My English don't jibe with other New Zealanders who have been on this board because they almost certainly white boys.

Those white boys like to call themselves "kiwis" in reference to their nationality.

Good stuff, Serp. Thanks for the head's up. But you're not implying that Skinny actually has political connections in Western Pennsylvania, are you?

Nooooo ! Just was joining in .

Is all this the old DickNose

I hope not, but that's the implication.

Omg... Ban this guy

For what? I'm not that guy going up for trial in November.

Ok

Most of the connections between Philly and western PA were through Chester and that crew died with Idone. There were connections between members in Philly and Pittsburgh going back to 1910 and more than likely before that.

As it relates to modern era, a good portion of the Bruno members knew and were connected with some Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Scranton members. We're talking individual members of various ranks: family, business and naturally the mafia had a more solid commission/meet and greets back then, so it's very probable their administrations were on good terms. D'Elia had ties to Stanfa in the 90's.

However, those ties didn't carry on in after the Bruno years. Most of Scarfo's members were incarcerated leaving the old sleepy housecats who were 80 and still alive, hence technically can go on a mob chart. Stanfa added a few guys who didn't get swept up in 94. Most of the family today comes from Merlino, who were all local guys. They didn't have these contacts to the extent they did back in Bruno's day. And a good portion of ties to NY are through the Newark crew, what's going to happen to that once Licata and Centorino kick it. They're no spring chickens.

And consider the cultural difference. 300 miles might as well be 3000, one is considered the east coast the other the midwest or rust belt). But I'll say it's slightly possible. Look at short term Boston Bob Luisi up in NE. It was short lived but who's to say that can't happen in other cities?

As for Pittsburgh, made or not, that's still a city of tight connections. There may not be a formal organization, the players in that city may work together on a case by case basis. Alot of them have relatives in high places. It's not a conspiracy as much as it is left over residue from a bygone era. But I doubt anyone in Pittsburgh would be interested in joining Philly, and if they did they're most likely a wannabe trying to gain footing to play with the local big boys (and would probably get himself badly beaten if he went about it the wrong way).

My .00 cents.

That sounds good about the old mob stuff.

If you were responding to the thread .

If you were responding to me ,I was talking blood /family ties to people always associated .

Just in general, reading this thread got my 3 cylinders running.

Yes understood ....

Atardi rarely posts on this board, but he's one of the finest researchers you'll ever meet when it comes to turn of the 20th century through 1950's "gangsterism," and of the Italian American experience in general.

Age and attrition caught up to them like most other families. Italian immigrants aren't entering the U.S in record numbers anymore. If it was going to be anybody to run a tight ship, Frank Unis Jr from Aliquippa or Mauro Matone from Penn Hills...both high ranking associates.

Glad to hear about someone like him (Atardi)

Also funny what he was saying about PA 300 mi may as well be 3000.
I was upstate over the fathers day week with lots of family and friends.
A good friend of mine from St.Marys PA had a couple of his guys up from Pitt. that are partners in a couple food places there.
We were all sitting around a fire and shooting the shit,and I bring up some NY things and they elaborated .
I bring up some Philly things just in general and they had no clue about anything going on at all.

The Romeo's were out of Youngstown and grew up in Calabria with the Mallamo brothers and Prato brothers. Paul Sr. and Dominic Mallamo were both connected to NYC through Joe Profaci. Paul Sr. had a brother Michele (aka Old Mike) and Paul Sr had two sons, Paul Jr and Michael D. Romeo. The Romeo's and Mallamo's were also cumpare's of John Bazzano Sr and John Bazzano Jr as well as Antonio Ripepi. They all came from the same area of Calabria. Also made in Pittsburgh was Frank & Costenze Valenti, Costenze aka Stan was the son in law to Antonio Ripepi and Bazzano Jr was Ripepi's other son in law. Ripepi helped them get their own family in Rochester with the support of Big John LaRocca.

He's a junky fuck, pure & simple.

The hunting camp was in Tionesta, PA. I know for a fact that Squints, Chin and Tony have been there.

There have been others there in the past, Pittsburgh and the Genovese family have always been close since the formation of the families. Gagliano and Profaci maintained close relations with Pittsburgh as well.

Second that, and Fat Tony reciprocated by having the Pittsburgh heavies to his farm in Rhinebeck on several occasions.

Tony owned a ton of hunting property in Pittsfield as well. That's a forty-minute drive from Rhinebeck. He had a gorgeous cabin there, but that's not very common knowledge.

Serp....you are correct. It's my understanding that there have been some Philly guys using Pittsburgh associates' contacts to start their own rackets, but to the dismay of some posters....these have had to been cleared thru Pittsburgh...I must very respectfully disagree with the notion that Sonny C is the last man standing. That is an outdated notion....again, from what I understand.

