“The mafia of two worlds”: 17 arrests between Palermo and New York – THE NAMES
The key man is an 81-year-old "godfather".
THE BLITZ
by Riccardo Lo Verso
NOVEMBER 8, 2023, 10:57 AM
2' READ 0 Comments Share
PALERMO – Rivers of money accumulated through drugs, sports betting and the import-export of agricultural products flowed along the Palermo-New York bridge . Not even the “Game Over” blitz of 2018 stopped relations between Sicilian and American mafiosi. Today the Palermo District Anti-Mafia Directorate is writing a new chapter . The investigations of the policemen of the Central Operational Service of Rome, of the Palermo flying squad and of the FBI reveal the names of those who managed the business, controlled the illicit trafficking and imposed the extortion money.

Seventeen people were arrested for criminal association, extortion, arson, conspiracy and auction rigging. Ten measures were carried out in New York, seven in Sicily. The investigation focuses on the mafia families of Partinico, Borgetto and Torretta. The latter was involved in the 1980s in the Pizza Connection investigation conducted by Giovanni Falcone which reconstructed the relationships between the mafias of the old and new continent.

It is the Gambinos who hold the strings in America, where the "heirs" of Frank Calì, murdered in 2019 in front of his home on Staten Island, move.

There was great excitement on the day of the crime. He spent some time before realizing that it was not a mafia murder, but the work of a thug. The victim had married Rosaria Inzerillo, sister of Pietro, one of those who escaped to America during the mafia war wanted by the Corleonesi. On January 14, 1982, a New Jersey police officer received an anonymous phone call. A voice told him to go to the Hilton hotel in Mount Laurel because there was a bomb in a car. And instead in the trunk they found the frozen body of Pietro Inzerillo, Frank Calì's brother-in-law.

The key man in Sicily would be Francesco Rappa, 81 , who was arrested in New York in the 1970s. Little money for protection money, but huge requests. In this the Americans accepted the advice of the Sicilians of Partinico. Bureau agents have uncovered dozens of extortion cases involving construction companies in the Big Apple. To collect the money and intimidate those who don't pay, the American bosses use the labor of local gangs.

The investigation is coordinated by the Palermo prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia, the deputy Marzia Sabella and the deputy Giovanni Antoci.

The names of those arrested in Palermo
Those arrested in Palermo are Francesco Rappa, born in Palermo (81 years old), Giacomo Palazzolo, born in Balestrate (77 years old), Giovan Battista Badalamenti, born in Torretta (69 years old), Salvatore Prestigiacomo, born in Palermo (50 years old), Isacco Urso, born in Verbania (40 years old), Salvatore Prestigiacomo, born in Palermo (54 years old) and Maria Caruso, born in Palermo (39 years old).

Italian police, FBI hit Palermo and New York mafia families
17 suspects detained in Italy and United States

(ANSA) - ROME, NOV 8 - Italy's State police and the FBI on Wednesday staged a series of operations to detain 17 people suspected of belonging to, or being linked to, mafia families active in Palermo and New York, sources said.
The suspects are accused of a variety of crimes, including mafia association and extortion.
Investigators said the probe that led to the arrests showed that the Gambino New York crime family continues to do business with Sicilian mobsters, especially Palermo's Torretta, Partinico and Borgetto clans.
They said they had uncovered evidence of American mafiosi getting 'training' from their Sicilian "cousins" in using a softer, less violent approach, which includes demanding smaller amounts from extortion victims so they are less likely to turn to the State for help.
The investigators said drug trafficking continues to be a business that links the crime families across the ocean. (ANSA).

Very good article Hollander. Frank Rappa became a notorious mafioso in the states back in the 70s. He was deeply involved in the heroin traffic.

Here is an early arrest of his from 1974. This is from The NYTimes...


Italy Charges 24 In Major Smuggling Of Heroin Into U.S.
March 29, 1974

ROME, March 28—A coin laundry in a Roman suburb was the cover for the operations center of a Mafia ring that had been smuggling large shipments of heroin to the United States, court officials say.
An investigating magistrate has issued 24 warrants for alleged members of the gang. Four of those charged with drug trafficking and related crimes are in United States penal institutions.
Seven persons were arrested in Rome and Palermo while five warrants were served on alleged mafiosi who are in Italian jails on other charges. Eight wanted persons have disappared; and Italy has asked Interpol, the international police organization, to trace them.
The court actions followed 30 months’ investigative work by United States and Italian police agencies. The inquiry started in September, 1971, when American customs agents seized 200 pounds of heroin, then worth $40?million, in a Ford Galaxie with New York license plates that had been taken into the United States aboard the Italian liner Raffaello.
The auto was the property of Joseph Giacomazzo, a 38?year?old native of Sicily, who is one of the four in prison in the United States who are wanted by the Rome Criminal Court. The three others are Lorenzo D'Aloisio, 37, and Francesco Rappa, 32, both Sicilian?born, and Richard Verdin, 35, a native of France.
[In Washington, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration said that the three men had been jailed in the 1971 case.]
About 750 people, including reputed mafiosi, were questioned during the inquiry. The records fill 100,000 pages.
According to police sources here, the boss of the international ring was Gerlando Alberti, a 47?year?old Sicilian who has been implicated in many other Mafia rackets. He is in the Palermo jail awaiting trial On charges of criminal conspiracy unconnected with the drug case.

No news yet about the 10 arrests in New York.

Ok. I'm curious who got pinched.

But Rappa is a top player and has been for over a half-century now. Keep us posted, ok.

Hollander, so the names listed were only the guys in Italy who were arrested?

these cross ocean arrsts are always intriguing. gambinos still working hand in hand with palermo based families. correct that a group or faction inside the gambinos is doing likewise with sicilian members. this faction inside gambinos would constitute the core leaders i imagine. boss, ub and some capos.

Yes, still no info on who was arrested in New York.

Sources at the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York confirmed to AFP that ten people there had been arrested on racketeering charges.

