Former Philadelphia mafia boss turned rat Ralph Natale talked about his new book ‘Last Don Standing‘ and the mafia in an exclusive interview with Fox29’s Dave Schratwieser.
Dave does a fantastic job covering the Philly mafia and always seems to have his finger on the pulse of the cities Cosa Nostra family. Natale declined to meet in person or live over the internet due to issues including safety concerns according to Mr. Schratwieser so the interview was conducted over the phone while sitting outside of the newest Philly mob clubhouse near 9th and Catherine. Natale talks over different aspects of his new book including stories about Jimmy Hoffa, Sonny Liston, and former Philly mobsters like boss Angelo Bruno. He also had some very interesting things to say about the current Philly mafia and his former pal Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino.
When asked about the current state of affairs of the local mafia Natale said “There is no mob in the city right now. They’re not recognized anywhere.” Schratwieser also asked Natale about the Merlino faction and the old school Scarfo era guys who recently returned to the streets and if he thought they could ever co-exist and get along together and he said “No. No. I don’t think so. Two different kinds of guys.” When it comes to his old mob pal Joey Merlino the former mobster is singing a different tune these days saying “He turned out to be the biggest, one of the biggest mistakes, I ever made in my life. He was a liar, a coward.” In fact, he said the reason he turned on his fellow wiseguys is because Merlino betrayed a promise to him that he would take care of Natale’s wife when he went to prison.
Natale said that if there was a mafia in Philadelphia then he thinks that veteran mobster Joseph (Chickie) Ciancaglini should be the boss. He also weighs in on some of the still unsolved mafia murders and much more in the video.
