Philly Mob Elder Statesman ‘Chickie’ Ciancaglini Smiling A Lot Lately, Soaking Up Latter Years Amongst Loved Ones

Amid the stickiness of the current Philadelphia mafia landscape, crime family elder statesman Joseph (Chickie) Ciancaglini, the Family’s reputed consigliere and the patriarch of a prestigious east-coast mob bloodline, is as content as ever, per exclusive Gangster Report sources, staying away from the hectic fray at the frontline of syndicate activities, offering counsel when needed and serenely enjoying his latter days on this earth finally surrounded by his family and friends following more than three-decades behind bars. Beloved, respected and feared – a rare trifecta in his line of work –, Ciancaglini came out of prison in 2014 after 32 years away on racketeering and murder conspiracy charges. The underworld he stepped back into was a fractured one, as experts paint a picture of four separate factions making up the mid-2010s Philadelphia mafia.

“Chickie’s probably the only person in the whole Family that’s content and happy,” said one source of Ciancaglini’s mindset. “He does what he can for the boys (the younger guys in the mob), gives his opinion, tries to settle beefs, but he’s mostly just about appreciating his freedom and being with his kids, grandkids and great grandkids.”

In the 16 months since he walked free, a series of photos of the 81-year old Ciancaglini socializing and posing with family and others showing people paying respect to the grizzled mob figure have surfaced on social media. According to sources on the street in South Philly, he spends most mornings and afternoons at Stogie Joe’s Tavern and is being driven around town by one of his grandsons.

All three of Ciancaglini’s offspring became wiseguys. His youngest son, Michael (Mikey Chang) Ciancaglini, was killed in a summer 1993, a casualty of an early 1990s mob shooting war in which two of Chickie’s sons found themselves on opposite sides of the battle lines, with Mikey Chang and his best friend and alleged current Philly mafia don Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino, squaring off with then-sitting Godfather, the Sicilian-born John Stanfa and his underboss, Chickie’s middle boy and namesake, Joseph (Joey Chang) Ciancaglini, Jr. for gangland supremacy in the City of Brotherly Love. At the time of the unrest, Chickie and his oldest son, John (Johnny Chang) Ciancaglini were in prison and telling the two warring siblings to stand down.

Joey Chang is currently “on the shelf” from injuries suffered in a March 1993 shooting attack allegedly ordered by Mikey Chang. Today, Johnny Chang, 60, aids the 53-year old Merlino in the running of the Philadelphia mob, according to multiple sources.

Last summer and into the late fall, Chickie could be seen reading paper every morning at an outside table on Stogie Joe’s front patio. His grandson was often seen nearby “standing watch,” described one source.

Not that Chickie Ciancaglini can’t take care of himself – the season Goodfella was a participant or trigger man in a number of high profile gangland slayings in the early 1980s, according to FBI documents and federal court filings. Chickie was allegedly involved in the murders of mobsters Frank (The Barracuda) Sindone, Frank (Chickie) Narducci and John Calabrese, among others. Per federal informants, in the fall of 1980, Ciancaglini killed Sindone, his mentor in the mafia, and subsequently was named capo of Sindone’s crew