Monday, December 13, 2010

Mob Scene on William "Big Billy" D'Elia

Black Brothers, Inc. (2007) readers will notice the concluding chapters are preoccupied with corruption and white-collar crimes relating to the former syndicate and/or involving Black Mafia alums.  Included in these narratives is a discussion regarding William "Big Billy" D'Elia, successor to the late Russell Bufalino as reputed Wilkes Barre/Scranton mob boss.  Among other related matters, the FBI tracked D'Elia (who had a reputation as a "waste broker") to a 2001 meeting with onetime Black Mafia heavy Shamsud-din Ali (formerly Clarence Fowler), where the two discussed plans to form a demolition company with the hopes of obtaining contracts from Philadelphia's John Street Administration (with whom Ali was extremely close; Ali was later among 20 others who were convicted or pleaded guilty in a massive FBI corruption probe of the Street Administration, though not relating to the D'Elia matter).  Here is George Anastasia's update on D'Elia: