My info comes mostly from FBI files - specificially using info from CIs Rocco Scafidi and Harry Riccobene

George Fresolone was pretty adamantly against the theory that Alfred Salerno pulled the trigger on Bruno, citing how he and Caponigro really didn't get along. Caponigro was annoyed at having to constantly settle beefs with Salerno in New York and vented about wanting to kill him one day. Fresolone subscribed to the idea that Caponigro would have personally been the shooter. Salerno getting killed, in Fresolone's view, was just a way to lure Caponigro to the diamond district (thinking he was going there to settle a beef over Salerno's jewellery business) and meet with Dom Canterino and Chin Gigante

Riccobene was behind bars for heroin trafficking at the time that Bruno took over and he told the FBI he was surprised at the decision because Bruno had only been a member for a short period of time before becoming boss. Riccobene said that he'd been offered the position of boss in the 1950s and could've been boss instead of Bruno if he wanted it. (Should also be noted I saw an FBI file describe how Pat Massi had been offered the role of boss before Bruno). He later said that Bruno had imposed too many restrictions during his time as boss (likely a reference to narcotics).
As of 1952 Riccobene was a soldier under Gaetano 'Big Tom' Scafidi and when he got out of prison in the 1970s, though it hasn't been confirmed, I strongly suspect that Riccobene was reporting direct to the administration (either to Bruno or Testa). Riccobene was part of a discussion with Testa, Scarfo and Narducci about the death of Joe Rugnetta and who to appoint as consigliere where they complained about the process (specifically how, in the past, every member got a say but now only a select few do). Riccobene's leeway under Bruno likely stemmed from his status as a long-time member. To a much lesser extent that can be observed with Antonio Pollina as well. Pollina lost a great deal of influence following Bruno's rise to boss and complained about being ignored by other members but he was still around. He asked to be made consigliere in 1977 but Bruno politely declined. In 1982 Pollina started verbally abusing Nick Caramandi at Pat Spirito's clubhouse on Bancroft over a loan Caramandi had co-signed on with Mickey Diamond (after Diamond's death, Pollina held Caramandi responsible for repayment). Spirito couldn't intervene because he hadn't been introduced to Pollina as a member so Chickie Ciancaglini had to come down to calm the situation.
There isn't as much on Riccobene's relationship with Testa but we know of his very unfavourable view of Scarfo becoming boss. Riccobene campaigned to get the top spot in the aftermath of Testa's death but failed to gather support from any of the captains.

i was under the impression that Pollina was shelved and considered persona-non-grata. Was he. allowed to keep his button or just respected for being an old timer?

No I cant ....

But I am pretty sure it was on AC - Ventnor border and I only remember that because my father told me once before I was 17 and still driving with him .

Bruno's wife was living in house in Ventnor. Beach block I think . When she passed away about 15 yrs ago.

They had since the 60’s that I remember

It's pretty well known as soon as Gambino died Brunos days were numbered. His power was based on his relationship to Don Carlo.

who were the major players for the Angelo Bruno Family in the 1960s?
what were the main rackets and territory?
here's what i got:

Boss: Angelo Bruno
Underboss: Natz Denaro
Consiglieri: Joe Rugnetta

Caporegime: Phil Testa, Skinny Razor Detulio, Patsy Massi, Nicky buck Piccolo, Alfred Iezzi (missing anybody)

Soldiers:Tony Caponigro, Scarfo(of course), who are the other major players

Bruno family capos in the 1960s

John Cappello
Felix DiTullio (died 1966, crew split up)
Alfred Iezzi
Pasquale Massi (demoted 1967)
Nicholas Piccolo
Joseph Scafidi
Joseph Sciglitano
John Simone
Philip Testa

Peter Maggio (replaced Iezzi from the late-60's through early-70's)
Dominick Oliveto (may have been acting for Massi)
Joseph Lanciano (acted for Massi, then replaced him)
Demetrio Pennestri (died in the early-60's, may have been capo until his death)
Carl Ippolito (possibly acting for Simone at different times)
Charles Costello (possibly acting for Simone at different times)

What capo/crew was the most dangerous?
Which crew was the most powerful?
Why did Patsy Massi get demoted?
Who was close to Bruno, if any?

