Reputed Lucchese crime family mobster Christopher Londonio and hoodlum Terrance Caldwell have been indicted by federal prosecutors for their alleged roles in the Michael Meldish murder.
Meldish ran the infamous Purple Gang that was responsible for drug trafficking, extortion, and did contract killing for the New York mafia. The independent crew was originally associated with the Lucchese family and then later to the Genovese and Bonanno families of Cosa Nostra. Micheal and his brother Joseph Meldish who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence were allegedly responsible for multiple murders during their reign as leaders of the gang. Michael was shot in the head sitting in his car in the Bronx back in 2013 although motives for the hit are unclear it may have resulted from tensions between him and mafia leaders.
“Michael Meldish”
Caldwell has also been indicted by a federal grand jury for the attempted murder of Bonanno crime family soldier Enzo “The Baker” Stagno in 2013. Stagno was shot in the chest while he was in his SUV near his home making a phone call according to authorities. This is the first time anyone has been charged in the shooting of Stagno. It was unclear as to the motive behind the attempted mob hit on Stagno but authorities believed the hit was sanctioned by leaders of the Lucchese family. Sources at that time claimed the hit on the mobster may have been part of a feud between the Bonanno and Lucchese families. Both Caldwell and Londonio are already behind bars on Bronx state charges linked to the murder of Meldish.
“Christopher Londonio”
The duo is also facing other mafia related charges along with the murder charges which could earn them life sentences and possibly even the death penalty. The feds have also investigated high ranking Lucchese family mobster Matthew “Matty” Madonna for possible links to the Meldish hit as previously reported here but so far he has not been charged in the case.
Pretty sure these guys were gonna get convicted at the state level but now with the fed charges on top of that they are all but done for. Can bet the feds will try and use any and all leverage to get one of these guys to flip esp if they can give them Madonna.
People who write these articles need to learn the difference between members and associates. Terrance Caldwell is not a member of the Lucchese Crime Family, and I’m not sure about Christopher Londonio. I always hated it when Henry Hill and James Burke were referred to as members of the Lucchese family. They were associates. Anyway, I am willing to bet that they both snitch, just like most of the fake gangsters these days.
londonio Is a made guy by all accounts it was a Madonna who ordered the hit the feds had enough evidence to indict these guys within a week of the murder but they were waiting to try and get Madonna into the case but these guys dident flip. If Londino flipped he could have a problem don’t think he will would have done it by now.
Medlish deserved what he got him real scumbag and his brother by this time he was washed up a nobody broke he got beaten up in 2011 by the Bonannos I think Ernest Aiello,was involved and then lucheses killed him two years later should have been retired but he couldent broke
The stagno shooting is interesting at the time everyone said it was a beef over the lucheses being angry at the Bonannos inducting too many members into the family dident really believe it at the time maybe that was true we will find out more when it goes to trial
The feds really had a hard on for nailing Madonna for the hit but it doesn’t seem like they can get either of those guys to flip.
It is always hard to be exact with this kind of stuff. Londonio has been mentioned as both a made guy and associate along the way etc, definitely no exact science to it sometimes and most articles list current info which sometimes is very limited even these days. We know Caldwell was an associate of Londonio so by extension I guess he could be called a mob associate.
Lol. I always hate that too. Watching shows, movies and they call associates soldiers.
I may be mistaken,@JohnGrant213:disqus & @The mafia can correct me,but Caldwell is Black and a Blood Gang member. So he definitely is an Associate which article kinda says by calling him a “Hoodlum”
Yes he is an associate of Londonio it seems more so then the Lucchese family per say. He likely just gets lumped in as an “associate” which these days is a pretty loose characterization in most articles because of that link.
There are articles about the case with “Two Lucchese family members” in the headlines.
“NYPD quickly tabbed Luchese soldier Christopher Londonio and mob associate Terrence Caldwell as suspects in the slaying”
that is a quote in one of capecis articles recently so yes Caldwell is an associate and like you said he is black. Caldwell was the shooter Londino was the driver Caldwell Implicated him and Londino when they were questioned by NYPD like I said in a previous post they had enough to indict within weeks they were just trying to get Madonna
I will say this Londino must have saved up because Charles Carnesi Is his lawyer he is very expensive he was junior gottis lawyer during those trials danny marinos aswell
So are you saying that Terrance Caldwell is a rat?
