Philadelphia mafia is back, according to mob experts and the Cosa Nostra family is even growing, reaching numbers that haven’t been seen in decades.
According to a report from veteran mafia reporters George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser the Philly mafia now has as many as 35 made members on the streets and is as strong as it’s been since the mid 80’s. New made guys have been recently inducted into the Philly mob family along with many made guys who have returned to the streets after long prison sentences. According to the report federal and state authorities believe the family is somewhat divided into as many as four factions but a hierarchy is in place.
“Joseph Ligambi, Joey Merlino, Phil Narducci“
The feds believe the current pecking order of the mafia in Philadelphia has Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi serving as acting boss with Steven Mazzone holding the rank of Underboss and Joseph “Chickie” Ciancaglini. Mob experts along with authorities believe that Joseph “Skinny Joe” Merlino is still the official boss of the family. There has been plenty of opinions as to the numerous factions the family seems to be divided into allegedly led by Joseph Ligambi, Joey Merlino, Joseph “Joe Pung” Pungitore, and Phil Narducci. Some theories have the mob in Philly broken into three factions with Ligambi and Merlino leading one and then Narducci and Pungitore leading the two others.
“Dominic Grande, George Borgesi, Steven Mazzone“
But the mafia family may not be as fractured as some believe and are finding a way to get along as they get back to the business of making money. The resurgent organized crime family is now getting into the booming real estate and rebuilding industry in Philly and they claim they have gone legit. But authorities are of course very skeptical of these claims and point to the track record of the mob in Philadelphia and believe they still control typical mafia rackets. No doubt the feds will be keeping a close eye on the strengthening organized crime family as we roll into the new year.
A very interesting report. I don’t think many people still had Ligambi as acting boss although Mazzone and Chickie seemed to be known players in the administration still. Definitely some great work by Dave and George.
joey is the boss geogre said that he is who he would think would be the boss. Its hard to know john what is going on so many guys on the streets but i know for fact this is not a happy camp
So many players back on the streets now your right TM its a puzzle as to who exactly is slotted in where. And the feds def have a very close eye still on Joey.
they will get these guys all on a big indicment and i mean a big one if they indict these guys like joey it is going to have to be serious charges with strong everdince.
The merlino trial in 2001 and the ligambi trials in 2011 and 2013 were disasters for the FBI joey and his guys beat the murders and ligambi ended with two mistrials
the feds will be more careful this time before they indict they want a strong case
Dom grande looks like he is alot more relaxed now he knows nicdemeo is not cooperating and is being a stand up guy 😀
Joey Merlino is very capable and has proven that…..
capable? yes he is a killer and stand up guy
also a bully who scammed his own family scammed his own top mobsters betting into his own guys books could never run a book himself degenerate gambler greedy brought bobby lusi a disaster scammed good guys
he used to bet into peoles books and never pay he does not understand LCN never would you see a boss anywhere else doing that i could not even imagine ligambi doing that why do that you can run your own book and make more money. Joey could never understand how it works he was a street corner gangster. He and ralphie head tried to setup there own book fell apart after two weeks. He had the fear to set up a book people would have paid into his book but he never had the money
Yeah tht Is a shck,but not to far fetch.uncle joe was the best thng to hppn to tht family,he saved tht family frm going completely under in the late 90’s into the early 00’s & beyond till joey got out…ijs
They can’t do what they did back in the day. Technology will cripple them once again. Not to mention the rats and snitches and informants.They’ll make some money then spend it on lawyers once they get pinched. And they will get pinched.
Just a matter of time your right. likely see some kind of indictments coming down before too long in Philly, only question will be is how crippling.
i’m not so sure. If its one thing cosa nostra can do is survive. The things I’ve heard recently is they are bringing more sicilians all the time trying to build their ranks again. Have a ground floor that holds true to the old ways. All the families do it…. and with the feds more so focusing on national security I feel like things may take longer than you think .
I def think more Sicilians are being moved into important positions in the Ny families and its had a positive effect although not so much the case in Philly. Its still same crew there, kind of a mix of old and new and i think the heat stays on them for a while. Now they claim to be going more legit so i guess we will see. If they can make it through this year with out any indictments etc then perhaps they may be in for a span of growth and prosperity like the old days. But I think that is def very much still a wait and see as this Philly family has always been a wild card.
its only really been the gambinos who have used the siggs even the bonannos who used to have a major zip faction there faction is decline look at that recent christmas party lack of zips tells you something
Tht can be said about any other family as well,look at the the bonnanos.even if the feds get joey,the family stll has a strong chance of survival & keeping thngs moving forward…as I’ve said b4 they hve put thmslves in an strng possibility to become the strngst family outside of NY..
