Gennaro Langella
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Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella (b. 1939), also known under the alias "Gerry Lang", was a member of the Brooklyn-based Colombo crime family. Langella grew up in Brooklyn and was a close associate of Carmine Persico. It is believed that Langella was secretly made into the family during a period of time when the books were officially "closed".
Langella quickly rose up the ranks of the family, and while Persico served prison time during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Langella doubled as an underboss and acting boss. Langella superives various labor rackets for the family, including their stake in "Concrete Club", and exerted control over various labor unions, inlucding Laborers Local 6A. On October 24, 1984, Langella and the major leaders in the family, such as Carmine Persico, his son Alphonse, John DeRoss, Andrew Russo, Anthony Scarpati, and high ranking soldiers and associates Dominic Cataldo, Hugh McIntosh, and Frank Falanga were indicted on racketeering and extortion charges. All men would be convicted and receive lengthy prison sentences.
Later, Langella would be convicted in the Commission Trial, along with Carmine Persico, Anthony Salerno, Anthony Corallo, Salvatore Santoro, and Christopher Furnari. All men would be convicted and sentenced to 100 years in prison each.
[edit] Further reading
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
- Jacobs, James B., Christopher Panarella and Jay Worthington. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0
- Maas, Peter. Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-06-093096-9
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
