Philly Mafia starts playing softball again

http://gangsterreport.com/boys-of-summer...-diamond-again/

BOYS OF SUMMER: PHILLY MOBSTERS CUTTING LOOSE ON THE SOFTBALL DIAMOND AGAIN

Sporting a literal murderers’ row of hitters, the Philadelphia mafia’s softball team is back in action on the local South Philly rec diamond. A photograph of the squad in uniform recently surfaced on-line, many of them wearing white-colored jerseys with 9th & Christian printed across the chests in reference to the crime family’s new clubhouse at the corner of 9th and Christian.

Back in the late 1990s, the Philly mob fielded a softball team representing then-gangland hangout Gino’s Café owned by boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino. Two decades and several prison stints later, the team has returned and it appears to be captained (pun intended) by George (Georgie Boy) Borgesi, the Philly mob’s former consigliere when the club first hit the diamond in the Clinton Era and now a capo and street-faction leader. A number of the wiseguy softballers were wearing Merlino’s Ristorante t-shirts, commemorating the swaggering boss’ ill-fated Italian eatery in Boca Raton, Florida, where he resides these days under bond restriction facing another round in the ring with the government over allegations of bookmaking and health fraud.

Borgesi is in the center of the current team photo, alongside aging acting boss Joseph (Uncle Joe) Ligambi and respected mafia administrator John (Johnny Chang) Ciancaglini. All three have either been charged with or convicted of a homicide in the past. Per one FBI informant, Borgesi bragged of taking part in 11 mob murders.

Ligambi is Borgesi’s uncle and mentor in the mob. Sources tell Gangster Report, a big chunk of the over two dozen Goodfellas pictured in the team photo, are part of Borgesi’s crew and growing powerbase.

In 2014, Borgesi and Ligambi beat RICO charges and Borgesi walked out of federal prison after 14 years. Ligambi, 77, was sprung from a life prison sentence in 1997 following his conviction for murdering high-ranking mob associate Frank (Frankie Flowers) D’Alfonso got tossed. The 55-year old Merlino, Ciancaglini, 61, and Borgesi, 54, beat murder raps at their 2001 RICO trial, but were nailed for racketeering. Merlino spent 12 years in the joint. Johnny Chang did an eight-year bid behind bars.

During the Gino’s Café years, Skinny Joey pitched, Georgie Boy Borgesi manned the hot corner at third base, Uncle Joe played second and underboss Steven (Handsome Stevie) Mazzone showed off his slick glove up the middle at shortstop. Mazzone doesn’t appear in the recent diamond photo-op, two of his nephews do though.

Is it me or does Philadelphia have a cultural mafia obsession more so than any other American city, New York included?

They will always have impressionable young idiots willing to join the fold.

Merlino and Anastasia have a lot to answer for.

Softball..

Actually Uncle Joe is right in the center of the photo. Like he should be.

Softball, Facebook, Instagram.........Nothing is forbidden in Philly.

The place to be!

In your face cosa nostra!

where is the photo?

I dont find the photo but Francesco Pesce boss of rosarno ndrina buied the rosarno football team and had the captain role in the team.

If the boss of the family has no rules on in your face !

I don't think many guys in that family are saying what the fuck are we doing here!

We're goin back, yeah... back to some real, in your face Cosa Nostra. Out in front on the line... make 'em sit back and watch the volcano blow.

Here's one of them... There's a couple of them...

I'm no genius but I bet those photos will one day serve as exhibits in some prosecution. The name on the front is the worst part. A questionable call to sponsor the team, make the shirts and then the photo.
I respect JM. His longevity up top is amazing in this day and age. He doesn't rat and has stood up and done a ton of time. It's almost like something JG would have done.
I have always found that karma plays a huge role in a criminal prosecution. The cases I think I've got beat, where the government makes a very reasonable offer, are the cases that turn around and bite you. I know this from my former job as a prosecutor. Juries are absolutely insane and unpredictable. This photo must make his attorneys sick.

I mean Joey isn't any of them so

If the guys in the photo are alleged to be connected in any way to him or connected in any way it is difficult for him to claim he has no connection to them when they have a photo taken with his name on the front of the shirts. I wish him the absolute best of luck but these photos definitely don't help his cause.

Their just friends, he never got convicted of a crime with none of those guys,as long as they don't implicate him of a crime on tape then he's good

They did the same thing in the late 1990s and nothing came of it. Playing a game of baseball can't be used as evidence of a criminal conspiracy. Not all those guys are criminals either.

They have the address of their social club and the name of the alleged head of the conspiracy on the front of the shirts. Pretty strong circumstantial evidence.

I remember reading somewhere that Patsy Parello, Joey Merlino and rooster onofrio took a picture at Patsy's Christmas party and even joked that the picture would get them all arrested one day... Sort of ironic because that basically happened so I guess Joey isn't oblivious to that sort of thing, but just dorsnt really seem to care. Posting pics on Instagram with him and RAy wags and Joe Perna as well.

