With a roster of names like Jimmy the Weasel, Tony the Ant, and Flipper Milano, you might think of characters from a kids cartoon. Well, fuhgeddaboudit. They're all West Coast mobsters. And, while cement shoes and "made men" are typically associated with New Jersey, New York and Chicago, plenty of Cosa Nostra action went down in the West. Here are five hideouts where you can get a piece of the "family" business.
1. The Mob Museum, Las Vegas
Located in the former federal courthouse where mobsters such as Tony Spilotro and Lefty Rosenthal were prosecuted, this museum tells the story of organized crime and the authorities who tried to shut it down. Listen to wire-taps of mobsters, join a police lineup and wince at graphic photos of mob hits. 300 Stewart Ave., (702) 229-2734, www.themobmuseum.org.
2. Romolo's Cannoli, San Mateo
After icing Paulie in "The Godfather," Peter Clemenza turns to Rocco and says, "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli." Drop in and bump off a couple of these rich Sicilian pastries. Filled with bourbon vanilla bean ice cream, or ricotta cream blended with sugar and spice, this is an offer you can't refuse. Closed Monday and Tuesday. 81 37th Ave., (650) 574-0625, www.romolosfactory.com.
3. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood
When Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was suspected of skimming money from the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, his East Coast pals gave him the Moe Green Special - death by bullet in the eye - at his girlfriend's Beverly Hills home. Come pay your respects at the tomb where Bugsy is taking a permanent "dirt nap"; the inscription reads "In loving memory from the family." 6000 Santa Monica Blvd., (323) 469-1181, www.hollywoodforever.com.
4. Capo's, Las Vegas
Knock on the door; a peephole pops open, and a heavy Italian accent asks if "You gotta reservashun?" With blood-red booths, chandeliers dripping crystals, and live Sinatra music daily, this "luxury mafia-chic" restaurant is the perfect spot for a couple of goodfellas and their molls to grab a bite. 5675 W. Sahara Ave., (702) 364-2276, www.caposrestaurant.com.
5. Cal Neva Resort, Crystal Bay, Nevada
Looking to hide out? Head for the tunnels below Cal Neva, the first legal casino in the United States. When Frank Sinatra owned this pad in the '60s, he dug tunnels from the casino to private cottages, so he and his favorite guys and dolls - including Marilyn Monroe, Joe Kennedy and Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana - could move about discreetly. Tour the tunnels Tue.-Sun. 2 Stateline Road, (800) 233-5551, www.calnevaresort.com.
Thanks to Diane Susan Petty
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Too Many Mob Museums in Las Vegas?
On a recent Sunday afternoon, Jim Talbot of South Deerfield, Mass., emerged from the Mob Attraction in the Tropicana Las Vegas to give it a thumbs-up for its blend of information and entertainment.
A few hours later, Carol Fast of Santa Ana, Calif., stepped out of the Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas and praised it for emphasizing history and going light on the hokum. But both said they had seen enough organized crime for one trip.
"I wouldn't want to go to both," Fast said. "There are so many things to do in Las Vegas, you just have to pick and choose."
Talbot, who had not previously heard of the downtown museum, showed no interest in taking a look. "I am only here for five days, so I don't want to go to two attraction of the same type," he said.
With the official opening of the museum on Feb. 14, followed by the full reopening of the rechristened attraction a couple of weeks later, the city now faces a more subtle form of mob warfare than the days of when business rivals could end up taking a long dirt nap in the desert.
Management at both attractions acknowledge that a only small portion of their audiences are so enthralled with all things Mafia that they will visit both, so snagging that single visit will play a crucial role in meeting the 300,000 annual attendance targets that each has announced.
"I just love mob stuff," said Las Vegas resident Sandra Fulton, the only one of about 20 people interviewed after their tours who said they had seen both. But more typical is Mary Dawn Vandebush of Port St. Lucie, Fla., who noted after going through the museum, "It was worth doing, but now I'm all mobbed out."
A local professor says it's a matter of time. "When people come to Las Vegas, it is not only an issue of getting them to spend money but also a matter of spending time," said University of Nevada, Las Vegas marketing professor Jack Schibrowsky.
Compounding the marketing challenge for each: rampant mistaken identity, considering each has similar attractions and the same first name.
Museum executive director Jonathan Ullman said his people regularly receive phone calls for the attraction.
Earlier this month, attraction marketing director Spence Johnston met patrons who were unhappy that the tickets cost more than advertised. After talking with them, he discovered that they had confused his prices with those of the museum. Last year, Johnston recalled, a TV crew showed up at the attraction's foyer looking for a museum news conference. "Of course, a concern of ours is confusion in the marketplace," Ullman said. "Visitors may know they want to come here but may not know which location it is."
Jay Bloom, who created the predecessor of the Mob Experience but was ousted last year because of its financial problems, frequently depicted an us-versus-them showdown. However, attraction and museum officials now shy away from predicting whether there are enough Mafianados to support both.
The experience, which opened one year ago, quickly buckled under the weight of heavy debt and attendance much lower than expected. For a while, everything but the gift shop and the artifact displays were closed as cost- cutting measures. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing came in October. The attraction was brought out of bankruptcy early this year with the help of fresh dollars by a previous investor, concessions by a major contractor and a rewritten lease by Tropicana Las Vegas.
Hollywood's enduring romance with the mob, plus the success of television series such as "The Sopranos" and "Boardwalk Empire" create what they consider a proven market.
Layered on that is the grip that the real thing, not a nostalgic re-creation, exercised for more than three decades over many of the city's casinos and hotels starting in the 1940s. Even today, longtime residents or visitors speak wistfully about the indulgent service and naughtiness of the Old Vegas under mob control compared with the bottom-line image of today's corporate, Securities and Exchange Commission-registered management. Of course, former Mayor Oscar Goodman, the museum's chief sponsor, made his reputation as a mob lawyer and frequently regales audiences with tales about his clients.
Then there's the tourist base: 40 million visitors to Las Vegas each year.
"Las Vegas is the place that could support both if any place could," said Tom Zaller, president of Imagine Exhibitions Inc., who played a major role in rebuilding the experience into the attraction once it emerged from bankruptcy proceedings.
For example, he noted that audiences have been large enough to support several magic acts and multiple Cirque du Soleil productions on the Strip.
Then again, he recalled there were several competitors to the "Bodies" exhibition on human anatomy that his company helped to create, which helped determine where the show would be booked. "When we saw one of the other versions in a city, we dropped consideration of it right away," he said.
The Mob Attraction and the museum, officially titled the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, have taken divergent paths in trying to create distinct identities and get people in the door.
Museum officials often use the word "quality" to describe their approach, from the historic status of the restored federal courthouse to the attempt to cover a broad range of organized crime history with dozens of descriptive panels that explain a topic in three paragraphs or less. For example, the museum in March touted the Internal Revenue Service's donation of a rare photo of the agents who worked on the tax evasion case that sent legendary Chicago gangster Al Capone to prison.
The museum also has lower ticket prices, particularly for locals, and is pushing individual and corporate memberships -- a standard cash-generating tool for museums -- along with events for several groups they hope will sway visitors. In March, for example, the museum hosted cab drivers, letting them tour the building with refreshments in hand, while handing out mementos such as logoed air fresheners to hang in their cars.
To land customers, Schibrowsky said, "The (hotel) concierges are crucial."
The museum has been far more active on that front, said Doug Ward, the current president of the Southern Nevada Hotel Concierge Association. While receptions for concierges may put the museum in the "forefront" of a concierge's mind, "A lot of factors come into play when we assist our guests," he said.
Johnston said the attraction has focused on other forms of marketing, but plans to work more with concierges in the future. Further, it will start to woo meeting and party planners to book the 5,000-square-foot space that the attraction created when it eliminated some of the prebankruptcy exhibits.
The attraction has also been placing discount coupons in tourist-oriented publications to help bring its admission price closer to that of the museum. And it's selling tickets through Tix4Tonight discount booths.
