man, that is like someone who has never picked up a bat telling Babe Ruth he cannot hit!

Anyone else see or read this article? I couldn't get through it all as I began throwing up in my mouth....

http://www.cosanostranews.com/2016/10/one-story-jerry-capeci-seemingly-wont.html




Who would dare write a critical word about Jerry Capeci?

The longtime, distinguished Gangland News scribe "made his bones"sneaking into Carlo Gambino's funeral, the only reporter able to cop such an inside view of the secret society, and, it could be said, he's been off and running ever since, quickly building up a network of sources and providing unprecedented insight into the American Mafia.

The “East Coast LCN Enterprise” case -- the fictional name was created as a handle for an assortment of mobsters allegedly working together on an opportunistic basis -- landed with a colossal thud this past Aug. 4. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York unveiled the indictment, which depicts a seemingly immense, sprawling collaboration involving four of New York's Five Families: the Gambino, Genovese, Luchese, and Bonannos -- and Philadelphia.




By way of disclosure Capeci once dissed a short-format ebook I coauthored, deliberately mis-characterizing (in my view) and trivializing it. (I will state here categorically for anyone who cares: I am proud of Inside the Last Great Mafia Empire.) I note this simply to acknowledge it. You can determine if I wrote this due to that criticism. That sentiment, however, is delusional, and is as far from the truth as one can get.


The East Coast LCN Enterprise includes charges of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit assault in aid of racketeering, use of fire to commit a felony and firearms trafficking.

Merlino, 54, was arrested at his Florida home that morning.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York "offered a shopping list of crimes" in the indictment. The New York-based Genovese and Luchese crime families made up the bulk of the arrests, based on federal documents released to the media.

Identified as the supervisors of the illegal enterprise in the indictment are Merlino and two Genovese family capos, Bronx-based restaurateur Pasquale "Patsy" Parrello, 72, of Tuckahoe, and Eugene "Rooster" Onofrio, 74, of East Haven, Conn.

"The families allegedly formed an unusual alliance and joined forces or conducted overlapping business," CBS New York reported.

But the Merlino aspect seems to focus on guys who "Skinny Joey" apparently knocked around with in Florida, where he's lived since getting out of prison following 12 years of a 15-year sentence he was handed in 2001 for racketeering crimes.

These Florida guys include Bradley "Brad" Sirkin, 54, of Boca Raton, Carmine Gallo, 38, of Delray Beach, and Wayne Kreisberg, 39, of Parkland.




Gangland News is showing its hand, to an unprecedented degree, in its coverage of the East Coast LCN Enterprise Case. Now said coverage -- and Gangland News's reporting overall -- is exclusive, exacting and benchmark-setting; the stories well-written, the analyses incisive -- the site offers the "real news" behind the news. There's no doubt about it, Capeci is a great journalist who has great sources.

But he seems to have developed a bit of a blind spot when it comes to Philadelphia, failing to even acknowledge news that has been repeatedly reported by the other great mob reporter, George Anastasia, who covers the Philadelphia-New Jersey-based Cosa Nostra crime family. What is referenced here, specifically, is news regarding how the FBI's New York office operating alongside the "Sovereign District of New York" seemingly deliberately worked in isolation, rather than in tandem with law enforcement agencies in Florida and in Philadelphia.

Anastasia has the same kinds of inside sources that Capeci has; only Capeci seems to be holding to the party line in this instance, while Anastasia is "searching for the truth."

To wit, in yesterday's Gangland News column, Capeci wrote in the story headlined Judge To Patsy: You're A Danger; It's Back To The MCC For You:

The Genovese capo at the heart of an FBI sting that nailed 46 defendants tied to five crime families was kept behind bars as a danger to the community this week. At the same time, gangsters and other mob-connected figures around town are wondering if they're on the short list of names the feds are likely to add to the monstrous racketeering case....

Capeci still reports "five crime families," which is in line with what the East Coast LCN Enterprise indictment says:

The East Coast LCN Enterprise was in part composed of members and associates of the Genovese Organized Crime Family, the Gambino Organized Crime Family, the Luchese Organized Crime. Family, the Bonanno Organized Crime Family, and the Philadelphia Organized Crime Family (collectively, the Organized Crime Families) of a nationwide criminal organization known as La Cosa Nostra or the Mafia....

But in reality it names members and associates of four New York crime families. The Colombo crime family is absent -- as is the Philadelphia crime family. Merlino was the only "Philly guy" to be arrested. And he wasn't even in Philadelphia during the raid.



