Alleged former Philadelphia Mafia boss Joey Merlino rebrands himself as restaurant owner

Joey Merlino, a 63-year-old convicted felon and reputed former Philadelphia Mafia boss, has become a social media personality while also operating a restaurant, Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks, near the city’s sports complex. The South Philly complex is home to professional teams in the major sports leagues, including the defending NFL Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Among the athletes who have visited Merlino’s restaurant since the March 2025 grand opening is Jason Kelce, a retired Eagles Pro Bowler. Kelce and his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, co-host a podcast, New Heights, which recently featured Travis’ now-fiancée, pop star Taylor Swift, unveiling her 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”

At least two current NFL players — Eagles starting left guard Landon Dickerson and Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson — have appeared on the restaurant’s Instagram page.

A ‘fire’ chicken cheesesteak

During the summer before the 2025 football season began, Wilson made an appearance on the Instagram page with Merlino and co-host Joe “Lil Snuff” Perri Jr. In the post, Wilson is wearing sweatpants with the slogan “Control Yourself” across the front. As the camera is rolling, Wilson samples a chicken cheesesteak and praises it, saying the cheesesteak is “fire.” Merlino then says he will open a restaurant in Arizona for Wilson. The football player says, “Yeah, do that, so I can, we can do one together.”

“We’ll do one together,” Merlino says.

There has been no indication the two plan to move forward with that idea, but given the NFL’s efforts to protect its image, some have questioned whether an active player should enter into a business relationship with a felon once involved in illegal sports betting.

George Anastasia, an author and longtime Philadelphia reporter, said such a business arrangement would not be a “good look” for the NFL, considering Merlino’s history.

The author noted that Merlino once was the focus of media attention regarding his friendship with an NHL player, Eric Lindros of the Philadelphia Flyers. This friendship is discussed in Anastasia’s true crime book The Last Gangster, chronicling a violent period in Philadelphia decades ago involving Merlino and other organized crime figures. As the book notes, Merlino was even wounded in a shooting incident during that era’s Mob wars.

At the time of their friendship, Merlino and Lindros, who played for the Flyers during the 1990s, “were young and frequented some popular nightclubs,” Anastasia told The Mob Museum. “Merlino said there was nothing improper, that he would never take advantage of a friendship, and besides, Merlino said, ‘I always bet on the Flyers,’ not against them.”

Larry McShane, an author and retired New York journalist, said he would not be surprised if Wilson gets a call from the NFL about any possible business arrangement with Merlino “and perhaps even catches a personal invite from Commissioner Roger Goodell.” McShane is co-author with Don Pearson of Last Don Standing: The Secret Life of Mob Boss Ralph Natale. During the 1990s, Natale oversaw the Mafia in Philadelphia.

The Mob Museum contacted Merlino regarding his restaurant in general and received a text indicating he was unavailable for an immediate telephone interview because of a scheduled medical procedure. The Arizona Cardinals have not responded to an email request seeking comment. Wilson, a former collegiate player for the University of Alabama, is considered one of the Cardinals’ key players, and, according to Al.com, “will be calling the defensive signals” as the 2025 regular season gets underway.

Also on his podcast, Merlino, who sometimes offers sports betting advice, has speculated that one recent NFL playoff game was “fixed,” but Anastasia doesn’t view that statement as cause for concern. Sports betting has been legal in Pennsylvania since 2018.

“Merlino says a lot on his podcasts,” Anastasia said. “Speculating that a game was fixed might just be his reaction, as a gambler, to losing a bet. I wouldn’t read much more into that unless there is some legitimate foundation for the allegation.”

According to Jerry Capeci, a veteran journalist and author now operating the Gang Land News website, the “high visibility” of Merlino’s podcasts contributed to East Coast Mob bosses putting him “on a shelf,” indicating he has lost “his rights and responsibilities as a wiseguy.”

Last year on his website, Capeci wrote that the Gambino and Genovese crime families had expressed concern regarding Merlino’s role on the podcast “as prognosticator extraordinaire about sporting events, as well as a frequent critic of Mob ‘rats,’ reporters and other podcasters he says have wronged him.”

The fate of Philly bosses

Now that the restaurant is up and running, Skinny Joey’s Cheesesteaks is seen as an extension of the brand that Merlino has been creating for himself, Anastasia said. Cheesesteaks are a Philadelphia staple and the source of intense debate over where to find the best one. In the City of Brotherly Love, to survive in the cheesesteak business is an accomplishment, and Merlino appears to be more than holding his own. After a suspected arson fire at the building on South Broad Street in 2024, Merlino pushed forward with a renovation and grand opening the following year.

“I have not been there but am told the cheesesteaks are good,” Anastasia said. “The place is always crowded.”

Anastasia said the restaurant is not an underworld hangout, adding that the Mob in Philadelphia is less of a factor anyway than “it was 20 years ago when Merlino was in charge.”

Merlino’s current focus is on his restaurant and podcast, Anastasia said. The alleged former Mob boss now divides his time between Florida and Pennsylvania.

“Whether New York put him on the shelf or he jumped up there on his own is open to speculation,” Anastasia said in an email. “I think he got fed up with cooperators — Franzese, Gravano, et al. — turning their stories into a cash stream by doing podcasts and decided to do one himself.”

Asked who the current Philadelphia Mob boss is, Anastasia said a better question is why anyone would want the title. Most former Philadelphia organized crime leaders have not fared well in the long run.

Anastasia provided the following list of Philadelphia crime bosses since 1980, adding a brief description of their fate:

• Angelo Bruno: shot and killed.

• Philip Testa: killed when a bomb was detonated under his front porch.

• Nicky Scarfo: died while serving a life sentence in federal prison.

• John Stanfa: currently serving five life terms.

• Ralph Natale: jailed on drug charges, cooperated. Died after being released from prison.

• Joey Merlino: did 14 years for racketeering, “retired” to Florida. No longer a Godfather, now a “Podfather.”

• Joe Ligambi: had a murder conviction overturned. Served as boss for 10-12 years. Now in his 80s and may be the family’s consigliere. 

Unlike previous years, the Philadelphia Mob is generating less news these days, McShane said.

“The Philadelphia PD was recently cheering its takedown of a biker gang known as the Wheels of Soul Motorcycle Club,” he said, “but there’s not much about organized crime in Philly at all lately.”

Larry Henry is a veteran print and broadcast journalist. He served as press secretary for Nevada Governor Bob Miller and was political editor at the Las Vegas Sun and managing editor at KFSM-TV, the CBS affiliate in Northwest Arkansas. Today, he is a senior reporter for Gambling.com.