I think they got joe talking about this stuff on the phone or when they bugged his car. That's insane to me. When I used to spend time with joe, johnny, or mike cetta they would go nuts if me or anyone spoke I the car. They would blast the music if they spoke in the car ever. When I seen the transcripts of him talking like that in his car to his brother I couldn't believe it. They were always way more disciplined than that. As far as moving against philly, I don't know. I aint gonna lie and say I heard that. I was never told anything specific. But also I got the impression Nicky wasn't considered a street guy as far as violence Ya know? Like he earned big time but wasn't a goon. You gotta remember I was a 19-23 year old kid during the time I was around these guys. there was a lot I wasn't informed of.

I was just looking at one of the articles George a wrote and it has the list of joes cars. The 98 Camry they listed I'm familiar with. The first time i ever met Mr. Perna was at Wendy's on Washington ave in Belleville right near the North newark border. It had to do with Cetta and money that was owed to one of my players. First a Tahoe pulls up with Ralph the son, this guy Vito M (if your from the Essex county area you know who I'm talking about) and this other guy who just happens to be with them. We're waiting on Mr. P. All of a sudden this beat up old Camry pulls in and the out comes the guy running New Jersey for the Luke's. Obviously he was using this car to avoid survailence. Mr. P. Sided with me over his son in law that day. Mike was wrong. He tried to fuck my player. When you have a book as big as theirs you can't afford to have people start hearing they won't get paid if they win. Mike cetta didn't even show up that day. I don't like to talk about the dead but I never liked him. People used to say, "he's not a gangster, he's a beautician." He cut hair and owned bellaza salon. he talked a good one but he wasn't street. He made money though I'll give him that. The drugs got him in the end. His daughter, Mr p's granddaughter found him with a needle in his arm. Sad.

You ever come across Scoops Licata and BigLou Fazzini , that crew of the Philly LCN North Jersey crew? To me it seems like they were always around the Caldwells more than the North Newark/Belleville/Nutley area, but that's just my opinion....

Do the Perna's still have their second house in Toms River at the shore? The one right before the bridge to Seaside. I bet the Feds seized that house, that's how they operate.....

I heard the younger Perna boys would also get the door money from a few of the clubs at the Jersey Shore in Seaside back in the late 1990s/ early 2000s....

Vito M was one of the toughest HS wrestlers ever Bobby!!

Never met scoops or fazzini. Not sure about the house. Definetly were getting money from clubs. For sure. Johnny is a nut. People are scared of him. I know you know. After his first bid I had the VIP next to his at joeys, shows you how long ago this was. It want even bliss yet. Joey Barcelona was there and made sure johnny got the star treatment. People were treating him like he was a God. And Vito was a beast you're right and his son is like ten and golden gloves. A cannon. Vito is a great guy. He was also good to me and carried himself like a gentleman. I knew you would know him.

So wait Scoops was DBA a NJ Lucchese at the Jackie DiNorscio et al trial but now he's a Philly LCN guy? Or was he always part of Philly mob just indicted alongside a lot of Lucchese guys?

Scoops Licata has always been a part of the Newark area Philly LCN crew. The Philly LCN North Jersey crew have a lot of intertwined gambling and loan sharking businesses with the Jersey Luchesse crew in the Newark area, so many times they will be a part of the same indictment.

Yeah my boy attended Seton Hall with Johnny and moved a ton of drugs on campus with the frat him, Johnny, and all the other sons of Jersey wise guys were in back in the late 1990s. I forget the name of the frat back then at Seton Hall. Johnny was feared by everyone , not just because he was on the wrestling team either, he was terrifying on campus and great with his hands.

^ I was way too young to know the details back then because I'm 7 years younger than my boy who is tight with John Perna....

Joey scoops was always tight with mike perna and did things together even though they were in 2 different crews. the newark area is very tight and most guys know each other. Scoops was with Patty specs and took over his crew when he lambed it. Joey scoops was born and raised down neck ( ironbound) and frequented a club on Adams st.
Scarfo jr was sent up to north jersey as a safety net and was made to insulate him. He was an earner and actually a bit on the quiet side, he really was'nt disliked at the time., i gotta be honest.
The Perna kids were kind of irrelevent at that point in time so they really didnt have that much interection with him until later.
The bs about scarfo wanting to take over philly and that being the reason he was demoted is nonsense. Perhaps that was an excuse but the true reason was the north jersey guys were banking a lot of cash with westchester and there was no reason for scarfo jr to hhave a say in day to day operations while he was more concentrated in south jersey.
Newark is a shadow of its former self in terms of OC activity. If you go to the belmont tavern you are most likely going to run into a cop, lawyer, or judge opposed to a mob guy.
To me, that shit is over and guys are trying to re live the goodfella era. Its done.

It seems like the remaining Downneck Newark guys that are still active all live in East Hanover and Florham Park these days....

@Belmont , yes Bloomfield Ave in North Newark is now pretty much 100% Spanish these days. I used to go to Gencarelli's Pizza on Bloomfield Ave in North Newark every Sunday for their $6 pies when I used to live in the area....Great thin crust pie for only $6!!

That's well put . The books are big but other blue collar isn't

LLCs are the name of the game. Game has changed it seems.

Dante
A lot of italians from newark found their way to east hanover and florham park.
Most vailsburg guys moved to florham park while bloomfield ave/ north newark went to east hanover. Why? Who knows.
To me, Gencarelli's will always be vesuvio's. Lol
Biazzi's was also big back in the day. Ask some of your parents about the stone crab, ferarra's, catherines, columbus bakery, paramount bakery, giordano's, garside.
I can go on and on.
A quick aside. back in the day a lot of these mob guys we talk about today( from newark area) engaged in plenty of strong arm shit like robbery and theft. The avenue was like a flea market with guys going from club to club with swag.

