Great Thread!

@Nickle City do you thing Violi or Bufallo had some connection to Nick Nero and his guys?

http://www.chch.com/niagara-drug-kingpin-goes-trial-murder/
https://www.niagarathisweek.com/news-story/3267983-drug-network-far-bigger-than-police-thought/

As you know the Bonannos recently did an initiation ceremony in Canada of a guy who resided in Montreal, even though he secretely was a police agent. So that is some pretty strong evidence that they are still active in Canada and who knows how many more ceremonies they've done there in recent years. From the top of my head I can name at least the Arcuris as possible Bonanno members and Pietrantonio was very close to Montagna..

Yeah the Bonannos literally had a making ceremony in Canada where they not only inducted an informant or undercover but recorded it on video. The mafioso literally said congratulations you are now in the Bonanno family.

Thanks for posting links to these articles. Very interesting. I don’t know of any links to the Violi’s or Buffalo. No matter if Violi’s are Bonanno or Buffalo, given their influence and “reach” in drug trafficking circles, they very well could have at least known of it or even been involved with it. EDIT: I think I read somewhere they were with Caruana-Cuntrara ... don't remember where.

If the Buffalo family was nearly defunct as several articles and the lack of indictments seemed to indicate-Ockham's would say the family is dead and being absorbed by the Bonannos is the easiest explanation. That is my number 2 theory. But Bensonhurst has a great point when he says:




Sorry, I was just referring to the rat part. I should have taken the rest out of the quote. If I thought the family was defunct I would definitely lean to thinking the Violis are Bonanno. The one hitch would be Sergi's article saying they Buffalo is formerly LCN--which if the Buffalo family doesn't exist--that article seems to indicate they are their own drug trafficking syndicate or they were absorbed by their Canadian factions.

I did read in mafia export that their grandfather Luppino was a caporegime in the Magaddino family.

The charges against the Violis indicate a continuation of the long established mafia drug trafficking triangle from Toronto/Hamilton to Buffalo and Montreal to New York City established by Stefano Magaddino and his cousin, Joseph Bonanno.

The fact that whomever was able to get those articles "REDACTED"
Points to OAKHAMS theory being?

I don't know exactly what it means these articles are so hard to find--only 2 on press reader and I have yet to find them on The Buffalo News Site. All I know is it is fishy. I know that will make some think I'm a big conspiracy guy though. Here are the two articles I can find:



The above article says they are not the mafia but fails to mention all the individuals who have family known to at least be tied to the Buffalo Mob in the past.

FCBS Chanel 8 in Vegas in an article from June 2012 indicates Paul Citelli, arrested in a HOA scan, is a Buffalo crime family member. Here is the first half of the article:

I-Team: More Targets in HOA Conspiracy

by:
George Knapp
Matt Adams
Posted: Jun 01, 2012 / 04:13 PM PDT
Updated: Jun 01, 2012 / 04:38 PM PDT

LAS VEGAS -- Twenty five people have now admitted their guilt in a massive political corruption conspiracy involving a dozen local homeowner associations, but the case is far from over.

Federal lawmen say the investigation is ongoing and as many as a dozen additional targets are in their crosshairs.

It was tough trying to get a comment out of any of the defendants in the HOA corruption case. They bolted, dodged, and hid their faces as they entered and left federal court Thursday.

Defendant Lisa Kim was far less talkative than she had been inside the courtroom. "You guys are ridiculous. You should be embarrassed," she said to the I-Team crew.

The History of the HOA Scandal

Defendant Paul Citelli found himself bouncing like a ping pong ball between two I-Team cameras. The HOA mess is not his first trouble with the law. The FBI thinks he's affiliated with the Buffalo mob. The Review-Journal's John Smith reported last year that Citelli was part of a huge Mafia cocaine ring back in the 1980s.

It's not surprising that attorney Brian Jones and disbarred lawyer Jeanne Winkler declined comment since that's what lawyers do, but inside the courthouse, they -- like the others who appeared -- all told the judge they were guilty of participating in the conspiracy to take over and pillage a dozen homeowner associations to the tune of millions of dollars. ...

Citelli is on record with Pieri out there.

John and his son operate Divine Cleaners in Vegas. Is Bobby Panaro still outbthere too?

A more recent article (2014) about Buffalo Mob connections in Las Vegas....




Is Buffalo still running rackets it Vegas--or just remnants of the former Buffalo Crime Family?

Interesting information from a blog related to drug trafficking and HOA's:

GOOGLE TRANSLATION OF EXCELSIOR NEWSPAPER ARTICLE verifies Bravo owned the airport mentioned above and suggests his lawyer represented several mob figures.

