Whitey Bulger



1994



If you're fascinated by the capture of this notorious mobster, here are 3 good sources for info:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/06/national/main20077250.shtml
http://www.biography.com/articles/john-bulger-328770
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/national/2011/06/how-fbi-feds-captured-whitey-bulger/39160/



NY Mobster gets life instead of death penalty

Thanks to the NY Daily News this item:   

Mob boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano dodges death penalty, sentenced to life in prison

BY John Marzulli AND Larry Mcshane
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Originally Published:Wednesday, June 1st 2011, 6:00 PM
Updated: Wednesday, June 1st 2011, 7:39 PM

Murderous mob boss Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano will live to preen again. The former Bronx  hair salon owner was spared the death penalty Wednesday by a federal jury that found his crimes less heinous than those of turncoat witness Joseph Massino - killer of a dozen people.

"There are other members of organized crime that have admitted to an equal or greater number of crimes that are not facing the death penalty," read a note from 10 of the jurors who gave Basciano life in prison.

The 51-year-old was outwardly confident when the jury began its deliberations at 3:50 p.m., blowing a kiss to his wife and sons insideBrooklyn Federal Court.

"Don't worry about me," the cocky gangster crowed. "I feel good, ya hear?"

When the verdict was read less than two hours later, a relieved Basciano poured a glass of water. He nodded and smiled at the dozen anonymous people who saved his life as they exited the jury box.
His bid to thank them personally was quickly rejected by Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis. 

"There's no chance in the world," the judge declared.

The one-time Bonanno family boss was convicted last month of capital murder for ordering the November 2004 execution of mob associate Randolph Pizzolo.

The testimony of his Bonanno predecessor, mob boss turned mob rat Massino, and five other cooperating witnesses crushed Basciano's hopes of acquittal for racketeering, murder and conspiracy.

"Tell Joe Massino he's a b--- j--," said Basciano's son Stephen, delivering a hard to swallow insult outside the courthouse.

Massino became the highest-ranking Mafiosi to ever flip when he wore a wire to meetings with Basciano inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center. Once sentenced this summer, Basciano will head to the notorious Cell Block H of the supermaximum security federal penitentiary in Florence, Colo.

Basciano lived up to his nickname during the trial, keeping his hair meticulously groomed and wearing a suit to court each day.

He was already serving a life sentence for the 2001 murder of Bronx junkie Frank Santoro before his conviction for Pizzolo's slaying on a deserted Brooklyn street.

Basciano sanctioned the killing to deliver a "wakeup call" to his crime family, which was beset by defections in its upper echelon.

The jury reached its decision despite Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Argentieri's contention that the brutal Basciano deserved a lethal injection.

"Even though his body is in prison, his mind will be in the street with his power and his money," the prosecutor told the jury. "The defendant has earned the ultimate punishment."

The government spent nearly $5 million in taxpayer money for Basciano's court-appointed team of lawyers.

Defense lawyer Richard Jasper had implored the jurors to let Basciano die "in God's time, not man's."

***

Also in the news:





  

Sergeant Smack Garners
Several Book Awards 

Rock Hill, North Carolina—It is a book award season and Strategic Media Books’ Sergeant Smack: The Legendary Lives and Times of Ike Atkinson, Kingpin, and his Band of Brothers has won or been nominated for nine awards.  The categories include True Crime, African American and Non Fiction. The awards recognize excellence in writing and story telling. In winning the gold medal in the true crime category of the eLIt Awards. Sergeant Smack was lauded for “illuminating digital publishing excellence.”

