Amazing Article On Ricciardi And the Seton Hall Dorm Fire

I remember reading this article in the Star Ledger when it first came out back in 2003 and I am glad I was able to locate it for all to enjoy on here. I find it astonishing at the lengths our government will go to solve certain crimes at any cost whatsoever.

thanks

I remember the fire and the demand by the public that the culprits be identified and prosecuted.

Wild story. Never heard of it to be honest. Thanks for posting.

I vividly remember that fire too. I actually had spent some nights in Boland Hall prior to the fire when I was still in HS, Visiting my friends who went to Seton Hall because I was considering applying there...

Hey PB, isn't the Cataldi guy from the article the same guy (or one of them at least) that was holding up the operation heat case? That said, I didn't know shit about anything outside of Philly.

Thats his son or nephew and there are numerous reasons why that case slowed

No joke but Seton Hall at that one time had several hard core associates

It was comical as I had a friend in one of their frats and on the wrestling team

Thur night at 1 frat house in particular were wild

i went to school right up the street... some of those colleges (sh, msu, ecc, rutgers) really are like recruiting grounds for wanna bes. I'm not saying you'd find andy merola up there handing out his business card or anything lol. But some kids from morris or monmouth counties would find out they could make 5-10gs a week just selling drugs and drop out to be a full time original gangsta

actually i could see andy catnip doing that haha

Exactly why I eventually decided to leave the state of New Jersey for college and go somewhere where I knew nobody. I would have become a statistic if I was in college in Jersey with the guys I grew up with lol

Yes, that timeframe Seton Hall campus was full of LCN wannabes, the youngest Perna boy was there at that time too going to the Hall. I think he was in the same frat as the kids who burned down the dorm? DB am I right, my memory is fading?

people that burn down dorms, apartment buildings, etc. should get alot of time

that's like 300 counts of attempted murder

Like Patsy and Carlo's kids on the Soprano's running ops at Rutgers.

I do remember that fire but didn't realize the wannabes like Perna's kids involved there. Not surprising. I remember one of Perna's kids winning a state wrestling title by upset but that was in 95 or 96 I think.

Yes

Perna was one hell of a wrestler , state champ and 3 time runner up

I think it was phi lam

Perna wasn't involved in that fire , at best he just knew the kids that were

He wasn't supposed to be in the life or at least that was the plan but he just couldn't stay clear of people in it , how could he in all honesty

Someone close to me was in the St Barnabas hospital in Livingston burn unit after surgery. The next day the burn victims from that fire were sent there. I dont know if any of you have been to a burn unit and i hope you never will. I will never forget it.
Those guys were scumbags , end of story.

That story was fascinating, never heard about it. Whatever happened to those 2 kids that got arrested?

According to wiki, they copped to 5 and are already out. Not bad considering obstruction and 3 deaths.

So, Ricciardi admitted to 9 murders....Who knows what the real count was and what did he do, 2 minutes in jail for those 9 killings, and what did he give up ???

Let me guess - this is Obama's fault?

It's crazy when you think of it, Perna went from college with all the opportunity to stay away from the life that a bachelors degree will give you in terms of options, to being made into the Luchesse's by his early 30s....

Even Tony Soprano had "a semester and a half of college at Seton Hall" LOL

His father was made as were his uncles. Actually seems like a logical transition.
As for Ricciardi and his assistance. Look at it from LE perspective. He was involved in 9 muders that involved other OC figures. The kids that were burned alive in that fire were innocent. I can easily see the rationale behind that. Especially the way they died, it was tragic. Those kids were acting like punks and they should of got 20 fuckin years if you ask me.

Didn't Ricciardi give up Mikey Cigars in the Johnny Coca Cola murder on Rt22 in Bridgewater?

Very true Belmont , all I can say is their was a push from people that cared about him to go the other route

But I agree , very logical , especially with how recruits have usually ended up in the life

Disgusting. Caved an extortion victim's head in with a baseball bat too.

Of course if you watch him on Manhattan Mob Rampage, he portrays himself as sweetness and light - someone who got caught up in the lunacy and depravity of Amuso and Casso.

They were all as bad as each other.

It's funny how these guys who have been in the life for 40 years are all shocked at the violence and betrayal in the mob after they flip.