The New York Daily News has issued the following correction to the story directly below:
“An Aug. 3 article about the partnership of Jamie Masada and Richard Basciano in the Laugh Factory mistakenly reported that Basciano's brother is the former Bonanno crime family boss known as "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano, who is serving a life sentence for murder. In fact, the two are not brothers. The News regrets the error.”
Laugh Factory owner Jamie Masada has filed suit against his Times Square business partner, Show World owner Richard Basciano, claiming that he has been shaken down by the mob-connected adult theater owner (In actuality there is no specific claim in the civil action that the Laugh Factory was “shaken down” or that a New York crime family is shaking down the Laugh Factory). Masada alleges to have been threatened with a gun, coerced into contracts and even says that the club was told that "somebody could be killed" if a certain comedian was booked again.
The suit pits the new, cleaned-up Times Square against its seedier past. Basciano has Gambino crime family associates and is the brother Bonanno crime family boss "Vinny Gorgeous." (Per above correction, the Bascianos are not related.) Masada, on the other hand, was personally asked to bring the Laugh Factory to New York by former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the wake of 9/11. "I thought, 'Yes, New York needs some laughs,'" Masada said when he agreed to bring the club to Times Square in 2003.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Bob Cooley - Man vs. The Chicago Mob on The National Geographic Channel
The Chicago Mob, known as the Outfit was literally getting away with murder. Through rarely seen archival footage and interviews with former Mob associates and FBI agents, NGC takes you inside what took down the Mob. Be sure to watch the National Geographic Channel on Sunday, August 17th at 7:00PM Chicago time.
The Godfather II Video Game to be Released in Early 2009
Electronic Arts is looking to pull gamers back in.
Publisher is developing "The Godfather II," a sequel to its 2006 videogame based on the classic Paramount film, for release in February.
Original "Godfather" game saw worldwide sales of more than 4 million units
. A total solid enough that EA greenlit a sequel almost immediately after production on the final version of the game was done in late 2006. According to industry tracker NPD, the first game grossed $62 million in the U.S.
Follow-up will follow elements of "The Godfather Part II" film plot that take place in the late 1950s, but not the flashbacks to Vito Corleone's early life that starred Robert De Niro. As in the first game, players control a new member of the Corleone crime family who is rising through the ranks. "The flashbacks that are so great as a film experience don't really work for a game," said Nick Earl, senior VP-general manager for the EA Games label. "We've created our own story that weaves in and out with the film and hits its major touchpoints."
Most of the film's stars except, notably, Al Pacino, are providing likeness rights to EA. In addition, Robert Duvall, whose Tom Hagen plays a prominent role in the game as an adviser to the character, is recording original voiceovers. Director Francis Ford Coppola, who publicly criticized the first game, is again not involved.
Sequel makes "Godfather" the rare Hollywood license to turn into a videogame franchise, along with titles like "Harry Potter," James Bond and "Lord of the Rings." Paramount's long-term deal with EA allows the publisher to continue making more games if the sequel performs better than the original, as is common for successful videogame franchises. "So many movie-based games are just one-offs, so to create a franchise, especially off a property from the 1970s, is pretty phenomenal," said Paramount senior veep of interactive and mobile Sandi Isaacs, who noted that the "Godfather" games benefit from not having to match the release date of a new film.
Studio's homevideo and pay TV groups are already considering plans to re-release "The Godfather: Part II" next winter tied to the game.
"Godfather" is one of several games based on movies from the 1970s and early '80s, including "Jaws" and "Scarface," to come out in the past few years, but it's the only one to get a sequel. Warner Bros. has had a videogame based on "Dirty Harry" in the works for several years.
Like the first "Godfather" game, "Godfather II" will take place in an open world similar to Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto." However, the follow-up takes place in three different cities: New York, Miami and Havana. Gameplay elements include up-close action as well as a the ability for players to manage their organized crime family from a citywide perspective.
Game will also feature online multiplayer features with battles between mob families.
EA is developing "Godfather II" at its Redwood Shores studio for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, though for other consoles, the game may come out later in 2009.
Thanks to Ben Fritz
Publisher is developing "The Godfather II," a sequel to its 2006 videogame based on the classic Paramount film, for release in February.
