There is barely any information on the then youthful underboss after the assassination attempt that rendered him disabled.

His brother said that he can not walk and chew gum at the same time. As I understand it, he is partially blind and deaf, among other things.

Anyone have anything substantial about him post assassination attempt? Has he had anything to do with organised crime? Very doubtful. Would he have been boss material if it didn't go down the way it did? What kind of respect did he carry? He was only 33. Not much older than Leonetti when he became underboss; very youthful age.

I thought this post was about Chang Sr. because from the rumormill here, he was released today.

Boy, if that family isn't a cautionary tale about the life, nothing is.

100% PB, that family just amazes me about what all has gone on with it and still there is that dying loyalty to the s philly mafia, it says something about that neighborhood and the oaths that they took but in the same sense that family was destroyed brother by brother by it as well

No idea if he was boss material or not, but he wasn't exactly promoted to underboss due to his experience. Rather Stanfa wanted to make peace with the young guys. And I guess, joey Chang was the only capable guy who was friendly with Stanfa

Wasn't he given a pass and allowed to retire by the merlino faction, plus given his physical state I can safely say he had nothing to do with OC


Edit- Leonetti says how "heartbroken the father must be, and that he's a beautiful man, how hard it must be sitting there watching what was happening with his sons"

Just goes to show how much greed these guys have. They're willing to kill their flesh and blood just to gain power and ultimately the money that comes with it

I feel sorry for the mother , her husband in jail forever , 1 son still involved and 2 sons in the ground. Awful tale and definitive proof that life is not good

No idea if he's interested in becoming active or not, but it was reported somewhere during Nicky Jrs trial that he met with Joey Chang in 2007 I believe, to discuss taking over the Philly rackets. So the guy must be somewhat capable still, even if it's in name only. Obviously, nothing came of it though.

Are you sure that's the way you heard it? There was a report several years ago where Joseph Ciancaglini Sr. was advising Merlino and his guys from prison during the Stanfa war and THEIR attempt to take over Philly at the time. If I'm not mistaken, Joey Chang Jr. is partially paralyzed and barely walks with a cane. I couldn't believe he would be involved in anything LCN related at this point, or even in 2007. Like someone else mentioned, Joey gave him a pass after he took over the family.

And Dom, Mikey Chang is the only Ciancaglini that is dead. He was killed by Veasey and Colletti while walking with Merlino outside of their social club during the war with Stanfa. As mentioned, Joey Chang is paralyzed and was given a pass/shelved. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, their dad Joseph "Chickie" Ciancaglini Sr. was released into a halfway house in Philadelphia where he will finish his remaining six months.

Either way, their family has suffered tremendously as a result of LCN. Agree with Dom, you can't help but feel awful for their mother. But, like PB said, "you play, you pay".

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2001-06-30/news/0106300324_1_reputed-mobsters-mob-boss-buddha/2

Susan Lucibello, who worked in the restaurant, was the first witness called by defense attorneys. She described how she ducked behind the counter after seeing the gunmen and rushed to Joseph Ciancaglini's side after they left.

"Joey was face down in a pool of blood. I said, `Oh, my God, he's dead.' And then he sat up, and when he sat up blood was pouring out of his head."

An emergency medical technician arrived shortly thereafter, warning Ciancaglini at one point not to blow his nose for fear his brains might come out through the bullet holes. The EMT told police at the time that Ciancaglini said, "Tim did me."

Ciancaglini survived the shooting; he still has bullets lodged in him, is deaf and uses a walker.

I believe the mother passed away in the early 80's. Even before Chang Sr. went away.

Yeah pal sorry , that's wot I meant I dead I crippled and one still involved

Sorry posted this in another thread...

Regarding Chickie Chang and who he sided with. I did hear that he was advising the Merlino guys from Prison and Stanfa even was quoted as acknowledging that Chang Sr. was backing/advising Merlino and crew from jail. However, I have also read the opposite. Natalie's testimony indicated that Michael was "at odds with his brother Joey and his father" as you can read in this article. I tend to believe that he sided with Michael, but if anyone knows for sure then I'd be interested in hearing.

http://articles.philly.com/2001-04-03/ne...stanfa-mob-boss

Scott Burnstein has a good article about Philly 92-99 that covers the main parts of the war. He says that Chickie (sr) supported Mikey Chang and the rubout of Joey Chang (jr).

Maybe he can shed some light on it?

Is there a link to that Nicky ??

Thanks Nicky, thought that's the way I heard the story as well. Supposedly Chickie was advising Merlino from prison even after he and Natale had taken over the family following Stanfa's arrest. I'm gonna have to search for that article and see if I can find it.

And PHL, thanks for the link to the Burnstein article.

No problem King. Coincidently, speaking of Bernstein on Chang Sr. He just posted this article on his site....

http://gangsterreport.com/philadelphia-m...nce-reagan-era/

So now Bernstein is saying two conflicting things about Chickie Sr. First article he mentions he supported Merlino and Mikey Chang now in this latest article he states he supported Joey Chang and Stanfa. Love the coverage but gotta get the story straight...

