By George Anastasia

No Mourners Or Twisted Eulogies For Little Nicky

Nicodemo ScarfoGang Land Exclusive!Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo checked out quietly.

The remains of the former Philadelphia mob boss were returned to the Philadelphia area shortly after he died in a federal prison hospital in Butner, NC, on Friday, January 13. Scarfo was 87 and had spent the last 30 years of his life behind bars. But details about his burial and final resting place are a mystery.

No big time mob funeral for the violent Mafia don. No FBI agents snapping pictures outside a funeral home where wiseguys and wannabes line up to pay their final respects. No filigreed coffin carried out of some cathedral while television cameras roll and newspaper photographers snap front page pictures.

And usually reliable sources in the underworld, and law enforcement, are keeping his final resting place a secret from Gang Land. Or perhaps they don't have a clue. One unconfirmed report is that Scarfo was cremated and that any memorial was strictly a small, family affair.

Angelo BrunoWhen it comes to Scarfo, family is an interesting word.

You could make the argument that the diminutive crime boss destroyed the Philadelphia crime family he inherited in the early 1980s after the murders of Angelo Bruno and Philip (Chicken Man) Testa. The low-key and highly efficient mob family run by Bruno (who was in charge from 1959 until his death in March 1980) was turned upside down during Scarfo's bloody reign, which began in 1981 and ended with convictions for extortion, racketeering and murder in 1988 and 1989.

For Bruno, who was posthumously nicknamed The Docile Don, murder was a negotiating tool of last resort. If all else failed, somebody might get whacked. For Scarfo murder was a calling card. He set out to avenge the death of his mentor Phil Testa by having those suspected of being involved in that plot killed. But his paranoia and fear led to even more violence, culminating with Scarfo's order to have Testa's son, Salvatore, murdered in 1985.

Philip TestaSalvie Testa was the crown prince of the Philadelphia crime family, handsome, charismatic and fearless. He led the charge for Little Nicky in an internecine power struggle in the 1980s, personally killing the man behind the plot to murder his father and then serving as point man for the Scarfo faction in a gangland war with a group headed by Harry Riccobene.

Scarfo's decision to have Salvie Testa killed was the last straw.

"If he could kill Salvie, he could kill any of us," former mob soldier Nicholas (Nicky the Crow) Caramandi said in explaining why he decided to become a cooperating witness. His testimony along with that of fellow mobster Thomas (Tommy Del) DelGiorno led to the conviction of Scarfo and 16 co-defendants in a sweeping 1988 racketeering case that ended the Scarfo era.

But the story of Scarfo's family didn't end there. He had three sons and a nephew, all of whom grew up in his shadow and all of whom suffered the consequences.

Salvatore TestaHis oldest son, Chris, wanted no part of the mob life. Caramandi said Scarfo would frequently mock his son, using his fingers to form the shape of a gun and then shaking his head in dismay over the fact that Chris Scarfo wanted no part of it.

Chris Scarfo assumed his wife's maiden name after getting married and still resides at the New Jersey shore, not far from the Atlantic City home where the Scarfo family once resided.

Scarfo's youngest son, Mark, tried to commit suicide during his father's 1988 racketeering trial. The then-17-year-old was found hanging in the Georgia Avenue apartment where the Scarfos lived. He remained comatose for more than 25 years before passing away two years ago.

Scarfo's middle son and namesake, Nicodemo S. Scarfo, followed his father into the world of organized crime. In a pact that Little Nicky worked out with his former prison mate pal, mob boss Vic Amuso, Scarfo Jr. was inducted into the Luchese crime family.

Nicky Scarfo & Vic AmusoFor a time, he was riding high with boats, cars and a luxurious home outside Atlantic City. But the bubble burst in 2011, and he is currently serving a 30-year federal prison sentence for fraud and extortion. It's his third prison stint and absent some appellate court ruling in his favor, the 51-year-old mob scion is looking at a December 2037 release date.

His cousin, Scarfo's nephew Philip Leonetti, has publicly encouraged the young Nicky Scarfo to cut a deal with the government. (More on that later.) Leonetti, once known as Crazy Phil, did just that after he was convicted in that 1988 racketeering case.

Leonetti admitted his own involvement in 10 gangland-style slayings and for serving as an enforcer, and later the underboss for his volatile uncle. His decision to cooperate and testify in a series of trials up and down the East Coast led to a substantial reduction in his 45-year prison sentence.

He did five years, five months and five days before a federal judge, citing his extraordinary cooperation, set him free. Now living in another part of the country, Leonetti could be the poster boy for the federal Witness Security Program. He has literally recreated himself and is a model citizen whose neighbors know him only as a friendly and successful businessman.

Phil Leonetti & Nicky ScarfoLeonetti co-authored a book Mafia Prince, in which he likened his uncle to Svengali. According to one source, when Leonetti was informed that the date of his uncle's death was Friday the 13th, he replied, "That's appropriate."

Another cooperating witness had a somewhat different take on the passing of Little Nicky.

