Joey Merlino

"Stevie" Mazzone, "Joey" Merlino & "Georgie" Borgesi

Joseph Salvatore "Skinny Joey" Merlino (born March 16, 1962 ) is an Italian-American mobster of the American Cosa Nostra and has been officially the head of the Bruno family , also known as the Philly Mob or Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia , since 1998

Joseph Merlino is described as a particularly vicious person obsessed with his own public image and a different version of John Gotti . "Joey was a party guy," said former Mafia soldier and later government witness Ronald "Big Ron" Previte . "He liked to let himself go, he liked to play and liked the high life."

He invited TV crews to his annual homeless Christmas party and was a staple of the city's nightclubs, restaurants, and sporting events. The media called him the "John Gotti of Passyunk Avenue" because of his similarly unadulterated and eye-catching style.

The La Cosa Nostra -expert Scott Burnstein said about Merlino against the Vice Magazine :

"In my opinion he is a criminal icon who can be mentioned in the same breath as the most dynamic, dashing and ambitious mafia leaders of all time."

biography

Early years

Joseph Salvatore Merlino was on 16 March 1962 as the son of Salvatore "Chuckie" Merlino and Rita Merlino in Philadelphia ( Pennsylvania born). Even his father was a high-ranking member of the Philly mob under the leadership of Nicodemo Scarfo and the underboss of the family in the early 1980s . His uncle named Lawrence “Yogi” Merlino , who died in 2001, was a member and a family capo . Joey has two sisters named Natalie and Maria . His sister Maria was the fiancée of the incumbent underboss Salvatore Testa ; however, he canceled the wedding seven months before his murder in 1984, which was commissioned by Nicodemo Scarfo himself.

In August 1982, Merlino and Salvatore "Tony" Scafidi allegedly beat and stabbed two men at the Lido Restaurant in Atlantic City . In 1984, Merlino was found guilty of aggravated violence and possession of a gun for unlawful purposes. In August of the same year he, like his father, was registered by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission in the so-called "black book for the prohibition of undesirable persons in New Jersey casinos".

In August 1989, Merlino was charged with robbing an armored car for $ 350,000 and was convicted a few months later.

Mob rivalries

Skinny Joey was released from prison in the spring of 1992. While in custody, the so-called Mafia Commission appointed the Sicilian mobster Giovanni "John" Stanfa as the new boss of the family in 1991 after Scarfo and most of his allies were arrested in 1988 and sentenced to long prison terms.

However, a splinter group of younger bullies emerged around Joey Merlino who refused to recognize the regime of the new leadership. However, Stanfa believed that he could appease the young bullies and observe them more closely by officially introducing them to the Mafia family. He also thought they would be easier to kill as members of the Mafia, as one of the rules is that they must attend a meeting if their boss requests it. Joey Merlino and his best friend Michael Ciancaglini were officially accepted as "made men" in the American Cosa Nostra by John Stanfa in September 1992 at a ceremony .

On March 2, 1993 Stanfa's Underboss, or Michael's brother Joseph Ciancaglini, Jr. was seriously injured in an assassination attempt by Merlino's men and remained partially paralyzed. On August 5, 1993 Michael Ciancaglini was killed by several gunshots and Merlino was injured by the Stanfa commissioned capo named John Veasey and his partner Phil Colletti . However, Joey wasn't about to accept his friend's death and hit back that month. When Stanfa, his son and his driver were on the highway, they were caught by continuous fire from a van and Stanfa's son was injured. Stanfa's driver managed to get the car off the road and led to the hospital, where Joe Stanfa's injuries were treated. In November 1993, Merlino was arrested by the FBI for violating his parole and sent back to prison. Stanfa and most of his supporters were also arrested in 1994, and Stanfa was sentenced to life imprisonment by treason by his closest allies in 1995.

At the top

Ralph Natale took over the new management of the family after consultation with Joey Merlino, who was released in 1994, while Joey held the position of underboss. According to Merlino's partner, Merlino only used Natale as an acting boss during his legal troubles, while Merlino secretly remained boss on the street.

Merlino made his money in classic Mafia businesses like gambling, usury, protection money claims and robbery, while Natale concentrated on expanding her influence in the drug trade. In the late 1990s, Merlino allied with Steven "Gorilla" Mondevergine , the president of an outlaw motorcycle gang called Pagan's MC . Authorities believed Merlino was using the boys to solve underworld disputes.

Treason and convictions

In June 1998, Natale was jailed for parole violation and Merlino officially took over the family. Soon after his imprisonment, Natale told authorities everything he knew about the Philly Mafia. Joey was arrested and charged in June 1999 with Underboss Steven Mazzone and Consigliere George Borgesi , among others . During his imminent prison sentence, Joey Joseph named "Uncle Joe" Ligambi as acting boss. The most serious allegations they were made were their alleged involvement in three murders, including Newark soldier Joseph Sodano , drug dealer Anthony Turra and his son. The long-awaited trial, highly anticipated by the local media, didn't begin until April 2001. On July 2, 2001, Skinny Joey and his partners were cleared of the murder charges, but were still charged with extortion, illegal bookmaking, and reception convicted of stolen property. In December, Joey was sentenced to fourteen years in federal prison. Commenting on his conviction, Joey said, “It's not bad. Better than the death penalty ” . He was released early on March 15, 2011 and was parole until 2015, which he spent with his family in Florida .