Inside, the attraction promotes its artifacts as coming directly from descendents of prominent mobsters, such as handwritten letters by Meyer Lansky. But its signature is the front part of the attraction, where visitors pass through sets and play a game with character actors that determines whether or not they get "whacked" at the end.
Perhaps most important, the attraction is in one of the busiest parts of the Strip, albeit in the back of the Tropicana Las Vegas.
"Let's face it, the attraction has a better location," Schibrowsky said. "You really have to look for the Mob Museum," a couple of blocks north of the Fremont Street canopy.
Veteran marketing executive Tom Letizia expects advertising to play a critical role in the struggle for supremacy. "The one that has the best ads, and you will be able to feel it just by seeing it, they will do the best overall," he said.
Without predicting which might best the other, Schibrowsky concluded, "I suspect they are competing, but they don't offer the same experiences. I would say that people would go to the attraction more for entertainment, while people going to the museum are looking more for historic accuracy."
But Sandra Fulton, the rare person to visit both and understand they are separate entities, came away with a different conclusion. "I would say they are both pretty much the same, pretty much equal," she said.
Thanks to Tim O'Reiley
A few hours later, Carol Fast of Santa Ana, Calif., stepped out of the Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas and praised it for emphasizing history and going light on the hokum. But both said they had seen enough organized crime for one trip.
"I wouldn't want to go to both," Fast said. "There are so many things to do in Las Vegas, you just have to pick and choose."
Talbot, who had not previously heard of the downtown museum, showed no interest in taking a look. "I am only here for five days, so I don't want to go to two attraction of the same type," he said.
With the official opening of the museum on Feb. 14, followed by the full reopening of the rechristened attraction a couple of weeks later, the city now faces a more subtle form of mob warfare than the days of when business rivals could end up taking a long dirt nap in the desert.
Management at both attractions acknowledge that a only small portion of their audiences are so enthralled with all things Mafia that they will visit both, so snagging that single visit will play a crucial role in meeting the 300,000 annual attendance targets that each has announced.
"I just love mob stuff," said Las Vegas resident Sandra Fulton, the only one of about 20 people interviewed after their tours who said they had seen both. But more typical is Mary Dawn Vandebush of Port St. Lucie, Fla., who noted after going through the museum, "It was worth doing, but now I'm all mobbed out."
A local professor says it's a matter of time. "When people come to Las Vegas, it is not only an issue of getting them to spend money but also a matter of spending time," said University of Nevada, Las Vegas marketing professor Jack Schibrowsky.
Compounding the marketing challenge for each: rampant mistaken identity, considering each has similar attractions and the same first name.
Museum executive director Jonathan Ullman said his people regularly receive phone calls for the attraction.
Earlier this month, attraction marketing director Spence Johnston met patrons who were unhappy that the tickets cost more than advertised. After talking with them, he discovered that they had confused his prices with those of the museum. Last year, Johnston recalled, a TV crew showed up at the attraction's foyer looking for a museum news conference. "Of course, a concern of ours is confusion in the marketplace," Ullman said. "Visitors may know they want to come here but may not know which location it is."
Jay Bloom, who created the predecessor of the Mob Experience but was ousted last year because of its financial problems, frequently depicted an us-versus-them showdown. However, attraction and museum officials now shy away from predicting whether there are enough Mafianados to support both.
The experience, which opened one year ago, quickly buckled under the weight of heavy debt and attendance much lower than expected. For a while, everything but the gift shop and the artifact displays were closed as cost- cutting measures. A Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing came in October. The attraction was brought out of bankruptcy early this year with the help of fresh dollars by a previous investor, concessions by a major contractor and a rewritten lease by Tropicana Las Vegas.
Hollywood's enduring romance with the mob, plus the success of television series such as "The Sopranos" and "Boardwalk Empire" create what they consider a proven market.
Layered on that is the grip that the real thing, not a nostalgic re-creation, exercised for more than three decades over many of the city's casinos and hotels starting in the 1940s. Even today, longtime residents or visitors speak wistfully about the indulgent service and naughtiness of the Old Vegas under mob control compared with the bottom-line image of today's corporate, Securities and Exchange Commission-registered management. Of course, former Mayor Oscar Goodman, the museum's chief sponsor, made his reputation as a mob lawyer and frequently regales audiences with tales about his clients.
Then there's the tourist base: 40 million visitors to Las Vegas each year.
"Las Vegas is the place that could support both if any place could," said Tom Zaller, president of Imagine Exhibitions Inc., who played a major role in rebuilding the experience into the attraction once it emerged from bankruptcy proceedings.
For example, he noted that audiences have been large enough to support several magic acts and multiple Cirque du Soleil productions on the Strip.
Then again, he recalled there were several competitors to the "Bodies" exhibition on human anatomy that his company helped to create, which helped determine where the show would be booked. "When we saw one of the other versions in a city, we dropped consideration of it right away," he said.
The Mob Attraction and the museum, officially titled the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, have taken divergent paths in trying to create distinct identities and get people in the door.
Museum officials often use the word "quality" to describe their approach, from the historic status of the restored federal courthouse to the attempt to cover a broad range of organized crime history with dozens of descriptive panels that explain a topic in three paragraphs or less. For example, the museum in March touted the Internal Revenue Service's donation of a rare photo of the agents who worked on the tax evasion case that sent legendary Chicago gangster Al Capone to prison.
The museum also has lower ticket prices, particularly for locals, and is pushing individual and corporate memberships -- a standard cash-generating tool for museums -- along with events for several groups they hope will sway visitors. In March, for example, the museum hosted cab drivers, letting them tour the building with refreshments in hand, while handing out mementos such as logoed air fresheners to hang in their cars.
To land customers, Schibrowsky said, "The (hotel) concierges are crucial."
The museum has been far more active on that front, said Doug Ward, the current president of the Southern Nevada Hotel Concierge Association. While receptions for concierges may put the museum in the "forefront" of a concierge's mind, "A lot of factors come into play when we assist our guests," he said.
Johnston said the attraction has focused on other forms of marketing, but plans to work more with concierges in the future. Further, it will start to woo meeting and party planners to book the 5,000-square-foot space that the attraction created when it eliminated some of the prebankruptcy exhibits.
The attraction has also been placing discount coupons in tourist-oriented publications to help bring its admission price closer to that of the museum. And it's selling tickets through Tix4Tonight discount booths.
Inside, the attraction promotes its artifacts as coming directly from descendents of prominent mobsters, such as handwritten letters by Meyer Lansky. But its signature is the front part of the attraction, where visitors pass through sets and play a game with character actors that determines whether or not they get "whacked" at the end.
Perhaps most important, the attraction is in one of the busiest parts of the Strip, albeit in the back of the Tropicana Las Vegas.
"Let's face it, the attraction has a better location," Schibrowsky said. "You really have to look for the Mob Museum," a couple of blocks north of the Fremont Street canopy.
Veteran marketing executive Tom Letizia expects advertising to play a critical role in the struggle for supremacy. "The one that has the best ads, and you will be able to feel it just by seeing it, they will do the best overall," he said.
Without predicting which might best the other, Schibrowsky concluded, "I suspect they are competing, but they don't offer the same experiences. I would say that people would go to the attraction more for entertainment, while people going to the museum are looking more for historic accuracy."
But Sandra Fulton, the rare person to visit both and understand they are separate entities, came away with a different conclusion. "I would say they are both pretty much the same, pretty much equal," she said.
Thanks to Tim O'Reiley
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Catherine Greig's Assets Sought by Feds
Federal prosecutors are trying to freeze the assets of the mobster James (Whitey) Bulger’s girlfriend to cover any fine she may be ordered to pay when she is sentenced for helping him evade the authorities for 16 years. They have asked a judge to order a garnishment of assets belonging to the woman, Catherine Greig, held by Eastern Bank, court documents show. In the filing, the assistant United States attorney Christopher Donato says prosecutors believe Ms. Greig “holds significant assets and/or funds.” She has pleaded guilty to helping Mr. Bulger avoid capture. He has pleaded not guilty to 19 murders.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Salvatore Vitale Offers List of Mob Commandments and Chain of Command at Thomas Gioeli Trial
It was summer 1999, and a meeting between the leadership of the Bonanno and Colombo crime families was under way in an apartment off Third Avenue, in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn. But something was amiss: the seat that should have been taken by William Cutolo Sr., a Colombo underboss, was empty, a former Bonanno underboss testified on Tuesday.
