Showing posts with label John Pennisi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Pennisi. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Tuesday, October 10, 2023
Monday, July 31, 2023
Ailing Lucchese mobster insists he is not the Boss of the crime family
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A murderous mob boss asking for compassionate release from prison pushed back on federal prosecutors’ claims he still runs the Luchese crime family — saying that the allegations come from an unstable government cooperator who believes in ghosts.
Vittorio “Vic” Amuso, 88, argued in court filings last week that his killer history, which included ordering nine hits and three attempted murders between 1988 and 1991, shouldn’t factor into whether he’s allowed to die in dignity, surrounded by family.
“Simply put, justice is not built on getting even, and punishment need not be aimlessly held in perpetuity because it was once a legally justifiable result,” Amuso’s lawyer Anthony DiPietro wrote in a filing last week.
DiPietro took particular issue with prosecutors’ allegations in a filing earlier this month that Amuso, who has been behind bars for 32 years, would still be a threat to the community because he still runs the Luchese crime family.
Prosecutors based that allegation in large part on testimony by Mafia turncoat John Pennisi, who said that Amuso was still in charge and set up a leadership change in the crime family through a series of coded letters in 2017.
Pennisi never met or spoke with Amuso, DiPietro said, adding, “He apparently suffers mental delusions and had claimed that the spirit of his deceased loved ones had provided him a message, by shaking the structure of his home and the dishware therein for hours on end, to cooperate with the FBI.”
In an April 2021 interview with podcaster Gary Jenkins, Pennisi said he asked his dead grandparents for a sign as he fretted about becoming a government informant — and he got one.
“I didn’t live by a train station... There was no planes flying around. It was an earthquake,” he said. “Everything was shaking in the house, like ‘Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding ding!’... This went on for hours.”
Amuso is seeking release under the First Step Act, saying that he’s a changed man facing down his mortality and deteriorating health, including chronic arthritis so painful he needs a wheelchair to move, clouded vision and the loss of all his teeth.
“The government’s opposition provides no convincing reason as to why an elderly and ailing prisoner, after serving an extremely long term of imprisonment, must medically suffer and ultimately perish in a prison cell when the court possesses the perfect power, provided by the First Step Act, to compel the end-of-life care of such a prisoner to his family,” DiPietro wrote.
Federal prosecutors argued this month that no “compelling and extraordinary circumstances” exist for Amuso’s release, but even if one did, his many crimes were too ruthless to consider it.
“The murderous means that Amuso employed to reach his criminal ends weigh heavily against any form of compassionate release and, in the government’s estimation,“ prosecutors wrote. “Amuso’s significant sentence was consistent with the seriousness of his crimes and reflects the heartlessness that Amuso routinely employed as the boss of the Luchese crime family.”
Brooklyn Federal Judge Frederic Block will decide on Amuso’s motion.
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-vic-amuso-lucchese-boss-compassionate-release-20230731-pjli6dkqnfgv7adzhickquvl34-story.html
Saturday, July 30, 2022
Thursday, October 14, 2021
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Wednesday, August 4, 2021
Friday, April 30, 2021
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Saturday, March 20, 2021
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Former Luchese soldier opens up about his old life in the mafia
It’s one of the most iconic scenes in movie history and it involves a made man.
In Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 classic The Godfather, Michael Corleone, played by a young Al Paccino, tells his wife Kay, “Don’t ever ask me about my business.”
It’s a poignant scene to remind us that his line of work is so gruesome, he can’t even share the nature of it with his spouse.
The Godfather ushered in several decades of Cosa Nostra cinema. But from that very first film, if there was one thing the general public could take from these classics, it’s that the less you know about someone’s questionable dealings, the better.
Several seconds later, Corleone gives in to Kay.
“This one time,” he says, “This one time, I will let you ask me about my affairs.”
She does. And he lies to her face, but that’s not the point. The point is, we had an opportunity to talk with a real-life caporegime of one of New York’s infamous five families, a one-time pass to ask about his affairs…his life in the mob, a chance to sort gritty reality from the Hollywood fantasy.
NYC’s John Pennisi is a reformed criminal who speaks freely about his former life. He has a blog and recently hooked up with New Jersey media professional Tom La Vecchia. Together they do a podcast called The MBA and the Button Man all about “our thing.”