Ijs.
you have to understand this is not a happy family alot of beef going on.
as for joey pung and the real estate i am suprised people think thats news joey pung and his family have been in real estate since the 80s and it is nothing new to the mob nicdemeo was doing it through the 2000s he was even caught on tape talking about it by the time of his indicment in 2012 he was worth 1mil. I know anthony stanio had some big real esate deals going on him and ligambi apparently on one deal they made a million
joey merlino could never do that the guy is too dumb he is a street guy is his scams are betting 10k into someones book and then not paying as you can imagine i am no fan of merlino
Yeah I’ve took notice…I’m not a big Merlino fan as well, however Its about the family on a whole.imo I really thnk they could do alot better wthout merlino…ijs
say what you want, you got to give Merlino props. He got made by Stanfa and then decided he was going to take over the whole family, and he did it! It’s never been done before, newly made soldier takes over the family and all these years later he’s still at the top! His dad must have been real proud! Guy’s got big balls.
i give joey a bit of respect for two things one being a stand up guy and two having balls but that is as far as i will go
read about the real joey merlino and you will see he is not what you think. He scammed his own family he robbed lawrence merlinos family and chuckie left millions which was supposed to go rita well joey gambled half of it
In the 90s the war against stanfa was wrong it was unjust joey who was a soldier trys to take out a boss. He is a street corner gangster not a mobster. Once stanfa was arrested then look what he did he made a associate ralph natale boss who would later flip…….
he then does not know how to run a sports book he is a degenreate very greedy he used to bet into bookies book and never pay a real scumbag move he did not know how to run his own book he and ralphie head tried to run a book two weeks they stopped did not know what they were doing
he bet into johnny chang his own top guys book ron previte for 200k his own capo. He was meant to be the boss of a LCN family and you get him on wiretap talking about hjacking trucks and selling stolen watches. I mean this is a LCN boss driving around trying to sell stolen watches to people. He is nothing never could earn scammed his own guys he even made bobby lusi who everyone knew was a joke
joey is not LCN
TM,I agree with you for the most part you got some valid points. I’m not saying Joey perfect but taking over the family like that has never been done before.it’s unheard of. he’s got some type of leadership qualities cause guys stay loyal to him and after that 14 yr bid Uncle Joe gave him his seat back. Compare Joey to Junior Gotti who has no leadership qualities and is a fuckin rat. Junior disgraced his father and put 2 high ranking guys in prison. As far as the watches and hijacking trucks, hey LCN ain’t what it used to be, you gotta earn where you can.
guys like following joey always have always will he is a likable guy and always had loyalist but not everyone has always liked him alot of guys close to him get screwed over. Ligambi ran things well better than joey. Joey is smart in avoiding the feds i give him respect for that but i dont like the way he has treated people and this guy has done some really bad things he robbed joey pungs mothers house and he wonders why the scarfo guys do not do business with him
compare him to any of the five family leaders he is nothing even compared to carmine DiNizuio in Boston or when baby shacks ran things in providence or Solly D in chicago even compared to stanfa or ligambi. Never would those guys be driving around trying to sell watches to jewelry shops
As for junior gotti you cant compare them. Junior was never the boss he was a capo who served on the panel for awhile he was a bully on the streets but he never had to work for it he was given everything to him at a young age joey he had to fight for it joey has balls. Junior never sent anyone to jail i have read that proffer session he speaks about danny marino, johnny g and joe watts linking them to a murder in the early 80s neither of them were ever indicted for it
also danny said junior was ok he said he was shelved but he could have had him whacked he believed the feds were stirring things up which was true. And believe me If junior wanted to he could have buried that family and i mean that alot of bodies are tied to guy nothing to do with alite either. You need to stop reading what that albanien says
and i am no fan of junior gotti he was a bully and always felt he deserved more than he got. His father was a mans man a real gangster i dont care what people say
Yeah John for the most part was a true gangster I’ll gve him tht but he clearly wasn’t Don material,esplly wasn’t fit to run an powerful family lke the Gambino’s at tht tme.you’ve seen wht hppn when he took over.
your right he was not boss material but he was a real gangster the things some people report on him now is ridiculous. John senior he really believed in the life a real street guy got carried away pauls biggest mistake was before the commision case he chose tommy biletti to be his acting boss no one in the family respected him he was a gofer not a wiseguy. As soon as he does done that he signed his own death warrent
he underestaimtated john and the rise he had by the time of pauls death he was the most powerful guy on the street but he would have never gone through with it without decicco he made the plot to happen. Paul should have chosen someone who was respected john would have never become boss.
As for the rest of his family junior while on the streets was a bully and scumbag but dont believe alite either he talks alot of rubbish. Gene is a mans man another real gangster he gets out in 2018 him and johnny carneliga a real street guy johnny one of the toughest guys out of that neighborhood. Peter was dumb but he is a stand up guy end of. Vinny is a bit of a joke john and peter never gave him the time of day but he got his button because by 2000 the gottis were low on the street so peter made him. Vinny got shelved after the 2002 baker shooting. Richie gotti senior he some call dumb but this guy is a stand up guy and is not dumb he is getting old but apparently still involved. His son richie junior is also a made guy on the streets he is in his 40s he is disliked by some but he is a stand up guy
.
obviously if merlino or whomever let the “Mazzone” kid in, dont know what their doing, read my post above. check out the vid posted and what i just typed above. Guy is a trainwreck to start, why let him in, acts like hes on drugs as well based on the vid footage!