Love your posts man. Love hearing from a guy who was around the shit when it was really something to talk about. You nailed it about bloomfield ave nowadays and how the tavern is. I think I can speak for everyone when I say WE appreciate your input.

The whole Scarfo/Philly thing leading to his demotion being an excuse makes sense. That's just how the reporters always put it, but you can't always go by those things, as often times they get it wrong. And I read Fresolones book and he gives the impression that Scarfo Jr was a good guy for the most part. Makes me wonder how he became to be so disliked by those North Jersey Luccheses. I'm gonna be honest, it sounds like a lot of bullshit and jealousy the Pernas had for him.

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Uh Oh...I didn't notice the date on the posts.

Guess I will edit

Belmont, I love your posts. Yes, I have heard a lot of stories about "The Avenue" in North Newark from old timers. The newer BYOB place on the Avenue in Newark called Luigi's is pretty good. I love the Belmont Tavern and they still have that Shrimp dish on the menu named after Beeps Centorino in the Philly LCN North Jersey crew, but yea you're right these days the Tavern is mostly civilians now who are not involved in the life at all.....Jimmy is still behind the bar there though!!

You ever run into Big Lou Fazzini, he's basically the guy now running the day to day things in Scoop's gambling ring crew in the Newark area. He's a pretty serious guy....

Scoops is probably semi-retired by now

The picture of Big Lou rocking that FUBU shirt proud was classic.

Scoops is the capo and conduit to Uncle Joe back in Philly I heard and Big Lou is the guy on the streets for Scoops. It's all about layers....

Scoops and Uncle Joe are close. They go back together to the 80's and are around the same age, also got made around the same time...

Ive seen lou around way back when. He actually grew up around the avenue in the village apartments.
His old man was a known street guy but not made, louis got into a fight as a kid and killed the guy he was fighting. It was an accident but he had problems.
At the time he hung out with nick o jr and thats when nick o stepped in and saw some potenial in big lou. He and lenahan held a benefit for big lou's legal bills hosted by Frank "get your fuckin shine box " Vincent.
At the time Nicky O was made amd he took big lou his wings. Big lou knew all the players because of where he grew up and his father. Lou was the youngest of three and his father passed at an early age. Needless to say, his new father figures werent accountants and engineers.
Nicky O was a philly guy hence big lou's ascension to the philly family. Big lou was also close to tommy adams and joey sodano.
By the way, Nicky O was on record with the gambino's and was loaned out to patty specs back in the day, thats another story.

Why do you think the Pernas would be jealous of him?
Haven't read Fresolone's book, but how did he paint Scarfo as being a good guy? I've always read Jr was pretty cocky and arrogant, which I though was the reason Joey Merlino and the Young Turks didn't like him (aside from the whole demoting/outcasting the Merlinos by Scarfo Sr incident). Might be the same reasons the Pernas don't.

Is Nicky O still active in the life these days in the Newark area?

Nicky O is still made, I dont know how active he is, but at least according to the FBI and those chart things guys make he's still recognized as a member of the Philly Family.





He paints Nicky Jr in pretty much the same way he was said to be at one point in this thread, a quiet type, and an earner, not cocky or arrogant, from what you've read. And I don't know if that was the reason why he and Joey Merlino didn't get along. In fact he and Joey Merlino were quiet close when they were younger, and the reason for his hit attempt on Nicky Jr, was an attempt to end his fathers control on the mob by proxy , which didn't help , because outside of his own group Merlino wasn't looked at as someone who could run the mob, let alone be made. And as these guys said, when Nicky Scarfo Jr was on the street at that time, earning, the Perna's were young kids, so they had no real interaction with Nicky Jr. Fresolone says Nicky Jr always had a way to make money, and he always thought of new schemes to earn money for himself and those around him. There's also that newspaper article from that guy in AC who knew Nicky Jr & Mark. He says Nicky Jr was a regular guy, he never really flaunted being "wise guy" or used that to push people around and that it was more so Mark who was like that, that was during high school though, Leonetti also said Nicky Jr wasn't like that, and the only reason he was what he was , was because of influence from his father.


I don't know how he was as a Lucchese capo, but from the few sources I've read, he was liked by more than a few of those guys as well. But maybe he changed.

i read crea made scarfo jr in 99 cause amuso was pushing it from jail think i read he was bumped up to capo in 2004 then demoted 07 08 i dont remeber the year, but the order was passed all the way down to a recently made soldier one of the perna brothers to deliver the news to jr he wasnt capo anymore but there father ralph. so i was thinking that was pretty disrespectful way knock him down and why do that to him if he was kicking up all this money. maybe crea found out jr was kicking it directly to amuso wife or daughter and crea didnt get his caught but i think crea was also in prison for a few of them years. so the guys who gave the order probaly madonna or dinapoli. but my whole point was theres was a diffintly a ;lack of respect to break him and at the same time send the message threw the new capos kid. talk about no respect. but the flipside he was still making millions off that shakedown.

Nicky Jr was beyond sloppy and reckless when he made all those extravagant purchases with the FirstPlus money, what did he think was going to happen when he bought all of those things with the last name of Scarfo with no way to back up those items on a tax return?!?

I was actually shocked myself with the level of stupidity displayed by scarfo jr regarding first plus and his spending spree.