Putting together a podcast
Men’s Journal: So, a capo of the Lucchese Crime family has a podcast. How did that come about?
TOM LA VECCHIA: I started The New Theory Podcast
about three years ago. I’d had a moderate level of success. Organized
crime is sort of my personal interest. And I noticed that whenever I had
anyone on from that world, it tended to do better than other guests.
Then I read Cosa Nostra News
one day, where John Pennisi was featured in a three-part series. I
said, ‘I like this guy.’ We chatted, became fast friends and came up
with the idea of recording a sit down with a made member of the mob. I
was getting about 5,000 hits per podcast and this swelled up to like
15,000. So we recorded what turned into a nine-part series, and
organically within a month, we had 100,000 streams. We put our heads
together and formed The MBA and the Button Man Podcast.
John and I are two Italian-American guys. We took two totally different routes. But when we talk, we find a lot of commonality, comparing “the life” to my work in corporate America. We’re about five or six episodes deep. For a new podcasts, the numbers are off the charts.
Really the main thing we need to know here is, John, how
you’re able to speak so freely about the things you know the things
you’ve witnessed. One thing we all know is that secrecy is the key to
that life. How are you able to talk about it?
JOHN PENNISI: Well, I’m no longer in the life.
Changing direction
Right, but how were you able to leave the life without repercussions from the mob or the law?
PENNISI:
What had happened was, I was falsely accused of becoming a rat, or an
informant, or whatever way you want to phrase it. And the mob will do
their homework. And when they did their homework and realized it was a
mistake, it was too late. I couldn’t trust anyone anymore. I walked away
on my own. Usually there is no walking away. As far as legally, I don’t
think I have said anything that probably hasn’t been said already or
that the government doesn’t know about. As far as repercussions, I don’t
know what’s on their mind. We’re living in a different world today. The
mob is not what it once was.
Help us to understand this… You were a made guy. From the pop
culture standpoint, we assume that you’re basically upper management in
an organized crime family. It’s elite and no one can give you a hard
time without consequences.
PENNISI: Yeah. That’s pretty
accurate. You have the boss of the family, one underboss and then the
captains, made guys, who are the head of different crews. The family, as
it’s known, is made up of smaller crews of “associates.” There’s a big
gap between an associate and a made man.
And Tom, you are literally a Master’s of Business Administration?
LA
VECCHIA: Yeah, I’m a Jersey guy, 20 years in corporate. Ten years ago, I
decided to hang my own shingle as a multi-media digital marketing
entrepreneur. I think I bring a neutral, real-world point of view to the
conversation.
Fighting and embracing stereotypes
All races and ethnicities in this country have historically
worked to separate themselves from certain stereotypes. But the mob
thing doesn’t seem to hurt Italian-Americans as much. There are plenty
of legit Italians who aren’t in a hurry to distance themselves from it
all.
PENNISI: I would say that shows like Mob Wives and The Jersey Shore
would hurt Italians more than anything. And no knock against either of
them, but those type of stereotypes are not good. We were kind of a
black eye to the hard-working civilian Italian-Americans.
LA VECCHIA: You have a group of Italian-Americans that wants nothing to do with it. My parents were off the boat. My mother hated the Mob. She hated seeing John Gotti on TV. I had an estranged cousin who married Sammy the Bull’s niece. We weren’t really allowed to go to the wedding. We distanced ourselves.
My experience has been that Italian-Americans that are kind of connected, hang out with other connected families. My mother made it a point to annex us away from that stuff. But for other people, there’s a sense of pride whether we like it or not. You watch The Godfather and you pump out your chest a little bit. My listeners have a bigger appetite for John than they do for people from the legitimate business world. I’m personally fascinated with it. Would I want that life for my friends and my family? No. The reason I like John a lot is because he is legitimately trying to change his life. He’s genuine in his message.
Made men named Sideburns, Frog Eyes, and Quack Quack
One thing we love when we read your blog or listen to the podcast is the nicknames.
LA VECCHIA: I like Johnny Sideburns.
PENNISI: Oh my God (laughs). There’s so many. There was Louie Bagels, the acting boss of the family. There was Johnny Sausage. Frog Eyes Grillo, Big Bird Guzzo, Frank “Chiclet Mouth” Radice, Tommy Sneakers, Allie Shades, and Angelo “Quack Quack” Ruggiero. There are so many guys called Meatballs. They called me Johnny. They called me Young Gun or Young John, nothing bad.