Other book awards include:

• Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Winner, 2010, African American category, 2010 Book of the Year
• International Books Awards, 2011, True Crime Book of the Year
• New England Book Festival—Finalist, 2010 True Crime Book of the Year
• Books and Authors Net—Winner, 2010 True Crime Book of the Year
• Independent Book Publishers Awards (IPPY awards), Bronze Medal, 2010 True Crime Book of the Year
• USA Book News “National Best Books Awards”, Finalist, 2010 True Crime Book of the Year
• The National Indie Excellence Awards, 2011 True Crime Book of the Year
• Crime Magazine’s Choice of True Crime Books, 2010
• Foreword Magazine, Finalist, 2010 True Crime Book of the Year (Winner to be announced on June 25, 2011)

“We are delighted that several awards committees deemed Sergeant Smack worthy of recognition,” Chepesiuk said. “It reflects the positive feedback we have been receiving from reading public.

” Chepesiuk revealed that Sergeant Smack has been optioned for a film, which is currently in development.

"Sergeant Smack: The Legendary Lives and Times of Ike Atkinson, Kingpin, and his Band of Brothers, which hit the bookshelves in June 2010, details the true legend of Ike Atkinson, the biggest African America drug traffickers in U.S. history. Atkinson's notorious enterprise was so complex and profitable; it easily rivaled that of popular modern day hoodlums, the Black Mafia Family.

Atkinson, who operated in the 1970s, never carried a gun, never committed murder and never bowed down to the infamous Italian La Cosa Nostra. As a U.S. Army Master Sergeant, he utilized his intellect and charm to, by conservative estimates, smuggle more than 1000 pounds of heroin worth $400 million annually from Bangkok, Thailand, through U.S. military bases into the United States.  Atkinson pioneered some of the most innovative methods used in international drug smuggling. They ranged from duffle and AWOL bags, to the U.S. Army Postal System to the use of unsuspecting crew chiefs who operated military aircraft to teakwood furniture.

Now 85-years old, Atkinson was released from federal prison in April 2007 after serving a 32-year prison term. ”We worked hard on putting the book together” Ike Atkinson said. “It’s gratifying to get some recognition for our effort.”

Chepesiuk has penned some 28 books, including "Gangsters of Miami," "Drug Lords, the Rise and  Fall of the Cali Cartel," "Gangsters of Harlem" and "Gangsters of Chicago," and more than 4000 articles. In all, Chepesiuk’s books have won more than twenty awards.

Join Ike Atkinson on Facebook.  See and hear from Ike Atkinson himself at youtube.com and read about him at IkeAtkinsonKingpin.com. For more information about Ron Chepesiuk, go to ronchepesiuk.com. Information about the publisher, Strategic Media Books, can be found at www.strategicmediabooks.com

And pick up the "Sergeant Smack: The Legendary Lives and Times of Ike Atkinson, Kingpin, and his Band of Brothers" online or at a bookstore near you! 

---

For further information: http://www.strategicmediabooks.com 

For interviews or to request copy of the book e-mail:   

strategicmediabooks@gmail.com or phone: 803-366-5440

 

Las Vegas Strip Sahara Hotel-Casino Closes

Onetime host to luminaries Elvis Presley and the Beatles, the Sahara Hotel-Casino closed its doors at 2:00 p.m. May 16, 2011 after 59 years. At one time Sinatra's infamous Rat Pack frequented the Sahara, a casino noted for its lounge acts featuring Don Rickles, Johnny Carson and Louis Prima.

Owners SBE Entertainment decided the casino was no longer economically viable to maintain on the North Las Vegas Strip property. Other recent closings on the Strip include the Stardust, Landmark and Boardwalk.

Read this for more Sahara history: http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/05/las-vegas-sahara-hotel-closes/170315/1

Crime Beat Radio

Crime Beat Radio Show Releases
Upcoming Program Schedule

May 20, 2011— Crime Beat: Issues, Controversies and Personalities from the Darkside has been programming since January 28 of this year and is currently averaging 60,000 listeners plus each week, and the figure is growing. 

Crime Beat is now pleased to announce its forthcoming schedule:

• May 26: Eric Forchion (AKA NJWeedman)

Forchion,activist and Rastafarian, will discuss his historic legal brief in New Jersey's Burlington County Superior Court, his upcoming criminal trial and his long-running battle to make marijuana legal and to change the drug laws in the U.S. 