The absence was noted, and then cryptically explained by another Colombo mobster: “You can’t take in this life what’s not yours,” the witness, Salvatore Vitale, recalled the man as saying.
Mr. Vitale, then the underboss of the Bonanno crime family, said he immediately knew what that meant. “I realized then that Wild Bill was dead,” said Mr. Vitale, invoking the nickname of Mr. Cutolo, one of six people whose killings are at the heart of the prosecution of Thomas Gioeli, who prosecutors believe is a former acting boss of the Colombo crime family, and Dino Saracino, who they allege was one of his hit men. The trial of the two men, charged with murder and racketeering, began on Monday.
Mr. Vitale, once known as Good Looking Sal, is admittedly no innocent bystander, nor is he a stranger to the witness stand. Following his arrest in 2003, he quickly began working with the authorities, and his testimony on Tuesday was the seventh time he had taken the stand in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on behalf of the government.
Currently under witness protection, Mr. Vitale has been credited by prosecutors with identifying more than 500 organized crime members and associates. Dozens of them, including Joseph C. Massino, a former Bonanno boss and Mr. Vitale’s brother-in-law, have been imprisoned as a result.
Most of Mr. Vitale’s testimony, under questioning by Christina M. Posa, an assistant United States attorney, amounted to a colorful primer on mob life, as he spoke casually of his nearly 30-year association with the Bonanno family.
At one point, Mr. Vitale was invited off the witness stand to outline the organizational structure of a typical crime family, presented on a large poster board as if it were a boardroom breakdown of a white-collar company. But Mr. Vitale spoke of a criminal hierarchy: the robberies, the loan-sharking, the “hijacking” of trucks carrying “tuna fish, lobster, clothes,” and the homicides.
He offered what amounted to a list of commandments for anyone hoping to succeed and survive in organized crime. “The dos are, ‘Do what you’re told, and you’ll be fine,’ ” he said, underscoring the vital importance of the chain of command in the Bonanno and other crime families.
The chain of command, he emphasized, was essential, especially when murder was involved. “We’re all supposed to be tough guys, we’re all supposed to be shooters,” he said. “But you have to get permission to do something like that.”
Mr. Cutolo disappeared on May 26, 1999; Alphonse Persico, then the boss of the Colombo family, and John DeRoss have been convicted in the killing.
In Mr. Vitale’s four hours on the stand, which included a cross-examination by Carl J. Herman, a lawyer for Mr. Gioeli, he only began to establish Mr. Gioeli’s connection to organized crime.
Mr. Vitale told the court that he had first met Mr. Gioeli, also known as Tommy Shots, when Joel Cacace Sr. — whom prosecutors have called a consigliere, or top mob adviser in the Colombo family — said he wanted Mr. Gioeli to act as a go-between.
“Joe Waverly,” Mr. Vitale said, using a nickname for Mr. Cacace, “had a lot of heat on him — the F.B.I. was all over him,” so he wanted Mr. Gioeli to, in a sense, be his public face.
Several meetings between Mr. Vitale and Mr. Gioeli followed. At some of those meetings, in the mid-1990s, Mr. Vitale said, Mr. Gioeli requested the Bonanno family’s approval, as was customary, of new members the Colombo family was considering. But at the time, the Colombo family’s internal struggle had been raging, and a commission of the top leadership from New York’s main crime families had to halt the Colombo family’s growth.
“When it’s all over the news, all over the newspapers,” Mr. Vitale said of the Colombo power struggle, “it’s bad for business.”
Thanks to Noah Rosenberg
The absence was noted, and then cryptically explained by another Colombo mobster: “You can’t take in this life what’s not yours,” the witness, Salvatore Vitale, recalled the man as saying.
Mr. Vitale, then the underboss of the Bonanno crime family, said he immediately knew what that meant. “I realized then that Wild Bill was dead,” said Mr. Vitale, invoking the nickname of Mr. Cutolo, one of six people whose killings are at the heart of the prosecution of Thomas Gioeli, who prosecutors believe is a former acting boss of the Colombo crime family, and Dino Saracino, who they allege was one of his hit men. The trial of the two men, charged with murder and racketeering, began on Monday.
Mr. Vitale, once known as Good Looking Sal, is admittedly no innocent bystander, nor is he a stranger to the witness stand. Following his arrest in 2003, he quickly began working with the authorities, and his testimony on Tuesday was the seventh time he had taken the stand in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on behalf of the government.
Currently under witness protection, Mr. Vitale has been credited by prosecutors with identifying more than 500 organized crime members and associates. Dozens of them, including Joseph C. Massino, a former Bonanno boss and Mr. Vitale’s brother-in-law, have been imprisoned as a result.
Most of Mr. Vitale’s testimony, under questioning by Christina M. Posa, an assistant United States attorney, amounted to a colorful primer on mob life, as he spoke casually of his nearly 30-year association with the Bonanno family.
At one point, Mr. Vitale was invited off the witness stand to outline the organizational structure of a typical crime family, presented on a large poster board as if it were a boardroom breakdown of a white-collar company. But Mr. Vitale spoke of a criminal hierarchy: the robberies, the loan-sharking, the “hijacking” of trucks carrying “tuna fish, lobster, clothes,” and the homicides.
He offered what amounted to a list of commandments for anyone hoping to succeed and survive in organized crime. “The dos are, ‘Do what you’re told, and you’ll be fine,’ ” he said, underscoring the vital importance of the chain of command in the Bonanno and other crime families.
The chain of command, he emphasized, was essential, especially when murder was involved. “We’re all supposed to be tough guys, we’re all supposed to be shooters,” he said. “But you have to get permission to do something like that.”
Mr. Cutolo disappeared on May 26, 1999; Alphonse Persico, then the boss of the Colombo family, and John DeRoss have been convicted in the killing.
In Mr. Vitale’s four hours on the stand, which included a cross-examination by Carl J. Herman, a lawyer for Mr. Gioeli, he only began to establish Mr. Gioeli’s connection to organized crime.
Mr. Vitale told the court that he had first met Mr. Gioeli, also known as Tommy Shots, when Joel Cacace Sr. — whom prosecutors have called a consigliere, or top mob adviser in the Colombo family — said he wanted Mr. Gioeli to act as a go-between.
“Joe Waverly,” Mr. Vitale said, using a nickname for Mr. Cacace, “had a lot of heat on him — the F.B.I. was all over him,” so he wanted Mr. Gioeli to, in a sense, be his public face.
Several meetings between Mr. Vitale and Mr. Gioeli followed. At some of those meetings, in the mid-1990s, Mr. Vitale said, Mr. Gioeli requested the Bonanno family’s approval, as was customary, of new members the Colombo family was considering. But at the time, the Colombo family’s internal struggle had been raging, and a commission of the top leadership from New York’s main crime families had to halt the Colombo family’s growth.
“When it’s all over the news, all over the newspapers,” Mr. Vitale said of the Colombo power struggle, “it’s bad for business.”
Thanks to Noah Rosenberg
Thomas Gioeli, Reputed Former Acting Boss of the Columbos, on Trial for Alledged Role in Killing of Police Officer and 5 Others
The off-duty police officer was ambushed by gunmen, and left to die in the street outside his home in Brooklyn.
For two other men, the end came farther from home: they were killed separately in the basement of a man they had trusted, prosecutors say. One was a mob associate who wanted out of the life; he was shot once in the back of the head, never to be seen again. The other was an underboss who apparently had accumulated too much clout for comfort; his body was not found for nearly a decade.
Those killings and three others, all from the 1990s, were described on Monday in the opening statement of Cristina M. Posa, a federal prosecutor. They are at the heart of the prosecution of Thomas Gioeli,
whom officials called the former acting boss of the Colombo crime family, and Dino Saracino, who the authorities say was one of his hit men, on murder and racketeering charges in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.
