Robert F. Carrozza
Encyclopedia
Robert F. Carrozza also known as "Bobby Russo", (born January 9, 1940 East Boston, Massachusetts
) is an Italian-American mobster from East Boston, Massachusetts
who led a bloody internal rebellion against the leadership of the Providence
-based Patriarca crime family
.
became the stepbrother of Patriarca crime family
capo
Joseph (JR) Russo born May 5, 1931 in East Boston, Massachusetts
after his Italian-American housewife mother remarried Russo's father. After his stepmother married his father, he used his adopted named "Robert (Bobby) Russo" as a criminal alias among associates. His stepbrother became notorious for murdering mob contractor killer Joseph Barboza in San Francisco, California
in 1976. Russo was later convicted of RICO
and sent to prison where he died of natural causes in 1997. Robert would later the last name of his stepbrother's Christian name 'Russo' as an alias when involved in organized crime. Journalist Howie Carr would write that unlike the respect his stepbrother Russo earned from mob capos such as Ilario Zannino and Angelo Mercurio, Carrozza was "considered such a complete moron by Patriarca crime family underboss Gennaro Anguilo that he was told that if he set foot in the city proper, excluding East Boston, Massachusetts
, that he would be shot on sight."
and family associate Frank Salemme
. By seizing family leadership, Carrozza and the other renegades sought to control illegal gambling and the extortion
of bookmaker
s, drug dealers and restaurant owners in Massachusetts
. This takeover attempt provoked a gang civil war that lasted until 1996 and claimed over a dozen lives.
On June 16, 1989, Patriarca underboss
William P. Grasso's body was found with a bullet wound to the head along the banks of the Connecticut River
in Massachusetts . Five hours after the discovery of Grasso’s body, gunmen shot and seriously wounded Salemme at a restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts
. On June 27, 1989, informant and former Patriarca family member, Angelo Mercurio
told Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agent John Connolly
that Russo, Ferrara and Carrozza had planned and executed both shootings. Much of the Patriarca family's legal troubles resulted from this relationship between Whitey Bulger, leader of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang
, and Connolly. In exchange for Bulger providing Connolly with incriminating information on the Patriarca family, Connolly protected Bulger and his criminal operations from law enforcement.
On March 26, 1990, Carrozza and twenty other family members were indicted on racketeering, extortion, narcotics, illegal gambling, and murder charges. The Patriarca arrests were described as “the most sweeping attack ever launched on a single organized crime family.” One of the most damaging pieces of evidence was a tape recording of a Cosa Nostra induction ceremony attended by 13 Patriarca family members. On January 6, 1992, Carrozza's attorney, Henry D. Katz, offered Carrozza a plea bargain
in which the government promised not to prosecute him for the Grasso murder, an offense that could carry a life sentence, and for the attempted murder of Salemme. Carrozza accepted the plea bargain and was sentenced to 19 years in prison. In 1993, 26 others were indicted and convicted for running a bookmaking operation.
Following Carrozza’s sentencing in April 1992, it took nearly two years for the "renegade faction" to plan its revenge. Ciampi and Michael P. Romano, Sr. visited Carrozza several times in prison in Pennsylvania
. The FBI contended that the two men sought Carrozza’s permission to continue the war against Salemme. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Auerhahn claimed, "Robert Carrozza supplied legitimacy. You can’t take on a Mafia
member unless you have one with you." Using Ciampi’s social club as the group’s headquarters, the "renegade faction" in 1994 retaliated against Salemme by killing several of his supporters.
, or full member, of the Patriarca family of those indicted.
Sean Thomas Cote, the first of four indicted members to turn government witness, dominated the grand jury
testimony that produced the indictment
s. Carrozza was accused of orchestrating the "renegade faction’s" activities from prison, largely through Ciampi and Michael Romano, Sr.
At a July 1999 court hearing, Carrozza announced that he would represent himself at the new trial. Despite efforts by District Judge Nathaniel Gorton to dissuade him, Carrozza remained adamant. On November 1, 1999, Carrozza began his opening statement at the trial with the comment "I’m a little nervous." He then told the jury that he previously confessed to being part of an "enterprise" during his 1992 trial and then stated, "Unlike some witnesses in this case, I accept the fact that I’m guilty of crimes and accept punishment for them." Carroza informed jurors that despite prison authorities monitoring his mail and phone calls since 1989, prosecutors lacked any evidence that he had conspired with the other indicted men.
