I think it was Joe Colombo who came up with that line, when he was running the Italian American Civil Rights League back in the 1970's before he got shot.

It's still idiotic. And old.

I agree, it was at least 40 years ago when Colombo said it. Personally i think after you hear it the first time it's pretty corny. Didn't take a rocket scientist to come up with that line.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaki...underworld.html

Prosecutor: Mob is the IBM of the underworld
Philadelphia mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino (left) and reputed boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi in summer 1998. (G.W. Miller III/Staff file photo)
Philadelphia mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino (left) and reputed boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi in summer 1998. (G.W. Miller III/Staff file photo)
John P. Martin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted: Thursday, January 3, 2013, 11:44 AM

The mob is far from dead. It lives and breathes, a brand-name enterprise leveraging a reputation forged through a century of violence, threats and crime.

That was the theme from a federal prosecutor on Thursday as he opened three days of closing arguments in the racketeering trial of the reputed leaders of Philadelphia's crime family.

"The mob is to the criminal underworld what IBM and GE are to legitimate corporations," said the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Han. "It has a simple and effective and enduring business model. It goes like this: work together to make money through force and intimidation."

The arguments will cap a nearly three-month trial that showcased a decade-long investigation by the FBI into a crime family allegedly headed by Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi. Jurors heard excerpts from hundreds of secret recordings, and testimony from mob insiders, turncoats and undercover agents about illegal gambling, extortion, loan-sharking and other crimes.

But Han, who will talk to the 12 jurors and four alternates for much of the day, started slowly and deliberately, giving them a refresher course in Mob 101. He recounted evidence about the structure of La Cosa Nostra, the rules, the penalties, inductions ceremonies and its history.

He used a spinning wagon wheel on courtroom screens to illustrate the local mob leadership. Each spoke held a mug shot of a reputed mobster. Each spoke linked in the middle to the Ligambi.

"It is his family; it is his time," Han said.

The prosecutor told jurors the central count, racketeering was "the golden corral" of crimes, an agreement, in this case, to commit offenses that ranged from theft and witness tampering to extortion and running illegal video poker games.

"Racketeering activity," Han said, "does not have to be actual acts of violence."

That's likely to a point defense lawyers focus on as they begin their closing arguments later Thursday. Unlike past mob prosecutions, this one does not include any charges of actual violence, but rather threat of violence, usually to gamblers or debtors unable to pay.
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Before a packed courtroom gallery that included federal prosecutors and agents, journalists and about two dozen friends and relatives of the defendants, Han called the 73-year-old Ligambi "the ultimate shot-caller" and a man who "wielded life and death power over his family."

On trial with him are his reputed underboss, Joseph "Mousie" Massimino, consigliere George "Georgie" Borgesi, captains Anthony "Ant" Staino and Joseph "Scoops" Licata, made member Damion "Dame" Canalichio and an associate, Gary Battaglini.

U.S. District Judge Eduardo Robreno told jurors they could begin deliberating the case late Tuesday.

Don't forget coffee mugs and keychains

I'd love to see a picture of this "SpinningWagon Wheel"

Closing arguments

http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/01/closing-arguments-begin-in-mob-trial.html