Out of all of the captains, DiTullio had the biggest reputation for being a hitter. I remember reading info from one CI who claimed that DiTullio was exempt from paying tribute because of the amount of work he did. He taught Scarfo how to kill.
Testa was Bruno's closest ally in the 60's, after his falling out with Denaro. Similar to the Ligambi/ Staino situation in the 2000s.
Massi was caught having sexual relations with a young black guy and being the 'passive partner'.

Wow, and Massi didn't get clipped? Bruno really was the Gentile Don

There was speculation that he would be killed or told to commit suicide but neither happened

Bruno had 2 crews in North jersey back then

What boss/family was more powerful as a whole, Angelo Bruno/philly or Sam Decalvacante/jersey?
Could North Jersey compete financially?
Which Family during this period was more deadly?

Do you mean two different crews in the Philly family had members operating in North Jersey?

Because North Jersey didn't become its own crew until the 1970s. Some sources have Caponigro becoming capo in the early 1970s but Fresolone wrote that Caponigro was bumped straight up from soldier to consigliere in 1978, at which point the North Jersey members began officially reporting to him. Prior to that they had been working for him in a de facto sense but actually belonged to John Simone's crew.

And even then, the Philly guys in North Jersey were one crew until Fresolone was briefly a captain in 1990. Then you had two captains in Newark - Fresolone in charge of Centorino, Cifelli, Olivieri and Praino, while Licata was in charge of DiNorscio, Napoli, Caprio, Capozzi, Sodano, Ricciardi, Bellina, Fusella and Attanasio.

The two-crews situation in Newark may have continued during the 1990s, with Licata and Blackie Napoli both reported to be capos for Stanfa in 1991. Then Napoli was taken down, and Licata and Sodano were observed going down to Philly together to meet with Stanfa until Sodano was locked up in 1992, at which point Licata continued going down to Philly alone until he was jailed in 1994.
Licata gets out in 1997, by which point Pete Caprio has been upped to capo after arranging the murder of his predecessor Sodano. But then in 1998 Licata is charged again with being a captain in the family.

So it's possible that in the 90s, they had 2 crews in North Jersey (Fresolone/ Licata, then Napoli/ Licata, then Sodano/ Licata and finally Caprio/ Licata) but I haven't read anything to suggest there was more than one Philly crew in Newark before then or that there was even an official Newark-based Philly crew before the 1970s.

There was one crew based in North New Jersey. It can be traced all the way back to former Newark crime family member Riccardo Biondi. John Simone took over Biondi crew in the early 1960s but lived in Trenton, so he used Charles Costello and Carl Ippolito as his acting capos most of the time in Newark. Bruno had one crew based in North New Jersey, and two in Southern New Jersey. I believe that is where you saying that Philly had two Northern New Jersey crews, as both Costello and Ippolito had their own people but they were all part of the same crew.

chin-gigante is right, Newark only had one crew from Biondi until 1990 when Licata and Fresolone, first took it up with Pasquale Martirano and Anthony Piccolo about Napoli being incarcerated and needed an official capo on the streets. They felt they weren't getting anywhere with those two guys and decided to go see John Stanfa the other contender for the boss spot and boom, there are now two crews. Stanfa had the Gambinos backing, but if he did not create those two crews, he would not have much family support. George Fresolone was already cooperating with New Jersey State Police since 1988 and there is recordings showing what the family structure was shaping up to be. Caprio also verifies this, and I believe it is save to say that since Caprio flipped, there has only been one Newark crew for the family.

Both of you guys are right, I got the era mixed up

That's not quite right. There were concerns in the family over not having a capo on the streets but it wasn't to do with Napoli being incarerated. When Martirano fled to avoid prosecution in 1988, he left Licata, Attanasio and Fresolone (even though he was only an associate) jointly in charge of running the crew. Piccolo then shortly after changed this relationship so that Licata and Attanasio would be in charge of the crew while Fresolone would be in charge of passing messages to and from Martirano.

