By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com
The mob in Philadelphia got a rude awakening Monday morning.
FBI agents rounded up Philly reputed mob boss Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi, underboss Joseph Massimino and nine other reputed associates, capping a lengthy probe that focused on crimes including violence, gambling, loan sharking, witness tampering and extortion, the Justice Department announced.
Others arrested, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, included reputed mobsters Anthony Staino, Martin Angelina and Gaetan Lucibello and alleged mob associate Louis “Bent Finger” Lou Monacello.
The arrests came as a result of 50-count, superseding indictment of 13 mobsters, the Justice Department said. Two were already in prison.
The Philadelphia LCN Family has shown a remarkable ability to reorganize and reinvigorate itself, even as its members were sent to prison,” Assistant Attorney Gen. Lanny Breuer said at a press conference in Philly. ” According to the superseding indictment, Ligambi rose through the ranks of the organization, becoming an underboss, then acting boss and, finally, when his predecessor was sent to prison, the boss.
“Attorney General Robert Kennedy understood that the devastating grip of organized crime in this country had to be broken,” Breuer later said. ” Attorney General Holder has renewed that commitment. While we have pried loose La Cosa Nostra’s grip on power and influence, we know that there is still work to be done.
