Brown, aka Dom14, age 41; Joseph Servidio, aka Joey Electric, age 60; Salvatore Mazzone, aka Sonny, age 55; Joseph Malone, age 70; Louis Barretta, aka Louie Sheep, age 56; Victor DeLuca, aka Big Vic, age 56; Kenneth Arabia, aka Kenny, age 67; Daniel Castelli, aka Danny, aka Cozzy, aka Butch, aka Harry, age 67; Carl Chianese, age 81; Anthony Gifoli, aka Tony Meatballs, age 73; John Romeo, age 58; Daniel Malatesta, age 75; Daniel Bucceroni, age 66; and John Michael Payne, age 34. To be included in this list, the person must have a Wikipedia article and/or references showing the person is Irish American and a mobster. Philadelphia, PA 19106, Telephone:(215) 861-8200 The purpose of the LCN in Philadelphia and elsewhere is to make money through the commission of various crimes, including illegal gambling, loansharking, drug trafficking, and extortion. Leader of the Ryan gang, Eddie Ryan, tried to take out the leader of the Keanes, which provoked the ensuing Limerick feud. The crew was adamant about not carrying weapons with them while they burglarized. A favored target was the wealthy residential Jewish suburbs, which would be the livelihood of the group for many years. The Irish-Americans did not see themselves as immigrants, and were notoriously anti-Italian. A group of alleged mobsters in South Philadelphia actually played in a local softball leaguethe reporters, of course, dubbed them The Hit Men. (One opening line in the Philadelphia Daily News? In [] David Criniti who was involved in the operation soon testified against the defendants, dealing a blow to the K&A Gang. Domestically, the network is known to have ties to various criminal organizations in its surrounding area. Anti-Catholic, anti-Irish mobs in Philadelphia destroyed houses and torched churches in the deadly Bible Riots of 1844. Court can be boring. In the short period that they were active, they claimed responsibility for close to 100 murders. According to a 1950 U.S. Congress investigation into organized crime in interstate commerce, Hoffman and Weisberg were Strombergs first and second in command. It started in the early 1800s with street gangs like the For 20 Mobsters With The Weirdest Nicknames. Michael was prominent from the 1920s until his death in 1959. Jimmy Coonan was a Manhattan based mobster who was leader of the Westies gang, the last major Irish gang in the area, in the 1960s and 1970s. Please visit ourmembership pageto learn how you can invest in our work by subscribing to the magazine or making a donation. As alleged in the Superseding Indictment, on October 15, 2015, defendants Steven Mazzone, Domenic Grande and Salvatore Mazzone participated in a making ceremony (as detailed above) in a South Philadelphia residence, during which several new soldiers were inducted into the Philadelphia LCN. They are also allegedly responsible for the Pottsville Heist in 1959. Between 1923 and 1962, he was arrested 23 times. Check out some of the. There appears to be little publicity so perhaps there is no Irish mob in Philly but given the fact that New York and Boston have infamous organised crime mobs that have hit the headlines for very outrageous offences including the corruption and abuse of the FBI by Whitey Bulger in Boston I wondered if there were any tales of an Irish mob in . November 23, 2020 4:20pm. They might be operating on a smaller scale, but they still contribute to the global epidemic of gang activity that will not soon be abolished. The nicknames of Mr. Merlinos alleged associates, mentioned over the years in government documents, are straight out of central casting: Beeps, Horsehead, Snitch, Scoops, Chickie, Mousie, Penknife, Windows, Handsome Stevie,Baby Dom, Uncle Joe and many more. Weisberg was the " chief lieutenant " for a prominent mob boss named Harry Stromberg, known as Nig Rosen, based out of Philadelphia. At the top of the list is the rule that a member should never rat out another member. It was horizontal in nature, there being several prominent "crew chiefs" who held influence. List of American mobsters of Irish descent. During a roughly 50 year period starting in 1836, almost 70 gangs were in operations along the waterfront. After this look at mob hits of decades past, learn about the most brutal gangs around the world. The West End Gang is one of the most influential, albeit small, criminal gangs in Canada. A lock ( And the peace process in Ireland has put an end much of their arms smuggling into and out of the country. With that said, if you're playing a member of the K&A Gang, you're not playing a Good Guy. Philadelphia Teamsters Local 