access to ongoing criminal activities. Or, as stated by Acting United States Attorney Rohde: “The recording of a secret induction ceremony is an extraordinary achievement for law enforcement and deals a significant blow to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN" target="_blank">La Cosa Nostra</a>.”</p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>BUSTING THE NEW YORK BONANNOS & GAMBINOS</strong></span></p>
<p>The results of that blow came yesterday, when 44-year-old Damiano Zummo, an acting captain in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family" target="_blank">Bonanno family</a>; 45-year-old Salvatore Russo, an associate of the Bonanno family; 54-year-old Paul Semplice, a member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview" target="_blank">Gambino family</a>; and 46-year-old Paul Ragusa, an associate of the Bonanno and Gambino families were arrested and charged with cocaine trafficking, loansharking, extortion, and money laundering.</p>
<p>According to the indictment and other court filings, Zummo was involved in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy with Bonanno associate Salvatore Russo and others introduced by the confidential informant. In one deal, on September 14, 2017, Zummo and Russo sold over a kilogram of cocaine inside a <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Manhattan" target="_blank">Manhattan</a> gelato store.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-map-shows-mob-social-clubs-in-new-york" target="_blank">Map shows Mafia social clubs in New York City</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Zummo is also charged with laundering over $250,000 in cash by providing business checks issued to a fictitious consulting company that purported to bill the company for consulting services. The Bonanno capo took a fee of approximately 10 percent for each money laundering transaction.</p>
<p>Gambino soldier Semplice is charged with conducting a loansharking scheme in which he and others extended extortionate loans with interest rates of up to 54% per year. The alleged scheme generated thousands of dollars per week for Semplice and his associates. </p>
<p>Paul Ragusa is charged with being a felon in possession of nine firearms, including three automatic assault rifles and one silencer. He allegedly transported the firearms in exchange for $2,000 in cash.</p>
<p>If convicted, Zummo and Russo each face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment; Semplice faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment on each of three loansharking charges; and Ragusa faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act. </p>
<p><span class="font-size-4"><strong>“A GIANT STEP”</strong></span></p>
<p>“Criminal enterprises, both national and international, contribute to the breakdown of a lawful society,” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney. “And yet, the allure of this gangland culture is often embraced and glamorized in movies and on television, where the threats posed to our economic and national security are seldom displayed. Dismantling and disrupting major international and national organized criminal enterprises is a longstanding area of FBI expertise, which is significantly enhanced through collaboration with our law enforcement partners and our Canadian partners. While we have more work to do, this operation is a giant step in the right direction.”</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/ndrangheta-and-gambino-crime-family-in-global-drug-bust" target="_blank">'Ndrangheta and New York Gambino family in global drug bust</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>“Those who traffic in illicit drugs and participate in other organized crime activities destroy lives and impact the safety and security of our communities, and we will continue to work to eradicate those dangers.” said Michael LeSage, Criminal Operations Officer for the “O” Division RCMP. “Project OTremens demonstrates how the combined efforts and cooperation of law enforcement agencies and other government departments, here and internationally, can work effectively to combat organized crime.”</p>
<ul>
<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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</ul>
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<p> </p></div>
Profile: Genovese family underboss Venero Mangano
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-genovese-family-underboss-venero-mangano
2017-08-19T10:23:00.000Z
2017-08-19T10:23:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-genovese-family-underboss-venero-mangano" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237091892,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237091892?profile=original" width="600" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Genovese crime family underboss Venero Mangano had a long and distinguished career. Two careers, actually. And in both he proved he had a sharp mind and balls of steel. He also showed one could live a long life and die of old age where most of his comrades died violently by bombs and bullets.</p>
<p>Born on September 7, 1921, Mangano was nicknamed “Benny Eggs” because of his mother’s egg store. Growing up in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village in New York City, Mangano became a true neighborhood guy, knowing all the old-timers, beat cops, players, hustlers, and crazies.</p>
<p>And all the mobsters too.</p>
