I have just started this book.

The Sergio Battaglia kid that ratted on Stanfa said that Stanfa conspired to kill two lawyers - Santaguida and some other cat.

Do people like Battaglia have to make shit like that up in order to give the feds something valuable and make a deal worthwhile, or is there proof that Stanfa did this?

I just find it hard to believe they would conspire to kill lawyers - for the reasons given in the book anyways.

Though why should I be surprised? Scarfo hit a judge.

P.S. Anyone notice that the front cover image seems to show Battaglia tensing his fists and sneering at a black guy while Stanfa looks on smirking?

And didn't Sergio Battaglia have a good job at a car dealership before joining the mob? And wasn't he getting paid more money?

Philip Leonetti too wanted to be a pharmacist.

What a waste of lives...

stanfa was a a real sigg very old school he once plotted to kill geogre antatsia and dave schrawpiser. Serige was to throw grendades into geogres house. John could not understand the american press to him them asking him questions was a disgrace

but the merlino war started and it never got past talking stages

And geraldo the TV guy. That is a great book a low key book by him to mobfather about Tommy del is a classic. Great read. Tommy del had alot of theorys about scarfo testa reighn.

i have never read it i just dont like tommy del he was a bully though i am sure its a good read keep getting recommend to me

i liked the crows book and philips was good and ron prevites was a bit biased but still a very good book

The guy Tommy del is a real p.o.s but the book is good. Lot of nuggets in it. Like the guy Frank sindone had the capo vote to be boss so scarfo killed him. Tommy del hid the fact he was half polish his wife brings it up and his kids hated his guys.

Wasn't Sindone also hit because he was part of the conspiracy to kill Angelo Bruno?

I've always wondered if Stanfa played a part in Bruno's murder, or if he really was just an innocent, unsuspecting driver on that night. And maybe the reason he fled Philly afterwards was because he was scared that he might get whacked too, since he could have fingered the shooter. If he was involved, it's truly amazing that he ended up being the only one who would survive. Everybody else involved ended up dead within the next year. Most stories and reports I have seen that suggest Stanfa was involved, say the theory was that Stanfa was protected by the Gambino family, and then they actually helped him to become boss so that Gotti could satisfy the zip faction of the Gambino's.

I think if he really was involved, and had he not gone to prison, that Scarfo would have ended up hitting him.

couldn't have said it any better..

I seen Stanfa go nuts when Geraldo showed up @ his pasta co. on Warfield st. John wanted him dead after that he told Geraldo to get the fuk out of here & don't ever come around here again or i.ll kill you.... And that"s the truth !!!!!!!!

I made a post in one of these philly threads about Stanfa's involvement in that, I'm of the opinion that he was, there's too much in the way that supports his involvement than otherwise. He was Bruno's driver that night, it was the passengers side window which was let down, which enabled the shooter, whoever it was, such close access to Bruno. While Stanfa was also hit by pellets, three days after the murder, Stanfa is spotted by FBI surveillance traveling to Newark and New York with three of the suspected orchestrating mobsters of the Bruno murder. They had photos which was shown during the grand jury investigation of Bruno's murder, which showed Stanfa getting into a car with Frank Sindone. Another photo showed Stanfa outside the 311 club, Caponigro's headquarters, in conversation with Frank Sindone & Antonio Caponigro. FBI agents later tailed the three to the Skyline Motel on 49th St in Manhattan, where they met with members of the Genovese. During the grand jury testimony, Stanfa himself admitted that he was visited in the hospital after the Bruno murder by Frank Sindone & Johnny Simone. The police guard for Stanfa observed this meeting and testified that they huddled up around Stanfa, with all three speaking in Sicilian. Before a second round of questioning scheduled to take place on April 21st, Caponigro & Salerno's bodies are found. Three days later Stanfa shows up for testimony in a clear state of agitation and nervousness, doesn't mean much, but interesting to say the least.

After all this is said and done, Stanfa is indicted by that grand jury for perjury, clearly they believed he wasn't telling the truth about his involvement in the Bruno murder. After his indictment his handed down, he skips town and isn't seen again until he's captured in Maryland using an alias.

With all that said, I think Stanfa was involved.

Great post, Sinatra. I'm of the belief that he was most likely involved as well. I just read Leonetti's book not too long ago, and I remember a part in the book where he talks about being in New York with Scarfo, hanging out in a bar playing cards with Benny Egg's guys while his uncle was meeting with the Chin and Bobby Manna (this was at the same time that Caponigro was summoned I believe). I can't remember exactly how it went, but something along the lines that Stanfa was also seen in a local bar and one of the Genovese guys noticed him and thought he was somebody else. Leonetti then says that he believes if the Genovese guys really knew that it was Stanfa, that he would have been killed too.

