Big Billy D'Elia; Bufalino Family Boss...?

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)

D'Elia was recognized as the boss of the family. Even when he was reportedly the last surviving member and there was really no "family" left to speak of. But he had clout because of his connections to families in both New York and Philadelphia. And yes, DeNaples has mob connections, though "mobbed up" might be too strong a term.

Do we know which Families in particular he had his connects with? Beside's the Colombo Family?
Its interesting eh? A one man crime fam. He must've had hundreds of associates himself, but i get the idea that he also stood to inherit alot of these links & standings upon the death of Bufalino. There's always alot of references to the "ongoing corruption in NE PA.", not to cast stones or nothin'. He's definitly kept busy. it makes you think he obviously had a reason for not making any guys.

Some random dude on another message board put it well when he said that being he's a multi-millionaire and all, theres basically a whole new set of laws for him, shit that i couldn't get away with in my wildest dreams, like his fortune puts him above the law. Louie DeNaples, that is.

D'Elia had contacts with all the New York families but especially the ones with whom he acted as a broker for their garbage dumping operations in Pennsylvania. And like I said, he was also close to the Philly mob.

I should also add that in February 2005, D'Elia was charged with laundering $600,000 in drug profits. And in October 2006, he was charged in an 18 count indictment that included conspiracy, money laundering, subornation of perjury, obstruction of justice, contempt of court, witness tampering, and solicitation of homicide.

2 years ago, I worked at a Sears store in York, PA with an older man who was an electrician there. He told me that he had once operated a clothing store with the Mafia in Scranton. He said they treated him well, but "you didn't full around with these people if you didn't want to end up dead." He said that one time a mobster's girlfriend threatened to tell his (the mobster's) wife about their affair. The man said that if she did, she'd be "six feet under" the next day. The woman was terrified and left town immediately.

Some news outta Luzerne County, one of two judges on trial have plead out to racketeering charges.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=12..._to_RICO_Charge

Judge Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. & Michael T. Conahan, apparently known as "Scooch" & "the Boss" respectively. They seem to have had financial interests in certain privately owned Juvenile Detention Centre's. By sentencing young offenders to time, they were effectively drumming up business & received money for their efforts, something in the area of 2.8 mill. according to the indictment. This is along with a litany of horrendous cases of gross misconduct & abuse of authority.

Conahan (who has made the recent guilty plea) is feared by some to be "singing like a bird", as referenced in the above link & quoted below. To elaborate, his plea deal has some fearing he could well be cooperating. Quote:
"The sentiment from several sources upon reviewing the plea deal was: "He must be singing like a bird." If so, sources said, the government will most likely expect Conahan to name lawyers or others involved in the case-fixing that allegedly went on in the courthouse. Sources close to the investigation have confirmed for months now that a number of lawyers are under federal scrutiny and some are talking." - by Hank Grezlak and Leo Strupczewski for The Legal Intelligencer

What does all this have to do with Big Billy D'Elia, Mr. Bufalino Family himself? Conahan was named in Federal Court testimony as a close friend of Mr D'Elia for a number of years. http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/79287147.html

It definitely seemed D'Elia was very selective in his "co-operation". By very likely telling the Courts the truth for once, corroborating a friendship between Louis DeNaples, Russel Bufalino & that Priest in the middle, he allowed to Feds to succesfully catch DeNaples on perjury charges & likely shaved years of his own sentence of 9 years. He is considered to have co-operated, but surely he could have sent more people to jail if he had been so inclined. If he was strong, respected & earning enough to be left alone all those years by New York & the like, you know ther had to have been many more he could have taken down.

Conahan's plea is a ripple now but later waves may have potential to 'cause headaches for some, includind D'Elia.
Although he (Conahan) may well remain stauch after all, developments are yet to be seen.

Interesting.

So they're really keepin' old "Big" Bill D'Elia on the move, eh? This most recent is the 6th in about 2 years. Why do they keep him moving? As (Edmond Ross) a spokesman for the Federal Bureau Of Prisons was quoted; “Generally, inmates are transferred from one facility to another for any number of reasons”. Hmm. Is he considered a target now? *I think thats pretty obvious at this point* He's been shuffled thorugh prisons in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas & California, & now apparently somewhere close to Tuscon, Arizona.

The article also makes reference to one Robert Kulick, another person which D'Elia apparently cooperated & provided information against, "assisting" prosecutors in a criminal case. This blew up in his face when Kulick flipped in 2009 & implicated D'Elia in the case that saw Judges Conahan and Ciavarella last year on racketeering charges.

http://www.timesleader.com/news/Reputed_mob_boss_on_move_again_05-21-2010.html

Kinda old news by now but ive been meaning to post the link for a while. With the recent conviction of Mark Ciavarella, both judges involved in the "Cash-for-Kids" scandal have been brought to "justice".
http://standardspeaker.com/news/ciavarella-guilty-on-12-counts-remains-free-on-bail-1.1107013
In a nutshell, these guys were sending kids to jail for money.
IMO they got of lightly, even with the plea's. Conahan was convicted last year.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=12...&hbxlogin=1

Remembering that the investigation into the dirty judges grew from the probe into Billy D'Elia (which unconvered his extensive links with former Judge Conahan) ,there are supposedly several ongoing investigations in progress, relating
to figured as-yet unnamed.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/prosecu...4#axzz1EPmvXYJH

Conahan is said to have coopearted, which may very well be related to Bill D'Elia's own decision to cooperate. The guys a rat, dont forget.
http://citizensvoice.com/news/d-elia-s-sentence-ordered-reduced-1.872506

An opinion piece on the recent events in Luzerne County, focusing on Ciavarella.
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/ciavare...5#axzz1EWOwNhfa

Former judge Mark Conahan has been sentenced to 17 and a half years for his part in the "cash-for-kids" scandal.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/former-...4#axzz1YwHQGwYk

Federal officials once again relocated inmate William D’Elia, but this time it was to a halfway house to serve out the remainder of his prison sentence.
The Bureau of Prisons Friday said he was released to the responsibility of a community corrections center in Philadelphia on Sept. 5.
He gained notoriety as the reputed successor to the late organized crime boss Russell Bufalino, for reportedly meeting regularly with former judge Michael Conahan, a key figure in the Luzerne County juvenile justice scandal and cooperating with investigators in the perjury case of Louis DeNaples.
D’Elia, 66, of Hughestown has been serving a more than seven-year sentence for his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering and witness tampering.
Before his transfer, he was held at the Federal Correctional Institution near Tucson, Ariz., his sixth stop after spending time in facilities in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas and California.
http://www.timesleader.com/stories/Reputed-mob-boss-DElia-moved-to-halfway-house,205020?search_filter=D%27Elia&town_id=1&sub_type=stories#ixzz26ZpTgaxW