<p>But before he could devote his life to crime and omerta, he found another calling: Killing Nazis. When the German forces of Adolf Hitler threatened the United States after already tearing through Europe and the Middle East in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=War">Second World War</a>, Mangano stepped up as so many young Americans did during those years.</p>
<p>He enlisted, became a tail gunner and flew 33 missions, including two bombing runs on D-Day. His heroic actions earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross and an air medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters and three Battle Stars.</p>
<p>Young Benny Eggs came home a bona fide war hero. The neighborhood was proud of their boy and the local mob was paying attention to this cool-headed fella with a killer instinct.</p>
<p>He became a member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese crime family</a>. One of New York’s five families of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=LCN">La Cosa Nostra</a>, <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">The American Mafia</a>. It was one of the most powerful crime organizations in the United States with a firm grip on unions and lucrative rackets in the city and beyond.</p>
<p>Mangano was close to future <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-boss-vincent-chin">Genovese boss Vincent “Chin” Gigante</a>, another neighborhood native, who was known for his crazy behavior. He walked around in his pajamas and mumbled to himself or imaginary people and things. It was all a ruse to outsmart the FBI and authorities. Better yet, it worked!</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: "This is for you, Frank!" - <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/this-is-for-you-frank-profile-of-mafia-boss-frank-costello">The story of mob boss Frank Costello</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Still, Gigante needed a lot of help from his disciplined crew. If any other mobsters discussed Gigante or his activities and mentioned him by name, his whole act would quickly be debunked. That is why he ordered his underlings and colleagues never to mention his name, but stroke their chins with their thumb, forefinger and middle finger when referring to him. When doing so they could say “this guy” or “my aunt.”</p>
<p>His good friend Mangano was eager to oblige to protect his lifelong friend. A Genovese family associate who was unfamiliar with protocol was told by him: “Don't mention that guy.” He also told the uninformed gangster that if anyone asked about Gigante, he should answer: “Vincent’s crazy.”</p>
<p>Mangano’s protective and caring streak extended beyond his friend and boss. He ran a social club on Thompson Street where he permitted old-timers, most of them not affiliated with organized crime, to play cards and socialize. “The place was bedecked with American flags and photos of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and other Italian-American entertainers and celebrities,” Selwyn Raab writes in his book <em>Five Families</em>.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-map-shows-mob-social-clubs-in-new-york">Map shows mob social clubs in New York City</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>Though he was a war hero who looked out for his neighborhood friends, Mangano was also a hardcore gangster. He was involved in various illegal schemes like extortion and gambling. As a front, he also owned M&J Enterprises, a legitimate business that purchased leftover designer clothing and resold it to other businesses in the United States and overseas. Mangano also had a piece of the carnival amusement games at the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-mobsters-extorting-feast-of-san-gennaro">annual Feast of San Gennaro</a> in the Little Italy section of Manhattan.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-humble-origins-of-joe-masseria-and-lucky-luciano">The humble origins of mob bosses Joe Masseria and Lucky Luciano</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p>His crimes caught up with him in 1991, when he was found guilty of racketeering in the “Windows Case.” This racket revolved around the installment of new windows in city housing projects and made the participants tens of millions of dollars.</p>
<p>The money was so good, that it made those involved greedy and hungry for more. During a sit-down at Ruggiero’s Restaurant on June 5, 1989, Mangano discussed the scheme with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese family</a> leader Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino family</a> leader Peter Gotti. Both families wanted a bigger piece of the pie, but Mangano was having none of it. “It’s all ours,” he told them. “Nobody’s supposed to touch it.”</p>
<p>While behind bars serving his sentence, in 1997 prosecutors called Mangano as a witness to answer questions about his boss Vincent Gigante. An agitated Mangano was defiant on the stand and refused to answer any questions.</p>
<p>“What do you want to do? Shoot me? Shoot me, but I'm not going to answer any questions,” he told the court. “I'm tired of these charades.” While on the stand, he even refused to admit how he got his nickname. The aging wiseguy went back to prison and was released on November 2, 2006.</p>
