The latest New York mafia bust targeted members of the Lucchese crime family including the families current hierarchy.
Nineteen mobsters and associates including alleged acting street boss Matthew (Matty) Madonna, underboss Steven (Stevie Wonder) Crea Sr., and consigliere Joseph DiNapoli were arrested. They were hit with a slew of racketeering charges including the murder of former Purple Gang leader and NY Mafia associate Michael Meldish. According to the indictment Madonna, Crea Sr. and his son Steven (Stevie Junior) Crea Jr. are charged with ordering the 2013 hit on Meldish. At a bail hearing in June, prosecutors described Crea Jr. as a powerful captain who supervised two crew members soldier Christopher Londonio and associate Terrence Caldwell in the murder of Meldish.
“Steven Crea and Matthew Madonna”
During the bail hearing, prosecutors also made note of a key witness who’s undercover work was a crucial part of this massive indictment against the Cosa Nostra family. According to a Ganglandnews report, the witness is believed to be a turncoat mob associate named Robert Spinelli. According to sources he had been working for the feds since 2012 and recorded hundreds of conversations with Lucchese family mobsters and could testify to first-hand knowledge that Crea Jr was personally involved in planning the Meldish murder. The former Purple Gang leader feel out of favor with Lucchese family leaders and was ultimately killed because he was viewed as being a liability to the family. Spinelli at one time served as a messenger for boss Vic Amuso which garnered him access to high ranking members of the organized crime family before falling out of favor due to his prolonged drug abuse according to gangland sources.
Spinelli was part of a five man hit team back in 1992 tasked with killing the sister of a turncoat mob capo Peter (Fat Pete) Chiodo in an effort to convince him not to testify against Amuso. The hit failed but the attack on the mother of three and an innocent family member marked a low point in the history of the American mafia. Prosecutors noted this attack along with the attempted murder of Chiodo at Crea Jr.’s bail hearing in an effort to prove the Lucchese families violent nature and history made them a threat to witnesses. They also stated they had evidence that Crea Jr had also supervised a plot to kill a Bonanno family associate who had disrespect his father.
Although Crea Jr has no prior arrest his actions established that he was a danger to the community and he should be detained claimed prosecutors. The judge agreed and the previous ruling to deny the Younger Crea bail was upheld. It will be interesting to see what other information Spanelli has provided the feds with against other key mobsters involved in this case.
Once again the rats have come to the surface but ofcourse as soon as we heard this indictment had come down we knew there had to be some rats involved so this is no real shock. Have to wonder how solid this case will be now on the backs of rats like Spinelli with such a questionable history including being a drug abuser for so long, Sure the feds have won cases with questionable witnesses like this before but it definitely doesn’t make it easy although they may have so much evidence in those recordings etc that it may not matter how bad of a witness Spinelli and his fellow rat may be.
http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/justice-et-affaires-criminelles/faits-divers/201708/16/01-5125174-un-executant-de-la-mafia-assassine-pres-dun-parc.php Another big Montreal Mob hit last night
english article http://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/man-in-critical-condition-after-being-shot-several-times-in-st-leonard
this is a sore one for the lucchese’s, after the gaspipe and amuso reign which nearly destroyed them it seemed they were back on their feet.. the police cant do their job so they put pressure on the junkie rat spinelli but the crea/Madonna/dinapoli should have enough experience to realise spinelli can be a liability! he is not even a made guy and he has access to the boss’s! I sometimes think these guys are amateurs, why is there no Vincent Gigantes anymore.
Definitely a horrible move to not have these guys even at the capo level buffered from a guy who is a known junkie.
Their is a rat in every NYC 5 families. PARANOIA required. Their is a power grab going on with the Lucchese’s. 20 to 75 unless you are planning on retiring like John “Sonny” Franzese.
Crea and the whole gang are done, the rat will bury them. Especially with the murder charge, the feds will have a pinic with murder charges in a rico case. Crea, Madonna and DiNapoli i could see eventually dying in prison. Crea JR might have a chance to see the light of day again but it’s going to be intresting if all the guys especially Crea JR will keep his mouth shut considering he has never done time before, gonna be a real test for him. Gonna be a big blow, after years of rebuliding back to sqaure one. Wonder who is going to try to make the grab for the top seat? Man but did this Meldish situation hurt them, cant see them beating that one. And another thing i DONT UNDERSTAND! a boss conversating with an unmade nobody junkie? Come on, even the captains shouldnt be talking to this guy, i thought Crea was smarter then that, hes been around for a long time. He should never be speaking to anyone period, messengers down the rank and back up thats how its always been (or supposed to be) pure stupidy now their gonna pay for it.
Yea, reading that had me confused, bosses and captains talking to a non made guy, crazy.