Giovanni Riggi

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John Riggi
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Born 1925
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Penalty 20 to life (Currently on trial)
Status Alive
Occupation Boss of the DeCavalcante crime family

Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi (b. 1925) is a longtime member of the New Jersey Mafia and as of 2008, the reputed Boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. Riggi is currently incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Devens in Massachusetts on extortion and labor racketeering charges, as well as on trial for conspiracy to commit murder and faces life if convicted.

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[edit] DeCavalcante soldier

During the beginning of the 1960s, the early Boss of the DeCavalcante crime family, Simone "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante, decided to expand his crime family in North Jersey, as he chose a man who was seen as well-spoken and polite, named Giovanni Riggi, to become a soldier in the North Jersey faction of the DeCavalcante crime family. Riggi would reportedly organize illegal gambling and racketeering operations in the backroom of grocery stores, social clubs and coffee shops.

[edit] Promotion

According to Jerry Capeci, on Sunday mornings, virtually the entire DeCavalcante crime family would spend a few hours at Riggi’s coffee shop on John Street, across from the Ribera Social Club, that Riggi also reportedly ran, ostensibly to raise money for poor kids in Sicily. This was amazingly admired by Sam DeCavalcante himself, that the newly made mobster would run these places to gain money for other children. Which is why, on October 2, 1964, Riggi was promoted Caporegime by DeCavalcante, and according to Jerry Capeci, Riggi would describe DeCavalcante as a fair and more honest boss than his predecessor Nick Delmore, in return for his promotion. Toward the mid 1970s, Riggi would develop and control all construction through union and construction racketeering, while bribing and extorting union officials in the entire North Jersey area, especially around Newark. He was then recognized as a top member of the DeCavalcante crime family.

[edit] Acting boss

After Sam DeCavalcante left the family in the mid 1970s, he appointed John Riggi to be the acting boss, while he stayed semi-retired in Florida toward the early 1980s. At this time, Riggi developed a friendship with longtime DeCavalcante Underboss Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso, and began discussing business for many years. Originally a business agent of the International Association of Laborers and Hod Carriers, Riggi became one of the greatest earners in all of North Jersey, who ended up becoming their main muscle and new Boss, after DeCavalcante officially retired in 1982. From that point on, Riggi became the official boss of the DeCavalcante crime family.

[edit] John the Eagle

[edit] Union and construction

In 1986, Riggi had the DeCavalcante crime family to maintain their old traditions, which Sam DeCavalcante saw as unnecessary. Among these traditions were to resume using a gun, knife and burning holy card as props in induction ceremonies for associates to become soldiers in the family. Riggi also promoted himself as president of District Council 30 within the union, and served as a "consultant" for Local 394, which was his official job from the 1960s to the 1980s. It is principally through this union affiliation, that the DeCavalcante crime family has been able to extort jobs, goods and services from the construction in-dustry in New Jersey. Riggi's control of some building contractors, extends throughout New Jersey and portions of Staten Island. Since Local 394 provides laborers to contractors daily, the union hall in Elizabeth, New Jersey became a meeting place for laborers, subcontractors and anyone seeking union help. Additionally, Riggi used his power and influence to place subcontractors and workers other than laborers at various construction projects around the state. In this way, Riggi and the DeCavalcantes were able to rip-off union welfare and pension funds.

[edit] A favor for John Gotti

According to Jerry Capeci, in the late 1980s, the current Boss of the Gambino crime family, John Gotti, asked Riggi for a favor: the execution of Fred Weiss, a jammed-up private sanitation magnate considered a candidate for becoming an informer. The late Gambino garbage king James "Jimmy Brown" Failla, was the catalyst for Gotti’s request, according to prosecutors Miriam Rocah, Michael McGovern and John Hillebrecht. On September 5, 1989, in his home, Riggi told capo Anthony Rotondo, that since the boss of one family had asked the boss of their family for help …. the DeCavalcante family had to get the job done at any cost, according to an FBI report obtained by Gangland. After impressing the importance of the effort on Rotondo and selecting mobsters for the task, Riggi instructed Rotondo to tell DeCavalcante associate, Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, to visit Riggi the following day. (This is according to a report by FBI Agent Nora Conley.) On September 11, one day after Rotondo spotted Gambino crime family mobsters on the prowl near Weiss’s Staten Island home, the DeCavalcante hitmen moved into high gear and shot Weiss to death in front of his home. Longtime DeCavalcante Underboss, Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso, who also played a huge role in Weiss' murder, was also reported missing in the summer of 1991.

[edit] Indictment and conviction

But on October 16, 1989, Riggi, his sons, and two of their close associates, family Underboss Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo and soldier Salvatore Timpani, were indicted on federal racketeering charges alleging organized crime control of segments of the construction industry through Local 394. During the bail hearing following his arrest, the judge barred Riggi from any contact with any union officials or contractors, and ordered him to vacate any other union positions he may have held at the time. Riggi was convicted on July 20, 1990, of extortion and labor law violations, and Timpani of extortion. The other defendants were acquitted. Riggi was sentenced to 15 years in federal penitentiary.

