.gif)
Nick Licata (mobster)
Encyclopedia
Nick "Old Man" Licata was an Italian American
mobster who was the Boss
of the Los Angeles crime family
from 1967 until his death in 1974.
town of Camporeale
in Sicily
(although his surname may suggest family origins in Licata
). He was the son of Colagero and Vita, and had six brothers and two sisters. According to his records at Ellis Island
, he boarded the Sant' Anna in Palermo
at age 16 with $25. On December 5, 1913, Licata arrived in the United States
and joined his brother Leonardo in Brooklyn
. He later legally anglicised
his first name to "Nick". During the 1920s Licata became involved in bootlegging
in Detroit during the prohibition era. He eventually became a made man
in the Detroit crime family
. He left for Los Angeles after offending its boss, Joseph Zerilli
. He endeared himself to L.A. Boss Jack Dragna
who was able to convince Zerilli to call off a murder contract on Licata. He was accepted as a member of the L.A. family and became close to Dragna's brother, consigliere
Tom Dragna
. On March 25, 1932 Licata became a naturalized citizen. He resided in Inglewood
and owned several apartment buildings, including the one he lived in. Licata owned barrooms and operated as a bookie and loan shark
out of a hangout on La Brea Avenue
in Hollywood
and a club called "Five O'Clock" in Burbank
. He was arrested once in 1945 for refilling liquor containers.
the night Frantianno gunned down Kansas City mobsters Anthony Brancato
and Anthony Trombino, known as "The Two Tonys". Licata held a party at his club and a waitress testified that Fratianno and his associates were at the club the entire night. Fratianno, Licata, Charles "Charley Bats" Battaglia, Angelo Polizzi, and Leo "Lips" Moceri were all arrested, but none were charged for the crime. It wasn't until Fratianno became a government witness over 25 years later that the belief of the police was confirmed.
In 1952 Dragna prommoted Jimmy Fratianno to caporegime
(captain). To pacify Licata, who was the more logical candidate, Licata was allowed to work directly under Dragna. Licata made good connections with Mafia families in Detroit, Dallas, Kansas City, and New Orleans. When Dragna died in 1956 Frank DeSimone
became the new boss of the family. He named Licata his consigliere
, who was a popular choice among the younger family members. When DeSimone's underboss
Simone Scozzari
was deported to Italy in 1962 for being an illegal immigrant, Licata became DeSimone's underboss.
When DeSimone died of a heart attack Licata became boss with no opposition in 1967 and made Joseph Dippolito
his underboss. By this time the Los Angeles family was a lot different from the one Licata first came in to. The L.A.P.D.
and F.B.I.
was engaged in a tough assault against organized crime
in Los Angeles and Mafia families from other cities were stretching their power to the West Coast. Although seen as an improvement over the incompetent DeSimone, Licata wasn't able to do much to help his family.
On July 9, 1969 Licata was taken into custody after refusing to answer questions at a federal grand jury session about L.A.'s crime syndicate structure. Although Licata was under immunity from prosecution, he refused to give Judge Jesse W. Curtis Jr.
any information, which would have violated the Mafia's oath of Omertà
. He was held in contempt of court
and eventually served six months in prison. The court was looking into the murder of Jules Petro (which was committed by Ray Ferritto
) and the Apalachin Meeting
attended by Licata's predecessor Frank DeSimone. Licata also refused to acknowledge that he succeeded DeSimone as head of the crime family.
. Licata attended the wedding in Detroit. Officer Jack O'Mara found the wedding invitations with members of Detroit's and L.A.'s crime families on them while carrying out an arrest warrant on Licata. He illegally took them, showing the police's determination to bring down organized crime in California. Licata's son-in-law Frank Stellino was also active as a made man
in Los Angeles during the 1960s and 1970s.
Licata spent his last days at Saint John's Health Center
in Santa Monica
. After battling illness for some time, Licata died on October 19, 1974, nine months after his underboss died of a heart attack. Licata was survived by his wife Josephine, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was buried in Culver City
at the Holy Cross Cemetery
. His funeral was attended by 150 people. One newspaper described him as a true Godfather in every respect.