They are accused of being members and associates of the Gambino family, one of five major Italian-American mob organisations in the northeastern United States.

Italian police said the investigation with the FBI, which began in April 2021, confirmed the "robustness" of US-Italian crime links and highlighted "the American interest in the organisational affairs of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra".

In addition, the inquiry revealed details of extortion in New York, from the construction trade to moves against restauranteurs of Sicilian origin as a way of pressuring their families back home, the statement said.

Mafia, the blitz of the seventeen and the "godfather" who comes from the past
The key man is Don Ciccio Rappa, 81 years old
THE INVESTIGATION
by Riccardo Lo Verso
NOVEMBER 8, 2023, 4.59PM
3' READ 0 Comments Share
PALERMO – Elderly, authoritative and cautious. He looks to the past at the mafia of a slice of the province of Palermo to control the territory between Partinico, Borgetto and Torretta, and maintain contacts with the American Cosa Nostra.

The choice would have fallen on Francesco Rappa , one of the seventeen arrested on orders of the Palermo Prosecutor's Office . The criminal record is solid. A portion of his 81 years of life was spent in prison serving three mafia convictions. Already in the Seventies he was involved in drug trafficking between Sicily and the United States. Furthermore, he is the father-in-law of the boss Francesco Nania, arrested in America in 2008, convicted of mafia, returned to prison in 2018 and convicted again for the big Cosa Nostra sports betting business.

81 kilos of cocaine were found on board the car in which Francesco Rappa disembarked from the ship that took him to New York . A crime for which he served 18 years in prison. In the nineties, his relationships with the Madonias of Resuttana and above all with Leonardo and Vito Vitale, powerful mafia leaders of Partinico, emerged . Thus came a new twelve-year sentence, which he finished serving on November 13, 2014. Since then he has shown that he has not severed ties, especially with the Americans. In particular, the Gambinos of New York. His son, Vito Gabriele Rappa , currently lives in the Big Apple and is considered the point of reference overseas.

The FBI agents, who developed the American front of the investigation, intercepted his conversations with his son and with Francesco Vicari, another person on whom the investigators are focusing. Disagreements had arisen, it was better to resolve them at the table: "... you have to come up, Brother, when we have this meal" . Vicari was disappointed: "... I don't want to see anyone anymore because they have no respect ... I want to stay calm, I want to enjoy my family, you come and our brother iddu comes... I do whatever it takes, understood... when I see your father I'll give it to him your father's satisfaction."

Vicari spoke of someone who paid "six a month... I get 1,500 a week... but I said security, I gave it to him because I have to give it to people, we have to give security my brother". The hypothesis is that the amount, in dollars, was nothing more than protection money. When there were delicate matters to be resolved for the USA, an emissary of Rappa left, a mysterious character, of whom only his nickname is known: "Your father's word was right to give us a helping hand ... limiuni (lemon ed.) he wanted to send it immediately." And instead the departure was postponed until Christmas. Rappa's word was decisive: "... he called me Vito with a lot of politeness and he came... your father told him do the right thing" .

In the investigation documents there are very recent conversations. Some from the end of October. Rappa's shadow man would have been Giacomo Palazzolo, 77 years old. They went around together. Palazzolo organized some meetings with the Vitale relatives. He talked about lace, this time without too much shielding. A construction material seller had refused to give in to the extortion demand. Palazzolo wanted to take the hard way: "It would be like making him shit on himself... I go there and tell him: 'Give me the money, give me the money... u pizzu'". Rappa would have sent Palazzolo ahead of him. On the other hand, his boss said that he was "too burned " due to previous arrests and preferred to be "delicate" . In the sense of out of the way, better not to attract attention.

Tags: Mafia

So we can assume Francesco Vicari and Vito Gabriele Rappa are among the arrestees in NY.

Frank Rappa is truly a piece of mafia history: the head of the Palermo flying squad, Boris Giuliano, had investigated him a few months before he was killed in 1979, when he was outlining a map of contacts between the American and Sicilian mafias, around the drug business. “We are faced with a vast organization that operates in the international field – wrote the investigator in the report of 7 May 1979 – adopting considerable means, making use of the most advanced techniques and taking advantage of complicity and connivance”. Today Rappa is being investigated by the SCO, a branch of the Central Anti-Crime Directorate of the State Police, which is directed by Boris Giuliano's son, Alessandro, a highly experienced policeman, like the new police commissioner of Palermo, Vito Calvino, who took office on October 1st.

In July 2019, the flying squad, the SCO and the prosecutor's office stopped the reorganization of the Inzerillo clan in Palermo, a few months ago heavy sentences were issued by the court. The protagonists of the new criminal season are the "escapees" of the past, those who the old tyrant of the Sicilian mafia Salvatore Rina had sent into exile in the States at the beginning of the 1980s. At the time, the Italian-American bosses in Palermo were considered unfaithful to the new course: the Inzerillos, the Bontates, the Gambinos were the enemies of the Corleonesi. The leaders were exterminated, others were driven out of Sicily. And they remained distant until 2017, when Riina's death marked a return to the past. Many Italian American bosses have thus returned to Palermo: in 2018, the new regent of the Cupola, Settimo Mineo, would have also wanted to involve them in the reconstituted provincial commission of Cosa Nostra, Francesco Inzerillo refused, sending a representative of him anyway. The godfathers of the old mafia prefer a low profile, mainly linked to business. In the old investigation, investigators had intercepted the bosses while they were talking about American credit cards given to their Sicilian cousins. For what business? For which investments?

What remains is the mystery of the treasures never seized from the "escapees" of the past, which today constitute the strength of their reorganization.

https://www.alqamah.it/2023/11/08/m...un-vecchio-padrino-dettava-le-strategie/

The defendants are Joseph Lanni, also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino,” an alleged captain in the Gambino organized crime family, Diego “Danny” Tantillo, Angelo Gradilone, also known as “Fifi,” and James LaForte, alleged Gambino soldiers, Vito Rappa, alleged U.S.-based Sicilian Mafia member and Gambino associate, Francesco Vicari, also known as “Uncle Ciccio,” alleged U.S.-based Sicilian Mafia associate and Gambino associate, and Salvatore DiLorenzo, Robert Brooke, Kyle Johnson, also known as “Twin,” and Vincent Minsquero, also known as “Vinny Slick,” alleged Gambino associates.One individual remains at large.