One month into the trial, Carrozza's former attorney offered prosecutors a plea bargain
agreement from Carrozza. In exchange for pleading guilty to a felony
charge of gambling across state line
s, two more years would be added to Carrozza's existing prison sentence and he would be exempted from testifying in any federal grand jury investigation of the Patriarca Family or from cooperating with the government. A deal was worked out and Carrozza served his expanded sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution - Medium Allenwood in White Deer, Pennsylvania. On March 23, 2008, Carozza was released from prison.
East Boston, Massachusetts
East Boston is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, with approximately 40,000 residents. The community was created by connecting several islands using landfill and was annexed by Boston in 1836. East Boston is separated from the rest of the city by Boston Harbor and bordered by Winthrop,...
) is an Italian-American mobster from East Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
who led a bloody internal rebellion against the leadership of the Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
-based Patriarca crime family
Patriarca crime family
The 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"...
.
Biography
Robert Carrozza born January 9, 1940 in Winthrop, MassachusettsWinthrop, Massachusetts
The Town of Winthrop is a municipality in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Winthrop was 17,497 at the 2010 U.S. Census. It is an oceanside suburban community in Greater Boston situated at the north entrance to Boston Harbor and is very close to Logan International...
became the stepbrother of Patriarca crime family
Patriarca crime family
The 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"...
capo
Capo
A capo is a device used on the neck of a stringed instrument to shorten the playable length of the strings, hence raising the pitch. It is frequently used on guitars, mandolins, and banjos. G.B...
Joseph (JR) Russo born May 5, 1931 in East Boston, Massachusetts
East Boston, Massachusetts
East Boston is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, with approximately 40,000 residents. The community was created by connecting several islands using landfill and was annexed by Boston in 1836. East Boston is separated from the rest of the city by Boston Harbor and bordered by Winthrop,...
after his Italian-American housewife mother remarried Russo's father. After his stepmother married his father, he used his adopted named "Robert (Bobby) Russo" as a criminal alias among associates. His stepbrother became notorious for murdering mob contractor killer Joseph Barboza in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
in 1976. Russo was later convicted of RICO
RICO
-Music:*Rico , a 2000 album by Matt Bianco*"Rico" , a 1998 song the Matthew Good Band from the album Underdogs*Rico International, a manufacturer of reeds, mouthpieces, and woodwind accessories...
and sent to prison where he died of natural causes in 1997. Robert would later the last name of his stepbrother's Christian name 'Russo' as an alias when involved in organized crime. Journalist Howie Carr would write that unlike the respect his stepbrother Russo earned from mob capos such as Ilario Zannino and Angelo Mercurio, Carrozza was "considered such a complete moron by Patriarca crime family underboss Gennaro Anguilo that he was told that if he set foot in the city proper, excluding East Boston, Massachusetts
East Boston, Massachusetts
East Boston is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, with approximately 40,000 residents. The community was created by connecting several islands using landfill and was annexed by Boston in 1836. East Boston is separated from the rest of the city by Boston Harbor and bordered by Winthrop,...
, that he would be shot on sight."
Internal conflict
In 1989, a violent internal conflict fractured the Patriarca family. A “renegade faction” led by Carrozza, his stepbrother and family consiglieri Joseph Russo, and mobster Vincent Ferrarra challenged the leadership of boss Raymond PatriarcaRaymond Patriarca
Raymond Patriarca may refer to:*Raymond L.S. Patriarca, Providence mobster and founder of the Patriarca crime family*Raymond Patriarca, Jr., Providence mobster and former leader of the Patriarca crime family...
and family associate Frank Salemme
Frank Salemme
Francis P. Salemme [Salemone], also known as "Cadillac Frank" and "Julian Daniel Selig" , is a Boston, Massachusetts mobster who became a hitman and eventually the boss of the Patriarca crime family of New England before turning government witness.-Early years:In 1957, while in prison, Salemme...
. By seizing family leadership, Carrozza and the other renegades sought to control illegal gambling and the extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
of bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...
s, drug dealers and restaurant owners in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. This takeover attempt provoked a gang civil war that lasted until 1996 and claimed over a dozen lives.
On June 16, 1989, Patriarca 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...
William P. Grasso's body was found with a bullet wound to the head along the banks of the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
in Massachusetts . Five hours after the discovery of Grasso’s body, gunmen shot and seriously wounded Salemme at a restaurant in Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus, Massachusetts
Saugus is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 26,628 at the 2010 census.-History:Saugus was first settled in 1629. Saugus is an Indian name believed to mean "great" or "extended"...