Original "Godfather" game saw worldwide sales of more than 4 million units
. A total solid enough that EA greenlit a sequel almost immediately after production on the final version of the game was done in late 2006. According to industry tracker NPD, the first game grossed $62 million in the U.S.Follow-up will follow elements of "The Godfather Part II" film plot that take place in the late 1950s, but not the flashbacks to Vito Corleone's early life that starred Robert De Niro. As in the first game, players control a new member of the Corleone crime family who is rising through the ranks. "The flashbacks that are so great as a film experience don't really work for a game," said Nick Earl, senior VP-general manager for the EA Games label. "We've created our own story that weaves in and out with the film and hits its major touchpoints."
Most of the film's stars except, notably, Al Pacino, are providing likeness rights to EA. In addition, Robert Duvall, whose Tom Hagen plays a prominent role in the game as an adviser to the character, is recording original voiceovers. Director Francis Ford Coppola, who publicly criticized the first game, is again not involved.
Sequel makes "Godfather" the rare Hollywood license to turn into a videogame franchise, along with titles like "Harry Potter," James Bond and "Lord of the Rings." Paramount's long-term deal with EA allows the publisher to continue making more games if the sequel performs better than the original, as is common for successful videogame franchises. "So many movie-based games are just one-offs, so to create a franchise, especially off a property from the 1970s, is pretty phenomenal," said Paramount senior veep of interactive and mobile Sandi Isaacs, who noted that the "Godfather" games benefit from not having to match the release date of a new film.
Studio's homevideo and pay TV groups are already considering plans to re-release "The Godfather: Part II" next winter tied to the game.
"Godfather" is one of several games based on movies from the 1970s and early '80s, including "Jaws" and "Scarface," to come out in the past few years, but it's the only one to get a sequel. Warner Bros. has had a videogame based on "Dirty Harry" in the works for several years.
Like the first "Godfather" game, "Godfather II" will take place in an open world similar to Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto." However, the follow-up takes place in three different cities: New York, Miami and Havana. Gameplay elements include up-close action as well as a the ability for players to manage their organized crime family from a citywide perspective.
Game will also feature online multiplayer features with battles between mob families.
EA is developing "Godfather II" at its Redwood Shores studio for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, though for other consoles, the game may come out later in 2009.
Thanks to Ben Fritz
Sopranos Flip to the FBI at Newark's 100th Anniversary Celebration
They turned one of his lieutenants into an informant. They sneaked through the woods to hunt him down. And eventually, FBI agents put Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni, the New York mob boss, behind bars.
Then the gangster took an elevator ride to a fifth-floor parking garage in Newark and walked out to find himself surrounded by federal agents once again. This time there were hundreds of them. "I thought this was all over with you guys," he sighed to a round of laughter.
Johnny Sack, of course, was a character on the "Sopranos," HBO's hit show about a dysfunctional Jersey mob family. Vincent Curatola, a Bergen County resident, is the actor who played him. Curatola and several of his cast mates were featured guests at a luncheon in which the FBI's Newark Division celebrated the 100th anniversary of the bureau.
Each division around the nation marked the occasion in its own way to recognize the FBI's growth from a team of 34 investigators to an elite agency with more than 30,000 employees. In Alabama, there was a picnic. In Pittsburgh, an office party. In Philadelphia, a formal dinner. But in Newark, there was Johnny Sack (Curatola), Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico), Furio Giunta (Federico Castelluccio) and Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese).
Weysan Dun, special agent in charge of the FBI's Newark division, invited the actors, saying it was a way to pay tribute to a significant part of the FBI's history and New Jersey culture. "Fighting organized crime is part of our legendary success," he said.
On the show, as in real life, the FBI agents and the mobsters were engaged in a protracted cat-and-mouse game. Today's odd pairing gave real-life crime fighters a chance to compare notes with the fictional wiseguys.
William Evanina, special agent in charge of the FBI's Trenton office, said plenty of New Jersey agents were fans of the show. "We waited to see every Sunday whether they would get it right," he said. He recalled watching his fictional counterparts execute a search warrant at Johnny Sack's home with their guns drawn. "That would never happen," he said -- a simple knock was more likely. "The majority of the stuff they got right. But obviously you've got to take liberties with television."
On another episode, an FBI agent who tipped off Tony Soprano to the whereabouts of an enemy cheered when the rival got whacked. "We're not as bad as they make us out to be. And I'm not sure the real organized crime figures are as good as they are made out to be. But it's great entertainment," said Edward Kahrer, assistant special agent in charge of the Newark division.
