Philadelphia mob captain Anthony Staino was released early from prison this month after serving six years of an eight-year sentence courtesy of a federal racketeering conviction. Award-winning investigative reporter and Bruno-Scarfo crime family insider Dave Schrawieser broke the news of Staino’s return home to New Jersey on his social media accounts Tuesday. The 62-year old
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Police in suburban Detroit first had convicted drug dealer Jimmy Lattner as the prime suspect in the 2017 murder of his girlfriend, Julii Johnson, before eventually charging Lattner’s ex-girlfriend and two others, per sources, in a case that will finally make it in front of a jury this week in Macomb County Circuit Court. Lattner
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Alleged Chicago mob street boss Albert (Albie the Falcon) Vena was found not guilty of murdering low-ranking Northside crew member Sam (Needles) Taglia at an April 1995 bench trial in Cook County Circuit Court in front of Judge James Flannery, Jr. That’s one homicide he no longer has to worry about. On the other hand,
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According to sources, the 1985 murder of Chicago mobster and porn king Patrick (Patsy Rich) Ricciardi is one of the many cold-case gangland hits being probed in an ongoing federal racketeering investigation of current Outfit leaders. The long-gestating inquiry’s principle target is alleged to be reputed Grand Avenue crew chief and overall street boss Albert
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The Gangster Report welcomes contributor Ricardo Ferrell from Detroit. May 15, 2019 The long anticipated murder trial of George G. Rider is slated to begin this week in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, just outside of Detroit. There have been numerous postponements and delays in the high-profile case charging Rider and two
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A new book titled Down The Rat Hole (www.tacabusbooks.com) by a retired U.S. Treasury Agent dissecting a cold-case mob triple-murder from suburban Detroit, Michigan, known as the Time Realty Massacre, provides critical fresh insight on the brutal slayings and pokes holes in past theories surrounding the motive. Detroit bookie Eugene (Gino) Mancen, his best friend
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There are members of law enforcement that think it’s possible the 2016 torture-murder of Chicago area businessman Jim Gerage was mob related. Two sources in different branches of law enforcement told Gangster Report that they view the Gerage homicide as having hallmarks of a mob hit. Gerage’s beaten and battered body was found set ablaze
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Heavily-feared Chicago mafia figure Charles (Chuckie the Electrician) Russell is on his last legs. The 70-year old Grand Avenue crew gangster who is out on bail awaiting sentencing on a weapons conviction has been moved to a hospice facility, per sources. Russell’s brother-in-law is Grand Avenue capo and alleged Outfit street boss Albert (Albie the
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Former Mexican Mafia hit man Rene (Boxer) Enriquez once again had his hopes for freedom dashed last week when Governor of California Gavin Newsom overturned his parole, deeming Enriquez, locked up since 1990, still a danger to society. Enriquez has been granted parole four different times in the last five years, but in each instance
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In a murder case out of suburban Detroit, Michigan hampered by conflicts of interests and a deluge of delays, the name you hear least and who the government has no direct evidence connecting him in any way to the crime, may be the person driving the whole prosecution. According to sources, law enforcement in Motown
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Led by the violent and ambitious Jimmy Coonan, The Westies was New York’s Irish mob of the late 1970s and 1980s. Backed by the Italian Gambino crime family, the Westies turned Hell’s Kitchen upside down, flooding the streets with massive amounts of narcotics, murder and mayhem. While latter-era Irish crime lords from Hell’s Kitchen like
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His last name couldn’t get him out of trouble anymore. Those days were long gone. Pretty-boy Toronto mob prince Domenic Racco, 34, met his end on a desolate railway track in Milton, Ontario on the night of December 9, 1983, shot five times in the head, neck and chest after tempting fate one too many
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The “Bombing Baker,” Tony Musitano passed away peacefully in Ontario, Canada this week at 72 with little fireworks or fanfare. The Hamilton mafia figure served seven years in prison (1983-1990) for staging a bombing campaign in an effort to extort a string of bakeries and playing a role from behind bars in the murder conspiracy
