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Archive for “Mob” news
Here’s The Full 60 Minutes Video on Philly Mob Hitman John Veasey
By Joel Mathis 3/18/2013
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After much anticipation, 60 Minutes' profile of Philly mob hitman John Veasey finally appeared Sunday night. (Here's PhillyMag's profile of Veasey.) "Today, the one-time killer is a free man, living under an assumed name somewhere in America," said reporter Byron Pitts. "We have agreed not to divulge exactly where. He's married, has a good job and says he's found God."
Here's the full video:
And some web extras:
“Uncle Joe” Ligambi’s Long Trial is Almost Over
By Joel Mathis 2/05/2013
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AP reports that the Philly mafia trial is nearly at an end. "The judge in a Philadelphia mob racketeering trial says the jury has reached a verdict on some counts but is deadlocked on others. Federal Judge Eduardo Robreno spoke from the bench Tuesday. He will give jurors the option to report a partial verdict or try one last time to reach a full verdict on the approximately 50 counts against reputed mob boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi and six others accused of running Philadelphia’s La Cosa Nostra for the past decade." The jury has been out for three weeks.
The Daily
Ligambi Mob Trial in Chaos as Jurors Insist on Behaving Badly
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/18/2013
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Two weeks since they began deliberating on the fate of reputed mobster Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, the jury is right where they started: nowhere.
A foreman has resigned. Another juror has fallen ill. And a third juror in a Philadelphia mob case suddenly recalls knowing something about a defense witness, and not liking him.
Which means the judge has ordered a fresh, hopefully improved jury to start deliberating anew. (Though he hasn't declared a mistrial.) And just for good measure, this detail crept into the latest report:
One man still serving on the jury has worn an array of Harley-Davidson T-shirts to the
Bolaris-Scamming Mob Kingpin Gets 3 Years
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/18/2013
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The Russian mobster who started this all, who masterminded the plot that sent freelance weather tweeter John Bolaris on his fateful, fascinating spiral to ignominy and unemployment, has been sentenced today to three years in prison. The details of this saga deserve a brief rehash from Philly.com.
[Alec] Simchuk brought attractive Eastern European "bar girls" to South Beach to scam men at clubs. The fraud cost well-known local ex-weatherman Bolaris $43,000. Bolaris and others were swindled by the "B girls" in spring 2010. The women plied men with booze and scammed them by charging massive sums on their credit cards.
If Bolaris is
Chris Christie Not Happy With His TIME Cover Photo
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/09/2013
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The cover of this week's Time magazine features a big, bleak mug of the guv, over the words "THE BOSS." On its face, the cover is a double entendre--both a reference to Christie's bullying style and his obsession with Bruce Springsteen. Christie, however, thinks Time is making a mob reference. “I’m reporting Time Magazine to the, like anti-Italian defamation league. I mean, look at that thing. It says ‘boss’ underneath. I mean come on," Christie said this morning on the Don Imus show. [Star-Ledger]
It's true that between the tough guy stare and the appearance of bursting out
“The Mob is IBM”: Closing Arguments Start at “Uncle Joe” Ligambi Mob Trial
By Joel Mathis 1/03/2013
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Closing arguments started Thursday in the racketeering trial of Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, the reputed head of the Philadelphia Mob. "The mob is to the criminal underworld what IBM and GE are to legitimate corporations," said the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Han. "It has a simple and effective and enduring business model. It goes like this: work together to make money through force and intimidation." Of course, the mob Ligambi is accused of heading is a relatively defanged version of its Cosa Nostra glory days—accused of shaking down small-time debtors and gamblers but committing no actual acts of violence
Suspected Mobster Now Charged With Murder in South Philly Shooting
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 12/14/2012
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If this was a revenge plot, it may have just backfired terribly. Police have charged Anthony Nicodemo with murdering convicted drug dealer and reputed ex-mobster Gino DiPietro Wednesday in South Philly. Though Nicodemo could have killed DiPietro for any number of reasons (some are guessing drugs), there's another possibility too. According to a 2009 piece by former Inquirer investigative reporter George Anastasia, Nicodemo was named by police as one of nine remaining soldiers in the Joseph Ligambi crime family. Ligambi and several of his associates are currently on trial for racketeering. DiPietro, who was involved in a wiretapped conversation recently played
Philly’s First Mob Murder in 10 Years?
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 12/13/2012
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Yesterday, right around the time the feds rested their case against reputed mobster Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, a South Philly murder may have given prosecutors a new lead. Around 3pm on Iseminger Street, Gino DiPietro, believed to be connected to the mafia, was shot repeatedly in the back. Anthony Nicodemo, who lives nearby, and is described as a "made member" of the Philly mob, was taken into custody after the shooting. [Daily News]
“Mafia Prince” Details Bloody Philly Mob Life Under Nicky Scarfo
By Joel Mathis 12/07/2012
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The nephew of former Philadelphia mob boss Nicky Scarfo has written a new book, "Mafia Prince," in which he admits killing 10 people for his uncle. The nephew, Phil Leonetti—known as "Crazy Phil"—turned against the mob in 1992, but is no longer in the federal witness protection program. Leonetti says he started his mob work when he was still young: ""I was 23 when I killed Louie DeMarco, and 26 when I killed Vincent Falcone. I got made when I was 27, and I became a caporegime at 28. I did it all for my uncle and La Cosa Nostra
