1979 in organized crime
Encyclopedia
See also:
1978 in organized crime
,
other events of 1979,
1980 in organized crime
and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'
.
----
1978 in organized crime
1978 in organized crime
See also:1977 in organized crime,other events of 1978,1979 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.----- Events :*Paul Castellano forms a working partnership between the Gambino crime family and the Westies street gang of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen.*January 6 - Cleveland Crime...
,
other events of 1979,
1980 in organized crime
1980 in organized crime
See also:1979 in organized crime,other events of 1980,1981 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-----Events:*January - Seven Rochester mobsters, including Frank D. Frassetto, are convicted in a federal court of racketeering crimes including several mob-related bombings...
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...
.
----
Events
- James Eppolito, a member of 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...
, is photographed with First Lady Rosalynn CarterRosalynn CarterEleanor Rosalynn Carter is the wife of the former President of the United States Jimmy Carter and in that capacity served as the First Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981. As First Lady and after, she has been a leading advocate for numerous causes, perhaps most prominently for mental...
in recognition for his charity work in 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...
. - January 12 - Johnny Dioguardi dies at a Lewisburg, PennsylvaniaLewisburg, PennsylvaniaLewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,620 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union...
hospital, while serving a sentence for stock fraud. - January 17 - Anthony ScottoAnthony ScottoAnthony M. Scotto is a New York mobster and labor union racketeer in the Gambino crime family who eventually became the head of the Brooklyn waterfront.-Early life:...
, a caporegime of the Gambino crime family and son-in-law to Anthony "Tough Tony" AnastasioAnthony AnastasioAnthony "Tough Tony" Anastasio was a New York City mobster and labor racketeer for the Gambino crime family who controlled the Brooklyn dockyards for over thirty years...
, is indicted on charges of receiving $200,000 in illegal payoffs during his term in office as President of Brooklyn ILA Local 1814. As the General Organizer of the ILA, Scotto was one of the most influential labor leaders in New York at the time of his arrest. - February 7 - Peter Waring, a cocaineCocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
dealer, is murdered, dismembered and disposed of by the 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...
. Waring was killed after agreeing to become an informantInformantAn informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
for agents with the NYPD's Narcotics Division. - February 19 - Frederick Todaro is shot and stabbed to death by the 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...
. Todaro's body is then dismembered, packaged and disposed of at the Fountain Avenue Dump in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. - March 17 - Charles Padnick, William Serrano and two unidentified associates of Serrano are shot to death, dismembered and disposed of by the 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...
. They are murdered after traveling to New York to set up a large-scale cocaine deal with members of the crew. - March 19 - James Padnick travels to New York after the disappearance of his father Charles Padnick and is murdered, dismembered and disposed of by the DeMeo Crew.
- April 14 - Giovanni "Papa John" Priziola, a former consiglieri of the Detroit crime syndicate, dies of natural causes at the age of 84.
- April 19 - Dominick Ragucci, a 19-year old college student with no organized crime ties, is shot to death by Roy DeMeoRoy 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...
after a high speed car chase. Ragucci was murdered after DeMeo mistakenly identified him as a hitman sent by a Colombian drug cartel. - April 26 - Anthony "Little Pussy" RussoAnthony Russo (mobster)Anthony Russo , aka Little Pussy, was an Italian-American Genovese crime family figure who was a reputed Boss of Monmouth County, New Jersey. He is also the supposed inspiration behind the fictional character Big Pussy Bonpensiero.Russo was a skilled cat burglar which is how he earned his nickname...
, a high ranking member of the Genovese crime familyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese 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 Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
who had risen from a chauffeur and bodyguard for Vito GenoveseVito GenoveseVito "Don Vito" Genovese was an Italian mafioso who rose to power in America during the Castellammarese War to later become leader of the Genovese crime family. Genovese served as mentor to future mob boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante...
to become a Genovese Capo in Monmouth County, New JerseyMonmouth County, New JerseyMonmouth County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey, within the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 630,380, up from 615,301 at the 2000 census. Its county seat is Freehold Borough. The most populous municipality is Middletown Township with...