JOSEPH LANNI (also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino”)
Age: 52
Staten Island, New York

DIEGO TANTILLO (also known as “Danny” and “Daniel”)
Age: 48
Freehold, New Jersey

ROBERT BROOKE
Age: 55
New York, New York

SALVATORE DILORENZO
Age: 66
Oceanside, New York

ANGELO GRADILONE (also known as “Fifi”)
Age: 57
Staten Island, New York

KYLE JOHNSON (also known as “Twin”)
Age: 46
Bronx, New York

JAMES LAFORTE (also known as “Jimmy”)
Age: 46
New York, New York

VINCENT MINSQUERO (also known as “Vinny Slick”)
Age: 36
Staten Island, New York

VITO RAPPA (also known as “Vi”)
Age: 46
East Brunswick, New Jersey

FRANCESCO VICARI (also known as “Frank” and “Uncle Ciccio”)
Age: 46
Elmont, New York

Joe Lanni no suprise lol..

Nice pull Strax!

Good post!

Here's the official release by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of NY of the indictment and the particulars.
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Ten Members and Associates of the Gambino Crime Family Arrested in Coordinated U.S.-Italian Takedown
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York

A 16-count indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging 10 defendants with racketeering conspiracy, extortion, witness retaliation, and union-related crimes committed in an attempt to dominate the New York carting and demolition industries. All ten defendants are in custody and are scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr. In connection with the arrests, federal authorities executed search warrants, one of which resulted in the seizure of multiple firearms from an associate of the Gambino crime Family.

In a coordinated operation, Italian law enforcement today arrested six organized crime members and associates who are charged with, among other crimes, mafia association and connected criminal offenses. One individual remains at large.

The defendants are Joseph Lanni, also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino,” an alleged captain in the Gambino organized crime family, Diego “Danny” Tantillo, Angelo Gradilone, also known as “Fifi,” and James LaForte, alleged Gambino soldiers, Vito Rappa, alleged U.S.-based Sicilian Mafia member and Gambino associate, Francesco Vicari, also known as “Uncle Ciccio,” alleged U.S.-based Sicilian Mafia associate and Gambino associate, and Salvatore DiLorenzo, Robert Brooke, Kyle Johnson, also known as “Twin,” and Vincent Minsquero, also known as “Vinny Slick,” alleged Gambino associates.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent-in-Charge, Northeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG), Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), and Elizabeth Crotty, Commissioner and Chair, New York City Business Integrity Commission (BIC), announced the charges.

“As alleged, for years, the defendants committed violent extortions, assaults, arson, witness retaliation and other crimes in an attempt to dominate the New York carting and demolition industries,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “Today’s arrests reflect the commitment of this Office and our law enforcement partners, both here and abroad, to keep our communities safe by the complete dismantling of organized crime.”

Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the New York Waterfront Commission, the Office’s law enforcement partners in Italy, including the Prosecutor of Palermo, the Polizia di Stato, the Servizio Centrale Operativo, and the Squadra Mobile of Palermo.

“These defendants learned the hard way that the FBI is united with our law enforcement locally and internationally in our efforts to eradicate the insidious organized crime threat. Those arrested are alleged to have taken part in a racketeering conspiracy in an attempt to control the carting and demolition industries in the city. The FBI will continue to lead the fight against organized crime and ensure that individuals willing to cross the line face punishment in the criminal justice system” stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Smith.

“Today’s arrests should serve as a warning to others who believe they can operate in plain sight with apparent impunity – the NYPD and our law enforcement partners exist to shatter that notion,” stated NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban. “And we will continue to take down members of traditional organized crime wherever they may operate.”

“An important part of the mission of the Office of Inspector General is to investigate allegations of fraud involving labor unions and their affiliated employee benefit plans. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate these types of allegations,” said DOL-OIG Special Agent-in Charge Jonathan Mellone.

“Investigating these matters is at the heart of BIC’s mission to ensure the industries under our regulation do not pose a risk to public safety. These arrests demonstrate that the influence of organized crime will never go unchecked,” stated BIC Commissioner and Chair Elizabeth Crotty. “BIC thanks the NYPD, FBI, EDNY, and our other agency partners for their collaboration and excellent work on this case.”

As alleged in the government’s court filings and summarized below, members and associates of the Gambino crime family used violent extortions, fraud, theft and embezzlement schemes to infiltrate the carting and demolition industries to enrich themselves and the Gambino crime family, including by laundering criminal proceeds. For example, in the midst of a financial dispute between Tantillo and the owners of Demolition Company 1, Tantillo and Johnson coordinated a violent hammer assault on the dispatcher for Demolition Company 1, which left the dispatcher bleeding and seriously injured.

Extortions Related to the Carting and Demolition Industries

Tantillo, Rappa, Vicari and Johnson engaged in a violent extortion conspiracy relating to the demand and receipt of money from John Doe 1, who operated a carting business in the New York City area. The extortion scheme involved threatening John Doe 1 with a bat, setting fire to the steps to John Doe 1’s residence, attempting to damage John Doe 1’s carting trucks, and violently assaulting an associate of John Doe 1. In addition, Tantillo and Vicari were captured on judicially-authorized wiretaps discussing threats they made to John Doe 1 and John Doe 1’s father-in-law. On one call, Rappa stated that Vicari “acted like the ‘Last of the Samurai,” describing how Vicari picked up a knife and directed John Doe 1’s father-in-law to threaten to cut John Doe 1 in half in order to get John Doe 1 to make extortionate payments. After John Doe 1 ultimately made a payment of $4,000 to Vicari, Vicari and Rappa met and sent Tantillo a photo of Vicari raising a small champagne bottle, as in a toast.