• June 2: Andrew DiDonato (Command Performance)

DiDonato will reveal how he survived the Mob and led a street soldier’s life in the Gambino crime family

• June 9: Anthony DeStafano

The crime author will discuss his just released book, Mob Killer; The Bloody Rampage of Charles Carneglia, Mafia Hit Man

• June 16: John Pappas,  Executive Director, Poker Player’s Alliance

Pappas will discuss issues relating to Internet gambling

• June 23: Nathaniel Vinton and the co-authors from the New York Daily News

Authors will discuss their book, American Icon: The Fall of Roger Clemens and the Rise of Steroids in America’s Past-Time

• June 30: The Serial killer

Dan Zupansky, author of Trophy Kill: the Shall We Dance Murder. The Trial and Revelations of a Psychopathic Killer, and Scott Bonn, serial killer expert and professor at Rutgers University, will discuss Zupansky’s book and the mind of the serial killer.

• July 7: David Albright

Albright will discuss his latest book Peddling Peril and how the secret nuclear trade arms America’s enemies

Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program and airs every Thursday from 9 and 10 EST. Beginning with the May 5 program the show moves to the 8pm-9pm EST time slot on the Artist First World radio Network. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

Crime Beat is hosted by award-winning crime writer Ron Chepesiuk (www.ronchepesiuk.com) and broadcast journalist and freelance writer Willie Hryb. Ronald Herd 11, the popular Internet radio host and regular listener of Crime Beat, said "Crime Beatsounds like an organized crime greatest hits collection...I am loving it!"

“I am a BIG fan of your show and enjoy the variety of guests you have on your show,” writes Tom Hart of Atlanta Georgia. 

For more information, go to the Artist First Worldwide Radio Network at www.artistfirst.com. To contact the Crime Beat radio program, e-mail crimebeat123@yahoo.com.

Las Vegas Mob Museum Slated for Dec. 2011 Opening

There's plenty of controversy swirling around the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, better known as The Mob Museum. Read John L. Smith's piece below the main story taken from The Mob Museum Website.

Site of Mob Museum



LV mayor Oscar Goodman

MOB MUSEUM UNVEILS THE STARTING LINE-UP OF NAMES AND ARTIFACTS

(LAS VEGAS, NV) --- The Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement – aka The Mob Museum – today announced several of the names associated with artifacts that will be displayed within the Museum when it opens in December 2011.

According to Dr. Dennis Barrie, creative director of the Mob Museum, who, along with his wife, Kathleen Hickey Barrie of Barrie Projects, are developing the Museum’s creative content and overseeing the collection and curation of artifacts, the Mob Museum will be highly experiential and will incorporate rich elements of design, atmosphere, film, video and many fascinating artifacts that will help to tell the full story of organized crime in America.

Artifacts to be integrated throughout the Museum’s interactive exhibits are associated with many of organized crime’s biggest names, including, Alphonse Capone, Dion O’Bannion, George Moran, Charlie Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Ben Siegel, Sam Giancana, Joe Bonanno, Frank Rosenthal, Mickey Cohen, Tony Cornero and Tony Spilotro to name just a few.

In addition, many items relating to historic eras and specific industries, such as prohibition, money laundering and gaming, will also help to tell the story of the mob’s influence on these areas. Items and artifacts relating to law enforcement’s role in helping to eradicate and control the Mob, such as weapons and crime scene photos, will also be part of the Museum experience.

The Museum is under construction in the former United States Post Office and Court House at 300 Stewart Avenue in downtown Las Vegas that was dedicated on November 27, 1933 as the City’s first federal building. The building housed the very courtroom, where in 1950, one of 14 national hearings were held to expose and control organized crime in America. As part of the construction and rehabilitation of the building, the courtroom is being restored to appear as it did in 1950 during the famed Kefauver hearings, named for Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver.