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Montreal mobster Jonathan (Jonny the Kid) Mignacca was granted a full parole last week from a stint in prison for reckless discharge of a firearm. The 34-year old Mignacca, once the driver and bodyguard for renegade Canadian mafia leader Raynald Desjardins, served three and a half years behind bars before being sent to a halfway
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The state of Connecticut has always been open mob territory, “no man’s land,” meaning it doesn’t belong to one single crime family. Several different mafia syndicates from all along the East Coast have had a presence in the state for decades, including the Genovese (NY), the Colombos (NY), the Gambinos (NY), the DeCalvacantes (NJ) and
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Derrick (Big 38) Crumpton, the former boss of the Gangster Disciples in Tennessee, was slapped with a 27-year federal prison sentence for narcotics trafficking and racketeering last week in Memphis. If he had been convicted, he could have gotten life. The case was known as “Operation 38 Special.” When Crumpton was arrested three years ago,
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The man claiming to be the inspiration for the hit television show Empire died of natural causes in California last month. Ron Newt, a flamboyant pimp turned aspiring music impresario, passed away at 69 on March 11. Running a gang and a prostitution ring out of San Francisco in the 1970s and 80s, Newt eventually
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The senseless murder of on-the-rise L.A. rap star Nipsey Hussle this week tragically places the beloved, Grammy-nominated MC on a growing list of California hip hop artists who have died in gangland-style slayings. There have been five murders of West Coast rappers in the past four years. Below is a breakdown of every Cali killing
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West coast rap star Ermias (Nipsey Hussle) Asghedom was killed over the weekend in a shooting outside his South Central L.A. men’s clothier shop, Marathon Clothing. Sadly, the Grammy-nominated Nipsey Hussle, allegedly gang affiliated with the Rollin 60 Crips, is just the most recent in a long line of murders tied to the billion-dollar hip-hop
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The Montreal mob war has left two more bodies in its wake. Canadian mafia associates Mike Di Battista and Mario Simeone were both gunned down last week. Di Battista was found shot to death behind the wheel of his car in the Dominican Republic Monday. Simeone, a licensed real estate agent, was killed in the
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The Hankton Boys Gang was formed in New Orleans in the 1990s by cousins George (Cup) Hankton and “Wild Telly” Hankton and went on to become the biggest, baddest, most bloodthirsty drug-trafficking organization in Big Easy history, making millions and partying with local rap music luminaries like Lil’ Wayne and Master P while ruling the
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New England wiseguy and repeat felon Richie Tiberi reported to state prison last week to serve a two-year sentence for selling stolen property out of his longtime headquarters, the Decatur Social Club in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood. The 76-year old Rhode Island mobster, who has a myriad of convictions for gambling offenses, prescription drug sales
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Shockwaves coursed through the streets of New York last week when the news broke of Gambino crime family underboss and street boss Frank (Frankie Boy) Cali being shot to death outside his Staten Island home. The shooter, 24-year old Anthony Comello, has no known mob ties and appears mentally unstable. Comello had allegedly been warned
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East coast mafia figure Robert (Bobby the Cook) Gentile was released from federal prison over the weekend after serving just more than a year on weapons charges. The infirmed 82-year old Gentile was born in Boston and lived in Connecticut, but was a member of Philadelphia’s Bruno-Scarfo crime family. The FBI believes Bobby the Cook
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Venerable American biker boss Harry (Taco) Bowman is having a sendoff fit for a king. The beloved 69-year old Bowman, who served as the international president of The Outlaws Motorcycle Club at the end of the 20th Century, his dynamic leadership propelling the club to epic heights, died last week in prison of cancer. He’ll
