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Philadelphia crime family

January 07, 2023

The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia,[18][19] the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia,[20][21][22] the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia,[23][24][25] or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and based in South Philadelphia, the criminal organization primarily operates in various areas and neighborhoods in Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area (i.e. the Delaware Valley) and New Jersey, especially South Jersey.[26][27][28][29] The family is notorious for its violence, due in particular to its succession of violent bosses and multiple mob wars.

Philadelphia crime family
Founded1911; 112 years ago (1911)
FounderSalvatore Sabella
Founding locationSouth Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Years active1911–present
TerritoryPrimarily the Philadelphia metropolitan area and New Jersey, especially South Jersey, Boston,[1] and South Florida[2]
EthnicityItalians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates
Membership (est.)50 made members and 100 associates (2004 estimate)[3]
ActivitiesRacketeering, extortion, bookmaking, loan-sharking; gambling, sports betting; fraud, drug trafficking, money laundering, labor racketeering and corruption, fencing, illicit cigarette trade, smuggling, prostitution, armed robbery, gunrunning, and murder
AlliesBufalino crime family[4]
DeCavalcante crime family[5]
Detroit Partnership[6]
Five Families[7]
Chicago Outfit
Patriarca crime family[8]
Sicilian Mafia
10th & Oregon Crew[9]
Black Mafia
Junior Black Mafia[10][11]
K&A Gang[12]
Pagans MC[13]
Philadelphia Greek Mob[14]
Warlocks MC[15]
RivalsHells Angels MC[13] and various other gangs throughout the Philadelphia area, occasionally including allies the 10th & Oregon Crew,[16] Pagans MC,[17] and Philadelphia Greek Mob[14]

As the Bruno crime family under the 20-year reign of boss Angelo Bruno (1959–1980), the family enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity.[30][31] A complex dispute involving disgruntled subordinates and territory claims by New York's Genovese crime family led to Bruno's murder in 1980. The killing marked the beginning of years of internal violence for control of the Philadelphia family, leading to a gradual decline in the family's stability.

Bruno's death led to an internal war for control of the crime family. Bruno was succeeded as boss by his loyal friend, Philip "The Chicken Man" Testa; however, within a year of Bruno's murder, Testa was also murdered, killed in a nail bomb explosion in 1981. When the dust settled from Bruno and Testa's deaths, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo emerged as boss of the crime family. During Scarfo's reign, the family was known as the Scarfo crime family.[17][19][23][24][25][31][32][33] Scarfo's 10-year reign saw the family grow in power, but also become highly dysfunctional. Unlike Bruno, Scarfo was infamous for his short temper and penchant for violence. Scarfo increasingly involved the family in narcotics trafficking and demanded that all criminals pay a street tax for operating in his territory. Scarfo also did not hesitate to order people murdered over moderate disputes. The dramatic rise in violence attracted increased attention from the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police and New Jersey State Police. Increased violence and law enforcement prosecutions also convinced several mobsters to cooperate with the government in order to escape death or prison. Scarfo's downfall came in 1988, when he and most of his top allies were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms.

With Scarfo's imprisonment, the Mafia hierarchy was convinced that Scarfo was unfit for the position of boss. Once Scarfo was deposed due to rising tensions within the family, John Stanfa was named boss of the Philadelphia family in 1991. However, a faction of young mobsters led by Joey Merlino disputed Stanfa's ascension, and by 1992 another war within the family was underway. The war ended in 1994, when Stanfa and most of his supporters were arrested by the FBI, though internecine fighting continued until 1996 and began to involve violence from outside the family until the early 2000s. Merlino subsequently took control of the family and has allegedly been running the family to varying degrees ever since. Inevitably, the Philadelphia family has been weakened over the past thirty years due to internal violence, government turncoats, and law enforcement action following the passage of the RICO Act. Despite this, the family still remains one of the most active and powerful Mafia groups in the country.

History

The beginning

In the early 20th century, several Italian immigrant and Italian-American South Philadelphia street gangs joined to form what would eventually become the Philadelphia crime family. Salvatore Sabella was the first leader of the group that would later bear his name. They busied themselves with bootlegging, extortion, loansharking, and illegal gambling, and it was during the Prohibition era that Sabella and his crew were recognized as members of the wider Sicilian crime syndicate of New York and Chicago. Sabella retired in late 1931.

John Avena, Joe Dovi, and the First Philadelphia Mafia War

After Sabella's retirement, two of his top lieutenants, John Avena and Giuseppe Dovi, began a five-year war for control of the family. Avena was murdered by members of his own faction on August 17, 1936, and Joseph "Joe Bruno" Dovi became boss of the Philadelphia family.

Dovi had good connections with the Chicago Outfit and the Five Families of New York, and he expanded operations outside of South Philadelphia to the Greater Philadelphia Area, including Atlantic City and other parts of South Jersey. Narcotics, illegal gambling, loansharking, and extortion activities provided the family's income, and connections to the Genovese and Gambino crime families grew throughout the 1930s and early 1940s.

On October 22, 1946, Dovi died of natural causes at a New York City hospital, and Joseph Ida was appointed by the Commission to run the Philadelphia family and its rackets.

Influenced by Vito Genovese

Joe Ida ran the family throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. Ida and the Philadelphia organization were heavily influenced by the bosses of the Five Families, especially the Genovese crime family, which sought to control the Philadelphia crime family. Vito Genovese, an underboss at the time, assumed control of what would become the Genovese crime family in 1956 after the shooting of former boss Frank Costello, who subsequently retired due to illness. As the Philadelphia family gained more power in Atlantic City and South Jersey, it was viewed merely as a Genovese faction due to the Genoveses' substantial amount of influence over the Philadelphia family at the time. After a 1956 Commission meeting, however, the crime families of Philadelphia and Detroit, headed by Joseph Zerilli, were added to The Commission, establishing the Philadelphia crime family as its own organization independent of control by New York crime families.[34]

Ida and his underboss Dominick Olivetto were present during the infamous 1957 Apalachin Convention with roughly 100 other top mobsters. The meeting was raided by US law enforcement, and over 60 mafiosi were arrested and indicted for association with known organized crime members. Ida was named in the indictment and fled to Sicily not long after the meeting, leaving Antonio "Mr. Migs" Pollina as acting boss in Ida's absence.

Angelo Bruno

After Ida retired in 1959, and Pollina was demoted, Angelo Bruno was appointed by the Commission to run the Philadelphia family. Bruno, the first boss of Philadelphia with a seat at the Commission, was a close ally of Carlo Gambino, solidifying his position as leader of the Philadelphia Mafia. Bruno used his contacts and his own business mind to maintain respect and power among other Mafia bosses in the country. He expanded the family's profit and operations in Atlantic City, which, due in part to its location within the Philadelphia Metro Area, had naturally become known as the Philadelphia family's turf. Bruno himself avoided the intense media and law enforcement scrutiny and kept violence down. He spent almost three years in prison for refusing to testify at a 1970 hearing on organized crime in the state of New Jersey. After his release, he spent some time in Italy before returning to the United States in 1977.[35]

Bruno had a reputation for seeking peaceful solutions to family issues instead of violence.[36] Bruno oversaw the family's gambling syndicate and preferred more traditional operations such as labor racketeering, loan sharking, numbers games and infiltrating legitimate business. Outside of most family issues, however, violence was still the modus operandi of the Philly Mafia; by the late 1960s, the Philadelphia crime family used violence and intimidation to control various unions in the food and service industry such as Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union. The crime family plundered the local's health and welfare funds and used its control to extort money from bars and restaurants.[36] Family members owned or had a controlling interest in many restaurants, bars and social clubs throughout the Philadelphia/South Jersey area.[37] During the early 1960s, the Philadelphia family was officially recognized as the Bruno family.

Bruno focused mostly on low risk crimes and gave his subordinates autonomy as long as he received a share of the profits. He was against any of his men getting involved in narcotics trafficking, fearing the long prison sentences that drug trafficking charges could bring. Many of his men disagreed with this decision, seeing the large profits that could be made. Some mobsters, like Harry Riccobene[38] and Raymond Martorano, ran drug trafficking operations behind Bruno's back. His men were further angered because Bruno accepted money from John Gambino in order to let the Gambino crime family sell heroin on Philadelphia family turf in South Jersey.

Bruno also faced pressure from New York's Five Families to let them have a cut of the business in Atlantic City, a Philadelphia Mafia-controlled city that was at the time transitioning from a city in decline to a gambling mecca. Following its early 20th-century heyday as a respected resort town, Atlantic City had been suffering from a sharp decline in the decades prior to the 1970s. With the introduction of legalized casino gambling, Atlantic City once again became particularly desired turf for organized crime. However, Atlantic City had long been reckoned as a fief of the Philadelphia family. Under longstanding Mafia rules, the Five Families could only come into Atlantic City with the Philadelphia family's permission–something Bruno was unwilling to give.

On October 15, 1976, Carlo Gambino died of a heart attack. With Gambino gone, Bruno lost his most important ally in the underworld.[35] Many of Bruno's subordinates felt that they were missing out on money because of Bruno's old-fashioned and content ways. His consigliere Antonio Caponigro approached Genovese family boss Frank Tieri in order to seek the Commission's permission to kill Bruno and take over the crime family. Tieri, sensing an opportunity to take Caponigro's North Jersey gambling operation and set up operations in Atlantic City, lied to Caponigro and told him he had the Commission's support.[39] On March 21, 1980, Bruno was shot in the back of the head while in his car in South Philadelphia by a gunman working for Caponigro.[40] That April, Caponigro visited New York City under the assumption that he was going to be confirmed as boss. Instead, he was tortured and murdered for killing a Commission member without permission.[41] Caponigro's co-conspirators Frank Sindone, Alfred Salerno, and John Simone were also murdered for killing a mob boss without the permission of the Commission.

Second Philadelphia Mafia War (1980–84)

Beginning with Bruno's murder in 1980, a violent struggle for power erupted within the Philadelphia Mafia. Bruno's successor, his former underboss Philip Testa, lasted just under a year as the boss of the family before he was killed by a nail bomb under his front porch on March 15, 1981. Testa's murder was orchestrated by Frank Narducci in yet another attempt to take control of the family.[42] Afterwards, Peter Casella and Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, the late Testa's underboss and consigliere respectively, were both vying to take over the family. Violence between the two factions ensued. Scarfo was close with Genovese family consigliere Louis "Bobby" Manna and approached the Genovese hierarchy with his suspicions that Narducci and Casella orchestrated Testa's murder. The Genovese family set up a meeting with Scarfo and Casella, where Casella confessed that Narducci killed Testa so that they could take over the family. Narducci was killed and Casella was banished from the Mob and fled to Florida, leaving Scarfo the major candidate for boss of the family. However, the war continued in spite of, or because of, Scarfo’s apparent nomination to boss.

Nicodemo Scarfo was a powerful Bruno crime family mobster who operated mostly in Atlantic City, New Jersey prior to his accession to boss. Atlantic City witnessed a boom in its economy when it enacted measures allowing casino gambling in the late 1970s. Scarfo was able to expand his power base by infiltrating the expanding construction and service industries in Atlantic City. Despite Atlantic City being turf of the Philadelphia Mafia, Scarfo let the Commission operate in Atlantic City under his discretion in return for their support for him as boss. Scarfo named Salvatore "Chuckie" Merlino as his underboss and Frank Monte as his consigliere. Scarfo demoted Bruno's mob captains and replaced them with Phil Leonetti, Lawrence "Yogi" Merlino and Joseph "Chickie" Ciancaglini Sr., leading to further Mafia warring from disgruntled soldiers who were formerly well-situated under Bruno and Testa's reign but passed over by Scarfo, as well as from Philly Mafia soldiers in South Jersey who were angry that Scarfo was allowing New York gangsters to operate in Atlantic City. Scarfo eventually emerged triumphant despite considerable violent opposition and multiple murders.

The last person to stand in Scarfo's way was the well-respected, long-time Philadelphia crime family mobster and made man, Harry Riccobene. Believing that Scarfo was an unfit and greedy boss, Riccobene refused to pay his tribute to Scarfo. While Angelo Bruno apparently never asked Riccobene for a regular or unreasonable share of his illicit profits, Scarfo demanded a typical "kick up" tribute, which angered Riccobene, as he did not view Scarfo as a legitimate or appropriate successor to the position of boss.[43] With Scarfo off the street serving a brief prison term in Texas, the "Riccobene War" ensued between 1982 and 1984 as part of the larger Second Philadelphia Mafia War in the 1980s. The Scarfo faction was able to kill three of Riccobene's men.[36] The Riccobene faction was able to kill Scarfo's consigliere Frank Monte, while Riccobene himself survived two attempts on his life. In 1984, the two gunmen in the Monte murder, along with Riccobene's brother, were arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities. They testified at trial that Riccobene ordered Monte's murder. Riccobene was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, ending the war.

"Little Nicky" Scarfo's reign (1981–1990)

 
Nicodemo "Nicky" Scarfo
 
Scarfo mobsters congregating. Included in the photo are Phil Leonetti, Joey Pungitore, Philip Narducci and Nicholas Milano.

When Nicodemo Scarfo became Boss, he wanted to unify organized crime in the area and dreamed of running a smooth criminal empire. He soon installed a "street tax" on Philadelphia/South Jersey criminals. Although financially extorting criminals is a common Mafia racket, it was a somewhat alien practice in Philadelphia. Enforced by soldiers and associates of the family, the tax was paid by criminals working independently from the Mafia. Criminals such as drug dealers, bookmakers, loan sharks, pimps, and number runners operating in territory that Scarfo deemed his own were forced to pay his street tax weekly. Those who refused to pay the tax were usually murdered. Loan shark, drug dealer and pawn shop owner John Calabrese was killed by Joseph Ciancaglini Sr., Tommy DelGiorno, Frank Iannarella and Pat Spirito. Frankie "Flowers" D'Alfonso was brutally beaten by Salvatore Testa and Joey Pungitore for refusing to pay the street tax. He was later murdered in 1985.

The crime family's biggest racket was the control of labor unions. During Bruno's and Scarfo's reigns, the Philadelphia crime family maintained some degree of influence over Roofers Union Local 30, Iron Workers Union Local 405, Laborers Union Local 332 and Teamsters Union Locals 107, 158, 331 and 837.[36] The crime family used this influence to extort businesses, steal from the union treasuries and receive paychecks and benefits for little to no work.

Scarfo also got the crime family heavily involved in methamphetamine trafficking, which was the drug of choice in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area. At first, the family extorted money from local meth dealers. When Greek-American gangster Chelsais Bouras, boss of the Philadelphia Greek Mob, began intruding on the methamphetamine trade in Philadelphia and refused to pay Scarfo's street tax, Scarfo had him killed. Although the Philadelphia Greek Mob has long been a close ally and partner with the Philadelphia Italian crime family, and despite the fact that some Philadelphia Italian crime family members were themselves involved in Bouras's methamphetamine trafficking ring, the hot-headed and ruthless Nicky Scarfo decided to send a message to all local crime organizations about respecting the street tax and the primacy of the Philadelphia crime family by having Bouras killed in public. Bouras was eating dinner with his girlfriend, friends and Scarfo soldier Raymond Martorano when a hit team ambushed and killed Bouras and his girlfriend.