Yet, you are so fascinated with them. No shit they are greedy. Its almost like people on here are against what they do yet they post on here and want to know more.

Yea burnsteins site is kind of like the www.cosanostranews.com .
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading his site. Its no gangland.com but its not bad.

I read the thing I quoted at the bottom on Burnstein's site the other day, then read on his site this today?

Maybe Scott can clarify....

"Chickie Ciancaglini is reputed to have supported Stanfa and his son Joey in the conflict. Johnny Chang was pushing for a peace accord"

I found the most detailed court testimony of the grievous injuries suffered by Joey Chang, as relayed by the EMT that attended to him - Colleen Mitchell:

http://articles.philly.com/2001-04-24/ne...ny-joey-merlino

"I never saw anybody so injured who had the incredible strength this man did."

I have a new found respect solely for how f*ing tough this kid was.

I wonder if he is in a nursing home now or needs 24/7 care...

If Stanfa had'nt been arrested or killed, he may still be the boss today, in fact, i think Stanfa and Scarfo Sr. Would have been good friends and would of looked out for one another, especially during times of need. There is certainly nothing wrong with friendship and loyalty.
That rumor about Scarfo taking over Detroit is unfounded, although intriguing.

No he wouldn't have. Guys had begun going against him a month after he became boss. And it wasn't just Joey Merlino & Co. Had he not be arrested Stanfa would've been killed or chased out of Philly again.

I've realized reporting this stuff is very fluid. There have been things ive reported, and every other oc reporter probably, that turn out wrong when further info emerges in the future.

With that said, I put that one philly 90s Merlino-Stanfa war article up (which was initially part of my Mafia Prince/Phil Leonetti autobio proposal) and in that it reported that both Chickie and Chuckie Merlino were backing Ralph Natale-Joey Merlino's power play.

Since then, I've come across contrary intelligence that I believe to be true and that's why the more recent articles on the site reference Chickie not backing the move.

Ive been told by people directly involved in the high levels of that war that Chuckie was backing Natale-Joey , but Chickie was not, counseling that Joey and Mikey Chang should go under Stanfa and "stop making waves." I don't take that to necc mean that Chickie was siding against Joey and Mikey, but telling them to pipe down and not make the power play, which wound up killing one of his kids and maiming the other

Scott Burnstein

Mr. Scott is A LOT more informed than eddie boy. People bash the man when his views do not align with theirs. It's sad.

Pretty much.

Bottom line, Chickie Chang understands LCN. He knew Natale from back in the day. You gotta understand how Bruno operated to appreciate how Natale led everyone to believe he was somebody.

Bruno had several associates whom he was very close with. And this was because HE benefitted by the relationship. Natale was one of them. Bruno was very close with my neighbor and one of my family member, not because of LCN, just out of friendship. They weren't involved in that nonsense. But, they did provide him and his underlings with the ocassional alibi. It benefitted him. Sure, they could tell people they were helping Bruno, but what does that gain you if you are legitamite?? Nothing. Trust me.

Natale was expendable. He knew enough to do what Bruno wanted him to do. And he was in jail for a long time. And don't think he wasn't a killer, just because of the way he handles himself in a documentary. Rather, focus on his desire to let everyone know how badass he is/was. That speaks volumes about a person.

Chickie Chang knew that Natale was not who he was telling Merlino and Co. he was. How?? He was around all of the heavy guys for years. Brought up under Barracuda Sindone. He knew the rules about NYC and the commission. He must have been very nervous to know that the commission put Stanfa up, and his son was fighting that. He knew the consequences.

Ask yourself How a soldier inducts a man and then makes him boss? Chuckie Merlino couldn't stop Skinny from Jail. And he wasn't around Natale to know him well enough to speak about him. Just figured he was another associate with some power. But, he wasn't.

It goes to show you how much Chuckie really knew about how Philly LCN was working prior to Scarfo. It was Scarfo who taught him about LCN, from Atlantic City. Scarfo didn't need to know about Natale from Bruno. So, how does Chuckie allow his son to get wrapped up with this Natale. Very ill-advised.

I bet Scott Burnstein, if he asked Phil Leonetti about Natale, he would say "Who?" Or "he was around us. Did things for us". There was no upside to Natale NOT being made when he was doing things for Bruno, Like Papa Smurf. So, why wasn't he made?

Ask Serpiente about all the times Ralph Natale was hanging down with Scarfo and Chuckie in Atlantic City. Probably ZERO, ZILCH.

Phil Leonetti says in his book that Natale was just "Bruno's man in the Local 54 out in Camden" and later on "that he wasn't even made, so how could he be a boss?"


But that's a great post, NickyWhip. All facts.

Maybe Burnstein got one or two things wrong here and there.But the fbi has gotten a few things wrong as well.They didn't know the Chin was boss for years.It is the mafia and their intention is to be secretive.Burnstein,I believe, is the best source period for the Philly Mob.When he states he has been told by people "at high levels of the war" between Stanfa and Merlino I believe every word of it.He has worked with Leonetti and I am sure he has met and spoken with many more mobters