Leonetti

Just read his book, sometimes he seems so beleiveable and other time he seems full of shit, anybody else feel the same way?

Hes the worst kind of rat. Pretends like he had a change of heart and realized that the life was evil. REality is they gave him 50 years and he turned to get out.

Good decision Phil!

i agree with that im talking about how he felt on salvie and him not being happy about guys getting killed in front of their moms i would say at the time he didnt care but it wasnt until he sat in jail for 5 years to think about everything that he goes back and says that how he felt

I believe Phil when it comes to Salvie but on the other hand The Crow said Phil actually wanted to kill Salvie too.... but then again Phil didn't like The crow & Del Giorno (guess it was both ways then). Very good book ... really enjoyed reading in it

This book is a writer's worst nightmare. Thank God I am not! The story of Leonetti could have been written so much better by any other writer except those two that Leonetti used. Soldier is not spelled solider. It must have been written about one hundred times incorrectly. Nicky Scarfo making the sign of the gun appeared in every other sentence. We get it! There were run on sentences and sentences that just ended mid sentence through out the book. Falcone even drives himself to be buried! The list of mistakes goes on and on. Phil leometti begins every sentence with, "So me and my Uncle....." I couldn't take it. These two writers need to learn to write and apologize to Phil for this mess. I also saw they share the copyright with Phil, I thought Phil was smart? Why would he give up that to these morons? Don't waste your money just go and watch a Documentary on the Philly mob on youtube. Unless you want to endure amateur writing!

another satisfied customer

i read the book last week took me 2/3 days lol. hate the guy enjoyed the book however. great to see an insight into philly bak then with crazy scarfo and how he came. guy got made in the 50s jheez! salvie, lawrence merlino, chuckie. some great info. the guy is still in denial about being a filthy rat though. a class prik - leonetti

Look dude, first of all, Scott Burnstein made the effort, and succeeded in getting Phil to write a tell all. Without him, we would not have all the information about the 'life' that Phil led in Philly. Second, blame the typos on the authors' editors, NOT the authors. I have read many opinions on this book, some have legimate criticizims, but your scathing review is a bit much. Now, go shoot some beans, whatever the fuck that is.

Hey Dude, Are you kidding me? It's their fault. All manuscripts are read and re read many times by all the authors and editors while it's being written. Then the publisher creates a galley copy for further review and dissemination. They were the authors and it was THEIR responsibility. Don't blame the editors.There are things like Spell check and grammar check now available on all computers. If you want to call yourself an author then take pride in your work and don't wait for the editors to look for the obvious mistakes. Also, Burnstein and the other guy didn't convince Leonetti to tell his story. Leonetti decided that on his own and somehow they were connected. Which was such a big mistake for Leonetti! Such a great story told and ruined by these two amateurs! You are responsible for what YOU write. Relying on the editors to edit this amazing story that could have landed you on the New York Times Bestseller list shows you either don't care or a clueless. There has to be over 100 mistakes throughout that book. What a shame that what could have been the next "Underboss" became nothing more than a High School book report!

The way i understand it the book deal was actually offered to George Anastasia first. But for whatever reasons he passed on the project and he then hooked Scott Burnstein up with the deal, i guess they're friends. But i did read that somewhere that it was originally offered to George Anastasia who did the foreward for the book.

Do you think that George would have ever relied on editors? Hell No! Also I'm sure George knows how to spell SOLDIER correctly! He or Capeci would have done a much better job!

i noticed the typos lol. who cares its a tell all by and old gangster. the typos def didnt offend me. pointless critcism

WTF Bean. You give grammatical errors way too much importance. It was a great book and easy to read. So what if a lot of sentences starts with "so me and my uncle". That's the way Phil talks. Look him up in interviews, that's him 100%.

LCN1987 don't get me wrong I liked somethings that Phil had to say I just didn't like how it was written. Not his fault, it was the writers thats all. The only other issue I had was how Phil says he hated his Uncle for being so treacherous and evil , but he refused to testify against him when he was asked by the FBI because he didn't want his Uncle to "snicker and make faces at him" come on! Really?

Scott has admitted that he is upset with typos and errors that have occurred in ALL of his books. Scott DID approach Leonetti. He recently approached Frank Salemme-was turned down. Check your facts before you slam others. You are certainly entitled to not like or appreciate Scott's work. I am entitled to like and appreciate his work-which I do. No doubt he is the foremost expert on the Detroit mob today. I am not sure where your vitriolic assessment of Scott's work emanates from, I am sure you have a narrow view. I will be sure to skip over your posts in the future. ADIOS.

No problem Scott! Adios to you too!

Silent P, I agree with all you said but that book was originally for George A. Scott has said so himself but George has written about that era a lot already and didn't want to do it again. He wrote the foreward and he did a little story on it. I agree the book had many typos but I enjoyed in greatly.

any particular reason why? that would be a great read imo

Speaking of Scott, any of you guys on the other forum whats the topics of his next book(s)?

Now that's funny. I'm guessing you bought the hardcover edition for $25.00 too?

I have to assume DapperDon that it was because Selemme read Mafia Prince.

YO, BeShot, I ain't Scott. Scott lives in Detroit. I live about 1500 miles away from there.

SPmob, thanks for the correction, I was just sticking up for Scott cuz he ain't here.

YO, BeShot, I ain't Scott. Scott lives in Detroit. I live about 1500 miles away from there.

SPmob, thanks for the correction, I was just sticking up for Scott cuz he ain't here.

NP. I like Scott to. Really liked Mafia Prince. Read it in 2 days which is quick for me these days with work and all.

I havent had the chance to pick it up and read it, I was wondering if Scott and Phil where going to come to NY (guess not anymore)and done a book signing near my office (tons of authors go to the B&N in union sq) and I would have dropped in and bought it.

I am glad Scott wrote the book, if it wasnt for him then it wouldnt have been published.

phil book is all phil before he flipped i knew him and his hole fam blood and the other.reading it sounded like i was talaking to him yesterday..and he was a good guy ,take out the killings u know .laid back polite yes polite ,and when nicky was away phil was out with us all the time , us i mean non button guys...

Serpiente thats pretty cool, did you ever socialize with Scarfo at all?

son or the dad

Sr.

yes all the time ,he got less friendly as he got bigger..i was around all of 70s 80s and part of 90s

yes i knew him what would u want to know.

What was Scarfo (the father) like did he try to act like the boss around non-involved people or could he put on a straight face if he needed to?

all boss all the time.He could b quiet but you allways knew his eyes were on you..never would come in the office if there was stranger there ..

How successful was scarfo sr with women? If he wasn't murdering was he womanizing?

Well he always had them because he hated his wife..like bad

Would you describe him as similar to joe pesci in goodfellas?

no because i knew him a long time ,i am sure Pesci could play him.

i'm surprised his family didn't whack him out, salvie testa should have made a move

OMG Salvie had his back and i dont think he thought anything about being hit.but yes he would have.Him and Phil would have done a good job.Phil said some of the stuff he was thinking in his book but there was more.

In past Philly mob books Nicky jr is often described as a spoiled brat and not the sharpest knife. Is that a good description from what you know of him? He has been involved in some slightly more intellectually based crimes than the average mobster, yet he also doesn't seem to get away with much. What's your impression of him?

I have known him his hole life ,That being said he could of been a lot worse ,So i would say no,and yes he picked up things quick ,he was one of the first in the fam to be up with computer age stuff,But he did not have chance when he was of age all was falling down around him .He never had people under him to take the heat it was him right there as soon as you looked at what was going on,Maybe if he could of got rolling he may have been good .

Thanks for the reply. Interesting stuff.

Leonetti mentioned his book coming back to AC to visit a family member in a restaurant and Nicky Jr being there. Apparently they had a civil conversation. Did Nicky lose credibility over the meeting, or was it not "known" until the book came out?

well nicky jr. did not tell me or any of our guys .not button men .when i say our guys ,Phil is no joke he will walk right up to anyone now he is not stupid.It would be on his terms and u would not know if he wanted to talk..He is around a lot more then people think .and dont listen to all people that say he looks diff he looks the same.And he has always been good guy , as long as not mob stuff.He goes right in old mob joints and eats or drinks ,But on his terms .what else ?

My old pal will be on tonight nat geo i think ....

Phil's a stone cold fucking killer, don't let him fool you. He was almost as bad as his Uncle. He loved the life and playing the part. He says he tried to save Testa....he's full of fucking shit.

I bet Scarfo Sr had a fucking heart attack when he found out Nicky Jr met with Phil and didn't even try to kill him.

How can u say that about Phil..nice guy

OOOO and yea sr.eyes r still popping out of his head i love it.he is mad at jr.

Probably why they moved him to the medical center at Butner.

Scarfo's in his 80's, wonder how long he'll be around. They must of moved him to the medical center for a reason. Shit, i'm hoping he makes it to his parole date when he'll be over 100 years old. Crazy little fucker, i bet even at 100 he'll try to find and kill Phil.

Edit : Correction, now it just says he's at the medium security part of Butner, not in the medical ward. Thank God! I really hope he makes it to his parole date.

man that would be something,i would love to tell him i was there when Phil flipped ,I was right with Maria and her sisters..

Who do you think Nicky Sr wants to kill more...Merlino or Phil?

Hey Serpiente, I heard that when Scarfo Sr. Phil and Chuckie went to see Gotti, chuckie did what he did best, got shit faced. Gotti wanted him wacked for being a drunk and disrespectful, but Scarfo instead knocked him down in rank.Phil tells another story in his book. What did you hear for the knock down?

Ok this one has been twisted i dont think Chuckie did that because Phil never told that ,that way and i never asked,so i dont think it happend ,we would of known 10 times fold..He drank into blackout all the time but not there not then.But Nicky did not like to see people drunk hear them drunk .

GCarlo That would be Phil 1st skinny second only because he did not shot Johnny right next to nicky and did not kill nick

I heard that from someone in NY It Made sense with Chuckie's legendary drinking and later John's dislike for Nicky. Thanks, One more what's Anthony Borgesi's claim to fame?

How do i put the question in a block inside my answer,i see it but cant do it..

Hit the quote on the bottom of box and then it will show in the answer.

OK thankyou , and Phil used my name in his book but he was nice...

Serpiente can you answer my earlier question about Anthony Borgesi? Thanks

well maybe george came around lots but was not there everyday so i did not get to see him each time he was down...but ask

No, I was asking about George's brother Anthony. he's not made right? Also isn't he a real wannabe who his Uncle doesn't want him around the life but he insist on hanging around?

