1986 in organized crime
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See also:
1985 in organized crime
,
other events of 1986,
1987 in organized crime
and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'
.
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1985 in organized crime
1985 in organized crime
See also:1984 in organized crime,other events of 1985,1986 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-----Events:*Sicilian Capo of the Porta Nuova Clan Giuseppe "Pippo" Calo is arrested for money laundering, mafia association and organizing the bombing of a train in...
,
other events of 1986,
1987 in organized crime
1987 in organized crime
See also:1986 in organized crime,other events of 1987,1988 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.- Events :*January - Commission Case The Bosses of the 5 New York Families - The Commission - are sentenced. All 8 defendants return to court to hear Judge Richard Owen hand down...
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
- According the government reports, it is estimated there are 2,500 members of the "La Cosa Nostra" and thousands of associate members. Reports also are said to include the Italian-American Mafia as the largest organized crime group in the United States and continues to hold dominance over the National Crime SyndicateNational Crime SyndicateThe National Crime Syndicate was the name given by the press to a loosely-organized multi-ethnic organized crime syndicate. Its origins are uncertain....
, despite the increasing numbers of street gangs and other organizations of non-Italian or Sicilian ethnicity. - Robert "Dee-Bee" DiBernardoRobert DiBernardoRobert DiBernardo, also known as "DB", was a caporegime in the Gambino crime family...
, 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...
caporegime involved in pornography operations, is murdered. - Frank DeCiccoFrank DeCiccoFrank DeCicco also known as Frankie D and Frankie Cheech was a New York mobster and labor racketeer for the Gambino crime family...
, Capo and associate of Gambino crime family leader 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...
, who eventually betrayed Castellano to John GottiJohn GottiJohn Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
, is murdered (carbomb). - Peter "Little Pete" Tambone, a drug trafficker and former member of the Gambino crime family, is reinstated by John GottiJohn GottiJohn Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
. Tambone had been previously banished from the crime family by former leader 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...
after his participation in the (Angelo)Ruggerio-(Gene)Gotti heroin operation. - January 21 - Resulting in an extensive five-year Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) investigation, 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...
members, Boss Joseph "Joey Doves" AiuppaJoseph AiuppaJoseph John Aiuppa , also known as "Doves," "Mourning Doves," "O'Brien," or "Joey Doves," was a Chicago mobster who became a leader of the Chicago Outfit.-Early career:...
, Underboss John "Jackie the Lackey" CeroneJackie CeroneJohn "Jackie The Lackey" Cerone was a Chicago mobster and boss of the Chicago Outfit, during the late 1960s. He was the younger brother of mobster Frank "Skippy" Cerone and father of lawyer, John Peter Cerone and husband to the late Clara Cerone.He was born to John Cerone Sr. and Rose Valant. He...
, and Capos Angelo J. "The Hook" LaPietraAngelo J. LaPietraAngelo J. "The Hook" LaPietra was a Chicago mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit, involved in extensive loansharking operations in the city's First Ward during the 1970s and 80s. He earned his nickname "The Hook" due to the way he murdered his victims—those that did not, or could not pay up...
and Joseph "Joey The Clown" LombardoJoseph LombardoJoseph Patrick “Joey the Clown” Lombardo Sr. , also known as "Joe Padula," "Lumbo," and "Lumpy", is an imprisoned American mafioso and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization...
are convicted by a U.S. District Court in Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
for conspiringConspiracy (crime)In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
along with the Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Kansas City crime familiesCrime familyA crime family is a term used to describe a unit of an organized crime syndicate, often operating within a specific geographic territory. The term is used almost exclusively to refer to units of the Mafia, both in Sicily and in the United States, although it is occasionally used to refer to other...
to embezzle loans from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' Central States Pension Fund. - February 10 - Diamond merchant Israel Greenwald disappears. His body is later discovered in April 2005 by the FBI in a makeshift grave with two bullets lodged in his skull. He was killed by Louis Eppolito and Stephen CaracappaLouis 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...
