Friends of Ours

Feds Fear Jail House Cat Fight Between Rivals

The federal detention center in Philadelphia, PA currently is housing reputed Philly mob boss Joe "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and reputed Lucchese soldier Nicky Scarfo Jr. as they await trial in their respective cases, and apparently there's no love lost between the two after a Ligambi crew allegedly attempted to whack Scarfo on Halloween night in 1989 as reported by George Anastasia from The Inquirer.

Ligambi is the lead defendant in a gambling case brought last May, and Scarfo -- the son of former Philly mob boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo -- is the lead defendant in an extortion case brought last November.

A pox on both their houses.

A Bad Year For The Philly Mob

2011 was a bad year for South Philly mobsters, and George Anastasia from The Inquirer and Dave Schratweiser from WTXF take a look back at the indictments which targeted reputed Philly mob boss Joe "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and reputed Lucchese soldier Nicky Scarfo Jr.

Ligambi was the lead defendant in a gambling case brought last May, and Scarfo -- the son of former Philly mob boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo -- was the lead defendant in an extortion case brought last November.

Of course, it all could get worse for the Philly mob in 2012.

Three gangland murders during Ligambi's alleged reign -- consigliere Ron Turchi, associate John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto and associate Raymond "Long John" Martorano -- remain unsolved, and Louis "Bent Finger Louie" Monacello, one of Ligambi's co-defendants in the gambling case, apparently is cooperating with the feds which may shed some light on the bloody underworld in the City of Brotherly Love.

Nicky Junior Says Mob Name Jails Him

Last month the feds indicted Nicodemo Scarfo Jr. and 12 others for their alleged roles in the extortionate takeover and systematic looting of the publicly-traded mortgage company FirstPlus Financial Group, Inc., and yesterday a judge ruled that the reputed Lucchese mobster "is too dangerous for bail" as reported by Lynda Cohen for Press of Atlantic City.

And of course the mob scion -- his father is former reputed Philly boss Little Nicky -- is whining about it all.

Defense attorney Mike Riley argued that "the government is continuing to visit the sins of the father upon the son":  "Mr. Scarfo has a recognizable name that should be judged on his own rather than being linked to the alleged activities of his incarcerated father."  

Daddy's little boy sounds like a cry baby.

Recorded Conversations Haunt Mob Defendants

You just never know who's listening.

In May 2010 the New Jersey Attorney General's Office busted an alleged $2.2 billion Lucchese gambling ring, and in the course of the investigation collected 28,790 oral communications in their homes and cars which the defendants hope to exclude from evidence at trial in a Hail Mary-style motion as reported by Ben Horowitz for The Star-Ledger:  "the defense wants to examine the eavesdropping devices to learn whether they can comply with a rule limiting bugs to two minutes unless criminal activity is discussed."

Thirty-four suspects were busted pursuant to the investigation, and three already have pled guilty.

Among the remaining defendants are reputed NY-based Lucchese leaders Joseph DiNapoli and Matthew Madonna, and reputed NJ-based family overseers Ralph Perna and Nicodemo Scarfo Jr.

Last month the feds indicted Scarfo and 12 others for their alleged roles in the extortionate takeover and systematic looting of the publicly-traded mortgage company FirstPlus Financial Group, Inc.  Nicky Jr. is the son of 81-year-old Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo who is the former reputed boss of the Philadelphia Mafia now serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Georgia following his 1988 racketeering conviction.

Imprisoned Mob Bosses Evade Indictment

Last month the feds indicted reputed Lucchese mobster Nicodemo Scarfo Jr. and 12 others for their alleged roles in the extortionate takeover and systematic looting of the publicly-traded mortgage company FirstPlus Financial Group, Inc., and the feds further identified Junior's father Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, former boss of the Philadelphia Mafia, and surrogate uncle Vic Amuso, reputed boss of the Lucchese family, as unindicted coconspirators.  George Anastasia from The Philadelphia Inquirer explains that the pair likely were not charged in the alleged scheme because they're already caged for life.