The Philadelphia crime family then started controlling the meth trade in the area by supplying illicit P2P (the key meth ingredient) to meth manufacturers.[36] By controlling the supply of P2P the Philadelphia crime family was generally able to control the methamphetamine trade in the Philadelphia/South New Jersey area. Some criminals borrowed money from Mafia members to finance meth operations (and benefited from working with the Mafia instead of being extorted by them).[36] The crime family also had some involvement in cocaine and marijuana trafficking.

Scarfo became notorious for his ruthless, paranoid nature. Scarfo demanded complete allegiance to him and ordered people murdered over signs of disrespect, insubordination or resistance. Described by a former crime family member:[44]

[i]f you were in good graces with him, he loves you and you love him. You understand? But you never knew from one day to the next. He'd turn on anybody, and he drew no lines when it came to killing. Most Mob bosses were not like him. The Mob is basically run the same in every city, but our "family" was unusual in that it was a very paranoid family because we all feared each other and feared Scarfo the most. He held grudges. If you didn't say hello to him 20 years ago, he never forgot. He used to say, "I'm like the turtle. I get there." You know, we were the best of friends. He believed in me, and I believed in him. But he was very, very paranoid. He betrayed himself. His own nephew turned.

— Nicholas "The Crow" Caramandi

Soon after his promotion to boss, the number of organized crime-related murders escalated in the 1980s. Philadelphia mobster turned government witness Nicholas Caramandi described Scarfo's violent nature in a 2001 interview:[44]

Scarfo was a cowboy. He didn't want a guy taken in a house and shot easily in the back of the head. He wanted it outside, in broad daylight, with a million people around. Restaurants, funeral homes, anywhere. Then it gets written up in the papers, and it puts fear in people. He loved that cowboy stuff.

Scarfo had recently inducted member Pasquale "Pat the Cat" Spirito murdered in 1983. During the Riccobene War, Spirito switched sides and aligned himself with Scarfo, but was killed for turning down a murder contract on Riccobene's brother.[36] But Scarfo's downfall began on September 14, 1984, when Scarfo loyalist Salvatore Testa was murdered. [45] Despite Testa serving faithfully under Scarfo and committing several murders on his behalf, Scarfo granted his underboss Salvatore Merlino permission to kill Testa for breaking off his engagement with Merlino's daughter. After this, other members and families saw Scarfo as untrustworthy and paranoid. He also started to earn a negative reputation within his organisation, which led to members turning informant in the late 1980s.After Merlino's drinking problem got out of hand, Scarfo demoted him to soldier and promoted his nephew Phil Leonetti as his new underboss.

In November 1988, Scarfo and 16 of his men were convicted of racketeering, 10 murders, 5 attempted murders, extortion, gambling and narcotics trafficking.[36] Along with Scarfo, underboss Philip Leonetti, three of the family's four capos or captains, Joseph Ciancaglini, Francis Iannarella Jr. and Santo Idone, and soldiers such as Albert Pontani, Salvatore Merlino and Charles Iannece were arrested.[46] The prosecutions were strengthened by Mafia members Tommy DelGiorno and Nicholas "Nicky Crow" Caramandi agreeing to cooperate with law enforcement and testify at trial for the government in order to escape long prison terms and Scarfo's ruthless regime.[36][46] Fifteen of the defendants received prison sentences ranging from 30 to 55 years, including Scarfo.[36][47]

Leonetti was the next defector who agreed to cooperate with the FBI after being sentenced to 45 years in prison. Many more mobsters would later be sentenced to long prison terms for crimes such as racketeering, narcotics trafficking and murder.[48] This caused the number of Mafia members in the family to dwindle in the 1990s, with fewer new guys available to replace all those being convicted of serious crimes. By 1990, 21 members were incarcerated, 11 were under indictment and six turned government witnesses.[49] The Pennsylvania Crime Commission reported that there were only 24 members who were free and not facing criminal charges.

Stanfa's reign and the Third Philadelphia Mafia War (1990–1996)

 
John Stanfa (right) talking to Tommy "Horsehead" Scafidi

With many of Scarfo's loyalists serving lengthy prison terms, it became clear that Scarfo would not be able to maintain control of the family from prison much longer. To avoid a total power vacuum in the Philadelphia Mafia, John Stanfa, a Sicilian-born mobster with the support and endorsement of the influential Gambino and Genovese crime families in New York, was named boss of the Philadelphia crime family in 1990. Word was sent to the imprisoned Scarfo in October 1990, with Scarfo being informed that he was no longer boss and that John Stanfa had been installed as boss, though Stanfa wasn’t officially installed as boss until 1991.[50] The New York Mafia's intrusion in Philadelphia Mafia affairs was not well received by many of the younger Philadelphia-born mobsters in the Philadelphia crime family, including Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, the son of former underboss Salvatore Merlino, who saw Stanfa as an outsider who had not worked his way up in the organization due to being imprisoned during the entire Scarfo era.[51]

 
Stanfa recruited John Veasey as an enforcer during the war with Merlino.[52] Veasey would later become a government turncoat and testify for the prosecution at Stanfa's trial.

While serving prison time together in 1990, Merlino met Ralph Natale.[53] According to Natale, he and Merlino began plotting to take over the Philadelphia crime family during this period. Natale named Michael Ciancaglini, Steven Mazzone, George Borgesi, Gaetano "Tommy Horsehead" Scafidi and Martin Angelina as Merlino's key associates and co-conspirators in the plan.[54][55] Stanfa was aware of the divide in his family and tried to find a peaceful solution. He named Michael's older brother Joseph Jr., as his new underboss. Stanfa hoped that this would appease the Merlino faction and bring them under his banner. However, tensions escalated and in 1991 another war for control of the Philadelphia crime family was underway. Merlino loyalists shot and incapacitated Joseph Ciancaglini Jr. while Stanfa's faction killed Michael Ciancaglini.[56] They continued attacking each other for months, including a freeway ambush Stanfa survived, and several failed attempts on Merlino's life. The Stanfa faction was still solidifying its control of the crime family and recruited many outside hitmen for the war.[57]

On March 17, 1994, Stanfa and 23 of his men were arrested on racketeering related chargers.[58] This was the second major indictment on the crime family in seven years. The Federal case was the largest prosecution of an organized crime group in Philadelphia history.[58] A key piece of evidence was two years of recorded conversations Stanfa would have with mobsters in his attorney's office and doctor's office. Believing attorney–client privilege and doctor-patient confidentiality would protect him, Stanfa openly talked about important Mafia business with his men. However, the FBI was able to get a warrant to place covert listening devices in both offices once they figured out they were being used to aid criminal conspiracies.[58] Stanfa, in an unusual tactic, recruited several men who were not of Italian heritage, including the Veasey brothers. According to the former executive director of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission, Frederick T. Martens, "Stanfa brought in people, like the Veasey brothers, who had no background in the mob but who were willing to break legs and pull a trigger".[57] John Veasey, who pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering and murder, entered the witness protection program in 1994.[57] William Veasey, John Veasey's brother, was murdered on October 5, 1995, the same day he was scheduled to testify against Stanfa at trial.[57]

Stanfa was convicted in 1995,[59] and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996.[60] With most of Stanfa's supporters also arrested and convicted, Merlino was released from prison in November 1994 and named Natale, who had also been released from prison on parole, as the new boss. Merlino positioned himself as Natale's underboss. During Natale's reign, Merlino was the real power in the family, allowing Natale to become boss to direct law enforcement attention away from himself.[61][62]

Natale's "front boss" reign, Natale turns informant, Merlino takes over, and continuing Mafia violence

 
George Borgesi, a childhood friend of Joey Merlino and the nephew of Joseph Ligambi

Merlino gained notoriety as a flamboyant, celebrity gangster who often went out partying with a large entourage. The press dubbed him the John Gotti of Passyunk Avenue due to his candid demeanor in front of news cameras (Passyunk Avenue being a street in South Philadelphia). He also invited the press when he held Christmas parties for the homeless and gave away turkeys at Thanksgiving in housing projects.[63]

The arrogance and aggressiveness of Merlino's young faction turned off a lot of criminals from working with the crime family.[64] Merlino would often make big bets with bookies and refuse to pay when he lost.[65] This practice, known as guzzling, was used on both independent and mob run bookies. During this time, Merlino and Natale oversaw the crime family's gambling, loan sharking, extortion and stolen goods rackets.

In 1995, Louis Turra, leader of the Philadelphia drug gang the 10th and Oregon crew (also known as the 10th and O gang), was severely beaten by Merlino's men, allegedly for failing to pay a Mafia street tax on the gang's illegal earnings.[66] Angered by the beating, Turra sought vengeance. His father Anthony hosted a meeting at his house during which Anthony, Louis and his gang discussed killing Merlino. In January 1998, Louis Turra apparently hanged himself in a New York City jail while awaiting trial. In March 1998, Anthony Turra, on trial on charges of plotting to kill Merlino, was shot dead outside his home by a gunman in a black ski mask. He was shot twice as he left for the federal courthouse, where a jury was deliberating in the racketeering and drug case against him and four other men. "We consider this an organized crime assassination, a mob hit," Police Inspector Jerrold Kane said.[67] Three years later, Merlino was put on trial for helping orchestrate the murder, but was acquitted.

By the late 1990s, Merlino dodged more than two dozen attempts on his life.[68] Merlino was friends with Steve "Gorilla" Mondevergine, president of the Pagans MC motorcycle club.[69] Merlino sometimes used the Pagans to help settle underworld disputes.[70] During the 1990s, Merlino was also aligned with members of the Junior Black Mafia.[71][72]

In June 1998, Natale was jailed for a parole violation; Merlino subsequently took control of the family and cut off support to the imprisoned boss.[73] Angered by this, Natale offered to secretly record conversations with Merlino,[74] but it was not until September 1999, when he was indicted for financing drug deals, that he formally struck a deal to cooperate.[75][76] In doing so, Natale became the first sitting boss in the history of the American Mafia to become government informant.[77]

Between 1999 and 2001, Merlino, along with his underboss Stephen Mazzone, his consigliere George Borgesi, Martin Angelina, John Ciancaglini and others were arrested and put on trial for racketeering, illegal gambling, loan sharking, extortion, murder and attempted murder.[78] Natale testified against Merlino during his 2001 racketeering trial, but was unable to secure a conviction for the murders he claimed Merlino committed.[79] On December 3, 2001, Merlino was however convicted of racketeering charges and given a 14-year prison sentence.[80] Natale had admitted to committing eight murders and four attempted murders.[81] In 2005, Natale was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for drug dealing, racketeering and bribery.[77] He was released in May 2011, and placed in witness protection.[82][83]

The rise of Ligambi

In 1997, Joseph Ligambi was released from prison after he successfully appealed his murder conviction and was acquitted at retrial.[84] After 10 years in prison, Ligambi returned to a much different Mafia family that saw two violent regime changes and the family under the control of a group of young mobsters.[85] Ligambi, who is Borgesi's uncle, was a Scarfo era soldier when he was imprisoned in 1987 and was also mentored by Merlino's father, Salvatore. After the arrest of Merlino, Borgesi and several others in 1999, Ligambi was chosen to take over as acting boss of the family. In 2001, Merlino was sentenced to 14 years in prison. After Ligambi took over, he remained in the shadows, rarely being mentioned in the media, while taking a much less "trigger-happy" approach to running the family.[86]

Ligambi stabilized the family when he took over,[87] maintained membership and restored relations with the New York families.[88] His inner circle included longtime Philadelphia mobsters Joseph "Mousie" Massimino, Gateon Lucibello, and Anthony Staino.[85]

Ligambi was left to deal with the damage Merlino had done to the family's relationship with illegal bookmakers, who refused to do business with the Philadelphia crime family because Merlino use to make huge bets, then never paid when he lost.[89] By the mid-2000s, the family consisted of approximately 50 members, half of whom were incarcerated, in addition to almost 100 associates.[90][91] During Ligambi's tenure, around a dozen made men were released from prison, filling the ranks.[92] Many of these men had been young players who fell victim to the family's unstable history and are now middle-aged. He named Anthony Staino, his closest and most loyal associate, as his underboss.[87] Under Ligambi's direction, the family was able to muscle in on several video poker gambling machine businesses in the Philadelphia area.[93] In 2007, 23 people, including four members of the Philadelphia crime family, were charged with running an illegal sports betting operation out of a poker room at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City. The illegal operation was ran by the Philadelphia crime family, who received much of the profits.[94] The operation was accused of taking in $60 million in bets in a 20-month period.[95] Most of those involved pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from probation to five years.[96]

Merlino was released from prison on March 15, 2011, and served out his three-year parole in Florida.[97] In May 2011, Ligambi and 14 other members and associates of the crime family were indicted by the FBI on racketeering charges related to illegal gambling operations, video poker gambling machines and loan sharking.[20][98] Seven of those indicted pleaded guilty to lesser charges. One became a government witness and seven went to trial in October 2012.[99][100] In January 2014, two juries were hung on the racketeering charges, and Ligambi and Borgesi were acquitted and released.[101]

Current status

Since Merlino's release from prison in 2011, the FBI and organized crime reporters believe he continues to run the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia. Merlino disputes this, claiming he retired from a life of crime. As of 2015, Merlino divides his time between south Florida and Philadelphia.[102][103][104]

While the family's criminal operations have greatly reduced over the years, experts believe they have been able to quietly maintain power and stability, and the family remains one of the most active and powerful Italian-American Mafia families. In 2016, it was reported that some members were involved in Philadelphia's booming construction and home rehab industry.[105] In January 2018, Merlino went on trial for racketeering, fraud and illegal gambling charges.[106][107] After a trial ended in a hung jury, Merlino pleaded guilty to one illegal gambling charge and was sentenced to two years in prison.