. On June 27, 1989, informant and former Patriarca family member, Angelo Mercurio
Angelo Mercurio
Angelo "Sonny" Mercurio was a member of the Patriarca crime family who became a government informant and recorded a Cosa Nostra induction ceremony.-History:...
told Federal Bureau of Investigation
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...
(FBI) agent John Connolly
John Connolly (FBI)
John J. Connolly, Jr. is a former FBI agent, who was convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice convictions stemming from his relationship with James J. "Whitey" Bulger, Steve Flemmi, and the Winter Hill Gang...
that Russo, Ferrara and Carrozza had planned and executed both shootings. Much of the Patriarca family's legal troubles resulted from this relationship between Whitey Bulger, leader of Boston’s Winter Hill Gang
Winter Hill Gang
The Winter Hill Gang is a structured confederation of Boston, Massachusetts-area organized crime figures, predominantly Irish-American with a small Italian-American faction. It derives its name from the Winter Hill neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts north of Boston. Its members have...
, and Connolly. In exchange for Bulger providing Connolly with incriminating information on the Patriarca family, Connolly protected Bulger and his criminal operations from law enforcement.
On March 26, 1990, Carrozza and twenty other family members were indicted on racketeering, extortion, narcotics, illegal gambling, and murder charges. The Patriarca arrests were described as “the most sweeping attack ever launched on a single organized crime family.” One of the most damaging pieces of evidence was a tape recording of a Cosa Nostra induction ceremony attended by 13 Patriarca family members. On January 6, 1992, Carrozza's attorney, Henry D. Katz, offered Carrozza a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
in which the government promised not to prosecute him for the Grasso murder, an offense that could carry a life sentence, and for the attempted murder of Salemme. Carrozza accepted the plea bargain and was sentenced to 19 years in prison. In 1993, 26 others were indicted and convicted for running a bookmaking operation.
Carrozza’s activities from prison
In 1991, Salemme became boss of the Patriarca Family and the family conflict escalated. Both factions wanted to collect the family’s extortion payments and control its other business. Anthony Ciampi, a key Carrozza faction member, owned a club on Bennington Street in East Boston, the site of gambling and illegal card games, that was frequented by Carrozza faction members.Following Carrozza’s sentencing in April 1992, it took nearly two years for the "renegade faction" to plan its revenge. Ciampi and Michael P. Romano, Sr. visited Carrozza several times in prison in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. The FBI contended that the two men sought Carrozza’s permission to continue the war against Salemme. Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey Auerhahn claimed, "Robert Carrozza supplied legitimacy. You can’t take on a Mafia
Mafia
The 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...
member unless you have one with you." Using Ciampi’s social club as the group’s headquarters, the "renegade faction" in 1994 retaliated against Salemme by killing several of his supporters.
1997 federal indictment
On April 8, 1997 federal authorities indicted 15 members of the "renegade faction" for three murders, seven murder attempts, and seven planned murders. Carrozza was named as the sole made manMade 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...
, or full member, of the Patriarca family of those indicted.
Sean Thomas Cote, the first of four indicted members to turn government witness, dominated the grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
testimony that produced the indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
s. Carrozza was accused of orchestrating the "renegade faction’s" activities from prison, largely through Ciampi and Michael Romano, Sr.
At a July 1999 court hearing, Carrozza announced that he would represent himself at the new trial. Despite efforts by District Judge Nathaniel Gorton to dissuade him, Carrozza remained adamant. On November 1, 1999, Carrozza began his opening statement at the trial with the comment "I’m a little nervous." He then told the jury that he previously confessed to being part of an "enterprise" during his 1992 trial and then stated, "Unlike some witnesses in this case, I accept the fact that I’m guilty of crimes and accept punishment for them." Carroza informed jurors that despite prison authorities monitoring his mail and phone calls since 1989, prosecutors lacked any evidence that he had conspired with the other indicted men.
One month into the trial, Carrozza's former attorney offered prosecutors a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
agreement from Carrozza. In exchange for pleading guilty to a felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
charge of gambling across state line
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
s, two more years would be added to Carrozza's existing prison sentence and he would be exempted from testifying in any federal grand jury investigation of the Patriarca Family or from cooperating with the government. A deal was worked out and Carrozza served his expanded sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution - Medium Allenwood in White Deer, Pennsylvania. On March 23, 2008, Carozza was released from prison.