I am preparing to take my film and road show to Las Vegas at the Clark County Library in January. In going back and looking at the events leading up to the Strawman prosecutions, I find the pivotal event was recorded by an F.B.I. wiretap. Â Carl “Tuffy” DeLuna was ordered by Nick Civella to go […]
On June 9, 1980, the night Frank Bluestein, aka “Frankie Blue”, died, Frank Culotta warned him, “These ‘fuckin’ cops here are real cowboys.” Frankie thought somebody was following him with the intent to rob. Frank tried to tell him it was the cops. Frankie Blue replied, “I got a gun if anybody tries to rob
A popular culture phenomenon has been the success of a reality show titled The Mob Wives. My friend and fellow Mob chronicler, Ed Scarpo publishes a page dedicated to inside information about the show on  his blog, Cosa Nostra News. I think the most interesting person on Mob Wives is Karen Gravano. Karen’s father is Sammy
The Chicago Mob‘s man in Las Vegas, Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal was operating without a casino license. I did some legal work for the Missouri Gaming Commission and I know the background check is extensive, even for a retired police officer. Lefty could never have been approved with an arrest for bribery of a college athlete
Frank Lefty Rosenthal Read More »
Think of yourself as a New York State Trooper in upstate New York. Now, picture that trooper  observing a gathering of men entering a country estate owned by a shadowy character who is unknown to neighbors. Then, visualize these men all dressed in sharkskin suits, alligator shoes, skinny ties and fedora hats. See the circle driveway filled
Appalachin Mob Convention Read More »
It is not too late to sign up for my webinar for Grantham University. The webinar is November 13, 2014 from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. I have been asked to be an adjunct instructor and teach a course titled, Intro to Organized Crime, for their Criminal Justice Department. I am going to use clips from my
Grantham University Webinar Read More »
I found the below Documentary on You Tube. I recommend it if you want to learn more of the back story behind the DeNiro film, Goodfellas. This tells the un-glamerous story of a real life professional criminal and based on the book, Wiseguy. Nicholas Pileggi‘s book Wiseguy was a great depiction of a certain class of criminal
Henry “Goodfellas” Hill Read More »
As most of you know, I obtained the entire set of tapes and transcripts from the “Strawman” case. This successful prosecution by the F.B.I. uncovered the domination of the Central States Teamster’s Pension Fund by the leaders of the Chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Kansas City La Cosa Nostra families. The only recordings available were the
Ed Scarpo on Audio Intercepts Read More »
I recently was made aware of an interesting new mob book about Al D’Arco by two of the most respected experts in East Coast Mob activities. Jerry Capeci and Tom Robbins have covered the New York City  Organized Crime scene for several decades. In Mob Boss: The Life of Little Al D”Arco, the Man Who
The Courier for the Kansas City Mob was bringing $40,000 a month back from the Tropicana. The Stardust skim was much larger and that is calculated in the millions every year. Despite the fact that Lefty Rosenthal was an informant, the Stardust courier was never intercepted. They did set the FBI up one time to
