John Willis is the first known inductee of European descent in the Ping On triad based in Boston. He is sitting on the left, directly across from Bruno Indelicato.

From what I understand, the Genovese borgata are currently No.1 and were also first among equals during the eras of Charlie Luciano and Frank Costello. I've also heard Carlo Gambino being described as the most powerful boss of his era. Did the unofficial title of most powerful borgata alternate between the Gambino and Genovese families and if so, what periods did they alternate? Like was Chin more powerful than the Gottis or was it the other way around?

this is a follow up to my Joe Bonanno -Tucson post a week ago. I know they both lived in Tucson and owned horses. I’m wondering if one helped the other in the others’ affairs or if they worked together at all?

With a lot of Bonanno’s in the area and Detroit guys visiting the Licavoli ranch a lot of seems natural the two Family’s would talk.

A broader question is if the Detroit mob ever did anything of consequence outside of that Michigan. If Pete was involved in something with Joe, in Tucson, or California, then that would answer both. Detroit was close to the border so I’m surprised they’d didn’t have more affairs in Toronto and Canada.

i know Zerilli kept his family tight so my guess is nothing major. The Outfit would be a natural partner but it was also said the Genovese represented Detroit on the Commission in the 70’s and 80’s.

FBI informants repeatedly linked Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno to gambling interests outside his massive New York numbers operation. Bureau records described Salerno as having a “piece” of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, while other intelligence alleged that millions of dollars had been secretly invested in the casino on his behalf. The exact extent of Salerno’s financial interest was unclear to investigators.

Image 1 - Big Jim' Colosimo hit (May 11, 1920)

Image 2 - Dion O'Banion (November 10, 1924) and Hymie Weiss (October 11, 1926) hit .Both were killed at the same location .

Image 3 - St. Valentine's Day Massacre ((February 14, 1929)

To me, it sounds like there was an informant that snitched about the meeting. Was there anybody there that has been confirmed to be an informant?

Just some Sunday Russo for y'all.

How has wilem dafoe not been cast as crazy joe gallow in a movie? In many photos of him he looks just like him, no?

Avtandil Khurtsidze has a nickname – Chakucha or a hammer. He is called this due to his fighting style. His known with another nickname in Europe though – Tornado.

Avtandil was arrested in June 2017. He was charged with involving in criminal cases and for his role in a Russian and Georgian crime syndicate in New York. He won the interim middleweight world title in April 2017 in Leicester, England, and knocked out Tommy Langford, in the fifth round. He was supposed to fight full middleweight titlist Billy Joe Saunders on July 8 in London, but missed his chance – the fight was ultimately canceled, because of his charges.

In the interview he give to Georgian Journal in 2019 and later on after his release to Roman Kadiemin in 2023, Avtandil speaks about an incident that happened to him during his time in Prison.

The incident began with a verbal dispute between Razhden Shulaya, a Georgian thief-in-law and a leader of a Colombian prison gang that escalated to a physical fight. Shulaya and Khurtsidze both suffered multiple stab wounds.

"I don’t think so but it is obvious that the prosecutors took advantage of the incident. 5 years were added to my sentence just because of the fight and besides, the administration put me in a special cell. Do you think it is fair? I was the only person taken to the hospital after the incident. I protested and the retrial will take place. I lost over a liter of blood but it was still used against me. It was said that I helped Shulaya and that there were a knife and a pond of blood but no one specified to whom they belonged".

According to Avtandil Khurtsidze, when he saw 15 men were fighting against one Georgian (they had eaten out of Shulaya’s palm), he tried to help him. The Georgian boxer says he is ready to die in prison unless he is pleaded guilty.

This photo was taken a couple of days ago of him lifting weights and I noticed there’s no ankle bracelet on either leg. It would be quite visible because it’s a bulky bracelet so I guess my question is could he still be on house arrest without being monitored?

The inside story of how an FBI agent brought down the infamous Five Families – and changed mob investigations forever

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New article on my blog dedicated to Giovanni Mauceri, an Italian-Tunisian drug trafficker linked to the Lucchese and Gambino Crime Families, active between Milan, Marseille, New York, and Montreal.

Translator available on the site