Now living in Florida, the one-time mobster who did business with members of the Philadelphia mob and was an earner and enforcer for two New York crime families operating in North Jersey, said there was no doubt that Scarfo was "unhinged."

"I can tell you that with the utmost certainty," the ex-wiseguy wrote in a short eulogy posted online after Scarfo's death was reported.

Nicodemo Scarfo"You can't be a real guy in the life unless you have the ability to kill," he wrote, noting that "none of his victims were virgins or saints."

But while all too many former associates are willing to badmouth Scarfo now, most went along with his program when they were making money with him, the former gangster opined.

"He was Little Nicky for 30 years before he became boss, so they knew the drill. But he enjoyed killing people and would be demonstrative in telling you that. A lot of guys have done work, doesn't mean they enjoyed it."

Scarfo, he said, clearly did.

But watching from afar he said he sees a certain underworld "hypocrisy" in guys like Crazy Phil and Nicky Crow who now paint Little Nicky as a monster.

"They all basked in his shadow when he was on the street…and they all ate at his table. He was a bad guy in a bad life…As a human being he was flawed, inept and delusional. In the end he was just an old man who died alone."

What Now For Nicky Scarfo Jr.?

TNicodemo S. Scarfohere has been some speculation that with the passing of his father, Nicodemo S. Scarfo will now try to make a deal with the government and get out from under his 30-year sentence for masterminding a massive bank fraud at FirstPlus Financial, a once high flying Texas financial institution. But that's an unlikely scenario.

His cousin, Phil Leonetti, has been encouraging him to do so for the past three years. But there are several factors weighing against that move. Scarfo still has an appeal in place and thinks he may have a shot at winning a new trial.

He also recognizes that he may not have information valuable enough to entice federal authorities to even consider a deal. Bagging Scarfo was a major accomplishment for the late Steven D'Aguanno, and a deal to undo that would likely be resisted by colleagues of the South Philadelphia-born federal prosecutor.

Unless Scarfo has information about unsolved mob murders that the feds can use to convict those who committed them, it's unlikely the government would consider giving him a cooperation agreement.

Louis MannaAnd finally there is Louis (Bobby) Manna.

The stately, 87-year-old former Genovese crime family consigliere is an inmate at the same federal prison in Fairton, NJ, where Scarfo is doing his time. In fact, sources say Manna has become something of a mentor for the younger Scarfo. And if Manna has his ear, there's no way Scarfo is going to talk to the feds.

There is symmetry in the Scarfo-Manna connection.

Back in the 1970s Manna was serving time in a New Jersey prison for contempt after he refused to testify before the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation. Several other mobsters, including Little Nicky Scarfo, also were jailed for the same offense.

It was during that time, according to underworld and law enforcement sources, that the elder Scarfo forged a bond with Manna and the Genovese crime family that helped him take the top spot in Philadelphia after the deaths of Bruno and Testa.

John GottiManna, like the elder Scarfo, was ruthless. He is currently serving an 80-year sentence for plotting the murders of late Mafia boss John Gotti, his wiseguy brother Gene and businessman Irwin Schiff. Schiff, in fact, was killed. The Gotti plots, picked up on FBI electronic bugs planted in a Hoboken restaurant called Casella's, were the basis for Manna's conviction.

The Genovese family never went along with Gotti's takeover of the Gambino crime family in 1985. The murder of Paul (Big Paul) Castellano outside Sparks Steak House catapulted the Dapper Don to the top spot. But it made him a target for the Genovese organization that still held to the old school values that made murdering a boss without approval of the Mafia Commission a crime of the highest order. Sources say Genovese boss Vincent (Chin) Gigante was particularly upset by the murder of his fellow boss, and felt he had to act to protect his own position at the top of his family — not to mention his life.

Castellano Murder Scene Ironically, the Genoveses were behind the assassination of Antonio (Tony Bananas) Caponigro who orchestrated the 1980 murder of Philadelphia mob boss Angelo Bruno in a power grab similar to Gotti's move on Castellano.

The Newark-based Caponigro was Bruno's consigliere and thought he had cleared the hit with the New York families. In fact, underworld and law enforcement sources say, Caponigro was double-crossed by the Genovese organization which led him to believe the Bruno murder had been sanctioned when it had not. After Caponigro was killed, the Genovese organization took over a multi-million dollar gambling operation Tony Bananas had controlled in North Jersey.

And when Bruno's successor, Phil Testa, was killed by a rival faction in 1981, Bobby Manna and the Genovese organization backed Scarfo, a Testa ally, in assuming the top spot.

Now, nearly four decades after serving time in a state prison with Little Nicky Scarfo, Bobby Manna sits in a federal prison with Scarfo's son. You can be sure there's plenty of talk about old times and about how things used to be done. Cooperating is not on the agenda.

Vincent GiganteManna could be a father figure of sorts for the younger Scarfo. His penchant for violence would certainly remind young Nicky of his dad. Several years after his 1987 conviction in the Gotti case, an appellate court rejected Manna's appeal and noted that the FBI believed Manna had plotted to kill the prosecutor, the United States Attorney for New Jersey and the federal judge involved in his trial.

