[20], In 1985, Scarfo plotted to extort $1 million from major commercial developer Willard Rouse, sending his soldier Nicholas Caramandi and another associate to do it. Salerno arranged things so his concrete company got a $7.8 million contract at Trump Plaza. . Nicky Scarfo had been a made member of the Philadelphia Crime Family since 1954. Thirty-two years ago, this monthHalloween night 1989Nicky Jr. had just settled in for dinner at Dante & Luigis, a popular restaurant on 10th Street in South Philadelphia when a man wearing a mask and carrying a trick-or-treat bag walked up to his table. Phil Leonetti, Little Nickys nephew and underboss, said it best in the book Mafia Prince which he co-authored with Scott Burnstein. The elder Mr. Scarfo idolized Al Capone, a fellow transplanted Brooklynite, but hardly resembled him. It was yet another botched move by Little Nicky. The common thread linking Salerno and Trump was Roy Cohn, the infamous lawyer who represented both men. [4] Having been abandoned by his father at an early age, he was brought up by his mother. He went into cardiac arrest. He was resuscitated by paramedics, Ms. Spatz said. A U.S. prosecutor described Scarfo as a remorseless and profoundly evil man who became one of the most powerful criminals in the United States.. [11] A year later, he would be initiated as a made man. The Dante & Luigi shooting came amidst a bloody power struggle that had its roots in a friendship gone bad. Scarfo bided his time in the crime family throughout the 1970s. In addition to being a hit man, Sheeran was president of a local Teamsters union in Delaware. [7], During the trial, Scarfo's son Mark Scarfo attempted suicide on November 1, 1988. His son and namesake is following in his footsteps. The mafia lineage of Scarfo Jr., an alleged Lucchese family mob member, goes back generations. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Only the shotgun slaying of mob boss Angelo Bruno outside his Snyder Avenue row home in 1980 and the ambush of mob boss John Stanfa in the middle of rush hour traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway in 1993 compare. ", "Little Nicky" Scarfo, now 82, was the boss of the Philly mob from 1981 to 1989. Continue with Recommended Cookies. This documentary is used for education. They said he was a vicious killer, yet they were never able to convict him of these killings for years.. A reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News watched inside the Four Seasons as about 75 partiers, many of them Scarfos relatives and friends, celebrated loudly drinking from $160 bottles of champagne and $1,200 bottles of Louis XIII cognac, racking up a $10,000 tab the afternoon of the jurys verdict. Scarfo was a bully with a gun., Nicky Scarfo, Mob Boss Who Plundered Atlantic City in the 80s, Dies at 87, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/17/nyregion/nicky-scarfo-mob-boss-who-plundered-atlantic-city-in-the-80s-dies-at-87.html. That was the legacy of Little Nicky Scarfo. Mr. Scarfo was also imprisoned for refusing to testify before a state crime commission and, in another instance, for illegal gun possession. Witnesses to the slayings were afraid to talk, fearing retribution. Born in Brooklyn, New York on March 8, 1929, Nicodemo Domenico Scarfo was the son of Italian immigrants. Prosecutors allege the FPFG fraud began in 2007. Just two weeks earlier, Scarfo, one-time boss of the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, had been sentenced with seven others to life in prison for the 1985 slaying of bookmaker Frank Frankie Flowers DAlfonso. Once again, the Genovese stepped in to crown the new boss, and selected Testa lieutenant Scarfo. But the prosecutors offices major crimes unit was investigating before ruling out a homicide attempt. The hit is believed by many mob sources to have been carried out by mobster Joseph Merlino as a message to the elder Scarfo that he no longer had control of the mafia in Philly. SHOOT DATE: May 18, 2010 His future as a Mob leader brightened in 1980 when longtime boss Bruno was shot and killed on March 21, 1980, on orders from New Yorks Genovese family, which for years had affiliated with Brunos crime group. Manage Settings My uncle got him involved with trying to keep control of La Cosa Nostraand almost got Nicky killed. Scarfo was a mob boss for the 1980s, a greedy, ruthless despot whose family coat of arms could have been a pair of crossed .357 magnums mounted on a blood-red shield embossed with the words Kill or Be Killed, George Anastasia wrote in Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob the Mafias Most Violent Family (1991). The youth was brought to Atlantic City Medical Center in a coma, said Sherry Spatz, a spokeswoman for the hospital. At the films end, a pair of FBI agents plead with Sheeran to talk about his victims, telling him theres no reason to keep silent anymore because theres no one left to protect. As a young adult, bookmaking served as his entry to Phillys underworld. So did Mr. Leonetti, Mr. Scarfos nephew and now an author, who was the familys second in command