Ms. Posa said the murder crew was methodical in its preparations, trailing potential victims for days to determine their habits, luring them to the places where they would be killed, disposing of evidence and disposing of bodies. “As professional killers, that was their specialty — committing murder and getting away with it — until today,” Ms. Posa told the jurors, many of whom said during jury selection that they had known little of the ways of the mob.
The prosecution plans to call cooperating witnesses who will describe how the killings were carried out.
Of the six killings, the one shrouded in the most mystery was that of the police officer, Ralph C. Dols, 28, in 1997.
Officer Dols had married a woman, Kim T. Kennaugh, who had been previously married to three men associated with the Colombo crime family. One of them, Enrico Carrini, was killed in 1987; the most recent former husband was Joel Cacace, also known as Joe Waverly, described by officials as a consigliere, or top mob adviser. Mr. Cacace is awaiting trial on murder and other charges.
Federal prosecutors have accused Mr. Cacace of ordering Mr. Saracino and others to kill Officer Dols because it was embarrassing that Ms. Kennaugh would leave a powerful mobster for someone in law enforcement. Mr. Saracino, known as Little Dino, and Mr. Gioeli, known as Tommy Shots, were among those charged with the murder of the underboss, William (Wild Bill) Cutolo Sr., who was a union official. His body was found on Long Island in 2008 after the authorities were tipped off by an informer.
Mr. Gioeli’s lawyer, Carl J. Herman, said in his opening remarks on Monday that the prosecution had built its case based on the work of a desperate federal agent who relied on cooperating witnesses who had reason to lie.
“The F.B.I. since the mid-’90s has been attempting to gather evidence on Gioeli by surveillance,” Mr. Herman said. “Sometimes they get a little desperate, your government, and that’s what happened in this case.”
Samuel M. Braverman, a lawyer for Mr. Saracino, said there was no physical evidence that the homicides even happened. He said the prosecution could only present the testimony of sociopaths who could not be trusted.
“I’m not here to tell you Dino is a choirboy,” Mr. Braverman said of Mr. Saracino. “He isn’t. I’m not here to tell you he didn’t commit the murders because he’s a nice guy. I’m telling you he didn’t commit the murders because he didn’t commit the murders.”
This list of people who were killed for crossing the Colombo family is long. In 1991, Frank Marasa, known as Chestnut, was killed to avenge the death of a Colombo family member, prosecutors said. A year later, John Minerva took the wrong side in a war that split the Colombo family. He was killed in his car with another man, Michael Imbergamo, prosecutors said.
In 1995, Richard Greaves wanted to leave the Colombo mob, so he had to be eliminated, prosecutors said. In 1997, Officer Dols was killed. Mr. Cutolo’s killing was in 1999.
Katherine Kelley, an F.B.I. agent, said she was present at the wooded lot where Mr. Cutolo’s body was finally discovered; the toes of his shoes protruded above ground. She led a team of excavators, who, with small tools, removed the body, which she said was covered with bits of lime, its blackened and skeletal limbs hogtied behind its back.
Judge Brian M. Cogan ordered a short break during Ms. Kelley’s testimony. Mr. Gioeli, looking avuncular in a navy shirt, a tan sweater vest and a tie, smiled and waved to friends and family in the audience. He blew them kisses.
Mr. Saracino, wearing a crisp blue shirt and tie, his head shaved, offered no expression. He and Mr. Gioeli face life in prison if convicted.
Thanks to Mosi Secret
For two other men, the end came farther from home: they were killed separately in the basement of a man they had trusted, prosecutors say. One was a mob associate who wanted out of the life; he was shot once in the back of the head, never to be seen again. The other was an underboss who apparently had accumulated too much clout for comfort; his body was not found for nearly a decade.
Those killings and three others, all from the 1990s, were described on Monday in the opening statement of Cristina M. Posa, a federal prosecutor. They are at the heart of the prosecution of Thomas Gioeli,
whom officials called the former acting boss of the Colombo crime family, and Dino Saracino, who the authorities say was one of his hit men, on murder and racketeering charges in Federal District Court in Brooklyn.Ms. Posa said the murder crew was methodical in its preparations, trailing potential victims for days to determine their habits, luring them to the places where they would be killed, disposing of evidence and disposing of bodies. “As professional killers, that was their specialty — committing murder and getting away with it — until today,” Ms. Posa told the jurors, many of whom said during jury selection that they had known little of the ways of the mob.
The prosecution plans to call cooperating witnesses who will describe how the killings were carried out.
Of the six killings, the one shrouded in the most mystery was that of the police officer, Ralph C. Dols, 28, in 1997.
Officer Dols had married a woman, Kim T. Kennaugh, who had been previously married to three men associated with the Colombo crime family. One of them, Enrico Carrini, was killed in 1987; the most recent former husband was Joel Cacace, also known as Joe Waverly, described by officials as a consigliere, or top mob adviser. Mr. Cacace is awaiting trial on murder and other charges.
Federal prosecutors have accused Mr. Cacace of ordering Mr. Saracino and others to kill Officer Dols because it was embarrassing that Ms. Kennaugh would leave a powerful mobster for someone in law enforcement. Mr. Saracino, known as Little Dino, and Mr. Gioeli, known as Tommy Shots, were among those charged with the murder of the underboss, William (Wild Bill) Cutolo Sr., who was a union official. His body was found on Long Island in 2008 after the authorities were tipped off by an informer.
Mr. Gioeli’s lawyer, Carl J. Herman, said in his opening remarks on Monday that the prosecution had built its case based on the work of a desperate federal agent who relied on cooperating witnesses who had reason to lie.
“The F.B.I. since the mid-’90s has been attempting to gather evidence on Gioeli by surveillance,” Mr. Herman said. “Sometimes they get a little desperate, your government, and that’s what happened in this case.”
Samuel M. Braverman, a lawyer for Mr. Saracino, said there was no physical evidence that the homicides even happened. He said the prosecution could only present the testimony of sociopaths who could not be trusted.
“I’m not here to tell you Dino is a choirboy,” Mr. Braverman said of Mr. Saracino. “He isn’t. I’m not here to tell you he didn’t commit the murders because he’s a nice guy. I’m telling you he didn’t commit the murders because he didn’t commit the murders.”
This list of people who were killed for crossing the Colombo family is long. In 1991, Frank Marasa, known as Chestnut, was killed to avenge the death of a Colombo family member, prosecutors said. A year later, John Minerva took the wrong side in a war that split the Colombo family. He was killed in his car with another man, Michael Imbergamo, prosecutors said.
In 1995, Richard Greaves wanted to leave the Colombo mob, so he had to be eliminated, prosecutors said. In 1997, Officer Dols was killed. Mr. Cutolo’s killing was in 1999.
Katherine Kelley, an F.B.I. agent, said she was present at the wooded lot where Mr. Cutolo’s body was finally discovered; the toes of his shoes protruded above ground. She led a team of excavators, who, with small tools, removed the body, which she said was covered with bits of lime, its blackened and skeletal limbs hogtied behind its back.
Judge Brian M. Cogan ordered a short break during Ms. Kelley’s testimony. Mr. Gioeli, looking avuncular in a navy shirt, a tan sweater vest and a tie, smiled and waved to friends and family in the audience. He blew them kisses.
Mr. Saracino, wearing a crisp blue shirt and tie, his head shaved, offered no expression. He and Mr. Gioeli face life in prison if convicted.
Thanks to Mosi Secret
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
"Kill the Irishman" Hits Theatres on St. Patrick's Day Weekend
Cleveland is in for a special celebration this St. Patrick's Day weekend with the Anchor Bay Films re-release of the action-packed story, Kill the Irishman, about the rise and fall of real-life Irish-American mobster, Danny Greene. The film stars Ray Stevenson (g.i. joe:Retaliation)(g.i. joe:Thor)(g.i. joe:"Rome"), Val Kilmer (Heat) and Christopher Walken (Catch Me If You Can). Written by Jonathan Hensleigh (The Punisher) and Jeremy Walters, directed by Hensleigh, and inspired by Rick Porello's true crime account "To Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia," Kill The Irishman also stars Vincent D'Onofrio ("law & order:Criminal Intent"), Linda Cardellini (Brokeback Mountain) and Paul Sorvino (Goodfellas).