There’s this notion that the life is a thing of the past and
there’s a different world now where the mafia doesn’t exist. Can you
tell us if there is still organized crime happening among a hierarchy of
Italian-American families?
PENNISI: Oh, absolutely. You’re
always going to have organized crime. But there’s no comparison to years
past. Believe it or not, they’ve moved into more legitimate
business—restaurants, construction, and real estate. There will always
be an undertone of organized crime, but it definitely has changed a lot
from shakedowns and extortion
LA VECCHIA: One thing I would add, John maintained his job as a construction manager while he was an inducted member. I believe that was part of his strategy. When he did interact with the government, they didn’t even know who he was. He had a job. We joke about it. If someone were to surveil him, by Thursday they would go home because they’re just sitting in a parking lot, while he’s down in the mud, directing guys on a worksite.
The Mafia in media
I’m sure you guys have seen all the mafia movies and TV
shows. There’s a lot of Hollywood element. But if you had to pick one,
which is the most accurate portrayal?
PENNISI: It’s hard. TV and the movies are very different than that life. The Godfather was probably very close, but there were aspects of the Godfather that would have never taken place. The same with Goodfellas and A Bronx Tale.
There are little bits and pieces of reality but it’s still Hollywood. I
believe people from the life were advisors on some of those movies.
It would seem that subculture exists as the opposite of
political correctness. Among broader cultures, there have been changes
in the past few years of acceptable ways to talk and act. Has the
organized crime life seen any changes to reflect that?
PENNISI:
It’s funny that you say that. Years ago, they would refer to a person
from “the other side,” meaning from Italy, and they would call them a
zip or a greaseball, which is a derogatory name. And I’m sure that
anyone who spoke that way wasn’t trying to knock them. It was just a
learned behavior. Just like throughout history, they would call us WOPs.
And I noticed that in like 2017, someone had said something along the
lines of, “Yeah, that greaseball….” And someone else said, “Hey you
know, you should watch what you’re saying because you’re going to insult
them. You shouldn’t really talk like that.” Now years ago, you would
never hear someone corrected like that. But that’s the only thing that
I’ve seen. Nothing else. Organized criminals are not being politically
correct. They don’t care.
Food culture
Food is a very specific part if this culture. What’s your favorite dish at your favorite restaurant?
PENNISI: I would have to say most of the food at Rao’s in Harlem. Everything is very good there, especially the seafood salad. Rao’s is a good spot.
LA VECCHIA: I didn’t eat out Italian food as a kid. It was kind of a bad thing to do, out of respect for your parents’ cooking. But now my mother has passed, I have more of an appetite for it. But for some old school Italian, the Belmont Tavern in Bloomfield is very good.
PENNISI: Oh, that’s a great spot. That was our spot, a Luchesse spot. The food is incredible at the Belmont Tavern.
LA VECCHIA: And I know it’s a standard, but Maruca’s Pizza in Seaside Heights. That Trenton tomato pie. I’m getting more into that flavor the last few years and Marucca’s got it down.
Leading a Reformed Life
John, you’ve mentioned that you’re a changed person, leading a
new life. Why don’t you give me a little bit of that reformed
worldview?
PENNISI: From when you’re inside that fishbowl,
you see things differently. A lot of people look at it like it was such
an honor. In the street, it was the highest achievement to be made a soldier. But when you’re on the outside looking in at my former life, to be
completely honest with you, it’s now become an embarrassment to me. I
look at things very differently. I always, even in that life, try to
help people. Still do so today. I’ve apologized already to a few people
who I’ve wronged. I wish I could apologize to everybody.
There came a time I was somewhere near a footbridge. And I kept saying to myself, “If I walk over that footbridge and go on to the other side, I’m leaving that life behind me.” And I couldn’t do it.
One day I had a lot of stress. I was jogging and I wound up right at that footbridge. I walked over. And when I walked over that footbridge, I left all that negativity of my former life behind me. I kept going positive ever since. Violence comes with that life. I never went back to my former life, thinking or acting that way. Changed my life for the better. I keep my head up and focus on what’s ahead of me. My former family has definitely wronged me. I forgave everyone who wronged me.