In April 2018, four soldiers and associates in New Jersey were arrested on drug trafficking charges. They are accused of distributing large amounts of methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana. They eventually pleaded guilty and were given sentences between five and 15 years. On November 23, 2020, 15 members and associates of the crime family were indicted on federal racketeering charges; among the defendants were reputed underboss Steven Mazzone and reputed capo Domenic Grande. The primary charges are loansharking, drug trafficking, and extorting illegal sports betting operators.[108][109]

Historical leadership

Boss (official and acting)

Street boss

When the Boss of a family is incapacitated due to imprisonment his functions may be fulfilled by an "acting boss" or "street boss."[108][109]

  • 2011–2015 — Steven "Stevie" Mazzone — became Underboss
  • 2015–present — Michael "Mikey Lance" Lancelotti [108][109]

Underbosses (official and acting)

Consigliere (official and acting)

  • 1911–1931 — Giuseppe "Joseph Bruno" Dovi — became underboss
  • 1931–1936 — Giuseppe "Joseph" Ida — became underboss
  • 1936–1946 — Marco "Small Man" Reginelli — became underboss
  • 1946–1977 — Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Rugnetta
  • 1977–1980 — Antonio "Tony Bananas" Caponigro — murdered by Commission
  • 1980–1981 — Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo Sr. — became boss
  • 1981–1982 — Frank Monte — murdered
  • 1982–1989 — Nicholas Piccolo
    • Acting 1984–1987 — Anthony Piccolo
  • 1989–1994 — Anthony Piccolo — imprisoned for life, deceased in 2004
  • 1995–1996 — Ronald "Ronnie" Turchi — demoted, murdered in 1999
  • 1996–1999 — Steven "Handsome Stevie" Mazzone — promoted to underboss
  • 1999–2014 — George Borgesi — imprisoned in 2000, released 2014
    • Acting 2004–2012 — Gaeton "Gate" Lucibello — indicted 2012[115]
  • 2014–present — Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi[108][109]

Current leaders and membership

  • Boss – Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino – became boss in 1999,[73] and is believed to still be the boss of the Philadelphia crime family.[116][117]
  • Street Boss – Michael "Mikey Lance" Lancelotti – longtime member of the Philadelphia family.[118] Lancelotti's position was confirmed on November 18, 2020, when the Department of Justice provided the initials "M.L." as the current street boss for the Philadelphia crime family.[109]
  • Underboss – Steven "Stevie" Mazzone – the underboss according to the United States Department of Justice.[109] On November 23, 2020, Mazzone was indicted along with capo Dominick Grande, his brother soldier Salvatore Mazzone and others on racketeering and gambling charges.[108][109]
  • Consigliere – Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi – served as longtime acting boss for boss Joey Merlino.[119] Ligambi's position was confirmed on November 18, 2020, when the Department of Justice provided the initials "J.L." as the current consigliere for the Philadelphia crime family.[109]

Philadelphia faction

  • Captain – Domenic "Dom" Grande – a captain operating from South Philadelphia, southern New Jersey and Atlantic City according to the United States Department of Justice.[108][109] In November 2020, Grande was indicted along with Underboss Steve Mazzone, soldier Salvatore Mazzone and others on racketeering and gambling charges.[108][109]
  • Captain – George Borgesi – Philadelphia captain and nephew of consigliere Joseph Ligambi, who served as consigliere himself according to the United States Department of Justice.[119] On July 3, 2012, before his scheduled to be released from prison Borgesi was charged with overseeing a loan sharking operation in Delaware County from his prison cell in North Carolina.[120][121][122] He has a couple of other family members working as associates for the Philadelphia crime family.[123] On January 24, 2014, Borgesi was released from prison. Since his release from prison Borgesi has traveled to Rhode Island forming an alliance with Patriarca crime family underboss Matthew Guglielmetti.[124]
  • Soldier – Martin "Marty" Angelina – he was convicted of racketeering with Joey Merlino in 2001, and was sentenced to 78 months. In September 2012, he was sentenced to 57 months on racketeering, loansharking and illegal gambling charges.[125]
  • Soldier – Gaeton "Gate" Lucibello – also known as "The Big Guy";[126] former capo and acting consigliere. Lucibello was originally a Stanfa loyalist before defecting to the Merlino faction during the war in the 1990s. According to government witness Rosario Bellochi, Lucibello acted as the getaway driver on the attempted murder of former Stanfa soldier Biagio Adornetto at La Veranda Restaurant on December 30, 1992.[127] He was indicted along with Stanfa and 21 others on March 17, 1994 on racketeering and attempted murder charges.[128][129] Lucibello testified in his own defense on April 25, 1996, and became the only defendant in the Stanfa case to be acquitted on May 15, 1996.[127][129]
  • Soldier – Salvatore "Sonny" Mazzone – brother of Philadelphia underboss Steve Mazzone.[130] In November 2020, Mazzone was indicted along with his brother Underboss Steve Mazzone, capo Dominick Grande and others on racketeering and gambling charges.[108][109]
  • Soldier – Anthony Nicodemo – was charged with the 2012 murder of Gino DiPietro, and was a suspect in 2003 when John Casasanto was gunned down.[131] After being on trial for the DiPietro murder, a mistrial was declared in 2014.[132]
  • Soldier – Joseph Massimino – former underboss according to the United States Department of Justice.[119][116][117] In 2004, he pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering related to gambling and loan sharking, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.[133] In 2012, he was charged with additional charges of racketeering related to electronic gambling devices.[134][135]

South New Jersey faction

  • Captain – Anthony Staino – a captain according to the United States Department of Justice.[119] He was charged with loansharking when Henry Scipione, a Philadelphia bookie who owed Staino $80,000, testified against Staino saying that he had threatened to put a bullet in his head.[136]
  • Soldier – Anthony Borgesi – was charged along with Philip Ligambi, in 1994, for the assault on a mother and her 16-year-old son over a business deal.[137]

North New Jersey faction

  • Captain – Joseph "Scoops" Licata – captain of Philadelphia's North Jersey crew operating from Newark according to the United States Department of Justice.[119][138] In 1994, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison after George Fresolone recorded secret conversations, and he was charged under major gambling operations in Newark.[139] In 2013, a mistrial was declared, and Licata was acquitted of racketeering.[140]
  • Soldier – Louis "Big Lou" Fazzini – soldier under Licata according to the United States Department of Justice.[119]
  • Soldier – Vincent "Beeps" Centorino – he and other high-profile Philadelphia crime family mobsters, including Nicky Scarfo Jr., were tapped by the FBI, and all pleaded guilty in 1994.[141]

Former members of the Philadelphia crime family

  • Vincent "Al Pajamas" Pagano: During the Merlino-Stanfa war, Pagano was a Caporegime under John Stanfa. In January 1994, Pagano along with Frank Martines, was involved with the botched murder on FBI witness John Veasey.[142] Veasey testified against Pagano and he was found guilty of racketeering in 1995 and was sentenced to life imprisonment.[143][144] In February 2019, Pagano died of natural causes at the age of 89.
  • Joseph "Joe Crutch" Curro: Curro first became noticed by law enforcement in 1976 overheard on a wiretap at the restaurant of caporegime Frank Sindone. He died of cancer in 2004.

Incomplete list of the currently known or suspected murdered victims

Name Date Reason
William Dugan May 26, 1963 Longshoreman Dugan managed to get into a fist-fight with Nicky Scarfo. After being choked on a table, Scarfo retaliated by stabbing Dugan in the chest.[145]
Ferdinand "Blackie" Iacono August 7, 1963 It is believed Philly mob associate Iacono was killed by Caporegime Santo Idone for not sharing his profits out of his illegal gambling racket.[146]
Robert DeGeorge 1969 Philly mob associate Robert DeGeorge was planning to "clean-up" a Teamster union implicating Joseph "Chickie" Ciancaglini in corruption, DeGeorge was shot to death.[147][148]
George Feeney 1970 Philly mob associate Feeney allegedly insulted Angelo Bruno and Ralph Natale, though it has been alleged Natale was seeking to seize control of the Local 170 Teamster union which Feeney controlled.[149] Feeney was shot to death.
Dominick Luciano February 1972 Boss Angelo Bruno gave permission to Newark gangsters, the Campisi brothers, to kill Luciano due to Luciano having an affair with the wife of the Campisi brothers. Luciano was killed by a shotgun blast.[150][151]
Pasquale "Jimmy Ross" Procopio 1972 Philly mob associate, unknown why he was killed.[152]
Joseph McGreal December 27, 1973 Irish mobster and Philly mob associate gunned down by Ralph Natale, McGreal was killed due to suggesting that Natale be removed from a Teamster union due to corruption.
Alvin Feldman 1974 Joseph Ciancaglini stabbed Jewish mobster Alvin Feldman to death with an ice pick, after Feldman made threats that he was going to kill Nicky Scarfo.[153] Frank Narducci, Santo Idone and Joseph Scalleat were also part of the hit team.
Edward "Butch" Snee 1975 Unknown why he was killed.
Louis "Louie" DeMarco 1976 DeMarco was shot and killed by Phil Leonetti after he robbed a member of the Philadelphia crime family.
Edwin Helfant February 15, 1978 Helfant was killed on orders of Nicky Scarfo after he refused to accept a bribe and instead handed down a 15-year sentence to an associate of Scarfo.[154][155]
Vincent Falcone December 16, 1979 Falcone was shot and killed by Phil Leonetti on orders of Nicky Scarfo after insulting him.
Angelo Bruno March 12, 1980 Bruno was killed by members of his administration, seeking a coup of the family.
Frank "Barracuda Frank" Sindone October 29, 1980 Sindone was killed as retaliation for killing Philly mob boss Angelo Bruno.
Edward Bianculli 1980 Philly mob associate murdered by Theodore DiPretoro, unknown why he was murdered.[156][157]
John McCullough December 16, 1980 Irish mobster and Philly mob associate and friend of former boss Angelo Bruno, shot and killed, allegedly for arguing with the Philadelphia crime family.[158][159][160]
Phil "The Chicken Man" Testa March 15, 1981 Testa succeeded Angelo Bruno as boss of the Philadelphia crime family.[161] Testa was killed by a nail bomb as he walked onto the porch of his house.[162]
Harry Peetros May 26, 1981 Peetros was a senior member of the Philadelphia Greek Mob. He was possibly killed after an argument with Philly mob member George Martorano.[163][164]
Chelsais Bouras May 27, 1981 Bouras was considered a boss of the Philadelphia Greek Mob. He was shot and killed with his girlfriend at a South Philadelphia restaurant.[165] It is unknown why Bouras was murdered.[166]
John Calabrese October 6, 1981 Philly mob associate, Calabrese was active in loansharking and drug dealing.[167] It is believed he was killed for not paying street tax to the Philadelphia crime family.[168]
Frank Narducci January 7, 1982 Philly mob captain, Narducci was killed as retaliation for the murder of Phil Testa, his son Salvatore Testa is believed to be the killer.[169]
Vincent "Tippy" Panetta February 4, 1982 Philly mob soldier, Panetta is shot and killed alongside his girlfriend in his apartment.[170] Panetta was active in bookmaking and loansharking.[171]
Dominick "Mickey Diamond" DeVito February 22, 1982 Philly mob soldier, DeVito was found shot to death inside the trunk of a car, believed to be killed by the Nicky Scarfo faction.[172]
Rocco Marinucci March 15, 1982 Marinucci was responsible for placing and activating the bomb used in the Phil Testa murder. Salvatore Testa is believed to be the killer.[173]
Frank Monte May 13, 1982 Philly mob consigliere, Monte was killed during the Riccobene-Scarfo war and was shot to death under the orders of Harry Riccobene.[174]
Robert Hornickle January 27, 1983 Philly mob associate, Hornnickle was killed by the crew of captain Joseph "Chickie" Ciancaglini over a botched drug deal.[175]
Pat "Pat the Hat" Spirito April 29, 1983 Philly mob soldier, Spirito was shot to death after he failed to murder Robert Riccobene, brother of Harry Riccobene.[176][177]
Samuel Tamburrino November 3, 1983 Riccobene loyalist, Tamburrino is shot and killed by a Scarfo hitman.
Robert "Bobby" Riccobene December 6, 1983 Riccobene was shot and killed by Nicky Scarfo loyalists.[178]
Salvatore "Salvie" Testa September 14, 1984 Philly mob captain.[179] It is believed Testa was killed by a Scarfo gunman due to jealousy towards Testa. In the book authored by Phil Leonetti, the excuse was that Salvatore broke the engagement with the sister of Joey Merlino.
Frank "J.R." Forlini February 8, 1985 Philly mob associate, Forlini was shot to death by Scarfo gunmen in a bid to take over his illegal gambling rackets.[180][181]
Frank "Frankie Flowers" D'Alfonso July 23, 1985 Philly mob associate, D'Alfonso was killed for refusing to pay street tax to Nicky Scarfo.[182][183]
Frankie Russo January 17, 1987 Russo was shot to death for stealing from a member of the Philadelphia crime family.
Louis "Louie Irish" DeLuca May 24, 1990 Philly mob soldier inducted during the Scarfo-era, DeLuca is believed to have been killed by the Merlino crew after an argument.[184]
Felix "Little Felix" Bocchino January 29, 1992 Philly mob soldier close to boss John Stanfa, Bocchino was shot and killed. He is believed to be the first casualty in the Stanfa-Merlino war.
James "Jimmy Brooms" DiAddorio May 20, 1992 Philly mob associate and Stanfa loyalist. Shot to death by two men while speaking on the phone at Vulpine Athletic Club in Philadelphia for refusing to pay street tax from his bookmaking business and drug operations, and for negatively talking about Merlino and his crew in several local bars.
Francesco DiGiacomo November 29, 1992 Philly mob associate and Stanfa crew loyalist. Shot and killed in New Jersey by Rosario Bellocchi for not repaying a debt to the Stanfa crew.
Billy Shear 1993 Philly mob associate based in North Jersey. Killed by Philip "Philly Fay" Casale in Newark, New Jersey for being a suspected police informer.
Rod Colombo January 7, 1993 29-year old Philly/Los Angeles Mafia associate, shot 3 times in the back of his head in Audubon, New Jersey while sitting in his Cadillac car.[185][186]
Louis "Gee Gee" Cappello January 20, 1993 Philly mob associate active in selling drugs and bookmaking. Cappello was killed for not paying street tax to John Stanfa.
Mario "Sonny" Riccobene January 28, 1993 Philly mob soldier and older brother of Harry Riccobene.[187] Killed by the Stanfa crew in South Philadelphia. He had testified against the Philly Mafia in 1984 and had entered the witness protection program,[188] but, due to his inability to follow rules, he was removed from the program. He decided to return to South Philadelphia in the early 90s, despite being advised against returning to Philadelphia by authorities and his family. Upon his return, he was soon after killed for his past testimony.[189][190]
Michael "Mikey Chang" Ciancaglini August 5, 1993 Philly mob soldier, 10 to 15 shots were fired at him and Joey Merlino by Philip Colletti and John Veasey on a South Philadelphia street corner as they left a mob social club.[191][192] Ciancaglini died from gunshot wounds to the chest and lungs, and Merlino was shot in the buttocks.[193][194]
Frank "Frankie Bronze" Baldino September 17, 1993 Shot 5 to 7 times in the head and torso by John Veasey outside the Melrose Diner in South Philadelphia; Frank Martines and Giuseppe Gallara accompanied Veasey in the drive-by shooting.
Nicasio Zagone January 19, 1994 Zagone was the nephew to boss John Stanfa and was killed as a case of mistaken identity.[195]
William "Crazy Willie" Gantz May 8, 1994 Philly mob associate.[196] 44-year old Gantz served as a driver and bodyguard to Philadelphia crime family capo Joseph Sodano.
Michael "Mikey Ice" Brennan December 6, 1994 Philly mob associate. Shot and killed, wrapped in a floor carpet, and dumped in the woods after an alleged falling out with the Merlino faction.
Ralph Mazzuca February 24, 1995 Philly mob associate and South Philly drug dealer. Shot in the head and back in South Philly, hog-tied, and set on fire after he robbed two kilograms of cocaine from Joey Merlino's driver-turned government informer Roger Vella and tied up Vella's sister and dad at their home during the robbery in 1994.[197]
Michael "Dutchie" Avicolli April 4, 1996 Shot and killed, allegedly by Merlino and Steven Mazzone, for having an affair with Mazzone's wife. He was reportedly buried on farm property in New Jersey and his car was disposed of.
Billy Veasey October 5, 1996 Philly mob associate and brother of John Veasey, 35-year old Veasey was shot four times and killed, allegedly by John "Johnny Chang" Ciancaglini, while exiting his South Philadelphia home on the morning his brother was set to testify against the Philadelphia crime family.[198][199][200]
Joseph "Joe the Nodder" Sodano December 7, 1996 Philly mob capo based in North New Jersey. Shot twice in his SUV in Newark, New Jersey by Philip Casale and Peter "Pete the Crumb" Caprio. Casale took Sodano's jewellery and $12,000 from the murdered man's wallet immediately after the hit. Sodano was allegedly killed for trust and loyalty concerns.[201][202]
Robert Matonis 1997 Philly mob associate and drug dealer, killed by Philip Casale in Harrison, New Jersey.[203]
Anthony Turra March 18, 1998 Leader of the South Philadelphia Italian-American gang known as the 10th and Oregon Crew. Shot in the back and his right eye outside his South Philadelphia home while en route to court for his federal racketeering trial after he previously sanctioned an assassination attempt on Joey Merlino due to a dispute between Merlino and his son Louis Turra.[204] Steven Mazzone is suspected in his killing.[205]
Gino Marconi April 10, 1999 Shot 3 times in the chest in South Philadelphia allegedly from a rifle by the Boston crew.
Ronald "Ronnie" Turchi October 26, 1999 Found tied up and dead in the trunk of his wife's car in South Philly with a plastic bag over his head. Allegedly, he had been attempting to use his earnings to buy his way into the position of boss.[206][207]
Raymond "Long John" Martorano January 17, 2002 Shot near his home in South Philadelphia while sitting in his car. Died in the hospital days later.[206][207]
John "Johnny Gongs" Casasanto November 23, 2003 During a hit allegedly ordered by Joseph "Uncle Joe" Ligambi, Casasanto was shot twice in the back and head and killed in South Philly by members of the Merlino/Ligambi faction. Damion Canalichio and Anthony Nicodemo are suspects in his killing.[208][209] Casasanto was a suspect in the January 2002 Raymond Martarano murder.[210][211]
Rocco Maniscalco June 10, 2010 South Philadelphia bookmaker and loan shark, killed in South Philadelphia allegedly on orders of Joseph Ligambi for refusing to pay "protection money".[212]
Gino DiPietro December 12, 2012 Shot and killed in South Philly by Philly mob soldier Dominic "Baby Dom" Grande. DiPietro was allegedly murdered over an unpaid debt in a backdoor poker game. Anthony Nicodemo was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to the murder. According to George Anastasia, Nicodemo rejected several offers to cooperate against the Philadelphia crime family.[213][214]

