With San Gennaro this week, anyone know of any visible members/ associates visible during the festival or any current haunts on Mulberry or around?

None.

And there aren't any current "haunts" on or around Mulberry, unless you count the restaurants that are still owned by wiseguys, like Casa Bella or Da Nico. But more politicians and cops eat in those places than mob guys these days.

That neighborhood is over as far as Italian Americans go. The stores and tourist trap restaurants will always be around. And the Feast is as much a New York City tradition as it is an Italian Catholic tradition, so that will always be around as well. But anyone looking for "Mean Streets" these days is going to be terribly disappointed.

Who owns da nicos n casa bella?

Guliani made it one of his missions to clean up the san gennaro feast and as far back as 1996 he declared it "free of mob influence". Over the ears there has been a some instances of mob involvement, like back in 2004 Criscitelli stepped down as head of the feast after some rat outed him as a made guy. then of course conrad ianellio's 2012 indictment involved him extorting some vendors at the feast.

on one hand it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it came out that some of the money from this years feast was going to go to the mob, but on the other its pretty much guaranteed that they'll never be able to run it like they used to.

Perry Criscitelli for the first one.

It's public record anyway, so what the Hell. The Gallo family owns Casa Bella now.

The Italian flags that decorate the festival are probably made in China. What the heck happened to old school pride? It seems nobody respects tradition these days.

I'll be right back. I have to go yell at some kids to get off my lawn...

Don't worry... Nobody hoid nuttin'.

The only secret on Mulberry Street today is how high the zoning board will allow the rents to rise. It's over.

I wonder if the Chinese man playing the drum in the San Rocco Festa parade will be in this parade too. I couldn't believe that

The only wiseguy you might see there is Gianni Russo

He's always there...Every year i go i run into him at the Mulberry St. Bar.

Little Italy's Feast of San Gennaro donates under 5% to charity — just slightly more than when Mafia ran the festival

As far as charitable donations go, this feast is a famine.
The charity running one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city — the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy — gave away only a tiny fraction of the more than $4 million it raised from 2007 to 2012, a Daily News investigation has found.Over those years, the group Figli di San Gennaro took in $4.4 million in gross revenue, but gave up only $210,500 of that to charity. That’s about 4.7% — just slightly better than when the Mafia was running the feast.Back in 1996, then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani kicked out the previous charity, saying it was giving out only 3% of what it took in to charitable causes.


At the time, the Genovese crime family was actually in charge, stealing everything in sight — even some of the dollars tacked to the statue of St. Gennaro, patron saint of Naples, that’s paraded down Mulberry St.That year, the feds busted a gaggle of gangsters, including one named Tony Waterguns who ran a game at the fair, alleging they’d skimmed hundreds of thousands of dollars from the festival for years.The feds installed a monitor. The charity running the feast back then was kicked out. And Figli di San Gennaro was put in charge. Shortly after Figli arrived, the amount of charitable giving increased dramatically, from $7,700 when the mob ran things to $185,000 when the new charity took over.Giuliani promised, “It’s going to be a feast that actually delivers to charity. It will help children.”Since then, even with a monitor overseeing things, the feast and the charity have had their share of troubles.


The current treasurer, Vivian Catenaccio, was allowed to stay on after it was revealed that her brother, Frank, was identified by law enforcement as a made member of the Genovese family. Frank has since died.In 2000, the late Anne Compoccia, then head of the charity, was charged with skimming money from Mulberry St. merchants. She later pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud.In 2004, the charity’s chairman, restaurateur Perry Criscitelli, resigned after he was identified as a soldier in the Bonanno crime family. A mob informant, Richard (Shellackhead) Cantarella, testified Criscitelli was paying him “tribute” of $15,000 a year.


Back when the Genovese crime family ran the Feast of San Gennaro, mobsters used to swipe the cash pinned to St. Gennaro’s statue.The next year, federal prosecutors alleged that the late Matthew (Matty the Horse) Ianniello maintained some “control” of the feast and “receives benefits.” The monitor, Richard Mark, said he saw no signs of this.

Then, in April 2012, the feds charged Conrad Ianniello, a capo in the Genovese family, with a host of crimes, including shaking down San Gennaro vendors. He pleaded guilty to other crimes in 2013.In its promotional material, Figli di San Gennaro bills itself as a “not-for-profit charitable organization” that over the last 18 years has donated “more than $1.8 million from the feasts to causes supporting children and education.”


