So if The Sopranos went out with a Journey song, were Philly feds playing "Born to Run" during this morning's mob roundup? Maybe it's me, but I've always thought alleged local boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi looked a bit like The Boss.
As always, my friend and resident Mafia expert George Anastasia had all the important details.
FBI agents fanned out across the area this morning, arresting alleged Philadelphia mob boss Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi and about 10 reputed associates.
The arrests capped a 5-year investigation targeting Ligambi and his organization.
The charges center around a gambling and a loan sharking operation and, according to several law enforcement sources, they do not include homicide.
Others arrested in the roundup include reputed mobsters Anthony Staino, Martin Angelina and Gaetan Lucibello and alleged mob associate Louis "Bent Finger" Lou Monacello.
I can't remember how Monacello got that bent finger, but I do recall killing time years ago on one of those "find your Mob nickname" websites. It christened me Monica "Fancy Pants" Yant, which I rather enjoyed but needs updating now that I'm married. A quick check of several gangster name generator sites offered nothing nearly as entertaining and one so sexual, I blushed at my desk.
Anyway, having just returned from a week in Venice and Vienna, I imagine the Europeans are weeping over the latest FBI bust. They love our Mob lore as much as we do, as evidenced by these pictures snapped at The Prater, an Austrian amusement park. Alas, I did not sample the fare at Al Capone Pizza, but the "Scarface Gangster Workshop" shoot-em-up game had a long line of thrill-seekers looking to snuff out a legend and win a stuffed SpongeBob SquarePants.
-- Monica Yant Kinney
(read more at philly.com/blinq)