As Anastasia, has written, on Gangland no less (and as we noted last month):

"In a strange twist ... federal authorities in New York who hit Skinny Joey last month with racketeering charges that carry up to 20 years in prison seem to have done a much bigger favor for Merlino's Philadelphia mob crew."
Despite federal documents that say the 54-year-old mob boss was working to put the Philadelphia crime organization back together while a long-running investigation was underway, and despite federal assertions that Philadelphia was one of the locations where criminal activity had been taking place, no one with ties to the Philadelphia crime family other than Merlino has been named in the four-count racketeering indictment handed up in August. As a result, some of Skinny Joey's top associates in the City of Brotherly Love are waiting for the other shoe to drop — not believing they have dodged a bullet.
But if law enforcement sources in Philadelphia are correct, Joey's guys may have gotten a pass on this one.
What sources in Philadelphia — and also in Florida — tell Gang Land is that the New York FBI and the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office played the five-year investigation very close to the vest.
And that has not set well with the other jurisdictions.
Only after the indictment was unsealed and arrests were made last month, said several sources, were investigators in Philadelphia given access to any of the secretly recorded conversations made by an FBI undercover agent and by mob associate John (J.R.) Rubeo, a top aide for Genovese capo Pasquale (Patsy) Parrello, who was cooperating with the FBI and who met frequently with Merlino in Florida and traveled with him to New York and New Jersey.





Anastasia this week followed up on his reporting regarding how the Southern District of New York has domineered and exploited the East Coast LCN Enterprise case, reporting on PhillyVoice that the genie has fled the bottle. This case is problematic now, due to infighting, rivalries, etc., and seems to be beyond the point of repair.
In fact, it seems like the SDNY would've been better off not naming Merlino in the East Coast indictment; they should've left him to the South Florida FBI and prosecutor's office, which has another developing, seemingly tighter case. (Merlino's associates -- you know, Brad, etc. -- were indicted again, a few days after the East Coast LCN Enterprise, over the healthcare fraud; Merlino wasn't part of that indictment.)

Maybe there will be superseding indictments that put skin on the bones of what is a skeletal document, particularly when it comes to “Skinny Joey.”
Or maybe the indictment—and this is where the break for Merlino lies—was a rush job, one that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York insisted on bringing despite the objections of law enforcement agencies in Florida and in Philadelphia. ...
Those other things include investigations into the current activities of Merlino’s top Philadelphia and South Jersey operatives, and a continuing look at four mob murders that authorities have long hoped to tie to the Merlino organization.
None of that, of course, matters to federal law enforcement officials in Manhattan where the current case was brought. And that’s the problem. There are those in the law enforcement community here and in Florida who will privately tell you that New York acted like the 500-pound gorilla in the current case. The feds in Manhattan forgot, or perhaps never learned, the lessons that are crucial in kindergarten. ...
But in this instance, it was the feds in New York freezing out their fellow federal agencies in two other jurisdictions.

It was so bad, Anastasia reported, that when Genovese associate John Rubeo arrived in Florida to speak with Skinny Joey. armed with a hungry body-wire, the FBI in New York didn't even tell the FBI's Miami office that a wired informant was recording an alleged Cosa Nostra boss on their turf!

And when it came time for the bail hearing, New York didn't fly any of its prosecutors or FBI agents down to Florida to press the judge to hold Merlino without bail, as Anastasia further noted.


Genovese crime family boss Barney Bellomo, left, wasn't touched in this case.

Merlino's two Florida associates, Sirkin and Kreisberg, were working in cahoots with Merlino in a medical insurance fraud case over compound lotion, which supposedly treats pain.
On PhillyVoice Anastasia further reported:

Compound creams have been described by insurance fraud publications as the “snake oil” of the 21st century. It’s a highly expensive snake oil...
The scam, as outlined in other cases, involves bribes paid to doctors to write prescriptions for medical compound creams that a pharmaceutical company creates... The key is setting up and controlling the company that manufactures the cream. Authorities contend that Sirkin and Kreisberg did just that.
The interesting thing about Sirkin and Kreisberg is that a few days after the New York indictment was made public, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Tampa announced that Sirkin, Kreisberg and five others had been indicted on insurance fraud and money-laundering charges in an elaborate compound cream scheme that generated $157 million in what authorities say were phony medical insurance reimbursements.

Returning to this week's Gangland News column (which ignored Anastasia's recent report entirely), we learn instead that:

Meanwhile, sources say there is some high anxiety in mob circles that there are more charges and arrests in the case to come. Several defendants, the sources say, fear they may soon face additional charges when federal prosecutors proceed with plans they stated last month to present "additional evidence to the Grand Jury." Prosecutors also vowed to seek "indictments against presently uncharged individuals."

Law enforcement sources tell Gang Land that prosecutors have enough evidence to charge "a dozen or more" suspects with fraud, money laundering, extortion and other crimes but declined to provide any specific timetable about the planned new charges. The sources say it's likely that the new charges will be part of a new indictment.

"The rumor is that the BOP has cleared out a whole floor for the new arrivals that they're expecting any day now," said one underworld source, using familiar shorthand for the Bureau of Prisons, which runs the two federal lockups in the city. For the record, five of the seven detained defendants — three are doing time for other convictions — are housed at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan; two are at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

No mention regarding the BOP in Florida. Or Philadelphia.

And whether this case overall does any truly lasting damage to the New York Mafia remains to be seen....

Okay so I finally grabbed enough pepto-bismol to finish reading it...and the article really is dizzying

it is like it is trying to create some sort of conflict between George and Jerry (when there obviously is none as GA has written for JC several times on his website) and he is trying to insert himself into the situation and insinuate he is on their professional level when it comes to mob reporting?

I guess that was the point of it? If anyone figures it out, let me know!

The article just goes in circles, uses a lot of bold and italics for little to no reason....and wore out the copy and paste feature on his keyboard.

I didnt understand his post. I read scarpos blog. Like i said i dint understand it. Is he saying capeci wont go against his fed sources. Who gives a fuck. The book with dominic c i bought for a couple bucks on amazon this goes into my rant im done buying true crime books. Why didnt dom c even explain his induction ceremony the only conclusion i could think was he was ashamed? Idk. Didnt make sense. The one thing i loved about sammy bulls book was hos he described or maybe with the help of the author his induction. It was a cool read.

That was probably the best chapter. Paul Castellano: "I am your God!"


And as far as Ed Scarpo criticizing Capeci...

That was the thing i thought sammy was telling 100truth about he talked about the whole thing n after. Forgot who wrote the book the ended up hating sammy but the guy was good.

read one of bill bonannos books and he describes how he was made ceremony and all, this was in 1956, went to a warehouse somewhere in Brooklyn, and a lot of bosses were there because of his old man joe. interesting read.

sounds like beef.

scarpo is a joke how can anyone take him seriously him trying to call out capeci who is probably the most respected and succsessful mob reporter ever is ridiculous scarpo is just annoyed because capeci said his book with cicale was shit

here is the article i think that scarpo is refering to


This Week in Gang Land
By Jerry Capeci

Mob Turncoat Who Sent Vinny Gorgeous Away For Life Allegedly Extorted Basciano Family For 200K

Gang Land Exclusive. Turncoat wiseguy Dominick Cicale, who bragged that he put "the nail in the coffin" of his imprisoned-for-life former mob superior, Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano, also had another slick move for his old pal's family: He tried to extort $200,000 from them last summer, according to information that a private investigator provided the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office.

Cicale, a murderous drug dealer who described himself last year in a letter to a federal judge as an "extremely talented author, singer and inspirational speaker," has never been short on boastful, arrogance. The former Bonanno capo has written a fanciful book in which he crows about his prowess as a businessman, a gangster, and a mob turncoat. You can hear some of his same boasts on YouTube.

But Cicale kept his dealings with Basciano's family on the down low, apparently. The alleged shakedown of Basciano's wife Angela and her sons came one month after Cicale sent a letter to a federal judge proposing leniency for Joseph Basciano for a marijuana drug rap, according to court papers obtained by Gang Land.

"It was a complete scam," said private investigator James Dowd, who told Gang Land that Cicale offered to provide the Bascianos a "get out of jail" card for Vinny Gorgeous. "He has no information that could help Vinny; he was just trying to get money out of the Bascianos," said Dowd.

Cicale put the scam into motion at 9 AM last August 9 when he called Frank (Frankie The Florist) Villano, a longtime Basciano family friend at a flower shop he operated in the Throgs Neck section of the Bronx. Cicale told Villano he had some important info for the Bascianos and asked him to get one of the Basciano brothers to his store by noon so he could speak to him.

Joseph Basciano was at Frankie The Florist's flower shop on East Tremont Avenue when Cicale called at noon. Villano gave the phone to Basciano, according to an affidavit by the florist. "After a brief conversation," Villano wrote, "Joe hung up on him," but Cicale immediately called back and told Villano, "I know he's still standing there with you so tell him I'm willing to help his dad get a new trial."

Cicale, 46, testified three times against Basciano, who was convicted of racketeering or murder at three trials and is currently serving life at the Supermax federal prison in Florence, Colorado. As his reward, Cicale, who admitted taking part in two murders with Basciano, got 10 years in prison. He was released in 2013.

