How the NY Mob Actually Works by John Pennisi

In case you missed him, John Pennisi explains how the NY mob works and why it will disappear in 20 years.



I think the mob is better off without him.

The picture Insider used for John's new video thumbnail is misleading.

Vincent Asaro was never a "boss".
The guy seated down is probably just a neighborhood signore.
The man with the tattoos (no idea who he is) is certainly not an "underboss".
It was taken outside Glendale Sports Club in 2013.

There are hundreds of pictures of actual admin guys around the internet, yet Insider couldn't even use a proper one.

I guarantee you that 20 years ago people were saying the same thing, yet they're still here. Take a seat Pennisi, nobody gives a fuck about your rat ass.

What risked Pennini to flip to convince him that would be better to flip?

He claims his captain falsely accused him of being a rat and that guys were following him around, planning to take him out. So he walked into the FBI NY office and flipped.

That, as well as a “supernatural intervention;”

Mobster John Pennisi said spirit of his grandparents told him to turn rat
https://nypost.com/2021/06/04/mobst...s-grandparents-told-him-to-turn-rat/amp/

Its true that he risked to get whacked or was only an excuse?

I highly doubt it, even with the Luccheses reputation of killing people because they thought they were rats. I just don't see it today.

He must have been ratting on the sneak for a while, why else would they think was a rat? Unless he is just a coward who felt he would wind up in prison eventually, so he just went to the feds.

I dont think he was a dry snitch. There was an indictment and they thought he may have been an informant. When they found out he wasnt, Joe Perna started having guys follow him anyway( thats what Pennisi says). Why did Perna have someone follow him? May have been alleged that Pennisi made comments about Perna’s wife going to bars with Merlino’s wife. Also, i think his girlfriend had a lot to do with it. Supposedly Castelle( big Johns brother ) started seeing her. Pennisi went bolistic and smacked her in the face. Because he beat her, maybe Big John wanted him dead or beat up?

^ plausibile. He once said that the accusations against him were all due to a woman. Something down the line of “a higher up wanted the girl I was dating so he framed me as a rat to take me out”.

I don’t think he flipped over a cowardly fear of being arrested since he spent a significant amount of time behind bars as a youngsters before his mob days.

His girlfriend that started dating a “ higher up “ seemed to have the morals of an alley cat. That makes me think she could of told Big Johns brother lies about Pennisi being an informant or becoming one. I would not put that past a broad who is cheating on her husband.

Yeah there used to be a time when cheating was something to be ashamed of, you kept your head down and kept that shit in the closet. Now it's considered cool, trendy even. And then when shit hits the fan and someone winds up dead, the guilty party is the bad guy. But all this time society at large has been glorifying cheating, twisted, upside-down world we live in. Sometimes I think it's best for humanity to give up on monogamy altogether, everyone just stay open.

I don't really wanna judge someone I don't know, but how did this kid get made ??

He seems like an okay guy, but what more then that ?? What did he ever do ??

But back to Pennisi, I still think he's a weasel. Not just for flipping, but the lie he made up to justify it. I don't believe that the mob was plotting his murder, and I also don't believe that he believed that. Why are so many rats in denial? Pennisi claims he did it to save his life, Gravano claims that Gotti was going to throw him under the bus, and then you have Franzese and Cullotta who deny they're rats altogether.

They lie to themselves because they know, some consciously others subconsciously, that they are indeed weasels that broke an oath out of mere self-interest, lack of courage and responsibility.

They don’t even have the decency to just fade away and be forgotten. Instead, they start podcasts, blogs or whore themselves out on YouTube to “re-shape” their public image based on who they think they are rather than who they truly were.

Most of them never held a regular job or lived a normal life.

Pennisi went from street thug to convict to wiseguy.

Their egos, criminal record and lack of skills prevent them from getting a proper job.
It’s either leeching-off their “past” and impressing normies, or working as an unskilled worker in a warehouse…from which they’re most likely going to get fired for stealing stuff or picking up fights.

They justify their decision to flip with the most brain-dead takes imaginable:
“the Mafia is full of cutthroat people”
“there is no honor among thieves anymore”, etc etc.
As if they were expecting to hang out with the Boy’s Scouts!

A way to limit this would be expanding the limits of what rats are allowed to do. As far as I know they’re still forbidden to “profit” off their criminal past. But they should also be forced off the internet/TV completely, de-platforming them, not even showing their mugs on a short YouTube video.

But this might make some spineless guys reconsider their decision to flip so why would the feds stop this? The more idiots like Pennisi and Borrello are known the more the Mafia looks terrible, which is perfect PR for the feds.

Luan you make a great point. Mob life is full of action and intrigue, quite refreshing from the boring and redundant life of us normies. Another excellent point you made is how the feds allow these rats to go public/Hollywood, they love making the Mafia look bad and the stuff of comedy films. It's actually the ONLY reason they flipped Bonanno boss Joseph Massino, by bluffing him with the death penalty.

True.

Eventually a podcasting rat will do a crime that embarrasses the feds, if they can be embarrassed. Most of them were never close to being made, such as Borello. Penissi is an odd case for sure.