Giuseppe Schifilliti

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Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti (b. 1938) was a prominent member of the DeCavalcante crime family since the 1980s, heavily involved in labor racketeering and extortion activities.

Contents

[edit] Made by DeCavalcante

Toward the mid 1970s, Giuseppe Schifilliti was inducted into the DeCavalcante crime family, under the lead of Simone "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante and early Underboss, Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi. By starting out as a soldier, Schifilliti was hired in the same Laborers' International Union of North America at Local 1030, where he used to extort and bribe union officials to influence the power of the DeCavalcante crime family in construction sites, throughout the 1970s, alongside Riggi, who was then seen as the new boss of the family.

[edit] Caporegime by Riggi

During the early 1980s, Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi was in total charge of the DeCavalcante crime family, as he promoted Schifilliti to the rank of Caporegime or Captain within the family. Operating out of the Elizabeth, New Jersey faction, Schifilliti became a top member of the family alongside Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo and Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile, with labor and construction racketeering, extortion, illegal gambling, loansharking and money laundering as criminal activities. Schifilliti also reputedly went under the radar, and operated with huge muscle throughout the 1980s, and early 1990s without a single indictment.

[edit] LaRasso and D'Amato

In 1989, Riggi and several others were tried for racketeering and extortion charges, as well as internal rivalry was brought up between the Newark and Elizabeth factions of the family. In 1990, Riggi was convicted on the charges, as he was sentenced to 15 years. To make sure everyone knew he stil ran the family, he made Schifilliti and Consigliere Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile, to organize the murder of former Underboss, Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso, who was reported missing in 1991, as well as rumours went around North Jersey that the current Acting boss, John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato was gay, and was found murdered in his car later in 1992. Schifilliti was reportedly involved in both cases, as he cooperated much with Vitabile and the imprisoned Riggi.

[edit] Labor Union kickout

Toward the mid 1990s, Schifilliti managed to become one of the most powerful members of the family. Reportedly, he was a regular guest at Ribera Social Club, previesly owned by John Riggi himself, and operated out of the Elizabeth faction of North Jersey, with illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion and especially labor racketeering with associate Charles DiMaria, until the Commission of the Laborers' International Union of North America discovered that they had been influenced by an organized crime family, operating in North Jersey. At which point in 1997, Schifilliti and DiMaria were kicked out of Local 1030, and charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering.

[edit] Indictments & trials

In 2000, internal rivalry almost brought a new war to the streets of New Jersey, as prominent Acting boss Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo was eager to control the entire DeCavalcante crime family, as he organized the attempted murder of rival Charles "Big Ears" Majuri, but failed to kill him. Later, an indictment wave of a four-year-investigation put 50 members and associates of the DeCavalcante crime family on trial, including prominent members Schifilliti, Palermo, Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile, Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo and Philip "Phil" Abramo, with labor racketeering, loansharking, extortion, fraud, illegal gambling, murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges. As that wasn't enough, Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo decided to turn state's evidence, as did capo Anthony Rotondo and soldier Anthony Capo, over the next year due to the indictments. Schifilliti was held against bail, and due to his age, put under house arrest and put on trial in late 2001, and 2002.

[edit] Current life sentence

Schifilliti was tried with Vitabile and Abramo on two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. The charges were picked up from the following disappearing of Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso and the murder of John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato, both in 1991, including the attempted murder of Charles "Big Ears" Majuri. Schifilliti was convicted of racketeering, loansharking and extortion in 2003, as well as being convicted along with Vitabile and Abramo on the murder and conspiracy charges from the 1990s in late 2005. In 2006, Schifilliti was sentenced to life imprisonment along with Vitabile and Abramo. As of 2007, Giuseppe Schifilliti, at age 69, is still serving his life sentence.

[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