Sirico, a Brooklyn actor, joked that if his fellow wiseguys knew he was hanging around a bunch of G-men, "they'd probably whack me."
Chianese's character, Uncle Junior, once complained on the show that he had the feds so far up one part of his anatomy, he could "taste Brylcreem."
Curatola teased Chianese today as they readied to pose for photos with agents. "Did you make a deal with these people? Are you going to flip?" Curatola asked.
Seth Gilliam, who played Sgt. Ellis Carver on "The Wire," a Baltimore police drama and another widely acclaimed HBO series, also was on hand. "I'm the only celebrity here who played a cop. Everybody else is a mobster. Until the special agents came in the room, I felt a little outnumbered," he joked.
Former FBI director and New Jersey native Louis Freeh was the luncheon's keynote speaker. During his remarks, he acknowledged that television and movies have helped burnish the bureau's image for decades, turning the FBI into a "global icon" and name brand. "We certainly thank Hollywood," he said. "But the essence of the FBI is really a direct result of the quality and integrity of the men and women who have served there."
Thanks to Jeff Whelan
Then the gangster took an elevator ride to a fifth-floor parking garage in Newark and walked out to find himself surrounded by federal agents once again. This time there were hundreds of them. "I thought this was all over with you guys," he sighed to a round of laughter.
Johnny Sack, of course, was a character on the "Sopranos," HBO's hit show about a dysfunctional Jersey mob family. Vincent Curatola, a Bergen County resident, is the actor who played him. Curatola and several of his cast mates were featured guests at a luncheon in which the FBI's Newark Division celebrated the 100th anniversary of the bureau.
Each division around the nation marked the occasion in its own way to recognize the FBI's growth from a team of 34 investigators to an elite agency with more than 30,000 employees. In Alabama, there was a picnic. In Pittsburgh, an office party. In Philadelphia, a formal dinner. But in Newark, there was Johnny Sack (Curatola), Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico), Furio Giunta (Federico Castelluccio) and Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese).
Weysan Dun, special agent in charge of the FBI's Newark division, invited the actors, saying it was a way to pay tribute to a significant part of the FBI's history and New Jersey culture. "Fighting organized crime is part of our legendary success," he said.
On the show, as in real life, the FBI agents and the mobsters were engaged in a protracted cat-and-mouse game. Today's odd pairing gave real-life crime fighters a chance to compare notes with the fictional wiseguys.
William Evanina, special agent in charge of the FBI's Trenton office, said plenty of New Jersey agents were fans of the show. "We waited to see every Sunday whether they would get it right," he said. He recalled watching his fictional counterparts execute a search warrant at Johnny Sack's home with their guns drawn. "That would never happen," he said -- a simple knock was more likely. "The majority of the stuff they got right. But obviously you've got to take liberties with television."
On another episode, an FBI agent who tipped off Tony Soprano to the whereabouts of an enemy cheered when the rival got whacked. "We're not as bad as they make us out to be. And I'm not sure the real organized crime figures are as good as they are made out to be. But it's great entertainment," said Edward Kahrer, assistant special agent in charge of the Newark division.
Sirico, a Brooklyn actor, joked that if his fellow wiseguys knew he was hanging around a bunch of G-men, "they'd probably whack me."
Chianese's character, Uncle Junior, once complained on the show that he had the feds so far up one part of his anatomy, he could "taste Brylcreem."
Curatola teased Chianese today as they readied to pose for photos with agents. "Did you make a deal with these people? Are you going to flip?" Curatola asked.
Seth Gilliam, who played Sgt. Ellis Carver on "The Wire," a Baltimore police drama and another widely acclaimed HBO series, also was on hand. "I'm the only celebrity here who played a cop. Everybody else is a mobster. Until the special agents came in the room, I felt a little outnumbered," he joked.
Former FBI director and New Jersey native Louis Freeh was the luncheon's keynote speaker. During his remarks, he acknowledged that television and movies have helped burnish the bureau's image for decades, turning the FBI into a "global icon" and name brand. "We certainly thank Hollywood," he said. "But the essence of the FBI is really a direct result of the quality and integrity of the men and women who have served there."
Thanks to Jeff Whelan
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