FOR JOEY MERLINO, THE BEST BET, IS BETTING ON HIMSELF, EVERY TIME.
Choose any moniker you want, for South Philadelphians, they just love Joey. Imagine the thoughts the federal government had when Joey along with Lil' Snuff launched their podcast entitled "The Skinny With Joey Merlino." I think many in different circles were taken aback by an alleged former/current mob boss, taking to YouTube, and quickly setting the pace and narrative against informants. It's just never been done before, in the history of organized crime, but then again this is 2024, and I never thought I would see YouTube inundated with every single type of federal informant known to man being showcased as heroes either.
Joey has always beaten the odds. He's always come out ahead. That sort of mantra will often create jealousy, envy, and hatred, but Joey seems to take it all in stride. The patented phrase of "FUCK EM," seems to come to mind. I admit, when I first heard about this, I was a bit stunned, however I shouldn't have been. Joey is the type of guy who doesn't care what anyone thinks. He does as he wants, and could truly not give a damn about the opinions of anyone. He's always marched to the beat of his own beliefs, his own opinions, and doesn't give an inch to anyone who says otherwise. That's how he's always been.
The internet was set ablaze when Joey appeared on YouTube, giving it right back to the rats, and those people who had something to say. "We've never seen someone like Joey come on, and immediately push back like this before, and it infuriates the informants, because now you have a guy whose got charisma and panache and street credit, telling the world what these men truly are," a lawyer would tell me recently.
Every informant there has ever been, especially in Philadelphia, seems to come from the outside in. Philadelphia has long been a haven of tough guys, and traditionalists. They don't allow interlopers, and they certainly are smarter than anyone would ever give them credit for. In most cases, it's always some guy from the fringe of outside Philadelphia whom would seem to infiltrate, but they never ever really get anything that is consistent with the FBI's narrative. They want murder and mayhem, and can't ever seem to get that because while interlopers may at times get into the large circle, there is a much smaller circle within that large circle, and they cannot step a foot within.
For Merlino, what he has been able to do in a short time on Youtube, and now on his paetron account, (both links we will provide) is substantial. Pundits like myself, who have been in the genre a decade or more, only have but so many talking points and angles we can cover. The most damage comes from someone respected, someone of power, and someone who knows the game all too well. The cataclysm that spurred from Joey entering the fray, became informants telling big fish stories about Joey hoping to hang onto his coattails for views, clicks, and donations. I've never seen anything like it.
Franzese took Youtube by storm, and his numbers are huge, but Michael still cannot admit to being a federal informant, and taking an FBI agreement which saw his federal time reduced for cooperating with the FBI. He also testified at several trials, and helped set up many during the boxing investigations. Still, with Michael, he weaves a narrative, that's so completely false, and utterly self entitled, that I don't understand how on earth people are still purchasing his wolf tickets. In fact he denies most things, then self entitles himself as a mob boss. Again, it's all entertainment, but it's sad that people take stock in anything informants say, because it's always self-absorbing and self-aggrandizing.
"They called me, and said he's dead. I asked them what do you want me to do about it? Well, we want to know if we should have a funeral. So I asked them what day is trash day? Tuesday? Okay, so on Tuesday put him in a bag, and throw it out on the street as trash." Merlino would say on a podcast. To many it may seem shocking, but it's the reality of his core beliefs, and he can hold that above the majority of people on YouTube, especially the informants.
He doesn't back down, ever. That's always been him. He's never sat back like everyone else and just taken a plea, and thrown his hands up and given up. Rather he's the opposite. When everyone in the East Coast Enterprise case plead out, Joey didn't. He fought. He refused to give the feds an inch, and even though in that case he would eventually plead out to gambling, it's a win for Merlino. He never allocuted, and that's something you never see in a "mob case." Merlino was facing a long stretch, rolled the dice, and basically won, as the prosecutors in that case failed to prove anything, and refused to take him back for a second round, which stunned Federal Judge Sullivan. It might have been easier for Joey to plead rather than take his chances, but this is a guy who's survived some brutal years, and lived through some brutal times and history. Living is a gamble they say, and Joey provides proof that if you live everyday in fear, you wind up just like the rest.
Joey bets on himself, and he wins, almost every time. Starting a podcast, might not have been in the best interest of Joey, or his past, or whatever the feds want to allege back then or now or in the future, but Joey knows how the game is played, and he's all in, every hand. It reminds me, of what someone told me once and I think it's true. "You can sit back and hope but hope is fleeting. If you're gonna bet, you're better off betting on yourself, go all in, and never look back." That's exactly what Joey has done his entire life.
JOEYS YOUTUBE PAGE
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