<p>Back on the streets, Mangano allegedly served on a rotating panel of mob veterans in charge of the Genovese crime family. On August 18, 2017, he passed away of natural causes at his home in Greenwich Village, the neighborhood he grew up in and where he had lived all his life. He was 95 years old.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese 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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</ul>
<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p>
<p> </p></div>
Genovese family mobsters charged with running off-shore gambling operation, loansharking, and cigarette smuggling
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/genovese-family-mobsters-charged-with-running-off-shore-gambling
2016-12-16T10:00:00.000Z
2016-12-16T10:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/genovese-family-mobsters-charged-with-running-off-shore-gambling"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237084458,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237084458?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Thirteen mobsters part of New York’s Genovese crime family were arrested yesterday and charged with running an illegal off-shore gambling operation, loansharking, tax evasion, and selling untaxed cigarettes.</p>
<p>The highest ranking wiseguy in this typical mob bust is Salvatore “Sallie” DeMeo. At age 76, DeMeo has seen it all and is alleged to be an official “made” member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese family</a>. His criminal pedigree is well-documented and includes arrests for armed robbery in the 1990s.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237084864,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237084864?profile=original" width="300" /></a>After going on the lam and featuring on America’s Most Wanted, DeMeo (right) turned himself in and did his time. He was released in November of 2006 and went back to work for his superiors in the New York Mafia.</p>
<p>He has now been caught up in what authorities have named “Operation Shark Bait,” a long-term investigation into the Genovese mob crew led by DeMeo that ran lucrative illegal gambling and loansharking operations throughout <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=NY">New York</a>.</p>
<p>According to the indictment, the illegal off-shore gambling operation was based in Costa Rica and was available online via <a href="http://www.4Spades.org">www.4Spades.org</a>. The website delivered the mob crew millions of dollars’ worth of wagers.</p>
<p>Where people gamble, people tend to both win and lose money. Those who win tend to bet until they lose. When the inevitable loss occurs, these gamblers need money to win. The <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Mafia">Mafia</a> is always willing to lend these customers a helping hand by loaning them a nice sum. However, the sum comes at an ever-increasing price.</p>
<p>As Attorney General Eric Schneiderman told the press, “Loan sharks shamelessly saddle their victims with outrageous loan rates that are impossible to repay. These defendants allegedly went to great lengths to trap their victims with exorbitant rates, all while evading our <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling">gambling</a> laws and taking off-shore bets.”</p>
<p>Two members of the crew, 62-year-old Gennaro Geritano and 76-year-old Mario Leonardi, both associates of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-genovese-crime-family">Genovese family</a>, were also charged with selling over 30,000 untaxed <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cigarettes">cigarettes</a> in New York.</p>
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Profile: Patriarca crime family capo Anthony St. Laurent Sr. - Died two weeks after release from prison
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-patriarca-crime-family-capo-anthony-st-laurent-sr
2016-11-07T18:48:40.000Z
2016-11-07T18:48:40.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-patriarca-crime-family-capo-anthony-st-laurent-sr"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237075453,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237075453?profile=original" width="466" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Longtime New England mobster Anthony “The Saint” St. Laurent Sr. made quite the reputation for himself. Known for violence, a listing in Las Vegas' infamous Black Book, you could say he'd done well. On October 26, 2016, he was released from federal prison after serving seven years on a murder-for-hire beef. The 75-year-old mob capo died two weeks later.</p>
<p>“The Saint” has been a prominent player in the Rhode Island and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Boston">Boston</a> underworld for several decades. His arrest record goes back to 1959 and includes a staple of typical mob crimes related to illegal <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gambling">gambling</a> and bookmaking.</p>
<p>St. Laurent’s criminal record combined with his reputation as a made member of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-new-england-crime-family">Patriarca crime family</a> and an indictment charging him with illegal bookmaking in the summer of 1993 resulted in the Nevada Gaming Control Board placing him on its <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Casino">casino</a> exclusion list – also known as the Las Vegas <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/high-profile-philadelphia-mafia-boss-joseph-merlino-latest-gangst">Black Book</a> - in September of 1993.</p>
