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Netflix Revisits Philadelphia’s 1990s Mob War in Three-Part Docuseries

First-hand testimony with law-enforcement interviews shows how a deadly power struggle upended neighborhoods.

Overview

  • The series premiered Oct. 22 on Netflix as three 45-minute episodes that blend interviews with staged reconstructions.
  • It reexamines the violent struggle between John Stanfa and Joey Merlino, including the 6th and Catharine social-club ambush and a Schuylkill Expressway drive-by.
  • Former FBI and Philadelphia police investigators detail the wiretaps, surveillance, and witness cooperation that led to major racketeering cases.
  • Federal records show Stanfa, 84, is serving a life sentence at FCI Danbury, while Merlino served about 12 years, denies Mafia ties, and now runs a cheesesteak shop and a podcast.
  • Stanfa and Merlino did not take part; the series features former associates such as John Veasey, and an end title states the FBI is still watching Merlino.