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The nation’s longest-serving mafia don, Carmine (Junior) Persico of New York’s Colombo crime family, died in prison this week at 85 years old. Persico led the Colombo mob for almost a half-century, taking the reins in the early 1970s and heading the family from behind bars since the mid-1980s. Following his incarceration, he was forced
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Harry (Taco) Bowman was a biker world legend. The Detroit-based Outlaws MC boss led the club for 15 years (1984-1999) and established the Outlaws brand as a powerhouse nationwide during his reign where he ratcheted up the club’s war with the Hells Angels. Convicted of racketeering and murder in 2001, he died in prison of
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Retired Cleveland mobster Frederick (Fritz) Graewe died of natural causes last week, having been on the sidelines of underworld activity since his release from prison in the early 1990s. The German-born Graewe, who had links to both Italian and Irish mafia powers of the past, was 66 years old and survived the Cleveland mob war
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Midwest biker baron Harry (Taco) Bowman died behind bars of cancer over the weekend at 69. The legendary Outlaws Motorcycle Club President ran his biker empire from Detroit and brought the Outlaws to prominence nationwide, presenting a formidable challenger to Hells Angels founder Ralph (Sonny) Barger as America’s most powerful biker boss at the apex
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The quintessential D.C. drug don, Rayful Edmond, might receive a reprieve from his life prison sentence, his reward for cooperating with authorities for the last two decades. Prosecutors in Washington D.C.’s U.S. Attorneys’ Office filed motions in federal court last week for Edmond’s sentence to be reduced and him to be paroled. The 54-year old
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Windy City wiseguy John (Pudgy) Matassa, Jr. copped a plea this week and will do a year and a half in the joint for embezzling funds from Local 711 of the Independent Union of Amalgamated Workers. The corpulent and congenial 67-year old Matassa., a valued advisor to a number of top bosses in the Chicago
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One-time Philadelphia mafia captain Vincent (Al Pajamas) Pagano died of natural causes this week after spending the last quarter century of his life behind bars. The 89-year old had been locked up since 1994. He was found guilty at a 1995 federal racketeering trial alongside Bruno-Scarfo crime family boss John Stanfa. Al Pajamas was a
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After taking power in 1981, bloodthirsty Philadelphia mafia boss Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo went to war with the rogue Riccobene crew, led by pint-sized Philly mob figure Harry (The Hunchback) Riccobene, a veteran of the city’s rackets dating back to his teen years during Prohibition. Riccobene refused to recognize or pay tribute to Scarfo and
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For the past decade, a mob war in Montreal has engulfed the Canadian underworld. The rampant violence is continuing into 2019, as there have been a trio of gangland related slayings in recent weeks tied to the conflict. In Quebec, Montreal mob figure and construction mogul Tony Magi along with drug boss Ray Khano were
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A low-level gambler from Uniontown, Pennsylvania gave up Pittsburgh mobster Robert (Bobby I) Iannelli and his multi-million dollar bookmaking and numbers business to the state police 30 years ago, resulting in the legendary Iannelli’s last criminal conviction. The next one could be coming soon. The esteemed 88-year old Steel Town gambling chief, for decades the
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A pair of Pagan’s Motorcycle Club leaders pleaded guilty to federal narcotics conspiracy charges this week stemming from a crystal-meth ring being run out of Central Florida. The August 2018 bust included more than a dozen members of the club’s Daytona Beach chapter, headlined by chapter brass Brian (Sledgehammer) Burt and Michael (Clutch) Andrews. Burt
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The FBI investigated world-famous Studio 54 for mob ties due to the historic nightclub’s founder Ian Schrager having a father who was a powerful New York mob figure. Louis (Max the Jew) Schrager was a gambling boss in Brooklyn linked to legendary Jewish wiseguy Meyer Lansky. Studio 54 was the epicenter of New York City
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Last week, a voice from the grave went on-record about a cold-case mob hit from upstate New York when The Democrat & Republic newspaper printed excerpts from a 2009 video-taped interview with retired Rochester mob consigliere Rene (The Painter) Piccarreto about what happened to Jake Russo, the city’s mafia don in the early 1960s who
