1978 in organized crime
Encyclopedia
See also:
1977 in organized crime
,
other events of 1978,
1979 in organized crime
and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'
.
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1977 in organized crime
1977 in organized crime
See also:1976 in organized crime,other events of 1977,1978 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-----Events:*Pittston-based Bufalino crime family leader Russell Bufalino, one of the three dominant organized crime syndicates operating in Pennsylvania, is arrested and later...
,
other events of 1978,
1979 in organized crime
1979 in organized crime
See also:1978 in organized crime,other events of 1979,1980 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-----Events:*James Eppolito, a member of the Gambino crime family, is photographed with First Lady Rosalynn Carter in recognition for his charity work in Manhattan.*January 12 -...
and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'
Timeline of organized crime
This is a timeline of the history of organized crime.Note: Sources included are Carl Sifakis's The Mafia Encyclopedia, Herbert Asbury's The Gangs of New York and others. Online references also include Thomas P...
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Events
- Paul CastellanoPaul CastellanoConstantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
forms a working partnership between the Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
and the Westies street gang of ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's Hell's KitchenHell's Kitchen, ManhattanHell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
. - January 6 - Cleveland Crime Family Boss James Licavoli, Underboss Angelo LonardoAngelo LonardoAngelo Anthony Lonardo was a Cleveland crime family mobster who later became the acting boss of the family in the early 1980s. Lonardo was born in 1911 in Cleveland to Joseph and Concetta Lonardo. His godfather was Anthony Milano...
, John Calandra, Ronald Carabbia, Pasquale Cisterino, Thomas SinitoThomas SinitoThomas James Sinito, also known as "The Chinaman" , was a powerful Caporegime in the Cleveland crime family who was once accused of plotting the assassination of then mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, Dennis J. Kucinich in 1979...
, Alfred Calabrese, and Los Angeles Crime Family Capo Jimmy "The Weasel" FratiannoJimmy FratiannoAladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno was a Cleveland, Ohio, mobster and later acting head of the Los Angeles crime family before becoming a government witness...
are indicted after a grand jury investigation regarding the 1977 bombing deaths of John NardiJohn NardiJohn Nardi was an influential associate of the Cleveland crime family who was involved in labor racketeering in Cleveland, Ohio. At the end of his criminal career, Nardi turned against his crime family in a bloody gang war.-Early years:...
and Danny GreeneDanny GreeneDaniel "Danny" J. Patrick Greene was an Irish American mobster and associate of Cleveland mobster John Nardi during the gang war for the city's criminal operations during the 1970s. Competing gangsters set off more than 35 bombs, most attached to cars in murder attempts, many successful...
. - February 15 - Edwin HelfantEdwin HelfantEdwin Helfant was an American lawyer in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He also worked as a part-time municipal court judge. Helfant gained posthumous notoriety when he was murdered by Philadelphia Mafia family member Nicholas Virgilio.-Background:In 1972 Virgilio was convicted of murder...
, a lawyer and part-time municipal Judge, is killed for allegedly failing to rig a trial in Atlantic City, by the Philadelphia mafia. - February 28 - Dominic BrooklierDominic BrooklierDominic Phillip Brooklier , was an Italian American mobster and head of the Los Angeles crime family of the Mafia during the mid-1970s who mainly worked in pornography, extortion, and burglary.-Early years:...
, Underboss Samuel Sciortino, Consigliere Jack LoCicero, Capo Louis Tom DragnaLouis Tom DragnaLouis Tom Dragna is a former mobster and nephew of Jack Dragna and son of Tom Dragna. He was active in the Los Angeles crime family from the 1940s until the early 1980s.-Early life:...
are indicted under the RICO Act on charges including extortion, and obstruction of a criminal investigation. - March 7 - Salvatore 'Ciaschiteddu' Greco, the first "secretary" of the Sicilian Mafia CommissionSicilian Mafia CommissionThe Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
, dies in CaracasCaracasCaracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
(Venezuela) from cirrhosisCirrhosisCirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver tissue by fibrosis, scar tissue and regenerative nodules , leading to loss of liver function...
of the liver. - March 21 - Salvatore Briguglio, a Teamsters Union official involved in Provenzano's New Jersey chapter, is gunned down in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Little ItalyLittle ItalyLittle Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...
while at the Andrea Doria Social Club. Briguglio who had been scheduled to appear with Anthony Provenzano and Harold Konigsberg in court for the 1961 murder of Anthony Castellito. - April 8 - Sicilian Mafia boss Francesco MadoniaFrancesco MadoniaFrancesco Ciccio Madonia was the Mafia boss of the San Lorenzo-Pallavicino area in Palermo. In 1978 he became a member of the Sicilian Mafia Commission....
murdered on the instigation of Giuseppe Di CristinaGiuseppe Di CristinaGiuseppe Di Cristina was a powerful mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy...
and Gaetano BadalamentiGaetano BadalamentiGaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
. - April 23 - RochesterRochester, New YorkRochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
mobster Salvatore "Sammy G" Gingello is killed in a car bomb planted by rival mobsters. - May 1 - Joseph NapolitanJoseph NapolitanJoseph Napolitan is an American political consultant, who worked as a general consultant on over 100 political campaigns in the United States, and many others throughout the world...