In addition, Tantillo, Brooke and Johnson engaged in two separate violent extortion schemes of Demolition Company 1 and its owners over purported debts owed to Tantillo and a company operated by Tantillo and Brooke. Brooke violently assaulted one of the owners on a street corner in midtown Manhattan. In another instance, as mentioned, Tantillo and Johnson coordinated a violent hammer assault on a dispatcher at Demolition Company 1, which left the dispatcher bleeding and seriously injured. Pictures of the victim dispatcher were then circulated to various people in the carting and demolition industries.

Frauds and Union-Related Crimes in the Carting and Demolition Industries

The defendants also committed a series of crimes to steal and embezzle from unions and employee benefit plans and rigged bids in the demolition and carting industries. As part of one such scheme, DiLorenzo provided Rappa with a “no-show” job at DiLorenzo’s demolition company so that Rappa could receive paychecks and union health benefits, among other benefits. Similarly, Tantillo arranged for Gradilone to receive a “no-show” job at a construction company with which Tantillo was associated, which enabled Gradilone to receive paychecks and union health benefits to which he was not entitled. Tantillo and Johnson also conspired to secure a “no-show” job for Johnson, so that Johnson could similarly receive union health benefits.

Tantillo also embezzled from employee benefit plans by using laborers from a non-union company, Gane Services, Inc., to perform work for union companies operated by Tantillo, and failing to make contributions for such work as required by collective bargaining agreements.

In addition, Tantillo, DiLorenzo and their co-conspirators conspired to rig bids for lucrative demolition contracts in New York City. Among other things, Tantillo and DiLorenzo coordinated that their companies exchange bidding information to secure a project on Fifth Avenue.

Additional Charged Schemes

The defendants also perpetrated a series of other crimes throughout the New York and New Jersey areas from 2017 through 2023. Their pattern of racketeering activity included additional extortions, retaliating against a federal witness, and money laundering, among other crimes, as detailed in court documents. For example, in September 2023, Lanni and Minsquero coordinated an assault on proprietors of a restaurant in New Jersey, including physically assaulting a woman at knifepoint. In addition, LaForte, having previously been convicted of a felony, illegally possessed a firearm in or about May 2023.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The defendants variously face maximum sentences between 20 and 180 years’ imprisonment.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew R. Galeotti, Anna L. Karamigios, and Andrew M. Roddin are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Emme Moosher.

The Defendants:

JOSEPH LANNI (also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino”)
Age: 52
Staten Island, New York

DIEGO TANTILLO (also known as “Danny” and “Daniel”)
Age: 48
Freehold, New Jersey

ROBERT BROOKE
Age: 55
New York, New York

SALVATORE DILORENZO
Age: 66
Oceanside, New York

ANGELO GRADILONE (also known as “Fifi”)
Age: 57
Staten Island, New York

KYLE JOHNSON (also known as “Twin”)
Age: 46
Bronx, New York

JAMES LAFORTE (also known as “Jimmy”)
Age: 46
New York, New York

VINCENT MINSQUERO (also known as “Vinny Slick”)
Age: 36
Staten Island, New York

VITO RAPPA (also known as “Vi”)
Age: 46
East Brunswick, New Jersey

FRANCESCO VICARI (also known as “Frank” and “Uncle Ciccio”)
Age: 46
Elmont, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-443

Interesting development. LaForte is someone we've discussed before. Big money guy who has the bloodlines

I certainly hope that Diego Tantillo enjoys playing hand ball.

I'm actually very unimpressed with the criminal acumen here. All this for 4 grand and a job and medical coverage?

It's like Jesus Christ, any regular guy can do that. You can sell 4 pounds of terrible weed and get 4 grand.

I can't help recalling Saviano.....


Only beggar clans inept at business and desperate to survive still practice the kind of monthly extortions seen in Nanni Loy’s film Mi manda Picone, or the door-to-door rounds at Christmas, Easter, and on August 15

On another note... the Gambinos are as the kids say " outside" , running up on people with hammers and shit.

This is the Sicilian influence, lmao...

It seems like the Lanni thing wasn't a one-off. The Gambinos were in the streets really pressing people. I thought the like, violence era was kinda over but naaah, apparently not. They got the Sicilians to press relatives in Sicily. They preying on their own....why?

In italy almost all the sicilian clan still do it, but also several camorra and ndrangheta ones

No suprise on Joe Lanni. He was reported as being the one who took over Franck Cali's affairs after his death.

I assume James LaForte is the son of Joseph "Joe the Cat" LaForte. In his podcats last year, Gravano talked about Joe the Cat having his son made.

Must be the other son because James LaForte was made after his father died

A few month ago, we had a good exchange on the LaForte family, including James who was charged for fraud and extorsion in Philly : Here

NY Post: There’s pictures of Lanni in Toms River at the Gas Station down the street from my house shortly after the restaurant assault at Roxy’s in Toms River over this past Labor Day Weekend, can’t believe the Feds picked it up.

https://nypost.com/2023/11/08/metro...-crime-family-with-racketeering-charges/

-Dante

James is Joe the Cat's grandson actually. His uncle was Buddy LaForte (not his father)

Nice article Dante. Some great pics in there.

Here is Gravano's video about Joe The Cat and his relatives : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOHXJX9J_is

He actually wanted to kill his own son over money !

24 June 2005 was his relative Mario Rappa of the Vitale clan killed, of this were the Provenzano allies suspected.

The whole thing sounds like they made 2 separate arrests of 2 different groups and want to tie them together to jazz up the case. One group arrested in Italy, and other in the states. The take a loose tie between one of those indicted and make it one big international case, which it isn't.

The thing is Sicilian Cosa Nostra helped the Americans to cash in by putting pressure on the victims' families who still live in Sicily.

“LaForte called John Doe 6 a ‘rat,’ and hit [him] in the face with a bottle,” the indictment continued. “LaForte and Minsquero also flipped John Doe 6’s table, sending drinks and shattered glass everywhere.”

