DeCavalcante crime family
DeCavalcante Family
|
|
In
|
|
Founded by
|
|
Years active
|
1900s-present
|
Territory
|
|
Ethnicity
|
|
Membership
|
|
Criminal
activities
|
|
Allies
|
|
Rivals
|
The DeCavalcante crime family
is an organized crime family that controls organized crime activities in Elizabeth, New
Jersey and surrounding areas in the state,
despite operating on the other side of the Hudson River in New York, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon
known as the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). It maintains strong relations with much
of the Five Families of New York, plus the Philadelphia
crime family, the Patriarca crime
family of New England. Its illicit activities include construction, building and
cement violations; drug trafficking; extortion; fencing;
fraud;
illegal gambling; hijacking; labor racketeering; loansharking; money laundering; murder; and pier thefts. The DeCavalcantes are, in part, the
inspiration for the fictional DiMeo crime family of HBO's dramatic series, The Sopranos. The DeCavalcante family is the subject of the CNBC program
Mob Money, which debuted June 23, 2010.[2]
History
Beginnings
Although not recognized as an
autonomous crime family until the regime of Simone DeCavalcante, there were several bosses in North Jersey during the Prohibition era controlling transportation of alcohol and whiskey into
New York City. In Newark, New Jersey, there was the Newark family headed by Gaspare D'Amico,
the Reina family's Jersey crew controlled by Gaetano "Tom" Reina, the Masseria family's New Jersey faction
and the Elizabeth family headed by Stefano Badami. In Newark, D'Amico
controlled illegal gambling and bootlegging operations throughout the early 1920. In 1935, Vincenzo
Troia a former associate of Salvatore Maranzano conspired to take over the Newark family and he was
murdered.[3][4]
Two years later in 1937, D'Amico fled the United States after a failed
assassination attempt on his life order by Joseph Profaci. The Commission decided to divide up his territory among
the Five Families and Badami's Elizabeth family.[5]
Stefano "Steve" Badami,
became the boss Elizabeth-Newark family however, his reign proved to be
very disruptive, as members of the Newark and the Elizabeth factions began
fighting for total control of New Jersey. As Badami kept controlling the crew
up towards the 1950s, he was suddenly murdered in 1955, in what appears to have
been another power struggle between the two factions. Badami's Underboss
and fellow mobster, Phil Amari
stepped up to run the illegal operations.
Filippo "Phil" Amari, a
mobster recognized by US law enforcement to be heavily involved with labor
racketeering, loansharking, extortion and narcotics
activities in Newark and New York City, was now considered the new head of the New Jersey
organization. His reign proved to be very short, as there were multiple
factions operating underneath who all conspired to take over. While still in
charge, he relocated to Sicily and was replaced by Nicholas "Nick" Delmore, who with Underbosses of Elizabeth and Newark, Frank Majuri and Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso attended the infamous 1957 Apalachin Convention to represent the small New Jersey crime family.
As Delmore kept running the
organization before he became ill in the early 1960s, the rebellious times of
New Jersey had finally ended. Nick Delmore later died in 1964, and his nephew
Simone DeCavalcante was quickly installed as new boss of the newly official
recognized "DeCavalcante crime family" of North Jersey.
Sam
the Plumber
The official criminal organization
began with Simone DeCavalcante, a diplomatic, 'old school', classy and
calculated Don who resembled, in many ways, the character of Don Corleone in Mario Puzo's The Godfather. He was born in 1913 and was a mobster involved in illegal
gambling, murder and racketeering for most of his life. He died of a heart
attack at the age of 84.
Between 1964, when he rose to power,
and 1969, when he was incarcerated, he doubled the number of made-men
within his family. He owned "Kenilworth Heating and Air
Conditioning", in Kenilworth, New
Jersey, as a legal front and source of
taxable income and for which he gained the nickname "Sam the Plumber".
Sam DeCavalcante also claimed to be of Italian royal lineage and another
nickname he bore was "The Count". He gained much respect because he
won a coveted place on the infamous 'Commission', a governing body for the U.S. Mafia, which included the
Five Families of New York and the Chicago Outfit of the Midwest. Mob representatives of Miami were also
included.
