Pizzeria Owner Who Pistol-Whipped Customer May Be Mob Informant

Posted by Adam Kuban, February 6, 2009 at 9:25 AM

Remember that news-of-the-weird type story about the Palm Coast, Florida, pizzeria owner who pistol-whipped a customer who complained about his calzone? The story gets weirder.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal carries a story this morning that Goomba's Pizzeria owner Joseph Milano may in fact be Joey Calco, a mob informant who was supposed to be laying low in witness protection.

"That is absolutely, positively him (Calco)," Michele McPhee said in a telephone interview Thursday after seeing a recent jail mug shot of Joseph Milano.
McPhee is an author and journalist who has written books about Calco and his crew after federal officials' takedown of several members of New York's infamous Bonanno crime family several years ago. One of McPhee's books, Mob Over Miami, gives an inside look into the Bath Avenue Crew and former mobster turned South Florida club informant Chris Paciello.

Once Milano was arrested after the incident, police started digging into his background and found a number of striking similarities between him and Calco. Milano has not returned to the pizzeria since the arrest, and a sign there claims it's under new ownership, the paper says. But I love this bit: "Milano's home was guarded Thursday by a large dog apparently corralled by an invisible electronic fence. A neighbor said she recently saw Milano working on the eaves of the home. She said it appeared he was installing security cameras." [Thanks, Patrick, for the tip!]

12 Comments

Tags: crime, Florida, Palm Coast, pizza weirdness

12 Comments:

I LOVE Florida!!!!

finsbigfan at 12:06PM on 02/06/09

Whoa - freaky! Thanks for the update!

Martini Me at 12:37PM on 02/06/09

He sounds like a Carl Hiaasen character.

grampart at 12:48PM on 02/06/09

@grampart: Yes. He really does. Thanks for making that observation.

Adam Kuban at 1:02PM on 02/06/09

Looks like he's gained some weight, working in a pizzeria would be good cover if laying low...

simon at 1:24PM on 02/06/09

You just can't make this $#/+ up!!!

gb944 at 1:40PM on 02/06/09

Only in Florida! I know, we lived there 30+ years.

elaine nan at 2:52PM on 02/06/09

Can you publish the addrss of this thug so some of his Wiseguy buddies (whom he ratted on) can pay him a visit.

Uglycuss at 3:10PM on 02/06/09

@Uglycuss: If they want to find him, I'm sure they're already on their way.

Adam Kuban at 3:18PM on 02/06/09

His joint was really called "Goomba's Pizzeria"? Way to lay low.

chanterelle at 9:22PM on 02/06/09

Good story! But how is the pizza in this joint? Coal oven or gas?
What style? Need to round this out and get a taste. Thanks!

oldsalt at 11:22AM on 02/07/09

I loved the line in the story that said that a car with Jersey plates showed up at the restaurant the day after the video got out - the guys asked for Joey Calco. Looks like it's definitely him. ;)

leilah at 11:08PM on 02/07/09

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