And yet people say these kind of things don't happen anymore.

One guy is still at large, he's probably the limiuni (lemon) guy, the influence Rappa Sr has is unbelievable. While he was in prison in Naples the bosses would still meet inside this was not that long ago.

He is total idiot, he said to the victim "I am a Gambino" lol Went to gas station full of cameras to buy canister to burn the place down, i have no idea how he is not shelved yet.

Thats a very good point Strax, and I agree with you. In fact, if thats what he said, then his words are so foreign to how a goodfella talks thats its actually embarrassing, and his actions speak of a novice, not a seasoned intelligent guy. And if memory serves me correctly, from what the feds say, he has a "position" too!

This is the "quality" of many members nowadays.

Today's NEWSDAY reports on the Long Islanders charged in the case...
-

Alleged Gambino crime family members Salvatore DiLorenzo, Francesco Vicari charged in racketeering conspiracy.

Two Long Island men are among 10 alleged Gambino crime family members and associates charged in a racketeering conspiracy indictment for attempt to dominate the New York carting and demolition industries, federal prosecutors said.

He really said I am a Gambino? Since when did they start actually calling themselves by the names the government gave them? Ridiculous. There's no more mystery or mystique to the Mafia anymore, they might as well start getting what they are tattooed on their bodies like those dirty bikers and other gangs.

This crew sounds like a 1960s or 70s crew, only without all the murders. They don't fit into the 21st Century. Absolutely no high-tech or sophisticated crimes anywhere in the indictment. In this day and age, if we're not talking about tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars, it's a total waste and embarrassing.

I'm not surprised... extortion is the most typical mafia crime since the beginning

When they were asked to leave, Lanni threatened to burn the place down and told "I am a Gambino". He then went to gas station full of cameras to buy canister. Lanni then called the place 39 times, later that night when owner and his wife left the place , they were attacked by 2 guys who slashed their car tiers and threatened to kill them.

That's not how it's done. If he was a smooth operator, he would've left with a smile, and two weeks later had them attacked. I would actually find that much more intimidating and effective.

He was probably high on cocaine and drunk. Apparently his crew is one of the strongest and he is pretty wealthy. Too bad he is a loose cannon.

High on cocaine? The Sicilian faction is notoriously against drug use. Lanni however is a drinker. Let's not accuse someone of drug use like that without zero fucking evidence

The government didn't give them that name

In 1963, the 5 Families were named after the flipping of Joseph Valachi, with the Profaci Family the only one being renamed, becoming the Colombo Family. Before then, LCN members didn't call themselves by any Family names. Nobody fucking ran around saying "I'm a Gagliano" or "I'm a Luciano," I think I know what the fuck I'm talking about so shut the fuck up.

Shut the fuck up scumbag. You're a fucking kid in Houston who was probably 3 when John Gotti died. The families have pretty much renamed themselves. They almost renamed the Bonanno family when that rat fuck Massino was the boss

If the Families renamed themselves, then how come he didn't say "I'm a Cefalu" or "I'm a Mannino?" No disrespect, but this is a common misperception that the Families named themselves. I even saw someone on YouTube say that Vito Genovese named his borgata after himself. Yes, the Bonannos did contemplate renaming themselves the Massino Family, but it doesn't negate the fact that their current official names weren't given to them by the Mafia itself. It seems like they just run with their given names. Back to the point, going around telling civilians I'm a Gambino or a Colombo sounds more like some petty Blood and Crip gangbanging shit to me.

If the Bonanno Family had succeeded in renaming itself the Massino Family it would mark the 1st time an LCN Family actually named itself. They would've made history.

Thats not true Liggio

I agree, he is acting and sounds like a wannabe, hard to imagine him being a captain. Lets see how much time he is facing

So you're saying that the 5 Families named themselves?

Okay, regardless of how it happened, can't we all agree that telling civilians I'm a Gambino is one of the most ridiculous things you ever heard? Those words shouldn't have to be spoken, people should just know by reputation alone.

Telling a civilian that you're "a Gambino" goes against the rules obviously. I would bet he gets shelved for this. This is not normal behavior

Records demonstrate that two companies owned or operated by LaForte,namely Complete Business Solutions Group, Inc. (“CBSG,” also known as “Par Funding”) and Eagle Six Consultants, through a series of transactions, provided more than one and half million dollars in purported “loans” to Lanni-operated companies which were in fact payments from LaForte to Lanni.

LaForte kicked up a lot of money to Lanni.

Yeah, those guys are major earners. This is not a small time crew. It's a dying breed, but they're out there

So if i understand it correctly, Joe Lanni is the capo of the old 18th street crew (which was ran by Franck Cali then Lorenzo Mannino who was promoted to Underboss) and all the Gambino made guys arrested in the sweep are in this Crew ?

Half correct. Joe Lanni runs the 18th Ave crew but Frank Cali never did. Frank Cali ran the old John D'Amico crew and Ernie Grillo now has that.

Joseph Lanni's wife (pictured right, with her daughter) burst out crying when her husband - known by nicknames 'Joe Brooklyn,' and 'Mommino' - was remanded. He blew her a kiss from behind the bench

US-based Sicilian Mafia members Vito Rappa, 46, and Francesco Vicari, 46 - who is known as 'Uncle Ciccio' (pictured) - as well as Robert Brooke and Vincent Minsquero, 36, known as 'Vinny Slick' were granted release on $1million bond but stayed for 24 hours so the government can appeal.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...ion-bring-alleged-criminals-justice.html

Lanni is the brother of Anthony Lanni, a Detective who is married to Susan Quirk, Director of Legal Hiring at KCDA. She is the daughter of District Attorney Charles Hynes four-time campaign manager, Dennis Quirk, head of the New York State Court Officers Association.

Does anyone know if any of those arrested in Italy got charged with drug dealing? Or is this just an extortion type case?