No he is not rat if he was he would be dead they brought him for questioning and he accidently implicated himself and Londino his story dident make sense.
You would be surprised how many wiseguys are broke a lot of them don’t save up its the lifestyle and they don’t really earn enough. A lot are degenerate gamblers and junkies as well
I think the American Mafia should raise their recruitment standards. No degenerate gamblers or junkies allowed and only people who are wise with money should be candidates.
there has always been junkies and degenerate gamblers since the beginning its myth that there hasent you say that but the guys who are junkies are not flash about its not well known the junkies who are known junkies don’t get made really they are associates for a reason. As for degernate gamblers well your talking half the mafia its part of the lifestyle its why they are wiseguys in the first place the whole honour all of that is rubbish always has been they try to make alot and spend like crazy I remember Joe Defede testified that the average luchese soldier would earn around 50k a year but the lifestyle these guys lead they waste it.
The majority of guys coming through are not junkies but your saying raise there recruitment to who? there is not enough guys out there for them to be too specific about who they make there is already a large number of guys who are associates that would do anything to get made but never will.
Best way to get made is to be friendly with the right people and be an earner its that simple if you are related to the right people or your a big earner your getting made
I never said that there was a time when the Mafia didn’t have degenerate gamblers and junkies. I’m saying that they can always change. There has also always been rats, way before Joseph Valachi. The Mafia has also been declared dead more than once, only to come back stronger than before. The fact that there has always been rats and the fact that they supposedly died so many times tells me that the Mafia will be around forever. Like Ronald Previte said, “I will be dead, you will be dead, but the Italian Mafia will still be here.”
My point is it is easy to say that very hard to actually do and change to what how is that possible you can’t tell who will be a rat or a lot of the time who is a junkie. These are people are at the end of the day they put up guys who are earners or they are friends with for membership. Its why family members are always getting made. You earn well and your skipper likes you have a good chance of getting made.
As for LCN who knows what the future holds they are very resilient but terrorism did help them a lot people forget how bad the situation was late 90s early 2000s. I do think they will be around for a long time not forever it will come to an end not as many people getting involved and those who are alot not comparable to the guys in the past 30 years from now you will start to see the signs its been happening since the 80s but slowly
LCN has surprised us before. Just when it appears that they are on the way out they bounce back. They are still making a lot of guys the membership and associate numbers really isn’t that much smaller today than they were in the 50s.
not the 50s not really the 80s either its really not like that anymore they are still making guys but its not like it was the people coming through the people wanting to be involved not the same the old mafia is dead assimilation of Italian American neighbourhoods is the biggest reason for decline its not the same anymore not even close Its membership levels are the same as they were in the 80s not the 50s but that’s including the ridiculous number of them in prison.
Ask anyone who saw it 30 years ago they will tell you the same thing its not like it was times have changed its active and is still a force but not comparable to what it was
I’ve been following LCN for at least 15 years and I still see mobsters pop up in the news who I’ve never even heard of before. Even the Meldish brothers who were big time killers for the New York Mafia I never even heard of before in 15 years until Michael Meldish got shot in the head. So who knows what else is going on that we don’t even know about.
You never heard of meldish brothers? Not even Joey he got a lot of attention few years back killed an innocent kid in Throgs neck reason why he went on the run was not to escape feds they would have killed him local guys were furious
As for Michael he Is less known but still just as bad brokester he was a nobody when he died not important only time he ever probably had any sort of influence was 90s
Can I get any feedback on how much more powerful the New York Mafia would be if all 5 crime families recruited Sicilians, Calabrians, and Neapolitans by the dozens into their ranks? I mean, in Italy the Cosa Nostra, Camorra, and Ndrangheta are like global corporations. These 3rd and 4th generation spoiled brat Italian-Americans just aren’t making the cut.
not possible first of people there is not enough guys willing to come over why would they grow up there its there home and will make a lot more than they ever would in the US plus they don’t speak the language and different culture. Also the decline in drug sure the the drug links are there but not like they were in the 80s with the pizza connection LCN just not as many guys involved. Your also forgetting 90 percent of guys within the LCN are born in Amercia they don’t want too many zips coming over because it threatens them remember in the 70s when all those guys like ceasre came over into the Bonanno family because of Galante it caused resent in the family especially as the zips wanted to take over the family for themselves. The connections are also not as strong as they used to be plus the LCN as a whole is weaker and heavier prison sentences people don’t want to move over.