, a member of the Patriarca crime familyPatriarca crime familyThe Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
, is convicted of conspiring to distribute $3.3 million in counterfeit $100 bills. On September 6, Napolitan and an associate were found murdered in New York, possibly on the basis that Napolitan claimed to have been an FBI informant in his defence. - May 16 - Lucchese Associate Michael DiCarlo is shot, stabbed and ultimately beaten to death by the Gambino-affiliated DeMeo CrewRoy DeMeoRoy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
. DiCarlo's body is then dismembered and disposed of and to date has not been found. It is the first known contract hit carried out by the DeMeo Crew, who were alleged to have been paid $5,000 for the job by DiCarlo's CapoCaporegimeA caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
in the Lucchese Family. - May 30 - Sicilian Mafia boss Giuseppe Di CristinaGiuseppe Di CristinaGiuseppe Di Cristina was a powerful mafioso from Riesi in the province of Caltanissetta, Sicily, southern Italy...
murdered by the CorleonesiCorleonesiThe Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
while waiting at a bus stop. - June 12 - On probation since their conviction of extortion in 1972, brothers Salvatore BonannoSalvatore BonannoSalvatore Vincent "Bill" Bonanno was the son of Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Bonanno. Although his father never intended for him to be the underboss of the Bonanno crime family, his appointment to high positions in the syndicate precipitated a "mob war" which led to the Bonanno family's exile to Arizona...
and Joseph Bonanno, Jr.'s paroles are revoked for withholding information regarding unreported income and are both sentenced to 30 months and 34 months. - June 15 - Genovese caporegime and Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 560, Anthony ProvenzanoAnthony ProvenzanoAnthony Provenzano also known as Tony Pro was a Caporegime in the Genovese crime family of New York City...
, is convicted with enforcer Harold "Kayo" Konigsberg by a grand jury in Kingston, New YorkKingston, New YorkKingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
as an accessory for the 1961 murder of Teamsters Union rival Anthony Castellito and, on June 21, sentenced from 25 years' to life imprisonment. - June 16 - Kansas City mobsters WilliamWilliam CammisanoWilliam "Willie Rat" Dominick Cammisano Sr. was a Kansas City, Missouri, mobster and enforcer for Nicholas Civella's Kansas City crime family....
and Joseph Cammisano are indicted for "conspiracy to extort the property of Fred Bonadonna." Bonadonna, a local River Quay-area bar owner, had opposed plans by Joseph Cammisano to open establishments featuring adult entertainment during the mid-1970s which eventually resulted in the 1976 murder of his father (and former associate of William Cammisano) David Bonadonna. On October 23, the Cammisanos agreed to plea bargains and, on November 22, William and Joseph were sentenced to 5 years' and 18 months imprisonment, respectively. - June 28 - After several years in a coma following a failed assassination attempt on his life in 1971, Joe ColomboJoseph ColomboJoseph "Joe" Colombo, Sr. was the boss of the Colombo crime family, one of the "Five Families" of the Cosa Nostra in New York.-Background:...
dies in his home. - August 5 - Anthony MilanoAnthony MilanoAnthony "Tony" Milano was an Italian mobster who rose to power in America working for the Cleveland crime family in the American Mafia. He served as the long time Underboss in the Cleveland crime family from 1930 until his retirement in 1976...
, longtime Underboss of the Cleveland syndicate, dies of natural causes at the age of 90. - August 8 - Russell BufalinoRussell BufalinoRussell A. Bufalino also known as "McGee" and "The Old Man" was the boss of the Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family from 1959 to 1989...
, leader of the Pittston-based Bufalino crime familyBufalino crime familyThe Bufalino crime family, also known as the Pittston crime family, or the Scranton Wilkes-Barre family, was an American Mafia crime family active in Northeastern Pennsylvania cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre and Pittston...
, is convicted of extortion by a U.S. District Court. - August 25 - Associate members Thomas Lanai and Kenneth Ciarcia are found guilty of aggravated murder charges in the death of Greene.
- September 30 - Sicilian Mafia boss Giuseppe CalderoneGiuseppe CalderoneGiuseppe “Pippo” Calderone was an influential Sicilian mafioso from Catania. He became the ‘secretary’ of the interprovincial Sicilian Mafia Commission, formed around 1975 on his instigation. Its purpose was to coordinate the provincial Mafia commissions and avoid conflicts over public contracts...
murdered by Nitto Santapaola and the CorleonesiCorleonesiThe Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
. - Gaetano "Tano" BadalamentiGaetano BadalamentiGaetano Badalamenti was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Tano Badalamenti was the capofamiglia of his hometown Cinisi, Sicily, and headed the Sicilian Mafia Commission in the 1970s...
is posato (expelled) from the Sicilian Mafia by the rising powerhouses in the CupolaSicilian Mafia CommissionThe Sicilian Mafia Commission, known as Commissione or Cupola, is a body of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra...
