John Maxwell:  

By George Anastasia Feds Target Son Of Jailed Philly Mob Boss Award-winning reporter George Anastasia, author of five books on the Philadelphia mob, filed this special Gang Land report. For more info, check out his website. Nicodemo S. Scarfo, the son of imprisoned Philadelphia mob boss Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo, is waiting for the other shoe to drop. It¿s been over a year since the FBI raided his home outside of Atlantic City in what has been described as a multi-million dollar financial fraud investigation that stretches from Dallas to Philadelphia. The younger Scarfo, 44, has been identified as a primary target of that probe along with Salvatore Pelullo, a Philadelphia-area business consultant with a checkered past. Pelullo has two financial fraud convictions. Scarfo (right) has been away twice for racketeering and gambling offenses. Back in May 2008, the feds hit over a dozen locations, including the offices of FirstPlus Financial, a firm then-based in Irving, just outside of Dallas. Boxes of documents outlining the company¿s financial transactions were seized. The FBI also took possession of a plane owned by the company as well as a yacht in which Pelullo and Scarfo are believed to have an interest. They also seized jewelry and automobiles allegedly purchased with cash siphoned out of the company. Among other things, the FBI took a bracelet and diamond wedding ring that Scarfo had recently given to his new wife. All of it is tied to what a search warrant describes as an investigation into mail fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, interstate transportation of stolen property, money-laundering and racketeering conspiracy. Authorities in the U.S. Attorney¿s Office in Camden have been tight lipped about the investigation, but sources familiar with the case say prosecutors hope to obtain indictments by the end of the summer. Two FirstPlus officials, including the former CEO, have confirmed that they recently received letters stating they were targets of the probe. FirstPlus, once a high flyer in the subprime mortgage business, fell on hard times with the economic downturn of the late 1990s. Its over-the-counter stock, which once traded for as much as $50-a-share, now sells for pennies. But in 2006, authorities say, the company began to see an influx in cash ¿ residuals from some mortgages that still had life. Within a year, authorities say, Pelullo became a behind-the-scenes advisor and FirstPlus began to buy up companies in Philadelphia and New Jersey that Pelullo and Scarfo had set up. The companies, according to the government¿s theory of the case, were little more than shells. Both Pelullo and Scarfo, through their lawyers, have denied any wrongdoing. Pelullo, 43, is fascinated by the underworld, according to associates who say the business consultant loves to quote lines from mob movies, especially ¿The Godfather.¿ ¿Leave the gun. Take the cannoli,¿ is one favored line. Another is the classic that Marlon Brando¿s Don Corleone utters to explain how he¿s going to get a producer to give a broken down singer a part in an upcoming movie: ¿We¿ll make him an offer he can¿t refuse.¿ Pelullo has also claimed to be Scarfo¿s cousin, but authorities say there is no blood connection. They do believe, however, that the two men shared strong financial ties. Between June 2007 and the raids in May 2008, according to one court document, FirstPlus ¿transferred several million dollars¿.to corporate entities controlled by Pelullo and Scarfo Jr.¿ Like John A. Gotti, the younger Scarfo is frequently referred to as (Junior) by law enforcement officials even though he and his father have different middle names. And just like Junior Gotti, federal authorities see Junior Scarfo as a chip off the old block who deserves to spend the rest of his days behind bars. The Sins Of The Father Nearly Killed The Son Young Nicky Scarfo (left) has had more than his share of legal problems, but they pale in comparison to the tight rope he has walked in the underworld. Twenty years ago he was the target of one of the most famous shootings in the history of the Philadelphia underworld. The assassination attempt occurred on Halloween night, 1989, as Scarfo sat in Dante&Luigi¿s, a popular South Philadelphia restaurant, enjoying a plate of clams and spaghetti with two friends. Midway through the meal, a man wearing a Halloween mask and carrying a trick-or-trick bag, walked up to the table, pulled out a Mac-10 semi-automatic machine pistol and opened fire. Scarfo was hit a half dozen times in the neck, chest and left arm, but remarkably, none of the shots proved fatal. In fact, nine days later he walked out of a Philadelphia hospital and into his jailed father¿s version of protective custody. The shooting marked the end of the elder Scarfo¿s control of the Philadelphia crime family. Little Nicky had been imprisoned on racketeering and murder charges in 1987 and was trying to run the organization using his son as a proxy. After the shooting, Scarfo (right) advised his son to head for North Jersey where he was put under the protection of the Newark branch of the crime family, the one faction that was still loyal to the jailed mob boss. It turned out to be another in a long line of miscalculations by the imprisoned Philadelphia don. One of the mob associates assigned to guard the younger Scarfo was the late George Fresolone. At that point, Fresolone had already begun secretly cooperating with the New Jersey State Police. He wore a body-wire and recorded hundreds of conversations. He even taped his own mob making ceremony. Wtihin a year, 41 wiseguys from six different crimes families, including Junior Scarfo, were indicted on gambling and racketeering charges. The younger Scarfo did about five years, came out of prison and headed back to North Jersey. This time his father, from a federal prison in Atlanta, arranged for members of the Luchese family to look out for his son. The elder Scarfo, who turned 80 this year, was sharing prison space with Vittorio (Vic) Amuso, the boss of that family and through Amuso he took out the equivalent of an underworld life insurance policy on his son. The younger Scarfo eventually became a ¿made¿ member of the Luchese organization which guaranteed that there would not been any more unauthorized attempts on his life. A law enforcement affidavit filed in a racketeering case now pending in federal court in Newark provides the inside story. ¿Scarfo Sr. was¿incarcerated in federal prison with then-Luchese LCN Family boss Vic Amuso,¿ (left) according to the sworn affidavit of Michael Gregory, a New Jersey State trooper assigned to the Organized Crime Bureau. ¿As a result of their close association, Scarfo Jr. was put on record as an associate of the Luchese Family. This offered him some protection from the (Philadelphia) family. ¿In 2000, he was elevated to the role of soldier¿Because Scarfo Jr. was¿ a ¿made¿ member of his new Family, he was considered ¿untouchable¿ for any additional attempts on hi...Expand for more