who steve mazzone? he is the underboss of the entire mob he is not to be messed with alot of bodies tied to him well respected by everyone in that city
who cares how he looks its better not to dress flashy it gets the feds attention look at how carlo gambino used to dress and he was the most powerful mobster ever he lived in a tiny house aswell
did you guys here Faffy Ianarella just got out this week he was a powerful capo with a lot of influence when he went away just did 29 years they’re saying he’s gonna choose Joe Pungs crew
yearh he is in a halfway house
will be interesting he was a very treacherous guy faffy he screwed everyone over on the streets beefed on everyone to scarfo alot of guys got killed make no mistake though he is a real gangster i think he will go with joey pung bad blood with him merlino over what happened to chuckie
fi have also heard he might be staying out of it like charlie white did when he got out.
If faffy gets back involved there will be trouble he is a trouble maker
yeah I just think for a true gangster like that he didn’t do all that time to just retire im curious to what kind of relationship he has with chickie cianglini there’s no doubt he’ll cause drama if he feels there’s no reason why he should be under all the younger guys from the merlino crew but I think he’ll have to realize that in this generation you can’t just go out and start killing people
he wont go with the merlino crew even if he wanted to. Joey hates faffy because back in 85 when chuckie joeys father got shelved faffy beefed on chuckie him and tommy del beefed on chuckie to scarfo part of the reason scarfo took him down chuckie and joey were both very bitter
Chickie is with the merlino lot underboss of the whole mob in name only he is with the merlino crew because of his son johnny chang chickie is the most respected gangster in that city a real gangster
i doubt he will go with narducci philip is very bitter he has his own crew with the 10th and orgeon backing him philip has alieneated himself from everyone he was offered a place in the mob when he got out he said no he is very bitter he hates everyone merlino, johnny chang esp johnny chang hates joey pung because he killed his father he fell out with ligambi recently hates borgesi and i hear he has now fallen out with mazzone
faffy is very treacherous if he gets back involved he will causae trouble he wont be killing people himself he is too old but i can see him stirring things up. Still joey grande was a real troublemaker he is involved though he is with north jeresy
faffy might go with joey pung i think there is a chance he will run his own crew without being with anyone
I think it really cool if they really are going legit. But you know there is some under world sh+t going on. I think good for philly mob for trying to look clean. As long as they keep it on the low and watch there ass and keep with the Construction and not pull Sammy the rat and sell drugs or something stupid .I say good for them.
they are not legit they have legit business but this is what these guys have done there whole lives gambling and loansharking they have and will always have because to be honest that is the LCNs bread and butter
plus not every wiseguy is going to be benefiting from the real estate boom
Your right its a nice thought tho. Lol
never happen with these guys its what they know and love look at the video and you see dom grande with steve and borgesi. This is the same dom grande who everyone knows shot and killed gino delpietro in 2012 feds know not enough everdince. They got nicdemeo who is a stand up guy
i am sure dom is alot happier now he knows nicdemeo is not cooperating nicdemeo could have buried the whole mob
Let me just say this. I don’t agree with the history of the mob and the killings, however i was intrigued at the way they carried themselves. That goes without saying the way that they dressed. look at the guy in the 25 sec mark in the vid above, this kid, “Mazzone” dressed in shorts and t shirt, like the guy just came out of the local gym from a game of pickup b-ball. Come on kid! It should tell you something when seconds earlier, in the vid said from footage in Decemenber, not only does guy have poor style, guy wears shorts in decemeber in cold, says something about lack of smarts. Than to top it all off, wach the 25 second mark, the overly-exaggerated hand shake as if guy is on some type of drug. With this guy in the crew, federal authorities should have no prob catching a break with way this guy seems to act, lol!!! Than other guy has an Underarmour hat on, and hes in mob, lol! At least Merlino guy is well dressed! These other stooges shame the mafia and the Dapper Don! Look like a bunch of hooligans with no sense of style, welll obviously, mazzone guy has no clue at anything!
Idiot, the picture of Merlino was him coming from or going to court so of course he’s dressed more formal. The weather in December on the East coast was extremely mild, sometimes in the 60’s (record setting)!! People were wearing shorts on Christmas in NY. When friends are just meeting to converse, discuss business in an informal setting, there’s nothing wrong with dressing casually. You’re the guy that thinks people that are labeled or said to have alleged ties are supposed to dress in silk suits with shinny shoes. Stop watching movies, the best way to not attract unwanted attention is to keep a low profile.
After seeing the vidoe above, have to laugh, it makes me think it’s one of Charlie Murphy’s Untold “True Hollywood Stories”. Look at the way the guys are dressed, with clothes that dont go with their clothes, tennis shoes with basketball shorts….mafia….lol, woudlnt stand chance dressing like that here, be made fun of like prince in the true hollywood stories. Maybe after hard days work I’d invite Mazzone over for some Pancakes! heres what supposed look like…..http://www.nationalcrimesyndicate.com/top-10-best-dressed-mobsters-time/