Joe Bruno on the Mob – Donnie Brasco Surfaces Again

Donnie Brasco is like Jason in the Halloween movies. Just when you think Donnie Brasco – real name Joe Pistone – FBI agents extraordinaire, is dead and buried as a professional witness,  he returns to testify in another trial.

Read the article below, and if you are a member of the Canadian mob, read the article and weep.

 

PS – Donnie Brasco spent several years in my neighborhood in the Lower East Side’s 4^th Ward in the mid-late 1970’s and early 1980’s. I ran into him a few times here and there.

I didn’t like him then, and I certainly don’t like him now.

 

Donnie Brasco’ to testify at Quebec’s corruption inquiry

 

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/09/13/donnie-brasco-to-testify-at-quebecs-corruption-inquiry

 

MONTREAL — New York Mob infiltrator Joe Pistone, a.k.a. Donnie Brasco, will be the next star witness at Quebec’s corruption inquiry, QMI Agency has learned.

The man who helped bring down the Bonanno crime syndicate and lived to tell about it will testify, face uncovered, about the Mafia’s role in public contracting.

He is scheduled to take the stand Monday at commission headquarters in downtown Montreal, sources tell QMI Agency.

The event will be televised live and the 72-year-old is expected to answer questions for at least a half day.

Judge France Charbonneau is examining the role organized crime plays in public infrastructure projects and political party financing.

Quebec’s former anti-corruption czar, Jacques Duchesneau, told the legislature last year that the Mafia launders cash at construction sites across Quebec.

He later told the inquiry about firms that conspire to inflate the value of public contracts before funnelling cash to political parties.

The former Montreal police chief also testified that dirty money accounted for a whopping 70% of political donations in the province.

The scandals were a factor in Quebecers’ decision to kick Jean Charest out of office last week.

Joe Pistone gained firsthand knowledge of Mob activities from 1976 to 1981 when he penetrated deeper into organized crime than any FBI agent in history.

Using the alias Donnie Brasco, Pistone posed as a mid-level foot soldier in the Bonanno crime family.

He gained the confidence of top mob leaders before turning his information over to his FBI bosses.

Prosecutors built an iron-clad case that resulted in stiff jail sentences for top Mob leaders in the 1980s.

New York subsequently formed a permanent anti-corruption unit that premier Charest duplicated in Quebec as he tried to dodge allegations that dirty money made its way into his Liberal party.

Pistone’s story was adapted for the big screen in the film Donnie Brasco, starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino.

Source: torontosun.com

 

What goods will “Donnie Brasco” dish out at Quebec corruption probe?

WNBC-TV – Ida Libby Dengrove

MONTREAL – So how much light can “Donnie Brasco” really shed on modern-day corruption in Quebec?

The man who decades ago infiltrated the New York Mafia in an operation immortalized in a 1997 Hollywood film will testify next week at Quebec’s corruption inquiry, according to a report.

It wouldn’t be the first time on a high-profile witness stand for Joseph Pistone, the retired cop who assumed the Brasco identity during his undercover days and who is still hiding from the Mafia all these years later as a result of his old career.

One crime expert says Pistone remains an authority on the Italian Mafia and may be able to provide a broader picture of how the organization works.

But given that his expertise was gathered in another era, in another country, he might not have relevant specifics to share at Quebec’s inquiry, the expert said.

“He’s very knowledgeable, he’s very intelligent,” said Antonio Nicaso, an author and expert on the Mafia in Canada.

“But I don’t know what he can add about the Canadian side (of the Mafia).”

The French-language arm of the CBC reports that Pistone will testify on Monday — which happens to be his 73rd birthday. Spokespeople for the inquiry have not confirmed or denied the report.

Quebec’s Charbonneau commission is looking into criminal corruption in the construction industry and its ties to organized crime and political parties. Hearings are scheduled to begin again Monday after a nearly three-month summer pause.

Pistone is no stranger to testifying.

After infiltrating the infamous Bonanno crime family, and to a lesser extent the Colombo family, between 1976 to 1981, he spent the years that followed testifying in several trials that led to more than 100 federal convictions.

