With the retrial of Philadelphia mafia boss Joseph Ligambi underway many have begun to speculate on who is next in line to lead the Philly mafia. Whether or not he is found guilty this time around there could be a shake up on the streets as to who takes the lead of the Philadelphia mob. Many still debate as to whether Ligambi was officially the boss or more of an acting boss for Joey Merlino while he was away doing time in either case his hold on the reins in Philly seems to be at an end. Merlino is now living the good life in Florida since his prison release and seems to be done with the Philly mob although some are not so quick to dismiss his involvement. Current acting boss Steve Mazzone and part of the old Merlino crew could be next in line to take the lead but there are plenty of others looking for a piece of the pie.

“Joseph Ligambi”

Mobsters from the Nicky Scarfo organization are now back on the streets in Philadelphia after serving long prison terms and mob experts like George Anastasia believe they want back in and think they have a lot coming to them. If Ligambi gets convicted the Mazzone crew may have a fight on their hands from these “old heads” of the Scargo regime if they want control of the Philly mafia. If Ligambi makes it back on to the streets and escapes his retrial he may also find it hard to get these older mobsters to fall in line. The whole mob dynamic on the streets of Philly is now in flux and that could bring with it violence as it has in the past. With more people wanting a piece of an ever shrinking pie in Philly it causes a problem because more times that pie has to be split the smaller the share is.

“Steve Mazzone”

Mob experts don’t believe Merlino’s old crew which includes current acting boss Mazzone will be able to mesh with the older wiseguys from the Scarfo era. Many believe that Philip Narducci could be the heir apparent being known as a no nonsense mobster from the Scarfo days. He has the personality and the ability to take over with the backing of the rest of the Scarfo era mobsters who have the street cred and status to take over according to Anastasia. It is still unclear as to if the old school guys on streets actually think there is enough left to the Philadelphia crime family to be worth fighting over or if they just decide to do their own thing and let the current crew led by Mazzone move forward if Ligambi goes away.

“Scarfo era mob crew – front left “Philip Narducci”

The next boss of the Philadelphia mob will likely be decided shortly after the Ligambi retrial ends and whether or not that transition is a bloody one is yet to be seen. Some mob experts from both New York and Philly believe the New York Mafia bosses may step in and ultimately decide who the next Philly mob boss is.