Kill The Irishman is "an effortless crowd-pleaser... one of the year's best films!" wrote Omar Moore of Examiner.com. People magazine's Alynda Wheat added Kill The Irishman is "a gripping criminal enterprise," while the San Francisco Chronicle's Mick La Salle said "Ray Stevenson has enough testosterone to power a city block."
Over the summer of 1976, thirty-six bombs detonate in the heart of Cleveland while a turf war raged between Irish mobster Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson) and the Italian mafia. Based on a true story, Kill the Irishman chronicles Greene's heroic rise from a tough Cleveland neighborhood to become an enforcer in the local mob. Turning the tables on loan shark Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken) and allying himself with gangster John Nardi (Vincent D'Onofrio), Greene stops taking orders from the mafia and pursues his own power. Surviving countless assassination attempts from the mob and killing off anyone who went after him in retaliation, Danny Greene's infamous invincibility and notorious fearlessness eventually led to the collapse of mafia syndicates across the U.S. and also earned him the status of the man the mob couldn't kill.
WHEN: Thursday, March 15th to Sunday, March 18th Check theatre for showtimes
WHERE: Cinemark at Valley View and XD 6001 Canal Road Cleveland, OH 44125
Kill The Irishman is "an effortless crowd-pleaser... one of the year's best films!" wrote Omar Moore of Examiner.com. People magazine's Alynda Wheat added Kill The Irishman is "a gripping criminal enterprise," while the San Francisco Chronicle's Mick La Salle said "Ray Stevenson has enough testosterone to power a city block."
Over the summer of 1976, thirty-six bombs detonate in the heart of Cleveland while a turf war raged between Irish mobster Danny Greene (Ray Stevenson) and the Italian mafia. Based on a true story, Kill the Irishman chronicles Greene's heroic rise from a tough Cleveland neighborhood to become an enforcer in the local mob. Turning the tables on loan shark Shondor Birns (Christopher Walken) and allying himself with gangster John Nardi (Vincent D'Onofrio), Greene stops taking orders from the mafia and pursues his own power. Surviving countless assassination attempts from the mob and killing off anyone who went after him in retaliation, Danny Greene's infamous invincibility and notorious fearlessness eventually led to the collapse of mafia syndicates across the U.S. and also earned him the status of the man the mob couldn't kill.
WHEN: Thursday, March 15th to Sunday, March 18th Check theatre for showtimes
WHERE: Cinemark at Valley View and XD 6001 Canal Road Cleveland, OH 44125
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Mob Wives Chicago Cast
As the second season of VH1′s ratings hit “Mob Wives” continues to captivate fans with the never-ending, real-life drama in New York, the network introduces a new group of “Syndicate Sisters” with the debut of the franchise’s first spin-off, “Mob Wives Chicago,” to premiere Spring 2012.
“Mob Wives Chicago” follows the lives of five women allegedly connected to “The Outfit,” Chicago’s version of the Mob, as they bear the cross for the sins of their Mob-associated fathers. With lives that are right off the pages of a story book, each woman has chosen her own way to live her life in the city that was once home to Al Capone, sometimes in spite of and many times because of who her father is. Along the way these women battle their friends, families and each other as they try to do what’s best for themselves and their children. But ultimately, it is the ghost of their fathers they battle, living and dead, as they try to overcome and persevere in the face of these men’s notorious legacies.
Meet the cast of “Mob Wives Chicago”:
RENEE FECAROTTA RUSSO: Renee is a strong independent businesswoman who was raised by her uncle, “Big John” Fecarotta, following the death of her father. An alleged loan collector and hit man for “The Outfit,” Fecarotta was Renee’s mentor and best friend until being gunned down by fellow mobster Nick Calabrese. Fiercely loyal to his memory, Renee still abides by the “code”: never associate with rats…take it to the grave.
NORA SCHWEIHS: Nora is back in Chicago to take care of some unfinished business. Nora’s father, Frank “The German” Schweihs, was reputed to be one of the most notorious hit men for the Mob. Schwiehs, whose alleged “hits” were not limited to the Mob, has long been rumored to be responsible for the death of Marilyn Monroe. Shortly after his death in 2008, the government confiscated his remains before he could be properly buried. Nora has returned to Chicago to learn the whereabouts of his body. Despite growing up hearing stories of his viciousness and brutality, Nora idolized her father and she continues to defend him… even to his grave.
PIA RIZZA: Pia may have a mouth like a trucker, but she’s spoken zip about her father since she was a little girl. Vincent Rizza was a dirty Chicago cop who worked for the Mob, testified against the Mob and then went into the Witness Protection Program. Pia has struggled all her life to hide from the shame of having a “rat” for a father. It’s been especially difficult to avoid the judgments and finger pointing in a town that celebrates the folk heroes and glory days of the Mob.
CHRISTINA SCOLERI: As an unemployed divorced mother of a 9-year-old, Christina is struggling to provide a stable environment for her daughter. Christina is the daughter of Raymond Janek, a one-time thief and alleged fence for the Mob. Serving 20 years off and on for various offenses, Janek finally went straight in 1987, and his relationship with his daughter remains distant. Christina’s father is a reminder of her own unstable upbringing, and she’s determined not to repeat the sins of her father.
LEAH DESIMONE: Leah is the over-protected daughter of William “Wolf” DeSimone, a supposed “associate” of the Mob, but Leah’s keeping mum. Leah never knew, and knew never to ask what her Dad did for a living. Leaving one day in a suit, Wolf would return days later in street clothes with no explanation and none expected. Now “retired,” Wolf still keeps tabs on his little girl. But as vigilant as he is of her safety, Leah is equally secretive of her Dad’s profession … if you’re “connected,” you NEVER talk about it!
“Mob Wives Chicago” follows the lives of five women allegedly connected to “The Outfit,” Chicago’s version of the Mob, as they bear the cross for the sins of their Mob-associated fathers. With lives that are right off the pages of a story book, each woman has chosen her own way to live her life in the city that was once home to Al Capone, sometimes in spite of and many times because of who her father is. Along the way these women battle their friends, families and each other as they try to do what’s best for themselves and their children. But ultimately, it is the ghost of their fathers they battle, living and dead, as they try to overcome and persevere in the face of these men’s notorious legacies.
Meet the cast of “Mob Wives Chicago”:
RENEE FECAROTTA RUSSO: Renee is a strong independent businesswoman who was raised by her uncle, “Big John” Fecarotta, following the death of her father. An alleged loan collector and hit man for “The Outfit,” Fecarotta was Renee’s mentor and best friend until being gunned down by fellow mobster Nick Calabrese. Fiercely loyal to his memory, Renee still abides by the “code”: never associate with rats…take it to the grave.
NORA SCHWEIHS: Nora is back in Chicago to take care of some unfinished business. Nora’s father, Frank “The German” Schweihs, was reputed to be one of the most notorious hit men for the Mob. Schwiehs, whose alleged “hits” were not limited to the Mob, has long been rumored to be responsible for the death of Marilyn Monroe. Shortly after his death in 2008, the government confiscated his remains before he could be properly buried. Nora has returned to Chicago to learn the whereabouts of his body. Despite growing up hearing stories of his viciousness and brutality, Nora idolized her father and she continues to defend him… even to his grave.
PIA RIZZA: Pia may have a mouth like a trucker, but she’s spoken zip about her father since she was a little girl. Vincent Rizza was a dirty Chicago cop who worked for the Mob, testified against the Mob and then went into the Witness Protection Program. Pia has struggled all her life to hide from the shame of having a “rat” for a father. It’s been especially difficult to avoid the judgments and finger pointing in a town that celebrates the folk heroes and glory days of the Mob.