The Bonannos are alleged to have links to Montreal’s Rizzuto clan. In fact, Vito Rizzuto has spent the last several years in a U.S. prison in connection with 1981 murders that were referenced in the “Donnie Brasco” movie featuring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.

Rizzuto is slated for release from a U.S. prison early next month.

Nicaso doubts that Pistone knows much about the Mafia in Canada or is up to date on current events. Montreal’s Mafia has been torn apart by a bloody power struggle since Rizzuto was extradited in 2006.

But Pistone is aware of just how the Mob functions — whether in Quebec or elsewhere — and might provide the commission with valuable insight.

“The Mafia is an organization that was capable of remaining in business for so long only because of its capacity to build relationships with politicians, businessmen, bankers,” Nicaso said.

“If they were only violent criminals, they wouldn’t have survived this long.”

Nicaso says that relationship with politics, legitimate business and the financial world is the key to understanding the Mafia’s reach.

Pistone noted in 1988, during testimony before a United States senate sub-committee, that organized crime was already undergoing a culture shift in that country.

“I think it has changed in that with the younger members coming up, they are not as dedicated to the society as the older individuals,” Pistone testified then, noting that the new generation was less tied to tradition.

“On the other hand, they have changed by diversifying more in their illegal activities. They are putting more of their illegal proceeds into legal businesses, legitimate businesses.”

Charbonneau commission spokesman Richard Bourdon said Thursday that he would not confirm Pistone’s presence next week. Witnesses to the commission are made public 24 to 48 hours in advance.

Pistone, who retired from the FBI in 1986, has worked as a consultant to law-enforcement agencies and as an FBI trainer since then. He has also authored several books and worked in film and television.

But the police legend leads a very secretive life.

He reportedly has a $500,000 bounty on his head and, even after three decades and an FBI warning for mobsters to leave him alone, Pistone still treads carefully.

In a 2005 interview with National Geographic about a documentary on the Mafia, Pistone indicated he was still taking precautions and travelling under an assumed name and in disguise.

In a 2008 interview with a journalist in Las Vegas, he changed the location of the interview at the last minute and when they finally met he was accompanied by bodyguards.

Source: vancouversun.com

 

 

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Gotti Flick Allegedly Having Trouble Raising Cash

According to a Hollywood website, the new movie “Gotti: Three Generations” is having trouble raising money and it’s production may be pushed back, or even canceled completely. Shwobiz411.com has reported that work on the project has come to a halt and won’t resume until they can secure more financing.

A source told the website, “If producer Marc Fiore doesn’t come up with the money this week, and doesn’t show that more is coming, and that he’s really securing financing, it could all fall apart.”

However, conflicting reports have come from film spokesman Steve Honig, who also represents actress Lindsey Lohan, scheduled to be in the film, which stars John Travolta, Ben Foster, and Al Pacino. Honig said, “The movie is going forward.” Honig also said the reports in Shwobiz411.com are “factually inaccurate.”

The movie which is scheduled for a 2012 release, was supposed to start shooting in January 2012.

It’s hard to conceive a movie with such high-profile stars as Travolta and Pacino could have trouble raising revenue. And although the subject (John Gotti) has been done in several movies before,
“Gotti: Three Generations” is being told from the perspective of Gotti Jr. (he reportedly has even written the screenplay), and should offer a different angle on the man who was know as the “Teflon Don.”

However, the present economy being what it is, it’s not surprising to see a project, even a viable one, having cash flow problems.

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see this movie.

Travolta and Pacino in the same flick?

Two legitimate New York-area Italians (Travolta is from nearby New Jersey; Pacino from the Bronx) in a film about one of the most famous mob figures of all time.

Fuhgeddaboudit!

Sign me up for a ticket.

The article below can be seen at:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/woes_for_gotti_bio_flick_KuuK189cSC9xxgoEyTRvFM

$$ woes for Gotti bio flick

By JOSH SAUL

Last Updated: 7:29 AM, October 8, 2011

Posted: 1:23 AM, October 8, 2011
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The much-anticipated John Gotti biopic — which is supposed to star John Travolta, Al Pacino, and Lindsay Lohan — hasn’t been able to raise the money necessary to begin production, a Hollywood website reported yesterday.

