Who's ML and JL ?? michael lancellotti and joe ligambi, I assume


A reputed wiseguy nicknamed “Tony Meatballs” is among more than a dirty dozen alleged South Philly mobsters charged in a sweeping federal indictment unsealed Monday.

The suspects are accused of everything from illegal sports betting to heroin-peddling to offering loans at 400 percent interest — not to mention plotting to kidnap and possibly murder a drug dealer to save their reputations after the guy sold them fake narcotics.

Anthony “Tony Meatballs’’ Gifoli, 72, was named in the superseding grand-jury indictment along with others including accused La Cosa Nostra underboss Steven “Stevie’’ Mazzone and alleged capo Domenic “Mr. Hopkins’’ Grande, the feds said.

Underlings targeted by the indictment include Louis “Louie Sheep’’ Barretta, Joseph “Joey Electric” Servidio and Daniel “Harry” Castelli, the FBI said.

The crime syndicate has been working from Philadelphia to Atlantic City, NJ, the feds said — as they laid out the Mafia hierarchy in court documents, as well as offered definitions for related key terms.

Federal officials said that unlike New York City, where several crime families have ruled over the years, Philadelphia and its surrounding area has been continuously under siege from the same single Mafia family since 1931.

The court documents only identified the family’s current “street boss’’ by the initials “M.L’’ The street boss can serve in place of the boss when the higher-up is “incapacitated due to imprisonment,’’ the papers said.

The Philly crime family’s consigliere — “typically an older, experienced mobster who counsels [the boss] on important issues’’ — was ID’d by the initials “J.L.’’

The feds described in the papers how “made men,’’ or “soldiers,’’ in a Mafia crime family must be of 100 percent Italian ancestry and vow at a secret initiation ceremony to “burn in Hell if I betray my friends.” If they turn “rat’’ and break “Omerta,’’ or the mob “Code of Silence,” they can be killed.

Meanwhile, mob “associates’’ are not “made men’’ because they either haven’t been initiated yet or they lack full Italian heritage, the papers explained.

In terms of Mazzone’s alleged group, they schemed in places including the now-defunct Broadway Theatrical Club in South Philadelphia, an Italian restaurant in Collingswood, NJ, and a cafe and lounge in Margate, NJ, according to court documents.

The seven-count indictment against the men includes charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, illegal gambling and narcotics distribution.

About half of the defendants are already behind bars.

An original indictment in the case was filed in January 2019 against four of the suspects, with the latest one adding more defendants and charges.

“The charges unsealed today against these 15 alleged members and associates of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra show that the mafia remains a criminal presence in our city and beyond,” said Michael Driscoll, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, in a statement.

“From loansharking and illegal gambling to drug trafficking and extortion, the mob continues to keep its fingers in many different pots, in its ceaseless quest for illegal profits.

“This group should’ve learned by now that the FBI is as committed to eradicating organized crime as wiseguys are to embracing it.”

Fuckin slander if you ask me. "The area has been under siege by the same crime family since 1931" the press makes it out like we are living in fear of these guys, what a joke, only thing they are guilty of is not reporting income.

A drug dealer sold them fake drugs and bought it, and then didn't do anything about it...What a joke Philly is !!

Someone called this when they put out feeler for info on depietro hit. Think it was Dante but can’t remember for sure. And as for fake drug thing if enough people know about it to know they talked about sending a message, then they did right thing by not acting on it because they would have been fighting a murder charge in this indictment too. Philly has been smart bout when they hit in how in past 20 years outside of AN and the hit on GD.

Juries have been showing their annoyance with Feds charging theses guys for non violent shit in recent years as well. The JL trials and Merlino and Narducci getting deals shows they are wasting tax money on bs indictments and the people have grown tired of it. Again outside of AN nobody close to top has been hit hard in awhile. Feds have blown a lot of resources on year or two please or acquittals and my guess is people are growing tired of feds shit

7 counts isn't really a big rico trial. This will be plead out quickly. Joe elcteic already plead out to 15yrs and the other guys in his drugs case. They'll just plead out and get it run concurrently. In philly's federal district. What a waste of time there.The other charges were committed by the cooperating witness and there some loans. This isn't that big. The drug guys will get the most. Notice no one even got caught with a gun in there house. They knew this was coming

PMAC...right on....ultimately they are throwing the drug charges at a couple of people they feel are weak to maybe to get them to tie together the unsolved murders in Philly and get Merlino and Grande for good; but like you said these charges seem weak. Only problem for Mazzone and Grande and maybe Ligambi is that it shows RICO, all depends on what is on the tapes and how grande mazzone and others answered the rats questions

Yeah, I’d argue the charges are anything but weak. Def implied that they have either a recording and/or eyewitness to a making ceremony which involved many of the indicted. That’s racketeering 101, like it or not. Dealing heroin is not going to win them any sympathy in today’s day and age either. But until discovery is laid out, no one really knows.