Government informants and witnesses

  • Ron Previte – former capo. Previte was a Philadelphia Police Department officer for over a decade and was forced to resign around 1979. He became a bouncer in an Atlantic City casino shortly after. In 1985, he was arrested on theft charges and agreed to become an informer for the New Jersey state police.[215] By 1993, he was a soldier in John Stanfa's Philadelphia crime family, and although he wasn't formally inducted, Stanfa allegedly told Previte to consider himself as a made man. He became an informer in 1997 and agreed to wear a wire for the FBI, he was also paid over $700,000 for information during his time as an informant.[216] His cooperation, in part, led to former boss Ralph Natale's decision to cooperate in 1999. His testimony and cooperation has brought down at least 50 Philadelphia crime family members and associates.[217] He died in August 2017 at the age of 73.
  • Andrew Thomas DelGiorno – former captain. DelGiorno first became active with the Philadelphia crime family around 1964 and had gotten involved in the bookmaking business.[218] He admitted to his participation in 5 murders during the 1980s.[219] He testified against boss Nicky Scarfo and 16 other Philadelphia mobsters in November 1988.[220]
  • Nicholas "Nicky Crow" Caramandi – former hitman and soldier. In 1986, Caramandi alongside Robert Rego and former Democratic-Pennsylvania House of Representatives member, Leland Beloff, attempted to extort $1 million from real estate developer Willard Rouse, for funding revolved around the construction of Penn's Landing in Philadelphia.[221][222] As a result of the 1984 slaying of Philadelphia captain Salvatore Testa, Caramandi, Joseph Grande and Charles Iannece were inducted into the Philadelphia family.[223][224] After he received a message from Philadelphia crime family member Raymond Martorano while in prison, who alleged boss Nicky Scarfo was planning to have him murdered, and facing over 20 years in prison, Caramandi agreed to become a government witness.[225][226][227]
  • Eugene "Gino" Milano – former soldier and hitman. In 1981, he and captain Salvatore Testa allegedly beat up Frank D'Alfonso, on orders of Scarfo. In January 1988, he was indicted on murder, attempted murder, extortion, gambling and conspiracy to distribute narcotic charges, alongside boss Nicky Scarfo and 18 others.[228][229] Milano became a government witness in early 1989 and admitted to participation in the murder of Frank D'Alfonso on July 23, 1985. It is noted that he has testified against his younger brother.[230] In 1990, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, however in 1993, his sentence was reduced to 9-years imprisonment.[231]
  • Lawerence "Yogi" Merlino – former captain.[232] He is the deceased uncle of current Philadelphia family boss Joey Merlino and the brother to Chuckie Merlino.[233] Due to his ownership of a construction company based in Atlantic City, Merlino relatives have been repeatedly denied a gaming license by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission since 1989.[234][235] In 1989, he agreed to become an informer and pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges and to a murder charge. He died in 2001.
  • Phil "Crazy Phil" Leonetti – former underboss and nephew of former Philadelphia crime family boss Nicky Scarfo. He participated in his first murder at the age of 10 and helped Scarfo dispose of a corpse, a man Scarfo killed with an ice pick in a New Jersey bar for disrespecting him, the young Leonetti was used as a decoy. The first person he killed was a drug user named Louie DeMarco in 1976 on orders of boss Angelo Bruno.[236] In 1978, he shot Vincent Falcone twice and killed him, which prompted associate Joe Salerno to become a government witness.[237][238] He was inducted into the Philadelphia mob as a soldier in 1980. Leonetti was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1987.[239] He decided to become a government witness in 1989. Leonetti admitted to being the trigger man in 2 murders and participated in 8 separate murders.[240] He was scheduled to testify against Gambino crime family boss John Gotti on January 21, 1992, however Gambino underboss Sammy "the Bull" Gravano agreed to testify instead.[241] In May 1992, former federal judge Franklin Van Antwerpen reduced Leonetti's sentence to 6-years imprisonment. He testified against Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante in 1997 and claimed Gigante ordered 6 murder contracts as retaliation for murdering Philadelphia bosses Angelo Bruno and Phil Testa without approval from the other crime families, specifically in New York.[242] He released a book about his life in 2012.[243]
  • George Fresolone – former soldier. During his imprisonment for illegal gambling and loansharking, Fresolone became an informant for the New Jersey State police in 1988. He recorded more than 400 conversations and his information was responsible for the indictment of nearly 40 mobsters.[244][245] He wore a wire during his ceremony in July 1990 to become an official member of the Philadelphia mob.[246] He died in 2002.
  • Salvatore "Wayne" Grande – former soldier. On September 14, 1984, he shot and killed captain Salvatore Testa, the son of Phil Testa, who became boss of the Philadelphia mob for a brief period and who also inducted Grande four years earlier.[247] According to former Philadelphia crime family underboss and government witness Phil Leonetti, Grande repeatedly attempted to murder Harry Riccobene but failed, an enemy of the Scarfo faction, including an incident where Riccobene managed to survive 5 gunshot wounds to his face.[248] In 1988, he was convicted on federal racketeering charges and informed on American Mafia mobsters later on during his imprisonment.[249] Some of his relatives remain in the mob, including his son, who was allegedly inducted in 2011.
  • John Veasey – former associate and hitman. He was part of the Stanfa faction during the Philadelphia mob war from 1992 to 1994. In August 1993, Veasey shot and killed Michael "Mikey Chang" Ciancaglini during a drive-by shooting, and wounded Joey Merlino with 4 gunshot wounds. In September 1993, he shot and killed Frank Baldino Sr. outside of the Melrose Diner in South Philadelphia.[250][251][252] He alleged that Stanfa became withdrawn after Veasey's complaints and ordered a contract on him. On January 14, 1994, he was lured to a second-floor apartment and noted that the room was covered in plastic, the hitmen alleged that they were "painting". Moments after, he was shot 3 times in the head and once in the chest. Veasey managed to stab one of the attackers and hit the other one, eventually fleeing the apartment.[253][254] In January 1994, he became a government witness. On the day of John Stanfa's trial in October 1995 which Veasey was scheduled to testify at, his brother, William "Bill" Veasey, was murdered.[255][256] He was sent to prison in the mid-1990s and was released in 2005. He released a book about his life in January 2012.[257]
  • Rosario Conti Bellocchi – former soldier and hitman. He was engaged to John Stanfa's niece.[258] Along with fellow Philadelphia mob soldier, Biagio Adornetto, he departed Sicily to work for Stanfa.[259]
  • Biagio Adornetto – former soldier. He survived a failed assassination attempt on his life as friend and fellow Philly mob soldier, Rosario Bellocchi, loaded the shotgun with the wrong size of bullets; Adornetto was accused of flirting with John Stanfa's niece.[260]
  • Philip Colletti – former soldier. He was part of the Stanfa faction. According to Colletti, he created a remote-control bomb which was planted under Joey Merlino's car in 1993 and failed to detonate multiple times.[261] His wife testified that Colletti and his wife participated in the disposing of a car which was used in a mob hit, the death of Michael Ciancaglini and wounding of Merlino, and fellow Philadelphia mob member and informer John Veasey testified that Colletti was with him when the shooting took place.[262][263]
  • Ralph Natale – former boss between 1994 and 1998. Natale was inducted by Joey Merlino while in prison in 1994 however he later claimed that he became a member under Angelo Bruno.[264] He reached out to the FBI in the summer of 1998 while imprisoned on parole violations however a deal was worked out in 1999 after facing a charge of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine's in Philadelphia and New Jersey, alongside Joey Merlino.[265][266] In 2000, he pleaded guilty to illegal gambling, extortion and drug distribution charges, including participating in 7 murders.[267] He also admitted to handing bribes of around $50,000 to Milton Milan, the Democratic 45th mayor of Camden, New Jersey.[268] He was interviewed by Trevor McDonald in 2015 and released a book about his mob life in 2017.[269]
  • Robert "Boston Bob" Luisi Jr. – former captain under Joey Merlino. Originally an associate of the Patriarca crime family, he joined the Philadelphia mob and became inducted in 1998. On November 6, 1995, his father, cousin, brother and family friend were killed by gunman Anthony Clemente who fired 13 shots inside of a Charlestown restaurant. It is noted that he attempted to seize control of the criminal rackets of Whitey Bulger in Boston during the 1990s, and attempted to meet Kevin Weeks in 1998. He was indicted by the FBI on June 28, 1999, alongside 13 others for conspiracy to acquire and distribute cocaine. In 2000, he admitted to the murder of Anthony DiPrizio in 1997. He later became a pastor and relocated in Tennessee using the alias Alonso Esposito.
  • Peter "Pete the Crumb" Caprio – former capo. In July 2000, he admitted to conspiring to commit murder, extortion and other crimes. During the case, he was accused of participating in the murder of William Gantz in 1994 and Joseph Sodano in 1996.[270] Caprio testified against the absent Genovese crime family captain Lawrence Ricci in October 2005, who was murdered a few weeks before his trial.[271]
  • Gaetano "Tommy Horsehead" Scafidi – former soldier. By 1986, he was a money runner for boss Nicky Scarfo, collecting and delivering money payments each week on behalf of Scarfo. His brother, Tori Scafidi, was also a soldier in the Philly crime family and was inducted in 1986. He joined the Merlino faction during the Philadelphia mob war in the 1990s, who opposed new boss John Stanfa. However he switched sides and was shortly after inducted into the crime family by Stanfa. In 1993, two gunmen attempted to kill him however the bullet shattered his car mirror.[272] He became an informer in 2000.[273]

See also

References

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  4. ^ Hoffa hoped Philly mob don Angelo Bruno could save his dying bid for Teamsters presidency Scott Burnstein, GangsterReport.com (December 3, 2019)
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Further reading

  • Anastasia, George. Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob, the Mafia's Most Violent Family. 2004, ISBN 0940159864
  • Anastasia, George. Goodfella Tapes.
  • Anastasia, George. The Last Gangster.
  • Wagman, Robert J. Blood Oath.
  • Morello, Celeste Anne. Book One Before Bruno: The History of the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra in Philadelphia. Publication date: Apr 28, 2000, ISBN 9780967733418
  • Morello, Celeste Anne. Book Two Before Bruno: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia, 1931-1946. Publication date: Nov 28, 2001, ISBN 9780967733425
  • Morello, Celeste Anne. Book Three Before Bruno and How He Became Boss: The History of the Philadelphia Mafia, Book 3—1946–1959. Publication date: Aug 28, 2005, ISBN 9780977053209

External links

  • "Hitting the Hit Men Even alleged killers can be beaten up by a gang of thugs" by Brendan McGarvey
  • IPSN: The Philadelphia/Atlantic City Mob

