Last Friday morning, mob wannabe Paul Ragusa did right by his family -- the real flesh and blood one.

Ragusa, on the FBI's 10-Most Wanted List for five months, surrendered to face 18-month old racketeering charges that include violent armed robberies brought in June, 1996 against him and other budding Bonanno and Colombo mobsters from Queens known as the Giannini Crew.

Ragusa, 27, gave up after months of heavy handed pressure tactics against his family from frustrated members of an FBI-NYPD bank robbery task force, which always seemed a step or two behind him.

Ragusa's sister Francesca Bartolotta was arrested on drug trafficking charges a few days before Christmas, and the task force had threatened to arrest his father and another sister on a variety of charges if he didn't give up soon. "His arrest was a high priority and we let the family know it," said one law enforcement official.

Sporting a goatee and canary yellow hair, Ragusa pleaded not guilty and was held without bail to await trial with his nephew Fabio and a dozen others.

Following his brief court appearance,  his lawyer Charles Carnesi acknowledged that Ragusa surrendered for his family's sake.

"First and foremost," said Carnesi, "is that he wanted to remove any possible pressure that was being placed on his family. It was clear that tremendous pressures were going to be brought to bear on his family."

"If Greg DePalma calls, I'm not home," Gaggi told his nephew, Dominick Montiglio. "The guy is always shootin' his mouth off all over the lot."

Gene Mustain and I related this little gem in our book, Murder Machine.

Gaggi dropped dead of a heart attack about 10 years ago, but DePalma, 65, is still at it. And last week, his propensity for chatter was the focus of dicussion at a detention hearing of John A. (Junior) Gotti (left). Prosecutors claim Gotti, reputed acting Gambino boss for his jailed father, John J. Gotti, is a danger to the community and should be held without bail to await trial on federal  racketeering charges.

During a lengthy investigation by local, state and federal agencies, state investigators planted at least three bugs in DePalma's home in upscale Scarsdale, NY.

In a conversation taped on July 6, 1995, DePalma told another wiseguy he was able to work out a dispute he had with other gangsters by putting it  "on record" with Junior. Prosecutors say this remark establishes Junior as a Gambino family leader.

Young Gotti, like Gaggi before him, apparantly realized that DePalma had a big mouth.

In another conversation, Gotti told DePalma's reputed mobster son Craig to relay this message to his father: "Tell him John says, 'We're all chipping in for Christmas and we're buying him a radio station.'''

Gotti and the DePalmas are currently detained without bail.

Federal prosecutor Vincent Heintz said the jailed Gotti was overheard last week saying he wanted to kill a co-defendant, presumably DePalma, and should be held without bail as a danger to society.

Heintz gave scant detains about the alleged overheard conversation, but said it was reported by a "a source with a track record for truth."

Whatever that means.

Gotti's lawyer, Gerald Shargel said the allegations were "too weak, too late and too insufficient'' to warrant Gotti's detention. He said Gotti is willing to post a large bond and agree to home detention and wear an electronic monitor.

Magistrate Judge Mark Fox seemed skeptical about the new information, but offered Heintz a chance to provide details about the threat in secret, to protect the identity of the informer. Fox said he would decide the issue today.

In 1978, DePalma, Gaggi (seen at left in a 1984 photo) and nine others were hit with bankruptcy fraud for driving the Westchester Premiere Theater out of business after DePalma had been overheard talking about the scheme over wiretapped phones. Gaggi was enraged, ranting and raving before and after his arrest and even when released on bail. In the end, however, he walked and DePalma was convicted.

"Serves him right," said Gaggi, "That's what he gets for shootin' his mouth off all over the lot."

As Gang Land reported last week, Locascio, 38, pleaded not guilty to extortion charges one day after watching the Denver Broncos upset the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. Tore, son of the crime family's imprisoned underboss Frank (Frankie Loc) Locascio, was released on a $750,000 bond that was secured by his $1 million house in Scarsdale.

ASK ANDY

This week, Andy -- seen at right reading one of his all time favorite Mafia books, Mob Star -- answers a query from a Gang Land follower about an organized crime group based in Southern Italy that is called "the Honored Society" and often referred to as  'nDrangheta.

"'NDrangheta" is the organized crime group from the southern Italian province of  Calabria. It is very common to see North Americans lump these criminals in with the Sicilian Mafia. While there is interplay between the two groups they are in fact distinct. 'Ndrangheta is based on real families of blood relationships or marriage and are usually named after their village or family leader. Last year one expert estimated that
there were approximately 155 families with about 6,000 members. Another
report places the number at 55. The difficulty appears to be in
distinguishing separate families from offshoots of the major operations.
In 1971, the police in Italy discovered papers outlining the Code of
'nDrangheta. A similar document was found in a raid on a Toronto home a
few years later. The material details an elaborate series of questions
and answers that attempt to give a lofty purpose to what is essentially a
lowly enterprise.