Dont know George was a teen back then and when he to know more it all was on the way out..his bro never met him.

I second that SP. I've must of read that book 20 times now & the only thing Phil is guilty of is beginning a lot of sentences with the word "Now," which is the way he actually spoke if u have followed his on camera interviews...

it seems that "Five families", Blood & Honor" & "Underboss"are the only worthwhile reading material nowdays.

Aside from Phil's book which i have enjoyed very much.

it was fucked up for him to rat out his cousin like that.

That was never told by Jr.
I don't think Phil would lie and put him on the spot like that ,so it must have happened.
But I would not doubt if it was done by Phil just to be able to tell it so Nicky sr. got word of it.
Cos odds were Nick jr . was not carrying in his restaurant .
And if he did have a piece there he sure is not like his dad and drop the guy right there.
Not just that Nicky jr. and Phil were very very close ,nothing was going to go down...

it's sad, nick jr is obviously very talented, evidence by his monster earning, could have been anything he wanted, instead looks like his dad wasted his life.

I loved the book but yes, phil is a rat mother! He ratted out that girl who owned the hair salon. Story goes she was sent to check on phil whilst he was visiting his sick grandmother. The girl supposedly tells him she was sent there by Merlino

That's absolutely right..He kept bringing up his cousin's suicide and how he didn't want this for his son and blah,blah, blah, but still went to trial...He didn't cooperate until he was found guilty which to means to me that all that about his son was BS...He couldn't do the time so he became a rat, and even to this day, he's more cowardly then ever..Having his voice altered 20 years after testifying..Doesn't get much more cowardly then that !!

Rat

Loved Blood and Honor.

Have you read "Deal with the Devil" by Peter Lance? About Greg Scarpa and Lin Devvecchio the crooked fed??

im 3/4 of the way through and it is a good read.

You described 95 percent of rats...

no, but im due for some new material thank u for the title.

I am confused" I thought all rats turned so they did not have to spend the rest of there lives in prison.
They all use the wife and kids or a aging parents thing ...

Just cos he was a under boss don't make it any different ..
Just because he had blood family in the life does not make different.
The only thing that does is being " free " .....

The guys that are made and are always broke ,mainly shooters are the ones that can really hurt a family.(rat)
The feds know if they approach them with a too good too be true drug deal and the guy bites and they hit him with 40 years they can flip him easy.(Rats)
They never have money for a lawyer to clear things up first so the feds get them every time..

The feds do this over and over ,easy for them to keep there job this way.
No rats no job !!

He went on that channel 5 program and said after his cousin hung himself in his office that was it...Then he said he was worried about his son after that...But when he got arrested, if he wanted his son protected, that was the time to turn, but he didn't turn because that was all a crock of shet...What would have happened if they beat the case ?? He would have stayed right on the street exposing the kid to the life...True, most rats use an excuse like they were gonna be killed etc...But to lie and say it was because you cared about your son is despicable...I hold him among the lowest of the rats !!

From what I can recall from reading Leonetti was arrested in March/April of 1987. His cousin hanged himself in November of 1988 and later that month Leonetti was convicted in the RICO case. He was sentenced in May 1989 and flipped in June of that same year.

I strongly support this serp!!

Every fed agent would'nt have a career if they cant flip career crime peeps,that being said ,only a small portion make something of thier lives like phil did,& not many are as savvy & intelligent as phil to stay out of the life & live life legit..whether he's mowing lawns or pouring concrete.

Actually yes, George relies heavily on editors. Are you kidding me? All writers do.

The fact you are stuck on this aspect and compared the book to a high school report, speaks volumes.

You are one of the Scott stalkers/haters that bad mouths him whenever you can.

Heres a solution...DONT READ THE BOOK

No problem!

Someones hating on Scott again? And Lol @ Anastasia never relying on editors. And it's a known fact Capeci has editors for his Gangland articles, he usually credits them in the ones that do.

Not only does he have editors, He barely even writes his own column anymore.

The guy was spewing out of his ass just to down Scott, that's all.

I have said this before about Anthony, haven't seen him for a very long time. But when i was in his company he was a great guy and a gentleman.

Understood and agreed . This guy was blood family first(not many mob guys are) he did held his son and cousin above anything in that life.
Now would he be right back in it if he beat that case and exposing his son to that life (sort of) he did expose him to the people only when they did big shit all together(rides on the boat - a day at the beach - vacations) He did not expose him to the life like he was exposed to it,his son was kept away as much as possible..and trust me he was with Phil down in Longport and Margate and his son did not like that,he wanted to be on Georgia ave with his cousins and the rest of them and Phil kept him away as much as he could with out Nicky sr saying shit !!!

He did the best he knew how with the skills he was given as a child.
The kid was sheltered more then any kid on that block. His granny (Phil's mom) was making sure he/she did not make the same mistakes that was made with Phil.

The thing Phil is talking about is when Mark tried to take his own life it all came crashing down at same time .And he knew that his son would be with Nicky jr 24/7 in a couple years.

I am sure he was saving his own ass but I know if Mark and Nick jr were smaller Phil would have taken all of them with him for a better life.

He is a rat and he is a killer and he did love the life .But he also loved his family more . No doubt about that !!!