, on the orders of 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...
underbossUnderbossUnderboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-mob0604,0,1627985.story?coll=ny-top-headlines - February 10 – Start of the Maxi TrialMaxi TrialThe Maxi Trial was a criminal trial that took place in Sicily during the mid-1980s that saw hundreds of defendants on trial convicted for a multitude of crimes relating to Mafia activities, based primarily on testimony given in as evidence from a former boss turned informant...
against Cosa Nostra in 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...
. The trial took place next to the Ucciardone (the Palermo prison) in a bunker specially built to try the defendants. A total of 474 defendants were facing charges, although 119 of them were to be tried in absentiaIn absentiaIn absentia is Latin for "in the absence". In legal use, it usually means a trial at which the defendant is not physically present. The phrase is not ordinarily a mere observation, but suggests recognition of violation to a defendant's right to be present in court proceedings in a criminal trial.In...
as they were fugitives. (Salvatore RiinaSalvatore RiinaSalvatore "Totò" Riina is a member of the Sicilian Mafia who became the most powerful member of the criminal organization in the early 1980s. Fellow mobsters nicknamed him The Beast due to his violent nature, or sometimes The Short One due to his diminutive stature...
and 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...
were among these absent defendants.) Amongst those present were 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...
, Riina's predecessor, who acted as his own lawyer, and also Giuseppe "Pippo" CalòGiuseppe CalòGiuseppe 'Pippo' Calò is a member of the Sicilian Mafia. He was referred to as the "Mafia's Cashier" because he was heavily involved in the financial side of organized crime, primarily money laundering....
. Most of the crucial evidence came from Tommaso BuscettaTommaso BuscettaTommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
a mafioso captured in 1982 in BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. He had lost many relatives during the Mafia war, including two sons, as well as many allies such as 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...
and 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...
. He decided to cooperate with the Sicilian magistrates. 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...
continued its vendetta against Buscetta by killing several more of his relatives. Testifying against the Corleonesi was the only way to avenge his murdered family and friends. The information that Buscetta had given the investigative judges Giovanni FalconeGiovanni FalconeGiovanni Falcone was an Sicilian/Italian prosecuting magistrate born in Palermo, Sicily. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Mafia in Sicily...
and Paolo BorsellinoPaolo BorsellinoPaolo Borsellino was an Italian anti-Mafia magistrate who was killed by a Mafia car bomb in Palermo, less than two months after his fellow anti-Mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone had been assassinated....
allowed a new understanding to how the Mafia functioned and how the clandestine groups of hierarchy in the Sicilian Cupola (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...
) actually agreed on policy and business. For the first time the Mafia had been prosecuted as an entity rather than a collection of individual crimes. Known as the Buscetta theorem it showed that Cosa Nostra was a single hierarchical organisation ruled by a commission and that its leaders could be held responsible for criminal acts that were committed to benefit the organisation. - February 20 - 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...
, the boss 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...
Mafia family and "chairman" 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...
, arrested and charged in the 1986 Maxi Trial for the murder of Italian anti-MafiaMafiaThe Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
magistrateMagistrateA magistrate is an officer of the state; in modern usage the term usually refers to a judge or prosecutor. This was not always the case; in ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest government officers and possessed both judicial and executive powers. Today, in common law systems, a...
Rocco ChinniciRocco ChinniciRocco Chinnici was a noted Italian Antimafia magistrate killed by the Mafia.-Life:Born at Misilmeri, Chinnici graduated in law at the University of Palermo in 1947 and started working as a magistrate in 1952 in Trapani. In 1966 he moved to the prosecutors office in Palermo...
. - March 19 – 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 convicted of murder. The following day he dies in his prison cell after drinking a cup of poisoned coffee. - March 20 - Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, "Front Boss" 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...
, along with 14 other Genovese members, are indicted on several charges including conspiracy, racketeering and extortion. Former Salerno soldier Vincent CafaroVincent CafaroVincent "Fish" Cafaro was a mobster and protegee of Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, a top lieutenant in the Genovese crime family until becoming a government informant and witness.-Labor racketeer:...
would turn informant and explained that after Salerno suffered a stroke in 1981, he was delegated to functioning as a figurehead boss to keep the pressure off the official boss Vincent GiganteVincent GiganteVincent Gigante was a short lived professional light heavyweight boxer who was known as "The Chin" Gigante. He fought 25 matches and lost four, boxing 121 rounds. On February 19, 1945, he fought Pete Petrello in Madison Square Garden and won by a knock out in the second round. During his successful...
