Don't think he felt he had much choice. I doubt Joe's livid about this action. He tried not giving it to them and I think the photo is evidence on one of the weakest of the charges.

How did they know about the group photo? Were any of the guys that flipped in the picture or at the wedding? Or do you think the feds were dressed as waiters lol

In the article it said that the fbi had surveillance at the weeding and watched the picture take place, so thats how they knew he had it.

REPUTED MOB associate Ron Galati, whose auto-body shop has received more than $1 million from the City of Philadelphia for working on police cars and other city vehicles, is known for cozying up to cops by throwing block parties or repairing their personal vehicles at a discount.

Over the summer, Galati's glad-handing extended to District Attorney Seth Williams, according to a source who attended a block party near Galati's home on Garnet Street in South Philly.

"He was palling around with Galati," the party attendee said of Williams.

Galati, 63, who did time in federal prison in the 1990s and is currently the target of an insurance-fraud investigation, was arrested last week on allegations that he hired hit men to kill three people.

"The fact that he put hits out on people doesn't make people very willing to talk about this subject matter," said the source, who attended the party with Galati and Williams.

Yesterday, Williams' spokeswoman, Tasha Jamerson, confirmed his attendance at the party, but said the two men had no prior relationship. Philadelphia police and state organized-crime authorities have been investigating Galati for a year and a half for crimes related to insurance fraud, according to court documents.

"The district attorney attends lots of block parties in the summer, and yes, he did attend a block party on South Garnet Street," Jamerson emailed. "That was the first he met Ron Galati Sr."

The city has paid Galati's company, American Collision & Automotive Center, about $1.2 million since 2011. City officials on Wednesday decided to stop sending cars there after the Daily News reported on the American Collision contract and Galati's alleged attempt to hire men to kill his daughter's boyfriend, as well as a cooperating grand-jury witness and the witness' son.

The boyfriend, Andrew Tuono, was shot outside his Atlantic City home on Nov. 30, but survived, according to court documents.

"Galati is slick. He would throw neighborhood block parties and befriend cops," said a police source. "That was his thing: get everyone to love him."

The police source said some cops go to Galati because "he takes care of their personal cars and cuts them breaks."

Louis "Bent Finger Lou" Monacello, a witness in the ongoing racketeering retrial of reputed mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and his nephew, George Borgesi, testified last month that he and Borgesi once participated in an illegal body-shop kickback scheme with Galati.

City officials said this week that American Collision has done good work at a reasonable price. But friends say Galati, who once employed Joey Merlino and found himself on a John Stanfa hit list in the '90s, also has a fascination with the organized-crime lifestyle.

"He would constantly - I mean constantly - quote from the movie 'GoodFellas,'" one former friend said. "He always wanted to be a gangster."




Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/201312...feJZGExVDx2p.99

What an act of desperation by the government. Surely they can do better than that.

Doesn't this benefit the defense? The prosecution's case won't be fresh on their minds when they come back and listen to the defense's case.

the prosecution didn't rest yet. Theyre going to end on Dec30 with there last witnesses, then the defenses witnesses go on.

i feel like they are dragging this trial out. just a big waste of time and money

As long as Georgie "Freckles" Borgesi gets cornholed, I'm a happy camper. I do hope Uncle Joe beats it and gets back to business. He's old school, low key, not too violent.

Georgie just did all them years so i think he did his time. I dont think highly of him either but the guy did his time. whatever conspiracy hes guilty of is all low level dumb shit anyway. uncle joe was home the whole time gettin money. so if anything Ligambi should do a few years. I think the whole case is B.S. anyway and was a waste of time. Especially in a city like Philly that has probably a few hundred open air drug markets that are basically open 24 hours a day and all the gang shootings and violence that goes with it. but theyre worried about george borgesi who has been in jail for over 12 or 13 years..

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the Philly family will be happy if Borgesi gets another heavy sentence, the guy's an idiot and brings heat on everyone he's involved with, he's a street thug, nothing more. He is no leader, his judgement is terrible, look how many rats he's brought through.

The fact that this moron is actually a high ranking member capo/consigliere just shows how pathetic the Philly mob is.