Every day is a blessing and so much good has come to me this way. I have two daughters; one is 25 and one is going to be 10. I love the both of them. I want them to learn from me now, not who I was. Especially with daughters. They want to meet a guy who’s like their father. I’d rather they meet a guy who’s like me now, than what I used to be.
https://www.mensjournal.com/features/a-once-made-man-opens-up-about-life-in-the-mafia-mens-journal/
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
Monday, January 4, 2021
Tuesday, December 22, 2020
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Lucchese family used Staten Island to conduct secret mafia initiation rituals
The Lucchese crime family established a
strong presence on Staten Island over the years, with the Mafia clan
holding a clandestine initiation ritual here and numerous members of its
so-called Brooklyn crew operating on the borough, a mob snitch said
last week.
During detailed testimony in
Manhattan federal court, John Pennisi, a family member turned FBI
informant, explained to prosecutors how many of the family’s members
migrated to Staten Island from Brooklyn, establishing a stronghold here.
“We were the Brooklyn faction of the
Lucchese family, but we operated out of Staten Island,” said Pennisi,
49, according to a transcript of his testimony obtained by the Advance.
Pennisi testified during the trial of family soldier Eugene "Boobsie" Castelle, 59, of Annadale, who was charged in a massive bust involving several mob families early last year.
During his testimony, Pennisi explained how about seven or eight people were part of each crew.
Crews were spread all over the New York City area, including two in the Bronx, two on Long Island and one in Manhattan.
Each crew was run by a captain, Pennisi explained.
“There
was no real Staten Island crew,” said Pennisi. “Although we were in
Staten Island, we were the Brooklyn part of that family.”
“If
you live on Staten Island why are you considered Brooklyn?” asked
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten, of the Southern District of New
York.
The answer was simple.
“Because everybody from Staten Island came from Brooklyn,” Pennisi testified.
Pennisi said that, at the time, he was living on Long Island and traveled to Staten Island for family business.
“It’s just wherever they put you," he said. "It doesn’t mean that you have to come from Brooklyn.”
His testimony didn’t specify exactly where the crew was operating, but the New York Post reported it was mostly based in Tottenville.
Pennisi, himself, lived on Staten Island for a short time after getting out of prison in 2007.
He
started cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation sometime
after October 2018, when he walked into the Bureau’s office to share his
“concerns and basically crimes that [he] committed,” he said under
oath.
He has been sharing information about the inside operations of the Mafia family since then.
SECRET INITIATION
Pennisi
said he became a member of the Lucchese family in 2013, during a secret
initiation ceremony at a house on Staten Island on his wife’s birthday.
Matty Madonna, the acting boss of the Lucchese family, presided over the ceremony, he said.
In the darkness of a basement, Pennisi sat in front of a table.
“There
was a gun, a knife, there was a picture of a saint, an ashtray, a
lighter, and like a diabetic pin, needle to check your blood,” said
Pennisi.
Madonna, from the Bronx, asked
Pennisi what his trigger finger was and shortly after, John "Big John" Castellucci, a Staten Island resident and crew captain, who was sitting
next to him, poked his finger with the needle, according to his
testimony.
“They took the saint, and they poured
blood drops onto the saint, and then he said to me we're going to light
the saint on fire, and you're going to put your hands out and you're
going to move the paper of the saint back and forth in your hands and
repeat after me,” said Pennisi.
“Matty
[Madonna] said if I was ever to betray any member of the family, that my
soul would burn like the saint is burning,” he said.
He did not specify where on Staten Island the ritual took place.
The feds have struck back hard against the family in recent years.
Both Madonna and Castellucci were among those charged in a massive Lucchese bust in 2017, which included several Staten Islanders. Madonna was 81 at the time and Castellucci 57.
'BOOBSIE’ VERDICT
After a two-week trial, Castelle was found guilty on one count of attempted extortion and one count of illegal gambling on Friday.
He remains out on bail after his brother put up his New Brighton home in January of 2018, according to court documents.
Pennisi is currently under FBI protection.
(Both
court filings and officials from the U.S. attorney’s office spell the
family name as “Luchese.” Many outlets, however, spell the family name
as “Lucchese.”)
https://www.silive.com/news/2019/06/how-luccheses-turned-staten-island-into-mob-stronghold-down-to-secret-initiation-ritual.html
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