On May 23, 2011, Ligambi was arrested and Joey appointed his former underboss, Steven Mazzone, as the new incumbent boss. At the time, Merlino told the media that he had retired from Mafia life and was living in Boca Raton as a simple salesman and was trying to start some legitimate business.

At the end of 2014, Merlino was jailed for four months for breaking parole in the summer of 2014 when he met John "Johnny Chang" Ciancaglini, who was named Underboss in 2011, and other well-known faces of the Philly mob in Florida would have.

In New York City , after years of observation, 46 suspected members of the La Cosa Nostra were charged on August 4, 2016, and 39 of the accused were arrested the same day. They are charged with extortion, illegal gambling, arson, arms trafficking, credit card fraud and healthcare fraud. They are said to have been active on the US east coast, but also in the states of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts as well as in the southern state of Florida. All of them should face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Among the top 3 arrested were the notorious Capos Pasquale Parrello and Eugene O'Nofrio of the New York Genovese family , as well as Joey Merlino. All Detained Mafiosi, Without Exception, reportedly pleaded "not guilty" in federal court in Manhattan, and most were released on bail after payments of $ 135,000 to $ 360,000. But the police definitely don't want to let some of them go again. Including: Merlino, O'Nofrio and Parrello. Merlino was released on August 12 after paying a $ 5,000,000 bail and sentenced to two years in prison in October 2018 for illegal gambling operations.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Merlino Merlino
2. ^ Mob chef Angelo Lutz hopes for a hit with New Jersey restaurant The Kitchen Consigliere , NY Daily News. October 31, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2015. 
3. ↑ Tracing Ties Between Mob And Mayor Investigators Say A Friend Of Boss-turned-informant Ralph Natale's Funneled Cash And Gifts To Milton Milan. . March 31, 2000. Retrieved March 25, 2015. 
4. ^ Informant Is Mob Target, Officials Say . November 4, 1990. Retrieved March 25, 2015. 
5. ↑ Former 'Capo': 'I Was Underpaid' . CBS News. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
6. ↑ Straight From the Horsehead's Mouth | Cover story | News and Opinion | Philly Weekly . December 31, 2013. Archived from the original on September 13, 2012. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
7. ^ ^{A b c d} Global Mafia News - The Life and Crimes of Joey Merlino
8. ↑ What happened to the US mafia?
9. ^ Joseph S. Merlino - NJ Excluded Person ( Memento of December 8, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
10. ^ The Region; Casino Agency Bars 4 More Men . In: The New York Times , August 9, 1984. Retrieved May 7, 2010. 
11. ↑ Caparella, Kitty. "Recalling A Bloody Hit." Philadelphia Daily News. April 24, 2001.
12. ↑ Anastasia, George. "Mob Boss Natale Tells of 'Descent Into Hell'." Philadelphia Inquirer. March 31, 2001.
13. ↑ George Anastasia: The Last Gangster . HarperCollins, New York 2004, ISBN 978-0-06-054423-2 , pp. 70-72.
14. ↑ Jim Barry: Who's the Boss? . Philadelphia City Paper. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2011.
15. ^ Former Pagans leader Mondevergine arrested on attempted-murder charge . Philly.com. June 2, 2011. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
16. ↑ 7 Reputed Mafia Figures Are Acquitted of Murder . In: The New York Times , July 21, 2001. Retrieved May 7, 2010.  ( Page no longer available , search web archives ) 
17. ^ Mid-Atlantic: Pennsylvania: Mobster Gets 14 Years . In: The New York Times , December 4, 2001. Retrieved May 7, 2010. 
18. ↑   by VERNON ODOM: Joey Merlino leaves prison; heads to Florida . Abclocal.go.com. March 15, 2011. Archived from the original on December 18, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 9, 2013. 
19. ^ "Skinny Joey" Merlino's Out of the Joint , NBC. March 15, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2016. 
20. ↑ Ex-Philly mob leader "Skinny Joey" Merlino now in Florida halfway house . PAC. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
21. ↑ FBI has reputed Philadelphia mob boss . United Press International. May 23, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
22. ↑ Joey Merlino, Ex-Mob Boss, Gets 4 Months For Meeting Friend . Maryclaire Dale. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
23. ^ 'Skinny Joey' Merlino Reports to Federal Prison After Parole Violation , NBC. January 5, 2015. Accessed March 12, 2016. 
24. ↑ 46 alleged Mafia members indicted in New York ( Memento from September 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
25. ↑ Organized crime bust: How does the 'old school' Mafia work today?
26. ↑ image - FBI coup with 39 arrests, including the boss of the Philadelphia mob
27. ↑ Reputed Philly crime boss Joey Merlino gets $ 5 million bond .
28. ↑ US mobster Skinny Joey gets two years in prison - and agrees with Trump on 'flippers' . In: The Guardian . October 18, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.