Mafia experts George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser are back again for another episode of Mob Talk.
According to the report, the Philadelphia mafia is once again the target of a new federal investigation. The organized crime squad in the City of Brotherly Love seems to once again be looking into several unsolved murders linked to the Philly mafia. If the feds were able to put together a case built around any of these murders it could involve various high ranking members of the current Philly Cosa Nostra family including alleged boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino. The mafia in Philadelphia has apparently been rebuilding and currently has 25-35 made men on the streets the most since the late 80’s Scarfo era.
A court memo from the ongoing East Coast LCN Enterprise case which includes Joey Merlino alleged that he was “working in earnest to rebuild the Philadelphia crime family.” There have been plenty of rumors of an impending racketeering case from various sources in and around Philly over the last few years. Among the approximately half dozen unsolved murders that the feds continue to look into include John (Johnny Gongs) Casasanto, Michael (Dutchie) Avicolli, Raymond (Long John) Martarano, and Ronald Turchi. This is definitely a dark cloud that continues to hang over some of the high ranking mobsters in Philly. So check out the latest episode below as George and Dave give some more detailed information about the potential case and the Philly mob.
Well we have been hearing about this potential case for some time now and I think Dave and George are spot on when they say its going to probably take a rat to make this thing a go. There is always potential for someone to flip but I really cant say a “likely” candidate sticks out at least off hand although for all we know the feds could have someone wired up as we speak and are just waiting for that right conversation to bring things together. With Philly seemingly back to business and working okay together it would be about right for another big strike by the feds to be around the corner.
Like you said, They may already have someone wired up for sound. Even if the Feds dont have a proper informant wired up I wouldn’t be surprised if they have one or even a few guys that feed them information. That seems to be the case these days with most Families. Maybe a Soldier or just a trusted Associate giving them Intelligence in a regular basis and possibly for years. They may not have a dude cornered where he is forced to testify to save his own skin but having a guy or two that is giving up reliable information on a regular basis sure doesn’t hurt their chances of building a RICO Case. Some of these older guys have done a lot of years in prison and definitely wouldn’t want to go back and basically die there. Especially if it comes down to them or Merlino. Him being as brash as he is probably doesn’t help his popularity amongst the older Scarfo/Bruno guys. Anyway who knows, it’s a toss up at this point. It could also just be another big Nothing as we’ve seen lately. After the Roller Coaster all these Families have been through from the 90’s til now! Anything is possible.
I’d be very surprised if there’s not at least one informant. I can only imagine how pissed anyone with any ties to these old cases is. Merlino most likely literally got away with murder and could have lived comfortably away from the life earning of his celebrity alone. Yet he had to comeback magnifying an already enormous target on his back.
I don’t believe in being a rat. At some point a few of these guys have to be thinking why should I go down for someone else’s arrogance and power lust.
I do believe that Philadelphia Feds are assembling a major Rico case but I don’t believe that Skinny joey will get convicted of murder…. The Dante and Luigis attemted murder of Nicky JR…. Is past statue of limitations and express way attack on John stanfa. Is past statue of locations also… I don’t believe Anthoy Nicademo, is a rat…. And my biggest point is that Philadelphia italan mob has 3 different factions… So joey pung….faction and Narducci faction and if Merlino crew goes to prison the Philly mob survives. With 2 other crews on street….. Joey ping, Narducci brothers… And chick ciangalini keeps the peace
He can’t be convicted of murder or attempted murder alone. They can be used as Rico predicates though. Which means no running of statue of limitations and still be charged federally for those crimes under Rico.
Worst part for him is if found guilty and convicted his appeals will be limited to evidence from his trial alone. The validity of Rico being used and circumventing state statue of limitations has already held up all the way through The Supreme Court.
Very good points!
You are correct. What I should have said is murder predicate will be not proven as well as attempted murder predicate not proven just as his new jersey Rico case years ago…
Unless they have come across new evidence. The Rico Act to me has always seemed to be a tool for the government to circumvent laws. They loosely tie others to criminal conspiracies. They minimize the need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt by bundling crimes and try people twice avoiding double jeopardy.
It seems unlikely that Nicademo turns rat so they will likely have to look elsewhere for that although I guess in the end we never know. I think you may be right as to Joey as it seems like a murder conviction would be tough at this point unless they know something that isn’t out there already but a lot of those other guys are def watching this closely and know they are at risk to some extent or another.
By the way, any a yous guys see that Big Ron Previte died a few days ago. Saw an article on Gangster Report yesterday reporting about it. A little off topic but I figured since we’re talking Philly Mob here I would just throw that out there.
I’m sorry but the feds should really let this go. Not one of those “victims” were killed for singing in the choir. They were all just as bad if not worse than their assailants. I know it’s farfetched and fantasy to expect the feds to see it that way, but it’s the truth.
So you think victims should be judged and then judge criminals?
You didn’t see the word victims in quotation marks? I don’t see them as victims that’s the whole f*****g point. They were all known gangsters. Name one innocent among them. See, you can’t do it.
At what point is someone gangster or criminal enough that it should be legal for them to be victimized? That’s the judging part, you don’t see the issue there?
All I’m saying is if someone dedicates themselves to a life of murdering and bullying others and ends up murdered themselves, then they died the way they lived. As far as I can tell that would apply to all of the murdered guys mentioned. I’m not looking at it from a legal standpoint, I’m using good reasoning. But as we know the law isn’t always within reason. I don’t see how these guys who were killed are worth the tax dollars prosecuting over, personally. To me it’s just a case of the trash taking itself out.
Are all of those murdered murders? You are making baseless assumptions.