Anthony Accetturo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anthony Accetturo
Born 1938
Penalty Imprisonment, sentence stayed
Occupation Capo of the Jersey Crew

Anthony "Tumac" Accetturo (b. 1938) is a former caporegime and leader of the New Jersey faction of the Lucchese crime family, called the Jersey Crew, who ran the family's New Jersey operations for many turbulent years before being sentenced to state prison.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born in 1938, Accetturo's father was a butcher in Orange, New Jersey, his mother a seamstress. Accetturo dropped out of school after completing the sixth grade. At age 16, Accetturo moved to Newark, New Jersey and became the leader of a large street. He received his nickname "Tumac" from the caveman hero of the 1940 film One Million B.C because Accetturo was a ferocious street fighter. At age 17, Accetturo was recruited by the Lucchese crime family to work in an illegal gambling and loansharking organization. During the 1960s, the Lucchese family put him in charge of this operation.

[edit] New Jersey crew

In 1970, Accetturo moved to Florida to avoid an investigation of his gambling operations in Newark. Another reason for his move was that South Florida was open to all the crime families for exploitation. During his absence, Accetturo designated his lieutenant, Michael "Mad Dog" Taccetta of Florham Park, New Jersey, to run the day-to-day operations of the crew. In the early 1970s, Lucchese boss Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo, put Accetturo in charge of the entire Lucchese operation in New Jersey, even though he wasn't yet a family member. The delay in his initiation occurred because none of the New York families were accepting new members during this period. However, Corallo and Accetturo had a great relationship. In 1976, Accetturo finally became a made man in the Lucchese family and was soon promoted to caporegime.

In February, 1973, Accetturo was indicted for loansharking and extortion. He was eventually arrested in Miami, Florida with his bail set at $10,000. In 1976, the State of New Jersey tried to extradite Accetturo from Florida; however, he fended off the order due to poor health. Based in Hollywood, Florida, Accetturo would continue to elude federal authorities while remaining involved in Lucchese interests in New Jersey.

In 1980, the murder of Philadelphia crime family boss Angelo "Gino the Gentle Don" Bruno, created a power vacuum in that family, with rivals Philip Testa and Nicodemo Scarfo fighting for control. Accetturo used this unrest to establish a small foothold for the Lucchese family in Philadelphia, using Michael Taccetta and his brother Martin.[1].

[edit] Rivalry with Taccetta

On October 18, 1985 Accetturo was indicted on charges of threatening government witnesses and posing a threat to public safety. He was later charged with intimidating of competitors of the Lucchese-controlled Taccetta Group Enterprises, along with credit card and wire fraud. Facing a number of federal prosecutions, Accetturo was granted a stay of sentence and was allowed to live in his Florida residence.

In 1987, Accetturo and Michael Taccetta went on trial for narcotics and racketeering charges. One of the longest trials in U.S. history, the trial went on for 21 months. When the verdict was read, the defendants were pronounced not guilty on all counts, a stunning rebuke to the government.

During the RICO trial, the relationship between Accettura and Taccetta deteriorated into an outright power struggle. Taccetta was jealous of the rise of Accetturo's son, Anthony Accetturo Jr., within the New Jersey crew. Taccetta also felt that the father had given him very little respect and deference over the years that he had been watching the New Jersey operation. Finally, Taccetta ordered a murder contract on the senior Accetturo. When the trial ended in acquittals for the defendants, Accetturo returned to Florida for his own safety.

In September, 1989, New Jersey authorities extradited Accetturo from North Carolina due to his refusal to appear and testify before a grand jury about labor racketeering and other state offenses. Due to Taccetta's murder contract, the State placed Accetturo in protective custody. In 1993, Taccetta was sent to federal prison.

[edit] Lucchese family demands

In the late 1980s, the new leaders of the Lucchese crime family in Brooklyn, New York, Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, suspended the family's relationship with the New Jersey crew. During the last years of the Corallo regime, Accetturo had been steadily decreasing his tribute to the point that he was only giving the family a measley $50,000 a year. Amuso and Casso knew this was way too little and instead demanded that Accetturo turn over 50% of the crew's proceeds to them. When Accetturo refused, the two bosses stripped Accetturo of his rank as caporegime and threatened to kill him. In the fall of 1988, the entire New Jersey crew was summoned to meet with Amuso in Brooklyn. Fearful of being massacred, everyone refused to go. Soon the entire New Jersey crew had gone into hiding, decimating the Lucchese interests in New Jersey.[2] Over the next 12 months, most of the New Jersey crew members came back to the family. Amuso told the returned crew members that Accetturo was an outlaw and needed to be disposed off. Amuso also sent hitmen to Florida, searching for Accetturo. However, what Amuso didn't realized was that Accetturo was in jail in New Jersey, for refusing to testify in front a state panel.

In 1993, Accetturo was convicted on racketeering charges. Facing a 30 year prison sentence and regarded as a family pariah, Accetturo learned that Amuso had provided pictures of his wife, as well as himself, to the Lucchese hitmen.

This led Acceturo to become a government witness and along with reputed mob enforcer, Thomas Ricciardi went on to testify against the Tacetta brothers and the remaining defendants. Michael and Martin Taccetta were sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for racketeering, narcotics, extortion, loansharking, conspiracy and murder in 1993. Taccetta reportedly went on to control The Jersey Crew, as he was doing his sentence in Atlanta. As of March, Accetturo is still alive and well.

[edit] In popular culture

The 2006 Sidney Lumet film Find Me Guilty chronicles the 2-year trial of Accetturo and other family members.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.ganglandnews.com/column97.htm - Retrieved: August 22, 2007.
  2. ^ http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/family_epics/lucchese1/5.html - Retrieved: August 22, 2007.
  • Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families: The Rise, Decline & Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empire. New York: St. Martins Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-312-36181-5

[edit] Further reading

  • Rudolph, Robert C. The Boys from New Jersey: How the Mob Beat the Feds. New York: William Morrow and Company Inc., 1992. ISBN 978-0-8135-2154-1

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Thomas Lucchese		 Jersey Crew Boss
1960-1980		 Succeeded by
Michael Taccetta