January 07, 2023
philadelphia, crime, family, also, known, philadelphia, mafia, philly, philly, mafia, philadelphia, south, jersey, mafia, bruno, scarfo, family, italian, american, mafia, family, based, philadelphia, pennsylvania, formed, based, south, philadelphia, criminal, . The Philadelphia crime family also known as the Philadelphia Mafia 18 19 the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia 20 21 22 the Philadelphia South Jersey Mafia 23 24 25 or Bruno Scarfo family is an Italian American Mafia family based in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Formed and based in South Philadelphia the criminal organization primarily operates in various areas and neighborhoods in Philadelphia the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area i e the Delaware Valley and New Jersey especially South Jersey 26 27 28 29 The family is notorious for its violence due in particular to its succession of violent bosses and multiple mob wars Philadelphia crime familyFounded1911 112 years ago 1911 FounderSalvatore SabellaFounding locationSouth Philadelphia Pennsylvania U S Years active1911 presentTerritoryPrimarily the Philadelphia metropolitan area and New Jersey especially South Jersey Boston 1 and South Florida 2 EthnicityItalians as made men and other ethnicities as associatesMembership est 50 made members and 100 associates 2004 estimate 3 ActivitiesRacketeering extortion bookmaking loan sharking gambling sports betting fraud drug trafficking money laundering labor racketeering and corruption fencing illicit cigarette trade smuggling prostitution armed robbery gunrunning and murderAlliesBufalino crime family 4 DeCavalcante crime family 5 Detroit Partnership 6 Five Families 7 Chicago Outfit Patriarca crime family 8 Sicilian Mafia10th amp Oregon Crew 9 Black Mafia Junior Black Mafia 10 11 K amp A Gang 12 Pagans MC 13 Philadelphia Greek Mob 14 Warlocks MC 15 RivalsHells Angels MC 13 and various other gangs throughout the Philadelphia area occasionally including allies the 10th amp Oregon Crew 16 Pagans MC 17 and Philadelphia Greek Mob 14 As the Bruno crime family under the 20 year reign of boss Angelo Bruno 1959 1980 the family enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity 30 31 A complex dispute involving disgruntled subordinates and territory claims by New York s Genovese crime family led to Bruno s murder in 1980 The killing marked the beginning of years of internal violence for control of the Philadelphia family leading to a gradual decline in the family s stability Bruno s death led to an internal war for control of the crime family Bruno was succeeded as boss by his loyal friend Philip The Chicken Man Testa however within a year of Bruno s murder Testa was also murdered killed in a nail bomb explosion in 1981 When the dust settled from Bruno and Testa s deaths Nicodemo Little Nicky Scarfo emerged as boss of the crime family During Scarfo s reign the family was known as the Scarfo crime family 17 19 23 24 25 31 32 33 Scarfo s 10 year reign saw the family grow in power but also become highly dysfunctional Unlike Bruno Scarfo was infamous for his short temper and penchant for violence Scarfo increasingly involved the family in narcotics trafficking and demanded that all criminals pay a street tax for operating in his territory Scarfo also did not hesitate to order people murdered over moderate disputes The dramatic rise in violence attracted increased attention from the FBI Pennsylvania State Police and New Jersey State Police Increased violence and law enforcement prosecutions also convinced several mobsters to cooperate with the government in order to escape death or prison Scarfo s downfall came in 1988 when he and most of his top allies were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms With Scarfo s imprisonment the Mafia hierarchy was convinced that Scarfo was unfit for the position of boss Once Scarfo was deposed due to rising tensions within the family John Stanfa was named boss of the Philadelphia family in 1991 However a faction of young mobsters led by Joey Merlino disputed Stanfa s ascension and by 1992 another war within the family was underway The war ended in 1994 when Stanfa and most of his supporters were arrested by the FBI though internecine fighting continued until 1996 and began to involve violence from outside the family until the early 2000s Merlino subsequently took control of the family and has allegedly been running the family to varying degrees ever since Inevitably the Philadelphia family has been weakened over the past thirty years due to internal violence government turncoats and law enforcement action following the passage of the RICO Act Despite this the family still remains one of the most active and powerful Mafia groups in the country Contents 1 History 1 1 The beginning 1 2 John Avena Joe Dovi and the First Philadelphia Mafia War 1 3 Influenced by Vito Genovese 1 4 Angelo Bruno 1 5 Second Philadelphia Mafia War 1980 84 1 6 Little Nicky Scarfo s reign 1981 1990 1 7 Stanfa s reign and the Third Philadelphia Mafia War 1990 1996 1 8 Natale s front boss reign Natale turns informant Merlino takes over and continuing Mafia violence 1 9 The rise of Ligambi 1 10 Current status 2 Historical leadership 2 1 Boss official and acting 2 2 Street boss 2 3 Underbosses official and acting 2 4 Consigliere official and acting 3 Current leaders and membership 3 1 Philadelphia faction 3 2 South New Jersey faction 3 3 North New Jersey faction 4 Former members of the Philadelphia crime family 5 Incomplete list of the currently known or suspected murdered victims 6 Government informants and witnesses 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksHistory EditThe beginning Edit In the early 20th century several Italian immigrant and Italian American South Philadelphia street gangs joined to form what would eventually become the Philadelphia crime family Salvatore Sabella was the first leader of the group that would later bear his name They busied themselves with bootlegging extortion loansharking and illegal gambling and it was during the Prohibition era that Sabella and his crew were recognized as members of the wider Sicilian crime syndicate of New York and Chicago Sabella retired in late 1931 John Avena Joe Dovi and the First Philadelphia Mafia War Edit After Sabella s retirement two of his top lieutenants John Avena and Giuseppe Dovi began a five year war for control of the family Avena was murdered by members of his own faction on August 17 1936 and Joseph Joe Bruno Dovi became boss of the Philadelphia family Dovi had good connections with the Chicago Outfit and the Five Families of New York and he expanded operations outside of South Philadelphia to the Greater Philadelphia Area including Atlantic City and other parts of South Jersey Narcotics illegal gambling loansharking and extortion activities provided the family s income and connections to the Genovese and Gambino crime families grew throughout the 1930s and early 1940s On October 22 1946 Dovi died of natural causes at a New York City hospital and Joseph Ida was appointed by the Commission to run the Philadelphia family and its rackets Influenced by Vito Genovese Edit Joe Ida ran the family throughout the 1940s and early 1950s Ida and the Philadelphia organization were heavily influenced by the bosses of the Five Families especially the Genovese crime family which sought to control the Philadelphia crime family Vito Genovese an underboss at the time assumed control of what would become the Genovese crime family in 1956 after the shooting of former boss Frank Costello who subsequently retired due to illness As the Philadelphia family gained more power in Atlantic City and South Jersey it was viewed merely as a Genovese faction due to the Genoveses substantial amount of influence over the Philadelphia family at the time After a 1956 Commission meeting however the crime families of Philadelphia and Detroit headed by Joseph Zerilli were added to The Commission establishing the Philadelphia crime family as its own organization independent of control by New York crime families 34 Ida and his underboss Dominick Olivetto were present during the infamous 1957 Apalachin Convention with roughly 100 other top mobsters The meeting was raided by US law enforcement and over 60 mafiosi were arrested and indicted for association with known organized crime members Ida was named in the indictment and fled to Sicily not long after the meeting leaving Antonio Mr Migs Pollina as acting boss in Ida s absence Angelo Bruno Edit After Ida retired in 1959 and Pollina was demoted Angelo Bruno was appointed by the Commission to run the Philadelphia family Bruno the first boss of Philadelphia with a seat at the Commission was a close ally of Carlo Gambino solidifying his position as leader of the Philadelphia Mafia Bruno used his contacts and his own business mind to maintain respect and power among other Mafia bosses in the country He expanded the family s profit and operations in Atlantic City which due in part to its location within the Philadelphia Metro Area had naturally become known as the Philadelphia family s turf Bruno himself avoided the intense media and law enforcement scrutiny and kept violence down He spent almost three years in prison for refusing to testify at a 1970 hearing on organized crime in the state of New Jersey After his release he spent some time in Italy before returning to the United States in 1977 35 Bruno had a reputation for seeking peaceful solutions to family issues instead of violence 36 Bruno oversaw the family s gambling syndicate and preferred more traditional operations such as labor racketeering loan sharking numbers games and infiltrating legitimate business Outside of most family issues however violence was still the modus operandi of the Philly Mafia by the late 1960s the Philadelphia crime family used violence and intimidation to control various unions in the food and service industry such as Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union The crime family plundered the local s health and welfare funds and used its control to extort money from bars and restaurants 36 Family members owned or had a controlling interest in many restaurants bars and social clubs throughout the Philadelphia South Jersey area 37 During the early 1960s the Philadelphia family was officially recognized as the Bruno family Bruno focused mostly on low risk crimes and gave his subordinates autonomy as long as he received a share of the profits He was against any of his men getting involved in narcotics trafficking fearing the long prison sentences that drug trafficking charges could bring Many of his men disagreed with this decision seeing the large profits that could be made Some mobsters like Harry Riccobene 38 and Raymond Martorano ran drug trafficking operations behind Bruno s back His men were further angered because Bruno accepted money from John Gambino in order to let the Gambino crime family sell heroin on Philadelphia family turf in South Jersey Bruno also faced pressure from New York s Five Families to let them have a cut of the business in Atlantic City a Philadelphia Mafia controlled city that was at the time transitioning from a city in decline to a gambling mecca Following its early 20th century heyday as a respected resort town Atlantic City had been suffering from a sharp decline in the decades prior to the 1970s With the introduction of legalized casino gambling Atlantic City once again became particularly desired turf for organized crime However Atlantic City had long been reckoned as a fief of the Philadelphia family Under longstanding Mafia rules the Five Families could only come into Atlantic City with the Philadelphia family s permission something Bruno was unwilling to give On October 15 1976 Carlo Gambino died of a heart attack With Gambino gone Bruno lost his most important ally in the underworld 35 Many of Bruno s subordinates felt that they were missing out on money because of Bruno s old fashioned and content ways His consigliere Antonio Caponigro approached Genovese family boss Frank Tieri in order to seek the Commission s permission to kill Bruno and take over the crime family Tieri sensing an opportunity to take Caponigro s North Jersey gambling operation and set up operations in Atlantic City lied to Caponigro and told him he had the Commission s support 39 On March 21 1980 Bruno was shot in the back of the head while in his car in South Philadelphia by a gunman working for Caponigro 40 That April Caponigro visited New York City under the assumption that he was going to be confirmed as boss Instead he was tortured and murdered for killing a Commission member without permission 41 Caponigro s co conspirators Frank Sindone Alfred Salerno and John Simone were also murdered for killing a mob boss without the permission of the Commission Second Philadelphia Mafia War 1980 84 Edit Beginning with Bruno s murder in 1980 a violent struggle for power erupted within the Philadelphia Mafia Bruno s successor his former underboss Philip Testa lasted just under a year as the boss of the family before he was killed by a nail bomb under his front porch on March 15 1981 Testa s murder was orchestrated by Frank Narducci in yet another attempt to take control of the family 42 Afterwards Peter Casella and Nicodemo Little Nicky Scarfo the late Testa s underboss and consigliere respectively were both vying to take over the family Violence between the two factions ensued Scarfo was close with Genovese family consigliere Louis Bobby Manna and approached the Genovese hierarchy with his suspicions that Narducci and Casella orchestrated Testa s murder The Genovese family set up a meeting with Scarfo and Casella where Casella confessed that Narducci killed Testa so that they could take over the family Narducci was killed and Casella was banished from the Mob and fled to Florida leaving Scarfo the major candidate for boss of the family However the war continued in spite of or because of Scarfo s apparent nomination to boss Nicodemo Scarfo was a powerful Bruno crime family mobster who operated mostly in Atlantic City New Jersey prior to his accession to boss Atlantic City witnessed a boom in its economy when it enacted measures allowing casino gambling in the late 1970s Scarfo was able to expand his power base by infiltrating the expanding construction and service industries in Atlantic City Despite Atlantic City being turf of the Philadelphia Mafia Scarfo let the Commission operate in Atlantic City under his discretion in return for their support for him as boss Scarfo named Salvatore Chuckie Merlino as his underboss and Frank Monte as his consigliere Scarfo demoted Bruno s mob captains and replaced them with Phil Leonetti Lawrence Yogi Merlino and Joseph Chickie Ciancaglini Sr leading to further Mafia warring from disgruntled soldiers who were formerly well situated under Bruno and Testa s reign but passed over by Scarfo as well as from Philly Mafia soldiers in South Jersey who were angry that Scarfo was allowing New York gangsters to operate in Atlantic City Scarfo eventually emerged triumphant despite considerable violent opposition and multiple murders The last person to stand in Scarfo s way was the well respected long time Philadelphia crime family mobster and made man Harry Riccobene Believing that Scarfo was an unfit and greedy boss Riccobene refused to pay his tribute to Scarfo While Angelo Bruno apparently never asked Riccobene for a regular or unreasonable share of his illicit profits Scarfo demanded a typical kick up tribute which angered Riccobene as he did not view Scarfo as a legitimate or appropriate successor to the position of boss 43 With Scarfo off the street serving a brief prison term in Texas the Riccobene War ensued between 1982 and 1984 as part of the larger Second Philadelphia Mafia War in the 1980s The Scarfo faction was able to kill three of Riccobene s men 36 The Riccobene faction was able to kill Scarfo s consigliere Frank Monte while Riccobene himself survived two attempts on his life In 1984 the two gunmen in the Monte murder along with Riccobene s brother were arrested and agreed to cooperate with authorities They testified at trial that Riccobene ordered Monte s murder Riccobene was convicted and sentenced to life in prison ending the war Little Nicky Scarfo s reign 1981 1990 Edit Nicodemo Nicky Scarfo Scarfo mobsters congregating Included in the photo are Phil Leonetti Joey Pungitore Philip Narducci and Nicholas Milano When Nicodemo Scarfo became Boss he wanted to unify organized crime in the area and dreamed of running a smooth criminal empire He soon installed a street tax on Philadelphia South Jersey criminals Although financially extorting criminals is a common Mafia racket it was a somewhat alien practice in Philadelphia Enforced by soldiers and associates of the family the tax was paid by criminals working independently from the Mafia Criminals such as drug dealers bookmakers loan sharks pimps and number runners operating in territory that Scarfo deemed his own were forced to pay his street tax weekly Those who refused to pay the tax were usually murdered Loan shark drug dealer and pawn shop owner John Calabrese was killed by Joseph Ciancaglini Sr Tommy DelGiorno Frank Iannarella and Pat Spirito Frankie Flowers D Alfonso was brutally beaten by