Free Republic

Former Bonanno crime family boss Joseph “Big Joey” Massino — the first head of one of New York’s five mob families to ever turn rat — died earlier this month after battling a short illness, it was revealed Friday. He was 80. Massino, who ran the Bonanno family with an iron fist from 1991 to 2003, died at a rehab facility in the New York City area on Sept. 14, sources close to his family told Newsday. The ex-mob boss, who sent shockwaves through the organized crime world when he became a federal witness nearly two decades ago, had been...

Foul play is not suspected, a park spokesperson said Thursday.More human remains were found at Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada, marking the sixth discovery this year at the country's largest reservoir, a spokesperson for the federal park said Thursday. The skeletal remains were found in Callville Bay, an area roughly 30 miles east of Las Vegas, after a diver found what appeared to be a human bone on Oct. 17, the spokesperson said in an email. A National Park Service dive team carried out a full search the next day and confirmed a finding of skeletal remains, the...

The ostensible premise of The Godfather, the film version of which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is that American society is so prejudiced against Italians that extraordinary men such as Vito and Michael Corleone have no choice but to turn to crime. In a way, then, author Mario Puzo was a kind of goombah Ibram X. Kendi, director Francis Ford Coppola the dago Ava DuVernay, and The Godfather the guinea 12 Years a Slave. If you doubt my claim, consider two scenes. In the first, Michael, back from hiding in Sicily, finally decides to get married (again) and so...

“In our rules, nobody can sell anything with ‘The Godfather’ or mobsters or anything that denigrates Italians,” John Fratta, a member of the committee that runs the iconic Little Italy festival, held from Sept. 15 to 25, told The Post. “We don’t need people thinking that the mob is running the feast.” The 2016 decree was added to its vendor rules — and store owners in the area were told that if they want to still peddle the items, they must only be sold inside their shops. “It’s gone. We don’t want that crap there,” he said of the mob-orabilia.

(WASHINGTON) – The following is the official statement of Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa regarding the ongoing blockade by the Freedom Convoy protest at the United States-Canada border. “The Teamsters Union denounces the ongoing Freedom Convoy protest at the Canadian border that continues to hurt workers and negatively impact our economy. The livelihood of working Americans and Canadians in the automotive, agricultural, and manufacturing sectors is threatened by this blockade. “Our economy is growing under the Biden Administration, and this disruption in international trade threatens to derail the gains we have made. Our members are some of the hardest workers...

This is the story of how the FBI framed four innocent men for murder, destroyed families, and tried to cover it up. It’s also the story of the convergence of John Durham and Robert Mueller: how Durham uncovered the FBI’s crimes and how Robert Mueller’s FBI disputed the innocence of the men the FBI framed. The FBI knocked and Mike Albano opened the door. It was 1983. As a member of the Massachusetts State Parole Board, Albano thought he had been doing his job when he looked into voting to commute the sentence of Peter Limone, who along with Joseph...

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada's governor on Friday unveiled a proposal that would allow technology companies to establish jurisdictions with powers similar to those of county governments, arguing the state needed to be bold to diversify its economy and pushing back against those who have likened the idea to company towns. “This proposal is an exciting, unprecedented concept that has a potential to position Nevada as a global center of advanced technology and innovation, while helping to create immediate positive economic impact and shape the economy of the future,” Gov. Steve Sisolak said of his Innovation Zones idea. “As...

Federal authorities indicted 15 alleged members and associates of the Philadelphia mafia Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced. The men charged are alleged members or associates of the South Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey-based criminal organization La Cosa Nostra (LCN), according to a press release from the Department of Justice. They are charged with several crimes, including racketeering conspiracy, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion and drug trafficking...

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that STEVEN L. CREA, the Underboss of the Luchese Family, was sentenced today to life in prison, a $400,000 fine, and the forfeiture of $1 million following his conviction for the 2013 murder of Michael Meldish, conspiracy to commit racketeering, and other felonies.  A jury convicted CREA and three co-defendants on November 15, 2019, following a six-week trial before U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel, who also imposed today’s sentence.Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said:  “Steven L. Crea – the Underboss of the Luchese Family...

Thinking about holding your Fourth of July blowout in New Jersey? Better think again. The Garden State is the least patriotic state in the US, according to a new ranking released Monday by financial advice Web site WalletHub.com. Measuring 13 metrics on military and civic engagement — including veteran residents per capita, percentage of adults who voted in the 2016 presidential election and rates of volunteerism — the study ranked Jersey dead last among the 50 states.