Joe Ligambi may be old school and he has brought stability to the family but I'm not sure you can consider him not too violent. Maybe compared to Scarfo and Merlino but the guy has been responsible for at least 3 killings (Turchi, Martorano, and Casasanto) while he was acting boss. Not to mention the Frankie Flowers hit where he pulled the trigger. I also have it on good authority that the Rocco Maniscalco hit was LCN related (again, possibly under Ligambi). Those are just the ones we know about because they were high profile. Look at the DiPietro hit, if someone doesn't spot Nicodemo's car at the scene we probably don't hear anything about it. Now I'm not suggesting Ligambi had anything to do with that hit since he was on trial and wasn't good for the image of the "nonviolent" gangster. I'm just saying, how many DiPietro's are there out there that we haven't heard about (again, not confirmed, but I heard that Nicodemo had the ok from someone in the Philly family- Not sure who but the list can't be that long). Just a thought.

I would think it was Merlino, Mazzone or Ligambi. But most likely imo either Merlino or Mazzone since they were allegedly the boss and street boss at the time.

One of the recent articles said Nicodemo is trying to have some of the evidence suppressed and ruled inadmissible....and either a cop or DA said if Nicodemo loses that motion he's "buried". Their words not mine. I think Nicodemos lawyer is saying the cops should of had a search warrant for the car before they searched it.

That's what I was implying. And let's not forget that Merlino was home right before that hit for his father's funeral (and Nicodemo was at the service). Nicodemo goes back to the mid 90's with Merlino and Mazzone.

Right on dude. There is only so much available to public. Joe Ligambi spent alot of time around the merlino brothers, and in turn, Scarfo. I don't think he's afraid to use force, but he exercises the best judgement he can on when to use that force.

Ligambi is fully aware when Narducci's, faffy, Chickie Chang (Sr) and all these other guys got/get out and what their plans may be. He's also friends with these guys and from their generation. He likes money; we all do. He's not going to fade away quietly. But he best make sure these guys know he speaks their language: Intimidation, fear, respect, power.

None of us know exactly what goes on in NYC families; which one, if any of them, have any control over Philly. And none of us know if Ligambi has tight connections to 1 or more of those families. Or what Joey Merlinos involvment is, if any. Or if he has connection in NYC. Or if Borgesi is in favor with Merlino and Ligambi still, or anything.

On a side note, If these old heads do come back, they need to draft a handbook. I feel bad for some of these younger guys though. No one around to take them under their wing and teach the right way to mob out. No apprenticeship program. That's whats needed. Phone Etiquette 101; shakedown ethics; Clip art. At least my man lil Nicky had Skinny Razor. Crazy Phil had Lil Nicky. No good apprenticeship program.

Come back to this board in 2015 and it could be a completely different scenery. There are enough generations of guys in the ranks that they could build it back to it's former "Glory". But, there is always greed, envy, and jealousy. And there is always someone out there tougher, crazier, and more ruthless than you.

I doubt Merlino is even involved, if any order came it would probably be from Mazzone, he's the real power in the family.

Well he met with John Gambino who is considered by some the most powerful in the Gambino family, also heard he met with Crea or it may have been Mazzone, I'm sure someone will correct me but no concrete evidence for that. Doesn't mean they are tight but he at least broke bread with them.

I seriously doubt Merlino is connected to any high ranking members of other famililies, too much heat.

Oh i agree with you JMack...i think someone did greenlight that hit....i doubt it was just a random killing. Pretty sure the cops still believe another guy was the actual shooter though but so far no other arrests.

Not sure when the judge is going to rule on that motion to suppress the evidence from the car but if he does rule it was an illegal search Nicodemo could get off. As far as i know thats pretty much the case. Still don't know though if there are any eyewitnesses that can place Nicodemo in that car at the crime scene. Thats a pretty big "if" though.

Any of you south philly guys hear anything new on the Nicodemo case? Or on Galati?

I heard from someone who would know that Galati is talking. Not sure as to what yet.

There's an undeniable consensus on how this whole thing was a circus.
the govt will get what he's poured lots of money in, so I guess that both will get something.

the feds would do the philly bunch a favor by keeping borgesi in.

ligambi, on the other hand, given his age and overall involvement could early be welcomed back as a facade boss.

I'd be surprised if Phil Narducci hasn't already been given an admin spot.