Anyone else think that the guy on the far right in the John D'Arco wedding photo in Al D'Arco's book is a dead ringer for Leonetti?

Got this and Scarpa Delvecchio book at same time both were pretty good. Crazy Phil saw and heard alot and made for good read. It was written how people from Philly/South jersey talk and reminded me of the book After Hours (book Carlitos way was based on)in that way.

How do we talk ? Really ?

I didn't mean it to be disrespectful, but parts I could remember reading and hearing his voice say it as i read it. I grew up in Chester, moved to Wilmington,De and lived in Absecon for awhile.Now I live in the south and when I say "me and my brother are going down to kings dominion,youse all should come" its different enough people know I am not from where I am now.

I was serious, and you were not being disrespectful.
I hear this all the time...really want to know.

Someone not from that area could explain better. I never noticed I talk like that. I moved from absecon to VA. I was tending bar on weekends and not a night would go by someone I worked with or sitting at bar would ask where I was from because I talked funny to them. Its just hard for me to give examples because its way I talk too. One word I am told I use is "ain't" or "aint it" and people bring that up alot."Youse" as well, and any where I go is "down to" are best examples of how people tell me I talk.

Nancy did actually despise what her asshole brother did to her son (phil)..and she certainly did not want to see that happen to her grandson, thats only part of the reason she called her brother "hitler"..I'm sure she was ready & relieved when she learned that phil was going to play ball for the other team.

Understood ! Got it I have the same conversations .

That's not what brought her to call him that,although I am sure it was part of it.She was alright with it as long as Phil was in and not being forced.

A woman's mood tells all !

Nick controlled everything she did from work to lovers. I am going to leave it alone she was not in the life.

Leonetti got attacked in prison:

http://articles.philly.com/1987-08-06/ne...nal-institution

Here is another one. I remember Phil getting beat up by a off duty cop or before he was a cop and he was the president of a fraternity.(street gang type)

Phil shot this cop off duty or just before he became a cop(Pres of frat.) several times in the chest and I can not find it anywhere.
Like I said the guy may not have been a cop yet .
But he was a bad ass 6.2 260 lb his name is Guy C.

Anyone know the average government stipend that cheese eaters get?

AND, must you remain in WPP to get that money?
Leonetti left WPP, correct?

Yea he is out and around here ,at least in summer .Could not think of a worse place . Dam at least go south or north . But it is like home ,everyone wants to be home .

Aint that the truth. How much weight does what Crazy said about guys there now being scared of him carry? Regardless that's to high profile a hit for them right now, but him showing his face has to rustle some guys. AC boardwalk aint that big and I know if he's been there he has been seen by someone who would be bothered sooner rather then later.

Does anyone know if he really looks that different now that he's had the facial reconstruction/plastic surgery? I heard he got a bunch of work done to his face so that people couldn't recognize him, but wasn't sure how effective it was?

He did not have all that done. He had a face lift and cosmetic work done.
If he or they want to say it was facial reconstruction so mob people don't recognize him ,well that's the way to explain it if your taxis picked up the bill .

I was just wondering..& I mean just thinkin',,all these years ,reading all these books,on page183 of phil's book,he stated that nicky (sr.)told a whole roomful of members that "Dont test me motherfuckers 'cause ill bring a whole squad of guys from new york down here & wipe everybody in this room right off the fuckin map..I wont leave none of you guys standing"........Now ..what if there was a total rebellion,and say, maybe the roomful of dudes said "u cant do or say shit if u dont leave this room alive...im talkin total mutiny,from phil all the way down to the lowliest soldier..who's gonna figure out the whole family told him that he was ruining the borgata & that nobody is abiding by his napoleonic & despotic rulings..phil should have killed him in the woods like he said he thought about in 84..there is a way that new york & l.e. would have never have assessed if it was done right

Wrong, if anyone popped Scarfo, doesn't matter how discreet u are about it. bobby manna & co would just look at the next guy who is upped to boss. That's usually the best indicator as to who was guilty... Then we'll have the whole Tony bananas & Testa's murder issue again...

However, it's all about the green. As long as the next guy is willing to share the spoils, money talks.

Serp, what rank was Phil when this happened

Give us some more details pls? How did it start, fight, when did the big guy get popped etc

Thanks

Don't think he was made yet . I will be with a couple old friends this weekend ,I will ask them they were from Ducktown and should know that incident. Now thinking back he May have just been a suspect . But it came out on our street of course that he was involved in someway . If he was made it was in the first couple years .

I think this is in leonettis book phil and vincent falcone were in a bar when according to philip this guy started to chat to Philips girlfriend they got into a fight it got broke up. Philip then went home came back shot the guy in the arm

Then all these bikers came around ducktown banging on doors asking for philip. Philip and scarfo were out when this happened when scarfo found he went nuts he said to Lawrence and phil they had to get revenge this guy c was disprecting them. It was Lawrence who did the shooting scarfo said shoot him in the chest "if he dies he dies if he lives he lives either way the message is clear"

Lawrence shot guy c in the chest he lived

Shows how far a bar fight can go

I don't think that's the same situation Serp is referring to. The biker situation is mentioned in Phil's book, and he claims he was talking to the bikers girlfriend and he got mad. This other situation is involved with a off duty cop. Idk, could be the same situation, but I don't know.