CHRISTINA SCOLERI: As an unemployed divorced mother of a 9-year-old, Christina is struggling to provide a stable environment for her daughter. Christina is the daughter of Raymond Janek, a one-time thief and alleged fence for the Mob. Serving 20 years off and on for various offenses, Janek finally went straight in 1987, and his relationship with his daughter remains distant. Christina’s father is a reminder of her own unstable upbringing, and she’s determined not to repeat the sins of her father.
LEAH DESIMONE: Leah is the over-protected daughter of William “Wolf” DeSimone, a supposed “associate” of the Mob, but Leah’s keeping mum. Leah never knew, and knew never to ask what her Dad did for a living. Leaving one day in a suit, Wolf would return days later in street clothes with no explanation and none expected. Now “retired,” Wolf still keeps tabs on his little girl. But as vigilant as he is of her safety, Leah is equally secretive of her Dad’s profession … if you’re “connected,” you NEVER talk about it!
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Mob Wives Slammed by Victoria Gotti
They may both be daughters of Mafia members, but Victoria Gotti doesn't think she has much in common with Karen Gravano.
At least that's what she implied in a radio interview with Frank Morano on AM 970 The Apple.
Morano asked Ms. Gotti for her thoughts on "Mob Wives" in general and Karen Gravano's attempts to make herself a celebrity. "God bless them, is what I say," Ms. Gotti said. "If you ask me, do I see any major talent there in each of them, or any of them? No."
Ms. Gotti's father was John Gotti, the Gambino crime boss who Ms. Gravano's father, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, testified against. Gotti died in federal prison.
Ms. Gotti has written several novels and is a former columnist. She was recently voted off Donald Trump's television show "Celebrity Apprentice."
"I'm working since I'm 15," Ms. Gotti told Moran. "What I've done, I would have done if I were Victoria Smith. No one would have stopped me." But long before Ms. Gravano cashed in on being a mob daughter on "Mob Wives," Ms. Gotti and her three sons starred in "Growing Up Gotti" on A&E.
She also wrote her own book about growing up in a Mafia family -- but only when she thought it would help her brother, John "Junior" Gotti, who was facing criminal charges. "I was offered to do a book, God, 10, 15 years ago, and God knows the dollar amounts thrown at me," she said. "I don't do that until it's to help save my brother's life. So we have different mindsets, you know, her and I."
Ms. Gotti called "Mob Wives" a "train wreck," and said it wasn't "real."
"I've never met this girl. I don't know her. I don't like what I see, per se, and hear, but at the same time, I think the whole 'Mob Wives' thing is a complete joke," she said.
Morano, the radio host and a Staten Islander, said on the air he is often asked why he attacks Ms. Gravano but praises Ms. Gotti. "I guess to me the major difference is Karen is herself a convicted criminal, and she really doesn't have any major talents," Morano said.
Ms. Gravano pleaded guilty to being part of her father's ecstasy ring when the family lived in Arizona, after Salvatore Gravano's relatively short stint in federal prison and abbreviated stay in the witness protection program. While her father wound up back in prison, Ms. Gravano was sentenced to probation.
A representative of Ms. Gravano's did not respond to a request for comment from the author and reality show star.
Thanks to Jillian Jorgenson
At least that's what she implied in a radio interview with Frank Morano on AM 970 The Apple.
Morano asked Ms. Gotti for her thoughts on "Mob Wives" in general and Karen Gravano's attempts to make herself a celebrity. "God bless them, is what I say," Ms. Gotti said. "If you ask me, do I see any major talent there in each of them, or any of them? No."
Ms. Gotti's father was John Gotti, the Gambino crime boss who Ms. Gravano's father, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, testified against. Gotti died in federal prison.
Ms. Gotti has written several novels and is a former columnist. She was recently voted off Donald Trump's television show "Celebrity Apprentice."
"I'm working since I'm 15," Ms. Gotti told Moran. "What I've done, I would have done if I were Victoria Smith. No one would have stopped me." But long before Ms. Gravano cashed in on being a mob daughter on "Mob Wives," Ms. Gotti and her three sons starred in "Growing Up Gotti" on A&E.
She also wrote her own book about growing up in a Mafia family -- but only when she thought it would help her brother, John "Junior" Gotti, who was facing criminal charges. "I was offered to do a book, God, 10, 15 years ago, and God knows the dollar amounts thrown at me," she said. "I don't do that until it's to help save my brother's life. So we have different mindsets, you know, her and I."
Ms. Gotti called "Mob Wives" a "train wreck," and said it wasn't "real."
"I've never met this girl. I don't know her. I don't like what I see, per se, and hear, but at the same time, I think the whole 'Mob Wives' thing is a complete joke," she said.
Morano, the radio host and a Staten Islander, said on the air he is often asked why he attacks Ms. Gravano but praises Ms. Gotti. "I guess to me the major difference is Karen is herself a convicted criminal, and she really doesn't have any major talents," Morano said.
Ms. Gravano pleaded guilty to being part of her father's ecstasy ring when the family lived in Arizona, after Salvatore Gravano's relatively short stint in federal prison and abbreviated stay in the witness protection program. While her father wound up back in prison, Ms. Gravano was sentenced to probation.
A representative of Ms. Gravano's did not respond to a request for comment from the author and reality show star.
Thanks to Jillian Jorgenson
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Frank "The German" Schweihs' Daughter to Star on "Mob Wives: Chicago"
During his long career as a mob enforcer, Frank “The German” Schweihs gained a reputation as a fearsome hit man relied upon by the Chicago Outfit to eliminate its enemies, including potential government witnesses who might talk out of school.
Schweihs, who was said to be so psycho scary that even other tough guy mobsters went out of their way to avoid him, died of cancer in 2008 while waiting to go on trial in the landmark Operation Family Secrets case.
Later this week, sources tell me, the television network VH-1 is planning to announce Schweihs’ daughter Nora will be one of the stars of the new Chicago spinoff of its hit reality series, “Mob Wives.”
Is there still any doubt in your mind that The Outfit isn’t what it used to be? “Mob Wives,” which bills itself as a docu-soap, has never purported to spill any mob secrets during its now two season run following the exploits of a group of Staten Island women with familial ties to New York organized crime figures. “Mob Wives: Chicago” isn’t expected to be any different.
Instead, the program explores the lives of the women with the goal of showing how their mob surroundings have affected them personally—as mothers, daughters and wives. For anybody who has seen the prolific catfighting among the New York cast, the affect would appear to be pretty straightforward: it’s made them crazy.
Nora Schweihs, 48, is said to be a piece of work herself. I’ve only managed to get her on the phone a couple of times — both occasions resulting in her angrily yelling at me that she didn’t know what I was talking about and to never call again. Still, I can respect that. That’s how a real mobster’s family member is supposed to react when a newspaper reporter calls, not schedule a press conference.
The German’s daughter certainly has the bona fides for the show. Her ex-husband, Michael Talarico, was a mob bookmaker and nephew of mob boss Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra. In fact, when Talarico testified for the prosecution against Frank Calabrese Sr. in the Family Secrets trial, he told the jury he was still working as a bookie.
There’s
a rather unflattering mugshot of Nora Schweihs on the Internet arising from a 2004 DUI arrest in Florida, where she and her father both used to live. She was also charged in the incident with resisting arrest and felony possession of cocaine. She was convicted on the DUI, but the other charges were dropped.
Joining Schweihs on the show will be her good friend, Renee Fowler Russo, the niece of mob loan shark and killer John Fecarotta, whose own 1986 assassination provided the break that set the Family Secrets dominoes in motion. Nicholas Calabrese, the hit man whose cooperation with authorities was at the heart of the Family Secrets case, is said to have flipped in large part because he left a bloody glove behind when he killed Fecarotta, which years later provided a DNA match.
What qualifies Russo for the show, we’re told , is that she and her mother Barbara, Fecarotta’s sister, lived with “Big John” while she was growing up. Russo, 44, now operates an eye care business in Ukrainian Village and has numerous other past entanglements that could add to the drama.