Thursday, January 3, 2013
Closing Arguments Begin in Mob Trial
A federal prosecutor urged jurors on Thursday to rely on dozens of secretly recorded conversations in finding mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and six co-defendants guilty of racketeering conspiracy charges.
"Their words define them," Assistant U.S. Attorney John Han told the jury during a three and one-half hour closing argument that marked the start of the final phase of the ten-week old trial.
Han asked the jury to consider "the words that came out of the mouths" of Ligambi and most of the other defendants who he said had been "caught in the act of being themselves."
The secretly recorded conversations, from body wires worn by cooperating witnesses and from wiretapped conversations, were gathered during an investigation that began in 1999 and concluded with the indictment of Ligambi and the other defendants in May 2011.
The defendants are charged with gambling, loansharking and extortion that the government alleges were part of an ongoing racketeering conspiracy.
Han's methodical and detailed arguments were in sharp contrast to the highly charged, 35-minute closing by Joseph Santaguida, the lawyer for co-defendant and mob underboss Joseph "Mousie" Massimino.
Santaguida, his voice rising in anger and disdain, repeatedly told the jury that the government had failed to prove its case against his client and against any of the other defendants. He pleaded with the jury to decide the case "based on the evidence, or the lack of evicence, that came from the witness stand."
Closing arguments will continue from five other defense lawyers Friday.
Santaguida said the prosecution used arguments instead of facts and evidence in presenting its case over the past 10 weeks and that Han used that same tactic in his closing. Citing a line from The Godfather movie, Santaguida shouted "they owe my client an apology."
"Not only that," he said of the government. "They owe you, the taxpayers, an apology."
He said the case was a waste of time and money, estimating the government had spent "millions" chasing after a group of bookmakers.
Why didn't they spend that time and money, "finding terrorists or getting guns off the street" he asked the jury.
But Han's description of the Philadelphia branch of La Cosa Nostra was, in many ways, a picture of urban terrorism. He said Ligambi, 73, was the successor in a line of mob bosses who had used violence, beatings and murder to enforce control and generate income for decades in the underworld.
While the current case does not include any allegations of murder or assault, Han argued, as the prosecution has throughough the trial, that Ligambi and the others lived on the reputation of the organization.
Providing the jury with what amounted to a history lesson of the Philadelphia mob, he said that while the faces of the leadership might change, the goal and purpose of the organization remained the same.
Former mob boss Angelo Bruno might have been known as the "Gentle Don," he said. Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, who ruled the family in the 1980s, was a psychopath leaving the "streets strewn with bodies." But both, he said were, like Ligambi, caretakers of an organization that used fear, violence and intimidation to generate income.
"Violence is the life blood of the mob," he said, "the source of its power...the engire that makes the wheel move."
Han also used slides, graphics and played snippets of tapes for the jury. One graphic was a picture of a wagon wheel with Ligambi's photo in the center and photos of the co-defendants and other mobsters at the end of each spoke on the wheel.
The closing arguments were in some ways pro forma. As expected, Santaguida challenged the credibility of key govenment witnesses like mobster-turned-informant Peter "Pete the Crumb" Caprio and mob associates Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello and Frank "Frankie the Fixer" DiGiacomo.
Santaguida sarcastically described Monacello as a "bastion" of credibility; said DiGiacomo was a "citadel" of credibility, and called Caprio, who has admitted his role in four gangland murders, as "practically a serial killer."
But Han, as prosecutors often do, told the jury, "the defendants chose Caprio, Monacello and DiGiacomo" who were all part of the same criminal organization that is at the heart of the racketeering conspiracy charge in the case.
Closing arguments are expected to continue through Monday. Jury deliberations are likely to begin on Tuesday after a lengthy explanation of the laws that apply to the case from U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno.
The courtroom was packed with family members and friends of the defendants Thursday and likely will remain so through the rest of the proceeding. The defendants appeared confident.
Damion Canalichio, during one break, asked a friend to make sure his wife brought "the three-quarter lenth coat" for him to wear once the not guilty verdicts were returned.
"It's cold outside," said Canalichio, a twice-convicted drug dealer who is linked to a gambling operation in the current case.
Canalichio, Ligambi, Massimino, George Borgesi and Joseph Licata are being held without bail. Anthony Staino and Gary Battaglini have been free on bail during the trial.
Canalichio also expressed concern when his wife was unable to gain admittance to the morning session of the trial because the courtroom had filled up. He was upset that a family member -- his wife -- was denied access while a reporter --- "an asshole," he said -- got to sit in the front row.
His wife made it into the afternoon session. The reporter was late. He missed some of the proceeding, but eventually gained admission as well.
Read more at http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/01/closing-arguments-begin-in-mob-trial.html#QiORUF5cX5MPu5t7.99

The wheel is a little over done. I haven't read that indictment in about a year but I don't know what the discovery looked like or how damaging the tapes were. That prosecutor must have been tweaked out on adderall to come up with the spoke wheel that's kinda stupid but I guess something that stupid will stick in the jurors minds shit were talking about it... Joe is going away so is staino and Santaguida is a fanboy himself representing them throughout the years and especially... mousie unlike alotta people his age getds his hands dirty.. an old associate of mind failed to pay him on money he borrowed and he went and threaten the kids mom for cris sake I remember her telling me that when they all got indicited " He shouldn't be doing that its against the rules." Thekid and his friend actually went to dicks sports and bought a BB gun or something like that and his friend shot him to make it looked like they got robbed while using the borrowed money for a "business venture" ..

http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/01/defense-in-mob-trial-rips-government.html

Friday, January 4, 2013
Defense in Mob Trial Rips the Government Case
They're already planning the victory party.