And nobody was going to do some mutiny against Scarfo Sr. despite what Leonetti says, the fact is, he was all for the life until he was facing life in prison. There were nomore outs for him, nomore political connections, no more bribing judges and public officials, it was over. He knew this and he saved his own ass, and turned rat. He didn't do it for his son, or anyone else he claims to have done it for, he did it for himself, simply because he was a young man who didn't want to spent pretty much all of his remaining adult life in the penitentiary.

No guys that biker thing was different , I remember that clearly . This was a old thing going on between the dude that was a bad ass (Guy C) he was around DuckTown and then decided to go straight and become a cop,, him and Philip did not like each before,even got worse from that point on. Phil allegedly walked down to where he was under The old convention hall Tunnel and shot him a bunch of times . Completely different from the biker situation . Like I said this guy was a bad ass ,and this was building from what this guy was saying in the local bars about Phil. He ,Phil was no joke . Lots of people say it was all Nick . Phil was not playing around . Well till he lost in court ...

Yea, Phil Leonetti was a straight killer, no if's, and's, or but's about it. It wasn't all his uncle that created this reputation for Phil, the guy wouldn't hesitate to shoot if he felt slighted or disrespected in any manner or fashion.

Not to mention that his thoughts of killing would revert to his own blood..justifibly ("at that very moment i made a promise to myself that if my uncle brought this up again & started to move forward with plans to kill Chuckie & lawrence, not only was i gonna step in & stop it like i wish i had done with Salvie & i had done with the blade,but i was gonna do something that me or someone else should have done a long time ago...I WAS GONNA KILL MY UNCLE.),,, which i would, as a lot of peeps would have, enjoyed seeing materialize back then.

Clearly loses his cool at 26:08.

Even all the way back then(when prison was fresh in his mind) he wanted back in so bad. If he just got out because of other reasons then flipping.
He would be back in so fast.

It looked like he was ready to make a move on that reporter right then .
Look say what you want ,the guy has problems because of the life he was exposed to .
Not many people can sit back for 20 years and still think it was alright to kill these guys.
I mean Vince was a ass but so are most when they are young and are out drinking,and thats when most of that stuff was said.

Yeah at 26:12 you can hear his voice tone change a little and swallows like he is trying to contain himself.

Then at 26:12 he almost seems annoyed to continue talking, trying to calm down

You can see the seething anger start to bubble...so I can imagine how he got in other situations. I never noticed that in the interview before good catch

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/...c632e6723d.html

Leonetti is a pussy if he needs a gun to threaten a high school kid.

^^^^^ I hear you and agree . But what you don't know that things like that happened a hundred times and when they would go with good intentions the other people had weapons . This type of thing happens often and Mark was a good-looking kid to boot so he often was picked on just because of jealousy . Nicky jr by that time had been thrown out of a couple schools because of similar circumstances . So don't believe one story those guys caught some grief and dished out more . Just like you would expect if your father is a Mafia boss .

But serp,you knew this guy from a distance, you know he has a heart,yes, he was a killer ,& you also broke bread ...but why slag him when he's down,? He has tried to exit all he's been through, dont treach old friends when they in fact have been nice to you..HE SECRETLY SPOKE GENTLY of your family name in his book...I beleive in his ways & honor..but what do i know???

Don't have too much empathy toward these guys . He /They would have put a bullet in me or you if told. I was a guy on the block. I was not in any family,there was 50 plus of us through the years hanging in and around that block.

And I an closer then I say and I still feel that way.
Don't let him make you think he is down on his luck. Like I have posted many times he lands on his feet every time since he was a kid he was lucky.

He is doing just fine and don't be surprised if you don't hear from him in the not so near future .
The guy is doing just fine ...and has the capability of making big money whenever he gives the word.

I understand..u were just a spoke on a wheel.. thanx for the input.

Dude, seriously? You seem to hold Leonetti in such a high regard that it's almost like you're implying he's a standup human being. He was and still is a scumbag, just like the majority of those other guys. Even worse because he couldn't keep his oath and flipped when facing life in prison. He wasn't going to step in and stop Salvie Testa's murder, despite what he says in Mafia Prince. Nick Caramandi says Leonetti was right along with everyone else in that Scarfo Borgata who flipped on Salvie and were ready to kill him on sight at Scarfo's command. He claimed Testa and the slight mention of his name was "making him sick" and how he wished he could've just "killed the guy already". And Leonetti would NOT have killed Nicky Scarfo, unless he planned on becoming boss, which may have happened had they never been sentenced. But back then? No freaking way.

I do recall reading all you just mentioned,& no i dont hold him in any regard..he was a flippant killer along with the rest..i agree.

http://articles.philly.com/1997-02-21/news/25535770_1_mob-courtroom-bookmaking-conviction

Great article, Phil didn't testify at Ligambi's second murder trial he beat in '97

@Serp I loved the Mafia Prince book. I felt it was factual but judging by Phil's demeanor and certain things said about him by other wiseguys that flipped, I think he was the most cunning and dangerous out the Philly crew. He always said "I knew my uncle like the back of my hand. But no one ever knew what I was really thinking."

Also did Phil really care about Salvie and if so why not go to bat for him like he did when Uncle Nick wanted to clip Chuckie and Laurence?

I think it would have only been a matter of time before Scarfo turned on Leonetti too!

