New Jersey mafia cash flow

During the New Jersey mobs hey day under Vinny Ocean Palermo, how much money would you say they were making. What about the Genovese faction in NJ? I saw that Gerardo was grossing 1 million bucks a week from just one of his operations. I know of many people from north east jersey who went and joined a New York family. I myself could've either joined the New York mob or New Jersey mob had I chosen to pursue that life because I had an equal amount of family in both north east jersey cities and the 5 boroughs of NYC and Long Island. I didn't live in jersey city for that long but I did live there long enough to pick up my New York accent. Was there ever a time when the decavalcantes and the Genovese and lucchese New Jersey families got into wars and disputes? Which one of the 3 families would you say is the most powerful today? Thank you for your input.

New Jersey Genovese crews...hand down.

Genovese faction in New Jersey have more members than DeCavalcante's

Wow. I know Tino Fiumara is very powerful over there. Is he the boss of the Genovese New Jersey faction? Would he be a capo under the entire Genovese crime family

Tino died back in 2010. Previous to that, he had been on a three man ruling panel running the family. The new captain of that crew is Michael Coppola, who is currently incarcerated. While there isn't really a boss of the New Jersey faction, until he was indicted, acting captain Anthony Palumbo had oversight of the family's Jersey operations. But I think that simply meant he was the go between with the Jersey crews and the top leadership in New York.

hes dead. wouldnt you know that being 'you say' you couldve been in 2 families LOL......

Not since he died in 2010.

Well for starters Tinos dead. His crew went to Borelli and Depiro. The biggest books in nj are phil danoias (devitas crew), and Johnny blue with Borelli. Ninny has Rocco Petrozza and Mike Cardito. Tony Palumbo has Carmy Cicalese, Lou Amendola and the masulo bros. The luccheses have Frank Legano and Frankie Paoloercio under Perno. The bonannos had Paul Mancusos package, but thats with Tony Palumbos book. Idk much about the Nj Gambinos outside of Mitas crew. Catnip and juicy are his main guys. Joe faffy is that crews main book. They are a more into lending. And the laborers. idk much about the Decavs. Scoops crew is Beeps Centoriono, Lou Fazzini, Joe Darchi, Dennis Christy and the Olivieri bros.

Idk if Gerard actually MADE $1m a wk... More like 1m a week in bets... Papers make that mistake because reporters are dumb and feds may not differentiate at a press release bc they like to be told theyre doung a good job. That crew was into a LOT... Sports was just one biz, they still own the biggest machine vending co in NJ. A lot of ppl think Tino was easily the biggest earner in Jersey but Andy G came a close second. His crew went to devita. Before gerard it was Pee Wee. Before him Tony Biordo. Before him it was his father the Boot..... Does that sound right ivy or hk? My heads a little fizzy today

lagano got popped back in 2007 for being a rat

a random nj mobster question: who was the bonanno wiseguy that dominick cicale was at the nj nets game with while randy pizzolo was being murdered in bk?

heres a little background: http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2011/05/floor-seats-at-new-jersey-nets-game-was.html

It seems only the Genovese family has multiple crews based there. The Gambinos (Mitarotonda), Luccheses (Perna), and Bonannos (Sammartino) each have one crew based there. I don't think the Colombos have any at this point. Of course, that's not to say other crews, which are based in New York, don't have some operations there. For instance, though he was a member of the Corozzo crew, Skins operated in Jersey.



I've often made the same point about differentiating between the money wagered and what's actually net profit. Both the media and law enforcement usually cite the money wagered, which makes it seem a lot bigger. I'm not sure what the usual profit margin is but I imagine it would be like 10% at most.

Your DeVita crew succession seems right. By the way, I seem to remember you saying Gatto's crew was merged with DeVita's. Is that right? The 2004 New Jersey OC report listed 5 Genovese crews in Jersey: the Fiumara crew (now Borelli), the Bruschi crew, the Gatto crew, the Prisco crew (now LaScala), and the DeVita crew. But I think they missed Dentico's crew, which would make 6 crews. But it's been nearly a decade I don't know if things are still the same.

Yes, I agree.

As stated above, the West Side NJ crews could be an entire family by themselves. Or used to coulda. I would imagine they don't lose too many sit-downs.

They always reports gross $ to make the bust seem bigger than it is, though 10% profit seems low. Its impossible to completely balance a book because of teasers, parlays, etc. Casual bettors love these types of bets. As long as a book knows who its players are (and they all do), they can sit back and reap huge profits.

That has to be a typo of some kind. I could be wrong of course but I can´t believe the Genoveses had 6 official captains in NJ around that time. So most likely one of them was only acting. The five captains; Gatto, Fiumara, DeVita, Prisco and Dentico all seems to have been official crew leaders. So by process of elimination, Ninny Bruschi is the odd man out.

Reading this thread randomly reminded me of the story of how Merlino rebuffed Fiumara when Tino asked Joey to come to NJ for a meeting. If I remember correctly, Joey said something to the effect of come down to Philly instead (smart on Joey's part given Tino's reputation).

Posting this for Skinny, i.e. it's his post...