On a day when five different defense attorneys ripped into the govenment's witnesses and evidence in the racketeering trial of mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and six co-defendants, family members and friends who have crowded the 15th floor federal courtroom during the 10-week trial were openly optimistic about the outcome of the case.

So, in fact, were some of the defendants.

"Feeling good today," said mob underboss Joseph "Mousie" Massimino. "I'm tellin' ya...I gotta have a suit for the party...Get those martini glasses chilled."

Massimino's comment came during an exchange with several friends prior to the start of the afternoon session Friday, a day in which lawyers for five of his co-defendants made their closing arguments.

All five challenged the government's version of the case.

Christopher Warren, the attorney for mob capo Joseph "Scoops" Licata, also challenged the veracity of comments made by both witnesses and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Han in the government's closing argument Thursday.

"The messages that these guys are sending out," Warren said as he pointed to the prosecution table, "are flat out lies."

Ultimately it will be the jury of seven men and five women who decide where the truth lies.

One member of the prosecution camp, when asked Friday about the boisterous and clearly optimistic buzz coming from the defense quarter, quipped, "They're like Romney Republicans the night before the election."

In this case, twelve votes will decide. The jury is not expected to get the case until Tuesday.

Two more closing arguments are set for Monday when the trial resumes. Edwin Jacobs Jr., the lawyer for Ligambi, will get a little more than two hours to wrap up the defense arguments. Then the prosecution will have a chance at a rebuttal.

U.S. District Court Judge Eduardo Robreno will explain the laws that apply Tuesday morning. That so-called jury charge is expected to take at least two hours, setting the stage for the start of deliberations.

Ligambi, 73, and his co-defendants are charged with racketeering conspiracy built around allegations of bookmaking, loansharking, extortion and the distribution of illegal video poker machines. The defense has argued since the trial opened in mid October that the charges are in fact a series of unrelated events that have nothing to do with a broad, mob-connected criminal conspiracy.

They have also challenged the credibility to key government witnesses and the prosecution's interpretation of events.

Warren, for example, hammered away at the government's contention that a meeting at LaGrigilia, a North Jersey restaurant in May 2010 that was set up by his client was a mob sitdown between leaders of the Gambino crime family from New York and Ligambi and several of his top associates.

In fact, Warren said, it was a "social" gathering of "geiatric gangsters" who sat around for five hours eating, drinking and talking about old times.

Nothing that was discussed at that lucheon, which was secretly recorded by a mob informant wearing a body wire, had anything to do with the charges in the pending case. Warren also showed the jury a photo of a private conference room at the restaurant where the luncheon could have taken place.

But he noted that the manager of the restaurant, called as a defense witness, said Licata and the others opted not to have their meal in a private room, but rather in the main dining room.

The session was not, as the government claimed, a "meeting of the board of directors of organized crime," but rather "a bunch of old guys eating and drinking."

"It is an insult to your intelligence," he told the jury, for the government to argue otherwise.

Gregory Pagano, the lawyer for Anthony Staino, jumped on that same theme, telling the jury that the prosecution throughout the trial was "hiding, distorting and mischaracterizing evidence."

He said evidence, testimony and the govenment's own tapes support his claim that $25,000 Staino gave to an undercover FBI agent posing as a corrupt financier, was "an investment" and not, as the prosecution alleged, a loanshark transaction.

"It's not fair....It's not justice...It's not the truth," Pagano said of other allegations that he contended were not supported by the evidence.

The jury also heard from lawyers for co-defendants Gary Battaglini, Damion Canalichio and George Borgesi. All three ripped the prosecution case.

Paul Hetznecker, Borgesi's court-appointed attorney, finished the day-long onslaught with an impassioned plea, arguing in part that his client was a defendant not because of anything he had done, but because of who he is.

Borgesi, 49, was a top associate of mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino and was convicted with Merlino and five others in a different racketeering case in the same federal courthouse in 2001. The volatile mobster, who is Ligambi's nephew, has been in prison since 2000 and was about to be released when he was indicted in May 2011 in the current case.

"They don't like my client and they don't want him out of jail," Hetznecker said.

The entire case against Borgesi, he said, was built around the fabricated testimony of mob associate Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello.

Monacello, 46, testified for the prosecution, telling the jury that he ran Borgesi's bookmaking and loansharking operation after Borgesi was jailed.

Monacello talked of beatings, extortions and loansharking and gambling operations that generated tens of thousands of dollars and said he operated on behalf of Borgesi and under the umbrella of the Ligambi organization.