Given the advanced ages of many of those indicted, I’d imagine they’re thinking a cpl will flip to avoid dying in prison.

I would assume they know about ceremony from the tapes like when Uncle Joe met with the Gambinos and talked about big lou’s induction. I would assume Joey electric was in the 2015 ceremony and talked about it on the tapes.

yaeh but the guys with the herion charges over in new jersey all have been sentenced to big time over there and philly federal court had to indict them again in there district to make a big presser and add grande to it. dom grand should have been indicted with them in new jersey if there was a god case on him and those fake pills. i keep hearing herion but nobody really was selling herion it was fake oxy pills with fent. which is worse then herion but im just trying to get to the facts. the old guys selling ounces and eightballs of coke in philly will only get 5 yrs or less even if they got priors. there was no gun involved which makes the cocaine charges like 3 times bad if there was one invovled or in a raid. no one cares about coke anymore i think they even got rid of the mandos. so it comes down to loansharking. big whoopy and they asked a bookie or 2 to kick up some tribute and they call it extortion. i dont think anyone will flip.

Burnstein on top of the philly action; who is the dude on the left in the picture? Tough as crap for Grande to grow up in that area and with those guys with always having ppl remind him of his dad being a rat and also not having your dad there for you because of him being a turn coat of his best friends. Going to be an interesting 2021 for the guys in s philly; it seems as though the guys picked up recently should get out on bail with no murder charges on them as of now.

That’s Anthony mazzone.. sonny and stevies nephew.

Who is the “prominent sp bookmaker and advisor to Merlino” Castellis daughter is married to?

thx.......are any of these guys sending their kids to college, the military or tech school and trying to get them straight? I think one of Ligambi's kids is a broadway actor and merlino's daughters I believe graduated from Villanova There is way more easy money out there these days in many different industries and the feds are not going to send you away for 20 years.

I wonder how Anthony Nicodemo is holding up. Haha that guy must be kicking himself every day. If he had been smart, he'd be a capo by now.

100% at least he might still be with his family and outside....dont go off all half cocked and po'd, he could have waited at the very least until it was dark out and got dipietro

Ray Wagner

Yeah and the fact that he used his own car is just unbelievable. I hope someday we get the real story of what the hell happened that day lol

Because this shit is so out of character. Nicodemo was considered a very sharp player. He was an earner and a tough guy

exactly and thought he was in legit business with real estate and the gentrification of east passyunk and the area. I really figured we would hear how these guys were flipping homes and defrauding on fed loans for housing....but you are right it will be interesting to hear the real story one day if it ever comes out as to why

wagners must not talk to many people because they stay clean

So out of the 15 people that got indicted, there are only 4 made guys (Stevie and Sonny Mazzone, Dom Grande and Joey Servidio); Am i right ?


Do we know if the old timers that got out these last years are still active ? Guys like Faffy, Joe Punge, Charlie White, Narducci ?

Charlie White is dead. Faffy has been seen during COVID hanging out at the club house with Borgesi, Vince Filipelli, Anthony Accardo and Lou DeAngelo.

Sonny Mazzone made bail.

Wasn’t Vince Filipelli part of the Stanfa crew or am I thinking of someone else?

Yeah, was Stanfa's bodyguard. Went to see Merlino after getting out of prison in 1998. Was under Anthony Staino in the early 2000s. Went back to prison for a bit now seen with Borgesi

99% sure I saw Vince f. Down the shore in early 2000’s. I recognized him from the papers when I was growing up. Dude is as wide as an f-350.

He redefines the term “meathead”. But he talked his way back into Merlino and co’s good graces, so he must be more than a musclehead.

If you want to get a good sandwich in south Philly, got to magglio’s by packer terminal. Angelo lutz is a silent partner there and hawks his spaghetti sauce. When you pay at the register, you might see him in the room off to the right. South Philly special is unreal

Aside from that, they’re all a bunch of knuckleheads that get what they give....