Is that a serious question? Check out Barney Bellomo's TikTok. He calls Joey a disgrace to the life and then lip-syncs to Britney's Oops I Did It Again

That's not proof that he retired.

Maybe in Italy but not in America.

Like I said before, in Italy the mob uses social media as a recruitment tool and to glamorize their brand, in America it's just ex-members/retired or turncoats doing it to talk about their mob past, or in Merlino’s case to talk about sports or whatever he's supposed to be talking about. That's the difference.

Any active member in America will be killed for what Skinny is doing … now days shelved .

What a fucken disgrace even in that life now days … what a fucken disgrace .

If this was the old days; The hey-day of the mafia;

Skinny Joe would be killed and a bird or rat stuck in his mouth.

What Joe Merlino is doing is a disgrace….

He should be shelved….

There's always going to be fanboys who's going to make excuses for it, "oh, what's the big deal." In fact there's already been one or two in this thread.

Nothing to do with fanboying. Some of you on here are so stuck in the past it's almost painful to watch. It's not the 1960s anymore.

And when it comes to "the rules"...give me a break. Narcotics are "against the rules", right? You can bet your bottom dollar that any viable family is involved in narcotics and nobody is getting shelved over it. Why? Because the drug business generates a shit ton of money. Taking a plea deal is "against the rules", isn't it? They're all accepting plea agreements these days and have done so for a long long time.

There are only two "rules" that can be applied to any criminal organization active in the year of our Lord 2023;
1) Don't snitch on your colleagues
2) Make as much money as possible

People on here talking like someone should get whacked because he's gonna talk sports (not even about the life, just sports) on a platform EVERYONE is communicating on in this day and age when Joe Bonanno wrote a fuckin' book about the life all the way back in 1983 and lived to die of natural causes at the blessed age of 97. LMAO, get real.

Oh and please, save your "uh oh but you don't understand Cosa Nostra" rhetoric because no, I probably don't. And I don't care either. I do however understand what makes a gangster tick in 2023 and I can tell some of you on here would make some broke ass gangsters with that stuck in the stone ages mentality.
Camorra and Ndrangheta clans are screwing "the rules" time and time again and they're THRIVING.

It's time to wake up and smell the 21st century.

The KillingJoke you're right and in favor of Merlino,yes he love the spotlights like Gotti but Merlino started a war against his boss and won it despite was hit several times and lost his friend and underboss during a drive by car shooting; was so smart to use Natale as front boss purposely keeping him in the dark about many activities so that if he flips wouldn't be able to give too many details to the feds. Get 15 years and dont flipped and choose Ligambi for rebuilt the family while he was in prison,he gave the key positions to his trusted friends and can go where he want with fear anything and was well respected by NY mobsters and his family are most active out NY and he was the de facto boss from 1995 so apart Amuso,he's the long serving boss.

I have to say Killing Joke, you're making some good points.

The podcast has not started and already it's controversial. We will see in a few months how many vies he gets. At first he may draw a lot of viewers. I don't know if he will last as a podcaster. He could be good, he could be awful at it. I'm curious to see it now.

What sucked about Joe Bonanno’s book was he was so stuck on trying to appear as a "Man of Honor" that there was so much left out. I mean, Carmine Galante wasn't mentioned in the entire book, that tells you all you need to know.

Hes hosting a podcast to give opinions on who is gonna win or lose. Whats the problem? I am very confused as to why anyone would think hes not being loyal to the life by doing this?

Dude chill out, this is the first time an alleged sitting boss has ever done this, with the exception of Joe Colombo with his Civil Rights bullshit. It's understandable that people would be shocked. Now every boss will be on TV like it's nothing. Even Barney Bellomo probably.

Speaking of Joe Colombo, his son Chris also just started up a gambling podcast. I think someone might've posted a video on it before but here's a link to his newest where he brings on MMA fighter Joey Gambino.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIQSceKPYAw&t

Technology can offend people. Just my opinion.

It doesn't matter if he's retired or not. He has no say in the matter. There is absolutely NO WAY that he would not be shelved for doing what he's doing. He is 1000% not the boss anymore. The guy doesn't even wanna go to Philly and they are sick and tired of having to fly to Florida all the time. This should not come as a surprise to anyone



100%

This was bound to happen and if anyone was going to destroy what little is left of the life it was going to be him .
He never ever followed the rules of that life even when he was a teen with guys hands around his throat .

Not only him but after Scarfo sr. was gone the entire Philly family was just a street gang it was never what the NY families and several others ran to the best of their ability.

I am sure Skinny is not saying a word about the life and this is just another racket and sure thats how he explained it away .

Everyone will know soon with a few guys back on streets and getting out soon because with an absent boss these real gangsters will not sit ! And if there is anything left money wise someone will take a shot at it .

I am guessing that there is not a lot of action or they just are not able to run good scams .

Mousie is out don’t know if he has feds on his ass but he is a gangster and will test guys if there is money out there … and as quiet as its been last several years i dont think they are qualified enough to run scams like NY guys .

I kind of disagree with you saying that they were nothing more than a street gang. I think Joe Ligambi brought some stability back to the Family and was a shrewd boss.

Merlino either retired and agreed to get a monthly nut out of respect and is doing the podcast to make more money Or— Merlino is not only doing a podcast to make money but more importantly as a possible defense if he ever gets indicted. His lawyer will say- If Joey was a boss, why in the world would he ever have a podcast or go on instagram. The instagram clearly shows him having fun with friends,,,
Thats my thought.

Yeah i get that … just saying compared to NY and back a decade before they took over it was profitable.

Maybe it will get interesting.

I think just the fact that he is putting himself out there in public, you have to know that law enforcement will be reviewing every word he says. That has to be disconcerting for people who believe this should still be a secret society.

Is there a chance someone on the streets will attempt a hit on Joey for the way he is acting? I mean there has to be someone fed up with this shit and would be willing to go to prison over this. There are some guys left I would think that would rather live their life that way then sitting back and doing nothing.

Is there a chance that anyone will do anything to the other mob podcasters? Including the ones who go back to their old neighborhoods?? Probably not. The mob is dead.

A Calabrese from Philadelphia would never do this cause they are an honorable secret society. And the money is on a different level but none of us are paying his nut so no one can tell anyone how to earn money with Sicilians I guess. Check back for my NCAA and NFL picks if you want winners Washington didn't cover even though they won outright they probably made 3 bucks each. In defense you can make a shit ton on YouTube so hopefully they all cash in. I could think of a few of the characters around him that would be hilarious on there

For all we know he is retired. He could had said the heat is to much and just stepped away.

Maybe they throw him an envelope but when do we really think he last attended a making ceremony in Philly?

he like Nebraska over Colorado so he's not very good at gamboling either

No one is doing anything lol. That life is over and Joey is one of the few people who understands that

From what I've gathered, he's just another sucker gambler who loses a hellava lot more than he wins. He's definitely not what you'd call a "Jimmy the Greek" Snyder, although I'm sure if they're basing that podcast on gambling picks he'll try and style himself that way.

Like they're professional touts

Podcast is off to a good start. Joey is a natural lol

Thanks for posting it. So it's mostly a sports podcast with Merlino making a few mob jokes.

It still feel very weird to see him on a podcast.