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As big as a player as there has been in the world of gambling on the east coast of the United States the past 40 years, aging Pittsburgh mobster Robert (Bobby I) Iannelli is smoking it to the filter. The seasoned 88-year old Steel Town gambling-boss titan was indicted this week on charges of overseeing
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Old-school Pittsburgh mob figure Robert (Bobby I) Iannelli, 88, was indicted this week in state court on charges of running a large sports bookmaking operation and numbers business out of Allegheny and Westmoreland Counties. Iannelli’s son, Rodney (aka “Rusty”) was also nailed in the case. The indictment named 13 co-defendants and was jumpstarted by a
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Rumors of New Jersey mobster Stevie Andretta’s demise have been greatly exaggerated. Long believed dead, Andretta, one of the suspects in the disappearance and murder of iconic labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa, was revealed to still be alive by the preeminent Hoffa case-expert Dan Moldea in recent weeks on a Fox News broadcast segment focusing
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With a murder probe hanging over his head, New England mafia captain Edward (Little Eddie) Lato was released from prison this week and into a halfway house in his home state of Rhode Island. Award-winning investigative television reporter Tim White at WPRI broke the news of Lato’s move from a federal penitentiary in New Jersey
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According to sources in law enforcement, Philadelphia mob skipper Phil Narducci did himself in back in the fall when he allegedly laid his hands on a man who he had loaned money to. That man, who Uncle Sam was already eying in another investigation, went scurrying to the feds, per the source, and wired up
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For the second time in less than a month, one of the final suspected direct links to the storied Jimmy Hoffa kidnapping and murder has died. Long-retired New Jersey mobster Tommy Andretta passed away this week in Nevada. The “Godfather” of Hoffa case research and reporting, award-winning journalist Dan Moldea broke the news of Andretta’s
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Original Black Mafia Family member Dexter (Sosa) Hussey did his time for his crime and now he has a story to tell. The 53-year old Hussey, a native of Detroit and four years removed from a prison stint stemming from his involvement in the historic Operation Motor City Mafia case, has released a memoir focusing
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The Montreal mafia was dealing directly with the world’s biggest drug boss, Mexican crime mogul Joaquin (El Chapo) Guzman, during the height of Guzman’s monolithic reign atop the global narcotics game. Rizzuto crime family drug lieutenant Antonio (Tony Suzuki) Pietrantonio had his name surface in testimony at Guzman’s highly-publicized federal trial in New York this
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When it came to infiltrating the Nevada gaming industry, no American Italian mob was more resilient or resourceful than Detroit’s Tocco-Zerilli crime family. Over a three-decade period, the Detroit mafia was busted for maintaining hidden ownership in and skimming millions of dollars from three separate glitzy Nevada hotel and casinos. The Las Vegas Strip was
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Chicago mob soldier Robert (Bobby Pinocchio) Panozzo pleaded guilty in his state racketeering case last week and with time served could hit the Windy City streets again in less than five years. The 59-year old Panozzo has been jailed since a Chicago Police Department sting caught him robbing a drug house in the summer of
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The Butterfly flies no more. Detroit mobster Anthony (Tony Pal) Palazzolo died of natural causes recently, possibly eliminating the last living link to the famed Jimmy Hoffa disappearance and murder four and a half decades ago. Some people called him the “The Butterfly” for his elusive nature on the streets. Palazzolo, 78, was the longtime
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For the past decade, a mob war in Montreal has engulfed the Canadian underworld. In the late 2000s, Montreal Godfather Vito Rizzuto’s family mafia dynasty came under attack from within when Rizzuto’s right-hand man Raynald Desjardins joined forces with deported New York don Salvatore (Sal the Ironworker) Montagna to challenge Rizzuto’s reign while the mob
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