Friends of Ours

Gossip Girl: Ligambi On Tape

Apparently Joe Ligambi, the reputed boss of the Philly mob who will stand trial on racketeering charges this October, is quite the Chatty Cathy as reported by George Anastasia for The Inquirer:  "secretly recorded conversations from a mob meeting at a New Jersey restaurant two years ago offer a rare opportunity to listen in as Ligambi breaks bread in a gossip-filled gabfest with several other mobsters."

The conversations were taped by Gambino soldier and government informant Nicholas "Nicky Skins" Stefanelli, and "it's Ligambi, in his own words, discussing the murderous and the mundane as the wine flowed during a five-hour luncheon meeting at La Griglia, a restaurant in Kenilworth."

A federal judge ruled that he will allow the tapes into evidence at trial but Nicky Skins won't be around to enjoy the show.  Last year the 69-year-old Stefanelli took his own life in a hotel room with a drug overdose two days after whacking video poker machine vendor Joseph Rossi. Apparently, the bloody drama played out after Stefanelli developed remorse over wearing a wire for the feds against his paisanos, and he blamed Rossi who previously snitched for his predicament.

Defendants In Philly Mob Case Want To Prevent Jury From Hearing Secretly Recorded Talks

The racketeering case targeting the Philly mob goes to trial in October, and defense lawyers are scrambling to keep out recordings made by Gambino soldier and government informant Nicholas "Nicky Skins" Stefanelli which captures some of the defendants seemingly discussing "this thing of ours" as reported by George Anastasia for The Inquirer:  "prosecutors contend that the discussions help set the backdrop for the case and that they provide an unguarded account of the way organized crime operates."

Last year the 69-year-old Stefanelli took his own life in a hotel room with a drug overdose two days after whacking video poker machine vendor Joseph Rossi. Apparently, the bloody drama played out after Stefanelli developed remorse over wearing a wire for the feds against his paisanos, and he blamed Rossi who previously snitched for his predicament.

In another pretrial motion in the racketeering case defendant Joseph "Mousie" Massimino wants to exclude a letter he wrote from prison which requests a friend to "get in touch with Michael and tell him to tell his mother to tell her husband that he better get my f---in money" as reported by Wiliam Bender for the Philadelphia Daily News:  "federal prosecutors plan to introduce the letter . . . as evidence that Massimino was conducting mob business from jail."

And a motion by defendant George Borgesi seeks to preclude mobster-turned-informant Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello from testifying at trial that "Borgesi once boasted that he was a 'professional' killer who had been involved in 11 murders" as reported by George Anastasia for The Inquirer.

The basic defense postion behind the pretrial motions is that the racketeering case involves non-violent charges such as gambling, and allowing evidence about alleged violent stuff for which they have not been charged will unfairly make them look bad before the jury.

Last Friday U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno who is presiding over the case granted the government's motion to seat an anonymous jury as reported by David Gambacorta for the Philadelphia Daily News.

Further reading that may be of interest:

Mob Rat Once Charged As Violent Racist

Mob Rat Once Charged As Violent Racist

Nicholas "Nicky Skins" Stefanelli, the Gambino soldier who wore a wire for the G-men until committing suicide earlier this year, once was charged by federal prosecutors for his alleged role in beating a black man in a landmark civil rights case.

On September 30, 1972 the victim, Robert L. Chavers, was eating at Ed's Diner in the white North Ward section of Newark, NJ, and Stefanelli and two other reputed Gambino mobsters allegedly beat him because they did not want black people at the eatery as reported in a March 8, 1975 article ("2 Are Guilty of Violating Civil Rights of a Black") for The Associated Press.

Stefanelli and the two others, Robert Bisaccia and Louis Fulco, were charged by the United States Task Force Against Organized Crime with violating the victim's civil rights under the public accomodations statute, and the case represented the first time that the Task Force had used the law against reputed mobsters in New Jersey.

A hung jury resulted in a mistrial against the trio, and the charge later was dismissed against Stefanelli although his co-defendants Bisaccia and Fulco pled guilty during a second trial against them.

Stefanelli, previously convicted on heroin trafficking and truck robbery charges, was a busy beaver for the FBI in recent years as he secretly recorded meetings with alleged mobsters from the North Jersey crew of the Philadelphia Mafia, the New England Mafia and his own Gambino family.

Last February the 69-year-old Stefanelli took his own life in a hotel room with a drug overdose two days after whacking video poker machine vendor Joseph Rossi. Apparently, the bloody drama played out after Stefanelli developed remorse over wearing a wire for the feds against his paisanos, and he blamed Rossi who previously snitched for his predicament.

No Bail For Anthony DiNunzio

Anthony DiNunzio, the reputed boss of the Patriarca crime family who is based in Boston, MA, will stew in jail as he awaits trial for his alleged role in shaking down jiggle joints in Providence, RI as reported by Milton J. Valencia for The Boston Globe: 

US Magistrate Judge David L. Martin agreed with prosecutors that DiNunzio should be held without bail, saying he faces severe punishment and he has the potential of violence and intimidation of witnesses in his case.  "There does seem there may be some desire to take revenge on those who have broken the code of silence,"’ Martin said, adding: "He is, undisputed by the defense at this point, to be the head of organized crime in New England."

Apparently DiNunzio commanded little respect within his organization based on evidence unveiled by federal prosecutors at yesterday's bail hearing as reported by Laurel J. Sweet for the Boston Herald:  "one frustrated soldier of reputed godfather Anthony DiNunzio grous[ed] to another mafioso who was wearing an FBI wire that the new boss was incompetent, 'nuts' and dangerously careless, while yet another disloyal gangster was vowing to go it alone."  The complainers were reputed capo Edward Lato and another identified by the feds only as "Mr. S," and the wired informant apparently was Gambino soldier Nicholas "Nicky Skins" Stefanelli who last February took his own life in a hotel room with a drug overdose two days after whacking video poker machine vendor Joseph Rossi.

Stefanelli also recorded meetings with reputed North Jersey mobsters which has led the feds to believe that Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino still is the top dog for the Philadelphia Mafia.

Feds: Joey Merlino Still Runs Philly Mob

Federal prosecutors identify Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino as the top dog for the Philadelphia Mafia in a court filing in the racketeering case against Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and 11 others as reported by George Anastasia for The Inquirer:  "Ligambi, 72, is described throughout the document as the 'acting boss' of the Philadelphia crime family, a designation to underscore Merlino's status as the recognized leader of the organization."

The feds base their conclusion on a secretly recorded October 2010 meeting during which Joseph "Scoops" Licata -- described as running a North Jersey crew for the Philly mob and a co-defendant in the pending case -- apparently "explained that Merlino is calling the shots from jail" according to the court filing.  The recording presumably was made by Gambino soldier and government informant Nicholas "Nicky Skins" Stefanelli who last February took his own life in a hotel room with a drug overdose two days after whacking video poker machine vendor Joseph Rossi.

The ongoing racketeering case against Ligambi and his co-defendants primarily involves gambling and loansharking allegations, and Merlino has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

Related coverage:

More Charges, More Defendants In Ligambi Case

13 Arrested In Philly Mob Bust