The mafia around the country as a whole has been in a state of decline for some time now as its power and influence diminishes.
The five families of the New York mafia remain the most powerful mob families in the country some of which have seen a rejuvenation of sorts the past couple of years. Although the American Mafia may never reach the heights of its heyday again some of the New York families have been able to reorganize of late due to many factors, including diminished efforts from law enforcement as the anti-terrorism fight took center stage. Question is can the mob families in Philadelphia and New England which have fallen on hard times in last few years find some of the same success as we head into 2016.
The Philadelphia mafia has definitely been one of the more interesting mob families over the last couple of decades and has sustained its share of setbacks. A major trial targeting the Philly mafia leadership this year led to convictions of some of the family’s hierarchy once again leading to a state of unrest. The release of some key figures from prison of late has led to the family having more made guys on the streets as it had in years although this has led to more questions then answers as to the current state of the Philly mob family and its future. Recently released made guys include Joseph “Chickie” Ciancaglini, Gaeton Lucibello, Marty Angelina, Michael “Mikey Lance” Lancellotti, and George Borgesi.
There seems to now be three factions operating with in the Philly mafia, including one believed to be led by current acting boss Steven Mazzone and alleged boss Joey Merlino, another led by veteran Scarfo era mobster Phil Narducci, along with another by fellow Scarfo era mobster Joseph “Joey Punge” Pungitore. With the influx of veteran made guys back on the streets and settling in many wonder if the mafia in Philadelphia can find harmony among these internal factions. If they can find a way to make things work peacefully the Philly mob may actually be in a position to re-establish itself and recapture some of its dwindling influence heading into 2016.
Few mafia families have seen its ranks decimated more and taken more setbacks over the last few years than the New England mob. The Patriarca crime family has seen its long time power base in Providence virtually dismantled in the last couple of years leading to a shift in power back to the Boston based faction. Convictions of high ranking members, including alleged one time acting boss Anthony DiNunzio and powerful captains Edward “Eddie” Lato and Frank “Bobo” Marrapese continued to diminish the ranks. The indictment of newly installed alleged acting boss Anthony Spagnolo left the New England mob in disarray heading into 2015. The mafia in New England has quietly been trying to pick up the pieces and recover from damage done by law enforcement over the past year.
Heading into 2016 the family has seen the return of powerful captain Matthew “Matty” Guglielmetti and alleged under boss Carmen “The Cheeseman”DiNunzio among others. Carmen and his brother Anthony are both believed to be key players in the Patriarca family hierarchy moving forward. It’s unclear as to who the current boss of the family is heading into 2016 but its believed that The Cheeseman is likely to have taken the reigns upon his release earlier this year. With Carmen back on streets and the Boston faction almost intact, along with powerful captains like Guglielmetti returning the New England mafia may be able to reorganize and begin to re-establish itself to an extent.
[poll id=”9″]
