Palma Boys Crew

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The Palma Boys (or Salerno) Crew was a La Cosa Nostra or mafia street crew under the Genovese crime family flag. The crew was based out of the Palma Boys Social Club located 416 East 115th Street, East Harlem in Manhattan, New York, United States. The crew continues to operate today, but has merged with 116th Street Crew and spread up into the Bronx.

The leader of the Palma Boys was former Genovese crime family member and onetime Acting Boss, Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno. Salerno could usually be found sitting out front on patio furniture, smoking his ever present cigar, and holding meetings with his underlings, or in the kitchen cooking some Italian dish for the boys.

Tony Salerno came up in the Genovese crime family in the crew of Capo Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola and his 116th Street Crew which was originally led by East Harlem and Bronx area mafioso and Masseria crime family Capo, Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova. Tony Salerno would have most likely been a member of the Terranova/Coppola crew by 1930 being that Salerno was born in 1911 and grew up in the same East Harlem neighborhood the East Harlem/Bronx crew originated from and held influence over. Salerno climbed the ranks of the crew and Luciano crime family as a soldier under Mike Coppola until Salerno himself became a Capo in the Genovese crime family leading his own rackets and soldiers after the Coppola crew split into various, smaller crews around 1960. Salerno and his brother Cirino were the overseers of a multi-million dollar gambling racket in East Harlem and the South Bronx that included numbers, bookmaking, and floating dice games. Even when the neighborhood began to change, the Salerno brothers managed to hold onto their interests and employ over 200 people in their street rackets.

Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was a highly respected and feared gangster and a mafia power in New York who rose to become the Consigliere (1972-75), Underboss (1975-81) and then Acting Boss of America's #1 crime family, the Genovese crime family from 1981-86. An FBI bug was placed in the Tony Salerno's social club in the early 1980s which led to an indictment for Salerno and the Bosses of New York's 5 families who sat on the Commission. Tony Salerno along with 5 other New York Bosses were convicted under the RICO statute and sentenced to 100 years in prison in the famous "Commission Case" of 1986.

By the early 1990s the Palma Boys Crew which Tony Salerno led for over 25 years was merged with another old East Harlem crew, the 116th Street crew led by powerful Genovese crime family Capo, Liborio "Barney" Bellomo who is currently in prison. The merged crews continue to be a powerful force in New York's underworld and continue to bring in millions of dollars in illegal profits for the Genovese crime family.

[edit] Crew Members

  • Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, Capo (leader from 1960-72, promoted to Consigliere, ascended to the Acting or Front Boss position in 1981, jailed 1986, died July 27, 1992)
  • Cirino Salerno, soldier (Tony's brother)
  • Vincent "Fish" Cafaro, soldier (Salerno right hand man, defected)
  • Louis "Louie" DiNapoli, soldier (possibly one time Acting Capo)
  • Vincent "Vinnie" DiNapoli, later becomes a capo(labor racketeer)
  • Nicholas "Nick" Auletta, soldier
  • Michael "Mikey" Ragusa, soldier
  • Carmine Della Cava, soldier
  • Thomas "Tommy" Cafaro, associate
  • Giuseppe "Pepe" Sabato, associate

[edit] Succession of Crew Leaders

  • Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova, Capo of original crew known as The 116th St. Gang/Crew, put on shelf & retired in 1932
  • Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola, successor to Terranova, Capo 1932-62 (began to lose respect & influence due to personal problems which became an embarrassment to the crime family, jailed 1962-63, retired, died 1966)
  • The Coppola Crew splits into 2-3 various, smaller crews, The Salerno Crew is formed in 1960
  • Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, Capo 1960-72 (promoted to Consigliere, promoted to Underboss 1975, promoted to Acting or Front Boss 1981-86, jailed 1986, died 1992)
  • Antonio "Buckaloo" Ferro, Capo 1972-74 (promoted to Consigliere, retired 1978)
  • Savario "Sammy" Santora, Capo 1974-81 (promoted to Underboss, retired 1987)
  • Liborio "Barney" Bellomo, Capo 1981-Present (116th St. Crew leader, promoted to Street Boss 1992, jailed 1996, indicted 2006)
  • The Crews (Salerno/116th St.) merge in the early 1990s (possibly after Bellomo was promoted).
  • Ralph Coppola, Acting Capo 1992-98 (whacked 1998)
  • Ernest "Ernie" Muscarella, Acting Capo 1998-2001 (promoted to Street Boss, jailed 2003, due out 2008)
  • Louis Moscatiello, Acting Capo 2001-2003 (jailed, due out ?)
  • Arthur "Artie" Nigro, Acting Capo 2003-Present (currently under indictment with Bellomo)
  • sidenote - Frank "Farby" Serpico was a member of the 116th St. Crew, he was a prominent crew member and was promoted to the position of Street Boss from 1998-2001 until he became ill with cancer, died 2002.

[edit] References

  • Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia:Second Edition. Checkmark Books, 1999.
  • Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis, Alpha, 2002.
  • Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families. New York, St. Martins Press, 2005.