. Cafaro also explained that caporegimes Vincent DiNapoliVincent DiNapoliVincent DiNapoli is a New York mobster and captain in the Genovese crime family, involved in labor racketeering. DiNapoli is best known for creating a cartel in the 1970s that controlled the price of drywall in New York City.-Early years:...
and Liborio BellomoLiborio BellomoLiborio Salvatore Bellomo , known as Barney and Big Barney, is a high ranking caporegime and street boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City. Bellomo is one of the fastest rising Mafia members in the United States today, becoming a capo in his mid-twenties...
removed caporegime Peter DeFeoPeter DeFeoPeter DeFeo , also known as "Philie Aquilino", was a New York mobster who became a caporegime with the Genovese crime family.-Rise to power:...
and soldier Alexander Morelli from the District Council of Carpenters rackets, and DiNapoli and Bellomo went on to control hiring at the Jacob Javits Center as well as the drywall cartel. Cafaro would go on to testify at the trials of Gambino boss John GottiJohn GottiJohn Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
. - April 2 – Tommaso BuscettaTommaso BuscettaTommaso Buscetta was a Sicilian mafioso. Although he was not the first pentito in the Italian witness protection program, he is widely recognized as the first important one breaking omertà...
and Salvatore ContornoSalvatore ContornoSalvatore "Totuccio" Contorno is a former member of the Sicilian Mafia who turned into a state witness against Cosa Nostra in October 1984, following the example of Tommaso Buscetta. He gave detailed accounts of the inner-workings of the Sicilian Mafia...
arrive from the United States to testify in the Maxi TrialMaxi TrialThe Maxi Trial was a criminal trial that took place in Sicily during the mid-1980s that saw hundreds of defendants on trial convicted for a multitude of crimes relating to Mafia activities, based primarily on testimony given in as evidence from a former boss turned informant...
in 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... - June 13 - The entire leadership 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 ....
, Boss Carmine "Junior" Persico , Underboss Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella , former Acting Boss/Capo Anthony "Scappy" Scarpati , Capos Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" Persico , Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo, Dominic "Little Dom" Cataldo, John "Jackie" DeRoss, soldier Frank "The Beast" Falanga and associate Hugh "Apples" McIntosh are convicted 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) of conspiracy, extortion, and bribery in the "Colombo Case". The U.S. Attorney's Office filed a civil RICO complaint against family members soon after the trial, marking the first civil RICO complaint filed against a crime family as an enterprise, including labor unions under their control. - June 14 - Anthony "Tony," "The Ant" SpilotroAnthony SpilotroAnthony "The Ant" Spilotro was an Italian-American mobster and enforcer for the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s. His job was to protect and oversee the Outfit's illegal casino profits...
and his brother Michael SpilotroMichael SpilotroMichael Peter "Micky" Spilotro was the brother of Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and was an associate of the Chicago La Cosa Nostra organized crime organization referred to as "The Outfit".-Family background:...
are beaten to death and buried in a cornfield in Morocco, IndianaMorocco, IndianaMorocco is a town in Beaver Township, Newton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,129 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Morocco is located at ....
, their bodies being found on June 23. Spilotro had been sent to Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan areaThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
by the 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...
as its "Representato," or, "Outside Man," to protect its casino skimming operations and, "Inside Man." But, after gaining much too media attention and being blacklistBlack Book (gaming)"Black Book" is the nickname frequently used to refer to a list of persons who are unwelcome in casinos. The name comes from the fact that the persons listed in the "book" are essentially "blacklisted"...
ed by the casinos, as well as allegedly having an affair with the wife of Outfit associate and "Inside Man" Frank "Lefty" RosenthalFrank RosenthalFrank Lawrence "Lefty" Rosenthal was a professional sports bettor, former Las Vegas casino executive and organized crime associate. The film Casino is loosely based on his life.-Early years:...