ENJOY, Oscar!


Michael Genovese



La Motors, 632 Allegheny River Blvd, Verona, Pa...Headquarters of Michael Genovese.



Frank Unis

I have quite a few of Mike, but not that one. I have one of Unis from his 2009 bust but none of LA Motors.

Thank you so much njcapo. Do you have any other Pittsburgh photos you could share, anything on Anthony Murgie or Joe Regino, mine are a bit grainy. Thanks again, where'd you find those?

Squints was John LaRocca's go to guy in NY and they were very friendly through Russell Bufalino. As Mike Genovese's stature rose, he became closer to Chin. Back in the day, Joe Sonken from Chicago had a restaurant in Hollywood, FL on A1A called The Gold Coast Restaurant, which was a regular hangout for mobsters who had homes in South Florida. LaRocca and his right hand man Joseph "Little Joe" Regino both had homes in Pompano Beach and lived near Paul Castellano. Typically, Regino would pass messages between LaRocca/Mannarino and Russell Bufalino through Anthony "Guv" Guarnieri. LaRocca was also photographed for over 20 years meeting with Funzi Tieri a couple time per year. LaRocca was also especially close to Joe Zerilli in Detroit and was very close to the Northern California families in San Jose and San Francisco. His cousins in San Francisco, Alphonse and Pasquale LaRocca, both made members, took over their father's seafood company, LaRocca and Sons Fish Co., which started in 1906 and is still the dominant provider of seafood on the West Coast. Big John also was close to Salvatore Marino and his son Angelo Marino, Sal retired from the Pittsburgh rackets and moved his cheese company out to San Jose and his son Angelo sold the company to Sargento Cheese for over $35 million.

The crazy thing is how these mobsters were tied to so many others around the country. The Calabrese mostly knew each other around the U.S as did the Sicilians and Neapolitans. Most of the old timers we talk about were part of the Italian emigration in the early 1900's and all settling in different areas. The Calabrese tended to migrate to areas with work as laborers, especially the rust belt. Atardi and Antillar from Black Hand are experts in early Italian immigration, I learned alot about the early days from them.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19841204&id=l_QdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7GEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6884,4108510&hl=en

Oscar you mentioned Joe Sonken's Place - My Wife and her ex use to go there several times a week during Winter months. I have only been there a few times because at the time when we lived there "I was too broke to PAY attention".

Below is an article OBITUARY from the Sun-Sentinel back in 1990

OBITUARIES
June 3, 1990|By MIKE BILLINGTON, Staff Writer
Joseph Sonken, the owner of a Hollywood restaurant reputed for years to have been a Mafia hangout, died on Saturday in Humana Hospital Bennett in Plantation. He was 83.

Mr. Sonken moved to Miami in the mid-1940s from Chicago, where police claimed he was involved in a major prostitution ring with noted underworld figure Peter ``Petey Arnold`` Arnstein.

Not long after moving to Florida, Mr. Sonken and Arnstein`s wife opened a Miami nightclub called Mother Kelly`s, and he quickly became a well-known figure.

When that club went out of business, Mr. Sonken moved to Hollywood, where he opened the Gold Coast Restaurant and Lounge in 1948.

According to police and a special investigative committee of the state legislature, the restaurant has been a Mafia meeting place since it opened. Investigators also have said the restaurant was used as a national relay center for organized crime families that wanted to pass messages to one another.

Police said using the restaurant as a message center allowed mobsters to circumvent wiretaps.

Mr. Sonken repeatedly denied that his restaurant was a Mafia hangout or a mob message center when he was called to testify before the Florida Legislature`s ``Little Kefauver`` anti-crime committee in 1968.

Police surveillance indicated, however, that dozens of organized crime figures stopped in for dinner and drinks at the restaurant on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway whenever they visited South Florida.

Among the most famous: John Gotti, reputed boss of the Gambino Mafia family in New York and considered to be the most powerful mobster in the country; Joseph Todaro, reputed head of the Magaddino crime family in Buffalo; and Edward Sciandra, said to be acting boss of the Bufalino crime family in Pennsylvania and New York.

Mr. Sonken, who often greeted visitors with his English Bulldog ``Bozo`` sitting at his feet, conceded that some mobsters had dined at his restaurant, but he was always quick to point out that judges, businessmen, politicians and families also frequented it.

Police tried on several occasions to put the cigar-smoking restaurant owner in jail.

He was arrested in 1972 by Broward Sheriff`s Office undercover deputies who charged him with illegal gambling. Detectives said they had placed bets with a bartender on jai-alai and horses. The charge was dismissed a month later, however, for lack of evidence.

