Okay my fellow Fhilthadelphians...I just got "Prince" Leonetti's book. I apologize now for any future rants on how much of a sell out he is. I'm in no way condoning "that life" but if you are going to take the oath, then take the oath and die by the oath.
It's actually a pretty decent read Jacklynn, i think you'll enjoy it.
One thing Leonetti say's throughout the book is how alot of the guys didn't realise that NY picked the boss and without their approval you could not become the boss of the family.
That does seem to have been the case up until the time of Joey Merlino. Say what you want about Merlino but it sure seemed like he didn't give a shit if NY approved of him or not. First philly guy to stand up to those meddling NY bosses. I read Tino Fiumara wanted Joey and his pals to come up north for a chat, where there was a good chance they would of been hit. Joey told Tino something like, you want to talk, well come down to philly and we'll talk here. That takes balls my friends to tell a feared guy like Tino Fiumara your not interested in having a talk with him unless it's on your home turf. Not too many people that annoyed Tino lived after pissing him off. Without a doubt Fiumara was the most feared gangster in jersey at the time.