I've wondered in the past if Bruschi and Dentico were from the same crew but people on the forums have said they aren't. It should also be noted that Prisco was more Bronx-based but had some crew members active in Jersey.

You are right dapper. I am still used to hearing his name managing perna packages. Anything happen due to his murder? Was he hit for ratting on Pernas or Gatto?

Lagano was picked up with Gatto in December of 2004, he was popped in April of 2007. Most people believe the order to kill him came from the Westside.

I honestly had no idea he died hahaha. I wasn't saying I could've or would've been in the mob but I was saying that I had an equal amount of family in both the 5 boroughs of New York City and North East New Jersey

Was there ever any point where the New Jersey mob families were as powerful as New York? Even though there are crews from the 5 families in jersey, do the crews in New York and New Jersey ever feel animosity towards each other or do they see each other as one family.

The origin of the NY Family´s NJ crews is extremely interesting (at least to me). It looks like members of a Newark Family, created by Joe Masseria around 1928 and disbanded by the Commission sometime in the early 1930s, were given new memberships with the NY Families. Most of them, because of close ties with the Genovese Family (Luciano Family at the time) became members of that Family. A faction led by Antonio Paterno ended up with the Gambino Family (led by Mangano at the time). Another faction led by Settimo "Sam" Accardi ended up with the Luccheses (led by Tommaso Gagliano at the time) and the Profacis absorbed a crew led by Salvatore Lombardino and the Cammaratas. Although powerful, I doubt that this Newark Family rivaled any of the New York ones in power. Neither did the second Family operating in North Jersey, the DeCavalcantes.

Off the top of my head, there was a rift (to say the least) between the Lucchese Family and its NJ crew in the late 1980s. This rift led to Accetturo turning state witness after the Lucchese bosses (Amuso and Casso) ordered killings on several leading members of Accetturo´s crew (Accetturo included).

This was when Amuso gave the infamous "whack Jersey" order to take out the whole northern NJ faction of the family who were refusing to give a bigger percentage of their profits over to NY.

Anybody know anything about Ham Delesco (sp?)... Lucchese guy? I hear his and tumacs name together a lot but i cant find anything on google. Maybe i am spelling it wrong?

"At age 17, Accetturo was recruited by Anthony "Ham" Delasco, the boss of the Jersey Crew. By the early 1960s, he had become Delasco's driver. Accetturo became Delasco's Protégé learning trades in illegal gambling and loansharking controlling the Newark area. Delasco died in the late 1960s and Accetturo became a major earner under his successor, Joseph Abate, as well as a major player in his own right in the New Jersey underworld. He soon grew rich in the family, netting about $500,000 yearly."

Yeah, a Lucchese guy. I´ve seen his name being spelled in numerous ways which is a pain in the ass trying to find info on him. But according to his social security death index, his last name was spelled "Dolasco":

Name: Anthony Dolasco
State of Issue: New Jersey
Date of Birth: Friday October 18, 1907
Date of Death: October 1963
Est. Age at Death: 55 years, 11 months

Yep. Here is a bit more:

"Anthony "Ham" Delasco (correct spelling Dolasco) was the leader of The Jersey Crew for the Lucchese crime family in the late 1950s and 1960s. He took over the crew after Settimo "Big Sam" Accardi was deported. Delasco was a former boxer and when he became boss he ran the Newark rackets with an iron fist. Durning the time when Delasco was boss he dabbled in most rackets. He had a keen interest in jukeboxes and Persuaded bar owner use approved jukebox or cigarette machine in their tavern or could end up getting visited by some of Delasco men. Delasco, is best known for bringing in Anthony Accetturo to his crew. Accetturo was a street thug trying to make a name for himself. Accetturo and his gang was shaking down bookmakers and loansharks that worked for Delasco. Delasco soon found Accetturo and was impressed with him. Accetturo was soon Delasco's driver and Protégé learning trades in illegal gambling. When Delasco died (1963), the New Jersey rackets and The Jersey Crew were taken over by Accetturo."

anyone have more info on Ninny Bruschi?

He and his crew were involved in a big gambling bust back in 2003.

Here's what the 2004 OC report out of New Jersey said:

Ludwig A. Bruschi heads a fifth crew. Although he managed to stay under law enforcement’s radar for several years, in June of 2003 he was charged with racketeering, leading a criminal enterprise, loan sharking and promoting gambling. Eighteen of his subordinates also were charged in the case. Authorities say that Bruschi oversaw one of the largest illegal gambling and loan-sharking operations in New Jersey, covering portions of Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex, Hudson, Essex, Passaic and Union counties. The operation is alleged to have booked around $500,000 a week in sports bets and had at least $1 million in illegal loans on the street at any given time, generating hundreds of thousands in interest payment profits.
http://www.state.nj.us/sci/pdf/ocreport.pdf

I highly doubt that a jersey family was ever as powerful as a New York family. So I agree with you. Great information btw. It's not impossible for the New Jersey families to become bigger and more powerful sometime in the future or something but that probably won't happen anytime real soon or anything like that. After all, there are plenty of people from New Jersey who join New York families rather than New Jersey families.