The governor of BCS inaugurated a narco airfield
An American who was imprisoned in his country for trafficking cocaine in Nevada operates the Las Arenas terminal in the municipality of La Paz

03/09/2011 05:00 RAÚL FLORES

MEXICO CITY, March 9 .- In Baja California Sur, the private airport Las Arenas is administered by a US citizen convicted of drug trafficking in the United States.

On February 26, the governor of the entity, Narciso Agúndez Montaño, participated in the re-inauguration of the aerodrome.

The concession to operate and manage the terminal, located in Punta Arena de la Ventana, La Paz, was granted to the companies of Joseph Angelo Bravo, who in 1994 was sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiring to traffic cocaine, in Nevada.

He served the sentence in a maximum security prison and had to pay a fine of 25 thousand dollars.

The concession was based on the decree of expropriation of the private lands that Agúndez Montaño signed on June 11, 2010.

It was carried out despite the fact that article 22 of the Airports Law states that "persons who have been convicted of an intentional crime that merits imprisonment of more than one year may not be holders of permits.

The same restriction will be applied to the members or members of the administrative body of the concessionaires. "


Here is the link: http://translate.google.com/transla...Findex.php%3Fm%3Dnota%26id_nota%3D720673

From News 4 Indianapolis in 2017: ... I wonder if he is related to Joe Bravo who is tied to the Buffalo Mob and is connected with the Mexican Drug Cartels.


UPDATE (Feb. 27, 2017)– Salvador Tafoya-Bravo pleaded guilty to dealing cocaine and will serve eight years in the Department of Correction, followed by two years at Community Corrections.

Original story:

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, (Oct. 30, 2015)– A massive drug bust resulted in 20 kilos of cocaine coming off the streets Friday.

Indiana state police conducted an inspection of a semi truck when they discovered the drugs. It happened just after 4 p.m. on I-70 on the east side of Indianapolis.

Salvador Tafoya-Bravo, 47, was arrested.

Authorities say he is from Las Vegas, and was transporting the drugs from California to a destination in Ohio.

Police had a simple message for drug traffickers.

“If you like playing Russian roulette, continue doing it. Will you get through sometimes? Yes. Will you eventually get stopped, caught, and imprisoned? Yes,” said Indiana State Police Captain David Bursten.

The cocaine has a street value of more than $2 million. Police say Tafoya-Bravo is not cooperating with the investigation, so they went public with the bust and arrest.

From Las Vegas Review Journal
Familiar faces show up in HOA probe

June 10, 2012 - 12:59 am


His friends call Joe Bravo an honorable guy and a gifted businessman who has put the mistakes of his past far behind him.

It’s just a coincidence, they say, that he knows some of the defendants and potential targets in the ongoing investigation of corruption inside the local homeowners associations and construction defect racket.

Who is Joe Bravo?

It’s a question some members of local law enforcement have asked for years. For the record, Joseph Angelo Bravo is a convicted drug trafficker who was sentenced to 87 months in 1993 for his role in a cocaine importing ring with ties to the Buffalo mob.

The Niagara Falls-to-Las Vegas distribution network was accused of distributing 400 kilos of cocaine between 1986 and 1990. A lengthy investigation compiled 2,500 wiretap conversations, recordings whose legality was vigorously but unsuccessfully challenged by defense lawyers Oscar Goodman and David Chesnoff. The 16 defendants pleaded guilty before trial.

I was reminded of that old case May 31 when Paul Citelli entered U.S. District Judge James Mahan’s courtroom and took his place among the 14 latest defendants to plead guilty in the HOA scandal. Citelli, a Southern Nevada limousine driver, was one of Bravo’s partners in the cocaine distribution ring back in the years authorities believed the Buffalo mob was the dominant La Cosa Nostra family on the streets of Las Vegas.


At the time of Citelli’s 1993 sentencing, he apologized to U.S. District Judge Lloyd George for his transgression and received a break. Faced with a potential 27-year prison term, Citelli caught only seven.

Fast-forward 19 years to Mahan’s court: With defense attorney David Brown at his side, Citelli pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and admitted his role in the HOA corruption scheme.

After the hearing, Citelli declined an interview request.

Las Vegas real estate agent Anthony Roy Wilson also pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. He’s Bravo’s nephew.

While other targets in the HOA investigation generated headlines, Wilson blended into the crowd of role players in Mahan’s courtroom. His eventual sentence figures to be light, but Wilson was an integral part of the conspiracy.

In his plea agreement, Wilson admitted his job was to find and fill condominiums with participants in the conspiracy with the goal of seeing them placed on HOA boards. He did his job well, locating 17 units for purchase by straw buyers.

Wilson helped those phony buyers with equally fraudulent mortgage applications. He handled the transactions and, according to the plea agreement, generated $117,500 in commissions.

Even if Wilson is a big admirer of his Uncle Joe, Bravo’s friends say that link is just another coincidence.
Business partner Chesnoff defends Bravo as the consummate stand-up guy.

“I have been a lawyer for 32 years, and I have never seen anyone who so thoroughly turned his life around and has been as hard working and honorable with all those people that he has worked with than Joe Bravo,” Chesnoff says.

Consider former Las Vegas Mayor Goodman another of Bravo’s admirers.

“He did his time, and he did it like a man,” Goodman says. “He made no excuses, had no bravado, and I understand, after he came out, that he’s a hard worker. People who know him love him. His word is his bond. I don’t know anybody who says a bad word about him, even the feds. He paid his debt. I think Las Vegas is a place of second chances, so I have no problem vouching for him in that respect.”

And attorney Paul Hejmanowski offers, “I’ve had the privilege of working with him for several years. I consider him a personal friend. I’ve never known him to fail to keep his word in every instance.”

Defense attorneys Chesnoff and Marty Keach are listed in real estate records as partners in land deals with Bravo both locally and in Mexico. Down in Baja California Sur, their friend Joe’s name and criminal history have splashed in the press in association with their Punta Arena de la Ventana resort and the management of a private airport outside La Paz.

What’s a convicted drug trafficker doing managing a Mexican airport?

That’s a question skeptical reporters asked in 2010.

They’ve also wondered about Bravo’s cordial relationship with then-Baja Sur Gov. Narciso Agundez Montano.

I might ask for Agundez to vouch for Bravo’s character, but the former governor was just arrested in late May on public corruption charges.

Back in Las Vegas, the HOA/construction defect investigation grinds on with prosecutors from the Department of Justice’s Fraud Section strongly hinting in court recently that the case remains a target-rich environment.

Bravo’s friends and business partners vouch for his rehabilitated character, but from here to Mexico it’s hard for him to shake his reputation.

Do you suppose he knows more about the structure of the HOA and construction defect conspiracy than meets the eye?

Say it ain’t so, Joe.

John L. Smith’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Email him at Smith@reviewjournal.com or call 702-383-0295. He also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/smith. Follow him on Twitter @jlnevadasmith.

Another article about Buffalo and Cocaine out of Vegas... This one from 2015 and mentions Jon Jone's manager--Wayne Harriman who has ties to the Buffalo Mob-- was involved with cocaine smuggling as late as 2010

Here’s What We Know About Jon Jones Testing Positive For Cocaine
JESSICA HUDNALL
01.07.15


Yesterday, it was discovered that UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones had tested positive for cocaine metabolites during a drug test in December and had voluntarily entered a drug rehabilitation facility. In addition to words of support from the UFC and its president, Dana White, several other entities have chimed in to state their desire for Jones to get the help he needs. Reebok, a Jones sponsor, had this to say to MMA Junkie.

“We commend Jon for taking the necessary steps to address this issue, and we will support him in any way we can. The status of Jon’s relationship with Reebok has not changed”

Meanwhile, the man Jones beat at UFC 182, Daniel Cormier, shared his thoughts.

“I am aware of Jon’s test, and if there is anything to say it is this: there are a lot of people you impact, so please let’s get it together. Good luck on your rehab!”

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t change the result of the fight. It’s more sad than anything.”

“It doesn’t make me feel better to have lost against a guy who was doing drugs.”

“I thought this is a guy who has kids and this guy needs to be a positive light for a lot of people. I don’t really feel like I look at him any differently. I just want the guy to get help and just be like a guiding light for people, to be a positive influence.

You see glimpses of it, like him giving clothes to the homeless on Christmas. You just kind of hope that he can make that how he is all the time.

He makes an impact on a lot of people because of his status. He’s a guy that really impacts people at a whole different level than most guys in MMA. So, with that being said, you would hope that he takes it serious, gets whatever help he needs, and comes out better on the opposite side.”

The executive director of the Nevada state athletic commission, Bob Bennett, said to the L.A. Times that despite the World Anti-Doping Agency’s code not granting the power to suspend a positive result during out of competition testing, the NSAC could still punish Jones:

“The commission will address this [out-of-competition] anomaly. That is an issue we will take up and [fighter discipline] is certainly an option available to the commission.”
“Mr. Jones’ situation is unfortunate. Fortunately, he had the courage and conviction to enter a rehab facility.”

The most interesting piece of Bennett’s talk with the Times is that the NSAC knew of Jones’ positive test prior to the title fight against Cormier this past Saturday, and Bennett believes the UFC was aware as well:

“I work hand-in-glove with the UFC. But that’s a question you’ll have to address with the UFC.”

In addition to the Nevada state athletic commission and possibly the UFC knowing about Jones’ positive test, the nebulous world that is the MMA Twittersphere has seen people claiming to have known about Jones’ alleged drug use for a long time.

