Christopher Furnari
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Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari, Sr. (b. 1923) is a Brooklyn, New York mobster who became a powerful Lucchese crime family consigliere in the 1980s and a member of the Mafia Crime Commission.
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[edit] Early years
During the 1950s, Furnari made his way through the ranks of the Lucchese family under boss Gaetano "Tommy Brown" Lucchese. The ambitious and cunning Funari soon became an influential member of the Brooklyn crime scene. By the early 1960s, Furnari had become a caporegime in the family. The Lucchese powerbase was traditionally the Bronx; the first three bosses of the crime family, Gaetano "Tom" Reina, Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano, and Lucchese were all based in the Bronx. In contrast, Furnari belonged to the Brooklyn faction of the Lucchese family and operated from Bensonhurst at the The 19th Hole, a nondescript bar and mob social club. Furnari oversaw a crew involved in gambling, loansharking, extortion, burglary, narcotics dealing, and the occasional murder contract. At this time, Furnari's criminal record included convictions for assault and sex offenses. He is the father of Christopher Furnari Jr., who is also his namesake.
[edit] The 19th Hole and His Rise
Furnari's social club was the hub of criminal activity in Bensonhurst. New York wiseguys from every New York crime family conducted business in the club and socialized over food and drink. In the mid 1960s, aspiring mobsters Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso became Furnari's protegees. Furnari had noticed their criminal talents early and recruited them into his crew. In the mafia, talent usually meant a penchant for violence and the ability to make money: both men eventually made their bones performing hits for Furnari and the Luccheses. Furnari placed his proteges in charge of a large bookmaking operation and debt collecting operation until they were officially made into the mafia.
In 1967, Furnari's longtime boss, Tommy Luchese, died of a brain tumor, leaving the family to be run by an interim boss, Carmine "Mr. Gribbs" Tramunti. Luchese's real successor Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo, was convicted of bribery in 1967 and sentenced in 1968 to prison for two years. Corallo, successful labor racketeer and a friend of Furnari's was released from prison in 1970, but allowed Tramunti to continue on as Acting Boss. In 1973, with Tramunti's imprisonment, Corallo took over as official Boss. Around this time, the Five Families of New York organized crime decided to open the books to a new generation of rising mafiosi. Furnari immediately sponsored Amuso and Casso and then made them overseers of the "Bypass Gang", a highly successful burglary ring. The Bypass Gang contained wiseguys and associates from all the New York crime families. Amuso and Casso responsible for ensuring that the Lucchese's received their fair share of the spoils. During the 1970s and 80's, the Bypass Gang reportedly stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cash, jewellery, and other merchandise.
[edit] Consigliere
In 1980, Furnari was promoted to consigliere in the Lucchese family. Furnari now enjoyed enormous influence both within his own family, the other New York families, and crime families from other US cities. Furnari continued to oversee his criminal interests from the 19th Hole, but spent much of his time providing advise and mediation for family members as well as settling disputes with the other families. Furnari would reign as one of New York's top mafia bosses throughout the early 1980s until he was hit with a blinding indictment.
[edit] The Commission Case
On February 25, 1985, Furnari and other top New York mob leaders were indicted in one of the biggest R.I.C.O. (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) ever brought against the mob. Furnari was indicted as a result of a Federal Bureau of Investigation F.B.I. probe that used undercover surveillance and bugging techniques against the mob leaders. The bug that snared Furnari had been placed in Corallo's Jaguar. The bug recorded Corallo conducting business with Furnari and other family leaders. Furnari was released on bail pending trial.
[edit] Millions to Be Made
In early 1986, while Furnari and other mob leaders were awaiting trial, the New York families uncovered a new and protentially lucrative racket. The Organizatsiya the Russian-American Mafiya based in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn and led by Marat Balagula, had started to bootleg gasoline. The New York families immediately demanded that the Russians pay a 2 cent per gallon "mafia tax" on every gallon of gasoline that they smuggled. Naturally, the Russians were not happy about paying any tax, but in the 1980s the New York crime families were too powerful for them to fight. In the division of gasoline tax rights among the Five Families, Furnari and the Luccheses' received the rights to all of Brooklyn and Staten Island, and a part of Queens.
[edit] The Outcome of R.I.C.O.
In September, 1986, Furnari went on trial in the famous New York Mafia Commission case. The charges included extortion and labor racketeering within the labor unions and construction industry, and murder for hire of former Bonanno crime family boss, Carmine "Lilo" Galante. Galante had been gunned down on July 12, 1979 allegedly on the orders of the Commission. Some have argued that Furnari wasn't on the Commission then and had no connection with the Galante hit. However, Furnari could not use this as a defense argument. On November 19, 1986 Furnari was convicted under the RICO Act on all counts, including the Galante murder and sentenced to 100 years without the possibility of parole.
After the sentencing, Furnari and the other convicted defendants met with their lawyers and each other in a back room of the courthouse for a final Italian meal and a bottle of wine. Corallo gave the traditional Italian toast of Cent'anni, may we live 100 years, at which time Lucchese crime family Underboss, Salvatore Santoro stated, "I think it's time to get a new toast?". Furnari and the rest of the bosses just laughed.
[edit] Aftermath
Since 1995, Furnari has been challenging the "no parole" stipulation of his sentence in court. In July 2000, the Third Circuit Federal Court of Appeals ruled that the parole board officials had been denying Mr. Furnari's parole eligibility on the tainted assertions of Mob turncoat Casso. This was the same Casso who had been Furnari's protegee. With the jailing of Furnari and other family leaders, he and Amuso had ascended to the crime family leadership.
In 1990, Amuso and Casso became fugitives to avoid prosecution in the famous "Windows Case." In 1992 Amuso was captured and sentenced to life in prison. In 1993, Casso was also captured; however, in 1994 he struck a deal with the government to testify against Furnari and other family leaders. However, Casso eventually lost his deal due to being a poor witness and to continuing criminal activity in prison, and was sentenced to life in 1996.
In 2001, the Bureau of Prisons National Appeal Board ruled that Furnari was a multiple murderer and was not eligible for parole, based on what some people considered to be Casso's discredited testimony. While Furnari's lawyers continue to fight this decision, Furnari is still serving his prison term. As of October 2007, Furnari is still imprisoned in Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) - Medium Allenwood in Pennsylvania. His projected release date is November 24, 2044, effectively life without parole.
[edit] References
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia: Second Edition. New York, Checkmark Books. 1999
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiots Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis. Alpha Books. 2002
- Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families. New York. St Martins Press, 2005.
- Lawson, Guy and Oldham, William. The Brother Hoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia. New York. Pocket Books, 2006.
