Anthony Staino Jr was recently released from a halfway house after completing his full sentence on federal charges according to mob expert Dave Schratwieser.
Anthony Staino Jr.
He is back on the streets free and clear but is he still part of the Philadelphia Mafia family? Staino and several other Philly Mafia leaders including then-boss Joseph Ligambi, underboss Joseph Massimino, and capos Joseph Licata and George Borgesi were hit with racketeering conspiracy charges back in 2011. The case was built around an illegal gambling operation that controlled a network of poker machines throughout Philadelphia. Anthony was also caught trying to extort money from an undercover FBI agent posing as a corrupt businessman. In 2013 a jury was deadlocked on various charges but Staino decided against taking the risks of a retrial. He was found guilty of extortion and agreed to also plead guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge and two gambling charges. He was sentenced to 8 years behind bars for racketeering and extortion.
“Anthony Staino Jr”
When Anthony Staino Jr went away he was a powerful South Philadelphia capo that had once served as underboss under his close friend and confidant Joe Ligambi. But a lot has changed on the streets of Philly while he was away. Ligambi is now at least semi-retired and Joey Merlino is back on the streets and believed to be in full control. The Cosa Nostra families day to day operations are being handled by either Michael Lancelotti or Borgesi in a street boss capacity.
Philadelphia Mafia
The current mafia in Philadelphia also seems to be a very top-heavy organization that seemingly left Staino in an odd man out kind of situation. There would seem to be no room for him to step back into things as a captain and without Ligambi out of the top spot he no longer has any real leverage. Those currently in charge don’t exactly hold Staino in as high a regard as the Ligambi faction once did. There were rumors that he may have been put on the shelf by Merlino upon his return but according to Schratwieser, that isn’t the case.
Instead, those close to Staino are saying that he simply wants to move on with his life according to Dave. So it seems that Staino’s career in the mafia has come to an end at least as far as we know. He once bragged about being or organized crime families “CFO” and part of its “board of directors” but when it comes to the modern-day mob things change rather quickly.