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
mobster who was the Boss
Crime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits come from the...
of the Los Angeles crime family
Los Angeles crime family
The Los Angeles crime family is an Italian American criminal organization based in Los Angeles, as part of the American Mafia . Since its inception in the early 1900s, it has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. family gained power...
from 1967 until his death in 1974.
Early life
Nicolo Licata was born on February 20, 1897 in the small ItalianItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
town of Camporeale
Camporeale
Camporeale is a comune in the Province of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about 35 km southwest of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 3,652 and an area of 38.6 km²....
in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily 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,...
(although his surname may suggest family origins in Licata
Licata
Licata is a city and comune located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River , about midway between Agrigento and Gela...
). He was the son of Colagero and Vita, and had six brothers and two sisters. According to his records at Ellis Island
Ellis Island
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...
, he boarded the Sant' Anna in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo 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...
at age 16 with $25. On December 5, 1913, Licata arrived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and joined his brother Leonardo in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn 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...
. He later legally anglicised
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
his first name to "Nick". During the 1920s Licata became involved in bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
in Detroit during the prohibition era. He eventually became a made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
in the Detroit crime family
Detroit Partnership
The Detroit Partnership, also known as the Detroit crime family, Detroit Combination, Detroit Mafia, Detroit Outfit or Zerilli crime family is an American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan...
. He left for Los Angeles after offending its boss, Joseph Zerilli
Joseph Zerilli
Joseph Zerilli was a Prohibition-era Detroit gangster who led the crime family known as the Detroit Partnership from the 1930s through the 1970s.-Early life:...
. He endeared himself to L.A. Boss Jack Dragna
Jack Dragna
Jack Ignatius Dragna was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 1900s. He was active in bootlegging in California during the Prohibition Era in the United States...
who was able to convince Zerilli to call off a murder contract on Licata. He was accepted as a member of the L.A. family and became close to Dragna's brother, consigliere
Consigliere
Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
Tom Dragna
Tom Dragna
Tom Dragna was a Sicilian-American bootlegger and mobster who became a member of the Los Angeles crime family. He is the brother of Jack Dragna and the father of Louis Tom Dragna...
. On March 25, 1932 Licata became a naturalized citizen. He resided in Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
and owned several apartment buildings, including the one he lived in. Licata owned barrooms and operated as a bookie and loan shark
Loan shark
A loan shark is a person or body that offers unsecured loans at illegally high interest rates to individuals, often enforcing repayment by blackmail or threats of violence....
out of a hangout on La Brea Avenue
La Brea Avenue
La Brea Avenue is a prominent north/south thoroughfare in Los Angeles. Several museums are located along La Brea, and it is known for having many stores and eateries.-Description:...
in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
and a club called "Five O'Clock" in Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
. He was arrested once in 1945 for refilling liquor containers.
Soldier to boss
In 1951, Licata provided an alibi for Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" FratiannoJimmy Fratianno
Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno was a Cleveland, Ohio, mobster and later acting head of the Los Angeles crime family before becoming a government witness...
the night Frantianno gunned down Kansas City mobsters Anthony Brancato
Anthony Brancato
Anthony Brancato was a Kansas City, Missouri criminal who served as a freelance gunman to various Mafia and syndicate organizations.-Early career:...
and Anthony Trombino, known as "The Two Tonys". Licata held a party at his club and a waitress testified that Fratianno and his associates were at the club the entire night. Fratianno, Licata, Charles "Charley Bats" Battaglia, Angelo Polizzi, and Leo "Lips" Moceri were all arrested, but none were charged for the crime. It wasn't until Fratianno became a government witness over 25 years later that the belief of the police was confirmed.
In 1952 Dragna prommoted Jimmy Fratianno to caporegime
Caporegime
A 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...