I think Stanfa actually got really lucky being indicted for perjury and eventually being captured and spending those years in prison. Had none of that happened and he remains on the streets in South Philly, I don't think there is any question that Scarfo would have had him killed.

Yea, I remember that part in Leonetti's book. I'm on my third read through so far, lol. The meeting you're referring to with Leonetti & Benny Eggs playing cards is actually the Scarfo/Casella/Genovese meeting they had after Phil Testa was killed.

The Stanfa comment was mentioned during Leonetti's retelling of the Caponigro/Genovese meeting, in which Bobby Manna told both Leonetti & Scarfo, who weren't present at that meeting, what went down and how Caponigro & Salerno was killed. According to Leonetti, Manna had told him that Gigante ordered Caponigro killed right in the social club. After they did what they did to Caponigro, they summoned Alfred Salerno, who was waiting a few blocks away in a cafe. They summoned the guys one by one, and Salerno was dealt with next. Leonetti says that when the Genovese men arrived, they discovered Salerno was conversing with a man at the bar that one of them had mistakenly believed was Nicky Scarfo, along with another man this Genovese soldier didn't know. Believing the guy to be Nicky Scarfo, when they came to summon Salerno for his murder, they told "Scarfo" and his companion to wait at the bar until Caponigro & Salerno returned. After they had killed Salerno, one of the soldiers reported to Gigante, Manna & the other Genovese admin who were present at the Triangle, that Nicky Scarfo was sitting at the bar down the block with another gentleman. Manna, knowing his good friend and knowing he wasn't supposed to be present at this prearranged death trap, and knowing his men were mistaken, immediately ordered the hit squad to go back to the bar and bring the two men to the clubhouse. When they got back to the cafe, the two men were gone. The guy they believed to be Nicky Scarfo, was actually John Stanfa, alongside Frank Sindone. Both had accompanied Caponigro & Salerno to NY for this meeting, clearly believing that he would be officially named boss. So yeah, Stanfa escaped death not just one, but twice, while under the reign of Nicky Scarfo. Pretty interesting stuff.

So if Stanfa was at the bar and he also drove Bruno when he was killed the why was he allowed to live? I thought he went on the lam after the Bruno's shooting?

He didn't go on the lam after Bruno's shooting, he went on the lam after he was indicted for perjury for lying about his involvement in the Bruno murder, claiming he had no involvement at all. And he was allowed to live because he was protected by The Gambino's. Carlo & Castellano themselves, supported John Stanfa, as well as John Gotti. He had a familial tie to Carlo, that dated back to their origins in Sicily. When he was on the lam, he was driving a car which was leased by a Gambino soldier, they funded him during this time.

And the details of Stanfa being Bruno's driver & present in NY when Caponigro & Salerno were killed, didn't become public until much later. There's no telling who knew what within the Philly Mob. But Stanfa was believed to be a suspect by law enforcement from day one. Again, the timing, him being in federal prison for much of Scarfo's reign on the perjury rap, and his connection with the Gambinos is what kept Stanfa alive.

Intersting stuff SinatraClub. Thank you.

John Stanfa was close to the Cherryhill Gambinos, John and Salvatore, it was them that help to protect Stanfa, Gotti didn't have nothing to do with any of that except to support Stanfa has boss of Philadelphia. I can just imagine how Nicky Scarfo felt about that while he's in prison.

He had Gotti's support, which was what I said. I was just using that as an example for Stanfa's ties with the Gambino's.

Wasn't Bruno closed with the Cherry Hill Gambinos too? He didn't let his Phily guys peddle dope in Phila's territory but he allowed the Gambinos and got himself a cut. Why would they back the guy who drove Bruno to his death. The Gambinos must have been happy making money being the only suppliers in Philly and having a tight relation with Bruno.

The Cherry Hill guys earned, and Bruno got a cut. Caponigro desired bigger drug profits, and thought with Bruno out of the way, and him boss, he can usher in an era of drug peddling, the same thing the NY families did. With Stanfa in place as one of the co-conspirators, and his own ties to Cherry Hill. Perhaps Cherry Hill felt they could earn more in Philly, if the whole family was involved, instead of just a boss taking a cut out of THEIR profits. Maybe that's why they did nothing about Bruno's murder other than send floral decorations.

I'm just guessing here, I don't know the actual reason for the Gambinos allowing Bruno's murder, but they did.