<p>He proved the Board correct in its judgement, when, in 1999, he was convicted in Rhode Island of extortion, loansharking, and operating an illegal sports book.</p>
<p>When it came to the Mafia and its criminal business, St. Laurent was tenacious and in for life. He even continued running his gambling operation from behind bars.</p>
<p>As he grew older, times changed. Gone were the days of “running the streets” and living above the law. The mob’s power had dwindled and the times of bold, brazen shakedowns were a thing of the past. Something “The Saint” was confronted with in 2006, when he pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort $100,000 each from two Massachusetts men.</p>
<p><strong>Read: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/boston-mafia-bosses-hit-the-streets-war-looming">Boston Mafia bosses hit the streets - War looming?</a></strong></p>
<p>This wasn’t the way things used to go down for an old-school gangster like St. Laurent. And make no doubt about it, Anthony “The Saint” is definitely part of the old school.</p>
<p>Case in point: When his former associate and fellow mobster <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/patriarca-mob-family-capo-turned-snitch-charged-with-lying-about">Robert “Bobby” DeLuca</a> was talking behind his back and called him a rat, St. Laurent immediately sprang into action and began plotting to have DeLuca killed.</p>
<p>In April 2006, St. Laurent met a would-be hitman in a Johnston parking lot and drove into downtown <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Providence">Providence</a> to the Sidebar restaurant on Dorrance Street where DeLuca was working as a kitchen helper as part of his probation. He pointed out the restaurant to the man and offered cash if all went according to plan.</p>
<p>It didn’t, however, as St. Laurent was busted on extortion charges shortly thereafter. Still, bars could not hold back “The Saint” and he began recruiting a hitman from inside prison walls with the help of a fellow inmate.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237075495,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237075495?profile=original" width="300" /></a>This second plot fell through as well when authorities got in on the action and taped conversations between the elderly mob capo and the inmate. Prosecutors were able to charge St. Laurent with the murder-for-hire plot in 2011, while his intended target, DeLuca, became exactly that what he had publicly accused his former partner of: A government informant – better known in “the life” as a rat.</p>
<p>Seated in a wheelchair and using oxygen, a frail looking St. Laurent (right) admitted to the murder plot, but told the judge his “intention was just to scare Mr. DeLuca.” He conceded that he “made a grave mistake.”</p>
<p>After his release from prison, St. Laurent disappeared from view. He was welcomed home by his wife Dorothy and their son Anthony M. St. Laurent Junior, who both pleaded guilty in 2010 to shaking down several bookmakers in the Taunton, Massachusetts area for more than twenty years on behalf of “The Saint.”</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Update:</strong></span></p>
<p>Well, it wasn’t the Sicilian flu. When Boston mobster Anthony “The Saint” St. Laurent was wheeled into court in a wheelchair with oxygen tanks by his side, it was a necessity. Without them he’d die.</p>
<p>We know this, because two weeks after his release from prison, the notorious Mafia captain died of natural causes. Breathing his last breath of fresh air in freedom. When it comes to the mob, that’s a pretty good way to go.</p>
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Arsonists set Montreal ablaze as deadly Mafia war continues
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/arsonists-set-montreal-ablaze-as-deadly-mafia-war-continues
2016-09-19T11:30:00.000Z
2016-09-19T11:30:00.000Z
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/arsonists-set-montreal-ablaze-as-deadly-mafia-war-continues"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237072889,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237072889?profile=original" width="520" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>The Montréal underworld continues its restless days and nights in the absence of deceased “boss of bosses” Vito Rizzuto. Without a strong man controlling all the various Mafia crews and gangs the city has erupted in anarchy with each group vying for control. This week, several mobbed up businesses were set ablaze by arsonists. The fires send a simple message: “Give up. Surrender.”</p>
<p>It’s been a hot week in the city of - and area surrounding - Montréal. In the past seven days, four businesses were destroyed by arson attacks. The latest blaze occurred on Thursday night when arsonists set fire to John & Dino, a food-distribution company with ties to the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Rizzuto">Rizzuto crime family</a>. It was once owned by high-ranking mobster Agostino Cuntrera until he was shot down here, in front of his own company in 2010.</p>