[edit] Ruling family from prison

Riggi continued to run the family while incarcerated. At first, he appointed one of the most notorious mobsters of the DeCavalcante crime family as his Acting boss; Gaetano "Corky" Vastola. Vastola had been a recognized Captain of the DeCavalcante family for years, and ran the normal day-to-day activities in North Jersey throughout the year of 1991, however, during that year, he was indicted on large extortion charges, as well as New York Gambino crime family boss John Gotti and Underboss Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano recruited DeCavalcante family captain John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato, and conspired to have Vastola murdered. In this way, D'Amato could step up and run the family for Gotti and Gravano, however, Vastola was soon convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison, as Riggi surprisingly promoted D'Amato as the new Acting boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. [1]

[edit] Reign of John D'Amato

John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato had been promoted in early 1991 to run the DeCavalcante crime family by Riggi, but at the same time, he had been recruited by John Gotti and was eager to run the family under the wings of the New York based Gambino crime family, however, later that year D'Amato argued with his girlfriend, same girlfriend who soldier Anthony Rotondo turned out to be involved with, who told him that when she and D'Amato were out in clubs at nights, D'Amato would be swinging and have sex with other men. Reportedly, Rotondo became highly upset and shared it with the current administration members Giacomo "Jake" Amari, the reputed Underboss, and Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile, the powerful Consigliere, who both acted on prior knowledge and decided to have D'Amato murdered while informing the incarcerated Riggi. In January of 1992, D'Amato was reported missing. His body has never been found. [2] [3]

[edit] Amari & the power vacuum

Toward the early 1990s, Giacomo "Jake" Amari took over as Acting boss for Riggi, but died later of stomach cancer. This caused a massive power vacuum, with members such as Charles "Big Ears" Majuri, the alleged Riggi Consigliere Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, all attempting to ratify and re-structure the entire family. But just when it looked like to be a huge war in North Jersey, reportedly Vitabile acted in Riggi's place, and created the Ruling Committee/Panel to easer the relationship between the three factions, which included newly DeCavalcante capos Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, Charles "Big Ears" Majuri and Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo, with Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile as the current Consigliere and advisor to all three factions, to make sure that no faction grew more powerful than the others. This was a temporary situation which went throughout the 1990s, until the DeCavalcante crime family could peacefully find a new Acting boss.

[edit] Law enforcement & trial

After several years of unrest in the North Jersey faction, including the attempted murder on DeCavalcante Caporegime, Charles "Big Ears" Majuri and longtime New Jersey mobster, Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo becoming an FBI-informant, the DeCavalcante crime family has suffered greatly. Not just due to encreased law enforcement, but much due to internal rivalry. In the years from 2003 to 2005, US law enforcement discovered that Riggi had reportedly been ordering murders from his jailcell, and he was put on trial once again, for murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He additionally received another 5 years to his sentence, but due to the testimony provided by Vincent Palermo and longtime soldier Anthony Capo, Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile has received a life sentence, as well as Riggi was put on trial again for murder and conspiracy charges. If convicted, Riggi is looking at a life sentence as well.

[edit] Regrouping the family

After US law enforcement launshed a pile of indictments and completely broke down the DeCavalcante crime family by putting most of the members at the top away, Riggi, jailed as he was, used prominent DeCavalcante figures Francesco "Frank" Guarraci and Joseph "Joe" Miranda to lead the family. After the life convictions of powerful family captains Philip "Phil" Abramo and Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti, along with then-current Consigliere Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile, federal athorities recognized Guarraci as the prominent Acting Boss of the DeCavalcante crime family, with Joseph "Joe" Miranda as the reputed acting Underboss on behalf of the newly indicted Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo, as well as identifying local New Jersey soldier Frank D'Amato as the new Consigliere of the family. With aproximatley almost every major figure in the DeCavalcante crime family on trial, including Riggi, the family's power and influence of North Jersey has suffered greatly during the last decade, mostly due to the testimony provided by prominent members Vincent Palermo and Anthony Rotondo.

[edit] Current Crime Boss

As of February, 2008, Giovanni Riggi who is at age 83, is currently incarcerated and serving his 20-year sentence at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Devens in Massachusetts. After 17 years behind bars, Riggi has been outside of them only once, when his wife died of cancer and the funeral was set in 2004. After a leadership of more than 25 years, Riggi is not due until 2012, when he will be at the age of 87. [4]

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] Further reading

  • Smith, Greg B. Made Men: The True Rise-and-Fall Story of a New Jersey Mob Family. Berkley Books, 2003. ISBN 0-425-18551-6
  • Jacobs, James B. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0
  • Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime. New York: NYU Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8147-4247-5
  • Goldstock, Ronald, Martin Marcus and II Thacher. Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry: Final Report of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force. New York: NYU Press, 1990. ISBN 0-8147-3034-5
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Organized Crime in America: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1983.

[edit] External links