“Visitors to the Mob Museum will be immersed in a full-bodied experience right down to the very building where members of organized crime were once exposed and prosecuted,” said Kathleen Barrie. “The historical building is the ideal home for this fascinating subject that is already capturing the interest and imagination of people from around the globe. We receive phone calls and e-mail from throughout the world on an almost daily basis inquiring about the Museum. Today, the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement is easily among the most highly anticipated museums in the world.”

Core and shell construction is well underway just nine months following the August 2009 “wall-breaking” by museum board members, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman and former U.S. Senator, Richard Bryan. Seismic retrofit is almost complete; new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are being installed and restoration of architectural details has started. The Museum is scheduled to open in spring 2011.

About The Mob Museum
The Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement – The Mob Museum – is a world-class museum dedicated to the history of organized crime and law enforcement now under development in downtown Las Vegas. The museum will present the real stories and actual events of mob history via interactive and engaging exhibits that reveal all sides of the story, with considerable focus on how law enforcement defeated and continues to battle organized crime. Located at 300 Stewart Avenue, inside an historic and former post office and federal court house, the museum is an important component of the city’s downtown redevelopment now underway and is projected to generate a combined economic output of more than $62.3 million during construction, employ approximately 227 individuals during construction, and generate annual visitation of hundreds of thousands tourists to the museum and downtown Las Vegas when it opens in 2011 The 41,000-square-foot Mob Museum includes approximately 16,800 square feet of exhibition space on three floors in addition to a specialty retail store, special event areas, educational areas and office space. The Mob Museum is expected to cost approximately $42 million to construct and is being funded through local, state and federal grants, in addition to matching grants and Redevelopment Agency funding sources that can only be spent in the city’s redevelopment area. The City of Las Vegas, which is currently overseeing the museum’s early development, owns the building and the land on which it sits. Ellen Knowlton, former FBI Special Agent in Charge, Las Vegas Division, and a 24-year FBI veteran, is president of 300 Stewart Avenue Corporation, a non-profit board formed to oversee the Museum’s development and operations. For more information, visit http://www.themobmuseum.org./

For a candid take on the Mob Museum check out Las Vegas Review-Journal John L. Smith's column:
http://www.lvrj.com/news/38442514.html

Crime Beat Radio's Hot New Topics

Ron Chepesiuk

 If you haven't checked out Crime Beat Radio, here's your chance:

April, 2011— CRIME BEAT: ISSUES, CONTROVERSIES AND PERSONALITIES FROM THE DARKSIDE has been programming since January of this year and is currently averaging 50,000 + listeners each week and the figure is growing.

Will Hryb



Crime Beat is now pleased to announce its forthcoming schedule:

• April 21: Diedre Capone, ancestor of Al Capone and author of Uncle Al Capone, shares family secrets about the godfather

• April 28: Tom Ajamie and Bruce Kelley, the authors of Financial Serial Killers, give us an inside look at the world of Wall Street hustlers, swindlers and con men and provide advice on how to protect yourself against Ponzi investment schemes
• May 5: Lynda Milito, the author of Mafia Wife talks about love, murder and madness.
• May 12: Howard Campbell, the author of Drug War Zone, talks about the Mexican drug war and life on the streets today in Juarez and El Paso
• May 19: Robert Wittman, former FBI agent and the author of Priceless, reveals how he went underground to rescue the world’s art treasures.


Crime Beat is a weekly hour-long radio program and airs Every Thursday from 9 and 10 EST. Beginning with the May 5 program the show moves to the 8pm-9pm EST time slot on the Artist First World radio Network. Crime Beat presents fascinating topics that bring listeners closer to the dynamic underbelly of the world of crime. Guests have included ex-mobsters, undercover law enforcement agents, sports officials, informants, prisoners, drug dealers and investigative journalists, who have provided insights and fresh information about the world’s most fascinating subject: crime.

