Licata and Fazzini, who were arrested April 26, are the first to face the consequences of Stefanelli’s defection. Both were held for trial at hearings Monday. They were recorded at length at two mob meetings Stefanelli helped set up, each at an unnamed restaurant in North Jersey.

The first, in May 2010, was described as a meeting between leaders of the Gambino crime family and the Philadelphia mob. Ligambi and a top lieutenant, Anthony Staino, a codefendant in the pending case, attended with Licata and Fazzini. The Gambino contingent included Stefanelli and others in that organization, including an individual identified only by his initials but believed to be John Gambino, described in the document as “a caporegime,” a member of the “triumvirate” that oversees the Gambino organization.

The detention memo offers a capsule version of what was discussed, but it is clear that Licata holds court. At one point, he jokes with Ligambi about the 2003 gangland murder of John “Johnny Gongs” Casasanto in South Philadelphia, which remains unsolved.

According to the memo, Licata laughs and tells Ligambi, “At least we finally got to get him!”

At another point, Licata complains that the son of jailed Philadelphia boss Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo was permitted to be “made,” or formally initiated, into the Lucchese crime family.

“Licata expressed contempt for the action,” the government memo reads, “saying, ‘This is a slap in the face to us.’”

In other conversations, the loquacious Licata discusses mob traditions, gossips about other mob families and their members, waxes philosophical about how mobsters should conduct themselves, and provides a history of the Philadelphia crime family.

“We got to stay with the old rules,” Licata says as he and others talk about attracting members who understood the values of La Cosa Nostra.

“The only way to survive, you need quality, not quantity,” Gambino says.

“Guys made it about the money. It’s not about money. It’s about … brotherhood,” Fazzini then adds.

Licata, who, according to sources, has earned millions working various mob gambits over more than 40 years, agrees. Money, he says, is “the green-eyed monster.”


Law enforcement sources have hinted that the recent indictments are just the first chapter in the Stefanelli saga.

“Stay tuned,” an investigator teased last week.