Also a lot of the younger guys today have family involved who would obviously be more willing to recruit them. They also grow up in the same areas as LCN guys meaning they know them there personality if you bring over a random guy from Italy you don’t know there personality if they are a undercover Fed if they will rat quickly people are forgetting how many rats there are in the Sicilian mafia and the Camorra
The Montreal mob is mostly made up of 1st and second genaration Italians, ive never heard of a made guy and MTL flipping! and there heavy into the drug game like the nyc mob in the 70`s and 80`s.
because they are not comparable you cant compare law enforcement in Canada to the feds or police in Italy the way they act in Canada you would not be able to get away with in the US people don’t flip as much because the witness protection is not like the US or Italy that simple. I wont pretend to know much about Montreal but they are hardly a good example of how things should be run everytime I look guys are getting whacked its crazy or getting busted they are a mess.
im not sure what you mean buy you cant compare law enforcement to Italy or the US. i would agree the laws are not as tough as the states.
the FBI are more equipped and stronger understanding and witness protection programme to deal with the mafia than in Canada.
Italy which a lot of people don’t know has one of the best witness protection programmes for mafia rats a lot of finance to investigate and its own version of the rico act Rognoni-La Torre Law
the main difference between Can and Us and not that you guys have a far superior Witness Protection LOL. is that the laws are much much tougher in the states. so tough that it incites people to rat instead of spend the rest of there lifes in jail.
there is a higher chance of a rat in Canada being found and killed than there is in the US that does play a part not the biggest reason like you said if your looking at 30 years you are more likely to flip than if your looking at 10 but the safety rats feel in the US does play part. They are so well protected guys are afraid to go after them.
Then again Joseph D’Amico took a beating recently which was entertaining some of these rats are looking for trouble stay in the program and out of New York you will be fine turning up to little Italy walking around in the open its insulting lucky if there wasn’t so many tourists around he would have been whacked
lol can u elaborate on joseph damico
he turned up to the san gennaro feast walking around thinking right in the open thinking no one would notice with all the tourist around and that it had been 13 years since he flipped a wiseguy in Petey Reds crew grew up with him in Knickerbocker Village realized who he was called him out in front of everyone then gave him a beating apparently he got knocked out in one punch lol he was In hospital for days he refused to cooperate with NYPD in the beating he learnt his lesson if he had said who gave him the beating he would have had to testify again and have to enter the program again otherwise he would get whacked
joey was always a joke his mum paid 50k to Galante so he would get made back in the 70s. As soon as Richie Cantarella flipped he was on the phone to the feds talked the game well a joke. Anthony Russo another joke going on about he hates rats on tape that they are scum claiming he only wanted people who were killers forward for membership all of it was rubbish he was looking at 5 years and he flipped a capo what an embarrassment apparently with this new documentary they are doing they went back to his neighbourhood people were opening doors and staring then this guy walked right up to them and refused to leave just staring at Anthony lol Anthony as you can imagine got scared and really awaked lucky he had those cameras on him even the guy interviewing him trevor was scared
Which new documentary is that?
not come out yet Its trevor McDonald I think he is making a follow up documentary on the last one this happened while they were filming and interviewing Anthony russo
Guys are getting busted left and right in Canada true but they’re not doing as much time. Even Vito Rizzuto did very little time for 3 murders! But overall violent crime in general is far less than in the US, so maybe America’s “tough on crime” policy isn’t working in fact it’s making things worse.
don’t get me wrong I agree with you on how crime Is deal in the US is not working but I am talking specifically LCN and they have done a very good job the FBI you cant even compare the ability. Even if its not much time they are getting from busts they are still inside not earning and like I said before so many guys are getting whacked that just causes instability they are a mess out there reminds me of 80s and early 90s in New York
Sure there are a lot of rats in the Cosa Nostra and the Camorra but it doesn’t seem to have that big of an impact as they continue on generating billions of dollars in illegal revenue every year as evidenced by the asset seizures. The Mafia groups in Italy have so many guys to replace outgoing members that it doesn’t seem to matter how many guys flip or go to prison. On the other hand, the American Mafia is very limited in membership.