Crime Beat is hosted by award-winning crime writer Ron Chepesiuk (www.ronchepesiuk.com) and broadcast journalist and freelance writer Willie Hryb. Ronald Herd 11, the popular Internet radio host and regular listener of Crime Beat, said "Crime Beat sounds like an organized crime greatest hits collection...I am loving it!"

For more information or to listen to the archives of Crime Beat, go to the Artist First Worldwide Radio Network at http://www.artistfirst.com/crimebeat.htm. To contact the Crime Beat radio program for interviews, e-mail crimebeat123@yahoo.com or call 803-366-5440.



Vinny Vella Mob Actor: More than The Sopranos & Casino

Vinny Vella

Who is this guy?
For one thing Vinny Vella, who grew up in New York’s Little Italy, portrayed the character Jimmy Petrille in the TV hit The Sopranos. Before that a string of mobster and other quirky characters followed his role as Artie Piscano in the movie Casino directed by Martin Scorsese. He’s been called “one of Hollywood's old standbys for playing imposing, street-smart Italian-American hoods.” But there’s a lot more to Vinny Vella than his celluloid mobster persona.

Lesser known facts:
 • Vinny, known as the unofficial “Mayor of Elizabeth Street,”   was born Vincent Franco Vellacerra in New York City’s Little Italy.

• Vinny was the “man about town” in a program on the Travel Channel based on his adventures.

• Vinny says he doesn’t want to be as famous as Robert De Niro, “I don’t need no Rolls-Royce. All I want is to be working a little more, to have a little more money. I want a building with an elevator.”

• Robert De Niro attended Vinny’s wedding.

• Vinny teamed up with ESPN to do over 30 commercial spots for Monday Night Baseball.

• Vinny logged some time behind bars for running numbers.

• Before he was an actor, Vinny used to rent out RVs to use on movie sets.

• Vinny plays Frank Brancato in the movie, The Irishman. It premiered in several cities around St. Patrick’s Day, March 2011.

Mob Speak was curious to see what kind of a guy Vinny Vella really is…

MS: Vinny, many years ago you had a trucking company called “Star Truckers.” How did you snag clients like Madonna, Cindy Crawford and Mariah Carey?

VV: We rented out our vehicles to different fashion industries among other clients. The fashion people used the RVs for makeup and wardrobe. I started working with models like Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and many others who were just starting out in the business. The next thing you know we started renting out the vehicles to MTV and VH1 for music videos. Pretty soon we had stars like Madonna on board. Then word got out and the movie studios found out about us.

MS: I read that you got your first acting gig in an MTV show called House of Style.

VV: Yeah, I became good friends with Cindy Crawford. She was always glad to see me when I drove the RV. “Hey Vinny, how are you?” she’d say. I’d entertain everyone, not like the other drivers who would just stand around and try to see the girls without any clothes on…bunch of perverts. If it was a nice day I’d step outside and give the girls their privacy. If it was rainy I’d sit in the front seat and look straight ahead. I respected them and they appreciated that. Well, Cindy Crawford launched House of Style and offered me a spot on the show. Every time I saw a new model I said, “She’s the most beautiful.” The next model I saw I said, “No, this is the most beautiful one.” I tell you I had the best dreams.

MS: How did you happen to land the role of Artie Piscano, a stool pigeon in Casino? Any good stories?

VV: When I was just a driver for the fashion industry I began putting together head shots and submitted them to different NY agents. Got some work as an extra for $100 a day. I took these jobs just to get my feet wet. The next thing you know I heard about auditions for Casino. I auditioned and was offered a very small part. Then they upgraded my role to the Kansas City underboss, Artie Piscano, because they liked what they saw. They asked if that was a problem. “No, no problem,” I said, thinking how lucky I was. Everything started to snowball.