, is found shot to death in Long Branch, New JerseyLong Branch, New JerseyLong Branch is a city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 30,719.Long Branch was formed on April 11, 1867, as the Long Branch Commission, from portions of Ocean Township...
. Russo's death may have been connected to an FBI surveillance operation in which he unknowingly revealed details of concealing Las Vegas casino ownership and skimming operations. - May 11 - Gambino associate and DeMeo Crew member Harvey 'Chris' RosenbergChris RosenbergHarvey "Chris" Rosenberg was a Jewish-American member of the DeMeo crew run by Gambino crime family soldier Roy DeMeo. The gang is suspected of between 75–200 murders in the mid 1970s to the early 1980s...
is murdered by Roy DeMeoRoy 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...
and Anthony SenterAnthony SenterAnthony Senter and Joseph Testa, better known the Gemini twins are two mobsters in the Lucchese crime family. Senter and Testa are former members of the DeMeo crew in the Gambino crime family...
on orders from DeMeo's superior Anthony GaggiAnthony GaggiAnthony "Antonino" "Nino" Frank Gaggi was a captain in the New York Gambino crime family who supervised the infamous DeMeo crew, headed by Roy DeMeo. It is estimated that the DeMeo crew murdered between 75 and 200 people....
for ripping off and killing associates of a Colombian drug dealer. - June 22 - GuamGuamGuam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
Drug trafficker Francisco S. Palacios and his wife are arrested on drugs charges. http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060619/NEWS01/606190307/1002 - July 11 - Giorgio Ambrosoli, the attorney investigating the bankruptcy of the financial empire of Sicilian banker Michele SindonaMichele SindonaMichele Sindona was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due , a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connections to the Mafia...
, is murdered in MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
on the orders of Sindona. - July 11 - Anthony ProvenzanoAnthony ProvenzanoAnthony Provenzano also known as Tony Pro was a Caporegime in the Genovese crime family of New York City...
, who had been extorting payments from trucking firms at the threat of instigating union strikes, is convicted of labor racketeering and sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. - July 12 - Carmine "Lilo" GalanteCarmine GalanteCarmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
, Boss of the Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno 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 ....
, is gunned down with Capo Leonardo "Nardo" Coppola and his cousin, soldier Giuseppe Turano while having dinner at Joe & Mary's Italian Restaurant on Knickerbocker Ave., Brooklyn. Bonanno soldier Angelo "Little Moe" Presenzano escaped being killed by leaving early due to a stomach ache. Galante's bodyguards, "Zips" Cesare BonventreCesare BonventreCesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster and caporegime for the New York Bonanno crime family.-Early life:...
and Baldo Amato took part in the hit (Bonventre shot Galante and Amato was back-up). The primary shooters were Russell Mauro (shot Galante), Bruno Indelicato (shot Turano and Coppola), Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera (stood guard inside restaurant), Santo Giordano (stood guard outside and drove). Joe Massino, Sonny Red Indelicato, J.B. Indelicato and Phil Lucky Giacone were outside in a car as back-up. They all made up the Family Factions who opposed the monopoly (Galante had created in the heroin business) and they feared his tyrannical rule. The Factions who wished to rid themselves of Galante was the Rastelli-Massino-Napolitano Faction, the Indelicato-Giacone-Trinchera Faction and the "ZipsZipsZips is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi...
" Catalano-Ganci-Bonventre-Amato Faction who all wanted to kill Galante whom they feared. Galante rival Boss Rusty Rastelli was given Commission approval. - Nicholas "Nicky Glasses" MarangelloNicholas MarangelloNicholas Marangello , also known as "Nicky Glasses", "Nicky Cigars", "Nicky the Butler" and "Little Nicky", was the underboss of the Bonanno crime family under Phillip Rastelli, the father-in-law of Robert Perrino and grandfather of Nicola Langora.-Biography:Marangello was born on the Lower East...
and Michael "Mimi" SabellaMichael SabellaMichael "Mimi" Sabella was a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and a relative of Philadelphia crime family mob boss Salvatore Sabella.-Early years:...
