Lawrence Ricci

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Mugshot of former Genovese crime family capo Lawrence Ricci.

Lawrence Ricci (June 17, 1945 – November 30, 2005) was a reputed Genovese crime family capo based in Brooklyn.

Officially a dairy products salesman, Ricci was actually a major mob figure on the Brooklyn waterfront for decades. In 1979, Ricci was sentenced to prison for attempting to extort $4,800 from a Parsippany, New Jersey restaurant owner.

In February 2005, Ricci was charged with wire fraud and extortion. Allegedly using his control of a International Longshoremen’s Association local, Ricci diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars from a medical fund for longshoremen. The scheme involved the steering of a union pharmaceutical contract to a company with known Mafia ties. The Genovese and Gambino crime families eventually netted over $400,000 and Ricci received $70,000. The trial began in mid-September and Ricci testified early in the proceedings. On October 7, 2005, Ricci failed to show up in court. The judge issued an arrest warrant for Ricci and the trial continued. On November 7th, the absent Ricci and his two co-defendents were acquitted on all counts.

On November 30th, 2005, a patron complained about a foul odor and flies around a car that had been parked for six weeks at the Huck Finn Diner in Union, New Jersey. The manager called police, who discovered a rapidly decomposing body in the trunk. The body was later identified as that of Lawrence Ricci; he had been shot twice in the back. There was speculation that the Genovese family killed Ricci during his trial because he had refused to accept a plea bargain and a prison sentence in his case. Additionally, a law enforcement official was also quoted as saying the slaying was the result of an unrelated power struggle in Ricci's mob crew.

In March 2007, federal authorities linked Genovese capo Michael Coppola with the Ricci murder.