Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
Originally Posted By: DuesPaid
I will need to look it up but I think I remember Vinny Basciano and his guys robbing a guy who they knew was picking up his winnings at one of their sportsbook joints

That's not true. Vinny would stick up a 7/11 to pay his gambling debts if he had to. He was a lot of things, but a beat wasn't one of them.

You're probably thinking of the story where he allegedly borrowed money off Gerry Sciascia a few weeks before Sciascia got popped. But that was just a lucky break whistle.

Back on topic: I've heard from some of the more informed Philly posters that Joey Merlino was famous for laying down on debts. But that's second hand and I don't know how true it is.


You're right PB. Joe would do that to a lot of people. Place bets and collect if he won and if he lost he would tell you to Fuck yourself. Some of his bookies working for him would do the same thing once he took over. It was a little before my time but this was around the early 90's or so, and it really Fucked things up on the street. Took years to recover, and it still may not have. People used to know where to place a bet and regardless they payed or collected like clockwork. Wasn't quite the same during that timeframe from what I understand.