Salvatore Testa and Joey Pungitore for refusing to pay the street tax He was later murdered in 1985 The crime family s biggest racket was the control of labor unions During Bruno s and Scarfo s reigns the Philadelphia crime family maintained some degree of influence over Roofers Union Local 30 Iron Workers Union Local 405 Laborers Union Local 332 and Teamsters Union Locals 107 158 331 and 837 36 The crime family used this influence to extort businesses steal from the union treasuries and receive paychecks and benefits for little to no work Scarfo also got the crime family heavily involved in methamphetamine trafficking which was the drug of choice in the Philadelphia South Jersey area At first the family extorted money from local meth dealers When Greek American gangster Chelsais Bouras boss of the Philadelphia Greek Mob began intruding on the methamphetamine trade in Philadelphia and refused to pay Scarfo s street tax Scarfo had him killed Although the Philadelphia Greek Mob has long been a close ally and partner with the Philadelphia Italian crime family and despite the fact that some Philadelphia Italian crime family members were themselves involved in Bouras s methamphetamine trafficking ring the hot headed and ruthless Nicky Scarfo decided to send a message to all local crime organizations about respecting the street tax and the primacy of the Philadelphia crime family by having Bouras killed in public Bouras was eating dinner with his girlfriend friends and Scarfo soldier Raymond Martorano when a hit team ambushed and killed Bouras and his girlfriend The Philadelphia crime family then started controlling the meth trade in the area by supplying illicit P2P the key meth ingredient to meth manufacturers 36 By controlling the supply of P2P the Philadelphia crime family was generally able to control the methamphetamine trade in the Philadelphia South New Jersey area Some criminals borrowed money from Mafia members to finance meth operations and benefited from working with the Mafia instead of being extorted by them 36 The crime family also had some involvement in cocaine and marijuana trafficking Scarfo became notorious for his ruthless paranoid nature Scarfo demanded complete allegiance to him and ordered people murdered over signs of disrespect insubordination or resistance Described by a former crime family member 44 i f you were in good graces with him he loves you and you love him You understand But you never knew from one day to the next He d turn on anybody and he drew no lines when it came to killing Most Mob bosses were not like him The Mob is basically run the same in every city but our family was unusual in that it was a very paranoid family because we all feared each other and feared Scarfo the most He held grudges If you didn t say hello to him 20 years ago he never forgot He used to say I m like the turtle I get there You know we were the best of friends He believed in me and I believed in him But he was very very paranoid He betrayed himself His own nephew turned Nicholas The Crow CaramandiSoon after his promotion to boss the number of organized crime related murders escalated in the 1980s Philadelphia mobster turned government witness Nicholas Caramandi described Scarfo s violent nature in a 2001 interview 44 Scarfo was a cowboy He didn t want a guy taken in a house and shot easily in the back of the head He wanted it outside in broad daylight with a million people around Restaurants funeral homes anywhere Then it gets written up in the papers and it puts fear in people He loved that cowboy stuff Salvatore Testa Scarfo had recently inducted member Pasquale Pat the Cat Spirito murdered in 1983 During the Riccobene War Spirito switched sides and aligned himself with Scarfo but was killed for turning down a murder contract on Riccobene s brother 36 But Scarfo s downfall began on September 14 1984 when Scarfo loyalist Salvatore Testa was murdered 45 Despite Testa serving faithfully under Scarfo and committing several murders on his behalf Scarfo granted his underboss Salvatore Merlino permission to kill Testa for breaking off his engagement with Merlino s daughter After this other members and families saw Scarfo as untrustworthy and paranoid He also started to earn a negative reputation within his organisation which led to members turning informant in the late 1980s After Merlino s drinking problem got out of hand Scarfo demoted him to soldier and promoted his nephew Phil Leonetti as his new underboss In November 1988 Scarfo and 16 of his men were convicted of racketeering 10 murders 5 attempted murders extortion gambling and narcotics trafficking 36 Along with Scarfo underboss Philip Leonetti three of the family s four capos or captains Joseph Ciancaglini Francis Iannarella Jr and Santo Idone and soldiers such as Albert Pontani Salvatore Merlino and Charles Iannece were arrested 46 The prosecutions were strengthened by Mafia members Tommy DelGiorno and Nicholas Nicky Crow Caramandi agreeing to cooperate with law enforcement and testify at trial for the government in order to escape long prison terms and Scarfo s ruthless regime 36 46 Fifteen of the defendants received prison sentences ranging from 30 to 55 years including Scarfo 36 47 Leonetti was the next defector who agreed to cooperate with the FBI after being sentenced to 45 years in prison Many more mobsters would later be sentenced to long prison terms for crimes such as racketeering narcotics trafficking and murder 48 This caused the number of Mafia members in the family to dwindle in the 1990s with fewer new guys available to replace all those being convicted of serious crimes By 1990 21 members were incarcerated 11 were under indictment and six turned government witnesses 49 The Pennsylvania Crime Commission reported that there were only 24 members who were free and not facing criminal charges Stanfa s reign and the Third Philadelphia Mafia War 1990 1996 Edit John Stanfa right talking to Tommy Horsehead Scafidi With many of Scarfo s loyalists serving lengthy prison terms it became clear that Scarfo would not be able to maintain control of the family from prison much longer To avoid a total power vacuum in the Philadelphia Mafia John Stanfa a Sicilian born mobster with the support and endorsement of the influential Gambino and Genovese crime families in New York was named boss of the Philadelphia crime family in 1990 Word was sent to the imprisoned Scarfo in October 1990 with Scarfo being informed that he was no longer boss and that John Stanfa had been installed as boss though Stanfa wasn t officially installed as boss until 1991 50 The New York Mafia s intrusion in Philadelphia Mafia affairs was not well received by many of the younger Philadelphia born mobsters in the Philadelphia crime family including Joseph Skinny Joey Merlino the son of former underboss Salvatore Merlino who saw Stanfa as an outsider who had not worked his way up in the organization due to being imprisoned during the entire Scarfo era 51 Stanfa recruited John Veasey as an enforcer during the war with Merlino 52 Veasey would later become a government turncoat and testify for the prosecution at Stanfa s trial While serving prison time together in 1990 Merlino met Ralph Natale 53 According to Natale he and Merlino began plotting to take over the Philadelphia crime family during this period Natale named Michael Ciancaglini Steven Mazzone George Borgesi Gaetano Tommy Horsehead Scafidi and Martin Angelina as Merlino s key associates and co conspirators in the plan 54 55 Stanfa was aware of the divide in his family and tried to find a peaceful solution He named Michael s older brother Joseph Jr as his new underboss Stanfa hoped that this would appease the Merlino faction and bring them under his banner However tensions escalated and in 1991 another war for control of the Philadelphia crime family was underway Merlino loyalists shot and incapacitated Joseph Ciancaglini Jr while Stanfa s faction killed Michael Ciancaglini 56 They continued attacking each other for months including a freeway ambush Stanfa survived and several failed attempts on Merlino s life The Stanfa faction was still solidifying its control of the crime family and recruited many outside hitmen for the war 57 On March 17 1994 Stanfa and 23 of his men were arrested on racketeering related chargers 58 This was the second major indictment on the crime family in seven years The Federal case was the largest prosecution of an organized crime group in Philadelphia history 58 A key piece of evidence was two years of recorded conversations Stanfa would have with mobsters in his attorney s office and doctor s office Believing attorney client privilege and doctor patient confidentiality would protect him Stanfa openly talked about important Mafia business with his men However the FBI was able to get a warrant to place covert listening devices in both offices once they figured out they were being used to aid criminal conspiracies 58 Stanfa in an unusual tactic recruited several men who were not of Italian heritage including the Veasey brothers According to the former executive director of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission Frederick T Martens Stanfa brought in people like the Veasey brothers who had no background in the mob but who were willing to break legs and pull a trigger 57 John Veasey who pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering and murder entered the witness protection program in 1994 57 William Veasey John Veasey s brother was murdered on October 5 1995 the same day he was scheduled to testify against Stanfa at trial 57 Stanfa was convicted in 1995 59 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996 60 With most of Stanfa s supporters also arrested and convicted Merlino was released from prison in November 1994 and named Natale who had also been released from prison on parole as the new boss Merlino positioned himself as Natale s underboss During Natale s reign Merlino was the real power in the family allowing Natale to become boss to direct law enforcement attention away from himself 61 62 Natale s front boss reign Natale turns informant Merlino takes over and continuing Mafia violence Edit George Borgesi a childhood friend of Joey Merlino and the nephew of Joseph Ligambi Merlino gained notoriety as a flamboyant celebrity gangster who often went out partying with a large entourage The press dubbed him the John Gotti of Passyunk Avenue due to his candid demeanor in front of news cameras Passyunk Avenue being a street in South Philadelphia He also invited the press when he held Christmas parties for the homeless and gave away turkeys at Thanksgiving in housing projects 63 The arrogance and aggressiveness of Merlino s young faction turned off a lot of criminals from working with the crime family 64 Merlino would often make big bets with bookies and refuse to pay when he lost 65 This practice known as guzzling was used on both independent and mob run bookies During this time Merlino and Natale oversaw the crime family s gambling loan sharking extortion and stolen goods rackets In 1995 Louis Turra leader of the Philadelphia drug gang the 10th and Oregon crew also known as the 10th and O gang was severely beaten by Merlino s men allegedly for failing to pay a Mafia street tax on the gang s illegal earnings 66 Angered by the beating Turra sought vengeance His father Anthony hosted a meeting at his house during which Anthony Louis and his gang discussed killing Merlino In January 1998 Louis Turra apparently hanged himself in a New York City jail while awaiting trial In March 1998 Anthony Turra on trial on charges of plotting to kill Merlino was shot dead outside his home by a gunman in a black ski mask He was shot twice as he left for the federal courthouse where a jury was deliberating in the racketeering and drug case against him and four other men We consider this an organized crime assassination a mob hit Police Inspector Jerrold Kane said 67 Three years later Merlino was put on trial for helping orchestrate the murder but was acquitted By the late 1990s Merlino dodged more than two dozen attempts on his life 68 Merlino was friends with Steve Gorilla Mondevergine president of the Pagans MC motorcycle club 69 Merlino sometimes used the Pagans to help settle underworld disputes 70 During the 1990s Merlino was also aligned with members of the Junior Black Mafia 71 72 In June 1998 Natale was jailed for a parole violation Merlino subsequently took control of the family and cut off support to the imprisoned boss 73 Angered by this Natale offered to secretly record conversations with Merlino 74 but it was not until September 1999 when he was indicted for financing drug deals that he formally struck a deal to cooperate 75 76 In doing so Natale became the first sitting boss in the history of the American Mafia to become government informant 77 Between 1999 and 2001 Merlino along with his underboss Stephen Mazzone his consigliere George Borgesi Martin Angelina John Ciancaglini and others were arrested and put on trial for racketeering illegal gambling loan sharking extortion murder and attempted murder 78 Natale testified against Merlino during his 2001 racketeering trial but was unable to secure a conviction for the murders he claimed Merlino committed 79 On December 3 2001 Merlino was however convicted of racketeering charges and given a 14 year prison sentence 80 Natale had admitted to committing eight murders and four attempted murders 81 In 2005 Natale was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for drug dealing racketeering and bribery 77 He was released in May 2011 and placed in witness protection 82 83 The rise of Ligambi Edit In 1997 Joseph Ligambi was released from prison after he successfully appealed his murder conviction and was acquitted at retrial 84 After 10 years in prison Ligambi returned to a much different Mafia family that saw two violent regime changes and the family under the control of a group of young mobsters 85 Ligambi who is Borgesi s uncle was a Scarfo era soldier when he was imprisoned in 1987 and was also mentored by Merlino s father Salvatore After the arrest of Merlino Borgesi and several others in 1999 Ligambi was chosen to take over as acting boss of the family In 2001 Merlino was sentenced to 14 years in prison After Ligambi took over he remained in the shadows rarely being mentioned in the media while taking a much less trigger happy approach to running the family 86 Ligambi stabilized the family when he took over 87 maintained membership and restored relations with the New York families 88 His inner circle included longtime Philadelphia mobsters Joseph Mousie Massimino Gateon Lucibello and Anthony Staino 85 Ligambi was left to deal with the damage Merlino had done to the family s relationship with illegal bookmakers who refused to do business with the Philadelphia crime family because Merlino use to make huge bets then never paid when he lost 89 By the mid 2000s the family consisted of approximately 50 members half of whom were incarcerated in addition to almost 100 associates 90 91 During Ligambi s tenure around a dozen made men were released from prison filling the ranks 92 Many of these men had been young players who fell victim to the family s unstable history and are now middle aged He named Anthony Staino his closest and most loyal associate as his underboss 87 Under Ligambi s direction the family was able to muscle in on several video poker gambling machine businesses in the Philadelphia area 93 In 2007 23 people including four members of the Philadelphia crime family were charged with running an illegal sports betting operation out of a poker room at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City The illegal operation was ran by the Philadelphia crime family who received much of the profits 94 The operation was accused of taking in 60 million in bets in a 20 month period 95 Most of those involved pleaded guilty and received sentences ranging from probation to five years 96 Merlino was released from prison on March 15 2011 and served out his three year parole in Florida 97 In May 2011 Ligambi and 14 other members and associates of the crime family were indicted by the FBI on racketeering charges related to illegal gambling operations video poker gambling machines and loan sharking 20 98 Seven of those indicted pleaded guilty to lesser charges One became a government witness and seven went to trial in October 2012 99 100 In January 2014 two juries were hung on the racketeering charges and Ligambi and Borgesi were acquitted and released 101 Current status Edit Since Merlino s release from prison in 2011 the FBI and organized crime reporters believe he continues to run the Philadelphia South Jersey Mafia Merlino disputes this claiming he retired from a life of crime As of 2015 Merlino divides his time between south Florida and Philadelphia 102 103 104 While the family s criminal operations have greatly reduced over the years experts believe they have been able to quietly maintain power and stability and the family remains one of the most active and powerful Italian American Mafia families In 2016 it was reported that some members were involved in Philadelphia s booming construction and home rehab industry 105 In January 2018 Merlino went on trial for racketeering fraud and illegal gambling charges 106 107 