30 YEARS LATER, ALLEGED FORMER MOB BOSS JOEY MERLINO STILL HELPING POOR & HOMELESS FAMILIES
For immediate release: November 19, 2025
Press Contacts: Joey Merlino, TheSkinnyJoeyPodcast@gmail.com, Cheri Honkala, 215-869-4753 PPEHRCorg@gmail.com
PHILADELPHIA, PA - On November 25th, Joey Merlino will host a giveaway of over 1000 turkeys to low income families in Philadelphia. Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (aka Poor People’s Army) is coordinating its extensive network of poor and homeless families to attend. It is open to the public as well– first come, first served. The giveaway will take place at Skinny Joey's Cheesesteaks at 3020 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA at 3pm. Later in the day, Merlino will also distribute 500 free turkeys in Chichester.
You may have seen Merlino featured in the recent Netflix documentary, Mob War: Philadelphia vs. The Mafia. The series paints Merlino in a horrific light as head of a brutal crime syndicate, though he denies involvement in the mafia and has repeatedly said his criminal life is over. Years after his last prison sentence, Merlino has remade himself as host of The Skinny Podcast and owner of Skinny Joey's Cheesesteaks.
"Together with my friend, Cheri Honkala, we will be distributing holiday means and continue to step in anytime there is a family hurting for food in the Philly area,” said Merlino. “I have been assisting families since the '80s and will continue to do that now that I have a very successful cheesesteak restaurant,” he continued. “I was raised to give back to the community and will continue to do so."
Honkala and Merlino first collaborated to provide food and toys to families in need 30 years ago. At the time, Honkala was heading up the nationally-recognized Kensington Welfare Rights Union (predecessor to Poor People’s Army), and Merlino was making headlines during the vicious mob war that is portrayed in the Netflix production. There are even clips of one of the first holiday giveaways in the documentary.
"Just like we’ve done in the past, I will be working with Joey to distribute thousands of turkeys to desperate families in the Philadelphia area,” said Honkala, a spokesperson for Poor People's Army. “This is especially crucial right now with the recent government shutdown and disruption to food benefits."
Honkala is a human rights activist who has been housing families in the Philadelphia area for over 30 years and is receiving the Fair Housing Award from the City of Philadelphia this year.
About Poor People’s Army:
For three decades, Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC)/Poor People’s Army has been organizing poor and homeless people by “reclaiming the basic necessities of life” with free food distribution and housing takeovers of abandoned government-owned properties. In 2024 they made headlines with their marches on the RNC and DNC, as well as their book release, Takeover! A Human Rights Approach to Housing. https://www.poorpeoplesarmy.org/
You can hear Joey Merlino talk sports, politics, stories from his childhood, and true crime at www.theskinnypodcastwithjoeymerlino.com and taste his food at https://theskinnyjoeyscheesesteaks.com/
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