, Bonanno family Underboss and Capo based out of "The Toyland Social Club" in Little Italy, Manhattan were contracted to be hit with Carmine Galante, but were demoted to soldiers because they were well liked by Family members. After Galante's murder "Zips" Capo Salvatore Catalano was made Underboss-Streetboss and Cesare BonventreCesare BonventreCesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster and caporegime for the New York Bonanno crime family.-Early life:...
was made Capo (youngest in Cosa Nostra). Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano , Joseph "Big Joe" Massino and Anthony "Bruno" IndelicatoAnthony IndelicatoAnthony "Bruno" Indelicato , also known as "Bruno", "Whack-Whack" and "Anthony Indelligado" is a capo with the Bonanno crime family in New York City,-Biography:...
made Capos. - July 13 - Former Guam police officer and drug trafficker Felix M. Garrido and his live-in girlfriend, Dora Scharff Garrido are shot dead by an unknown assailant at their Dededo home.
- July 14 - Dora Scharff Garrido's father, retired police detective George Scharff, vows to find his daughter and son-in-law's murderer.
- July 17 - Guam police assign officers to guard George Scharff's home.
- July 20 - Convicted drug trafficker Francisco S. Palacios is connected to the murder of Felix M. Garrido and Dora Scharff Garrido. They had provided the government with information leading to the arrest of Palacios and his wife on June 22.
- July 21 – Boris GiulianoBoris GiulianoGiorgio Boris Giuliano was a police chief from Palermo, Sicily. He was the head of Palermo's Flying Squad ....
, deputy police chief of PalermoPalermoPalermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, who is investigating heroin trafficking between Sicily and the United States is killed near his home in Palermo on the orders 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...
. One of the killers is Leoluca BagarellaLeoluca BagarellaLeoluca Bagarella is an Italian criminal and member of the Sicilian Mafia. He is from the town of Corleone and was a member of the Corleonesi.-Biography:...
of 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...
. - August 2 – Michele SindonaMichele SindonaMichele Sindona was an Italian banker and convicted felon. Known in banking circles as "The Shark", Sindona was a member of Propaganda Due , a secret lodge of Italian Freemasonry, and had clear connections to the Mafia...
disappears from New York, where he is under indictment, staging a bogus kidnapping with the aid of John GambinoJohn GambinoJohn Gambino , is an American mobster. He became a made member of the Gambino crime family in 1975 and a capodecina or captain, and head of the crime family's Sicilian faction, appointed by family boss John Gotti in 1986, according to Mafia turncoat Sammy Gravano.-Transatlantic Mafia clan:Together...
. After spending several weeks in Sicily in the care of Sicilian mafiosi Rosario Spatola, Salvatore InzerilloSalvatore InzerilloSalvatore Inzerillo was an Italian criminal, a member of the Sicilian Mafia, also known as Totuccio . He rose to be a powerful boss of Palermo's Passo di Rigano family...
and Stefano BontadeStefano BontadeStefano Bontade was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. Some sources spell his surname Bontate. He was the capomafia of the Santa Maria di Gesù Family in Palermo...
, Sindona laundered the proceeds of heroin trafficking for the Bontade-Spatola-Inzerillo-Gambino network. The real purpose of the "kidnapping" was to issue sparsely disguised blackmail notes to Sindona’s past political allies – among them Prime Minister Giulio AndreottiGiulio AndreottiGiulio Andreotti is an Italian politician of the now dissolved centrist Christian Democracy party. He served as the 42nd Prime Minister of Italy from 1972 to 1973, from 1976 to 1979 and from 1989 to 1992. He also served as Minister of the Interior , Defense Minister and Foreign Minister and he...
– to engineer the rescue of his banks and recuperate Cosa Nostra’s money. The plot failed and after his "release" Sindona surrendered to the FBI, after reappearing in New York on October 16. - August 19 - Guam police announce that four key suspects in the Garrido double-murder had left the country for CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. - August 28 - Convicted drug trafficker Johnny B. Santos claims that fellow Guam Penitentiary inmate Irvin R. Ibanez admitted to the double-murder on the orders of Palacios. Ibanez denies the allegations and the case goes cold.
