Nicodemo Scarfo
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| Nicodemo Scarfo | |
| Born | March 8, 1929 New York, U.S. |
|---|---|
Nicodemo Domenico "Little Nicky" Scarfo (born March 8, 1929, Brooklyn, New York) was an American mafioso, member of the Cosa Nostra, and head of the Philadelphia crime family.
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[edit] Early years
Nicknamed "Little Nicky" due to his short stature (five feet six), Scarfo was born in Brooklyn, New York. Scarfo's father was a made man, or full member, of the New York Genovese crime family. Scarfo's first job was in valet parking. His father had been a made man in the Genovese crime family, and three of his mother's brothers, Joseph, Michael and Nichola Piccolo were made members of the New Jersey crime family. In 1948, Scarfo stabbed a man during a brawl. In the 1950s, Scarfo was introduced into the Philadelphia family by his uncle, Nicholas "Nicky Buck" Piccolo. He is also the uncle of Phil Leonetti. The Philadelphia crime family controlled organized crime activities in Philadelphia, South Jersey, and the city of Newark, New Jersey. In 1963, Scarfo stabbed a longshoreman to death in a Philadelphia diner and served three months in jail for involuntary manslaughter. Scafo's violent streak did not agree with Philadelphia boss Angelo Bruno, who had gained a reputation for avoiding violence. After Scarfo's release from jail, Bruno demoted him to head of his family's operations in Atlantic City, then a sleepy resort town that was only a shadow of its former glory. Former Prosecutor for the U.S. Organized Crime Strike Force in Philadelphia and later a member of Scarfo's defense team described him as, "charming, very handsome, very modest, extremely polite, courteous and respectful to me. The kind of person you'd expect to meet at a dinner party... quiet... and deferential, with a lot of personal dignity."
[edit] Atlantic City
Scarfo's fortunes changed with the introduction of casino gambling in 1978, which brought Atlantic City new prosperity and made Scarfo a powerhouse almost overnight.
He soon established close ties with Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HEREIU). Scarfo's longtime relationships with Frank Gerace, a former local president, and Frank Lentino, the union's former business agent gave him access to Atlantic City mayor Michael Matthews. Soon Scarfo was funneling bribes to the mayor and setting up corrupt deals with him. In 1984, both Matthews and Lentino were indicted for corruption. Matthews received 15 years in federal prison. In 1984, the New Jersey Casino Control Commission removed Gerace from his position at Local 54. Scarfo was not charged.
[edit] Family Boss
While Atlantic City had long been recognized as the domain of the Philadelphia crime family, the New York families wanted a piece of the action as well. However, under the rules of the Cosa Nostra, no other families could set up shop in another family's territory without permission--and Bruno wasn't willing to invite them. Bruno was killed in 1980 and succeeded by Philip Testa, who was also unwilling to let the other families come in. Testa was blown up at his Philadelphia home in 1981, and Scarfo took over the Philadelphia family. He promoted his cousin Anthony Piccolo to consigliere and later his nephew Phil Leonetti to underboss after demoting underboss Chuckie Merlino and putting him on the shelf. He soon cut a deal with the other families allowing them a piece of the action in Atlantic City while keeping a significant slice for himself.
Scarfo orchestrated a particularly ruthless regime, murdering at least 30 members of his own crew because they either refused to obey orders or were merely suspected of not being loyal enough.
Scarfo was often described as a cold-hearted boss who enjoyed going out with his soldiers to kill people. Numerous informants claimed Scarfo was quite narcissistic and often scanned the newspapers to see if he had been mentioned in any crime reports. This ran against the tradition of bosses as being shy of media attention, such as his predecessor. Joseph Salerno, who testified against Scarfo, Leonetti, and Lawrence Merlino in the murder of Vincent Falcone, claimed that Scarfo stated "I love this!" and mocked the dead body calling him a no good ***** while they were trussing it up for removal from the murder scene.
[edit] Prison time
During the late 1980s, Scarfo was faced with a federal investigation as he would be charged but later acquitted of federal drug conspiracy charges on December 12, 1987.
Already serving 14 years imprisonment for extortion, Scarfo was eventually convicted on April 5, 1989, in Common Pleas Court of first degree murder in the 1985 death of rival mobster Frank D'Alfonso, with six of his lieutenants, and sentenced to life imprisonment the following day by Judge Eugene Clark.
His son, Nicky, Jr., was almost murdered on Halloween 1989 in a South Philadelphia Italian restaurant, Dante and Luigi's, by Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino. Scarfo was wounded several times in the chest, neck, and arm. Although police never charged anyone with the attempted murder, police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believed Merlino was behind the shooting to avenge an earlier plot by Scarfo Sr. on Merlino's father. Another motive for the attempted hit was to send a clear message that neither Scarfo nor his son were in charge of South Philadelphia any longer. Fearing another Mafia war, Scarfo Sr. got Nicky, Jr. out of town and inducted him into the Lucchese crime family of New York for protection.
That same year, Scarfo was imprisoned for six months for parole violation for having a gun. While in prison, he was indicted for RICO and the murder of a suspected informant. Scarfo was sentenced to life imprisonment at Supermax, primarily on the testimony of a number of informants, including his nephew.
He managed to overturn his life sentence and got transferred to the United States Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, where he still is residing as of April 2008. His scheduled release date is January 2033, effectively a life sentence.[1]
[edit] References
- Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob - The Mafia's Most Violent Family by George Anastasia, 2004, ISBN 0-9410159-86-4