In recent years, this altruism has all but evaporated.In fact, in two years — 2007 and 2009 — the group gave zero dollars to charity, tax forms reveal. In 2012, the last year for which tax forms are public, Figli took in $768,000 and gave out $55,000. That’s 7%.Of that, $50,000 went to the Most Precious Blood Church in Little Italy where the Mass celebrating St. Gennaro takes place. Another $1,000 went to a scholarship named after the former Figli chairman, the late Frank Macchiarola.


Nonprofits like the San Gennaro group generally donate at least 60% of what they raise to charities, according to Daniel Borochoff, of Charitywatch, a group that monitors charitable giving. Well-run charities usually give 75%, he said.Where all this money is going is difficult to discern from the group’s tax filings. The feast makes almost all of its money from rent charged to vendors. And because it’s a nonprofit that doesn’t have to pay taxes, it’s supposed to lay out how that money is spent. Figli’s tax forms for 2007 through 2012 spell out clearly where about $1.5 million of $4.4 million went — insurance, legal fees, a minimal payment to the monitor, and a fee to the city that’s 20% of whatever the group takes in.
But during that time Figli listed another $3 million simply as “direct expenses” with no further explanation.Board members said those expenses include the cost of running the event, such as erecting the ornate lights hung over Mulberry St. and the bill for picking up all that trash.

Discussing the 2012 donation, Figli board member John Fratta said, “When you deduct all those figures, you’re left with $55,000 for charity.”“We raise money for charity, but our real purpose is to continue the tradition we’ve had for years in honoring the patron saint and celebrating our Italian heritage,” said Fratta, whose grandfather was co-founder and first president of the feast 88 years ago.He said the group gave more in 2013 — about $113,000 — and hoped to do the same after this year’s event.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/italy-feast-san-gennaro-5-charity-article-1.1945139

Just read this article. Although they say the mafia is not involved with the feast anymore, it seems like they might be wrong.

LOL a Mayor de Blasio being a proud Italian. The guy was raised in Massachusetts without any cultural identity at all. His real name is Warren Wilhelm. Mark my words, this asshole is going to be remembered as the worst mayor since Dinkins, which is really saying something. But he's married to a Black woman who "used to be" a lesbian. I guess it didn't take, like George Costanza's girlfriend.

Anyway, when you roll that many victim groups into a candidacy in New York City, it gives you a leg us. Plus, he pimped out his biracial kids for all they were worth in those commercials. I'd say he should be ashamed of himself, if I wasn't cognizant of the fact that politicians are incapable of shame.

Sorry for getting sidetracked. Back on topic. The Feast. There are still some ties to OC there, but they're peripheral at best. And nowhere near what they were when the downtown crew was still visible in the Village and Little Italy.

I don't even go the San gennaro feast anymore. it's not the way i remembered it when I was younger. Too many weirdos now! only Italian feasts I still continue to go to is the St Rosalia on 18th ave in Bensonhurst and the giglio/our lady of mount Carmel in Williamsburg Brooklyn. But Gee, everything is changing .... And I don't like it one bit.

LMFAO. You said you were in your early thirties, right?

Nothing stays the same, buddy. So you better get used to it. But the big changes in New York City Italian American demographics started before you were even born, and they're actually nominal comparatively speaking.

Wait til your my age. You're going to be nostalgic for the days when Brooklyn was still even a little bit Italian American. Trust me on that .

Lol yeah 33 unfortunately lol but forgeddaboudit, I defiantly believe you on that pal lol funny thing is I am only 4th generation ... And accept for my great grandpa who immigrated to America from Sicily 1905, my grandfather is still alive and ticking at 78 years And I hear him complain all the time about how NYC has changed for the worse. He and my grandma left Brooklyn to live in Long Island because he didn't like the way Brooklyn had changed. Remember when neighborhoods like east New York and Brownsville was Italian and Jewish... Than it changed.... Or take Newark New Jersey which was predominantly Italian immigrants and Italian Americans than it changed.... We they call that? White flight right?

...miss being able to get a little black jack in while enjoying a sausage and peppers... Giuliani put a stop to that. ...and a Lotta other things. ...