DeCavalcante and 54 associates were
charged and tried; he pleaded guilty to operating a gambling racket, turning
over $20 million a year. At the same time, a state report indicated that he and
another Mafia family controlled 90% of pornography stores in New York City. DeCavalcante was sentenced to five
years, and after he was released from prison, he retired to a high-rise condo
in Florida and largely stayed out of Mafia business, although the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believed he was still 'advising' the family into the
early 1990s.
John
Riggi
After DeCavalcante left prison in
the mid 1970s, he appointed Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi as acting boss of the family while he stayed semi-retired
in Florida.
DeCavalcante stepped down as Boss officially in 1980, passing leadership to
Riggi,[6] who had been a business agent of
the "International Association of Laborers and Hod Carriers", in New
Jersey for years. He was promoted to the position of official boss, and he
reaped the enormous benefits of large labor and construction racketeering,[6] loansharking, illegal gambling
and extortion activities. Riggi also had the family maintain their old
traditions, which Sam DeCavalcante saw as unnecessary. After Riggi used his
power and influence to place subcontractors and workers other than laborers at
various construction projects around the state, the DeCavalcantes were able to
rip-off union welfare and pension funds. Riggi continued to run the family
throughout the 1980s, with underboss Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo and Stefano Vitabile as consigliere,[7]
after Frank Majuri died of health problems. It was around the mid-1980s, that
Riggi established a great friendship with new reputed Gambino crime
family boss, John Gotti.
After Riggi's conviction for
racketeering, he appointed John D'Amato as acting boss of the family in 1990. D'Amato was later
revealed to have participated in homosexual acts and was murdered in 1992.[8]
Riggi continued to run the family from his jail cell, but he appointed Giacomo
"Jake" Amari, as his new acting boss. All was seemingly settled until
Amari became ill and died slowly of stomach cancer in 1997. This caused a massive power vacuum within the
family high-ranking members pushing to become the next boss of the DeCavalcante
crime family.
The
Ruling Panel
After acting boss Amari's death,
Riggi organized a three man ruling panel in 1998 to run the day-to-day business
of the crime family.[9]
These members of the ruling panel were Girolamo Palermo, Vincent Palermo (no
relation) and Charles Majuri,[10] with Stefano Vitabile as the
reputed consigliere and adviser to the three.
The Panel, however, infuriated
longtime captain Charles Majuri, who had been a hardworking member of the
family since his teens, feeling he was wronged when he was not selected as the
only acting boss.[10] To gain complete control of the DeCavalcante family, Majuri
decided that he should murder Vincent Palermo, leaving him in charge of the
family.[10] Majuri contracted soldier James Gallo to murder Vincent
Palermo, however, Gallo was a strong ally and friend of Vincent Palermo, and
told him about Majuri's plans.[10] In retaliation, Vincent Palermo decided to have Majuri
murdered. However, after one plot fell through, the murder was eventually
called off.[10]
Informants
and convictions
Toward the late 1990s, the 'Ruling
Panel' kept running the DeCavalcante crime family with Giovanni Riggi still
behind bars as the Boss. The downfall of the DeCavalcante family was
precipitated in 1998 when an associate named Ralph Guarino became an FBI informant in an effort to avoid a long prison
sentence in connection with taking part with two others in a heist of $1.6
million from the World Trade Center.[10] Guarino spent 10 years undercover working for the FBI. He
wore a listening device and recorded conversations mobsters would have about
criminal business. During Guarino's time as an informant, fellow mobster Joseph
Masella was gunned down on the orders of Vincent Palermo.[10] Using information provided by Guarino, US law enforcement
launched a large scale arrest on December 2, 1999 of over 30 members and
associates of the DeCavalcante crime family.[11] Palermo realized that they would likely spend the rest of
their lives behind bars and decided to cooperate with the FBI in exchange for a
lenient sentence.[11] This resulted in the arrest of 12 more men less than a year
later.[11] This decimated the crime family's hierarchy and put it on
the brink of extinction.[11] Other top members like Anthony Rotondo and Anthony Capo
also agreed to become government witnesses.[12]
In 2001, 20 mobsters were charged
with racketeering, seven murders, 14 murder conspiracies, attempted murder,
extortion in the construction industry and stock fraud.[11] This was the fourth indictment of the family since 1999.
