I had originally started to post this in the Family Charts thread, but it got kinda long & figured it'd warrent a fresh 'un.
WARNING:Long Post, Kinda Rambly
After all the time spent following him & his "family", ive still got a bunch of queries & unanswered questions about the guy. I mean, he's supposedly known as a "mediator",a statesmanlike figure amongst the families, but apparently was never well respected by certain circles. Introducing Ralph Natale to New York wouldn't have won him any pals, but he was still meeting with guys like Joe Ligambi as late as 2004.
No less then George Anastasia himself refers to D'Elia as a Boss, & frequently sources state him as being "the last member of the Bufalino Family". How is that even possible?
Wouldn't his operations have been absorbed by one the viable Families? Is his old link to Russel Bufalino enough to guarentee his ongoing independence?
http://www.georgeanastasia.com/reputed-mob-boss-now-mob-informant He's definitely made a nice earn for himself over the years, in any case, with some "respectable" busts under his belt, arrests involving some large amounts of money & elaborate scams. By most accounts he's always maintained a hand in the "street" staples; bookmaking, loansharking, extortion & drug-traffic,
(even there, how could he be expected to maintain his position & make his collections
without a crew of some kind? & if he was a boss, why not make a few dudes? I read of only a few of his associates, guys like Robert J. Kulick. No Italian-American criminals in PA these days?)
but he's also well known for involvement in a string of "legitimate" businesses, a transport company, a "solid-waste" firm & equity shares.
Also well known were his links to several corrupt judges.
In fact, in the second article below, there is a reference to
one Michael "Hoppy" Carsia, named in connection to a corrupt judge, named as a Bufalino Family member. Thats just one obscure mobster, theres gotta be more, like James Osticco, a reputed associate supposedly involved in an attenpt to bribe a juror in a case against Louis DeNaples - more on him later.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/pam/press_releases/DElia_10_17_06.htm http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=12...Fear_Corruption http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/supreme-court-orders-new-trial-in-cv-defamation-case-1.392228 http://citizensvoice.com/d-elia-associate-sentenced-to-37-months-on-weapons-charges-1.257133 ANYWAY... Bufalino dies, Eddie Sciandra (the Underboss, i believe?) retires, & Big Bill D'Elia is apparantly recognized as the new Boss of the Bufalino LCN crime family, or at least whatevers left of it. This is after being made in '84, of course after years of serving as Bufalino's driver. He gets a passing mention in "I Heard You Paint Houses", if i remember correct, and it's true that Bufalino didn't seem to have all that much muscle & man-power behind him ven then, deriving his influence thorugh more subtle measures.
Some people specualte that his long run as a millionare mob-boss could be explained by a longterm relationship with the FBI as a covert witness, Greg Scarpa style. Who knows? In any case, we are all aware of his "co-operation", that is, his testimony against Louis DeNaples, which has seen him branded a definite rat.
(As a side note, is DeNaples actually mobbed up? Some sources say no and the ones that say yes are always filled with a string of responses vehemently denying any mob links, that he's a nice guy, a top bloke, unfairly targeted, etc, etc; i do know that he had been accused of felonies in the past, prior to the perjury charges held up in court by Billy D'Elia, & that he had a shady relationship with D'Elia & Bufalino. So it would seem he could be considered an associate?)
If he's such high level, supposedly known as a conduit between Families, where are the arrests then? And why is ther not more info available on Bufalino Family memberes & operations? In most cases, a lack of such generally points to its non-existence.
Did William D'Elia let the Bufalino Family die?
http://www.onewal.com/maf-b-sc.html http://articles.mcall.com/2009-10-16/news/4458853_1_gaming-board-perjury-charges-slots-license http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081125/NEWS/811250325 Press Release covering O.C in PA;
http://www.nevadaobserver.com/Reading%20...ia%20(1988).htm I was hoping some one with more knowledge on D'Elia & the Bufalino Family could contribute some more information? If any reads this far to see the request? (heh)