I agree with PB about CN involvement today but they are involved in a big way , they just don't own the whole thing like they used to. ( at least this is what I hear )

It a money maker , but the % and strategies are different shifting from straight extortion and skimming to required use of certain food distributors , vendors, products etc . Not to mention the restaurants there with certain backing and the food cost inflation during that week . Also instead of extortion ,vendors pay up for the better real estate, a kind of real estate brokerage operations

Their influence isn't as direct anymore but from what I hear and hell I could be wrong , but the $ is still flowing in , but it's basically semi legit and I don't think that will ever change .
They are doing what every other major corp does.

I have no idea what family is getting the big share but given the ingenuity of how the money is earned , I certainly have my suspicions and next week their will be some happy men :), but PB knows more than me so I could be totally off.

Does the Corrao family still own that pastry shop/cafe? (forget the name)

NY Daily News

NEW YORK

EXCLUSIVE: Feast of San Gennaro lights done by mobsters despite claims of being Mafia-free, records showGREG B. SMITHToday, 02:30 AM

ALEC TABAK FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Records show organized crime sneaked back in the Feast of San Gennaro to install the lights.

The charity that runs the Feast of San Gennaro insists it has been Mafia-free for years, but it’s not quite that simple when it comes to those red, white and green lights hanging over Mulberry St.

After the mob was allegedly tossed out by hard-charging Rudy Giuliani, organized crime sneaked back in via the contract to install those lights, records show.

A Bonanno informant, capo Richard (Shellackhead) Cantarella, has testified that Criscitelli was a soldier in that family.

From 1997 — the year the charity Figli di San Gennaro was put in as part of Giuliani’s clean sweep — through 2005, a mob-tied electrical contractor handled the festival’s pricey lights, according to law enforcement and court records.

The Daily News reported Friday that Figli di San Gennaro donated only a pittance to charity out of the $4.4 million it took in between 2007 and 2012.

Event organizers say much of that money went to pay for contractors to run the feast, including electricians who handle the lights that feature the colors of the Italian flag.

On Friday, the organizers tweeted that The News’ report was “false,” but later declined to answer questions from the newspaper.

In 1997, John Cappelli and his Bronx firm, N.Y. Christmas Lights, were cleared to install lights at the feast by a monitor put in place to keep out the mob.

Behind the scenes, the mob worked to ensure nobody else got the job, court papers reveal.

AP

Vincent Basciano was overheard in 2003 discussing his crime family’s “involvement in providing electrical service to the San Gennaro Feast.”

RICHARD HARBUS

John Cappelli and his firm, N.Y. Christmas Lights, were cleared to install lights at the feast in 1997.

Prosecutors say in 2000, a rival contractor bid to handle lights at San Gennaro. Soon after, he got a call from Perry Criscitelli, then-chairman of the feast’s charity.

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The Daily News reported Friday that Figli di San Gennaro donated only a pittance to charity out of the $4.4 million it took in between 2007 and 2012.

Criscitelli told him “he would have to pay approximately $75,000 to obtain the electrical contract for the feast.”

The victim “refused to pay the additional money to secure the contract and his bid was rejected,” prosecutors say.

A Bonanno informant, capo Richard (Shellackhead) Cantarella, has testified that Criscitelli was a soldier in that family. With the FBI listening in, Bonanno boss Vincent (Vinnie Gorgeous) Basciano was overheard in 2003 discussing his crime family’s “involvement in providing electrical service to the San Gennaro Feast.”

In 2004, Criscitelli suddenly resigned from the board after his mob credentials were exposed in testimony by Cantarella.

CHARLIE NEIBERGALL/AP

The mob was allegedly tossed out of the feast by hard-charging Rudy Giuliani.

Another prosecutor in 2005 identified yet another gangster, Matthew (Matty the Horse) Ianiello, as “receiving benefits” from San Gennaro. The feast’s monitor, Richard Mark, seemed surprised: “I look at those books and believe firmly that no funds of the sponsoring organization are going to organized crime.”

Mark declined comment.

SUSAN WATTS/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

The charity Figli di San Gennaro was put in as part of Giuliani’s clean sweep in 1997.

By then, the feds were aware that yet another mobster, Angelo Prisco, a Genovese capo, was also involved in “doing ‘the lights for the feast,’ ” prosecutors said.