- September 25 - SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Mafia prosecutor Cesare TerranovaCesare TerranovaCesare Terranova was a magistrate and politician from Sicily notable for his anti-Mafia stance. From 1958 until 1971 Terranova was an examining magistrate at the Palermo prosecuting office. He was one of the first to seriously investigate the Mafia and the financial operations of Cosa Nostra. He...
is shot dead. Terranova was the prosecutor responsible for the imprisonment of Luciano LeggioLuciano LeggioLuciano Leggio was an Italian criminal and leading figure of the Sicilian Mafia. He was the head of the Corleonesi, the Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone...
serving a life sentenceLife imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
for the murder of Michele NavarraMichele NavarraMichele Navarra was a powerful member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was a qualified physician and headed the Mafia Family from the town of Corleone...
. Imprisoned mobster, Luciano Leggio is brought to trial but is acquitted due to lack of evidence. Terranova was preparing to return as head of the investigative department of the prosecution office of Palermo, after serving on the Antimafia CommissionAntimafia CommissionThe Italian Antimafia Commission is a bicameral commission of the Italian Parliament, composed of members from the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate . The Antimafia Commission is a commission of inquiry into, initially, the “phenomenon of the Mafia”...
of the Italian parliament. - October 1 - Gambino members James Eppolito and James Eppolito, Jr. are shot to death by fellow Gambino Family members Anthony GaggiAnthony GaggiAnthony "Antonino" "Nino" Frank Gaggi was a captain in the New York Gambino crime family who supervised the infamous DeMeo crew, headed by Roy DeMeo. It is estimated that the DeMeo crew murdered between 75 and 200 people....
and Roy DeMeo. The murder is witnessed by a civilian who alerts a nearby police officer. A gunfight erupts between the officer and Gaggi, who is wounded in the neck and arrested. DeMeo, who split up with Gaggi upon leaving the crime scene, is never identified or apprehended. The Eppolitos were related to 'Mafia Cop' Louis EppolitoLouis Eppolito and Stephen CaracappaLouis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa are two former New York Police Department police detectives who worked on behalf of the New York Mafia while they committed various illegal activities...
. - October 12 - Legitimate used car dealers Ronald Falcaro and Khaled Daoud are shot to death, dismembered and disposed of by the DeMeo Crew. They are murdered after Daoud threatened to provide law enforcement with information pertaining to an international auto-theft ring being operated by the crew.
- November 9 - John Paul Spica, associate of Anthony Giodano and a suspect in the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
, is killed by a car bomb in his Cadillac. - November 15 Detroit mobsters Raffaele Quasarano and Peter Vitale, members of a commission controlling the Detroit crime syndicate, are indicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ActRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ActThe Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO) on charges including racketeering, extortion, mail and tax fraud.
Deaths
- Cesare TerranovaCesare TerranovaCesare Terranova was a magistrate and politician from Sicily notable for his anti-Mafia stance. From 1958 until 1971 Terranova was an examining magistrate at the Palermo prosecuting office. He was one of the first to seriously investigate the Mafia and the financial operations of Cosa Nostra. He...
, SicilianSicilySicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
prosecutor - January 12 - Johnny Dioguardi (Johnny Dio), Lucchese crime familyLucchese crime familyThe Lucchese 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 family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
member and labor racketeer - April - James TorelloJames TorelloJames Vincent "Turk" Torello was an Italian-American mobster who became a caporegime and leading enforcer for the Chicago Outfit during the mid-to-late 1970s....
"Turk", Chicago OutfitChicago OutfitThe Chicago Outfit, also known as the Chicago Syndicate or Chicago Mob and sometimes shortened to simply the Outfit, is a crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois, USA...
member - May 11 - Harvey 'Chris' RosenbergChris RosenbergHarvey "Chris" Rosenberg was a Jewish-American member of the DeMeo crew run by Gambino crime family soldier Roy DeMeo. The gang is suspected of between 75–200 murders in the mid 1970s to the early 1980s...
, 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...
associate and member of the 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... - July 12 - Carmine GalanteCarmine GalanteCarmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
"Lilo"/"The Cigar", Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno 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 ....
Boss