No it's basicly an extortion case aggravated by the mafia method. However prosecutors did say the ties between the two groups also concern drug trafficking.

Wow they dress like shit!!! Absolute trash!!! Pajamas?!!!! Are you fuckin kidding me?!!!!!!

Who exactly is wearing pajamas? They're definitely not dapper but I don't think anyone's dressed that badly. You should've seen Tommy Gioeli and his guys, coming out in t-shirts, flip-flops and basketball shorts. They made these guys look like a billion bucks.

The wife and daughter. Fashion they get a fuckin F!!!

So let me get this straight, ok...

The FBI just raided the homes of these fellas, yanked them out of their homes in front of their wives and children, and hauled them off to jail to face serious charges. But you two numbskulls feel their wives and kids didn't dress "properly" or up to your standards?

As these same family members scrambled to get dressed, notify others of what just happened to their husbands and fathers, make multiple phone calls trying to reach defense lawyers and bail bondsmen, and then rushed off to the lockup and courthouse while simultaneously trying to gather up enough funds in hopes of getting a possible bail package for their loved ones???

All while they were beside themselves crying and very emotional, no doubt?
-
But you think they should have been concerned with color coordinating their outfits and making sure they dressed nicely for the cameras and for guys like you?

I wanna know one thing, ok?...Is it just sheer ignorance that makes you think and speak this way, or are the two of you complete lunatics? Lol. What the fuck is going on here?

I could not have said it better myself. Some of the comments are so ridiculous and lacking in intelligence that I almost don't wanna post here

Well NYMafia, if you knew any better, you would know that these men of honor are respected worldwide and if they were worth anything the FBI would give them enough time to put on their $20000 suits and their gold pinky rings. Chances are they'd also give them a drive to their barbers for a cut and a close shave.

But you obviously don't know anything about The Mafia.

LOL...Thats true! You make some good points there, CB.

WTF, I just said that they're not dressed that badly? And I had no clue that he was talking about their wives and daughters, since when did we start giving a fuck about how their women dressed? And it later came out that Tommy Gioeli specifically told his guys to dress like bums. I personally see nothing wrong with these guys clothes. They're obviously big into extortion, you really think they're going to be out doing strong-arm work in Armani suits?

Since when 'we' started giving a f*ck about how anyone dresses? Wear whatever you are comfortable with. But that seems not to be the case on organized crime forum, since on every thread we have comments like "shame what they are wearing" and so on.

Because mobsters are held to a higher standard for many people. Go to the articles on these guys, I guarantee you that you'll find at least 4 or 5 comments like that if there's a comment section with a lot of feedback. Keep that in mind before you go singling certain people out. It's a widely popular opinion that they should dress at least decent, just because it's not your opinion doesn't mean it's not a popular one.

And like I said, I don't think there's anything wrong with their wardrobes it honestly looks modern and like everyone else.

I've actually had someone online tell me once, "why are you into this, they don't even dress cool anymore." But I was never into this subject for how they dressed. I mean yeah, nice clothes and whatnot makes things more interesting, but that was never what intrigued me.

If someone is wearing all designer clothes, he is usually not wealthy, he is just trying to look like he is.



As CleanBandit said, they are man of honor and are respected worldwide, they should dress decent, just in case we forget they are thugs and criminals. I am on these forums for 10+ years and i see ~5 people talking about what mobsters should wear and thats only on this forum.

I get what you're saying. Rappers are always blinged out in the nicest clothes rapping about the shit they never did lol, and then these guys come along who are actually actively living the gangster life in the streets dressing super casual lol. Maybe it's a mindfuck for many of these kids. They don't realize that real gangsters don't dress like that all the time, or even most of the time. Some NEVER dress like that. But this is real life. And it's 2023.

The people are only ever Liggio and Rushstreet. Pretty sure they share the same 3 brain cells

Does anyone here think that Joe Lanni's behavior makes him a potential rat? A lot of these unhinged loose cannons don't hold up very well under judicial pressure. He's actually reminding me of turncoat Bonanno captain Peter Lovaglio, the guy who smashed someone's face in with a glass and permanently blinded him, then later on ended up flipping.

Mafia101, I said many times that I could care less how they dress. Rush was the one who brought it up, talk to him not me. But while we're on the subject, why is it that we can freely discuss everything else mob-related but not fashion?

You can freely discuss whatever you want, its just that people are not really into what criminals and thugs should wear and that conversations keep going on and ruining every thread, filling it with useless information. Maybe we should start sub-forum "mafia fashion" and even "mafia diets" , its outrageous what they are eating , Gambino should go and become first vegan organized crime family in US imo. Genovese should def get into electric cars , renewable energy you know , give benefits to members who want to go electric and by 2030 have all members drive electric cars.

Vito Rappa, son of Francesco, was already indicted in 2007 by the Brooklyn Prosecutor's Office in a raid against the Gambinos.
In the reconstruction of the police and the magistrates, the old Rappa continued to act as a mafia boss, especially through a couple of lieutenants. One of these, the sixty-nine year old Giovan Battista Badalamenti from Torretta, usually resides in the USA, and in some interceptions in 2019 he commented with Francesco Puglisi (convicted of extortion aggravated by the mafia method) on the murder of Frank Calì, called "Franky boy" in the USA and «'u Franky» in Sicily, one of the Italian-Americans at the head of the Gambino family murdered on Staten Island a few months earlier.

If you're out trying to collect debts, actually getting down and dirty and physical, it makes absolutely no sense to dress to the nines. What if you have to chase someone down with a bat? Would you rather be wearing sneakers or Gucci loafers? I don't think these people ever consider these things before commenting.

