Parents Complain about 'Mafia' Game at School

Some middle-school parents in Raymond said they are outraged that their fifth-graders have been playing a controversial game during school, reported WMUR-TV in Manchester.

The game is called Mafia, and the parents said it has given their children nightmares.

Parent Rae Coppola said she was disturbed to see the homework assignment her 11-year-old daughter was getting ready to turn in for her class at Iber Holmes Gove Middle School in Raymond. Coppola said her daughter's assignment was to list the rules for the game. "There's absolutely nothing fun about killing people and for these children to have to come up with ideas on their own about how to kill people," Coppola said.

According to Wikipedia, Mafia is a party game in which some players are "Mafia members" and others are "honest people." Each team tries to eliminate the other team, with the "honest" group trying to figure out who the Mafia members are.

Toward the beginning of the game, a narrator or moderator usually tells a story about how a player was eliminated, or "killed," by the Mafia.

Coppola said that her daughter was not having fun playing the game."I had noticed her acting weird," she said. "She was up to 11:30 at night. She couldn't sleep, had migraines, had a stomach ache."

Coppola said that after seeing the assignment, she went to the school the next day to complain."I was just absolutely mortified that they're teaching violence in schools," she said. "Teaching starts at home, and I'm trying to teach my child that certain things are not appropriate. I don't even let her watch PG-13 movies."

Coppola met with Principal Caesar Meledandri, who put a stop to the game. She also received a letter from the teacher apologizing, but she said it's not enough. "I want the school to notify the parents, because I know a few of her other friends have been having nightmares and been really upset about it, and parents probably have no idea what's wrong with their kids," she said.

Another mother told the televison station that her daughter was afraid to go to sleep because she was worried she would sleepwalk and act out the game.

Acting Superintendent Michael Shore said that he's looking into the game. "Immediately, with any type of complaint, we would investigate the situation," Shore said. "After the investigation is complete, we would be in a situation where we would consider reprimanding, termination or suspension."

Coppola said she wants the teacher fired. "I send my children to school to learn -- not learn how to play games to kill people, but to learn how to read and do math," she said.

Shore said the investigation should be finished by next week.

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Boulis Kin, 2 Felons Own Martha's Site

Friends of ours: Michael Giorango, Gambino Crime Family, John Gotti

The company that bought the Martha's Restaurant property includes a nephew of murdered SunCruz Casinos founder Gus Boulis and two felons -- one with reputed mob ties.

Spiros Naos, Boulis' nephew and part of SunCruz's current ownership, said Thursday he is unwinding his 14-month-old business relationship with the Chicago-area criminals because of "perception" issues. "Any reasonable business person would do the same thing," Naos said.

Naos' partners, Michael Giorango and Demitri Stavropoulos, were convicted in 2004 for separate crimes. Giorango, 53, a reputed organized-crime figure with the nickname "Jaws," is on probation after being found guilty by a Miami federal jury for promoting a prostitution ring. He also has a past conviction for illegal bookmaking. Stavropoulos, 38, is serving the final days of a nearly 18-month sentence after pleading guilty to operating an illegal gambling business and filing a false tax return. He also had to forfeit more than $1 million.

The trio bought the Martha's property in April 2005, even as prosecutors were building a case against other mob associates for the 2001 gangland-style killing of Boulis, founder of the floating-gambling empire.

Naos, 31, said he is "sensitive" about whom he does business with but insisted he didn't know the extent of Giorango and Stavropoulos' criminal background when they bought the Martha's property from Boulis' estate for $6.2 million. Naos said he originally was equal partners with Stavropoulos, whom he had met at a Greek wedding not long before the deal. Stavropoulos, in turn, split his stake with Giorango, Naos said.

Martha's wasn't their only business deal. Two months after the Martha's sale closed, the three partners and SunCruz Chairman Robert Weisberg paid $4.5 million for marina property near Myrtle Beach, S.C., where a SunCruz vessel docks.

Naos said Giorango and Stavropoulos were "transitioned out" of the South Carolina deal once Naos and Weisberg learned of the felons' backgrounds. Nothing in South Carolina property records could be found to reflect the change, which Naos described as a confidential financial matter.

Efforts to reach Giorango and Stavropoulos through their lawyers were unsuccessful. Giorango has another South Florida tie: State corporate records show he is manager of 2601 Associates LLC, owner of Miami Beach's Lorraine Hotel, one of the places where prosecutors alleged his prostitution ring operated.

While SunCruz's parent company signed a 10-year lease for the South Carolina marina property, Naos said SunCruz has no involvement with the Martha's property. In fact, the same month the property was sold, SunCruz pulled the plug on a gaming boat that docked behind the restaurant.

Both the Martha's and South Carolina marina property purchases were financed by the same Chicago financial institution, Broadway Bank.

The $4.8 million loan for Martha's, later increased by $1 million, and the $3.6 million loan on the marina property, among others, thrust Broadway Bank executive Alexi Giannoulias -- the Democratic nominee for Illinois state treasurer -- into the media spotlight earlier this year. Chicago-area newspapers wanted to know why the family-owned bank made loans to the felons.

While there was nothing improper about the loans, Broadway Bank would not make them again, said Giannoulias' campaign spokesman, Scott Burnham. Giannoulias ''is on the record saying that he didn't know the extent of the legal problems of these two individuals,'' Burnham said.

Giannoulias' campaign returned a $5,000 contribution from Naos, but not because of Naos' ties with Giorango and Stavropoulos, Burnham said. Rather, Burnham said it was SunCruz's connection with Jack Abramoff, who is embroiled in an influence-peddling investigation in Washington.

Abramoff, entrepreneur Adam Kidan and Ronald Reagan administration official Ben Waldman acquired SunCruz from Boulis for $147.5 million in September 2000.

Less than five months later, Boulis was murdered. Three men, a former advisor to Gambino family crime boss John Gotti and two mob wannabes, have been charged.

Thanks to Patrick Danner

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Private Eye Who Investigated 'Mafia Cops' Attacked - Possible Retaliation For Her Work Exposing Corruption

Friends of ours: Gregory Scarpa
Friends of mine: Louis Eppolito, Stephen Caracappa

A private investigator, who helped prosecutors look into several mob murders, was attacked in her car at the intersection of the Shore Parkway and the Bay Parkway in Brooklyn. She was found inside her car, strangled but still alive.

Angela Clemente was involved in many cases for Congress and local prosecutors. Investigators are concerned that that someone strangled Angela Clemente because of her work exposing corruption.

Some detectives wonder what really happened to Ms. Clemente, but police said she told them her attacker was a white man who drove off in a black car. In a statement, the Brooklyn D.A. said, "This is of great concern for us. We have a very active investigation going."

Clemente told detectives that she went to that part of Brooklyn to meet a possible source, after finding a note on her car windshield Thursday night in New Jersey to be there.

Last march Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes announced the arrest of former FBI supervisor Lindley de Vecchio, essentially charging him with protecting mob capo Gregory Scarpa Sr. Angela Clemente did a lot of the legwork that led to indictments in that case.

Her work also led to the investigation of the so-called mafia cops Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa. It is unknown at this time whether this work led to her attack.

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