After a trial ended in a hung jury Merlino pleaded guilty to one illegal gambling charge and was sentenced to two years in prison In April 2018 four soldiers and associates in New Jersey were arrested on drug trafficking charges They are accused of distributing large amounts of methamphetamine heroin fentanyl and marijuana They eventually pleaded guilty and were given sentences between five and 15 years On November 23 2020 15 members and associates of the crime family were indicted on federal racketeering charges among the defendants were reputed underboss Steven Mazzone and reputed capo Domenic Grande The primary charges are loansharking drug trafficking and extorting illegal sports betting operators 108 109 Historical leadership EditBoss official and acting Edit 1920 1931 Salvatore Sabella retired deceased in 1962 1931 1936 John Nazzone Avena murdered on August 17 1936 1936 1946 Giuseppe Joseph Bruno Dovi 1946 1959 Giuseppe Joseph Ida deported in 1958 deceased in 1960s 1970s 1958 1959 Antonio Mr Miggs Pollina removed by the Commission 1959 1980 Angelo The Gentle Don Bruno murdered on March 21 1980 1980 1981 Philip the Chicken Man Testa murdered on March 15 1981 1981 1990 Nicodemo Little Nicky Scarfo Sr removed by the Commission deceased in 2017 Acting 1981 1984 Salvatore Chuckie Merlino Acting 1989 1990 Anthony Tony Buck Piccolo stepped down 1990 1995 Giovanni John Stanfa imprisoned for life 1995 1999 Ralph Natale mostly a front boss arrested in 1998 turned informant in 1999 Acting 1995 1999 Joseph Skinny Joey Merlino acting street boss 1999 present Joseph Skinny Joey Merlino arrested in 1999 released in 2011 110 111 Acting 1999 2014 Joseph Uncle Joe Ligambi indicted in May 2011 was acquitted in January 2014 stepped down and became ConsigliereStreet boss Edit When the Boss of a family is incapacitated due to imprisonment his functions may be fulfilled by an acting boss or street boss 108 109 2011 2015 Steven Stevie Mazzone became Underboss 2015 present Michael Mikey Lance Lancelotti 108 109 Underbosses official and acting Edit 1911 1931 John Nazzone Avena became boss 1931 1936 Giuseppe Joseph Bruno Dovi became boss 1936 1946 Giuseppe Joseph Ida became boss 1946 1956 Marco Small Man Reginelli 1956 1957 Dominick Olivetto retired 1957 1959 Antonio Mr Miggs Pollina deposed by Commission 1959 1970 Ignazio Natz Denaro 1970 1980 Philip the Chicken Man Testa became boss 1980 1981 Peter Petey Casella deposed by Commission 1981 1986 Salvatore Chuckie Merlino demoted deceased in 2012 Acting 1982 1984 Salvatore Salvie Testa murdered on September 14 1984 1986 1989 Philip Crazy Phil Leonetti turned informant 1989 1990 Pasquale Patty Specs Martirano died 1992 Joseph Joey Chang Ciancaglini Jr shot and incapacitated 1992 1995 Frank Martines 1995 1999 Joseph Skinny Joey Merlino became official boss 1999 2004 Steven Mazzone imprisoned in 2000 85 2004 2012 Joseph Mousie Massimino imprisoned June 2004 2010 112 Acting 2007 2010 Martin Marty Angelina 113 Acting 2010 2011 Anthony Staino 87 114 2012 2015 John Johnny Chang Ciancaglini stepped down 2015 present Steven Stevie Mazzone indicted on November 23 2020 108 109 Consigliere official and acting Edit 1911 1931 Giuseppe Joseph Bruno Dovi became underboss 1931 1936 Giuseppe Joseph Ida became underboss 1936 1946 Marco Small Man Reginelli became underboss 1946 1977 Giuseppe Joe the Boss Rugnetta 1977 1980 Antonio Tony Bananas Caponigro murdered by Commission 1980 1981 Nicodemo Little Nicky Scarfo Sr became boss 1981 1982 Frank Monte murdered 1982 1989 Nicholas Piccolo Acting 1984 1987 Anthony Piccolo 1989 1994 Anthony Piccolo imprisoned for life deceased in 2004 1995 1996 Ronald Ronnie Turchi demoted murdered in 1999 1996 1999 Steven Handsome Stevie Mazzone promoted to underboss 1999 2014 George Borgesi imprisoned in 2000 released 2014 Acting 2004 2012 Gaeton Gate Lucibello indicted 2012 115 2014 present Joseph Uncle Joe Ligambi 108 109 Current leaders and membership EditBoss Joseph Skinny Joey Merlino became boss in 1999 73 and is believed to still be the boss of the Philadelphia crime family 116 117 Street Boss Michael Mikey Lance Lancelotti longtime member of the Philadelphia family 118 Lancelotti s position was confirmed on November 18 2020 when the Department of Justice provided the initials M L as the current street boss for the Philadelphia crime family 109 Underboss Steven Stevie Mazzone the underboss according to the United States Department of Justice 109 On November 23 2020 Mazzone was indicted along with capo Dominick Grande his brother soldier Salvatore Mazzone and others on racketeering and gambling charges 108 109 Consigliere Joseph Uncle Joe Ligambi served as longtime acting boss for boss Joey Merlino 119 Ligambi s position was confirmed on November 18 2020 when the Department of Justice provided the initials J L as the current consigliere for the Philadelphia crime family 109 Philadelphia faction Edit Captain Domenic Dom Grande a captain operating from South Philadelphia southern New Jersey and Atlantic City according to the United States Department of Justice 108 109 In November 2020 Grande was indicted along with Underboss Steve Mazzone soldier Salvatore Mazzone and others on racketeering and gambling charges 108 109 Captain George Borgesi Philadelphia captain and nephew of consigliere Joseph Ligambi who served as consigliere himself according to the United States Department of Justice 119 On July 3 2012 before his scheduled to be released from prison Borgesi was charged with overseeing a loan sharking operation in Delaware County from his prison cell in North Carolina 120 121 122 He has a couple of other family members working as associates for the Philadelphia crime family 123 On January 24 2014 Borgesi was released from prison Since his release from prison Borgesi has traveled to Rhode Island forming an alliance with Patriarca crime family underboss Matthew Guglielmetti 124 Soldier Martin Marty Angelina he was convicted of racketeering with Joey Merlino in 2001 and was sentenced to 78 months In September 2012 he was sentenced to 57 months on racketeering loansharking and illegal gambling charges 125 Soldier Gaeton Gate Lucibello also known as The Big Guy 126 former capo and acting consigliere Lucibello was originally a Stanfa loyalist before defecting to the Merlino faction during the war in the 1990s According to government witness Rosario Bellochi Lucibello acted as the getaway driver on the attempted murder of former Stanfa soldier Biagio Adornetto at La Veranda Restaurant on December 30 1992 127 He was indicted along with Stanfa and 21 others on March 17 1994 on racketeering and attempted murder charges 128 129 Lucibello testified in his own defense on April 25 1996 and became the only defendant in the Stanfa case to be acquitted on May 15 1996 127 129 Soldier Salvatore Sonny Mazzone brother of Philadelphia underboss Steve Mazzone 130 In November 2020 Mazzone was indicted along with his brother Underboss Steve Mazzone capo Dominick Grande and others on racketeering and gambling charges 108 109 Soldier Anthony Nicodemo was charged with the 2012 murder of Gino DiPietro and was a suspect in 2003 when John Casasanto was gunned down 131 After being on trial for the DiPietro murder a mistrial was declared in 2014 132 Soldier Joseph Massimino former underboss according to the United States Department of Justice 119 116 117 In 2004 he pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering related to gambling and loan sharking and was sentenced to 10 years in prison 133 In 2012 he was charged with additional charges of racketeering related to electronic gambling devices 134 135 South New Jersey faction Edit Captain Anthony Staino a captain according to the United States Department of Justice 119 He was charged with loansharking when Henry Scipione a Philadelphia bookie who owed Staino 80 000 testified against Staino saying that he had threatened to put a bullet in his head 136 Soldier Anthony Borgesi was charged along with Philip Ligambi in 1994 for the assault on a mother and her 16 year old son over a business deal 137 North New Jersey faction Edit Captain Joseph Scoops Licata captain of Philadelphia s North Jersey crew operating from Newark according to the United States Department of Justice 119 138 In 1994 he was sentenced to 14 years in prison after George Fresolone recorded secret conversations and he was charged under major gambling operations in Newark 139 In 2013 a mistrial was declared and Licata was acquitted of racketeering 140 Soldier Louis Big Lou Fazzini soldier under Licata according to the United States Department of Justice 119 Soldier Vincent Beeps Centorino he and other high profile Philadelphia crime family mobsters including Nicky Scarfo Jr were tapped by the FBI and all pleaded guilty in 1994 141 Former members of the Philadelphia crime family EditVincent Al Pajamas Pagano During the Merlino Stanfa war Pagano was a Caporegime under John Stanfa In January 1994 Pagano along with Frank Martines was involved with the botched murder on FBI witness John Veasey 142 Veasey testified against Pagano and he was found guilty of racketeering in 1995 and was sentenced to life imprisonment 143 144 In February 2019 Pagano died of natural causes at the age of 89 Joseph Joe Crutch Curro Curro first became noticed by law enforcement in 1976 overheard on a wiretap at the restaurant of caporegime Frank Sindone He died of cancer in 2004 Incomplete list of the currently known or suspected murdered victims EditName Date ReasonWilliam Dugan May 26 1963 Longshoreman Dugan managed to get into a fist fight with Nicky Scarfo After being choked on a table Scarfo retaliated by stabbing Dugan in the chest 145 Ferdinand Blackie Iacono August 7 1963 It is believed Philly mob associate Iacono was killed by Caporegime Santo Idone for not sharing his profits out of his illegal gambling racket 146 Robert DeGeorge 1969 Philly mob associate Robert DeGeorge was planning to clean up a Teamster union implicating Joseph Chickie Ciancaglini in corruption DeGeorge was shot to death 147 148 George Feeney 1970 Philly mob associate Feeney allegedly insulted Angelo Bruno and Ralph Natale though it has been alleged Natale was seeking to seize control of the Local 170 Teamster union which Feeney controlled 149 Feeney was shot to death Dominick Luciano February 1972 Boss Angelo Bruno gave permission to Newark gangsters the Campisi brothers to kill Luciano due to Luciano having an affair with the wife of the Campisi brothers Luciano was killed by a shotgun blast 150 151 Pasquale Jimmy Ross Procopio 1972 Philly mob associate unknown why he was killed 152 Joseph McGreal December 27 1973 Irish mobster and Philly mob associate gunned down by Ralph Natale McGreal was killed due to suggesting that Natale be removed from a Teamster union due to corruption Alvin Feldman 1974 Joseph Ciancaglini stabbed Jewish mobster Alvin Feldman to death with an ice pick after Feldman made threats that he was going to kill Nicky Scarfo 153 Frank Narducci Santo Idone and Joseph Scalleat were also part of the hit team Edward Butch Snee 1975 Unknown why he was killed Louis Louie DeMarco 1976 DeMarco was shot and killed by Phil Leonetti after he robbed a member of the Philadelphia crime family Edwin Helfant February 15 1978 Helfant was killed on orders of Nicky Scarfo after he refused to accept a bribe and instead handed down a 15 year sentence to an associate of Scarfo 154 155 Vincent Falcone December 16 1979 Falcone was shot and killed by Phil Leonetti on orders of Nicky Scarfo after insulting him Angelo Bruno March 12 1980 Bruno was killed by members of his administration seeking a coup of the family Frank Barracuda Frank Sindone October 29 1980 Sindone was killed as retaliation for killing Philly mob boss Angelo Bruno Edward Bianculli 1980 Philly mob associate murdered by Theodore DiPretoro unknown why he was murdered 156 157 John McCullough December 16 1980 Irish mobster and Philly mob associate and friend of former boss Angelo Bruno shot and killed allegedly for arguing with the Philadelphia crime family 158 159 160 Phil The Chicken Man Testa March 15 1981 Testa succeeded Angelo Bruno as boss of the Philadelphia crime family 161 Testa was killed by a nail bomb as he walked onto the porch of his house 162 Harry Peetros May 26 1981 Peetros was a senior member of the Philadelphia Greek Mob He was possibly killed after an argument with Philly mob member George Martorano 163 164 Chelsais Bouras May 27 1981 Bouras was considered a boss of the Philadelphia Greek Mob He was shot and killed with his girlfriend at a South Philadelphia restaurant 165 It is unknown why Bouras was murdered 166 John Calabrese October 6 1981 Philly mob associate Calabrese was active in loansharking and drug dealing 167 It is believed he was killed for not paying street tax to the Philadelphia crime family 168 Frank Narducci January 7 1982 Philly mob captain Narducci was killed as retaliation for the murder of Phil Testa his son Salvatore Testa is believed to be the killer 169 Vincent Tippy Panetta February 4 1982 Philly mob soldier Panetta is shot and killed alongside his girlfriend in his apartment 170 Panetta was active in bookmaking and loansharking 171 Dominick Mickey Diamond DeVito February 22 1982 Philly mob soldier DeVito was found shot to death inside the trunk of a car believed to be killed by the Nicky Scarfo faction 172 Rocco Marinucci March 15 1982 Marinucci was responsible for placing and activating the bomb used in the Phil Testa murder Salvatore Testa is believed to be the killer 173 Frank Monte May 13 1982 Philly mob consigliere Monte was killed during the Riccobene Scarfo war and was shot to death under the orders of Harry Riccobene 174 Robert Hornickle January 27 1983 Philly mob associate Hornnickle was killed by the crew of captain Joseph Chickie Ciancaglini over a botched drug deal 175 Pat Pat the Hat Spirito April 29 1983 Philly mob soldier Spirito was shot to death after he failed to murder Robert Riccobene brother of Harry Riccobene 176 177 Samuel Tamburrino November 3 1983 Riccobene loyalist Tamburrino is shot and killed by a Scarfo hitman Robert Bobby Riccobene December 6 1983 Riccobene was shot and killed by Nicky Scarfo loyalists 178 Salvatore Salvie Testa September 14 1984 Philly mob captain 179 It is believed Testa was killed by a Scarfo gunman due to jealousy towards Testa In the book authored by Phil Leonetti the excuse was that Salvatore broke the engagement with the sister of Joey Merlino Frank J R Forlini February 8 1985 Philly mob associate Forlini was shot to death by Scarfo gunmen in a bid to take over his illegal gambling rackets 180 181 Frank Frankie Flowers D Alfonso July 23 1985 Philly mob associate D Alfonso was killed for refusing to pay street tax to Nicky Scarfo 182 183 Frankie Russo January 17 1987 Russo was shot to death for stealing from a member of the Philadelphia crime family Louis Louie Irish DeLuca May 24 1990 Philly mob soldier inducted during the Scarfo era DeLuca is believed to have been killed by the Merlino crew after an argument 184 Felix Little Felix Bocchino January 29 1992 Philly mob soldier close to boss John Stanfa Bocchino was shot and killed He is believed to be the first casualty in the Stanfa Merlino war James Jimmy Brooms DiAddorio May 20 1992 Philly mob associate and Stanfa loyalist Shot to death by two men while speaking on the phone at Vulpine Athletic Club in Philadelphia for refusing to pay street tax from his bookmaking business and drug operations and for negatively talking about Merlino and his crew in several local bars Francesco DiGiacomo November 29 1992 Philly mob associate and Stanfa crew loyalist Shot and killed in New Jersey by Rosario Bellocchi for not repaying a debt to the Stanfa crew Billy Shear 1993 Philly mob associate based in North Jersey Killed by Philip Philly Fay Casale in Newark New Jersey for being a suspected police informer Rod Colombo January 7 1993 29 year old Philly Los Angeles Mafia associate shot 3 times in the back of his head in Audubon New Jersey while sitting in his Cadillac car 185 186 Louis Gee Gee Cappello January 20 1993 Philly mob associate active in selling drugs and bookmaking Cappello was killed for not paying street tax to John Stanfa Mario Sonny Riccobene January 28 1993 Philly mob soldier and older brother of Harry Riccobene 187 Killed by the Stanfa crew in South Philadelphia He had testified against the Philly Mafia in 1984 and had entered the witness protection program 188 but due to his inability to follow rules he was removed from the program He decided to return to South Philadelphia in the early 90s despite being advised against returning to Philadelphia by authorities and his family Upon his return he was soon after killed for his past testimony 189 190 Michael Mikey Chang Ciancaglini August 5 1993 Philly mob soldier 10 to 15 shots were fired at him and Joey Merlino by Philip Colletti and John Veasey on a South Philadelphia street corner as they left a mob social club 191 192 Ciancaglini died from gunshot wounds to the chest and lungs and Merlino was shot in the buttocks 193 194 Frank Frankie Bronze Baldino September 17 1993 Shot 5 to 7 times in the head and torso by John Veasey outside the Melrose Diner in South Philadelphia Frank Martines and Giuseppe Gallara accompanied Veasey in the drive by shooting Nicasio Zagone