Not may Philly guys really liked Phil " it was a silver spoon thing again , but Salvi was the same as Phil . Salvie would come down and stay down and they were so close you would hardly ever see Phil " they were that close.

Yogi and Chuckie grew up in Ducktown and moved to Philly and they were just close with Nick and Phil and Yogi hit it off . Phil saved Yogi so many times !

If you were the boss Nick would respect you or anyone he had to in the life and just barely .
Nick would have chased off anyone !!! Nicky Jr. Was the only one that I think that really loved him respected him and would follow him unconditionally of course his other two sons loved there father . Not good to say but that's me looking in since Jr was a boy .

You know Serp I think Nick and Phil were too much alike. The only difference is imo that while Scarfo was a bit crazy Phil appears to have been mean. He held a lot back as far as info on that time period. I know there had to been more we don't know of!

It was like any other family, the older brother over powers the younger and there are problems.
And in some father son lives it's the same.

Phil moved down beach a couple times but something always made him come back , Nick in jail or a couple years go by and there is a threat on Nick and he would come back .... but he always came back !

Also Nick was his father figure and his uncle and his mentor and his boss .... the kind of boss that would kill you !

Phil just never lived ... really lived .... and it was time I guess.

So in essence his blind loyalty to Scarfo kind of blurred the lines of right and wrong. Supporting your uncle while he orders hits that were really uncalled for. Wow. Phil never had a chance. I think the real reason Scarfo had such a short reign filled with turmoil was because you had some that feared his reputation and others that didn't like or respect him. He got the top spot out of process of elimination. He wasn't boss material at all. Also to be that close to your underboss/capo on an everyday basis is sort of weird. Do you think he kept Philip that close bcuz he could sense something about his nephew?

I think he just depended to much on omerta , and this is when the Feds were at the top of there game and were getting endless cash because of the headlines and movies being made .

The Feds and there supervisors and judges and DAs Were just loving this and guys retired off investigating the mob .

The overtime that was given out guys were getting 25 years of of time and pension in 10-12 years and done !!! or to move up to a much more lucrative position .

The Feds and supervisors would be hundreds of miles from there families and stay at work around the clock for as long as it took .

Either way it was a shit storm that the feds put on the mob !

hey Serp, I gotta ask. I was watching the War Against the Mafia documentary and something dawned on me. Phil says the summer of 84' Salvie was down the shore a lot. He was paranoid and on edge. If he felt he was gonna be clipped, then why not request a sit down with Nick to straighten things out? I mean Salvie was probably the most loyal guy Scarfo had around him.

QD I remember the time and Salvi being in Ventnor at his spot on the bay but he was always around in summer he had business and property here .

As far as a sit down I wish I was privy to that information because it went from sort of alright that he dumped Chuckie’s daughter to full on looking and people were asking once it got out of the inner circle.

I still say it was Chuckie and the strings he was pulling in Philly to make things look a lot worse for Salvie and one a made guy gets wind someone is getting hit they are like sharks looking to get his spot and rackets ! It was really gross !

The whole Philly regime seems like its' always turmoil brewing. Nicky was a paranoid fuck. Salvie deserved better than that.

Nick being stuck in the 30’s-40’s thinking guys are not going to rat but they will kill to me seams to be it and what he seen in the life since very young boy in NY was kill kill kill and it guarantees silence the man’s rackets and one less person to worry about until the new breed of gangster that will not do time !!!

Horrible what went down with Salvie butNick stuck with Chuckie wishes when he should of done it differently Salvie was a major asset .

In Phil's book & the Crow's book , they both said Salvie was layin' low & not showing up 4 meets etc. , in that summer...so why would he b down the shore so often if he was jitterey , & also ..they could have just whacked the poor guy if they knew he was down there??....poor Salvie , if it were not 4 Scarfo's paranoia , he & Philip might just b the kings of Phila./A.C. 2day!

I never read any books other then Phil’s but I did not mean that necessarily it was summer of 84 when he was hiding... in general that was his M/O in summer to be here . To be honest with you I can’t remember that summer at all . The only reason I remember that time period was because of Salvi getting hit and I can’t remember when that was.

hey Serp, now that Nicky has passed and a lot of the guys are home from doing bids... any chance Phil will tell the WHOLE story for a film?

Don’t know but he was in Ducktown with James Leonard a few months back and that’s how the first book started but I do not know for sure.

The guy knows how to make money and he knows that story is huge if done right and with many of the (Big) guys he put away are dead or close possible he gets it out there

hey Serp, i know this has been asked a million times but what was Phil REALLY like? on a day to day basis did he give off a cold blooded demeanor?

Very clam and very polite as a teen then he spent more time with Nick and he was a little different but nothing crazy just was not around much as before then he started dressing different you would see him ona different pay phone all over AC and boards.

But he was a good dude he respected his elders and his younger family members not a dick at all unless crossed . Now don’t get me wrong his head blew up cos he was good looking and had cash and more power each day till he didn’t.


He is the same in life that you see in all the interviews other then he did have a mean streak when he needed.

Thanx Serp...that was nice of u 2 get a little personal w/ us...we all know that u have had more time than any of us near that famiglia .....everybody loves ur posts...U once told me that they ate White House Subs on Saturday afternoons ,,that was cool & sort of personal...I cant imagine Nicky Scarfo shoving a hoagie down his little throat....just laughing thinking about it...that poor scumbag didn't probably know how 2 eat pussy correctly...lol..