Showbiz411.com said the production company “has been telling various players in this saga that ‘money is coming from overseas’ … but so far it hasn’t arrived.”

The spokesman for the mob flick said the film is moving forward but declined to comment on whether the company, Fiore Films, has enough money to actually start filming.

“The movie is going forward,” said film spokesman Steve Honig, who also represents Lohan.

He called the recent reports “factually inaccurate,” but would not comment on the film’s finances or whether filming would begin in January as previously planned.

This isn’t the biopic’s first bump. Joe Pesci, who won an Oscar for “Goodfellas,” sued Fiore Films for $3 million in July, claiming he was cut from the biopic after he gained 30 pounds to play the role of a stocky Gotti adviser.

http://www.josephbrunowriter.com/index.html

Joe Bruno on the Mob – Mob Rat Lewis Kasman Has No Shame

 

Imagine, a rat, a stool pigeon, one of the lowest forms of life, telling the world that actor John Travolta is not a tough enough guy to play John Gotti Sr. in an upcoming movie. And to make matters worst, Lewis Kasman, who once called himself John Gotti’s “adopted son,” also thinks that actor Ben Foster is not enough of a thug to play John Gotti Jr.

Of course, Kasman has his own angle for saying these things. He’s writing his memoir “The Last Son,” and is creepy enough to time it’s release at the same time Gotti’s Jr. movie “Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father” is scheduled to be released.

First of all, I don’t know what Kasman’s relationship was with Gotti Sr. But I do know after Gotti’s Sr.’s death, Kasman, in order to save his own smelly hide, went over to Team America and began wearing a wire. Kasman is such a lowlife creep, he even wore a wire when he was talking to Gotti Sr.’s wife Victoria, while the lady was going through a severe illness.

It’s hard to imagine anyone sinking any lower than that.

Kasman is right about one thing. John Gotti Sr., no matter what you think of him, was a “man’s man.” When he was finally convicted and sent to prison for life, Gotti Sr. kept his mouth closed. He never deviated one iota from the Mafia’s vow of omerta. Not like Kasman, who became one of most despicable canaries in recent memory.

I can’t conceive of anyone actually buying Kasman’s book and expecting to read the truth. All you need to do is remember is Sammy “The Bull” Gravano’s autobiography, which turned out to be a pack of lies too.

But at least Sammy was a made guy at one time: a “man of respect” in Mafia terms. Kasman, from what I hear, was nothing but a go-fer for Gotti Sr., and was never a tough guy, not even for one day in his crummy life.

And by the way, Kasman is “The Last Son” of who? Certainly not of John Gotti Sr, who if he were alive today, would spit right in Kasman’s face, for even hinting there was some connection between the two.

Vote with your feet people, and run away from Kasman’s book. You’re better off throwing your money into the East River.

The article below can be seen at:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/gotti_crony_blasts_disco_johnny_SeZpMR4jb7peldMmW1w2TN

Ex-associate rips Travolta, other Gotti movie casting choices

By BRUCE GOLDING

Last Updated: 7:08 AM, September 26, 2011

Posted: 1:53 AM, September 26, 2011
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A once-trusted associate of mob boss John Gotti is giving a thumbs-down to having John Travolta portray the late “Dapper Don” in an upcoming biopic.

Mob rat Lewis Kasman — whom Gotti once considered like an “adopted son” — told The Post that picking the “Pulp Fiction” star probably has the notorious Gambino crime-family godfather spinning in his grave.

“I think if he was asked, he would not be pleased at Travolta playing him,” said Kasman, who entered the witness-protection program after cutting a deal with the feds.

Speaking by phone from his current hiding spot, Kasman said that while Travolta is a “great actor,” the part should have gone to a “tougher guy.”

“For John Gotti Sr., you need a man’s man to play that role,” Kasman said.

“John Gotti Sr. never danced a dance in his life,” he said, taking a jab at the “Saturday Night Fever” hoofer Travolta.

