New Jersey mobster dies in prision

Robert Bisaccia, formerly of Belleville, NJ, passed away.

From the Star-Ledger, Newark, NJ

Iconic 'Goodfella' Robert Bisaccia dies in prison
Thursday, December 04, 2008
BY GUY STERLING
Star-Ledger Staff

Before state and federal prosecutors clipped his wings, Robert Bisaccia was considered one of organized crime's most feared and unpredictable figures, a New Jerseyan with a wit as quick as his temper and a murderous streak immortalized by his childhood friend Joe Pesci in the movie "Goodfellas."

Convicted of running the Gambino crime family operation on this side of the Hudson for mob boss John Gotti, as well as for a New York hit, he was sentenced to life in prison in 1993.

The New York Times also covers this story, adding quotes worthy of a Soprano's episode.

Mr. Gotti, in a videotaped jailhouse conversation, once talked about how Mr. Bisaccia could find humor in a negative biopsy from prison. “He said, ‘Sure, if I was out on the street they’d tell me I got two weeks to live. I’m doing life, so it’s benign.’ ”

Hiding in plain sight

I use to live in New Jersey and sometimes read the New Jersey papers online. I particularly enjoy reading about any mob activity, New Jersey being well known for that and all.

Today there is an article in the Star Ledger regarding a mob guy accused of a murder in 1977.

This paragraph made me laugh.

In 1996, Coppola failed to show up to submit a DNA sample for comparison. Then a Spring Lake (New Jersey) resident, Coppola went into hiding, assuming various identities along the way, until investigators found him March 9, 2007, on a Manhattan street corner.

I am sure there is more to this story. Or, maybe after 20 years he just missed the old neighborhood and decided to hang out, thinking the statue of limitations had passed.

He might actually get off due to the time lapse.

The Newark native has yet to be indicted in New Jersey for the attack, and his attorney in September filed a motion to dismiss the charge, accusing the state Attorney General's Office of taking too long to bring the case before a grand jury.

Scabby The Rat

The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey has an article about an inflatable rat used by Unions to protest non-union hirings.


"The inflatable rat idea was first pumped up in 1990, when a Chicago union asked an outdoor advertiser to come up with a flashy way to catch the attention of nonunion employers. The owners of Big Sky Balloons and Searchlights, of Plainfield, Ill., which made the first rodent, called it "Scabby the Rat." Today, they sell rats up to 25 feet tall, charging as much as $8,950.

The rat in New Jersey's debate gets out about 50 times a year. It is inflated by a small electric blower that can be hooked into a car's cigarette lighter. When not on the picket line, it deflates to a storage bag that resides -- fittingly -- in the union's boiler room next to an inflatable pig that goes out when the rat is double-booked.

Union officials say they first try to talk to business owners to resolve the wage issues. The rat is a tool of last resort. "If they say 'Hey, leave us alone' then we bring out our friend," said DeAngelo."


This is the kind of article I always enjoyed reading in the Star-Ledger. Something local and quirky.

Sopranos creator, David Chase, got many of his plot lines from Star-Ledger articles.

Unfortunately the Star-Ledger is in bad financial shape and might be sold.