The family (blood) that is in summer would have Philly and NY and from western PA relatives down and of course there were 20 kids and Ducktown being very very close they let the kids go to White Hose and Panarelli Italian Bakery and of course the ice cream on Florida ave but yeah it was a normal family and Nick and Phil did not go out to much other then In the day to local places other then lunch at the local Italian restaurants and they were late lunches, Phil you would see running into all the business that had a phone booth but not at Angeloni’s.......that was known to be tapped and at the end the phones even up on the boards were , you see we knew this because for most part for 20 years the phone man was a local that grew up in Ducktown and then moved his family to Northfield but still was connected to the neighborhood so if we seen any otherBell Tel guys it was most likely a tap and of course people were put on them to check.

great stuff , serp..different times, different world..when neighborhoods meant something

I agree with Hood. I appreciate the first hand knowledge.

When Nick moved up you would not see Phil hardly at all even on the Scaf Inc. jobs he had Pat running the jobs and he is still in business to this day.

The laborers for Scarf Inc were mostly Italian and in one way or the other relatives or in laws thing , like all Phil’s girls brothers were on the crew

The neighborhood was a great place to grow up we lived on an island around seven miles long with four city’s and for the most part we knew everyone one way or another.

It was so close that when bookies came into town even if Nick gave the ok they just could not gain trust . Now one of these guy is a skipper now up north Beep’s and he opens a pool hall 200 ft. from Angeloni’s and had card games and book and he lasted two years .

We all know uncle Joe’s deal he could not get rolling here but it’s over now !!!


And Beeps came in the late 70’s like 77-78 maybe did not last past 80-81 back to northjersey.

His eyes are so dead. Always been a good looking guy but very creepy. Now that Scarfo Sr. has passed, will we ever get Phil to write a script. I know there’s a lot more he didn’t put into his book!

I don’t know how much I have posted on this but I know I have told a few people here that I have known for some years so having said that he was here and the people he was with were same with the book .

There is more but not about a book or a movie just some personal stuff and I have a feeling he has been around kind of often and for good reason.

I guess we can take that with want we want cos it could of been just a meet with business partner or similar.

Serp we could only hope. That film done the right way could be a classic like Goodfellas!

Serp, the man u speak of James Leonard, according 2 Phil in his book, is a lawyer..I guess they sort out the details of the legalities of what infractions may happen if Phil mentions certain places, names & such..

Quiet Dom,Hoodlum

Yeah it could be a monster hit and would make them / him Phil very rich knowing him he always lands on his feet and always has.

Yeah Phil has learned a lot through the years and I am sure he is making sure the royalties are his / family if this happened and now with sr dead I am sure he has checked with Chris and I don’t know how that’s going to work out because Chris does not like the attention and he don’t need the money but that kind of money is not easy passed up .

Possibly that’s another thing Chris would want control over any lies and embellishments that Philip put in his book to make himself look better or to sell books we all know that shit gets twisted after the first person tells it.

Hey Serpiente,you know I have always enjoyed your post.I have been reading Breaking The Mob.It is written by the cop who turned Mario Riccobene and the guys who shot Salvie, that Deluca guy and the Moran guy.His first hand accounts are dang good reading.He suggest from what I gather that Leonetti,who always claims he was pissed at Scarfo for killing Testa actually feared Salvie would one day take over.That the future of the family would come down to those two.That Testa was more ruthless,at 28 a seasoned mobster.Testa had a crew that was deadly and loyal.The Milano brothers,the Grande brothers, the Punges, Narducci brothers.Leonetti feared this and actually pushed for his murder.The cop states that he wired a phone call where Testa called Scarfo and told him Chuck Merlino was a piece of shit, a drunk and couldn't handle business.So Testa saw this in Merlino even before Scarfo.Scarfo and Leonetti both feared Salvie I believe.Do you believe Leonetti was sad over his "friend" salvies death

No doubt Nick was clearing the way for Phil and must of had some insecurities himself and was able to use Chucky daughter and drugs to get him out ! I don’t put nothing past these guys , they are brought up like that many had brothers uncles ect and have had it pushed into there head.

I have been in a few situations where I did not think there was any way out and that alone kept me from that life and it happened early and often very scary.

If Phil was not sad then he was a complete monster but that was not going to stop shit ...as soon as these guys think hear that someone is on the outs they are splitting up there shit in there head and try to get angles against their fellow soldiers or associates whatever the matter may be .

That life is bad .....there’s no life out of hiding it and these guys don’t hide it well most nowadays. I don’t know the real deal with Salvi but I was right there in the neighborhood and was around many close and I herd so much shit who knows what was real or the others angling.

Leonetti is BS. Great book apart from the BS he always spouts about flipping, especially when referring to his uncle that he thrived in the life due to. Same with all his interviews. Just be like Sammy the bull and own it you evil twat. If he was given a 20 stretch or less this idiot wouldn’t of flipped. OWN IT and stop blaming your uncle. Also I didn’t like the bit where he spoke about going into Nicky Jrs restaurant - he knew that could hurt his rep potentially. Just a selfish douche and so insincere all the crap about stopping his son getting into the life etc blah blah blah BS.

Same with the Sal hit - you know he pushed for it like everyone else to get more money. Nature of the life from what I’ve read.