The other two women in the four-member cast are Pia Rizza, 40, daughter of Vincent Rizza, a dirty Chicago cop who doubled as a bookmaker and juice collector before he turned government witness, and Christine Scoleri, 41, daughter of a small-time Cicero-area hood described to me as a “knockaround guy.”
Rizza’s father was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1982 for drug dealing and ended up in the federal witness protection program. Perhaps most notably, he testified against Harry “The Hit” Aleman, maybe the only Chicago mob guy of his generation more feared than Schweihs.
Scoleri’s father shows up so infrequently in our news clippings that I’m not quite comfortable mentioning him by name with the rest of this crowd. Scoleri, by the way, is her married name.
I’m told there are another one or two Chicago mob women, as yet unrevealed, who aren’t part of the regular cast but might make cameo appearances during the season with an eye toward a bigger role in the future — if our mob women prove as popular as New York’s.
Might there be a “your daddy killed my daddy” story line sometime in the future?
Thanks to Mark Brown
Schweihs, who was said to be so psycho scary that even other tough guy mobsters went out of their way to avoid him, died of cancer in 2008 while waiting to go on trial in the landmark Operation Family Secrets case.
Later this week, sources tell me, the television network VH-1 is planning to announce Schweihs’ daughter Nora will be one of the stars of the new Chicago spinoff of its hit reality series, “Mob Wives.”
Is there still any doubt in your mind that The Outfit isn’t what it used to be? “Mob Wives,” which bills itself as a docu-soap, has never purported to spill any mob secrets during its now two season run following the exploits of a group of Staten Island women with familial ties to New York organized crime figures. “Mob Wives: Chicago” isn’t expected to be any different.
Instead, the program explores the lives of the women with the goal of showing how their mob surroundings have affected them personally—as mothers, daughters and wives. For anybody who has seen the prolific catfighting among the New York cast, the affect would appear to be pretty straightforward: it’s made them crazy.
Nora Schweihs, 48, is said to be a piece of work herself. I’ve only managed to get her on the phone a couple of times — both occasions resulting in her angrily yelling at me that she didn’t know what I was talking about and to never call again. Still, I can respect that. That’s how a real mobster’s family member is supposed to react when a newspaper reporter calls, not schedule a press conference.
The German’s daughter certainly has the bona fides for the show. Her ex-husband, Michael Talarico, was a mob bookmaker and nephew of mob boss Angelo “The Hook” LaPietra. In fact, when Talarico testified for the prosecution against Frank Calabrese Sr. in the Family Secrets trial, he told the jury he was still working as a bookie.
There’s
a rather unflattering mugshot of Nora Schweihs on the Internet arising from a 2004 DUI arrest in Florida, where she and her father both used to live. She was also charged in the incident with resisting arrest and felony possession of cocaine. She was convicted on the DUI, but the other charges were dropped.Joining Schweihs on the show will be her good friend, Renee Fowler Russo, the niece of mob loan shark and killer John Fecarotta, whose own 1986 assassination provided the break that set the Family Secrets dominoes in motion. Nicholas Calabrese, the hit man whose cooperation with authorities was at the heart of the Family Secrets case, is said to have flipped in large part because he left a bloody glove behind when he killed Fecarotta, which years later provided a DNA match.
What qualifies Russo for the show, we’re told , is that she and her mother Barbara, Fecarotta’s sister, lived with “Big John” while she was growing up. Russo, 44, now operates an eye care business in Ukrainian Village and has numerous other past entanglements that could add to the drama.
The other two women in the four-member cast are Pia Rizza, 40, daughter of Vincent Rizza, a dirty Chicago cop who doubled as a bookmaker and juice collector before he turned government witness, and Christine Scoleri, 41, daughter of a small-time Cicero-area hood described to me as a “knockaround guy.”
Rizza’s father was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1982 for drug dealing and ended up in the federal witness protection program. Perhaps most notably, he testified against Harry “The Hit” Aleman, maybe the only Chicago mob guy of his generation more feared than Schweihs.
Scoleri’s father shows up so infrequently in our news clippings that I’m not quite comfortable mentioning him by name with the rest of this crowd. Scoleri, by the way, is her married name.
I’m told there are another one or two Chicago mob women, as yet unrevealed, who aren’t part of the regular cast but might make cameo appearances during the season with an eye toward a bigger role in the future — if our mob women prove as popular as New York’s.
Might there be a “your daddy killed my daddy” story line sometime in the future?
Thanks to Mark Brown
Monday, March 05, 2012
Oral History of The Sopranos
“I’m still in love with Edie,” says James Gandolfini of Edie Falco, the woman who played his television wife, Carmela, for six seasons on The Sopranos. “Of course, I love my wife, but I’m in love with Edie. I don’t know if I’m in love with Carmela or Edie or both. I’m in love with her.” Falco reveals a similar possessiveness over her HBO-wedded husband. “It was weird to sit down at a table read with the actresses playing Tony’s girlfriends. Occasionally I would get a sharp twinge at the back of my neck,” she recalls. “I’d have to kind of keep my bearings and remember, No, no, no, this is your job, and at home you have your life. Even years later, I remember when I saw Jim in God of Carnage on Broadway, and he was Marcia Gay Harden’s husband, and I had this ‘How come I have to be O.K. with this?’ kind of feeling.”
“In the five long years since the screen went black and The Sopranos went off the air, on June 10, 2007, there has grown up a kind of omertà around the show,” writes Vanity Fair contributing editor Sam Kashner in the April 2012 issue, in which he speaks to David Chase, along with many of the actors, producers, directors, and writers who have never before spoken so candidly, about what it felt like to be part of this extraordinary cultural phenomenon.
James Gandolfini never thought he’d get the part of Tony Soprano. “I thought that they would hire some good-looking guy,” he tells Kashner, “not George Clooney, but some Italian George Clooney, and that would be that.” Edie Falco says she was surprised she got the role of the Mob boss’s wife. “I would have cast me as Dr. Melfi, but, luckily, I was not in charge.” But she tells Kashner that she quickly took to the role of Carmela. “I immediately knew how she felt about things, the way she wanted to look.”
Drea de Matteo tells Kashner that Chase told her, “You don’t look Italian. You look like a hostess of a restaurant.” The actress, who would play Christopher Moltisanti’s girlfriend, Adriana, in the series, played a restaurant hostess in the pilot. “Later on I hated saying ‘Christopher’ with my accent. I would beg David to let me say ‘Chrissy’ because I felt like my accent sounded really, really fake. Now when I walk down the street, people say, ‘Just give me one Chris-ta-fuh.’”
The actors tell Kashner about the emotional toll inherent in playing such complex characters. “I had to suck the life out of myself to play her,” says Lorraine Bracco of her character, Dr. Jennifer Melfi. “I mean, I don’t think Dr. Melfi ever smiled. I wanted her repressed and sad. And she also had to pay attention to not give an inch with Tony, because he would have eaten her up. I wasn’t going to let that happen. So I had that strength, but emotionally I suffered.” James Gandolfini says he used to call the writers the vampires. “Say, what have the vampires come up with this week? What blood are they sucking this week?” he would ask.
Tony Sirico recalls pleading with Chase to not make him kill a woman when his character, Paulie Walnuts, was scripted to do just that. “David, I come from a tough neighborhood. If I go home and they see that I killed a woman, it’s going to make me look bad.” David would not change the script. “Here’s the thing. We did the scene,” Sirico recalls. “I had to smother her. First he wanted me to strangle her; I said, ‘No, I’m not putting my hands on her.’ He said, ‘Use the pillow.’ After it was all said and done, I went back to the neighborhood, and nobody said a word. They loved the show; they didn’t care what we did.”
According to writer and executive producer Terence Winter, who went on to create Boardwalk Empire, even real mobsters loved the show. “One F.B.I. agent told us early on that on Monday morning they would get to the F.B.I. office and all the agents would talk about The Sopranos,” he recalls. “Then they would listen to the wiretaps from that weekend, and it was all Mob guys talking about The Sopranos, having the same conversation about the show, but always from the flip side. We would hear back that real wiseguys used to think that we had somebody on the inside. They couldn’t believe how accurate the show was.”