For example, Mike DiSabato, founder of Cage Fighter athletic gear (a sponsor of Daniel Cormier), tweeted back on December 29th that Jones “likes cocaine.”

And on December 30, Deadspin published a piece by Greg Howard about how Jon Jones is great, during which, Jones told Howard that he’s been straight-edge for a long time, even though he was currently drinking, had been charged with a DUI for crashing his car in 2012, and apparently thanked the Lord for hiding a nickel bag of weed in a sock drawer. In a follow-up, Howard said that he’d heard rumors of Jones’ cocaine usage:

This doesn’t come out of nowhere. In reporting this story, I heard a lot of rumors about Jones’s cocaine use, some of which went past what you’d expect of a rich young celebrity in 2014. I left those alone partly because it’s a long way from rumor to solid fact and partly because, as evidenced by his success, whatever he’s been up to late at night hasn’t hurt his athletic performance much. This is worth noting just by way of saying that this is more likely than not something that actually could affect his career, as opposed to the result of one night’s bad decision. Just a few minutes ago, I got this text from a source close to Jones: Can’t believe it took this long for jon to pop on coke.

During the recording of his podcast, Joe Rogan found out about Jones’ situation and basically flipped out:

Finally, while obviously not an indictment on Jones, back in May 2014, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta sat down with Jon’s manager, Wayne Harriman to work out some contractual issues. Harriman’s involvement is significant here because he was allegedly involved with cocaine smuggling as recently as 2010:

Wayne Harriman was among 16 defendants who pleaded guilty before trial in 1994 in Las Vegas in a federal drug investigation involving the Buffalo mob. Led by organized crime figure Paul Citelli, the crew that included Harriman was accused of moving more than 400 kilograms of cocaine in the late 1980s through Southern Nevada.[/b]

Wayne Harriman appears to have been a bit player in that case, but today he finds himself at the center of a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation in Fresno County, Calif., that has resulted in a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

In the Jan. 22, 2010, affidavit filed by DEA Special Agent Kevin Boleky, an undercover investigation found evidence of Harriman’s integral involvement in the drug trafficking activities of Greg Olmos Sr. and Greg Olmos Jr. In the affidavit, Olmos Jr. is described as being “connected with fighters in the mixed martial arts community along with the Hells Angels.” The father and son are alleged to have drug connections with the Hells Angels through Wayne Harriman, according to the document.
It’s an interesting tidbit to a story that is still unfolding.

https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/case/hoa-cases_alcantarr

"Paul Citelli November 17, 2015 - 3 years of supervised release, no restitution ordered2

Thanks for the link Nitro.

I´m sure there are some mobbed-up pizzerias over there.

https://aboutthemafia.com/u-s-canadian-project-otremens-leads-to-new-york-mafia-guilty-pleas

U.S.-Canadian Project OTremens leads to New York Mafia guilty pleas

Interesting, looks like they are all going to be taking pleas and little information will come out about what is going on.

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/...mpaign_id=localnews#.W_A1uKGVrsM.twitter

Mob, murder and the Hamilton connection

Just read the article on another site. Very interesting. I wonder when more details are going come out.

This new article mentions the Buffalo Mob again.

It says:



And notice the connections to Baja California Sur in Mexico and the Joe Bravo articles I referenced earlier. Here is another quote from this newest article:



Notice the connection to Baja California Sur in Mexico and remember the articles I posted about the Joe Bravo and Paul Citeli. Both are rumored to be associated with the Buffalo Mob. Bravo has ties to the Mexican drug cartels and owns and operates a small airport in Baja California Sur and had a relationship with the governor of the Mexican province who has since gone to jail on corruption charges.

I can't help but wonder if there is a connection.

5. The Massimi murder by Vacanti involved a drug trafficking ring with young guys who's families had know mob connections and were put in charge of drug trafficking by Joe Todaro after Andy Aiello was busted in the BUSICO case that resulted in the Pizza Connection. (I posted about this on the BUSICO thread.) Here is what Gangsters Inc wrote in an article called "Puparo presents: The Roaring '80's Part 1:"



Just finding other sources for this info... Here is an article about that talks about Anticoli:




Another article identifies Sam Amoia Jr. is the grandson of former Buffalo mob boss Sam Pieri, is secretary-treasurer of LoMoia Enterprises at 1300 Hertel Ave. Amoia served a prison term for dealing cocaine in 1988. His brother Joseph faces cocaine charges in Las Vegas. Here is the article:




I believe Gallo was related to Joe DiCarlo as we'll... but I still have to find that.

Looks like they were Buffalo Crime Family members. Breaking News about Violi trial:
Violi is alleged Underboss of Buffalo

Yep just posted it... Looks like I may have been right.

From the Humphries article: