Where is 'Mob War' Star and Former Mob Boss John Stanfa These Days?
Stanfa tried to bring Merlino down but took the fall instead.
Published Oct. 22 2025, 1:22 p.m. ET
In the 1970s, Philadelphia saw the rise of a young mobster named John Stanfa, as featured in the Netflix series Mob War. Born in Sicily, Stanfa moved to the United States in 1964 and quickly began establishing himself in the local scene.
According to The Cinemaholic, reports say that he was quickly swept up with the infamous Gambino crime family.
While Stanfa grew in infamy, the dominoes were lining up for him to take a hard fall. He was eventually sent to prison for a number of crimes and handed a lengthy sentence. So where is he now? Here's what we know about Stanfa's current whereabouts, as well as the whereabouts of his fellow mobster and foil, Joey Merlino.
Where is John Stanfa now? Exactly where he's been for a long time.
Stanfa was a nearly mythical figure in Philadelphia as he settled into his mob role under the boss Angelo Bruno. It wasn't long before he quickly moved up through the ranks and established himself under his own power.
It was his own eventual subordinate, Merlino, who would ultimately lead to his downfall.
Stanfa wanted to take Merlino out of the picture after tensions rose between the two. Supposedly, he ordered a hit on Merlino and his underling in broad daylight, brushing aside concerns that innocent civilians might get hurt in the attack.
Despite gross collateral damage, Stanfa's initial hit on Merlino was unsuccessful, and he ordered increasingly violent attacks to take his former colleague down.
The Cinemaholic reports that Stanfa was arrested after his hitman, John Veasey, became an FBI informant. In 1994, Stanfa was federally indicted on 35 charges, including extortion, labor racketeering, loansharking, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder.
He was sentenced to five life sentences on 33 of those 35 charges, without the possibility of parole.
To this day, Stanfa is serving his sentences in federal prison.
Where is Joey Merlino now?
But Merlino, the underling who was Stanfa's downfall, suffered a far different fate. After surviving increasingly violent hits by Stanfa, Merlino was in and out of prison.
Eventually, however, he was released and became a kind of celebrity.
According to Esquire, Merlino became known as the "John Gotti of Passyunk Avenue.” But it wasn't all rainbows and roses; the outlet notes that he suffered 20 attempts on his life as a wanted man for his upending of the mob hierarchy and his role in Stanfa's downfall.
Eventually, Ralph Natale took over the crime families, but some suspected he was a front for the now highly-public Merlino.
Natale later became an informant and played a role in Merlino's arrest for racketeering, illegal gambling, and extortion. Merlino served 14 additional years in prison and was released in 2011.
These days, Merlino is still a celebrity. He has posed for pictures with President Donald Trump and runs a podcast. Meanwhile, 84-year-old Stanfa, so determined to end Merlino's life, remains in the Federal Medical Center in Ayer, Mass.