Thanks to Vanity Fair
“In the five long years since the screen went black and The Sopranos went off the air, on June 10, 2007, there has grown up a kind of omertà around the show,” writes Vanity Fair contributing editor Sam Kashner in the April 2012 issue, in which he speaks to David Chase, along with many of the actors, producers, directors, and writers who have never before spoken so candidly, about what it felt like to be part of this extraordinary cultural phenomenon.
James Gandolfini never thought he’d get the part of Tony Soprano. “I thought that they would hire some good-looking guy,” he tells Kashner, “not George Clooney, but some Italian George Clooney, and that would be that.” Edie Falco says she was surprised she got the role of the Mob boss’s wife. “I would have cast me as Dr. Melfi, but, luckily, I was not in charge.” But she tells Kashner that she quickly took to the role of Carmela. “I immediately knew how she felt about things, the way she wanted to look.”
Drea de Matteo tells Kashner that Chase told her, “You don’t look Italian. You look like a hostess of a restaurant.” The actress, who would play Christopher Moltisanti’s girlfriend, Adriana, in the series, played a restaurant hostess in the pilot. “Later on I hated saying ‘Christopher’ with my accent. I would beg David to let me say ‘Chrissy’ because I felt like my accent sounded really, really fake. Now when I walk down the street, people say, ‘Just give me one Chris-ta-fuh.’”
The actors tell Kashner about the emotional toll inherent in playing such complex characters. “I had to suck the life out of myself to play her,” says Lorraine Bracco of her character, Dr. Jennifer Melfi. “I mean, I don’t think Dr. Melfi ever smiled. I wanted her repressed and sad. And she also had to pay attention to not give an inch with Tony, because he would have eaten her up. I wasn’t going to let that happen. So I had that strength, but emotionally I suffered.” James Gandolfini says he used to call the writers the vampires. “Say, what have the vampires come up with this week? What blood are they sucking this week?” he would ask.
Tony Sirico recalls pleading with Chase to not make him kill a woman when his character, Paulie Walnuts, was scripted to do just that. “David, I come from a tough neighborhood. If I go home and they see that I killed a woman, it’s going to make me look bad.” David would not change the script. “Here’s the thing. We did the scene,” Sirico recalls. “I had to smother her. First he wanted me to strangle her; I said, ‘No, I’m not putting my hands on her.’ He said, ‘Use the pillow.’ After it was all said and done, I went back to the neighborhood, and nobody said a word. They loved the show; they didn’t care what we did.”
According to writer and executive producer Terence Winter, who went on to create Boardwalk Empire, even real mobsters loved the show. “One F.B.I. agent told us early on that on Monday morning they would get to the F.B.I. office and all the agents would talk about The Sopranos,” he recalls. “Then they would listen to the wiretaps from that weekend, and it was all Mob guys talking about The Sopranos, having the same conversation about the show, but always from the flip side. We would hear back that real wiseguys used to think that we had somebody on the inside. They couldn’t believe how accurate the show was.”
Thanks to Vanity Fair
Saturday, March 03, 2012
Bronx Firefighter Arrested for Alleged Ties to Reputed Genovese Crime Family Sports-Betting Ring
A Bronx firefighter has been busted for his ties to an alleged $2 million-a-year, mob-run gambling and money-laundering ring.
Thomas McMahon, of Ladder Co. 38 in Belmont, was one of eight men charged by Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson with running a sports-betting ring tied to the Genovese crime family.
McMahon, 29, was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court along with reputed mob associates Joseph Sarcinella, 77, Frank Mastracchio, 56, Dominick Totino, 44, Dominick Pietranico, 81, Bruno Travositino, 81, and John D’Ambrosio, 54.
Sarcinella — a longtime reputed Genovese mobster who pleaded guilty to running a gambling operation in 2002 — was in charge of the betting ring, which was run out of a social club and two gambling wire rooms, according to prosecutors.
McMahon took bets for the Bronx ring, created accounts and worked as a runner, picking up money and disbursing winnings, according to the DA’s office. “McMahon is close with Mastracchio. He calls him his ‘uncle,’ ” a source told The Post.
Prosecutors said the ring, which had been under NYPD surveillance, collected more than $2 million on NFL, NBA and NHL bets between December 2009 and June 23, 2011.
McMahon faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The seven-year FDNY veteran was suspended without pay. An FDNY spokesman declined to comment on the arrest.McMahon could not be reached for comment.
Thanks to Jamie Schram and Douglas Montero
Thomas McMahon, of Ladder Co. 38 in Belmont, was one of eight men charged by Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson with running a sports-betting ring tied to the Genovese crime family.
McMahon, 29, was arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court along with reputed mob associates Joseph Sarcinella, 77, Frank Mastracchio, 56, Dominick Totino, 44, Dominick Pietranico, 81, Bruno Travositino, 81, and John D’Ambrosio, 54.
Sarcinella — a longtime reputed Genovese mobster who pleaded guilty to running a gambling operation in 2002 — was in charge of the betting ring, which was run out of a social club and two gambling wire rooms, according to prosecutors.
McMahon took bets for the Bronx ring, created accounts and worked as a runner, picking up money and disbursing winnings, according to the DA’s office. “McMahon is close with Mastracchio. He calls him his ‘uncle,’ ” a source told The Post.
Prosecutors said the ring, which had been under NYPD surveillance, collected more than $2 million on NFL, NBA and NHL bets between December 2009 and June 23, 2011.
McMahon faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The seven-year FDNY veteran was suspended without pay. An FDNY spokesman declined to comment on the arrest.McMahon could not be reached for comment.
Thanks to Jamie Schram and Douglas Montero
Thursday, March 01, 2012
Mob Daughter: The Mafia, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, and Me!
From Karen Gravano, a star of the hit VH1 reality show Mob Wives, comes a revealing memoir of a mafia childhood, where love and family come hand-in-hand with murder and betrayal.
Karen Gravano is the daughter of Sammy “the Bull” Gravano, once one of the mafia's most feared hit men. With nineteen confessed murders, the former Gambino Crime Family underboss—and John Gotti’s right-hand man—is the highest ranking gangster ever to turn State’s evidence and testify against members of his high-profile crime family.
But to Karen, Sammy Gravano was a sometimes elusive but always loving father figure. He was ever-present at the head of the dinner table. He made a living running a construction firm and several nightclubs. He stayed out late, and sometimes he didn’t come home at all. He hosted “secret” meetings at their house, and had countless whispered conversations with “business associates.” By the age of twelve, Karen knew he was a gangster. And as she grew up, while her peers worried about clothes and schoolwork, she was coming face-to-face with crime and murder. Gravano was nineteen years old when her father turned his back on the mob and cooperated with the Feds. The fabric of her family was ripped apart, and they were instantly rejected by the communities they grew up in.
This is the story of a daughter’s struggle to reconcile the image of her loving father with that of a murdering Mafioso, and how, in healing the rift between the two, she was able to forge a new life.
Karen Gravano is the daughter of Sammy “the Bull” Gravano, once one of the mafia's most feared hit men. With nineteen confessed murders, the former Gambino Crime Family underboss—and John Gotti’s right-hand man—is the highest ranking gangster ever to turn State’s evidence and testify against members of his high-profile crime family.
But to Karen, Sammy Gravano was a sometimes elusive but always loving father figure. He was ever-present at the head of the dinner table. He made a living running a construction firm and several nightclubs. He stayed out late, and sometimes he didn’t come home at all. He hosted “secret” meetings at their house, and had countless whispered conversations with “business associates.” By the age of twelve, Karen knew he was a gangster. And as she grew up, while her peers worried about clothes and schoolwork, she was coming face-to-face with crime and murder. Gravano was nineteen years old when her father turned his back on the mob and cooperated with the Feds. The fabric of her family was ripped apart, and they were instantly rejected by the communities they grew up in.
This is the story of a daughter’s struggle to reconcile the image of her loving father with that of a murdering Mafioso, and how, in healing the rift between the two, she was able to forge a new life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)