(captain). To pacify Licata, who was the more logical candidate, Licata was allowed to work directly under Dragna. Licata made good connections with Mafia families in Detroit, Dallas, Kansas City, and New Orleans. When Dragna died in 1956 Frank DeSimone
Frank DeSimone
Frank A. DeSimone was the Boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1956 to 1967. DeSimone was the son of former don Rosario DeSimone. He was sometime referred to as "One Eye" because one of his eyes drooped, in the same way as Charles "Lucky" Luciano...
became the new boss of the family. He named Licata his consigliere
Consigliere
Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
, who was a popular choice among the younger family members. When DeSimone's underboss
Underboss
Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
Simone Scozzari
Simone Scozzari
Simone "Sam" Scozzari was a Sicilian mobster was a member of the American Mafia in Los Angeles. He served as a soldier in the Los Angeles crime family during the 1940s and 1950s. When Frank DeSimone became boss of the L.A. crime family in 1956, he promoted Scozzari Underboss.Scozzari was born on...
was deported to Italy in 1962 for being an illegal immigrant, Licata became DeSimone's underboss.
When DeSimone died of a heart attack Licata became boss with no opposition in 1967 and made Joseph Dippolito
Joseph Dippolito
Joseph Charles Dippolito, also known as "Joe Dip", was an Italian American Mafia member in the Los Angeles crime family. The son of fellow Mafioso Salvatore Charles Dippolito , he rose to become Underboss of the Los Angeles crime family...
his underboss. By this time the Los Angeles family was a lot different from the one Licata first came in to. The L.A.P.D.
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
and F.B.I.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The 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...
was engaged in a tough assault against organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
in Los Angeles and Mafia families from other cities were stretching their power to the West Coast. Although seen as an improvement over the incompetent DeSimone, Licata wasn't able to do much to help his family.
On July 9, 1969 Licata was taken into custody after refusing to answer questions at a federal grand jury session about L.A.'s crime syndicate structure. Although Licata was under immunity from prosecution, he refused to give Judge Jesse W. Curtis Jr.
Jesse William Curtis Jr.
Jesse William Curtis Jr. was a United States federal judge.Born in San Bernardino, California, Curtis received a B.A. from the University of Redlands in 1928 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1932. He was in private practice in San Bernardino, California from 1932 to 1953...
any information, which would have violated the Mafia's oath of Omertà
Omertà
Omertà is a popular attitude and code of honour and a common definition is the "code of silence". It is common in areas of southern Italy, such as Sicily, Apulia, Calabria, and Campania, where criminal organizations defined as Mafia such as the Cosa Nostra, 'Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and...
. He was held in contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
and eventually served six months in prison. The court was looking into the murder of Jules Petro (which was committed by Ray Ferritto
Ray Ferritto
Raymond W. Ferritto was an Italian American mobster from Erie, Pennsylvania. Ferritto is best known for the 1977 murder of Irish mob boss Danny Greene....
) and the Apalachin Meeting
Apalachin Meeting
The Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the American Mafia held on November 14, 1957, at the home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara in Apalachin, New York. The meeting was attended by roughly 100 Mafiosi from the United States, Canada, and Italy...
attended by Licata's predecessor Frank DeSimone. Licata also refused to acknowledge that he succeeded DeSimone as head of the crime family.
Personal life and death
Licata eventually was back in good standing in Detroit. In 1953 Licata's son Carlo married Grace Tocco, the daughter of Detroit caporegieme William "Black Bill" ToccoWilliam Tocco
William "Black Bill" Tocco was an Italian-American mobster from Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan and a founding member of the Detroit Partnership of La Cosa Nostra.-Early years:...
. Licata attended the wedding in Detroit. Officer Jack O'Mara found the wedding invitations with members of Detroit's and L.A.'s crime families on them while carrying out an arrest warrant on Licata. He illegally took them, showing the police's determination to bring down organized crime in California. Licata's son-in-law Frank Stellino was also active as a made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
in Los Angeles during the 1960s and 1970s.
Licata spent his last days at Saint John's Health Center
Saint John's Health Center
Saint John's Health Center is a hospital in Santa Monica, California, United States. The hospital was founded in 1942 by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.-List of famous patients:*Former US President Ronald Reagan, 2001, taken to St...
in Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. After battling illness for some time, Licata died on October 19, 1974, nine months after his underboss died of a heart attack. Licata was survived by his wife Josephine, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He was buried in Culver City
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
at the Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City
Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic cemetery at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
. His funeral was attended by 150 people. One newspaper described him as a true Godfather in every respect.