When Joseph Merlino walks out of jail next week, the alleged head of a Philadelphia mob faction may be walking into the sights of a hired killer.
Merlino, known in mob circles as "Skinny Joey," will be released Monday from the medium security federal prison in Allenwood, Pa., where he has served a year for violating his probation.But police sources told the Philadephia Daily News that rival mob boss John Stanfa, who is also in jail, has ordered Merlino killed.
FBI informants say the two have been waging a blood feud for two years, ever since Merlino finished serving a three-year prison term for an armored car robbery and was inducted into the mob by Stanfa.
On Aug. 5, 1993, Merlino was shot in the buttocks and an associate was killed during a drive-by shooting on a South Philadelphia street corner.
Authorities believe Stanfa, who allegedly succeeded Nicodemo Scarfo as head of the Philadelphia-South Jersey mob, ordered the hit because Merlino had formed his own mob faction in defiance of Stanfa.
Three days later, a gunman sprayed Stanfa's car with automatic weapons fire during an ambush on Philadelphia's Schuylkil Expressway. Stanfa wasn't hurt, but his son, Joseph, was wounded in the head.
Authorities think Merlino ordered the hit.
Stanfa, 53, has been in jail since last winter following his indictment, along with two dozen associates, on racketeering and murder charges. But the sources say Stanfa has not lost his desire to see Merlino dead.