January 19 1994 Zagone was the nephew to boss John Stanfa and was killed as a case of mistaken identity 195 William Crazy Willie Gantz May 8 1994 Philly mob associate 196 44 year old Gantz served as a driver and bodyguard to Philadelphia crime family capo Joseph Sodano Michael Mikey Ice Brennan December 6 1994 Philly mob associate Shot and killed wrapped in a floor carpet and dumped in the woods after an alleged falling out with the Merlino faction Ralph Mazzuca February 24 1995 Philly mob associate and South Philly drug dealer Shot in the head and back in South Philly hog tied and set on fire after he robbed two kilograms of cocaine from Joey Merlino s driver turned government informer Roger Vella and tied up Vella s sister and dad at their home during the robbery in 1994 197 Michael Dutchie Avicolli April 4 1996 Shot and killed allegedly by Merlino and Steven Mazzone for having an affair with Mazzone s wife He was reportedly buried on farm property in New Jersey and his car was disposed of Billy Veasey October 5 1996 Philly mob associate and brother of John Veasey 35 year old Veasey was shot four times and killed allegedly by John Johnny Chang Ciancaglini while exiting his South Philadelphia home on the morning his brother was set to testify against the Philadelphia crime family 198 199 200 Joseph Joe the Nodder Sodano December 7 1996 Philly mob capo based in North New Jersey Shot twice in his SUV in Newark New Jersey by Philip Casale and Peter Pete the Crumb Caprio Casale took Sodano s jewellery and 12 000 from the murdered man s wallet immediately after the hit Sodano was allegedly killed for trust and loyalty concerns 201 202 Robert Matonis 1997 Philly mob associate and drug dealer killed by Philip Casale in Harrison New Jersey 203 Anthony Turra March 18 1998 Leader of the South Philadelphia Italian American gang known as the 10th and Oregon Crew Shot in the back and his right eye outside his South Philadelphia home while en route to court for his federal racketeering trial after he previously sanctioned an assassination attempt on Joey Merlino due to a dispute between Merlino and his son Louis Turra 204 Steven Mazzone is suspected in his killing 205 Gino Marconi April 10 1999 Shot 3 times in the chest in South Philadelphia allegedly from a rifle by the Boston crew Ronald Ronnie Turchi October 26 1999 Found tied up and dead in the trunk of his wife s car in South Philly with a plastic bag over his head Allegedly he had been attempting to use his earnings to buy his way into the position of boss 206 207 Raymond Long John Martorano January 17 2002 Shot near his home in South Philadelphia while sitting in his car Died in the hospital days later 206 207 John Johnny Gongs Casasanto November 23 2003 During a hit allegedly ordered by Joseph Uncle Joe Ligambi Casasanto was shot twice in the back and head and killed in South Philly by members of the Merlino Ligambi faction Damion Canalichio and Anthony Nicodemo are suspects in his killing 208 209 Casasanto was a suspect in the January 2002 Raymond Martarano murder 210 211 Rocco Maniscalco June 10 2010 South Philadelphia bookmaker and loan shark killed in South Philadelphia allegedly on orders of Joseph Ligambi for refusing to pay protection money 212 Gino DiPietro December 12 2012 Shot and killed in South Philly by Philly mob soldier Dominic Baby Dom Grande DiPietro was allegedly murdered over an unpaid debt in a backdoor poker game Anthony Nicodemo was sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to the murder According to George Anastasia Nicodemo rejected several offers to cooperate against the Philadelphia crime family 213 214 Government informants and witnesses EditRon Previte former capo Previte was a Philadelphia Police Department officer for over a decade and was forced to resign around 1979 He became a bouncer in an Atlantic City casino shortly after In 1985 he was arrested on theft charges and agreed to become an informer for the New Jersey state police 215 By 1993 he was a soldier in John Stanfa s Philadelphia crime family and although he wasn t formally inducted Stanfa allegedly told Previte to consider himself as a made man He became an informer in 1997 and agreed to wear a wire for the FBI he was also paid over 700 000 for information during his time as an informant 216 His cooperation in part led to former boss Ralph Natale s decision to cooperate in 1999 His testimony and cooperation has brought down at least 50 Philadelphia crime family members and associates 217 He died in August 2017 at the age of 73 Andrew Thomas DelGiorno former captain DelGiorno first became active with the Philadelphia crime family around 1964 and had gotten involved in the bookmaking business 218 He admitted to his participation in 5 murders during the 1980s 219 He testified against boss Nicky Scarfo and 16 other Philadelphia mobsters in November 1988 220 Nicholas Nicky Crow Caramandi former hitman and soldier In 1986 Caramandi alongside Robert Rego and former Democratic Pennsylvania House of Representatives member Leland Beloff attempted to extort 1 million from real estate developer Willard Rouse for funding revolved around the construction of Penn s Landing in Philadelphia 221 222 As a result of the 1984 slaying of Philadelphia captain Salvatore Testa Caramandi Joseph Grande and Charles Iannece were inducted into the Philadelphia family 223 224 After he received a message from Philadelphia crime family member Raymond Martorano while in prison who alleged boss Nicky Scarfo was planning to have him murdered and facing over 20 years in prison Caramandi agreed to become a government witness 225 226 227 Eugene Gino Milano former soldier and hitman In 1981 he and captain Salvatore Testa allegedly beat up Frank D Alfonso on orders of Scarfo In January 1988 he was indicted on murder attempted murder extortion gambling and conspiracy to distribute narcotic charges alongside boss Nicky Scarfo and 18 others 228 229 Milano became a government witness in early 1989 and admitted to participation in the murder of Frank D Alfonso on July 23 1985 It is noted that he has testified against his younger brother 230 In 1990 he was sentenced to 15 years in prison however in 1993 his sentence was reduced to 9 years imprisonment 231 Lawerence Yogi Merlino former captain 232 He is the deceased uncle of current Philadelphia family boss Joey Merlino and the brother to Chuckie Merlino 233 Due to his ownership of a construction company based in Atlantic City Merlino relatives have been repeatedly denied a gaming license by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission since 1989 234 235 In 1989 he agreed to become an informer and pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges and to a murder charge He died in 2001 Phil Crazy Phil Leonetti former underboss and nephew of former Philadelphia crime family boss Nicky Scarfo He participated in his first murder at the age of 10 and helped Scarfo dispose of a corpse a man Scarfo killed with an ice pick in a New Jersey bar for disrespecting him the young Leonetti was used as a decoy The first person he killed was a drug user named Louie DeMarco in 1976 on orders of boss Angelo Bruno 236 In 1978 he shot Vincent Falcone twice and killed him which prompted associate Joe Salerno to become a government witness 237 238 He was inducted into the Philadelphia mob as a soldier in 1980 Leonetti was sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1987 239 He decided to become a government witness in 1989 Leonetti admitted to being the trigger man in 2 murders and participated in 8 separate murders 240 He was scheduled to testify against Gambino crime family boss John Gotti on January 21 1992 however Gambino underboss Sammy the Bull Gravano agreed to testify instead 241 In May 1992 former federal judge Franklin Van Antwerpen reduced Leonetti s sentence to 6 years imprisonment He testified against Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante in 1997 and claimed Gigante ordered 6 murder contracts as retaliation for murdering Philadelphia bosses Angelo Bruno and Phil Testa without approval from the other crime families specifically in New York 242 He released a book about his life in 2012 243 George Fresolone former soldier During his imprisonment for illegal gambling and loansharking Fresolone became an informant for the New Jersey State police in 1988 He recorded more than 400 conversations and his information was responsible for the indictment of nearly 40 mobsters 244 245 He wore a wire during his ceremony in July 1990 to become an official member of the Philadelphia mob 246 He died in 2002 Salvatore Wayne Grande former soldier On September 14 1984 he shot and killed captain Salvatore Testa the son of Phil Testa who became boss of the Philadelphia mob for a brief period and who also inducted Grande four years earlier 247 According to former Philadelphia crime family underboss and government witness Phil Leonetti Grande repeatedly attempted to murder Harry Riccobene but failed an enemy of the Scarfo faction including an incident where Riccobene managed to survive 5 gunshot wounds to his face 248 In 1988 he was convicted on federal racketeering charges and informed on American Mafia mobsters later on during his imprisonment 249 Some of his relatives remain in the mob including his son who was allegedly inducted in 2011 John Veasey former associate and hitman He was part of the Stanfa faction during the Philadelphia mob war from 1992 to 1994 In August 1993 Veasey shot and killed Michael Mikey Chang Ciancaglini during a drive by shooting and wounded Joey Merlino with 4 gunshot wounds In September 1993 he shot and killed Frank Baldino Sr outside of the Melrose Diner in South Philadelphia 250 251 252 He alleged that Stanfa became withdrawn after Veasey s complaints and ordered a contract on him On January 14 1994 he was lured to a second floor apartment and noted that the room was covered in plastic the hitmen alleged that they were painting Moments after he was shot 3 times in the head and once in the chest Veasey managed to stab one of the attackers and hit the other one eventually fleeing the apartment 253 254 In January 1994 he became a government witness On the day of John Stanfa s trial in October 1995 which Veasey was scheduled to testify at his brother William Bill Veasey was murdered 255 256 He was sent to prison in the mid 1990s and was released in 2005 He released a book about his life in January 2012 257 Rosario Conti Bellocchi former soldier and hitman He was engaged to John Stanfa s niece 258 Along with fellow Philadelphia mob soldier Biagio Adornetto he departed Sicily to work for Stanfa 259 Biagio Adornetto former soldier He survived a failed assassination attempt on his life as friend and fellow Philly mob soldier Rosario Bellocchi loaded the shotgun with the wrong size of bullets Adornetto was accused of flirting with John Stanfa s niece 260 Philip Colletti former soldier He was part of the Stanfa faction According to Colletti he created a remote control bomb which was planted under Joey Merlino s car in 1993 and failed to detonate multiple times 261 His wife testified that Colletti and his wife participated in the disposing of a car which was used in a mob hit the death of Michael Ciancaglini and wounding of Merlino and fellow Philadelphia mob member and informer John Veasey testified that Colletti was with him when the shooting took place 262 263 Ralph Natale former boss between 1994 and 1998 Natale was inducted by Joey Merlino while in prison in 1994 however he later claimed that he became a member under Angelo Bruno 264 He reached out to the FBI in the summer of 1998 while imprisoned on parole violations however a deal was worked out in 1999 after facing a charge of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine s in Philadelphia and New Jersey alongside Joey Merlino 265 266 In 2000 he pleaded guilty to illegal gambling extortion and drug distribution charges including participating in 7 murders 267 He also admitted to handing bribes of around 50 000 to Milton Milan the Democratic 45th mayor of Camden New Jersey 268 He was interviewed by Trevor McDonald in 2015 and released a book about his mob life in 2017 269 Robert Boston Bob Luisi Jr former captain under Joey Merlino Originally an associate of the Patriarca crime family he joined the Philadelphia mob and became inducted in 1998 On November 6 1995 his father cousin brother and family friend were killed by gunman Anthony Clemente who fired 13 shots inside of a Charlestown restaurant It is noted that he attempted to seize control of the criminal rackets of Whitey Bulger in Boston during the 1990s and attempted to meet Kevin Weeks in 1998 He was indicted by the FBI on June 28 1999 alongside 13 others for conspiracy to acquire and distribute cocaine In 2000 he admitted to the murder of Anthony DiPrizio in 1997 He later became a pastor and relocated in Tennessee using the alias Alonso Esposito Peter Pete the Crumb Caprio former capo In July 2000 he admitted to conspiring to commit murder extortion and other crimes During the case he was accused of participating in the murder of William Gantz in 1994 and Joseph Sodano in 1996 270 Caprio testified against the absent Genovese crime family captain Lawrence Ricci in October 2005 who was murdered a few weeks before his trial 271 Gaetano Tommy Horsehead Scafidi former soldier By 1986 he was a money runner for boss Nicky Scarfo collecting and delivering money payments each week on behalf of Scarfo His brother Tori Scafidi was also a soldier in the Philly crime family and was inducted in 1986 He joined the Merlino faction during the Philadelphia mob war in the 1990s who opposed new boss John Stanfa However he switched sides and was shortly after inducted into the crime family by Stanfa In 1993 two gunmen attempted to kill him however the bullet shattered his car mirror 272 He became an informer in 2000 273 See also EditFrank Palumbo Italian Market Philadelphia South PhiladelphiaReferences Edit Mob Talk Philly Crime Family Leaders Conducted Mafia Initiation Ritual In Boston In 1990s Scott Burnstein GangsterReport com November 13 2017 McMahon Paula Mob crackdown shows South Florida is still home for organized crime feds say South Florida Sun Sentinel Archived from the original on January 6 2020 Retrieved April 4 2020 The Changing Face of Organized Crime in New Jersey New Jersey State Commission of Investigation May 2004 Hoffa hoped Philly mob don Angelo Bruno could save his dying bid for Teamsters presidency Scott Burnstein GangsterReport com December 3 2019 Mob NJ The Mafia is still here tied to Port Newark and the suburbs Andrew Ford Asbury Park Press March 28 2019 Burnstein Scott M 2006 Motor City Mafia A Century of Organized Crime in Detroit Arcadia Publishing ISBN 9780738540849 The Irishman Left Out the Full Story of the Disastrous Angelo Bruno and Frank Sidone Murders Gabrielle Bruney Esquire December 2 2019 That s what friends are for Phiily mob mover amp shaker Borgesi makes more friends along East Coast Scott Burnstein GangsterReport com March 27 2017 Why War Horns May Sound Over Philly Or Not panamericancrime com October 20 2016 The Mafia in New Jersey La Cosa Nostra State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation 1989 Report The Bruno Scarfo Family Mafianj com Retrieved January 22 2016 Caparella Kitty August 30 1989 Sources Mob Buys Coke From The Jbm Philadelphia Daily News Retrieved November 7 2015 The Departed Philadelphia CityPaper October 8 2015 Archived from the original on January 22 2016 Retrieved November 3 2015 a b Caparella Kitty March 11 1999 Mob pagan Pact Joey s Bid For Philly Crime Boss Fueled By Link With Biker Gang Philadelphia Daily News Retrieved November 7 2015 a b Greek Mob Brotherly Mafia Love in Philly Nick Christophers Greek Reporter July 23 2009 Lewis Larry Colimore Edward May 6 1996 Details Emerge Of Divided Warlocks And Year ago Killing Two Bikers Are Charged One Was 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2018 Retrieved May 16 2018 Straight From the Horsehead s Mouth Philadelphia Weekly Ralph Cipriano Archived from the original on September 28 2007 Retrieved May 15 2018 Fascination with the mob goes beyond the Godfather Baltimore Business Journal Archived from the original on April 15 2003 Retrieved May 15 2018 Further reading EditAnastasia George Blood and Honor Inside the Scarfo Mob the Mafia s Most Violent Family 2004 ISBN 0940159864 Anastasia George Goodfella Tapes Anastasia George The Last Gangster Wagman Robert J Blood Oath Morello Celeste Anne Book One Before Bruno The History of the Mafia and La Cosa Nostra in Philadelphia Publication date Apr 28 2000 ISBN 9780967733418 Morello Celeste Anne Book Two Before Bruno The History of the Philadelphia Mafia 1931 1946 Publication date Nov 28 2001 ISBN 9780967733425 Morello Celeste Anne Book Three Before Bruno and How He Became Boss The History of the Philadelphia Mafia Book 3 1946 1959 Publication date Aug 28 2005 ISBN 9780977053209External links Edit Hitting the Hit Men Even alleged killers can be beaten up by a gang of thugs by Brendan McGarvey IPSN The Philadelphia Atlantic City Mob Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Philadelphia crime family amp oldid 1130606951, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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