at the time and was known as Crazy Phil. A Scarfo hitman shot and nearly killed Riccobene. Testa was the son of former Boss Phil Testa, who had been Scarfo's close friend and mentor. "Mob Scene: Michael Taccetta. He was, by most accounts, a computer geek who could have built a legitimate and lucrative career as a software technocrat. He is 56 and has spent about one-third of his adult life in prison. Hes unconscious and hes in critical condition.. When he and 16 others in the Scarfo gang were convicted in November 1988 in a racketeering conspiracy involving 13 murders, jurors found Scarfo guilty of directly participating in eight of the slayings, as well as loansharking, bookmaking, drug dealing and 17 cases of extortion. However, his tenure as Boss would be a short one. [4], It was in 1978 that he gained the moniker "Crazy Phil" from a local radio talk show host. Scarfo is already under indictment for allegedly running a South Jersey gambling operation. Over lunch several years ago in Florida, shortly after his release from prison on racketeering charges, he explained with a straight face that he couldnt possibly have been the shooter. ", Caba, Susan. Kimmel Riffs on Rolling Stone Report That Trump Tried to Censor Him: 'President Karen Demanded to Speak to My Manager', Rudy Giuliani, the presidents personal lawyer, also crossed paths with Salerno as New Yorks top federal prosecutor in the 1980s. Putting him in harms way, apparently, was not as important to Little Nicky as holding onto the reins of power. Scarfo is already under indictment for allegedly running a South Jersey gambling operation. Fearing for their lives, former associates, including his own nephew, testified against him. His high school yearbook said he was out to lick the world. After graduating, he became a notoriously volatile amateur boxer before apprenticing himself to three mob-connected uncles in Philadelphia. The then-17-year-old was found hanging in the Georgia Avenue apartment where the Scarfos lived. He was convicted on multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, racketeering and drug trafficking and went to federal prison in 1989. It just so happens that while these bids were being rigged, the building was under construction, right around the time that Trump met Salerno in Cohns townhouse. Nicky Jr. was hit multiple times in the arms and torso but miraculously escaped serious injury. In the latest episode of Mob Talk, mob experts George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser acknowledge some notable recent anniversaries in the Philadelphia organized crime world. Related Roger Stone, Trumps longtime political adviser, also met Salerno when he visited Cohns Manhattan brownstone. The topic led Michael to speak about the pressure and scrutiny kids who have mob parents face, and he pointed out that his siblings didn't handle it well. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. The father is the late Nicodemo D. Little Nicky Scarfo, the notorious Philadelphia mob boss who died in prison four years ago while serving what amounted to a life sentence following convictions on racketeering and murder charges. [13][14][9], Shortly after Leonetti was released from prison, he married the former girlfriend of Vincent Falcone, whom he had murdered in 1979. Weeks later, Caponigro faced the consequence of killing a Boss without the approval of the American Mafia Commission. Cohn, the heavy-lidded henchman to Senator Joseph McCarthy, introduced the two men in his Manhattan townhouse, according to the late journalist Wayne Barrett. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. His murder was orchestrated by his Consigliere, Antonio Caponigro. After stabbing a longshoreman to death in a bar, Mr. Scarfo was convicted of manslaughter and served six months. Stay up-to-date on your favorite celebrities and news topics by signing up! Copyright 2021 JerseyMan Magazine. In this clip, Michael Franzese spoke about his relationship with former Philadelphia mob leader Nicky Scarfo, whose son committed suicide while Nicky was embroiled in a federal trial. Pinterest. Philadelphia police and FBI agents formed a task force to investigate gang murders and set about the tricky job of identifying the killers and their accomplices. Along with the lengthy prison sentence Scarfo has also been ordered to pay over $14 million dollar in restitution for money stolen from First Plus Financial. At the time, Fresolone was secretly cooperating with the New Jersey State Police. He [Scarfo] was always very nice, Goodman said this week, noting that Scarfo had arranged for his son, Nicodemo Scarfo Jr., to show Goodmans mother around Philadelphia and escort her to court. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Donald Trump Knew Them, Exclusive: Sources Say Oligarch Funded Scheme to Paint Swastikas in Ukraine, Facebook Cracks Down on Israeli Surveillance for Hire Operations, Glenn Youngkins Underage Son Attempted to Vote on Election Day, Was Turned Away, Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud, Matt Gaetz Called Out for Citing Chinese Propaganda in Hearing, MTG, Who Harassed School Shooting Survivor, Is Livid Someone Yelled at Her, The 'God Emperor' Who Could Cost Trump the Election, McCarthy Gave Tucker the Jan. 6 Tapes. Everybodys dead, Mr. Sheeran, one agent says. News of the injury reached federal court in Philadelphia late in the afternoon and brought a halt to the elder Scarfos trial. During that time, aging Capo Harry Riccobene began to form another faction that opposed Scarfo. A surgeon at Thomas. Giuliani was obsessed with Salerno. ", "Reputed Mob Leader and 16 Others Are Convicted", "SCARFO AND 11 INDICTED IN JERSEY AS CRIME CONSPIRATORS", "Former mob boss Nicodemo 'Little Nicky' Scarfo dead at 87", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nicodemo_Scarfo&oldid=1137465961, "Little Nicky", "Little Lethal Nicky", "Lethal Nicky", "The Killer". You could reach out for him, and he would listen, he wrote. Trump Plaza, a co-op apartment building on Manhattans East Side, was specifically mentioned in the 29-count indictment. He was 87. Scarfo was on full life support systems, although he was able to breathe on his own, Ursani said. In 1954, Scarfo was proposed for membership into the Philadelphia crime family. Nicky Scarfo Jr. was shot multiple times while eating dinner at Dante & Luigi's restaurant in South Philly on Halloween night 1989. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the public understanding of organized crime's history and impact on American society. In fact, when Scarfo took over the crime family after the nail bomb murder of Philip Chicken Man Testa in 1981, Salvatore Merlino began to move up the underworld ladder, eventually becoming underboss. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. Im the fucking boss, thats who I am, Salerno once boasted in a secretly recorded conversation. The topic led Michael to speak about the pressure and scrutiny kids who have mob parents face, and he pointed out that his siblings didn't handle it well. Nicodemo Scarfo Jr., 50, of Galloway--son of jailed Philadelphia mob boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo-- was convicted in July 2014 on more than 20 counts of mail, bank and wire fraud and. Watch the latest Mob Talk report (and a previous episode) below, andsubscribe to the YouTube channelto view past and future episodes: In Episode 34 of Mob Talk, mob experts George Anastasia and Dave Schratwieser detail the Philadelphia connection to the so-called "Operation New Connection," an international takedown of 18 alleged Mafia figures in Sicily in July. One person who knew the real-life mob families that show up in The Irishman is President Donald Trump. But by 1985, the friendship had soured. Part 10: Michael Franzese on Bribing Manuel Noreaga $50K a Month. In 1983, the year Trump Tower opened its doors, the future president reportedly met the Genovese family boss. Trump Allies Are Threatening to Sue, The Mandalorian Season Three Gets Off to a Disappointing Start, Kodak Black Ordered to Enter Drug Rehab Facility By Judge, Ed Sheeran Announces Final Mathematical-Themed Album 'Subtract', Viewers Can Watch Prince Harry Talk to a Trauma Expert for $33.09. "Scarfo's Son 'Put Through Hell'. He suffered cardiac arrest and his brain was deprived of oxygen. The book is full of characters who didnt make it into the movie, but they did surface in Trumps world. He made it a public execution and made him an example to anyone that wasn't willing to give him what he wanted. Reports began to circulate in the underworld that from prison Little Nicky had put a $500,000 contract out on Merlino. 525K views 3 years ago The story of Little Nicky Scarfo's rise to power. This documentary is used for education. He was just 17 when he hung himself. Little Nicky Scarfo was boss of the Philadelphia mafia from 1981 to 1989. Dr. Sekander Ursani, an emergency specialist at the hospital, said he found no visible sign of injury on Mark Scarfo except for a bruise on his neck. Email blog@themobmuseum.org. The family was led by Angelo Bruno from the 1950s until he was murdered in 1980. The oldest, Chris, married and took his wifes maiden name to get out from under the infamy that came with his birthright. One is Philadelphia mob boss Philip Testa, the chicken man whose 1981 murder by nail bomb Bruce Springsteen sings about in the song Atlantic City. Testas son sold Trump premium land that became a casino parking lot. November 2, 1988. Mark Scarfo was discovered by his . So Sheeran set up a picket line outside the newspaper, and he knew the Teamsters union drivers who delivered the paper wouldnt cross it. It also overlapped with some of the figures in Trumps world, past and present. Connecticut is mine; New Jersey is mine. Nothing got built in New York without Salerno dipping his meaty hand into the till. Testa's murder sparked a war within the family. Shortly after, he agreed to testify against Scarfo and the family, also admitting to participating in 10 murders; this allowed for his release after only five years, subsequently going into hiding. 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