An alleged Philadelphia mob associate was arraigned overnight in the execution-style killing of a man along a South Philly street.
A judge arraigned Anthony Nicodemo, 41, of the 3200 block of S 17th Street on murder, conspiracy of murder and firearms violations early Friday, according to court records.
Nicodemo, who has alleged connections to the Philly mob, is accused of killing 50-year old Gino DiPietro along the 2800 block of Iseminger Street around 3 p.m. Wednesday. The shooting happened just a few doors away from DiPietro's home.
DiPietro, who was also an alleged mob associate, was shot five times. He was taken to the Hahnemann University Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Sources tell NBC10 that ballistics match a gun found in Nicodemo's car to a bullet fragment found on DiPietro's clothing.
Police sources tell NBC10 that Nicodemo is suspected to be linked to other unsolved mob-related murders, including Johnny "Gongs" Cassanto's killing in 2003.
Nicodemo pleaded guilty four years ago to gambling conspiracy charges for his role in the Borgata sports-betting sting.
Sources tell NBC10 that Nicodemo is a mid-level mobster in the Joseph Ligambi crime family who was recently demoted to the rank of soldier.
Ligambi, the reputed mob boss of Philadelphia known as "Uncle Joe," is currently on trial with six other defendants for racketeering. He's accused of being on the payroll at Top Job Disposal for 10 years, but never doing any work.
Prosecutors allege that the La Cosa Nostra boss defrauded the Teamsters' health and pension fund, of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The defense claims Ligambi has steered several contracts to the trash hauler over the years, before going out of business.
Closing arguments are expected to begin in January.