Although there are differences, the basic structure of The Honored Society is quite similar to that of La Cosa Nostra. At the apex of 'nDrangheta is the Capo Crimini who is basically a Superboss. In Cosa Nostra the only equivalent would be the informal, mythical position of "Boss of Bosses." The Crimini position may have become obsolete over the last decade depending on which report you read. Next on the pyramid is the "Consiglio" (Commission) which is composed of the major bosses. It theoretically settles disputes and sets broad policy. At the head of each family is the Capo (Boss). Beneath him is the Masto.(Underboss). Serving as chief advisor is the Santista.(Consigliere). 'Ndrangheta has a financial
advisor slot called the Contabile. There is no such formal position in
Cosa Nostra. A Puntaiola (Capo) heads up a group of members. The soldiers are split into two categories; Sgarrista, sometimes referred to as
Cammista (a rough equivalent would be a powerful, senior Cosa Nostra soldier) and junior soldiers called Picciotto. Finally there are the Giovane D'Honore (associates.)

Cells of these families have spread world wide including the United States and Canada. In Ontario it is estimated that there are ten groups. The picture is less clear in the United States, but there are known cells in Albany, New York and Long Island, NY, Stamford, Connecticut, Chicago and Naples, FL. Since 'nDrangheta has had a much lower profile in North America than the Italian American Cosa Nostra and the Sicilian Mafia, it is likely that there are cells in other cities. Members of 'nDrangheta are international drug dealers adept at the companion racket of money laundering. On a local level, they are involved in the whole range of illegal enterprises like gambling, extortion and labor racketeering. For decades, in Italy, they were involved in kidnapping important people for ransom. A grandson of the famous billionaire, John Paul Getty, was one such victim. At first, it was felt that he had engineered his own kidnapping but when the mail delivered one of his ears to his mothers home, serious discussions ensued which resulted in a ransom being paid and his release.

The most important 'Ndrangheta family is located in the city of Siderno.
It is headed by a Commisso who took over for the legendary Antonio Macri
who was killed in 1975. Informers put its strength at 500 formal members. For decades, in Canada, the top 'nDrangheta mobster was a quiet baker named Mike Racco. Canadian law enforcement referred to the Racco
organization as the Siderno group because so many of it's members came
from that area of Italy. Until his death in 1980, Racco had the final word on major crimes committed by 'nDrangheta members in Canada. His influence also extended into New York and Connecticut. He was respected and feared. His only son, Dominic, was of a different personality altogether. As a teenager, he was jailed for shooting youths who had insulted a Racco friend. Even while behind bars for this crime, Racco's temper was not under control. He was caught ordering the maiming of another Italian for another perceived insult. This time Racco was luckier. The young 'nDrangheta hitmen recanted their confessions and Racco beat the rap. When his father died, young Racco inherited his position but was too stupid to realize he was very vulnerable. A conflict developed over a drug debt he owed to another family and the net result was that Racco ended up very dead, sprawled over some railroad tracks.

The Commisso brothers of Toronto were also members of 'nDrangheta. It
was their cousin who headed the family in Siderno. They received public notice when an enforcer became an informer and detailed a string of criminal acts including conspiracy to murder a Connecticut woman. This was to be a favor for the 'nDrangheta leader there. They were also plotting to kill Paul Volpe, a well known Toronto gangster and soldier in the Buffalo, LCN Family. Volpe was murdered but it is still unclear who exactly ordered the deed. At the time the Commisso leader was in jail. What was crystal clear was that the 'nDrangheta no longer took a back seat to La Cosa Nostra, at least in the Toronto area.

It is important to understand that not all Calabrian organized criminals
belong to 'Ndrangheta. There were and are many Italian Americans of
Calabrian descent in the Cosa Nostra. Frank Costello, Genovese boss from about 1936 to 1957, would be a prominent example. Nicky Scarfo, one time Philadelphia boss would be another. For decades, the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra tried to keep peace between its Calabrian and Sicilian factions by having the administration selected from both groups. In Montreal, Calabrians had the upper hand for about 20 years in the Bonanno family. When Bonanno capo Paulo Violi, a Calabrian, became mob boss of  Montreal in the early 1970's, he had the misfortune to have been promoted just as the Sicilian wing was gaining power from its heroin connections in Sicily. Violi objected to the secret dealings of the Sicilians, who complained to Bonanno Boss Carmine Galante. In short order, Violi was lying dead on the floor thanks to a shotgun blast to the head.

'NDrangheta, despite the lower profile than the Sicilian Mafia and La Cosa Nostra, is a very serious organized crime threat from Southern Italy to North America.