Was this guy a player during the Stanfa days? I never see him in any of the old Joey photos.

Well Joey is a Philly guy and I thought Anthony was a South Jersey guy. He has roots in Philly no doubt. Good question though. Where was he during all that?

I think he was actually a union guy in the early 90s and 80s specifically around Local 54. I think he started getting involved with Merlino and the local scene in the mid-90s once that whole Local 54 thing was taken over by the Feds in receivership. He really came into his own when Ligambi took over... His uncle is Ralph Staino as I'm sure you know already so I'm sure he had a presence in Philly if not living there outright in his childhood and then moved to NJ when he was involved with local 54.

He seems somewhat intelligent. I wonder what he gets involved in when he gets out.

Intelligent being relative to his profession that is.

If wearing glasses makes you smart. But really he was on a wiretap for a year and he was dealing with 1 or 2 undercover feds giving them loans and shit. He should have did a background check. Or just greedy. They shouldn't be any made guy getting a Donnie brasco pulled on them in the 21 century. They need to read a book.

A background check?

They monitored this guy for what, a decade? And they got him on a wire once?

The feds must hate these guys. Has merlino been caught on tape?

it happens he was not the first this happened to.

He probably did do background checks the feds are very careful look at jack falcone they gave him a really good story and greg Depalma got a union official to give him free medical care but greg did this so jack had to give away all his personal details they checked far the feds prepared everything you can think of plus they had that strip club owner vouch for him

and before someone says greg was dumb so he is the exception it was not greg who brough him around the whole operation was originally to take down some Albanian gangsters who were shaking down the club but then it was louie F started shaking down the club he got the Albanians to stop going around louie brought him around jack met greg depalama through other guys and gregs driver that irish guy greg had for a year before they fell out and 32 guys got taken down none of them even expected it



its easy for one of us to say how did they let a fed in or how did they not know he was a rat but its very hard to tell

only tapes on joey merlino were the tapes ronnie previte made all they got on him talking about is broads, gambling,some stolen bikes and some stolen baby food and a very weak link to a drug deal

Here's a great Anatasia article with some good Staino information:

http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/07/two-faces-of-anthony-staino-assessed-at.html?m=1

And when Previte was trying to implicate Joey in the Boston/Luisi coke deals, he couldn't get Merlino to play ball and talk on the wire...I envision Fat Ron presenting drug deals to Joey who says "you don't want to get involved with that, it's a bad pinch" all while nodding his head in the affirmative and tapping an index finger to his nose.

And Nicky Skins couldn't get Skinny to say boo. Joey's no genius, but no dope neither.

Ralphie - good question i also wondered where the fuck Staino comes from.. Pre 2001 ive never heard his name then hes all of a sudden straightened out and then a capo and essentially a street boss? How did he make the leap from bein a union guy to a wiseguy? When he was just an associate and then made does anyone know whos crew he was with?

He was a union official in a long time Philly controlled Union and his Uncle was Junior Staino. He was Uncle Joe's right hand man, Uncle Joe liked him a lot and trusted him.

Dante, I don't were I read it or heard it but, are you sure that he is the nephew of Junior Staino? I heard the there was no relation.

George Anastasia has said it a bunch on camera

Yes, Junior Staino is Anthony Staino's uncle. Joe Ligambi was close with Junior Staino going way back as young men in the 60s, lifelong friends so he took a very close liking to his Nephew Anthony Staino- thought he was a smart, tough, and capable guy who could handle himself.

Ligambi's close inner circle upon release from his murder conviction overturned in 1997 was always Anthony Staino, Mousie Massimino, and Joe Crutch Curro.