Since then, several other top mobsters agreed to become government witnesses in
exchange for being given lenient or no sentences at all. US law enforcement
even put Giovanni Riggi, who was hoping to be released in 2003, on trial and he
was sentenced to 10 additional years in prison.[6]
Current
position and leadership
Between 1999-2005, about 45 men have
been imprisoned, including the family’s consigliere and seven capos.[13] With the decline of the DeCavalcante family, New York's Five Families have taken over many of the rackets in North New Jersey.[10] It is unknown how much influence, if any, John Riggi still
has in the family. In his 80s, he has been in sick and in jail since the early
1990s. He is due out of prison on November 27, 2012. Longtime soldier Joseph Miranda took over the family as acting boss around early 2005.[14] He inducted up to 12 members and tried to rebuild the
family before stepping down as acting boss in 2006.[13] Sicilian immigrant Francesco Guarraci is now believed by law enforcement to be the current acting
Boss of the DeCavalcante crime family.[15][16] Joseph Miranda continues to serve as the DeCavalcante underboss.[17]
Historical
leadership
Boss
(official and acting)
Newark New Jersey family
·
1910s– 1937 — Gaspare D’Amico — in
1937 he fled the country after a failed assassination attempt on his life; his
crime family is later disbanded.[18]
Elizabeth New Jersey family
·
1920s– 1955 — Stefano "Don
Steven" Badami — murdered on March 31, 1955 in Newark, New Jersey at
Vito's Clam bar on 15th Avenue.[19]
·
1955– 1957 — Filippo
"Phil" Amari (retired)
·
1957– 1964 — Nicholas
"Nick" Delmore
·
1964– 1982 — Simone "Sam the
Plumber" DeCavalcante (retired)
o
Three man
ruling panel 1997– 1999 — Girolamo Palermo, Vincent Palermo and Charles Majuri (members arrested)
Underboss
(official and acting)
·
1931– 1955 — Filippo
"Phil" Amari (promoted to boss)
·
1955– 1956 — Nicholas Delmore
(promoted boss in 1957)
Consigliere
(official and acting)
·
1920s– 1931 — Unknown
·
1931– 1957 — Unknown
History
of Membership
Current
Members
Deceased
Members
Government
Witnesses
References
3. ^ Chronological History of La Cosa Nostra in the United States
January 1920 - August 1987 The Nevada Observer Jan. 8, 2006
4. ^ Humbert S. Nelli. The business of
crime: Italians and syndicate crime in the United States. (pg. 203)
5. ^ DeVico, Peter J. The Mafia Made
Easy: The Anatomy and Culture of La Cosa Nostra. Tate Publishing,
2007. ISBN 1-60247-254-8
6. ^
a b c "SICK DON GETS 10 Real Soprano too ill for court".
Daily News (New York). September 27, 2003. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/09/27/2003-09-27_sick_don_gets_10__real_sopra.html.
7. ^ "Fbi's Star Snitch Admits Fibs".
Daily News (New York). May 21, 2003. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/05/21/2003-05-21_fbi_s_star_snitch_admits_fibs.html.
8. ^ "RELIVING A GORY RUBOUT Big-time turncoat tells how a
wiseguy got his". Daily News (New York). May
13, 2003. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2003/05/13/2003-05-13_reliving_a_gory_rubout__big-.html.
9. ^ "REAL 'SOPRANO' SINGS N.J. mob boss cut secret
deal". Daily News (New York). October
24, 2000. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2000/10/24/2000-10-24__real__soprano__sings__n_j__.html.
11. ^
a b c d e New Charges for Mob Family as U.S. Indictment Names 20,
by Alan Feuer. New York Times. April 20, 2001
12. ^ http://www.nj.com/sopranos/ledger/index.ssf?/sopranos/ledger/index.ssf?/sopranos/stories/mafiosi_20030509sl_decavalcante00.html
16. ^ State of New Jersey Commission of
Investigation (2004). "The Changing Face of ORGANIZED CRIME IN NEW JERSEY – A
Status Report – DeCavalcante". SCI 2004 Report.
MafiaNJ.com. http://www.mafianj.com/sci2004/decavalcante.shtml.
Retrieved 1 November 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment