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.
Well I guess one could say that Ralph has quite the imagination although I would imagine there is some truth mixed into all of that. I do find his view of how things went down and exactly what part he played in it all as fairly interesting even though like most I don’t really buy a lot of it.
the guy was a egomaniac john the majority of that book will be him trying to portray himself as a sort of carlo Gambino its why he was such a shocking witness
Yep! When I read the title, last don standing” I nearly shit myself with laughter. A toothless wanna be that Merlino successfully used as a target for Feds. The idea that he has insight is laughable.
I was cringing watching that video the stuff about being made by carlo Gambino and Bruno the guy never met Gambino lol and he was just an associate under Bruno it was merlino who made him and gave him his “title” ridiculous I wont be reading that book.
I doubt he was even in same building as Carlo, much less made by him. It’s widely known Merlino made him, which is controversial in itself, as he wasn’t a boss.
Ha that was quite entertaining wasn’t it! I agree TM the guy is def an egomaniac and he seems to be willing to well lets say “stretch” things to make them fit into the way he sees things as having happened.
cant stand him don’t know if I will read his book I am no fan of merlino but this guy is a idiot he was a nobody before he went to prison and merlino made him and gave him the position not the over way round without merlino and mikey chang fighting a war he would have never became boss. Even as boss he was always on the outside merlino did his own thing he was willing to be there figure head till he got busted what a joke. The guys ego has always been his problem doing time was never his problem he had done 15 years before this but when he was in prison he realized that no one actually respected him lol so he became a witness and tried to act like some sort of carlo Gambino so people would think he was this important guy if I had to compare him to anyone it would be junior soprano and even he dident flip
As for current mob not being recognized funny ralph saying that nearly 20 years since he was on the streets I think the Ligambi meeting with the Gambino family in 2012 and the recent mob bust with merlino shows that they are “recognized” he is just bitter
as for the books itself I wont read it I already know what he is going to say there is a reason geogre A turned him down
I think you hit the nail on the head right there … the guy is extremely bitter.
Ralph N…is also lying about Joeys crew because Ralph not only wanted ???? envelope for his wife but he demanded 4,000 month for his 22 year old girlfriend whom he met because Ralph daughter was close friends with Ralphs young girlfriend in side…..Agreed Joey never kicked envelope to Ralphs wife…..but who the hell is stupid enough to pay off Ralphs 22 year old Pump…❤ …Ralph is a Legend in his own mind and Ralph exemplifies the phrase….i always tell the truth even when I Lie !!!!!!
Well it’s obvious he’s been full of shit all along. His claim to have been made and it kept secret for so long defeats the entire purpose. However if any truth to Merlino not taking care of his wife, shame on Merlino as he’d be as much at fault as Natale for him turning. Part of them being “family” is taking care of each other. If you abandon that person and they in turn fend for themselves, you are definitely culpable as far as backing them into a corner.
Agree with you on Joey if he said he would take care of the guys wife he should of made that happen, now as far as the girlfriend as TM mentioned that is ridiculous and way too much to demand. Problem is with Ralph it is hard to know what is and isn’t true so who knows if Merlino had ever even agreed to that kind of obligation.
Ralph was obsessed with his young girlfriend courtesy of his daughters introduction….Merino crew laughed at Ralphs wasting all his money ???? on the 22 year old and I’m 100% sure Ralph demanded monthly envelopes for her…..and they laughed behind his back…….Ralph had put her up in very expensive luxury Apartment …and fattened her pocket with money…..Ralph Conveniently left this out of his book…..
Yes it seem he conveniently left out quite a bit lol guess wasn’t room for it after he “added” so much other stuff.
Guys an old man who was used as a lightning rod and is trying to take one last stab at making a few bucks off his life story, just goes way too far with his claims, doesn’t seem remotely believable or genuine, and next to nothing supports his claims.
Even more sad is, he isn’t a big enough name to get the kind of book sales a guy like Valachi or Gravano, where the general public with no background knowledge of LCN would buy it based on media hype alone… and no one who DOES has knowledge on the topic will buy it either because its trash.
Piss of shit was never a boss. That shit was watered down to let him even claim such a position
Boss stops at Stanfa the rest is ????
Merlino wasn’t recognized by NYC then, but he clearly is now. He was and is absolutely boss.
This is what I mean when I say that the Mafia needs new blood. Can we please quit hearing about the Ralph Natales, the Michael Franzeses, the John Gottis, the John Alites, and the f*****g Ron Prevites? What a drag, it’s f*****g exhausting.
It’s also a testament to the new blood, Feds can’t get news on them. We never hear about Bellomo, Cali, or rarely. Crea’s name just came up, but he’s rare too. It’s just the wannabes always talk the loudest
I’m just tired of hearing from the rats and the attention seekers who destroyed the Mafia.