MOB CHIEF JOE LIGAMBI HIT WITH BIG INDICTMENT

THE PHILADELPHIA mob has again been thrown into turmoil with the arrest of Mafia kingpin Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, 71. More of the Angelo Bruno style than Crazy Nicky Scarfo, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Ligambi was reluctant to use violence because it interferrred with his money making schemes. The arrest Monday could signal the end of his run and further imperil the Philadelphia mob. The gentleman gangster and others were hammered with a 50-count indictment that focuses on racketeering, loan-sharking and gambling. But curiously missing is any semblance of violence, of course there are
broad hints that terrible things could happen if a wiseguy didn't play ball. Standard-fare.
The Inquirer said: In one conversation, Anthony Staino Jr., a top Ligambi lieutenant, threatened to send "two gorillas" to deal with a deadbeat gambler.
 Ligambi took over as acting boss of the organization for jailed mob chief Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino. But Ligambi was a throwback to the old days. A former bartender and suspected hit man, he is the longest serving boss since Bruno's run from 1959 to his 1980 assassination.
For years, Philadelphia gangsters were engaged in a bitter blood feud that infuriated other top mobsters. Ligambi brought quiet. One former mobster said: "All he wants is peace... and money."

WHO IS JOSEPH LIGAMBI?