LOL...hummmm? I never considered that, Strax. Mafia diets, going vegan and electric cars for all wiseguys. lol

MAFIA
The old boss Ciccio Rappa, the protection money in New York and the stolen drugs: "They gave the mandate to him"
The interceptions of the blitz on the links between the Sicilian clans and those of the USA, where the son of the elderly Borgetto mafioso, Vito, lives. Between threats and authorizations for construction work, disagreements and stories of the Cosa Nostra that once was, it emerges however that the suspects were reduced to raiding a marijuana plantation to obtain just 900 grams of grass

Sandra Figliuolo
Journalist Palermo
09 November 2023 18:11
They call themselves "vossia", speak an ancient Sicilian mixed with some American terms and often remember the "glories" of the Cosa Nostra that once was: in some passages of the interceptions, due to their tenor, one could easily put the (overused) in the background soundtrack of "The Godfather", Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece. They seem out of time - and in any case they belong to a criminal world that is hard to believe still exists and is powerful in Palermo - but from Sicily they would provide the instructions to impose extortion on commercial activities in New York. An emblematic figure - according to the SCO police and FBI investigators - would be a name well known in the judicial news and arrested yesterday : Francesco "Ciccio" Rappa, of whom another of the suspects, Giovan Battista Badalamenti , was mentioned in an interception on 20 July, spoke in these terms: "Do you know Ciccio Rappa, have you seen him? I understand that perhaps the mandate was either given to him or they want to give it to him".

The raid by the police and the FBI: the names of the 17 arrested
"Uncle Fat" from heroin sales to businesses in the Big Apple
According to the deputy prosecutor Marzia Sabella and the deputy Giovanni Antoci, who coordinate the Italian part of the investigations, Rappa, born in 1942, convicted three times for mafia association and who finished serving his last sentence on 13 November 2014, already since the following December he would resume the regency of the Borgetto clan. And he would have managed the overseas affairs while also being able to count on the presence in the Big Apple of his son Vito, who was also stopped yesterday in the USA. As early as the Seventies, Rappa had been involved in the colossal drug trafficking of Cosa Nostra between the two sides of the Atlantic and in fact he was arrested for the first time as soon as he landed in New York with 81 kilos of heroin in the car. He received an 18-year sentence, which was followed by another 12-year sentence, when his business relationships with the Madonia family of Resuttana emerged in the 1990s. Rappa has historically been very loyal to the brothers Vito and Leonardo Vitale, leaders of the Partinico district.

The raid by police and FBI in a farmhouse in Torretta | Video
The protection money in New York: "He came with education, I gave him security"
It would have been "Uncle Ciccio" who intervened on an American businessman to make him pay 6 thousand dollars a month in protection money to his son Vito and to another suspect arrested in the USA, Francesco Vicari: "Get your act together, do the right thing" the old boss would have suggested. And "your father's word was right", commented Vicari. "Six a month, 1,500 dollars a week - Vicari communicated to Vito Rappa in December 2020 - but I gave him the security, because I had to give it to him and he shook my hand and it remained like this... We owe the people give security, my brother", that is, protection. And Rappa replied: "You sow, why do you sow? To then be there..." and the other: "Because then the ear grows... He wanted security and I gave him security and that's it... I always talk to him about work." On December 23rd there was further confirmation that the entrepreneur would have agreed to submit: "He called me, Vito, it's not that I called him - said Vicari - with a lot of politeness, you see, he came with a lot of politeness, I went to find it with such politeness, 'thank you, thank you' and that's it, I won't tell you anything anymore... In this period a superchiu candy, a candy that was lost".

The ambassador, confidential news and summits
Giacomo Palazzolo would have been very faithful to Rappa, who in fact - according to the Prosecutor's Office - would have been his "ambassador", also informing him of important judicial news, such as "he says that there is a repentant person who is saying a few things, one from Trapani", for example. And he himself admitted his role in some interceptions: "You know how many people sometimes send greetings, things, call me... He (Francesco Rappa, ed.) certain things... He said to me: ' You when there is that you think one thing is right, you tell him what you want to say, I trust you, you don't need pen and paper... To shorten things with people, according to what you think"... He's delicate, he thinks about these things because he's too burned out." It would have been through Palazzolo that the appointments with the old boss would have been made. "You tell Ciccio - a man explained - that they came to Totò's son, but since he's not familiar with him, he told me the name and surname of these people here, they wanted to talk to you... But Totò, being delicate, first wants to hear from Ciccio whether he wants to talk to him or not, when he's available".

But Palazzolo would also have mediated in some issues. Last October 9th, a man turned to him explaining: "He doesn't give you any material, you thoroughbred cuckold!" and the suspect: "You piece of... It would be like making him shit on himself... I go there and say to him: 'Give me the money, u pizzu! Why? And why are you going to report me, cuckold that you are!'... Him Does he know Christians? He doesn't know that as soon as I go, as soon as I open half a word, he's consumed! As soon as I open my mouth he's consumed."

Turret farmhouse blitz
Turret farmhouse blitz

The permit for the works: "It's always better for him to know"
An in-law who had to start work to transform some premises into a betting room ("all betting agency, all gaming, 320 square meters of room I'm building, the most beautiful room there will be in all of Sicily", he said) would have wanted be sure not to have any problems and asked Palazzolo himself: "Giacomì when you're in Borgetto and you're with your friend (Rappa, ed. ), tell me and we'll make him come here, I'll show him the place I got, which is always better , who at least know that he is mine... with Ciccio" and Palazzolo: "And what do you need? Speak! Whatever you need... don't worry, should they worry him?". The entrepreneur continued: "Since Borgetto is not a square that I know, it is always better for him to know... A walk, the rest of us are doing work, this week we finish, go around and they already know that... and one is calmer" and Rappa's ambassador closed: "Now I'll tell Ciccio, you were right to tell me, nobody's coming, understand? As long as I come here once, I'll show up a couple of times".

"There isn't one that has any value..."
Giovan Battista Badalamenti, Martino's brother, very loyal to Vito Vitale and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Partinico boss Antonino Geraci, dating back to 23 November 1997, is another central figure in the investigation and was arrested together with his nephew Salvatore Prestigiacomo, with whom he allegedly had friction, who reported to his detained brother during a prison visit. Martino Badalamenti commented in very harsh tones: "You have to say: 'The uncle with 30 years, have you been in prison? You didn't even bother to see, and speak, Vastaso! Quoted! I'll stick it in my butt... to him and to all these quoted, but for real!" and the other replied: "But don't you see that they are all at his level, Martino, take one who has values, one! You don't know anyone" and the life prisoner: "Knock, I don't know that there isn't anyone ? Do you want to tell me?" and the brother laconically commented on the state of the organization: "Nuddu, quannu ti ricu nuddu, nuddu...".

