These meetings took place around the time where LE had the belief that Tony Salerno was the boss. So the heat wouldn't be focused all that much on Chin Gigante at that point in time. The social club meeting, Chin sitting there with a panel of guys, it's all in tune with other claims from other mobsters about meetings with Chin Gigante. Casso presents a similar setting in one of his meetings with the Chin. There isn't much reason to believe that the meeting didn't happen the way Leonetti said. Also at that time, LE had little idea of just how much of a hand NY had in Philly LCN politics at the time. Scarfo was on parole and couldn't be seen meeting with those guys, so he took an associates car and they switched on a highway when they were halfway there, according to Leonetti. So if anyone was watching them, they wouldn't of seen the Philly guys entering to be exact. They would've just figured they were more Genovese associates and would've had little reason to be alarmed.
Another thing to consider, the book claims that the capo who pleaded on Casella's behalf is someone he became close with after they were both doing fed time for drug-trafficking. It doesn't make clear if they were serving time for the same crime, in which they worked together, or if they were two drug guys who became close in prison. But it's worth going over Pete Casella's arrest record, if it's available, and seeing if he were ever indicted with a Genovese guy who's name may seem familiar. It's certainly possible. A quick google search for "Pete Casella arrest record" brings up co-conspirators for a drug trafficking indictment, among the names are a James Santore, Emilio D'Aria, James Leo Massi, Paul Lo Piccolo, Anthony Edward Tarlentino, Nicholas Narducci and a Lorenzo Orlando. This case is from the Sixties, I searched a few of those names and got little as far as a Genovese connection goes, but by order of elimination or just recognizing a name, someone may figure out who the capo actually was. Another thing is this, Pete Casella was old when he attempted that power play, he'd already been away from the scene for quite sometime, and Testa named him his underboss simply for Casella's longevity in Philly Cosa Nostra. Perhaps they let him retire because they figured he wasn't a risk to retaliate and would've been dead soon anyway, which he was.
Casso also say's that when he had to go see Chin he would lay down on the floor of a car covered with blankets be driven to an adjoining building then walk thru a rat infested basement before emerging to meet Chin.