The woman who played my mother in the movie I knew from Elizabeth Street. She happened to be Marty Scorsese’s mother. I spent time with her on the set since nobody wanted to hang out with her. I took her to a casino for fun. Marty saw how well we got along and told me he was going to try something in our next scene. Every time I swore, he was going to have her hit me and make some comment. It's hard to keep your concentration when you’re trying to remember your lines. It wasn’t working out too well so Marty came up to me and took my lines and threw them in the garbage. I had no idea what he was going to tell me. He asked me what I’d do to someone who owed me a lot of money and didn’t pay. I told him I’d do this and that and I'd break their f---ing heads. He stopped me and said, “That’s perfect.”

So I improvised the whole thing. I was waiting for him to say cut because I was running out of stuff. After maybe 2 or 3 minutes he finally said cut and walked over. “Vinny, that was excellent…exactly what I want…now do it over again.” We ended up doing about 20 takes with 3 cameras. I guess it worked out. Some people are shy when the camera starts rolling. Me, I make love to that camera.

Now 16 years later people still come up to me and say, “Hey you’re the guy that screwed up in Casino.” It was a memorable part that started me on a roll.

MS: What about your role in The Sopranos?

VV: They called me down and said I’d be reading with someone else. It ended up that I got the part of Jimmy Petrille with the New York mob. I was in several episodes.

MS: You had a part in director Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog and Coffee and Cigarettes. Jarmusch allegedly said, “The beauty of having a guy like Vinny in your film is that he’s real…he didn’t come out of an acting academy.” How tough is it for you to play a mob guy? Are you afraid of being typecast?

VV: I pretty much play myself. No, I don’t worry about becoming typecast. People seem to like what I do. I’ve also branched out into comedy in movies like Analyze This and Analyze That. I’ve done a comedy called The Last Days of Limbo where I play a bishop. There’s a scene in the movie where I’m cooking sausages and one of the characters asks if I know what I’m doing. “Of course I know what I’m doing,” I say. “I’ve been cooking all my life.” At that exact moment a lot of smoke comes up out of the grill...it turns out very funny.

MS: You portrayed real life mobster Frank Brancato in the recently released movie, Kill the Irishman, based on Rick Porrello’s book To Kill the Irishman, The War that Crippled the Mafia. How did that gig come about?

VV: I think I was watching The Price is Right and I get a phone call from Jonathan Hensleigh, the director, who told me he wanted to get me on board. I said, “So when are guys going to start filming?” “Next week,” he said. “When you’re ready, call me,” I said. You could waste a lot of time sitting around waiting for stuff to happen. Here's what I believe in: When I’m actually in front of the camera. Jonathan told me who was in it and asked if he could send me a script. It sounded like it was on the up-and-up, so I said yeah. We worked out a contract. It was great what they offered me. I was in Detroit (which doubled for Cleveland) like 5 weeks.

Ray Stevenson not only looked like The Irishman Danny Greene, he was one of the greatest guys you’d ever want to meet. We hung out and played pool and drank in a bar across the street. Well, Danny Greene always wore a gold chain with a gold cross on it. So at the end of the shoot Ray gave all the principal actors, 10 to 15 people, a gold chain and cross. Must have cost at least a couple hundred a piece.

MS: You’ve been in something like 50 movies, Vinny. Do you remember them all?
VV: It’s not that I’m losing it…it’s that I’ve already lost it. I’ve done so many movies and TV shows that I lose track.

MS: Okay, you opened a pizzeria in Brooklyn called Vinny Vella’s Pizza that attracted a colorful assortment of characters many of whom are ex-wiseguys and actor buddies of yours including Robert De Niro, Danny Aiello and many of The Sopranos crew. (Does that make them friends of yours or friends of ours?) Then you renamed it Better Fellas in 2009. Is it still going?

VV: I got rid of it because of my partner who had “slippery fingers.” He’s lucky he still has his fingers because if this was years ago his hands would have been in the oven. But that’s another story…