Friends of Ours

The Mafia Commission Is Out Of Commission

The Mafia Commission, the governing body comprised of the bosses from each of New York's five crime families, has not met in twenty-five years according to testimony last week from ex-Bonanno boss Joseph Massino at the racketeering trial against the Bonanno's reputed current boss Vincent Basciano as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News: 

Massino said in Brooklyn Federal Court that the last meeting of all five heads was just before former Gambino boss Paul Castellano was whacked outside Sparks steakhouse in midtown. "There ain't no commission," Massino said. "The last commission we had I was at in 1985 in November. When Paul Castellano got killed in December of 1985, there was never another commission meeting there." At the time of his death, Castellano was on trial with fellow crime bosses in the so-called Commission Case. The mob heads were all convicted of racketeering and sentenced to life in prison. But Castellano's slaying apparently sent a chilling message to aspiring bosses and they ended the get-togethers.

The boys still communicate, just not so formally.

Tony Roach Dead At 71

Anthony "Tony Roach" Rampino, the Gambino mobster whom law enforcement suspected was involved in John Gotti's 1985 coup against Paul Castellano and the 1980 revenge killing of John Favara who accidentally ran over Gotti's 12-year-old son, died yesterday as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News:  "The colorful mob character had been suffering from heart and respiratory ailments."  At the time of his death  Rampino was serving a 25-to-life sentence on a 1987 heroin trafficking conviction.  Mark Feldman, a former federal prosecutor, calls Rampino "as Mafia as a guy gets without being a made member."  Rampino never was inducted into the Gambino family over concerns about his drug use, and he earned the moniker "The Roach" because he smoked marijuana joints down to the very last bit.

Church Funerals For Mobsters Just Not Right

Earlier this month slain Montreal Mafia patriarch Nicolo Rizzuto was afforded a proper Catholic burial which has raised some eyebrows as reported by John Longhurst for the Winnipeg Free Press: "I know the church is supposed to be a hospital for sinners, not a rest home for the saints. And, like a family home, it's a place that has to take you in when you've got no place left to go. But still, it seemed wrong for Rizzuto's funeral to be held in a chuch. How could someone who was involved in murder, drug trafficking and other crimes be given a proper religious send-off?" Longhurst points out that not all mobsters have received their sendoff to the great hereafter with a sacred blessing, and among those previously denied a church funeral were John Gotti, Paul Castellano, Carmine Galante and Frank DeCicco. Of course, everyone knows that things are done differently in Quebec where the Montreal Mafia and dirty politicians have reigned for decades as reported by Andrew Chung for The Star: "Quebec has been beset by revelation after revelation of corruption and ethical malpractice, involving biker gangs, the mafia and – most ubiquitously – the construction industry. The miasma has found its ways into city halls, union boardrooms, and even the premier's office." And now even the Catholic Church can be added to the fallen institutions in Montreal which cannot be trusted by the public in light of its inexplicable decision to provide an incorrigible degenerate mob boss like Nicolo Rizzuto a sacred resting place. The Church has done nothing more than continue the secular legitimization of the Devil's chosen. The Mafia long has bastardized Catholicism but to quote Bob Dylan from his song Masters of War: "even Jesus would never forgive what you do."

This Family Of Mine

Victoria Gotti is out with This Family of Mine: What It Was Like Growing Up Gotti, and Tom Topousis for the New York Post reports that the memoir "tells the story of her parents' abusive childhoods; her 'Dapper Don' father's notorious career in the Mafia; her traumatizing marriage to a mobster her father warned her not to marry; and her father's decline in prison and death behind bars":

When asked how she accepts that her father directly or indirectly killed people, she replied, "When you chose that life, I think you know what you're signing up for . . . I think he knew going in what was expected of him . . . I believe he knew that there was no living happily ever after. And I don't think he cared.

The Mafia Princess appears with her siblings on "48 Hours Mystery" this Saturday on CBS:

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Gotti Family Photos

"still alive, still armed and still dangerous"

There's no doubt by staff writers John Marzulli, Thomas Zambito and Greg B. Smith from the Daily News that New York City's five Mafia families "are still alive, still armed and still dangerous" in the 21st Century, and they caution against buying into the myth that the mob is dead:

In reality, the mob somehow survives, transforming, changing, adapting to the new economies and technologies — sometimes a jump quicker than law enforcement. "As the economy goes, these guys go," said Michael Gaeta, supervisor of the New York FBI's organized crime unit. "Despite our attacks, they've managed to adapt." Strategically, law enforcement sources say, the mob is closer to its roots, returning to the shadows, avoiding the public walk-talks that brought law enforcement to their door. They still reap ill-gotten gains from traditional sources. They still have some control over corrupt contractors and unions, and illegal gambling continues as a primary source of wealth. They've also diversified, crafting new scams befitting a new century.

The Daily News is running a three-day series examining the current state of affairs for each of the Big Apple's five Mafia families, and today Thomas Zambito takes a look at the Gambino crime family and Greg B. Smith sniffs around the Genovese crime family.  And to bring folks up to speed the Daily News today also provides a timeline of significant mob events spanning from September 10, 1931 (Charles "Lucky" Luciano established the so-called Mafia Commission by which the five families govern themselves) to July 20, 2004 (the Bonanno's Joseph Massino is convicted and becomes the first sitting mob boss to sing).

Gambino Associate Stays In Jail

A New York judge has rejected the plea by 70-year-old Gambino associate Anthony "Tony Roach" Rampino for early release from jail according to a story by Jose Martinez from the Daily News.  Rampino currently is serving 25-to-life on a 1987 conviction for heroin trafficking; however, he argued that the subsequent 2004 repeal of the draconian Rockefeller drug laws pursuant to which he originally was sentenced warranted a reduction on his time particularly in light of his poor health.  The judge was not moved, and she said:  "Defendant's medical condition or his age would not prevent him from committing a crime or conspiring to do so if released from prison."

Law enforcement authorities allege that Rampino was involved in the 1985 assassination of then-family boss Paul Castellano and the 1980 revenge killing of John Favara who accidentally had run over and killed John Gotti's 12-year-old son.  Mark Feldman, a former federal prosecutor, calls Rampino "as Mafia as a guy gets without being a made member."  Rampino never was inducted into the Gambino family over concerns about his drug use, and he earned the nickname "The Roach" because he smoked every bit of a marijuana joint.