Moe... Please dude..

I was thinking about this last night. In terms of the evidentiary value of the photographs. Any piece of evidence which has the tendency to prove or disprove a material fact is relevant and then arguably admissible. The piece of evidence still has to be more probative than prejudicial to be admitted. Courts generally err on the side of admitting the evidence, over any challenge of being overly prejudicial, and say any challenge goes to weight not admissibility.
In terms of JM and his situation. He is alleged to be involved. He is out on bond in Florida. His friends, who I'm sure he claims he has no criminal affiliation to, are a thousand miles away, playing softball, with t shirts with his name on the front, playing another team which has the address of their social club on it. Pretty compelling evidence to me. Doesn't actually prove he committed any crime but it is pretty powerful circumstantial evidence he is involved with these guys.
In terms of all the other guys in the photos, if there is ever a prosecution against any of them, and there is a RICO or conspiracy charge these photos come in as evidence. Defense counsel can argue they are overly prejudicial and only show grown men playing in softball but I think that argument goes to the weight the jury gives the photos not whether they are admissible.
If JM didn't know bout the t shirts and the photos he should be absolutely livid. The photos look like they are challenging the Feds and the judge assigned to JMs case. Federal prosecutors and federal judges are still people with pride. These photos will not be helpful to him at all especially if he is eventually sentenced on one of the indictments.

What conspiracy? Can't these guys play an innocent game of baseball?

They are screwing with the Fed's, don't forget,a picture surfaced of ligambi and a couple of the guys during the trial and it still wasn't enough to convict him, the only way that picture might come back and bite merlino in the ass is if somebody in that picture commits a crime and they can prove that merlino was implicit to that crime and charge them both together. Legally, merlino is not the boss, its all just allegations that has to be proven

Interesting cast of characters! In addition to the guys mentioned above, the two pictures (Scott's and the the one PHL_Mob posted above) show a lot of other SP characters either loosely or closely affiliated:

-Anthony Borgesi
-both Ray and Eddie Wagner
-Mike Emma (Mousie Massimino's half-brother)
-Sonny Mazzone (Stevie's brother) and another Mazzone nephew who is the son of a Mazzone and a Grande
-Snitch Frangipanni

I gotta say, I wouldn't want to get into a balls and strikes argument with Sonny Mazzone or Anthony Borgesi.

For example: if you and your friend go bar hopping one night and it just so happened that you two tooked a picture together that night, let's say about 3 months later your friend commits murder and the feds just happened to find this photo that you two tooked, do you get locked up too?

Funny story...

A long time ago two friends and myself dressed as bank robbers for Halloween. It was very toungue and cheek complete with sacks of "money" with huge dollar signs on them. Just like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Fast forward a few months and while representatives of a certain Federal Agency are seaching one of my friends houses they came across the photos from Halloween.

Convinced that they had founde something valuable the reps for this Agency had a lot of questions regarding who was in the photos, when were they taken, etc...

Nothing came of it as we were just "two guys he met at a Halloween party".

Fellow Esq here, and I totally agree with you. These photos definitely pass the 403 prej < probative test. Putting the 9th and Christian Social Club on the shirts ties the entire crew to the social club. The DOJ and FBI spend months in surveillance vans trying to get each member of the conspiracy at various locales tied to that conspiracy. I remember my "White Collar Crime" professor saying that "RICO cases are all about connecting dots between its individuals, their victims, the money, and its geographical epicenters". South Philly mob seems to be doing alot of the work for the future US Attorney assigned to their case with this photograph. Very stupid for a group of guys that just dodged a giant bullet by walking from that half ass RICO case a few years ago. Uncle Joe is allegedly too smart for that. smh.
That being said, the defense barrister in me would love to do the evidentiary preliminary hearing with Uncle Joe et al as clients. "Your honor, are we at the point in society where young men from the same neighborhood can't get a local tavern to sponsor their ball team?! Slippery slope... yadayada!"

They have never denied knowing each other so they have a right to pose together in photos if they choose, and to do so without any fear that it would lead to them being convicted of anything. They are on a softball team playing softball, and that is in no way criminal activity.

I think you're missing the point. From a legal standpoint, a RICO case is all about the big picture. Yes, they know each other. They have to concede that. But having all of the members of the LCN family posing blatantly in the picture wearing shirts featuring their "social club"? It's part of the picture. And it's asking to get caught.

... "the picture" is just too perfect for a prosecutor. Normal friends can pose in pictures together. But if you wana be in the mob, that's one freedom you just don't get to (or probably shouldn't) exercise.

The FBI had Ligambi being introduced as the acting boss on tape and it wasn't enough to get a RICO conspiracy charge to stick. What's a picture going to do?

Good point ted. Happy 4th board.