Pretty good interview. Definitely rare to be able to get a guy like him to talk about something like that. I left the area right around the time his father died. I don’t know if I believe he wasn’t making moves, not saying he was going for the top spot but as far as setting stuff up and not doing it the way people on the street would want him to. If he really was stepping away from what he was setting up to start a legit business in Sicily that’s sad. I could be way off base with this because I don’t know Long John or never met anyone who was close to him but I always thought it couldn’t be easy to come out and fall in line. He was generations before anyone who was still on the street and even uncle joe wasn’t really a big name or well known when Long John went away so when people were saying he was doing what he wanted how he wanted, I couldn’t say it wouldn’t be hard to have same mindset. Everyone who was out at the time his resume definitely should have had him in a top spot but Uncle Joe and Joey may not have trusted his ambitions and I don’t know if Long John and Chuckie ever did business or how they would have felt about him coming in or trusting him.

Is my thinking right here?
Joey Merlino is not even a' made' member of Philadelphia LCN circa 1990. But he's having a 'family' war with the Boss ,Stanfa, to make himself the Boss? Even though he's not even made.

Wow, that was totally off topic.


*** Not made when started the war

Merlino's in prison until 1992. By the time he gets out Michael Ciancaglini has survived an attempt on his life because their crew had killed Felix Bocchino, a made member working for Stanfa. Stanfa makes Merlino and Ciancaglini in September of that year in the hope that it would de-escalate the situation or, at the least, that he can keep them close enough to make killing them easier. Then in 1993 Ciancaglini orders the hit on his brother Joey Chang, who by that point was Stanfa's underboss, because he blamed him for the attempt on his life a year earlier. Joey Chang survives, the Merlino group tries to blame the shooting on Biagio Adornetto but Stanfa eventually figures it out. He gets caught on tape talking about how he wants to lure Merlino, Ciancaglini and Gaeton Lucibello to a meeting to kill them. Law enforcement obviously has to then warn the trio about the plots on their lives and they don't come in. So Stanfa starts sending out hit teams, they eventually catch up with Merlino and Ciancaglini, Ciancaglini is killed and then the war really breaks out.

As far as being made goes, the Merlino guys didn't really care. By 1993 Merlino was going around saying that he was the underboss and Michael Ciancaglini was the boss. Their idea was they would make themselves if they had to and, to an extent, they did. When Merlino went to prison in 1993 for parole violation he left Steve Mazzone in charge of the crew even though he was just an associate and they had made guys with them at that point (Lucibello and, to a lesser extent, Ronald Turchi). Merlino was still only a soldier when he made Natale and put him in as boss. Merlino also likely made Mazzone, George Borgesi, Marty Angelina and Mike Lancellotti prior to that.

They need to make a movie or a series on the philly war stanfa vs Merlino

Show would be nice. Show starts with Bruno getting killed season one is Scarfo the end of season they go to jail. Then season two starts out with Nicky jr getting shot and is the Merlino Stanfa war. If it keeps going season 3 be post war Merlino reign, season 4 Ligambi the season 5 Scarfo and Merlino guys coming out of can. Hell yea that’s a good Netflix series

There's the movie "10th and Wolf" which is inspired from the Stanfa vs Merlino war but it's not great. I think that's the only movie about the Philly Mob.

Yea have u seen it? It sucks

I second that big time!

Another great interview with George below, love listening to this guy.

https://youtu.be/PdlxZZMVSzg