I don’t know about you but I wish at this dinner, the mafia feast must have been delicious.
The FBI spent $25,000 to lure the 20 linguini loving wiseguys to a gangland “Last Supper” — complete with a mob turncoat in the role of Judas — and later arrested them all.
FBI Special Agent William Inzerillo revealed the spaghetti setup Wednesday under cross-examination at the racketeering trial of reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino, who was among the hoods that stuffed their faces at the “Cosa Nostra Christmas party” in The Bronx.
“We supplied the money. We paid for the party. Over 20 people attended the party, and we paid for all of them,” Inzerillo testified in Manhattan federal court.
Nearly all of the mafiosi who nearly ate themselves to death, the started with homemade fresh buffulo mozzarella and prosciutto di parma, calamari, olives, and table full of Italian cheeses that could choke a elephant. Then there was soup and two different salads. Then came the pasta courses, house specialties as gnocchi Bolognese and fettuccine matriciana. Then came filet with gorgonzola and roasted fish with fennel. The final course was a stuffed pig that was carved for the still hungry mobsters tableside. All of this at Pasquale’s Rigoletto on Arthur Avenue. After the feast that could of fed a small country there was a massive roundup of 46 mobsters.
The gangster gathering was arranged so prosecutors would have jurisdiction to charge Merlino, the source familiar with the case said.
In fact, the feds even paid for him to fly up for it from Boca Raton, Fla. Inzerillo testified that the money for the party was given “directly” to mob rat John Rubeo “to give to Parrello,” and Rubeo also handed over FBI cash for Merlino’s airfare.
The jailed former Genovese associate and professional bowler — who wore royal blue prisoner garb and orange, slip-on sneakers — said he turned rat in a bid to avoid life in the slammer for dealing drugs and other crimes.