Accetturo himself said that it wasn't Delasco who led the Jersey crew when he was made, but Joe Abate. On page 10 of "Five Families," where he talks about Delasco he never said he was a caporegime. It may be that Abate took over from Sam Accardi, not Delasco.

At age 17, Accetturo was recruited by Anthony "Ham" Delasco, the boss of the Jersey Crew. By the early 1960s, he had become Delasco's driver. Accetturo became Delasco's Protégé learning trades in illegal gambling and loansharking controlling the Newark area. Delasco died in the late 1960s and Accetturo became a major earner under his successor, Joseph Abate, as well as a major player in his own right in the New Jersey underworld. He soon grew rich in the family, netting about $500,000 yearly.

I would agree that the New Jersey is the base of the Genovese family now. There are few Genovese (or italians) in Manhattan at all anymore. How many italians neighborhoods in the bronx are left? (throgs neck, pelham, what else?). They have only one crew in queens and none on long island. All there main operations seem to be Jersey, Brooklyn, the northern suburbs and Springfield, Mass.

I mean has anyone been to the "west side" of manhattan recently? Do you see anything resembling a neighborhood environment? All I see is yuppies and super luxury condos.

I would wager that no major players are stationed in manhattan anymore.

Just because the neighborhoods are gone doesn't mean the mobsters themselves are gone. You don't have to be in a specific area to have influence in it

Most of the old presence in East Harlem may be gone but the Genovese still have a lot of activity in Manhattan as a whole. I'd say Manhattan and the Bronx continues to be the base of the family. That's where the top leadership has been for years now. New Jersey is certainly important, and a Jersey guy will be on the ruling panel now and again, but they're answerable to New York.



There are at least half a dozen Genovese crews alone that are active in Manhattan.

Of course they are. Barney, QD and Ernie are all power-based in New York. And that's that .

But I'm always the first to admit that there aren't any more recruits coming out of Manhattan. Those neighborhoods are never coming back. It's good that Italian Americans are getting away from the draw of the life, but it's bad because I hate gentrification like poison. And if you've lived in NYC for 50 plus years like I have, so would you .

Hey pizza and ivy,

You guys have very informative posts. Enjoy reading them.

As for the gentrification: More like segregation, except not by race, by class. The hipsters forced out the polish from greenpoint, greeks from astoria and are now pushing out the Irish from wooside/sunnyside. Midwestern kids with endless free time, small personal fortunes and an aversion to manual labor of any kind now occupy half the city. I hate to sound harsh but I think its the truth. And I'm sick of all their world saving advice and advocacy. It seems like every one of these idiots has a million dollar trust fund and a cause.

And as for the Genovese discussion: I think I am equating the word "base" with a home base, not a business base. From that perspective, most families in the construstion rackets can still call manhattan their base.

To illustrate some of the points being made about NYC demographics, this is a racial/ethnic map from the 2010 census:
http://www.urbanresearchmaps.org/comparinator/pluralitymap.htm

It seems to me that Joseph Abate was perhaps the most powerful Lucchese member ever to be in NJ. I know Tumac probably earned more money, but it's all relative to the times. Abate established a crew that everyone feared and Acceturo reaped the benefits of his work. This is not to say that Acceturo was not talented and intelligent. Among all the mobsters that have flipped and explained the rationale for their changed allegiance (and they all seem to give one explanation or another), his has always been the most compelling to me. I think that Tumac "got it" and was one of the last remnants of the old guard. He also had to wait forever to get made (much like Gotti) because the books had been closed at Appalachian.

Thanks, buddy . And I completely agree about the hipsters and the gentrification.

Funny that you mentioned Astoria. I'm a Bronx guy but I own a rental property just off 36th and 30th. I've had these kids in my buildings, both in Queens and in the Village. The only saving grace is that they don't stay too long. They usually head back to Ohio after 2 or 3 years. The novelty wears off, but meanwhile they've displaced a family that's been here for generations. It's sickening.

Aren't you the one who misplaced the family? You would lose money renting to a new yorker at a fixed amount compared to hipsters which you can capitalize on. I'm not judging you PB I'd do the same thing just because your from the same city doesn't mean shit

Given the choice, I'd much rather have locals. But at the end of the day, you can't turn the hipsters away. If I don't rent to them the guy next door will. And for A LOT more money. My wife and I are very fair about the rents.

I know you don't like being called the pope but you sure are a saint!

Right I understand the mob still does business/exercise influence in Manhattan. I meant more like what pizzaboy was saying regarding Little Italy, East Harlem etc. There are no old social clubs/crews hanging out in Manhattan like there are in Staten Island/ Bensonhurst/ Bronx and to a lesser extent Long Island and Jersey. I would imagine most of the so called Genovese Manhattan crews live and work in the Bronx or Jersey. So when the FBI says 6 Manhattan crews I always interpret that as saying control over a local or guys who have committed labor fraud and so forth in Manhattan. Even the strips clubs in Manhattan are mostly corporate and extremely high end. Your hard pressed to find a sketchy neighborhood in Manhattan below 110th.

But of course this is all speculation. I could be wrong about old mob social clubs in Manhattan. I don't know East Harlem well, but certainly in what is left of Little Italy there are none.