, it was decided that Anthony was a liability, and is murdered on the orders of the new Chicago Outfit boss , Joseph "Joe Negal" FerriolaJoseph FerriolaJoseph Ferriola , also known as, "Joe Nagall," "Mr. Clean" and "Oscar," was an American mobster who helped run the Chicago Outfit, from 1985 to 1988, after Joseph Aiuppa and John Cerone went to prison for skimming Las Vegas casino profits.- Early life :Joseph Anthony Ferriola was a product of...
. - June 23 - After being largely controlled by 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...
for almost three decades under Anthony "Tony Pro" Provenzano, U.S. District Court Judge Harold A. Ackerman is named as a trustee to oversee Teamsters Local 560. - July 24 - 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...
soldier Joseph "Joe Glitz" GaliziaJoseph GaliziaJoseph "Joe Glitz" Galizia was a New York mobster who became a high-ranking soldier in the Genovese crime family, and ran a large gasoline bootlegging operation.-Becoming a family member:...
and Russian mobstersRussian MafiaThe Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
Igor Roizman, Igor Porotsky, and Sheldon Levine are indicted after a six-month investigation by the Federal Organized Crime Strike Force for the Eastern District of New York. The men were charged with operating a scam that evaded over $5 million in Federal gasoline excise taxes. - September - The Commission Case goes to trial in Manhattan. The heads of the five New York Families called the Commission are all charged and brought to trial for the first time. There were 11 defendants indicted, but only eight make it to trial. The defendants are Genovese crime family Boss (Front Boss) Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, Lucchese crime family Boss Antonio "Tony Ducks" Corallo, Lucchese Underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro, Lucchese Consigliere Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari, Colombo crime family Boss Carmine "Junior" Persico, Colombo Acting Boss/Underboss Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella, Colombo soldier Ralph Scopo and Bonano crime family soldier Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato. Defendant Philip "Rusty" Rastelli, Bonanno crime family Boss was severed from the trial, as he was subsequently indicted in another RICO case along with his underboss Joseph "Big Joey" Massino. Gambino crime family Underboss Aniello "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce died of brain cancer Dec 2, 1985. Gambino crime Family Boss Paul "Big Pauly" Castellano and his new Underboss Tommy Bilotti were assassinated in front of Sparks Steakhouse in Manhattan Dec. 16, 1985.
- September 25 - 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...
leader John "Johnny Boy" Gotti is brought to trial for the first time and charged with crimes over an 18-year period including illegal gambling, loan-sharking, armed robbery, and murder. - October 24 - Members of the Colombo crime family including Colombo Family Boss Carmine "Junior" Persico, two former leaders, four capos, four other members and two associates are charged with involvement in widespread racketeering and other criminal activities.
- October 31 - Philadelphia mobster Nicodemo ScarfoNicodemo ScarfoNicodemo "Little Nicky" Domenico Scarfo is a member of the American Mafia who eventually became the Boss of the Philadelphia crime family after the death of Angelo Bruno and Phil Testa...
is indicted with several others by a New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
grand jury for racketeering, loansharking, illegal gambling, and extortion. - November 5 - Harry Davidoff, Vice President of the 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...
-controlled IBT Local 851, is convicted under the RICO Act for conspiracy (as well as beinging charged with conspiracy and extortion under the Hobbs ActHobbs ActThe Hobbs Act, named after Congressman Sam Hobbs and codified at , is a U.S. federal law that prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce. Section 1951 also proscribes conspiracy to commit robbery or extortion without reference to the conspiracy...
) at a jury trial in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY). This would be the first in a series of trials, in which a federal investigation focused on the control of the air freight industry at JFK International Airport by New York's Five FamiliesFive FamiliesThe Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
, using its influence within the Teamsters Union. - October 10 - During the Davidoff trial, Lucchese Capo Paul VarioPaul VarioPaul Vario was a caporegime of a crew in the Lucchese crime family. In the 1970s Vario held the position of consigliere in the family but later resigned. In 1980, longtime associate Henry Hill became a government witness and testified against Vario and members of his crew...