Boss- Steve Mazzone
Underboss- Phil Narducci
Consigliere- Ligambi (If he beats this case)

I see that's f'd up.

Haven't heard anything new on nicodemo - news to me that the search warrant may be illegal. Think he's on trial in May.

Jose...the search of the car wasn't specifically mentioned in the article but i'm pretty sure thats what the guy was talking about.

From a Big Trial article on Galati:

"He is scheduled for trial in May. A hearing to suppress evidence in his case could be the key to his future. If that hearing goes against him, "he's buried" said an investigative source familiar with the case."

http://www.bigtrial.net/2013/12/mob-associate-jailed-in-murder-for-hire.html#HYfVmDjtGkfgPvmw.99

Sounds to me like there is a motion to suppress evidence and the only evidence that i know of came from the search of Nicodemo's car.

We won't hear a lot about Nicodemo because of IGJ same goes for galati

Been following GangsterBB and RealDeal since Rick Porello's crimeboard went down. First time posting since then. Pogo or any of the other guys from crimeboard still around? Kind regards, Nick.

Alleged Philly Mob Associate Accused of Hiring Hitmen to Kill 3
By MaryClaire Dale | Monday, Dec 23, 2013 | Updated 5:55 PM EST

A man accused of being a mob associate will stay in jail over Christmas while a judge weighs charges he tried to have his daughter's boyfriend and two rivals killed.

Ronald Galati Sr., who works at his son's auto body shop in South Philadelphia, also is accused of threatening people during a grand jury investigation focusing on organized crime and insurance fraud.

A police affidavit filed in court states that Galati agreed to pay $20,000 apiece for the killings of a rival shop owner who testified before the grand jury and the shop owner's son.

The affidavit said Galati, 63, also ordered a hit last month on his daughter's boyfriend, Andrew Tuono, outside Tuono's Atlantic City, N.J., home. Tuono was shot three times in the abdomen but survived. Police caught two of the shooters, who said Galati had paid them to kill Tuono and the father and son, the affidavit said.

The hitmen visited the targets' shop to scope out the job, but the state shut the business down before they could act, the affidavit said.

Galati also paid them $500 to $1,500 to vandalize cars, the hitmen said, according to police. The state insurance probe has been underway for about 18 months, according to the affidavit.

Defense lawyer Anthony Voci, in court on Monday to seek bail, called the evidence weak. He said that Galati's relatives and friends, about 60 of whom went to court, could post $50,000, enough to make $500,000 bail.

But prosecutors said they have more evidence they could not disclose in court. Common Pleas Judge Charles Erlich heard from both sides behind closed doors before postponing the bail issue until Dec. 30.

The Galati case has no apparent link to the federal retrial of Philadelphia mob boss suspect Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and his nephew George Borgesi, who are charged in a racketeering case that involves loansharking and bookmaking. Their defense attorneys have accused the FBI of paying mob informants more than $500,000 and overlooking their crimes to try to bolster a racketeering case that's "been on life support" for years. They've also said federal wiretaps offer no proof Ligambi and Borgesi did anything more than make private loans and rent poker machines to bars and social clubs.

Looks like the guy didn't flip after all the feds would have gotten him released on bail just like bent finger. Sounds like hes screwed they caught the 2 shooters were they south philly wannabes that's wat Im thinking. This guy wanted 3 guys wackd that's ballsy. Anyone no if the vics were connected. Wanted his daughters boyfriend killed that's pretty Paul castellano ish.

All that takes time. He won't be released until they have a cooperation deal in place. He will be released, just give it some time.

The Philly family has had a fluid structure for the last 20 years. Whoever is in power has their own inner circle. We all know Mazzone is running things now. Beyond that I don't think there is any set structure. I think he has a close inner circle made up of captains but I don't think one is above the other (Chang, Lance, Narducci, Mazzone).

I know a lot of people talk about Narducci like he is the heir apparent (GA was talking about him in a recent mob talk), and I know he has done a lot of work, but most of the people with Merlino during the 90's have plenty of work under their belt too. They will not be pushed aside. Just like Georgie said, we fought for this family, it's ours. If Ligambi beats the charges he could help ease the Scarfo guys transition. If not, who knows what will happen.

there is NOTHING interesting in New York... you can get a pastrami sandwich anywhere these days.. just sayin...