A better choice, he said, would have been “Godfather” veterans Robert De Niro or Al Pacino, who’s set to play a supporting role as Gambino family underboss Aniello “Neil” Dellacroce.

Kasman — whose undercover work for the feds helped him avoid an 11-year prison term — also said that “X-Men” star Ben Foster had been “miscast” as John “Junior” Gotti.

“He’s a thug, so you need someone who’s a thug . . . a guy who grew up in that life,” Kasman said of Junior, offering “The Fighter” star Mark Wahlberg as a better pick for the role.

He plans to time the publication of his memoir, “The Last Son,” to compete with the release of Junior’s movie, “Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father.”

Kasman maintains that the elder Gotti died “hating” Junior.

Kasman, who gave the eulogy at Gotti’s funeral, also said he’ll disclose the murderous mobster’s secret relationships with “the millionaires and billionaires of New York.”

Those movers-and-shakers allegedly include the late hotelier Leona Helmsley, with whom Kasman claims he was carrying on an affair when he arranged Junior’s lavish 1990 wedding at the former Helmsley Palace Hotel.

A publicist for Fiore Films, which is producing Junior’s movie, said, “I think we’ll stick with the decisions made by our Academy Award-winning team of filmmakers, instead of taking casting advice from someone who has never made a movie.”

Gotti’s widow, Victoria — who last week gave her blessing to having Travolta play her late hubby — called Kasman a “rattlesnake personified” and said he “becomes an authority only when he has a diary of lies to sell.”

Travolta was summoned to Victoria’s home in Howard Beach, Queens, on Thursday to get Mamma Gotti’s blessing for the role. He spent more than two hours at the house screening family movies.

The actor — who was still making his bones playing “Sweathog” Vinnie Barbarino on “Welcome Back, Kotter” when John Gotti Sr. was being made as a Gambino family capo in the late ’70s — mimicked the boss of bosses’ sprightly strut as he left the mob matron’s house with Junior.

http://www.josephbrunowriter.com/index.html

Leave the Gun, Take The Giuliani

http://www.josephbrunowriter.com/index.html

This article, written by Edward Ludvigsen, appeared Tuesday, July 26 on NYC Mob Tour
http://nycmobtour.wordpress.com/

Leave the Gun, Take The Giuliani

Certainly no stranger to self promotion, gangsters, or just hamming it the hell up— former prosecutor, mayor, misunderstood drag performer, and savior of NYC during 9/11 ( (just ask him, he’ll tell you), Rudy Giuliani will be hosting “Mob Week” on AMC from August 1 through 7. Giuliani is apparently a big Godfather fan, which will be great for him as AMC is playing the films in exhausting rotation over the course of the week. Over 300 hours of The Godfather, says quick math. Is that too much Abe Vigoda, or just enough to hook you for life? Food for thought.

One supposes that the former mayor of New York City is a sensible choice for a celebrity host, as he is very familiar with the organized crime landscape of the city. Notes The Gothamist:

Of course, Giuliani has always been a family guy—even when he was raiding bars during his mayorship, it’s long believed that he never touched Kokie’s—Williamsburg’s notorious members-only cocaine den—because it was owned by his friend’s brother (it was raided and shut down when Bloomberg came into office).

Breezing through AMC’s “Mob Week” schedule reveals a roster of all the expected biggies: Godfather, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, Untouchables, Scarface. More Pacino and DeNiro than you can shake a (bread)stick at. The Juror, curiously, is also in heavy rotation. Affordable syndication?

The only two films that stand out as being a little unexpected are Machine Gun Kelly, for which you will have to tune in at 4AM on August 2 to see, and . The latter is a funny little gem from 1993 starring DeNiro (playing against type), . It gets a few more time slots and may be easier to catch. It would have been nice to see a little more variety and unexpected fare within AMC’s gangland film festival. The Freshman, Mean Streets, and The Pope of Greenwich Village all spring to mind.

Got any favorite mobster movies that may NOT be amongst the expected family of classics? Let us know in the comments!

http://www.josephbrunowriter.com/index.html