Hetznecker said Monacello used Borgesi's name and Ligambi's connection to run his own criminal enterpirse. And that he then parlayed their names and allegations about them into a deal with the government, winning his own release from prison after he was indicted with the other defendants in the case in 2011.

"He gave them what they wanted," Hetznecker said, arguing that the prosecution never bothered to try to substantiate or corroborate anything Monacello told them.

He said the case was built around an overreaching investigation that tried to take unrelated facts and outright lies and turn them into an indictment.

"They've completely mischaracterized the evidence in this case," he said. "The way they twisted and distorted the evidence is just outrageous."

Not unexpectedly, the defense attorney arguments were praised by friends and family members.
"You finally gonna write the truth?" one of Ligambi's sons asked a reporter.

But what's been written about this case is really not the issue.
The only thing that matters is what the jury believes.

The answer to that may come some time next week.

Until then, the smart money says keep those martini glasses on ice.
Read more at http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/01/defense-in-mob-trial-rips-government.html#5wCbYf7zOkOerFaC.99

"They're like Romney Republicans the night before the election."

I wouldn't go that far, but there seems to be a certain "gallows humor" in the camp of the defense. The top guys are going to be found guilty of at least some of the charges. The middle management and bottom feeders might fare better. It say it's 50/50 for those guys (Canalichio, et al.)

Jurys are different, they had to have taken in what was going on in s philly they are human after all and had to have known about the murder...whether what they are indicted on is a good case or waste of time is debatable but theend result is the jury system, the same system that was in front of oj and casey anthony

A jury is a crap shoot

I agree with you guys,no matter how many times a judge asks you will that affect your decision,even if you say no your still aware of it.I love when a judge tells the jury to''disregard that statement''Even if the jury says ok its still there you heard it.Its like saying your wife cheated with some guy,but then saying dis-regard that statement.It still happened,by disregarding the statement its not going to go away.another thing that gets me about this trial is how the lawyers are saying these guys are dead broke,its a broke broke mob.I tell you what they must be making enough to pay these lawyers who don't come cheap unless your Borgesi who stiffed his last lawyer[Bruce Cutler].

Bottom feeders?? Really? This coming from a 45 year old pizza delivery boy....lmao

I really think most are broke , if not they are making a small living . I don't think anyone has suitcases of cash or money hidden in the walls ! Whatever was made Iam sure was spent ! Some may have gambled it while others put their kids through college . I think when the lawyers compare them to the old mob they are speaking truly . And it's not like they are affecting legit people or their business . It's not NY in Phila the pass twenty years . And Iam sure when the big players from NY are in Phila you don't hear about it ! Just an opinion .

I should have probably put that a different way,I would guess the higher guys like Ligambi and Staino and a few others are pretty comfortable but the rest are probably more week to week guys.Maybe Ligambi foots some of the bill for these lawyers which has to run into the 3 digits.Yeah I agree on the New York guys,the power and the money.

Yes but even the higher ups , I would estimate maybe they seen 5k a week ? And that's a good week ! Don't forget back in the dAy they had the numbers, lots of card games and so many legit and Illegit rackets . Times have changed and although this family had some structure ,it was more of a crew . Real racketeers were worried about making money and I think they had the right idea ,only problem is this is more blue collar street rackets !

I'm actually 53. And don't let the username fool you. I do all right .

You know what? Bottom feeders was probably a poor choice of words on my part. But for what it's worth, read my entire post. I also used the phrase "middle management."

And do you want to know the God's honest truth? I honestly hope that your brother is one of the guys who beats these charges. The way I figure it, he's been in for what, five years already?

If he was charged with this crap back then, he probably could have made a plea to run everything concurrent for zero to little additional time. So from that point of view, I can see why you think he got the shaft, because these charges are so old.

But I wouldn't hold my breath on the bosses. While I agree that the witnesses were pretty much human garbage, the tapes were pretty damning. We'll see what happens.

And just for shits and giggles, the origin of my username: It's from "There's Something About Mary." Towards the end of the film, Matt Dillon says it to the phony Englishman: "Tell her the truth, Pizzaboy!" When I signed up for this site almost seven years ago, that movie was on in the background. When I was prompted for a username, that scene was on. Simple as that.

Listen to you Southphilly13. Your brothers a convicted drug dealer. Even if he gets off on this one, there's another indictment waiting for him right around the corner. One way or another he'll either end up flipping or doing 20 years in jail.

