Friends of Ours

Feds Accuse Neil Messina In 1992 Murder

Among the 127 suspected mobsters busted in last January's record raid is reputed Bonanno associate Neil Messina, and relying upon the cooperation of two flipped wiseguys -- ex-Bonanno associate Nicky Lanza and ex-Colombo associate Peter Tagliavia -- the feds accuse Messina of killing a man during a failed 1992 home invasion robbery as reported by Mitchel Maddux for the New York Post.

Colombo Capo Anthony Russo Flips

The Colombo family is falling apart.

Anthony "Big Anthony" Russo, a reputed Colombo family capo arrested last month with over a hundred other suspected mobsters, has wised up and now is playing for Team America as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News:  "'It's another nail in the Colombo family's coffin,' said a knowledgeable source.  'Their entire leadership is gone.'" 

Russo "is believed to have personal knowledge about a vast array of its illegal activities" including "the 1993 murder of Colombo member Joseph Scopo" and "an extortion scheme to shake down the Gambino crime family" as reported by Mitchel Maddux for the New York Post.

Big Anthony joins a growing roster of reputed Colombo mobsters who reportedly are dishing dirt including Sebastiano "Sebby" Saracino, Frankie "Blue Eyes" Sparaco, Paul "Paulie Guns" Bevacqua, Dino "Big Dino" Calabro, Tommy McLaughlin and Peter Tagliavia.

Talk about family dysfunction.

The Colombo Family Brings Down Itself

Earlier this month the feds arrested 32 suspected Colombo mobsters -- including the family's entire leadership, four captains and eight soldiers -- in a record roundup of reputed Mafia figures, and the G-men apparently had a little help from their friends as reported by Brad Hamilton for the New York Post:

Tommy McLaughlin and Peter Tagliavia were exactly the kind of up-and-coming associates needed to retool the once-proud Colombos:  young, tough, prison-tested and ambitious.  Each had survived shootouts during the family's brutal internal war in the 1990s, which decimated the clan.  Each was considered a stand-up guy.

Instead, they and a third turncoat, Frankie "Blue Eyes" Sparaco, have helped bring down the entire leadership of the Colombos, including former street boss Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli, who was busted last year and faces murder and racketeering charges, and the man who took over that role, Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo.

Other suspected Colombo turncoats include reputed soldier Sebastiano "Sebby" Saracino as reported by John Marzulli for the Daily News and reputed capo Dino Calabro as reported by Jerry Capeci for The Huffington Post.

Read more:

"Nephew of Top Mobster Aids in Colombo Family Takedown" by Jerry Capeci for The Huffington Post