<p>Cuntrera’s murder was part of a rebellion against the regime of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/montreal-mafia-boss-vito-rizzuto-1946-2013">Montréal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto</a>, who was then serving a prison sentence in the United States for the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/aftermath-of-a-hit-the-murder">infamous murder</a> of three <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-bonanno-crime-family">Bonanno crime family</a> captains in New York. Upon his return from the United States, Rizzuto smashed the rebels within his group and reestablished himself as supreme leader. His death of natural causes in 2013 meant unrest and chaos were around the corner yet again as his enemies preyed on his criminal legacy.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-affaires-criminelles/affaires-criminelles/201609/16/01-5021109-lentreprise-du-seigneur-de-leonard-ciblee-par-un-cocktail-molotov.php" target="_blank">reporter Daniel Renaud</a> of La Presse newspaper, an individual or individuals arrived at John & Dino shortly before midnight and smashed the windows. They then threw an incendiary device inside and fled the scene. Due to the excessive smoke, the business’ sprinkler system was activated and extinguished the fire before it could cause any serious damage.</p>
<p><strong>Read <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-canadian-connection-flooding-the-u-s-with-dope">The Canadian Connection: Flooding the U.S. with dope</a></strong></p>
<p>The other businesses that were hit this past week also had close ties to or were owned by members of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Rizzuto">Rizzuto family</a>. Therefore, it seems that the Rizzuto family’s dominance over the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Montreal">Montreal underworld</a> is being challenged yet again, as happened six years ago when multiple Rizzuto businesses were firebombed.</p>
<p>In an interview with <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/map-arsonists-strike-montreal-1.875981" target="_blank">CBC</a> in 2010, arson squad Commander Mario Lamothe said the frequency of the arsons suggested that organized criminals were trying to muscle in on new territory. “Yes, it's somebody who is asking low-level criminals to set fires, to send a message,” he told CBC. “But which message and why? That's where we're having problems.”</p>
<p>For <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-contributor-pierre-de-champlain">Pierre de Champlain</a>, a former RCMP intelligence analyst and author of several books about the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-mafia-of-montreal-a-short">Montréal Mafia</a>, the message was clear then and is clear now. “It wasn’t meant to hurt or hinder their business,” he tells Gangsters Inc. “It is simply a message to the Sicilian faction, which could read like this: ‘Give up. Surrender’,” he says.</p>
<p><strong>Read <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/new-book-covers-history-of-organized-crime-in-montreal">A History of Organized Crime in Montreal From 1900 to 1980</a> by Pierre de Champlain</strong></p>
<p>“There are very interesting things going on in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Montreal">Montréal</a>,” he continues. “The world of the Mafia is full of secrecies, codes, coded messages, like the one that was found this week in Montreal. It is not, in my opinion, unusual to leave a message like at the door step of business or resto-bar. It has surely been done elsewhere in New York, Palermo, etc. Montréal is not an exception at all.”</p>
<p>As to who, exactly, is behind these attacks remains unknown, but De Champlain thinks it’s the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Ndrangheta">Calabrian ‘Ndrangheta</a>. “I am in the opinion that these arsonists are acting on orders of the Calabrian consortia,” he says. “These arsonists are henchmen, willing to do anything to please the Mafia and maybe, in the hope to be recognized for their value.”</p>
<p>The stakes are high, according to a recent story by <a href="http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-affaires-criminelles/affaires-criminelles/201609/14/01-5020681-mafia-montrealaise-bras-de-fer-pour-le-livre-des-paris-sportifs.php" target="_blank">Daniel Renaud</a>. Up for grabs is the Montreal Mafia’s multi-million dollar <em>paris sports</em> bookmaking operation, which is estimated to generate up to 26,8 million a year. The book is currently run by boss Stefano Sollecito, whose <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/montreal-mafia-war-claims-life-of-yet-another-mob-boss">mob father Rocco was murdered</a> in May by unknown hitmen. Sollecito was arrested in late 2015 together with Leonardo Rizzuto, the son of Vito, and charged with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/leaders-of-montreal-mafia-and-hells-angels-busted-in-raids">running a massive cocaine conspiracy</a> involving the Mafia, Hells Angels, and street gangs.</p>
<p>Sollecito inherited the sports book from his predecessor <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/another-mob-boss-whacked-in-montreal-mafia-gangland-hit">Lorenzo Giordano</a>, who was killed in March, his predecessor, Giuseppe Renda, was murdered as well, in 2012. That makes the sports book not just extremely lucrative, but also very hazardous to your health.</p>
<p>But this isn’t just about a lucrative sports book, it’s about more than that. This is about power and control. It’s about answering the question who will become the new leader of the Montreal underworld. De Champlain: “It seems that the Sicilian faction led by Sollecito and Leonardo Rizzuto is coming to an end.”</p>
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