, Totò Riina and Bernardo ProvenzanoBernardo ProvenzanoBernardo Provenzano is a member of the Sicilian Mafia and is suspected of having been the head of the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the village of Corleone, and de facto capo di tutti capi of the entire Sicilian Mafia until his arrest in 2006.His nickname is Binnu u tratturi...
. Badalamenti is to be killed on sight by any Cosa nostra member and flees Sicily fearing for his life. Anyone associated to Badalamenti is to sever all ties, on pain of death. Michele GrecoMichele GrecoMichele Greco was a member of the Sicilian Mafia, previously incarcerated for multiple murders. His nickname was "il Papa" because of his ability to mediate between different Mafia families...
, capo of the CiaculliCiaculliCiaculli is an outlying suburb of Palermo, Sicily in Italy. It counts less than 5000 residents. Ciaculli is close to the suburb of Croceverde. Ciaculli has been important within the history of the Cosa Nostra. The best known Mafia family is the Greco Mafia clan...
clan, succeeds Badalamenti as head (chairman) of the Cupola. Greco is subservient to the CorleonesiCorleonesiThe Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia that dominated Cosa Nostra in the 1980s and the 1990s. It was called the Corleonesi because its most important leaders came from the town of Corleone, first Luciano Leggio and later Totò Riina, Bernardo Provenzano and Leoluca...
of Totò Riina. - October 5 - Michael Volpe, longtime housekeeper and associate of Anthony Accardo, is reported missing and later presumed murdered. Volpe, like Accardo, had previously appeared before a grand jury investigating the torture and murder of several criminals suspected to have broken into the home of the Chicago Outfit leader.
- November 20 - Salvatore Pieri, Boss of the Buffalo crime familyBuffalo crime familyThe Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family and The Arm, is an Italian American criminal organization based in Buffalo, United States. As part of the American Mafia the family operates throughout Western New York and Canada.The Buffalo crime family, gained power during the...
, pleads guilty to illegal gambling charges.
Arts and literature
- The Hoffa Wars: Teamsters, rebels, politicians and the mob by Dan E. Moldea is published.
- Norman JewisonNorman JewisonNorman Frederick Jewison, CC, O.Ont is a Canadian film director, producer, actor and founder of the Canadian Film Centre. Highlights of his directing career include In the Heat of the Night , The Thomas Crown Affair , Fiddler on the Roof , Jesus Christ Superstar , Moonstruck , The Hurricane and The...
's F.I.S.T.F.I.S.T.F.I.S.T. is a 1978 movie directed by Norman Jewison and starring Sylvester Stallone. In this film, Stallone plays a Cleveland warehouse worker named Johnny Kovak who becomes involved in the labor union leadership of the fictional "Federation of Inter State Truckers", and finds that he must...
, loosely based on Teamsters President Jimmy HoffaJimmy HoffaJames Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
, starring Sylvester StalloneSylvester StalloneMichael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
, Rod SteigerRod SteigerRodney Stephen "Rod" Steiger was an Academy Award-winning American actor known for his performances in such films as On the Waterfront, The Big Knife, Oklahoma!, The Harder They Fall, Across the Bridge, The Pawnbroker, Doctor Zhivago, In the Heat of the Night, and Waterloo as well as the...
and Peter BoylePeter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
and Melinda DillonMelinda DillonMelinda Rose Dillon is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and the holiday classic A Christmas Story.-Early life and career:...
is released. - FingersFingers (1978 film)Fingers is a 1978 drama film directed by James Toback.-Synopsis:The film features Harvey Keitel as a pianist who also works for his loan shark father as a "collector"...
, featuring the debut of writer director James TobackJames TobackJames Lee Toback is an American screenwriter and film director.-Early life:Toback was born in New York City. His mother, Selma Judith , was a President of The League of Women Voters and a moderator of political debates on NBC. His father, Irwin Lionel Toback, was a stockbroker and former...
and starring Harvey KeitelHarvey KeitelHarvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
, is released.
Deaths
- February 15 - Edwin HelfantEdwin HelfantEdwin Helfant was an American lawyer in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He also worked as a part-time municipal court judge. Helfant gained posthumous notoriety when he was murdered by Philadelphia Mafia family member Nicholas Virgilio.-Background:In 1972 Virgilio was convicted of murder...
, lawyer and part-time municipal Judge - April 23 - Salvatore Gingello "Sammy G", Rochester "A Team" mobster
- March 7 - Salvatore 'Ciaschiteddu' Greco, Sicilian mafioso and head of the Ciaculli crime family.
- March 21 - Salvatore Briguglio, Teamsters Union official and associate of Anthony Provenzano
- May 16 - Michael DiCarlo, Lucchese Family Associate
- June 28 - Joe ColomboJoseph ColomboJoseph "Joe" Colombo, Sr. was the boss of the Colombo crime family, one of the "Five Families" of the Cosa Nostra in New York.-Background:...
- New York mobster and founder of the Colombo crime familyColombo crime familyThe Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....