After a while there were concerns over not having an official acting capo in place. Martirano wanted Fresolone to do it and he was already treating him as a de facto made member, but Piccolo wouldn't allow it. Martirano pushed for Fresolone to be inducted but again Piccolo refused, saying that Scarfo wasn't approving any making ceremonies while he was incarcerated as he felt it would be like admitting he wasn't coming home anytime soon (Scarfo also didn't authorise any inductions during his incarceration from 1982-1984). When Martirano snuck back into Florida for medical treatment, Licata flew down to see him and was formally made acting capo.

In 1990, Piccolo eventually names Martirano (now living in New York as a fugitive) as his underboss and receives permission from Scarfo to induct new members, but only prospects from North Jersey. (This decision was influenced by the fact that Martirano was dying and kept pushing for Fresolone to be inducted). A day after he was made, Fresolone was upped to capo and given his own crew, which consisted of the guys he was made with. That's when the 2 Newark crews emerged - under Scarfo and Piccolo. Martirano then dies and Fresolone is whisked off into witness protection.

In 1991, Licata and Ralph Napoli are described as both being capos in North Jersey but they aren't getting along. Licata was paranoid in the late-1980s that Napoli was planning on taking over the family and had suspected him of being behind the Nicky Scarfo Jr attempted hit. Napoli was refusing to meet with Licata and was reportedly getting senile. In late 1991, Licata and Joe Sodano travelled to Philly to meet with Stanfa (now the boss), where they complained about Napoli and Stanfa agreed to take him down (this was recorded in wiretaps).

It was at this point, presumably, that Sodano was upped to capo and both he and Licata would continue going down to Philly together. Sodano was sent to prison in May 1992 and Licata continued going to Philly alone. At the time that Licata was sent to prison in early 1994, he was described as a capo.

Sodano gets out in 1994 and is killed in December 1996. In January 1997, Caprio is upped to capo to replace him. Later in 1997 Licata is released and in September 1998 he's indicted as a capo. So that's the last instance I can find of two North Jersey capos being out on the street at the same time. Licata goes away in 1999, leaving Caprio by himself.

After Caprio flips in 2000, Centorino was identified as briefly serving as acting capo. Then Licata was released from prison in 2003 and, for all we know, has been running the Newark crew by himself since then.

The initial split of Newark into 2 crews in 1990 makes sense as at that point they consisted of over a dozen members. But, to the best of our knowledge, no North Jersey guys were made from 1990 until 2007 and that, combined with the attrition from deaths and defections, explains how the 2 crews would naturally form back into 1 again by the end of the decade.

Fersolone was made a capo a day after being made. This pissed off Licata. Fersolone and Licata had some history but it was not until Fersolone was locked up that he started to despise AA and Scoops. Licata went to the Gambino and Genovese about the ceremony as no list was passed around to veto members. If someone had a problem with a member being made and their was a good enough reason, that person would be killed, that was Licatas plan. Cifelli another guy in the crew was close to Licata and was pretty much reporting what Fersolone was doing. It was either the Lucchese crime family finding out that Philadelphia had an informant in Newark, or that Pasquale Martirano passed away that caused Fersolone to finally leave. Centorino was actually remade at the behest of a few Gambino guys as insure if Licata tried anything. Licata was following the rules about the list, but Philly only had to pass a list the last time cause 1986 was the Commission trial in New York and New York wanted to straighten things out with Philadelphia and New Jersey, so new leadership would known who is who in New Jersey and not make any mistakes, also so both Gambino and Genovese families could make sure they had prospective allies on Philadelphia and New Jersey. 1986 was a huge making ceremony for Philadelphia and last one that was made while Scarfo was out on the streets.

I disagree with a couple of things.