107 was considered one of the most corrupt and violent locals in the country. Eddie Ryan was subsequently killed by the Keanes in an act of revenge, which angered the McCarthy-Dundon gang, who had recently formed and had planned to take out both families and rise to the top. After this ceremony, these men (who must be of 100% Italian ancestry) are then referred to as made members of the LCN. Jewish-American organized crime reached its heights during the 1920s and 30s and largely declined after World War II. Perhaps one of the reasons that the Irish were never able to rise up against the Italian mafia was due to their lower membership numbers. Jewish mobsters. Police, security agencies advise Jews to be on alert ahead of planned National Day of Hate on Shabbat, March comes in with a roar of new Yiddish music, A graphic novel of the Purim story, from a Batman comics editor, In Mel Brooks History of the World Part II, Jewish jokes reign from BCE to the Beatles. Although it would seem logical that the Irish Mafia would exist in Ireland, they only became active in the mother country in the 1960s, more than a century after they originally emerged in America. I used to work in South Philly. The former died in prison in 2012, and the latter became a government witness and lived out the rest of his life in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Being a member in the K&A Gang requires the following stats: The following stats are suggested, but not required. Street Soldier; My Life as an Enforcer for "Whitey" Bulger and the Boston Irish Mob by Edward MacKenzie and Phyllis Karas, Steerforth, 256 pp.. Schatzberg, Rufus, Robert J.Kelly and Ko-lin Chin, ed. In the 19th century the Irish Mob began as Irish-American street gangs. The neighborhoods of South Philly, a stronghold of Italian-American culture for over a century, have always been a place where law enforcement and neighborhood customs have uneasily coexisted. He lived in Philadelphia from 1996 to 1999. These days, the neighborhoods are seeing new waves of immigration. You're playing a member of a ruthless organized crime syndicate with affiliates in two countries. Team Israel is playing in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The old standbys are once more coming into fashion, as sports gambling, racketeering, loansharking, and burglary once more form the meat of the mob's income. And is Mr. Merlino truly still a gangster or just a gambler who happens to enunciate the vowel at the end of his name? (As a character in The Sopranos says, At this point in our cultural history, mob movies are classic American cinema, like Westerns.) And so it was sort of fun to rub shoulders with guys who fulfilled all the stereotypes: the wet look hair, the distinctive South Philly accent (which not a single character in "The Irishman" even attempted to imitate; the only one who sounded slightly like he was from Philly was America's own James Martin, S.J., who played a parish priest and actually grew up in the area), the three-quarter-length car coats, the braggadocio, the whiff of violence. If youve seen Boardwalk Empire, you know that it didnt work out too well for the Irish! We have all the dirt on their past, their present and their most powerful players. They were founded by James Buddy McLean in 1950, but had their heyday in the late 70s and early 80s under the rule of famed mobster Whitey Bulger. According to court documents, the Philadelphia LCN is one of a number of LCN organized crime families based in various cities throughout the United States. Although some of the involved parties escaped the authorities, many people were charged with planning and executing her murder. people, women and others in the Catholic Church, Cardinal Cupich: Critics of Pope Francis Latin Mass restrictions should listen to JPII. All rights reserved amorq.com@gmail.com, This is a web-site of incredible adventures and colorful views from all over the World. Most of the crimes associated with the gangs were burglaries and large-scale thefts. Mr. Merlino himself until recently had two daughters enrolled at a private Catholic university, and he counts among his close friends several Philadelphia-area priests. The author appears in the center background of the photo(AP Photo/Kathy Willens). In an effort to be even more comprehensivefrom sources listed below as well as the Inquirerwe located an additional 14. One could make the argument that entering the Marine core during the turbulent Vietnam War at the age of 17 essentially sealed his fate: the impressionable young man, possible harbouring underlying schizophrenia, engaged in violent combat in the green hell and white heat hat was the conflict in Vietnam. He was allegedly assumed to be an informant on the meth operation that the Traitz brother ran in tandem with members of the K&A gang. This group of gangsters was led by Bernie McLaughlin and didnt survive the Irish Gang Wars of the 1960s. Although the Irish put up a good fight, the Italians were more numerous and more organized. Yet it boasts a vibrant nightlife scene, and has strong present-day connections to the last remaining elements of the mafia. Owner of Northeast Philadelphia's Sherwood Club. The Mob is currently active in various U.S. cities including Philadelphia, Chicago, New York and many more. Francis James Brewer - Member of the K&A burglary ring. The working class roots of Northeast Philadelphia grew people tough and cynical, and made the wealthy neighborhoods surrounding them appealing targets. That was almost two years ago, when I spent a week researching and writing a story on Mr. Merlinos trial on racketeering and gambling charges. Although they had quite a large membership (close to 50 people) many of these would end up dead or imprisoned after going head to head with the Winter Hill Gang. (U.S. Library of Congress via My Jewish Learning). For many of the Irish in Northeast Philadelphia, the appeal of organized crime far exceeded the monotony of wage slavery and eight hours on some shop floor. Some tips for making the most of your twilight years. The local numbers rackets compete with the state lottery, which offers a daily payout little different from that of neighborhood enterprises; sports bettors can legally place wagers in Atlantic City or Las Vegas; fans of games of chance can legally gamble at the Sugarhouse Casino in Philadelphia or at various other locales; even loan-sharking, with its notoriously high interest payments, has its legal counterpart in the payday loan operations found everywhere in South Philly, all charging extortionate interest. These days, the Irish mafia have acquired a cool reputation amongst teens and young adults. Fax Line:(215) 861-8618. K&A burglars", "Road Companies, Brutes and Safecrackers", "War of the Words - A legendary burglar sues to protect his good reputation", "Robbin' Hood - After months of legal wrangling, the story of Philly's K&A gang finally gets published", "Ex 'K&A' Gang Member Guilty Of Drug Charges", "Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty To '82 Charges", "The Meth Capital of the World - Where is it? In 1983, Philadelphia garnered a reputation as the "meth capital of the world", according to a statement published by the Associated Press, from a local police officer. The recent release of Martin Scorseses movie The Irishman has brought new attention to thecabal that has been organized crimes most famous manifestation in the United States: The Italian-American mafia, La Cosa Nostra, a.k.a. Even the prosecution conceded in its closing argument that jurors might consider Mr. Rubeo someone whose personal failings are immense. Mr. Rubeo also testified that the F.B.I. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. In fact, many Irish-American gangsters chose to ally themselves with the Italians, and acted as racketeers, bootleggers and hitmen for the Italian mob. He was sentenced to death the only mob boss to receive the death penalty and executed in 1944. The 2001 conviction resulted in a 14-year prison sentence. Newspaper image courtesy of Philadelphia Inquirer PHILADELPHIA United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that a Superseding Indictment was unsealed today against 15 defendants, including alleged members and associates of the South Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey-based criminal organization La Cosa Nostra (LCN), known as the mafia or the mob. The Superseding Indictment charges various crimes including racketeering conspiracy, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, and drug trafficking. The truth is, viewers love a good mafia film and the Italian mobsters are not the only ones with a voice! [16], In the early 2000s, the Traitz brothers, who were connected to the K&A Gang through the Roofers' Union - Local 30 were indicted for the murder of Robert Hammond. Berkery admitted to engaging in a large scale meth deal with Chelsais Bouras, leader of the Philadelphia Greek Mob. Like most Americans, I love mobster movies. Updated. The Ndrangheta Italian mafia Is the actual continuation of the Italian mafia. The Irish mob is the oldest organized criminal gang in the history of the United States.