To the comment that none of the guys Joey grew up with ever flipped. Not entirely true, Tommy Scafidi grew up around that bunch and was loyal to those guys for a while. Then again, I guess he's the exception. When shit hit the fan after Merlino's guys got all spooked after the attempt of John Stanfa in which his son got hit, he was the only one to switch sides.


Another thing, Merlino & his guys are somewhat lucky to be in the position they are today, because after that attempt and Stanfa wasn't hit, Merlino's guys began to withdraw from their rackets, Stanfa began to move in on their businesses, guys that were being forced to pay Merlino & Ciangalini were made to pay Stanfa again, Stanfa had already begun attempting to consolidate his grip on things after that. They say after the attempt on him and his son, Stanfa pretty much went crazy and guys on the other side got scared. Stanfa was the winner of that war, contrary to popular belief, according to the FBI & Anastasia. But guys like Rosario Bellochi & John Veasey had already begun to talk, they had his lawyers office where he held his meetings wiretapped for over two years by this time and had recorded over 2,000 conversations, so by then it was already too late. He couldn't enjoy the victory because the case against him was already made. Oh, and Joey Merlino went to prison. Had Stanfa not been so trusting of Avena, he probably still would've been on the street a few more years, Natale would've been killed once he got out of prison, Philly might have been totally different than it is now, had the die just landed on the other side.