In 2004, the FBI overheard Prisco boasting about how he had done Cappelli a “big favor” by getting him the San Gennaro feast.” He said Cappelli paid him “$2,500 every two months in exchange for Prisco’s assistance in obtaining electrical contracts,” prosecutors alleged.

Cappelli wasn’t booted out until 2006 after he was charged with asking his mob handlers to “talk to” a competitor trying to underbid him on another feast in Jersey.

On Friday, officials made clear that the electrical vendor now hanging lights at San Gennaro, AMA Electrical, was vetted by the city Department of Investigation.

http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-cr...ticle-1.1946299

But that's what I mean when I criticize these writers who WISH they had a Capeci-Breslin Mafia to write about today .

They're still mentioning Angelo Prisco and the poor guy has been locked up for years. Truth be told, Angelo had ALL OF THE FEASTS, from Villa to Arthur to Saint Teresa to East Harlem back then. But it was a LONG time ago. And Perry can't even get new zoning for his restaurant without having to jump through hoops because of that "scandal" TEN YEARS AGO.

More truth? Giuliani, who has been out of office for almost thirteen years, is running the background checks for the vendors at the Feast through his security company. But they don't write about that ugly little fuck. Can you imagine? Running background checks on a bunch or fucking carnies? These people are lowlifes by nature. Who else are you going to get to run a squirt gun concession?

But this latest theft just proves that the Feast is a cash business, and if its not the Mob doing the stealing, then it will be somebody else.

It's like I said earlier, and DB touched on it a little bit. The ties are still there, but they're very peripheral. At best. The days of a Genovese skipper deciding who gets to fry zeppoles are long gone, and they're not coming back.

stopped by the other day. early afternoon is the way to go. things are fresh, they're just starting to get going, and best of all no one is there. everyone I know complains about prices every year, but IMO you can eat pretty damn well off of $15. try doing that in that neighborhood any other time of year.

few things about the nydn article:
the thing about the guys literally taking dollar bills off the statue seems like bullshit. making it sound like some bottom feeding wiseguy is out there grabbing the bills off the moving statue as it passes by. more likely is that the final talley of the statue bills is skimmed after its counted, but even that i dont believe.

the overhead for that fest has to be very high, legitimately. so for the organization being a little off of what the average operating vs donations percentage is compared to other non profits shouldnt be a crazy red flag.

pb: i know next to nothing about the new mayor. is his real name really Warren Wilhelm? or were you joking. if so, wtf? general rule of thumb: never trust someome with a name change

also, Dinkens wasn't that bad. i was pretty young them but from what i remember it was more of his cabinet and campaign team who really fucked up. specifically Lloyd Braun

No, that's really his name. He was raised in Cambridge like a WASP.


The part about Lloyd Braud leads me to believe that you're joking, which is a big relief. Because David Dinkins seems like a nice guy to this day, and I'm sure he is. But he was a complete mutt as a Mayor.

It also tells me that you have wonderful taste in television .

Lloyd Braun was one crazy s.o.b.

Serenity now, insanity later.

I learned that from my Dad. He was fine when he was my age. Now I know what I have to look forward to when I'm 85 .

all right so the guy capelli was paying in 2003 or was it 2004 prisco 15k a yr to operate the feasts lighting. out of the 15k prisco who was capo, how much you think he keeps 10k and gives the bosses 5k or half like 7500$. yes that was 10 yrs ago but the informant who was the bastard son of another westside capo john di... guy killed in the 80tys. this guy has prisco on a lot of tapes. prisco and concinplates why Daniel leo who is acting boss is calling him in, he thinks its a raise or it could be his death. its a great read over nj.com. he says he would surport barney as boss, leo was greedy or some shit. also gives lot of praise for vinnny gorgeus and mike nose. lot of bad spelling in there concinplate.

Like I posted up above, Angelo had ALL of the Feasts, pmac. When the Feasts were still big and mob controlled in the Bronx, you couldn't sell a bag of chick peas without Angelo or Rudy saying it was okay. But that's a long time ago.

As far as that article, I've never read it but I'd like to because it hits pretty close to home for me. And I've posted this before, but that's true about Angelo's affection for Vinny. He liked him a lot. If Vinny hooked up with him years ago instead of Patty D, and he wasn't so impatient about getting his button, he'd probably be running what's left of Angelo's old crew today. Instead of being housed like a fucking terrorist in Colorado .