I don't know what I would do if I was facing 45 years, but I do agree with liborio above--it is preposterous to think this guy flipped over anything other than a life inside. To do that kind of bid you have to be someone like Scarfo Sr. himself, who (if you believe the books) still kept that animosity toward Leonetti, Merlino, etc, even after he was sent up for life.

Agreed all but the being fed up with his uncle - he was fed up but just like in sports with all the personalities when things are going good everybody’s fine but when the shit hits the fan they scatter like cockroaches and drama concurs and these guys are not you best people so .

But yes when it got bad it was easy for Phil to say he was against this or that or wanted to get away from his uncle.
If everything was fine he be right in there and yes having a crew like Salvie’s they were able to cut the head off and it all back fired.

Thanks Serp insightful as always. That’s a good way to look at it like sports etc.

And giacomo agreed a 45 year bid is insane. Should never have been made underboss anyway! Nepotism hurt him there as he was in line to get the time

Thanks Serpiente.I agree with you as well streetbossliborio. Also,Leonetti tells that he sent word to Joey Merlino when he would sneak back in to Atlantic City hoping for a shootout I take it.And that Merlino,knew he was there and never showed.He insinuates Merlino was scared to death of him.While I believe Leonetti is a strait killer,Merlino has ten times more guts than Leonetti in my opinion.And obviously he has the respect of the old Scarfo guys today.If Leonetti would have went after Joey Merlino he probally would be six feet under right now.And as far as Salvie goes his crew had some serious killers and serious young men in it.He could have absolutely challenged Scarfo on down the road.

Why would a don meet with a snitch like leoneti, he could be setting him up for a pinch for all he know's, he's a shit talker just like veasy, as soon as all of the guys started getting out of jail he found god all of a sudden

Got to remember these guys are brought up with a mob behind them “ whom ever is in power is the man . Who knows the truth but I highly doubt Phil contacted anyone but I don’t doubt him walking in Jr. restaurant mid - day when it just a couple people.

The fucken disgusting part is Phil had to put it in his book .

You must know something’s are embellished for it to spike interest in sales so who knows . But he who has the pawns has the power because not many federal witnesses are not hunting Skinny.

Serp- When you said above "when Nick moved up he had Pat running the jobs...." Are you referring to Pat D'Andrea, or someone else? Cuz I thought Pat D'Andrea (lived in Philly and Longport) died around the same time as Ang or Phil Testa getting hit?

Leonetti a snitch since 81 ? Any thoughts from you phili guys

Oh ,c'mon Memphis......Merlino couldn't have licked Philip's balls...Phil wanted 2 kill skinny when he was 18..skinny wouldn't have stood a chance...as far as the old Scarf guys loyalty 2 skinny??..how do we know that?? Narducci might want him killed right now..Who knows what Charlie White is planning so soon but quietly out of the joint right now?? & Faffy?..fugettabotit... Unlikely..but…..everybody out from Scarf's indictment now could b conspiring 2 revolt over the young turks w/ the young Scarfo guys playing battleship....would nt that b a hoot. Leonetti wasn't scared of nobody 'cept maybe Salvie. especially a purse snatchin' 18 yr. old Merlino.

Not saying it going to happen at all .... but there are guys that don’t support the current situation...that’s all I know it’s being talked about but talk is cheep.

I might have asked this before but did Merlino really snatch old ladies purses back in the day?

He was born in 1962 and only really came to prominence at the tail end of the 80s so there are a lot of blanks to fill in. I perish the thought of the sordid shit he got up to before the attempted Scarfo hit and the armored hijackings.

Imagine if one of Merlino's closest friends was to rat and write an expose book with Anastasia. Boy, that would be juicy!

Seems as if Phil Leonetti really disliked Skinny , but he felt opposite about Chuckie and Yogi. Even talking Nick Sr. out of killing both brothers , demoting them both instead due to Phil's reasoning with him. I do not know about snatching purses from old ladies ? If memory serves me didn"t Skinny beat his partners out of their share of the armored car heist ? Also the stories about never paying the bookies when he lost , makes you think that Leonetti seen something bad in Skinny as a kid. As far as that point goes it takes one to know one.

I am not going to talk bad about the guy , that’s shit is old but if you look you will find some gross shit and it’s not good.

Well Hoodlum,that's why I have been a member here for years.Everything I type is obviously matter of opinion.Guys like you and Serp and the New York guys like Pizza and Bronx are the reason I love this site.All I do is read books ya'll have grown up with these guys.I enjoy everything you guys post.What I meant was in the 90's when Leonetti was long past his glory days and Merlino had a crew shooting it out with Stanfa,at that particular time I don't see Leonetti coming out good during this period he was alone.I do believe Merlino has guts though.This guy has shown that for sure

Thanks never sweat this board ..

But yeah books and papers ect is the only way for 99%. Shit if not growing up where I did and my uncle moving to Brooklyn in early 70’s I would not know anything about a family there and I don’t talk about anything but AC where I was born and the NY family that my uncle is extremely tight with I would not know shit and I never act like I do because I don’t and on top I am not a reader or researcher so for instance the guy that just got hit in Bronx I did not know a dam thing someone had to explain why the hit may of went down.

So never sweat this place we are all in same boat ,Christ I have not lived on Georgia ave in years ! I am down with the money on other end of the island.