If there are some people on here that know a lot about the Philly mob could you possibly answer this question for me. What exactly happened in the late 90s when Merlino went to prison, was it automatic that Ligambi became acting boss or what was going on from then until Merlino's release. Acting bosses? Ruling panel? Do you think it was even organised or just different factions.

Here is a good article I've previously posted from 1999:

1999 Philly Mob Article

That article is pretty interesting. No pedigree and little experience and he's arguably been the best leader since Bruno and now widely respected.

at first he did not have much respect. Peter "the crumb" Caprio north jersey capo he plotted to kill ligambi, steve mazzone and geogre borgesi in 1999 all at once he was going to lure them to a pretend meeting then kill them all. He had the genovese and gambino familys backing him to take over the family in return for them backing him he was going to allow the genovese family to set up poker machine operations in philly

plot never went through one of his guys casale (convicted pedophile) was wearing a wire. Pete Caprio then flipped.

But it shows new york and alot of guys on the street did not respect or recognize ligambi at the beginning

All the families were under the eyes of the Feds from 88 give or take . There were a few NY guys looking to take rackets.

Not only rackets there was and still is scores to settle. The ones people know about of course are on wiretap and or bugs. But there were and may well be more just waiting for the right guys or time to build a little power base.

The things that were done to some of these guys that are now the elders are no way forgotten .

They are fully aware of the Feds and the Technology they have and most of these guys have done a long stint in the joint and may be setting it up as we speak .

You never know maybe they tell them to get out of town and retire like the Chin did , only time will tell ,
But from what I have lived no way these guys eat crow , I think they are just getting started.

I know it's been quiet , and I know everyone said it would not have been.
But knowing these guys and there families I just can not believe they are going to have this shoved down there throat .

Especially the two guys that have been at the top were gophers when these guys were making moves.

Damn Ligambi. That article gave me a whole new perspective on how that man is. Especially since I don't have much knowledge with philly.

1rst of all, U as a friend are saying 2 much..Serp ,control ur self ..I know it's hard when u know 2 much..I love ur shit ...but..shhhh....never them know what ur REALLY thinking..

NEVER LET THEM KNOW

Merlino didn't go away till late 90s, basically 2000. I know the official sentencing was like 99 or something but I don't feel like looking it up. But MMerlino put Uncle Joe in that acting boss position. Really,besides lance there werent many good choices but he knew scarf guys be getting out and UNCLE joes main people were still out so he was able to create a nice click. Probably his best decision cause he stabilized the Philly mob. Plus he had that street cred with flowers hit and he been around n is smart. I think if not boss or acting boss news best served as a consig cause he kinda wants to be retired anyway. Hioefully now that ranks are filled they can get people to keep their mouths shut and hopefully some of the smarter guys in the different factions can to get into more lucrative rackets instead of fighting over same shot. Kind of interesting to see what will happen with so many people getting off the books and some are stone cold

I get it spmob but the people that I knew and herd about back in the day would never go for what's going on with the people that are at the top of the chart.

Maybe everyone is right there is nothing left of any of them !!

Uncle Joe is pound for pound the best boss post 1980's. George A has it right, make money not headlines. I've always said that being #1 (or 2 based on who you ask) in this 21st century climate is 3x tougher than being top spot pre Rico. You have to hand it to him... He brought an LCN family back from near extinction to arguably comparable to the weaker NYC families. No unions? Philly group sure doesn't seem to give a flying fuck. If you're rooting for the bad guys, Philly is the spot to watch now. Forget Scarfo's 100k Rolls Royce... Let's stay out of jail and settle for a Lincoln instead. As long as they keep the murders out of it.. K sir'a sir'a to you.

Ligambi did an amazing job in bringing them back from the dead, but in all honesty they are in no way, shape or form comparable to any of the NY families.
The 'weakest' one, let's say the Colombos, have around a 100 made men and up to 500 associates. Philly doesn't even have half those numbers..

Spot on Billy I completely agree

Side note i was in Grays Ferry the other day by the old Warfield Cafe where they attempted hit on Joey Chang went down and was captured on tape.. Thats a ballsy spot lotta traffic from 76 bein right there and its like 3 blocks from the VA .. Altho I believe the hit took place at like 5 am