Megale spent a ton of time in the Bronx, Tony. He came out of the Stamford area and that's where he'll return when he comes home next year. But he was getting close to the Bronx faction even when he was coming up under Breezy and Frank. And for the record, Megale is the ONLY guy to be made in the Connecticut faction of the Gambinos in recent years. Tony was the last Gambino in that state to get his button, and that was back in '88 or '89.

Even the DePreta kid that just got pinched last summer, who the Feds described as "Connecticut's highest ranking Gambino," is still an associate. I just think the Gambinos are leery of making any of the Fairfied guys because of all the trouble up there back in the '80s and '90s.

Other than Megale, it was a giant clusterfuck. Frank and Breezy both ended up getting whacked. Davy Crockett went into the program. Nick Melia (a standup guy if ever there was one) could never decide where he really fit (the Connecticut Gambinos or the Calabrians that his brother ran up in Canada and in New England). Then there was Taylor (a non-Italian associate), who ran one of the biggest sportsbooks in the entire country. When he got tired of going to jail he pretty much quit the business, and he was a CASH COW. Just too much aggravation.

If they're going to make a Gambino in Connecticut anytime soon it will be Dean DePreta, but I wouldn't hold my breath. And he's looking at a pretty long stretch in prison anyway (if convicted).