, with soldiers Frank Manzo and Pasquale Raucci plead guilty of conspiracy and convicted under the RICO Act. - November 18 - Among various members and associates of the Colombo Crime family, Colombo Boss Carmine "Junior" PersicoCarmine PersicoCarmine John Persico, Jr. also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", has been the de-facto boss of the Colombo crime family since the early 1970s. Persico has overseen gang wars, murders, and major rackets, most of the time from prison. He has been serving life imprisonment without...
is sentenced to 39 years' imprisonment for racketeering along with Underboss Gennaro "Jerry Lang" LangellaGennaro LangellaGennaro Adriano Langella also known as "Gerry Lang", is a member of the Colombo crime family who eventually became underboss and acting boss.-Background:...
who receives a 65-year prison sentence. - November 19 - All 8 defendants are found guilty on all RICO counts-151 of them.They will be sentenced soon.
- November 24 - 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...
"Front Boss" Anthony "Fat Tony" SalernoAnthony SalernoAnthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was a New York mobster who served as front boss of the Genovese crime family to family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante from the 1970s until his conviction in 1986...
, with three other Genovese members are indicted for labor racketeering charges concerning "exerting influence and control over Jackie Presser's selection as General President for the scandal-plagued 1.7 million member union (IBT) in 1983 and then influencing his decisions and acts to benefit the mob." - December 1 – Sicilian mafioso Gaetano "Tommy" Mazzara, a Union Township, Union County, New JerseyUnion Township, Union County, New JerseyUnion is a Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. In the 18th century, the area that is now Union was then called Connecticut Farms...
pizzeria owner recently arrested for drug trafficking in connection to the Pizza ConnectionPizza Connection TrialThe Pizza Connection Trial was one of the longest criminal jury trials on record in the district of Manhattan. It took place between October 24, 1985 and March 2, 1987-Scope of the trial:...
, is murdered 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...
. His body, stuffed in a garbage bag, is found on a street corner the following day.
Arts and literature
- John WooJohn WooJohn Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
's A Better TomorrowA Better TomorrowA Better Tomorrow is a 1986 Hong Kong action film which had a profound influence on the Hong Kong film-making industry, and later on an international scale.Directed by John Woo, it stars Chow Yun-fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung...
(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092263/ starring Lung Ti, Yun-Fat Chow and Emily Chu is released. - Mafia Princess (television movie) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091458/ starring Susan LucciSusan LucciSusan Victoria Lucci is an American actress and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the daytime drama All My Children. The character is considered an icon, and Lucci has been called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with New York Times and Los Angeles Times citing her as the...
, Kathleen WiddoesKathleen Widdoes-Life and career:Widdoes was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Bernice and Eugene Widdoes. Widdoes moved to New York City to pursue stage work and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris under a Fulbright scholarship. From 1964 to 1972 she was married to well known actor Richard Jordan, with...
and Tony CurtisTony CurtisTony Curtis was an American film actor whose career spanned six decades, but had his greatest popularity during the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in over 100 films in roles covering a wide range of genres, from light comedy to serious drama...
.
Deaths
- Frank DeCiccoFrank DeCiccoFrank DeCicco also known as Frankie D and Frankie Cheech was a New York mobster and labor racketeer for the Gambino crime family...
, associate of 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... - June 14 - Anthony SpilotroAnthony SpilotroAnthony "The Ant" Spilotro was an Italian-American mobster and enforcer for the Chicago Outfit in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s. His job was to protect and oversee the Outfit's illegal casino profits...
"The Ant", Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan areaThe Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
mobster and 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 - June 14 - Michael SpilotroMichael SpilotroMichael Peter "Micky" Spilotro was the brother of Anthony "Tony the Ant" Spilotro and was an associate of the Chicago La Cosa Nostra organized crime organization referred to as "The Outfit".-Family background:...
, 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...
associate and brother of Anthony Spilotro - December 1 – Gaetano Mazzara "Tommy", New York businessman and cousin of Frank Castronovo involved in the Pizza ConnectionPizza Connection TrialThe Pizza Connection Trial was one of the longest criminal jury trials on record in the district of Manhattan. It took place between October 24, 1985 and March 2, 1987-Scope of the trial:...