I know the idea that guys like Centorino and Olivieri were made again at a later date is thrown about a lot on forums, but I've seen no supporting evidence to suggest that they ever were, or that they ever had to be. Indeed, Licata went around saying there was a problem with the ceremony, and that other families didn't necessarily have to recognise the members, but nothing else reliable has come out to say that the ceremony was itself invalidated and had to be redone. Centorino, Olivieri and John Praino all have been identified as members since then, but I've seen no evidence saying they were made again. Lenehan said the ceremony was invalidated, but his information is far from reliable and it contradicts with other things he said - including that Olivieri wasn't recognised but only because of reasons relating to him alone. Members of the Colombo family were picked up on tape discussing Praino's status as a member of the Philly family in the 2000s, so that's further evidence that those guys continued to be recognised. Licata tried to undermine the validity of the ceremony for sure, but I've seen nothing to suggest anyone had to be re-made. Fresolone himself said that he could not be 'un-made' due to Licata's attempts and that the only way to remove his membership would have been to kill him.
This also isn't comparable to the situation with the DeCavalcante's in the 1980s when Gotti ordered them to re-make guys because they had been initiated through a verbal oath only. Firstly, Philadelphia was not under the same level of influence from New York as the DeCavalcantes were and are. Secondly, there wasn't anything technically wrong with the ceremony. Philly would pass on a list of North Jersey members to the New York families as a courtesy (especially when the Newark members were active in New York), but they were not obliged to. By 2010, Licata himself was caught on tape saying he'd only pass a list of prospective members to the Gambinos and Genoveses - not the other three New York families. (And Fresolone quotes Martirano in the book saying that Licata's name wasn't passed around the other families).

I also don't entirely agree with you that the 1986 ceremony was 'huge'. They inducted 6 guys at that one (Attanasio, Licata, Ligambi, Pungitore Jr, Tory Scafidi, Junior Staino), which is more than most ceremonies we know about since then but only just. There's been plenty of ceremonies for 5 inductees at a time since then and, in either 1998 or 1999, Borgesi and Luisi went up to Boston to make 6 or 7 of Luisi's guys there. It also wasn't huge compared to other ceremonies that took place in the 80s. There was the 1980 ceremony held by Testa where 9 guys were inducted and Scarfo held a ceremony in early 1982 where he made 11 guys (including 4 Newark guys).

Your right cg, I was thinking of 1982 for some reason. Actually Bobby Manna had alot of subtle influence in Philadelphia. Which is the way the Genovese crime family wanted it so they could take over lucrative enterprises in Atlantic City and New Jersey. Keep Scarfo as boss, they essentially control the Philadelphia family. Gambinos had Stanfa in charge from 1991 to 1995. Merlino pretty much tells New York to suck his ****, and the families lose influence in Philadelphia.

How was Joe Ida as Boss?
What was the Dynamic between Ida, Dominic Pollina and Marco Reginelli?
With so much presence in South jersey, why did the puwerbase shift to Philly?

Ida as boss was not bad, he had one of best administration from 1946 to 1956. In that ten year span, he and Reginelli finished what Joe Dovi had started. Three of of the four heavy hitters for the family at the time in the 1940s were Harry Riccobono, Antonio Pollina, and Felix DeTullio, the fourth member is probably lost to history. The Philadelphia family took over territories in Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey from the Irish and Jewish mobsters and made alliances with them. Ida and Reginelli got along great. I can only think of one time Joe Ida did along with someone was with Pollina and that was due to how Ida had handled narcotics on Philadelphia and New Jesey.
Once Reginelli died in Maryland in 1956, is when the family was weakened. Dominick Olivetto became underboss and retired, some say so Antonio Pollina could become underboss. Pollina came from the Maggio crew. Olivetto served as an adviser to Pollina once he retired. One of Marco Reginelli proteges was Angelo Bruno. Pollina was just waiting for his moment at the top spot.
I find Giuseppe Rugnetta the most interesting members of the time, he was Consigliere from 1946 till his death.

