Latest Gang Land article

Lots of additional info coming out about Gambino soldier, Nicholas "Nicky Skins" Stefanelli, who recently committed suicide. It's now known that he had been wearing a wire for a long time and got people from all 5 NY families, as well as the New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New England families on tape. The FBI has been going around to all the people they got on tape trying to convince them to cooperate now that Stefanelli is dead.

Guys who knew him, or about him, including on the other board say they are very surprised he had started cooperating. It may have had something to do with getting his kid out of jam. But it appears the guilt got to him and he decided to take himself out of the equation. But not before he killed a local business who he blamed for getting his legal troubles two days before. Stefanelli was found in a hotel, lying on a bed after he shot himself.

The also identified the Gambino captain Stefanelli reported to - James "Jimmy Boy" Dellaratta, who is currently running Nicky Corozzo's crew. Stefanelli was originally associated with the Luccheses, and was part of the Jersey faction that went against Amuso and Casso, but was later made into the Gambino family.

Good info Ivy, great info.

Those tapes may well be used in court, though its harder since theres no one to testify. Did his son get popped for something? Rings bells of Carlo Gervasi from The Sopranos.

I thought it was very interesting that he moved around that much and had that many connections with different families

Daily News picked up on it.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/sour...ticle-1.1035908

I didn't read the Gangland article, but apparently the businessman he shot was named Joseph Rossi and also cooperating?

Conspiracy theories abound. Being that the guy was cremated, some of the boys are thinking he may be alive, well and in Witness Protection. But I seriously doubt it.

Reminds me a bit of Tony Soprano always getting lucky with rats having heart attacks or killing themselves in the series. But some guys did get lucky here.

Maybe, maybe not. If sworn affidavits exist they're still admissible (to a degree).

update
Cops bust NJ man in guilty-conscience mob rat tale
By REUVEN FENTON AND JOSH MARGOLIN
Last Updated: 12:11 PM, March 9, 2012
Posted: 10:28 AM, March 9, 2012



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The case of the New Jersey mob rat who killed his nemesis and then killed himself before he could testify for the feds took a shocking turn this morning when Garden State cops arrested another man in connection with the case, sources told The Post.
In a daring pre-dawn raid, SWAT cops from Essex County put the cuffs on a Union Township man identified as Jose "Lucky" Rivera, sources said.
Authorities believe Rivera "helped" Gambino family stool pigeon Nicholas “Nicky Skins” Stefanelli off Joseph Rossi Sr. at Rossi's Bloomfield business on Feb. 24.

GUILTY-CONSCIENCE MOB RAT COMMITS SUICIDE
Charges have not been made public and both the cops and feds were keeping a tight lid on information this morning.
Officials would not even say where the arrested man was being held.
Stefanelli had been working with the feds for two years after he and his son, Nicholas Jr., were arrested on drug charges two years ago. The mobster blamed Rossi for the arrest that led him to become a turncoat.
Feds said Stefanelli shot Rossi in cold blood. He was found at a Meadowlands hotel two days later after apparently killing himself.
Sources told The Post that Stefanelli had paid for his own funeral before killing Rossi. At the time of his death, Stefanelli was being prepped to take the witness stand in an untold number of mob cases from Manhattan to Philadelphia.
Feds last night were still trying to figure out how many of those cases are now at risk of collapsing because of the death of a star witness.
Authorities would not say this morning what role they believe Rivera played in the Rossi hit, just that Stefanelli was "not alone" in committing the crime


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/feds_...K#ixzz1oe4VJ0a7

Potential government witness in Ligambi trial an apparent suicide
By George Anastasia
Inquirer Staff Writer
March 9, 2012


A North Jersey organized crime figure who was a potential government witness in the pending racketeering trial of Philadelphia mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi won't be able to make it to the witness stand.

Nicholas "Nicky Skins" Stefanelli committed suicide two weeks ago after allegedly killing an Essex County video poker machine operator in a brazen midafternoon gangland-style hit, according to law enforcement sources.

It is unclear what impact Stefanelli's death might have on the Ligambi case, scheduled for trial in September. The FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia declined to comment.

Stefanelli's body was found in a hotel room in Rutherford, Bergen County, on Feb. 26. The 69-year-old member of the Gambino crime family died of what appeared to be a deliberate drug overdose, sources said.

The bizarre story of his role as an undercover operative for the FBI and his involvement in the murder-suicide were detailed Thursday in Gang Land News, a weekly online column by the New York organized-crime reporter Jerry Capeci.

Law enforcement sources in the Philadelphia area have confirmed that Stefanelli was providing information to the FBI about Ligambi's operations.

One of the key charges against the 72-year-old mob leader centers on his alleged control of video poker machine businesses in the Philadelphia and South Jersey area.

The illegal machines are said to provide a steady cash flow for mob figures, who put them in businesses such as bars and restaurants and split profits with the business owners.

Stefanelli is suspected of murdering Joseph Rossi, owner of Phoenix Amusements, a video poker machine business in Bloomfield.

Rossi was found shot in the head in his company office around 12:30 p.m. Feb. 24.

The 58-year-old businessman was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to tax-evasion and illegal-gambling charges filed in December 2009 by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Newark.

The gambling charge alleged that Rossi had put illegal video poker and slot machines in a social club and a restaurant in Essex County and then shared the profits with the owners.

Rossi's lawyer, Michael Pedicini, said in a telephone interview days after his client's killing there was no indication of any organized crime connection to his business.

Sources in law enforcement and underworld circles, however, said anyone dealing in the illegal video poker business would attract the mob's attention.

An official with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday the Rossi murder investigation was ongoing but declined to comment on reports linking Stefanelli to the shooting.

Stefanelli was found dead in a room at the Renaissance Meadowlands Hotel two days after Rossi was killed.

His connection to Rossi was unclear.

The Gang Land News report indicated that Stefanelli became a cooperating witness two years ago after being snared in a drug investigation. Stefanelli had two previous drug convictions and had served about eight years in prison.

The report indicated he wore a body wire and worked for the FBI in a series of cases that targeted mob figures in Providence, R.I., New York City, North Jersey, and Philadelphia.

Whether he recorded conversations or merely supplied information on the Ligambi operation could not be determined. Also uncertain was whether prosecutors could still use any tapes Stefanelli made.

One law enforcement source familiar with the investigations said tapes could still be used if Stefanelli's recordings were tightly controlled; if law enforcement agents, for example, wired him up, took surveillance of any meetings in which he made recordings, and then removed the tapes and documented the time, place, and location.

Stefanelli had been closely tied to a North Jersey faction of the Lucchese crime family in the 1980s and 1990s before being initiated into the Gambino organization, according to the Gang Land News report.

That faction of the Lucchese organization had close ties to the Philadelphia-South Jersey crime family now headed by Ligambi.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_je...nt_suicide.html

will be very interesting to see who else flips because of this

Nicholas Stefanelli, eh? Him being 72 may have a lot to do with a suicide vs. WITSEC.

Some extra info in the Post today, apparently Stefanelli had help when he killed Rossi.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/suicide_whack_arrest_BfvPXMwkGoKsGpAwZwyBKP

Reminds me of Carlo in the Sopranos becoming a rat in order to get his son out of a jam.

How come certain sociopaths/psychopaths seem to have normal feelings of love towards family members? I would think that either you can experience love, compassion, empathy ect or you can't.

Good question. Billy Beatie talked about how he would see Jimmy Coonan at home, playing with his kids, and a few hours before he was carrying somebody's head around. It baffled him how he could do that.

most likely the tapes will be used and papers but the defense attorneys will paint Stefanelli as a killer just as they will paint Rossetti who was involved in 6 murders and sold heroin from his moms house well being an informant. The FBI might catch some heat for these informants, after Gravano people dont want to give killers and drug dealers deals especially when they committ these acts well being informants, the whole im doing the right thing excuse doesn't really work

Ok, forgive my ignorance, but can they realistically still get convictions based only on Affidavits and tapes?

What happened to the right to cross-examine witnesses? Surely it will easy to demolish the integrity of any evidence obtained from Stefanelli.

Yeah I always thought that once an informant was dead before trial, his evidence was useless? That is how it is portrayed on the Sopranos.

Nicodemo, That's a TV show, but a lot of things that happened on it really went down, it was a pretty real life show.

Not much new in this week's Gang Land article except there is video footage of Stefanelli and an accomplice going into Rossi's store before he was killed. Also, it seems Stefanelli killed himself by an overdose, not by shooting himself.

On a side note, as late as November 2010, the FBI was still trying to push for a 5th case against Gotti Jr.

5th case against Gotti Jr? Geez....(major facepalm)

A 5th case? What a waste of money and resources.