Cosa Nostra and Camorra have no competition there is no other criminal groups so they will always generate billions. That is true LCN membership has declined and will continue to do so but my point is a zip is just as likely to flip in the US and that is not as easy as simply bring a few guys over you have to have the connections trust the people your bringing over and they have to want to come over In the first place its very difficult in this day and age to find people who would want to I think your crazy if your a member of Cosa Nostra but want to be LCN
Also the amount of rats is exaggerated by the press nearly all made guys take there sentences without flipping its that one guy who does decides to flip and like you said yourself even one rat can cause a lot of damage. But it has been four years since a made guy has flipped
Like I said before, guys are flipping by the boatload in Italy but yet they’re still stronger than ever. Rats can’t do as much damage over there the organisation as a whole just shakes it off and keeps on generating billions of dollars. Also, there are in fact other criminal groups in Italy such as Nigerians, Chinese, Albanians and others but of course in the end they are nothing compared to the Italian Mafia groups.
Also, you would have to be crazy to think that members of all 4 of Italy’s Mafia groups are not already over here operating under a low profile. There has already been some cases proving that members of Cosa Nostra, Camorra, and Ndrangheta are over here. I don’t know about the Sacra Corona Unita they might have guys over here too but haven’t seen any in the news.
That’s cus the laws here in US r tougher and easier to prosecute. If a guy in Italy flips can’t prosecute nearly as many people as US does with RICO.
You must have never seen an Italian prison lol. From the documentaries I’ve seen southern Italian prisons are packed like sardines with Mafia members. But yeah RICO is the American Mafia’s worst nightmare.
But just like America has several imprisoned Mafia bosses who will never see the light of day again, so does Italy. But the imprisoned for life Mafia bosses in Italy have been replaced by people who are just as capable if not more capable. The American Mafia just don’t have the quality replacements, at least not to the degree that the Italian Mafia does. Basically what I’m saying is that it doesn’t have as much power to regenerate itself.
they are always getting busted in Italy massive busts a lot of guys in prison too many they don’t have enough prisons to fit that’s how many guys they are convicting
they have the Rognoni-La Torre Law which is Italys verison of the Rico act brought in the early 80s named after a judge who was killed by the mafia
Agreed Cosa Nostra and the Ndrangheta we all ready know have guys operating in the US and it would not surprise me if there was affiliates of the other organizations aswell. However the number is not very high otherwise it would be noticeable on the streets there is a difference between like you said guys operating on the low moving drugs who probably have nothing to do or little connection to any of the five familys and guys who are from Sicily but are made into a LCN family example would be Celfeau or Stanfa they are now LCN not Cosa Nostra they might have strong connections but they are LCN
havent heard much about sacra c. unita, but anybody know about la stidda presence in usa?
I haven’t heard of ANY Sacra Corona Unita presence in the US except for law enforcement saying that a few members have been observed here. I have never heard not even a mention of La Stidda in the USA.
although it might be hard to distinguish cosa nostra from stidda members. even in sicily seems unclear who’s who
exactly back in the day your getting guys that could be doctors or lawyers or CEO’s nowadays its seems like the talent pool is garbager
Yep, Luciano would roll over in his grave.
Would definitely make them more stable and probably increase their ability to grow some as the talent pools in the states def are not what they once were.
Whats funny is this is true in general in our country. Immigrants come here and bust ass, while people born here are lazy. I’ve seen tons of immigrants become successful, while Americans all want to be reality stars.
Exactly, and the same goes for organized crime gangsters. Foreign gangsters come to America and for the most part put American gangsters to shame.
It’s great to see so many people contributing to site now! Conversations heating up!
Ironically, how well the Mafia does in real life has a great impact on how well this website does.