Three years later, Mr. Sonken was indicted by a federal grand jury that charged him with attempted income-tax evasion and filing a false tax return. He was acquitted after a jury trial.

In 1978, agents of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement raided the Gold Coast Restaurant and Lounge, claiming Mr. Sonken stocked his storehouse with stolen groceries bought at cut-rate prices.

To make the arrest, the FDLE agents first sold Mr. Sonken $10,000 worth of anchovies, mushrooms and olive oil for $4,450.

The case was thrown out of court by Broward Circuit Judge Arthur J. Franza, who called the scheme ``a Keystone caper.``

Mr. Sonken, who never married, is survived by two brothers, Dr. Edwin Sonken of Skokie, Ill., and Dr. Paul Sonken of Denver.

Friends may call on Monday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Panciera Funeral Home, 4200 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood. Burial will be in Mount Sinai Cemetery in Miami.

Donations in his name may be made to Pet Rescue, 3440 NW 191st St., Miami.

This is about Joe Sonken's Place being sold in 1994.

Legendary Restaurant Shuts
Onetime Reputed Mob Hangout Closes After 45 Years
May 5, 1994|By DEBORAH RAMIREZ Staff Writer
HOLLYWOOD — If the walls could talk at Joe Sonken's Gold Coast Restaurant and Lounge, they might whisper Cosa Nostra.

Too late now. The 45-year-old Hollywood landmark and reputed watering hole for mafia honchos has served its last plate of Chicken Vesuvio and intrigue.

The pale gold restaurant overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway closed its aqua porthole doors on Friday.

The place now belongs to Miami Subs founder Gus Boulis, who bought the eatery at 606 N. Ocean Drive for an undisclosed price.

Jerry McDonald, a Plantation restaurant businessman, confirmed that he is trying to lease the property and reopen it before next year. He submitted plans to the city of Hollywood and wants to reopen as a "water-theme" restaurant by Thanksgiving.

Gold Coast had been in business since 1948, keeping police and FBI agents busy with surveillance activities and investigations of mob activities.

"If you were looking for members of organized crime, that's where you would find them," said Steve Bertucelli, a former organized crime chief for the Broward Sheriff's Office and in Dade County.

Some of the restaurant's patrons read like a list from Who's Who in the underworld.

The infamous included John Gotti, the Gambino family boss serving a life sentence for murder and racketeering, and Meyer Lanksy, the mob's late "financial genius" and reputed father of money laundering. Other mafia types were regulars in the red leather booths, listening to strolling guitarists sing Return to Rome.

The mafia bosses and their lieutenants who frequented Gold Coast did more than savor la dolce vita.

The restaurant served as their message center and meeting place, law enforcement officials said. Dinner conversations spanned narcotics, illegal gambling and fraud, according to police accounts and FBI files.

One investigation involving Gold Coast helped put Anthony "Guv" Guarnieri behind bars, Bertucelli said.

Guarnieri, a capo or captain in the Pennsylvania-based Bufalino crime family, went to prison in 1987 for racketeering and dealing in stolen property. But Gold Coast owner Joe Sonken was never caught doing anything other than feeding and entertaining hoodlums and racketeers.

Sonken, who visited the restaurant every day with English bulldog Bozo at his side, died in June 1990 at age 83. He was never convicted of a crime.

The restaurant outlived its reputation. After Sonken died, the mob went elsewhere and business in general declined.

"It's time for somebody else to come along and try something new," said Scott Springer, the owner of a car rental business across the street, who has been eating at Gold Coast for 20 years.

"[The restaurant) ran its course."

I read somewhere, maybe in an LE OC report that scarfo had family who were bookmakers in Pittsburgh area. Given the way all us calabrese say we all are cousins, it's plausible philly may have/had some connection to Pittsburgh. Do I think merlino has those connections? Nope. Unless he met them in the can. Merlino family is new to the mob. Chickie knew only local guys and anyone else outside was thru scarfo. But scarfos extended family appear to have been in OC since the 40s.

Scarfo's brother in law, Joe Nistico, was a bookmaker. Here are a few articles:

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19901010&id=Zx4hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=b2QEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5385,5352218&hl=en (Copy & Paste)

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19901010&id=Zx4hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=b2QEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5649,5959354&hl=en (Copy & Paste)

http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/4687442-74/melocchi-former-gambling#axzz3eqLn3L5e

Thanks for posting these Friend! I've seen them before, but never posted them.

I remember the Gold Coast very, VERY well. And I was going to say that it bordered the Intracoastal, rather than A1A itself, but that old article beat me to it!

I remember it too. Can't believe it's been closed that long already.


And now thinking of old Florida places I am dying for some Bimini bread, conch chowder and steamers from Ernie's.