Related Research Articles
Constantino Paul Castellano was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family of New York City. Castellano ran the organization from 1976 until his murder on December 16, 1985.
The National Crime Syndicate was a multi-ethnic, closely connected, American confederation of several criminal organizations. It mostly consisted of and was led by the closely interconnected Italian American Mafia and Jewish Mob. It also involved, to a lesser extent, other ethnic criminal organizations such as the Irish Mob and African-American crime groups. Hundreds of murders were committed by Murder, Inc. on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate during the 1930s and 1940s.
The Gambino crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. The group, which went through five bosses between 1910 and 1957, is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963, when the structure of organized crime first gained public attention. The group's operations extend from New York and the eastern seaboard to California. Its illicit activities include labor and construction racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, fraud, hijacking, and fencing.
Thomas DeSimone was an American criminal associated with New York City's Lucchese crime family who is alleged to have participated in both the Air France robbery and the Lufthansa heist. He also committed numerous murders, including killing William "Billy Batts" Bentvena in 1970. DeSimone went missing in 1979 and is believed to have been murdered.
John Angelo Gotti is an American former mobster who was the acting boss of the Gambino crime family from 1992 to 1999. He became acting boss when the boss of the family, his father John Gotti, was sent to prison. The younger Gotti was imprisoned for racketeering in 1999, and between 2004 and 2009 he was a defendant in four racketeering trials, each of which ended in a mistrial. In January 2010, federal prosecutors announced that they would no longer seek to prosecute Gotti for those charges.
Philip Michael Leonetti is an American former mobster who became the underboss of the Philadelphia crime family under his mentor, uncle and former boss, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, before becoming a government informant in 1989 after being sentenced to 45 years for racketeering. At that time, he was the highest-ranking member of the American Mafia to break his blood oath and turn informant. As part of his cooperation, he served just five years in prison, and later authored a book about the mob.
Henry Hill Jr. was an American mobster who was associated with the Lucchese crime family of New York City from 1955 until 1980, when he was arrested on narcotics charges and became an FBI informant. Hill testified against his former Mafia associates, resulting in fifty convictions, including those of caporegime (captain) Paul Vario and fellow associate James Burke on multiple charges. Hill subsequently entered the Witness Protection Program but was removed from the program in 1987.
William "Billy Batts" Bentvena, also known as William Devino, was an Italian-American mobster with the Gambino crime family who was a longtime friend of John Gotti in the 1960s. After spending six years in prison for narcotics trafficking, Bentvena was murdered by Lucchese crime family associate Tommy DeSimone, with the help of fellow Lucchese associates James Burke and Henry Hill.
Gerald Capeci is an American journalist and author who specializes in coverage of the Five Mafia crime families of New York City. Capeci has been described by news organizations, such as CNN and BBC, as an expert on the American Mafia.
Joseph Salvatore "Skinny Joey" Merlino is an American former mobster who was the reputed boss of the Philadelphia crime family from the 1990s until 2024. He rose to power and seized control of the organization in the mid-nineties after he fought against the John Stanfa faction of the family. He has led the crime family in gambling, loan sharking, drug trafficking, and extortion. In comparison to other traditional mob bosses who shunned the limelight, Merlino has interacted regularly with the media and the public, often openly providing charity and hosting events to benefit indigent people in Philadelphia, drawing comparisons to the similarly outgoing, conspicuous, and ostensibly charitable late New York crime boss John Gotti. He is the son of deceased Philadelphia crime family underboss Chuckie Merlino.
Joseph Armone, also known as "Joe Piney" and "Shorty", was an American mobster in the Gambino crime family of New York City who served as underboss between 1986 and 1990, and consigliere from 1990 until his death in 1992.
Nicodemo Salvatore "Nicky" Scarfo Jr., sometimes known by the nicknames "Junior", "Nick Promo", and "Mr. Apple" is an American mobster and a member of the Lucchese crime family. Scarfo Jr. is the son of former Philadelphia crime family boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo Sr.
Stephen "Stevie Coogan" Grammauta was a caporegime with the Gambino crime family who allegedly participated in the murder of mob boss Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia and was the acting underboss of the family.
The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Bruno–Scarfo crime family, the Philadelphia–Atlantic City crime family, the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mafia, or the Philadelphia–South Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and based in South Philadelphia, the criminal organization primarily operates in Philadelphia and the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area, including South Jersey. The family is notorious for its violence, its succession of violent bosses, and multiple mob wars.
Mafia films—a version of gangster films—are a subgenre of crime films dealing with organized crime, often specifically with Mafia organizations. Especially in early mob films, there is considerable overlap with film noir. Popular regional variations of the genre include Italian Poliziotteschi, Chinese Triad films, Japanese Yakuza films, and Indian Mumbai underworld films.
The Trafficante crime family, also known as the Tampa crime family or the Tampa Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Tampa, Florida. The most notable boss of the family was Santo Trafficante Jr. who ruled Tampa and the crime family with an iron fist. Author Scott Deitche reported that Santo Jr. was involved with the CIA to plot assassination attempts on Fidel Castro. After the death of Santo Jr. in 1987, the Tampa Mafia family has been controlled by Vincent LoScalzo.
John Edward Alite is an American former mobster and Gambino crime family associate who turned government witness and in 2008 testified against the crime family and John A. "Junior" Gotti. That year, Alite pleaded guilty to racketeering charges, including two murders and a variety of other crimes, and in 2011, was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison. Due to his cooperation with prosecutors, he was released on a five-year supervised release in 2012. Alite has estimated that he shot between 30 and 40 people, beat about 100 people with a baseball bat, and murdered seven people. Later in life, Alite publicly denounced the life of organized crime and became a motivational speaker, podcaster and books author.
Ralph Samuel Natale was an American mobster. He was the boss of the Philadelphia crime family from 1995 until 1999, when he became the first American Mafia boss to turn state's evidence. Natale helped sentence Joey Merlino to a 14-year sentence in 2001, but in January 2005, was also sentenced for racketeering, receiving a 13-year sentence. He was released in May 2011 and entered the witness protection program.
Ronald Previte was an American corrupt police officer for the Philadelphia Police Department and a member of and an informant against the Philadelphia crime family of the Italian-American Mafia.
Salvatore "Sal the Pizza Guy" Romano is a former member of the Gambino crime family and their operative on Wall Street, making millions of dollars for the Gambinos by way of stock fraud, first serving under John "Johnny G" Gammarano and later becoming a top earner for Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo, a capo in the Gambino crime family who was at one time considered a possible successor to John Gotti as boss of the family.
References
- 1 2 "Acclaimed 'Mobster Author' to Speak at Press Club". 04/20/2011. The Press Club. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
- ↑ Goldstein, Allison. "Blogging about the Mob". American Journalism Review. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
- ↑ Moran, Robert (December 16, 2012). "Her brother 'had nothing to do with the mob,' slain man's sister says". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
- ↑ Gladstone, Neil (January 11, 2013). "George Anastasia". Philadelphia City Paper.
- 1 2 Shyrock, Bob. "Gloucester County Italian Heritage Commission honors journalist/author George Anastasia", NJ.com, October 10, 2014. Accessed January 9, 2017. "The Pitman resident will be honored Wednesday, Oct. 22, 6 p.m. at the commission's annual 'Night in Sicily' fund-raising event at Auletto's Caterers in Almonesson.... Born in South Philadelphia, Anastasia graduated from Gloucester Catholic High School in 1965 and earned a bachelor's in French Literature from Dartmouth College in 1969."
- ↑ Manzella, Joseph C. The Struggle to Revitalize American Newspapers, p. 165. E. Mellen Press, 2002. ISBN 9780773472594. Accessed June 11, 2015. "George Anastasia came from South Jersey near Westville."
- 1 2 George Anastasia HTML at Beasley Firm website (BeasleyFirm.com)
- ↑ "George Anastasia | PhillyVoice".
- ↑ Anastasia, George (2015). Gotti's Rules, The Story of John Alite, Junior Gotti, and the Demise of the American Mafia. Dey Street Books; 2015. Dey Street Books. ISBN 978-0062346872.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