The NYPD announced Monday it is eliminating its anti-crime unit, a group of plainclothes officers who blend in to fight crime but have caused tension in relations with the communities. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea described the move as a massive cultural shift for the department, saying the 600 officers who are part of the unit will be transitioned to other departments, including the detective bureau and neighborhood policing." This is a seismic shift in the culture of how the NYPD polices this great city," he said. "I would consider this in the realm of closing one of the last chapters...

It’s 1937 in Berlin… – No, wait, it’s 2020 in New York City, and Mayor Warren Wilhelm – who changed his name to Bill de Blasio years ago for some odd reason – is doing this at the largest park in Brooklyn’s main Jewish neighborhood: Joel Fischer @JFNYC1 Yes. This is actually happening now! Bill de Blasio is Welding the gates at the biggest park in the Jewish community, (Borough Park, Brooklyn) So your child shouldn't try to break in. While Hundreds of thousands of people gathered yesterday at Brooklyn Museum.#deBlasioMustGo Embedded video 4,763 10:09 AM - Jun 15, 2020...

Joseph Gambino, the easy-going son of Mafia don Carlo Gambino who became a millionaire businessman thanks to his father’s crime family clout — but who steered clear of the rest of the family business — died of natural causes last month at the age of 83. Gambino and his older brother Thomas were longtime owners and operators of numerous Garment District trucking companies. The family’s chokehold on the trucks that filled the West Side streets where the city’s rag trade once thrived was so total that competitors who tried to park their own rigs risked flat tires — or worse...

In this extended interview, Tommy James talks about his days with the mob and how the rock'n'roll lifestyle almost derailed his life...

Need a career change? NJ Transit is hiring — and the job comes with big bucks. The nation’s second-busiest rail system has been struggling to keep its trains running on time, sometimes canceling as many as two dozen a day. Officials blame this commuting nightmare in part on a lack of engineers — the people who operate the trains. The shortage is exacerbated whenever a slew of engineers call out sick. The agency has been scrambling to fill training classes with recruits. Prospective job applicants might jump at the opportunity when they find out just how much the job pays....

Was Harry Reid beat up by mobsters? Is that the real reason for his eye injury that he blamed on exercise equipment? Harry Reid being beaten up by mobsters on New Years Day is just the latest rumor as to what really happened to Dingy Harry Reid. Supposedly, according to the rumor, Reid was unable to deliver a deal that the mobsters demanded. In addition to failing the get the deal for the mobs, rumors say Reid made a comment that the mobsters considered disrespectful, and one of them beat him up.

Mueller and Weissmann involved in the two biggest scandals in FBI history Special Counsel Robert Mueller III and lead attorney in the Special Counsel’s Office Andrew Weissmann have been connected to one another throughout most of their careers, and both men moved quickly to the top tackling major crime syndicates and white-collar crime. Ironically, both men were also connected in two of the biggest corruption investigations in FBI history. But rarely are Weissmann and Mueller’s past cases discussed in the media. Their past is relevant because it gives a roadmap to the future — now that these two longtime colleagues...

Even at this late date in the presidential race, a few things stand out to those who have followed Hillary Clinton's career as a Marxist sympathizer and greedy politician/foreign policy Conan "The Destroyer" type. It is the refusal of the mainstream media and even some of the conservative media, to really dig into her past and even open actions to see things that would greatly disturb an honest, educated person, namely her accepting large amounts of money from Organized Crime and her relationship with a woman who gave all appearances of being a Cuban propaganda asset at the least, and...

Bernie Sanders has picked up a key endorsement as one of the nation’s most influential labor leaders has announced his support for the Democratic presidential candidate. The Sanders campaign made the announcement in a statement: In another show of union support for Bernie Sanders, one of the nation’s most influential labor leaders on Friday endorsed the Democratic Party presidential candidate. Larry Cohen, the past president of the Communications Workers of America, gave his backing to Sanders at a news conference held here in a local union hall. “This is not a close call,” Cohen said at the news conference. “This...

CAMPBELLSPORT – On Friday, 6th District Congressional candidate Glenn Grothman (R-Campbellsport) slammed Joe Leibham (R-Sheboygan) for accepting a maximum limit contribution from a progressive trade union. More: Stroebel, Leibham Trade Barbs Over Voter ID According to records from the Federal Elections Commission, Leibham accepted $5,000 from the Laborers Union International North America (LIUNA) PAC on July 15, 2014. The LIUNA was very evident during the 2011 protests against Governor Scott Walker over Act 10 which was upheld by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court and the federal Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. The LIUNA has 500,000 members that are represented in...