1983 in organized crime

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1 Events
2 Arts and literature
3 Births
4 Deaths

[edit] Events

Sicilian mafioso Salvatore Contorno begins anonymously writing letters to the police with information on the mafia. Michele Greco's powerful position within the Sicilian mafia is finally realized due to Contorno's revalations.
Sicilian mafioso Tommaso Buscetta is arrested after, three years previously, fleeing a life sentence. He is sent back to Italy.
Sicilian mafioso Benito Zito is arrested in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in a sting operation after selling 2.5 kilos of heroin to undercover DEA Agent Stephen Hopson between June-August 1983.
January 10 - Roy DeMeo, a member of the Gambino crime family and head of an elite execution squad for nearly a decade, is murdered, likely by Frank DeCicco, on orders from Paul Castellano.
February 10 - Japanese-American gambler and Chicago mob associate Ken "Tokyo Joe" Eto is taken for a ride and shot in the head 3 times by Jaspar Campise and Cook County officer John Gattuso. The bullets fail to penetrate Eto's skull and after receiving medical attention he is placed in the Witness Protection Program. [1]
April 29 - Philadelphia mobster Pasquale "Pat the Cat" Spirito is shot to death. Gaetano "Tommy Horsehead" Scafidi is assigned the job of fabricating witness testimonies for one of the hitmen. [2]
July 29 - Italian anti-mafia magistrate, Rocco Chinnici killed in a car bomb, detonated by Pino Greco on the orders of Michele Greco.
October 26 - Facing life imprisonment (in addition to a 103 year prison sentence), Cleveland mobster Angelo "Big Ange" Lonardo agrees to become a government informant, supplying the FBI with information concerning the Cleveland crime syndicate proving vital in later federal prosecutions. As an Underboss, Lonardo became the highest ranking member ever to become an informant.
November 9 - Australian drug traffickers Kevin Barlow and Brian Chambers arrested at the Bayan Lepas International Airport with a suit case containing 141.9 grams of heroin.
December 6 - Philadelphia mobster Robert Riccobene is shot to death in front of his mother. Gaetano Scafidi is assigned the job of cleaning the shotgun used in the hit. [3]