Partly due to the fact that I'm temporary relocated away from the try state area, I don't follow as hard as many on this site. But this looks a lot like that Lucchese Jersey Crew trial from the 80's. Circumstantial, same defense strategy, similar witnesses, etc. Tapes are damning but they're not denying what they are, just trying to show they ain't the killers of Skinny Joey's days. I donno.. just my .02

My buddy's parents have a pizza shop a driver does an average of about 150 deliveries a day min. $300.00 ... southphilly13 how about I buy you a plane ticket to East Tennessee, so you can do the Macarena with ronnie the rocket

I remember that trial like it was yesterday, Frank. That was a freak of nature. Jackie DiNorscio was one of a kind. And Michael Crithley put on the defense of his life (which is really saying something because he's an absolute pro).

It should also be noted that almost everyone acquitted at that trial won the wrath of the Feds and was reindicted and convicted somewhere down the line. At one point the Taccettas were considered to be teflon. And look what happened to them.

Does anyone get the google service ad " We DON'T Like Young Men! We want YOU! and it has a bunch of milfs with their titties hanging out... then an amazon a collection of the most relaxing classical music

Regardless of which side you find yourself on this trial the following article is what goes on in certain sections of philly everyday, (north and west) it seems the amount of money used to get these costa nostra guys in jersey and philly could have been used to clean up this crap that happens everyday in philly

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130106_Man__26__fatally_beaten_in_W__Philadelphia.html

Murder witness fatally beaten; link uncertain
Mike Newall, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Posted: Sunday, January 6, 2013, 1:05 PM
A witness in a murder case who later recanted was beaten to death Saturday night in West Philadelphia, police said Sunday.

Investigators are not sure if the killing was related to the murder case or if another motive was involved.

Akeel Prout, 26, was punched and stomped by six men about 10 p.m. on the 500 block of North 55th Street, police said. One of the assailants reached into the victim's pocket and took something before fleeing,

Prout was pronounced dead at 10:26 p.m. at the University of Pennsylvania.

Prout, who lived in the Wynnefield section had been a witness in the murder of Hafeezah Nurid-Din, an Overbrook mother of four and a schoolteacher killed by a stray bullet through the heart in October 2011.

According to police, Prout identified the gunman as Daniel Shelley, now 19.

Police said Shelley, seeking revenge for a shooting that wounded his brother months earlier, rode up on his bike and opened fire on a group of males.

The intended targets fled unscathed but a bullet hit Nurid-Din outside her Malvern Avenue home as she returned from a grocery.

At Shelley's preliminary hearing in February, 2012, Prout recanted, testifying he did not know Shelley and had never seen him.

He acknowledged being there, but testified he only helped put the dying woman - whom he knew in passing - into a car so a relative could take her to the hospital.

Despite the recantation, prosecutors planned to use at trial Prout's statement to investigators, which was read into the record at the preliminary hearing.

Yea listen to me!! If this was your family, would you let someone call them a bottom feeder?? You probably would... Another indictment around the corner? You know something we don't? Oh I get it, you must be the RAT on the next case... the FBI took 13 years for this indictment, so that's a long around the corner. My brothers looking at 20 years on this case, just wondering why he didn't flip? You wanna put your 1 cent in... Yea 1 cent cause your not worth 2. All the sudden you wanna say something. Get out with your 11 posts....

I never say anything personal to anyone on here but Dick your jus retarded....Your probably like a 65 year old guy with no life, family or friends.... You get on this blog and just talk about things that you have no clue about.... You think you know everything about everything. I'm happy to hear that a pizza delivery guy in Tennessee averages 300 a day... So your telling me if this guy works 5 days a week, he makes 6k a month?? LMFAO!!! 72k a year delivering pizza...your even more retarded then i thought....But once again no one gives a shit. The topic is.. are the philly guys gonna beat these charges? Not... My buddies parents have a pizza delivery guy that makes 300 a day...which you are probably lying about, cause you don't have no friends. What happened to not making anymore comments until after the verdict??

It wouldn't be the first time the government has had other charges lying in wait until the end of one trial.

Who's your brother?

Kid damion innocent..ligambi,,massimino,,staining,,,borgesi,, guilty...the rest not sure that's my ptediction but I font think they'll be guilty of all charges they could get time served lol..I've read every article just like everyone else that is just my thoughts....

Scoops Licata=Innocent