In the 1960s, Harry Riccobene was asked to describe the hierarchy as it was in 1952 - the last time he was on the street. He was relying on his recollection but he identified Ida as boss, Reginelli as underboss and six capos - Antonio Pollina, Joseph Rugnetta, Gaetano Scafidi, Ignazio Denaro, Frank Barrale and Demetrio Pennestri (Riccobene was assigned to Scafidi at the time and identified Mike Maggio as also being a member of that crew).
Reginelli, who functioned effectively as Ida's street boss, had a crew reporting direct to him and Riccobene believed that Felix DiTullio, Pat Massi, Joseph Lanciano and Dominick Oliveto were some of the members of that crew - though he said Oliveto may have been a capo at some point.
Oliveto was also identified in other reports as being the family's consigliere in the 1950s - making him the first member we have evidence of holding the position before Rugnetta. In 1956, Reginelli died and Oliveto became acting underboss (possibly official later) though no sources have identified if a new consigliere was elected after Oliveto until Rugnetta got the job under Bruno.
Things are a little hazy when Ida flees in late-1958 or early-1959. Some accounts have Oliveto briefly taking over before being replaced by Rugnetta as acting boss and then Pollina. Another account has Rugnetta taking over immediately after Ida but then being voted down by the family at a meeting in September 1959 (which may have been Peter Maggio's making ceremony) and put in the position of underboss. Oliveto was selected to take over and then replaced by Pollina. When Bruno took over, he made Denaro underboss and Rugnetta was put in as consigliere.

Yes, the Genoveses did have a degree of influence over Scarfo. This was most notably seen in Scarfo giving them a piece of AC and making Blackie Napoli capo in Newark at their request (and having to receive permission to take him down in favour of Martirano) - but my point was more about how they were much less under the control of New York than the DeCavalcantes. Of course, as an East Coast family, Philly is influenced and and impacted by NY decisions (e.g., appointing bosses and other administration figures - Scarfo sought the blessing of New York to take Chuckie Merlino down and replace him with Phil Leonetti).

I don't entirely agree with the point about Merlino and NY losing their influence. When Natale took over he had the backing of figures in the Gambino and Genovese families and used Billy D'Elia to set up a meeting with the Colombos in New York (they weren't recognised by the Lucheses though as a result of the Scarfo beef). Natale used Pete Caprio as his conduit to the New York families and, when Natale went to prison, Merlino started using Caprio for the same purpose.

When Merlino took over, I agree, the relationship got strained. Merlino asked New York, through Caprio, for permission to make Luisi in Boston. The New York families said no but Merlino did it anyway. When Natale flipped, things really went south because NY was not recognising Merlino and Ligambi - that prompted Caprio to conspire to take over the family. Members of the Gambino family were instructed not to recognise Philly at this point for various reasons - including the fact that they had inducted an ex-cop (Previte).

Clearly, however, the relationship with NY wasn't destroyed irreparably. You still had tensions with the Lucheses through the 2000s but that possibly was resolved when Scarfo Jr went away and Sam Piccolo and Anthony Persiano started reporting to Dom Grande. New York figures attending the weddings of Eric Esposito and Anthony Staino, the Colombo family still recognised John Praino as a Philly member, the Gambinos dined with Philly leadership in 2010 and Merlino started associating with Genovese capos after his release from prison, taking Lancellotti and Grande with him to his 'going away' party in New York in 2014 before surrendering to do his time for parole violation.

Who did Ida/Regnelli associate with from New York?
Any info on Joe Rugnetta? I know he represented the Calabrian faction but any thing else interesting?

Do you think the current Philly guys have read all the info given by riccobene, scafidi (the one who was a proper ci in the 50/60s before being brought back off the shelf)?

And do you think they have as much of an understanding of the history of that family like demonstrated above? I wonder..

Also I love the merlino/ny story - wasn’t he like f*ck that tell them to come here. “Underrated” mob guy merlino - how he rolled the dice and isn’t lifed off or dead is insane. Feds want this guy sooo much.

@Serpiente
what I don't get is that Bruno 'banished ' Scarfo to Atlantic City, but isn't that where he was based anyway? ?

Also, how did Scarfo get caught up in that SCI contempt case? all the other guys I've seen mentioned were mob big shots, Bruno,Catena etc
didn't think Scarfo was big name 1973 ish??