The prosecutor was Michael Chertoff who went on to serve as a U.S. Attorney and federal judge before becoming Secretary of Homeland Security. The U.S. Attorney for New Jersey was Samuel Alioto who now sits on the U.S. Supreme Court.

And the judge? Her name was Maryanne Trump Barry. Her brother is now the president of the United States.

The Brits Do Their Version Of Mob Wives

Toni Marie RicciA two-part series that began airing this month on ITV in England focuses on Mafia wives, girlfriends and daughters who "share their stories" with veteran British journalist Sir Trevor McDonald.

This is a more serious look at the ground that was tread on, and eventually overrun by the so-called reality TV show Mob Wives that has aired on American cable television for several years. The British two-part documentary is a follow-up to McDonald's highly successful series, Meet the Mafia, which aired last year.

That documentary focused on New York gangsters who flipped against John A. (Junior) Gotti but failed to bring him down — mobster Michael (Mikey Scars) DiLeonardo and mob associate John Alite — and on Philadelphia mobsters who were more successful against their City of Brotherly Love pals, turncoat mob boss Ralph Natale and South Jersey mobster Ronald (Big Ron) Previte.

Trevor McDonald & Michael DiLeonardoThis time Sir Trevor, who spent six weeks in the United States filming the series, spends time with women who are in a position to offer a different take on "the life" and what it has meant to them and the men they once loved. Those interviewed include Linda Scarpa, the daughter of mob hitman Greg (The Grim Reaper) Scarpa, the late Colombo mobster and longtime top echelon FBI informer, and Toni Marie Ricci, the ex-wife of Mikey Scars DiLeonardo.

Toni Marie, according to a press release touting the series, "still bears the scars" of her husband's "double betrayal…of their marriage and the Mafia's code of silence." Toni Marie's second husband, Gambino associate Kurt Ricci, was a standup guy when he was hit with bank fraud and other charges in 2007. Ricci copped a plea deal, was sentenced to probation, and fined $5000.

In 2006, as Mikey Scars was testifying against Junior Gotti, Toni Marie revealed in a New York Magazine article by Gang Land's Jerry Capeci that the "worst day of my life" was the day she received a Christmas card in December 2000 that congratulated DiLeonardo for the birth of a son he had six months earlier with a girlfriend. "I was like a rag doll," she sobbed.

Anthony Russo & AmySir Trevor revisits with Mikey Scars in the documentary, which also includes a talk with former Colombo capo Anthony (Big Anthony) Russo and his new girlfriend, Amy. Russo talks about how he has tried to start over after cooperating, and Amy tells Sir Trevor that she knew nothing of Russo's past when they met and started dating and later found out who he was after she googled him.

The series consists of two 60-minute segments. If you're reading this in the UK, you can watch the second episode, which is slated to air tonight. But if you're in the U.S., you'll have to wait several months. Like McDonald's original Mafia series, it is expected to be available some time later to American TV viewers. It will be available online much sooner, however.

Surprised they let manna sit in new jersey prison so long. There was some old documents on here he was advised on beefs in the early 2004. A capo buster ardito would talk to him on the phone and the guy was settling beefs. Wanns say he was calling that rsataurant parello owns or they have sitdowns there. This was over 10yrs ago parello probaly should have switched iy up.

Real shame, I knew Toni Marie and Michael in the early days...but you never know what goes on behind closed doors. I'm sure she likes the life style and money it brought especially to marry another Associate. I guess they never learn their lesson.

Surely they would try and get Leonetti on one of these?

He probably wouldn't say no. He was interviewed on ABC 20 years ago and gave a few media soundbites when his book came out a few years ago.

Who gives a shit about cans like Anthony Russo?

I find it really interesting that Bobby Manna is now playing "mentor" to Nicky Jr. in prison. Plays to the theory that, atleast in a planning stage, that Nicky Jr. had backing from various crews in different families. Considering Manna's stature and his relationship with the Scarfo clan, makes me think the Genovese may have been one of those families.

Thanks Blackjack2121. Funny that Scarfo Sr and Manna were in prison together and now Scarfor Jr and Manna are in prison together.

Nicks sr. Was close to many west side members way back (way before Manna), he was from NY and has /had many blood relatives in NY .(still does)

He also had a relationship with Joseph Profaci and was close to his brother Sal.

The west side guys many had summer homes down on the south jersey shore and were intertwined with Philly guys .

There we're endless mob guys from many families down at the shore , they were not looked at in a weird way like many places.

Well, wasnt nick sr.s dad an old genovese guy from way back also??

Yes ,I have herd that but never seen any proof , always worked back in the day,but I think there may be a little more to it , not so much his father but other family members .

Yea, i read somewheres he was a working man in the old hotels,& that nick sr. didnt really respect him 4 that..go figure,but then again,in nick's mind,anyone who "worked 4 a living" was a jerkoff.