I agree with you on that BensonHURST the feds kept Scarpa going and he was the main enforcer for the Persico faction.

Also Frankie Sparaco was also a top shooter and working for the feds.

Orena did not get convicted of war related crimes because he was sentenced to 3 life sentences, no need for the feds to waste resources when at that point he was taken off the streets for ever.

Was Tommy Gioeli originally under Scarpa? Wikipedia which is notoriously inaccurate says he flipped allegiances during the war. I've read a few books on Scarpa and never seen Gioeli's name mentioned. No one has mentioned the role Carmine Sessa played in the war, he basically kicked things off by running and telling the Persico side of the vote Orena intended on holding. Did Sessa testify against his brother who got life? Carmine they say flipped within minutes of getting arrested.

The Orena side seemed to have support of other families, no hands on help, but tacit approval to takeover. Joel Cacace was another guy from the Orena faction who had a crew of killers around him. It's amazing he survived the war, Scarpa really wanted him dead, they had a few shootouts. Cacace was supposedly vocal in labeling Scarpa a rat. It was a very interesting war with a lot of plots and subplots. I never had an interest in the Larry Mazza book, but I'm going take Nicky's recommendation and check it out.

Sessa was such a peace of shit. How can someone be so disloyal? Flipped within minutes? Testified on his own blood? Hope the colombos whack that rat asshole.

Tommy Gioeli was always close to Scarpa and IIRC they were cousins although I could be wrong on that last part. Gioeli seems to have always been a staunch Persico loyalist and I haven’t seen anything indicating he switched sides. But I think the reason why he wasn’t linked to Scarpa much during the war is because Scarpa was a soldier in another crew (Scarpati crew) and Gioeli was a soldier in... I think it was the Russo Crew (JoJo and Chucky Russo). I am not at home so I cannot double check this in my notes. But IIRC, Gioeli was behind the Minerva/Imbergamo slayings on Long Island and the Russo cousins bragged about it to everyone on the Persico side (the Russo cousins were convicted of the LI slayings). So there’s that. Tommy Gioeli was inducted in 1987 but Scarpa wasn’t a capo so he was put in another crew and Gioeli had his own set of young hitters under him similar to Scarpa.

Carmine Sessa was the principle leader of the Persico faction when the war began, but his poor leadership meant guys like Joe Tomasello and Teddy Persico became the chief guys. Larry Mazza goes into detail about Sessa because Sessa was a young Scarpa associate like he was, and Sessa was a quiet, unassuming thief. Sessa was inducted in the late 80s IIRC and quickly rose to consigliere under Orena. Remember that consiglieres are supposed to hold the role for life, be well-respected, experienced, and intelligent. I don’t think Sessa ticked any of these boxes, and Mazza is vocal in his book about his opposition to Sessas promotion.
According to Mazza, Sessa was terrible at boasting morale at the dozens of Persico faction meetings he held, got flustered and stressed at bad news (guys like Joe Tomasello had to hold him out because he was always passing out upon hearing bad news).
When the indictments came down and all the top Persico guys went on the lam, Sessas wife negotiated a deal with the FBI. Sessa organised a secret meeting at a cathedral but never showed up. It was an FBI sting and all the top guys were arrested.

Sessa didn’t flip within minutes. He was on the lam for months.

So if sessa wasn’t well respected, why was he promoted to consigliere?

He flipped within ten minutes of being arrested.

https://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3781361&page=1

But he was on the run for months, and his wife made a deal with the FBI whilst he was on the run. So, technically, he flipped before being arrested. The meeting at the Cathedral was a set up. I'll see if I can provide links when I can.

Long Live The Rooster.

@ SC, disappointed in you that you had to stoop to name calling. But youre the boss. Feel bad for you too now.

@ Loscalzo, your nonsense about Tampa still holds no weight and Ive been vindicated many times over.

All the best to Nickle, Bensonhurst, Cabrini, and Giacomo. Keep up the good posts in my absence

I wound up getting Larry Mazza's book, and it was better than expected. Carmine Sessa did testify against his brother Michael.

The book description makes it seem like a steamy romance novel... but the book is an incredibly well-researched insight into the wartime Colombos.

Persico’s and there extended family (blood) has been helpin $ encouraging relatives to come from Italy and have been for many years .

It’s great to see some locals posting about the family nothing better coming from guy that grew up with these guys , I know the family from a different angle 90% of it upstate where for years they have been mostly business well other then the war days.

The family has been quiet and growing without headlines really the best time for that family since for ever but at a big cost .

Any names? Haven't heard of any Persico Zips. In fact, of the Five Families, the Colombos seem to be the ones with the least Zips at all.



I agree, although I think it's important to note that just because a family is not generating headlines (the Colombos) does not mean they are growing, I think it's more to due with the fact that the FBI has put them on the backburner. Remember that the crew investigating the Colombos is (since 2013) also investigating the Bonannos and Genoveses and it seems that those two have been getting most of the attention.

But I agree that the Persicos still control that family with an iron grip and that entire bloodline has dipped their beaks into just about every racket imaginable.

I don’t mean zips as in Gambinos just saying next time there are headlines you will hear of what I said but by no means a family or crew of them , talking 10 or or a little more single guys and family men .

Also not saying all of them are involved but they are there.

Possibly would of happened if they were not in the business but it’s been going on for some time.