February 11, 2025

"The Great Philly Mob War: The Young Turks, Blood, Betrayal, and FBI Takedown"

49 minutes

Philadelphia in the 1980s and 1990s was a war zone—but this wasn’t a battle between rival gangs or drug dealers. This was a Mafia civil war that left the streets soaked in blood, shattered the old-school code of honor, and turned one of America’s most ruthless crime families against itself.
In this explosive episode, we uncover the brutal power struggle within the Philadelphia Mafia, a war that saw bosses murdered in broad daylight, alliances shattered, and the FBI tightening its grip on one of the most violent organized crime families in America. From the reign of Angelo "The Docile Don" Bruno, whose quiet rule kept the peace, to the violent rise of Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, whose paranoia and bloodlust ignited all-out war, we track the key players who turned Philly into a Mafia battlefield.
We’ll explore the power grabs, ambushes, double-crosses, and assassinations that left bodies in the streets, including the shocking deaths of bosses like Bruno, Philip "Chicken Man" Testa, and the showdown between the Young Turks lead by Joey Merlino and John Stanfa which caused the bloody civil war. But the war wasn’t just internal—the FBI was watching closely, building cases, flipping high-ranking informants, and setting the stage for one of the biggest Mafia takedowns in U.S. history.
How did a once-powerful crime family self-destruct? Who were the key informants that helped the Feds bring down the Philly mob? And what lasting impact did this violent war have on La Cosa Nostra in America?
Through FBI files, wiretap recordings, firsthand testimonies, and expert analysis, we take you inside the Great Philly Mob War, where loyalty was fleeting, and the only way to the top was over a pile of dead bodies.

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