"Cicale then said that he would call me back later in the evening," wrote Villano, adding that when the mob defector did, he spelled out his demands to Frankie The Florist.

Some of Cicale's calls were tape-recorded, according to sources.

"I can guarantee his father a new trial," Cicale said, according to the affidavit. "I spoke with my lawyers, and although they told me not to do it, I think it's the right thing to do," Cicale said, Villano wrote, stating that Cicale "went on to say he testified against his father because as a cooperator, the Government instructed him what to say."

"Cicale then stated, 'I want to be compensated for this because I'm risking everything. I want $200,000, with $70,000 up front and delivered to my mom tomorrow. As soon as my mom gets the money, I'll go to my lawyers and get the ball rolling. After that, we'll work the rest out,'" Villano wrote.

In the affidavit, Villano wrote that Cicale said he "never thought" he would ever have to take the stand against Vinny Gorgeous "because I thought he would take a plea deal. But instead (he) went to trial" and "put me in the position to be a cooperator."

Early the next morning, Cicale called Villano on his cell phone, and rejected a suggestion to discuss the matter with Vincent Basciano Jr., who, like his brother Joseph, had pleaded guilty to marijuana trafficking charges, but was free on bail at the time. Cicale stated, "There's nothing to talk about, so if my mom doesn't get the money, I have the answer," Villano wrote.

All told, Villano wrote in a September 30, 2014 affidavit, he spoke to Cicale a total of five or six times — all in calls from a phone with a blocked telephone number — regarding his stated plan to help Vinny Gorgeous overturn convictions that include two life sentences.

In a companion affidavit, Joseph Basciano, who most likely was suspicious of Cicale from the get go, wrote about the brief conversation he had with the mob turncoat before he angrily hung up on him. Cicale said, "I have some information that could benefit your dad," but then quickly, and inexplicably added, "last winter you found some money in the snow."

"At this point," wrote Basciano, "I stopped him and said, 'I never found any money in the snow,' and hung up on him. I know this was Dominick Cicale because I know his voice and have known him for many years."

In early October, Dowd, who told Gang Land that he agreed to look into Cicale's "extortion scam" and prepare affidavits for Villano and Joseph Basciano after Vincent Jr. contacted him about it, submitted a two page affidavit by Villano to the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office because the alleged crime took place in the Bronx, where the Bascianos reside.

Preparing the Joseph Basciano affidavit took a lot longer, said Dowd. That's because Basciano began serving a six-month prison term at the Metropolitan Correctional Center a few days after he spoke to Cicale and Dowd wasn't able to have it signed and notarized until January 22.

Last year, Cicale co-authored a book, Cosa Nostra News: The Cicale Files. The book was a little short on real facts, however, regarding a March 1999 mob murder that occurred while he was in prison, months before he met Vinny Gorgeous. Next month, the claim is that Cicale will disclose "never-been-told-before details" about the "missing money" from the storied 1978 Lufthansa Airlines heist in a new book.

In yet another remarkably ballsy move, Cicale has moved back to the Bronx, a decision announced in January of last year in a quickie YouTube bit as he stood with the elevated #6 line that runs on Westchester Avenue in the background. He followed that in May with a longer YouTube rap in which he boasts of rubbing elbows with "mayors, senators and bank presidents" (all unnamed) as he made $10 million in four years after getting out of prison in late 1999.

"I changed with the times," is the song that singer Cicale croons on YouTube. "That's why I cooperated. All the dinosaurs are going to die in jail. I chose a different path to rebuild myself. To rebuild my brand. To come out there and do good."

Assistant U.S attorney Laurie Korenbaum declined to discuss the case with Gang Land. But law enforcement sources say that after two criminal investigators looked into the allegations, the case was referred to her counterparts in Brooklyn. That's where prosecutors sang Cicale's praises at his sentencing in 2012, and where Cicale, who professed he was a changed man, still has three years of strict post-prison supervised release to complete.

After ducking Gang Land's calls for nearly two days, Frankie The Florist finally got on the phone, explaining his reluctance this way: "Look at the position I'm in. I'm stuck in the middle. On one side of me I got this guy, and on this side of me I got another guy. A damned if you do, and damned if you don't situation."

When pressed about the accuracy of his affidavit, Villano said simply: "It's a federal offense to lie in one of those things." Lying apparently isn't something Cicale has worried too much about.

haha, so he got mad because he exposed his Cicale "book", if you can call it that...for being complete shit.

This is laughable..i hope Ed Scarpo (or his real jew name) reads this thread and knows that everyone thinks he and his bullshit website are totally hacky, unreliable, and filled with more malware than fuckin PornHub..he is about as much of a mob expert as my 2 year old daughter...i dont claim to know much about the mob, but there's nothing douchier than a guy who claims to be in the know about shit in the "street " when theyre a fake italian paper pushing fuckwad...though i hate that Jerry charges a fee for his column, I get why he does it and i respect his knowledge and expertise, he's leagues above Scarpo

And Scarpo taking shots at Jerry saying he only became a mob expert bc he snuck into Carlo Gambinos funeral as a young reporter shows how petty and Fuckin fruity he is.. Jerry took initiative as a young reporter in 1976, and subsequently built a reputable career .. Scarpos big scoop was getting an exclusive interview and subsequent book deal with Dominick Cicale? If any of you havent read that book, I stupidly paid then 9.99 or whatever the fuck for that book which was the worst "true crime" read of all time... Cicale is a fake ass tough guy pussy and Ed Scarpo is the literary version

Lmao . Oh and you forgot to add that Cicale is a SCUMBAG and a RAT!! I thought I'd add it here for you If only PB could see this thread, he'd agree and crack up at your posts Good stuff BlackJack2121

So true Mikeyballs211 Good post.

Thanks Alfanosgirl...you of all people would know based on your knowledgeable and solid posts can sniff out when someone's full or shit and this prick who claims to be a mob author and expert is 150% full of shit..hope u had a nice Halloweener

Thnx. It's a females job to recognize when a man is bullshitting Must be in my DNA. But even I have been duped by a couple wannabes on these gangster forums when I first began posting about six years ago. Live and learn. Happy Halloween!

Hahah truer words have never been spoken.. every woman i know is pretty good at that job

I should have just read what you posted Blackjack, instead of clicking on Scarpo site. You all do realize why he wrote that article. Rumor is, that Capeci said some off remark comments about Scarpo works at some sort of gathering in Manhattan, this got back to Scarpo. I think Ed Scarpo idealized Jerry, and felt butt hurt after hearing about it. It is like Muhammad Ali telling Floyd Mayweather he is just a punk. This thing has been going on for some time now. Capeci has more sources and clout then Scarpo will ever have.

At least he dont charge for mob gossip

Ed Scarpo he's a rat lover. He hangs out with them. Writes their lies like truth. Hack McDaniels.
Big claim to fame was going to the Geraldo show as alite's assistant.

His "sources: are all rats with grudges

Cicale aka Scumbag Dom robbed his own grandmother for her life savings, "changed man" - Ed lieber shoould write this for his nexxt book but he;s too worried cicale will stop taking his calls. He relies on these rats as his sources and writes their lies to make them happy. People pleasing scarpo rat-pleasing scarpo

http://www.bxtimes.com/stories/2008/32/doc4890579ad38c4971449760.html

You got a point there. Although you can't compare the two. Capeci is really connected with law enforcement, attorneys and connected guys. They feed him some good stories and inside info. He's making a living since he's no longer at The Daily News and The Sun. Can't blame Capeci for that. Thanks to gangsterreport for posting Gangland every week. I know I appreciate it.

Ed Scarpo may be the worst mob reporter of our time. I'll never forget the time he said George Borgesi was the new boss of Philly.

Wow he ript off his own grandmother. Ive never seen that article no ones ever posted it. It was written august 2008. Why would scarpo even write a book with that dude. I feel like a idiot have bought that piece of shit read. Wow. What a real honorable guy. Why didnt they post that article when the book came out. Hes on a high horse rite from the first page and that article has been out for years.

Yeah he does, by the malware and re-directs to gay porn sites you get for going to his sites.

While I do admit it was kind of lame for Capeci to start charging because I doubt he needed the money, he kind of earned the right...and gave us decades of free articles, when the mob was in their prime.

Wow...Cicale is the lowest of the low.

The move he pulled trying to extort the Basciano family after sending their father away for life was sickening.

Fucking brokester. Scam artist.

Also trying to get people to believe he knew what happened with Luthansa money when he was born around that time lol, what a joke

I wish it was him that got his ass beat at the festival

Ed scarpo sure knows how to pick em.

IMAGINE WHAT HIS BUSINESS CARD LOOKS LIKE???

The biggest fuckin moron on the planet , can't stand the prick

I am assuming that someone of relevance that was at the event got word back to Eddie "I wish I was Italian" Scarpo? Correct?

Surely he was not at the same event and heard it...unless of course he was serving Capeci his food and drinks and heard it that way