When Matteo Messina Denaro "signed off"...
On another occasion Badalamenti commented to his nephew on his belonging to the Torretta clan and his closeness to Vito Vitale: "But in a certain sense we were always unlucky, Vito didn't last long. U 'ncignieri (the mafia boss of Altofonte Domenico Raccuglia , ed. ) if it lasted, he put everything in his hands, everything, Sicily, he put himself in his hands". But the judgment on Raccuglia was very bad, so much so that Prestigiacomo said: "It's a good thing that they arrested him because if Nino went out while he was out, bad things would happen here, uncle. He told me: 'Salvatore, he behaved badly. , he abandoned the puvirieddi to everyone, he told everyone that he was in the middle of the street and he screwed up all the things himself'". In one passage the two also spoke about Raccuglia's fugitive in the Trapani area in 2009, about which Matteo Messina Denaro (then also a fugitive) would have known nothing: "When he ended up in Trapani, the people of Trapani knew nothing, Messina Denaro yes, he says: 'But what was he doing with this documentary without me knowing anything about it?' and instead he went to tell him: 'It's okay, I can do it here'. Then when they caught him he says: 'But what was this guy doing without me knowing anything?', he says: 'How come you don't know anything? But did you say it?' he says: 'I don't know anything about this' and we had seen each other 4, 5 days before", Badalamenti said.

"Messina Denaro went into hiding, Vito Vitale was a total fool"
then spoke about Messina Denaro last February, immediately after his capture, again with Prestigiacomo but with another person: "He went into hiding - he said speaking of the now dead mafia boss of Castelvetrano - no one knew him there in Castelvetrano, he was walking, no one knew him! Four or 5 had contact with him and that was it. He wasn't like that crazy godfather of mine (Vito Vitale, ed. ) , total crazy... In all of this he arrived and had to command everything world, the whole world in his hands! You forgot the one from Reggio Calabria: 'In Italy they have to do what I say. The rest of us, the Neapolitans, the Romans, the Milanese or do what I say, you'll be astute to everyone !'".

The theft of the marijuana plantation
The Torretta gang may have had contacts with the United States, a "glorious" past to remember, but from a passage in the arrest order it is clear that they would not be swimming in gold given that the suspects would have been reduced to stealing the marijuana grown by "four savvy people from Borgo Nuovo" in Piano dell'Occhio, to obtain just under 900 grams of weed to resell...

https://www.app.com/story/news/crim...tail-attack-in-gambino-case/71509825007/

-Dante

900 grams?weed plantantions are usually in the order of tons in Partinico

These stories make no sense. How can you on one hand have criminal connections across thousands of miles of ocean and on the other hand robbing marijuana plantations for small amounts of weed?

1 harvest is at least a couple of hundred kilos, maybe they moved the stuff before they went in there.

Too bad the Sicilian articles aren't in plain English. Sure I can make it out, but there's a difference between being able to make out what someone's saying and clearly understanding it.

Let me ask you a question and this is serious.

Do you think Tony Soprano's wife Carmela would leave the house looking like that? I don't even think she fuckin dressed down unless she was at the gym.

Even though its a tv show, the rule does apply for many other women in life.

So why the fuck is a mobsters wife dressing like shit? It makes no sense. Of all people, a woman who is married to a mobster leaves the house with her daughter in pajamas?! That is a fucking disgrace! This is a prime example as to why many Italians get pissed off because you got trash representing them like this.

At this point i am sure you are trolling.

Absolutely not. Thats a guarantee! Answer my question please.

Strax, lol. Sometimes its better just to leave well enough alone...it seems to be a losing battle my friend. Lol

Answer me as to why they dressed like that leaving to go to court? Why? Its not that hard to take a moment and dress presentable.

They were not the ones being arrested and hauled in by the FBI. Their husbands had to be processed anyway before they could see the judge so they had plenty of time to change and put on something decent.

They looked like a couple of WHOAAS like Ralphie would say. Hope they are proud of themselves!

BTW it makes me very unhappy when I see people on here trying to justify the trash that represents the mafia today. These women these guys are marrying and having kids with are fucking trash whoaas, street walker level. No class, NONE!!!!!!!!!! NONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can say what you want of the old regime and how brutal they were and thuggerish, but let me tell you their wives had more class than the ones today. Too bad these guys are all going bye bye forever now.

The investigating Palermo judge, in addition to validating the arrests, ordered precautionary custody in prison for Francesco Rappa and Salvatore Prestigiacomo , while for Maria Caruso , Giacomo Palazzolo and Salvatore Prestigiacomo , 54 years old, the namesake of the fifty-year-old boss who ended up in prison, he established house arrest. For Isacco Urso , however, the judge decided on hospital arrest. The suspect was already hospitalized at Villa Sofia hospital.

Now you got me real curious as to how you dress, Rushstreet...What YOU consider to be "fashionable"

How about we start with a nice pair of jeans, shirt or sweater and a coat when it comes to women? Is that too hard to ask?

They honestly look like shit. Its fucking emberassing.

Embarrassing to who, you?

With the current problems their families face, do you REALLY think that give two shits what you or anybody else think?...Exactly!

At the end of the day, the mob doesn't have a dress code.

LOL @ This.

Do you really honestly think these women dress any differently on a daily basis? I think not! Its who they are, and they are TRASH. Bottom line.

If they were not, they would haven't showed up in fuckin pajamas. Sorry bro, but I know women who actually value dressing well and its obvious these trash whoaaas do not give a fuck about looking like shit. Congrats to the dumb fucks who marry them.