Virgilio later received a 40-year federal prison sentence on racketeering charges for Helfants killing and two extortion cases. It is one that will be repeated almost endlessly in the coming months as U. S. Attor ney Lacey and his young assistants wade through a mushrooming pile of indictments that, on their face, out line the most complete network of crime and official corruption that has yet to be brought to trial in an American courtroom. Four days after he disappeared in 1983, police in Hillside discovered his bullet-riddled body wrapped in plastic inside the trunk of his Lincoln Continental parked of Route 22. Some mobsters came in and killed him right there in the middle of the restaurant. They settle themselves with the usual self conscious bustle and look up at Lacey and the judge, the sober citi zens composing themselves with an air of appropriate seriousness as they prepare to listen to a fantastic story of gangland intrigue and brutality. Scott M. Deitche: My whole life and formative years were [spent] in New Jersey. For one thing, there was still cash in the register when officers arrived. John "Johnny Coca-Cola" Lardiere, shown at left in this newspaper clipping, was gunned down on Easter morning in 1977 in the parking lot of a motel in Bridgewater. In a series of trials just beginning, jury after jury will be asked to decide cases which, in their cumulative effect, are ex pected to provide the most graphic study in American criminal annals of the complete subversion of a city and, indeed, of much of a state by the money and muscle of the underworld. In 1993, the state Attorney Generals Office obtained an indictment against Louis Auricchio, a Genovese family member, accusing him of killing DiGilio to increase his own stature in the organization. Depiro, 55, of Kenilworth, known as "Beach," was first indicted in New York last April on racketeering charges in connection with the "Christmas tribute" payments. But there is nothing cherubic about him now. His fatal fall from power came in 1951, after Morettis criminal associates became worried about his chattiness during an appearance before a U.S. Senate committee investigating organized crime. As he rose in power, so did a rival, Ruggiero (Richie the Boot) Boiardo. During the late 1970s, Accetturo encountered several indictments, as the State of New Jersey tried to extradite Accetturo, but failed due to poor health. In the early 1950s, Morretti was a top member of the Genovese crime family well known for his rumored affiliation with Hoboken-born crooner Frank Sinatra. Perhaps it is just a coinci dence, but during these dec ades when the law and the courts seemed unable to fight their way out of a paper bag, the buddybuddy relationship of the underworld with New ark's politicians remained one of the world's worst kept secrets. Governor Hughes, who left office Jan. 20, and many legal experts and con cerned citizens have been aroused by this action, ap palled at the damage that may be done to innocent persons through the publi cation of the chitchat of gangsters. SUCH is the scenario. In that case, Lacey says now, I found conditions shockingand I hadn't con sidered myself at all naive. From the beginning, police questioned robbery as a motive for Edward Potcher's killing. Fearing his declining mental state would lead him to say too much, Moretti's associates ultimately silenced him with gunfire on Oct. 4, 1951, as he dined at Joe's Elbow Room in Cliffside Park. Victor Amuso told the returned crew members that Accetturo needed to go. Before the day is out, Judge Shaw will make the transcript public. In the Garden State, however, the reality of organized crime has often been just as gruesome as fiction. Before you go up there DECARLO: The big iron grate. During the mid-1960s, both Michael and Martin Taccetta started with Accetturo in illegal gambling and loansharking on the orders of Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese. At trial in 1993, prosecutors produced evidence that Craparotta had tried to protect his nephews from being forced to pay extortion money to the mob from their video machine business. Meanwhile, some questioned whether the case was as dramatic as the numbers portrayed. If the younger genera tion and the university groups finally come to the terminal point in their think ing that any government that is so corrupted isn't worthy of survivalthen we who have done nothing to stop this, we who have con sented to the existence of such a system by our inaction, will have only ourselves to blame. He was first eligible for parole on August 13, 2013.[11]. To address the elephant in the room, experts and Mafia pundits have joked for years who The Sopranos are really based on, with the DeCavalcante family often described as the obvious answer. Accetturo was put in charge of the North Jersey faction of the Luccheses, and Taccetta became his top protg. In exchange, Ricciardi received a 10-year sentence for each case. In bail hearings in Newark before U.S. Magistrate Judge Claire C. Cecchi, the defendants included the elderly and the young, some balding and white-haired, and others in hoodies and sweatshirts. No one has ever been charged in the case. He entered the federal witness protection program after his release from prison. News never stops. The picture that emerges from the transcripts contra dicts the blard contentions of Newark policemen that Richie the Boot was an estimable character trying to earn an honest living. The DeCarlo tapes cover everything from the mundane to what they were watching on TV down to business. SUCH is the background of Newark. In one case, Colombo crime family members allegedly defrauded consumers with poor credit histories. Vincent Craparotta was beaten to death with golf clubs at a car dealership in Toms River after he tried to protect his nephews from a mob extortion scheme. So I got a crowbar this big, Ray. Manzo's daughter-in-law, Caroline Manzo known to television audiences from "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" has said she takes offense at the suggestion her father-in-law had ties to organized crime, arguing nobody knows the "hows and whys" of his killing. Longie Zwillman might come up from Newark; Frank Costello from New York; Meyer Lansky from Florida. As of April 2012, Michael Taccetta was imprisoned in New Jersey's South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Beds. his mother still lives in the Vailsburg section of New ark, where he was born and . During the last years of the 1980s, Taccetta's faction was much weakened due to increased law enforcement and bad relations with Amuso. Genovese family soldier John DiGilio had just beaten a federal racketeering rap but was facing sentencing in a state loansharking case when he dropped off the face of the earth in May 1988. Law enforcement officials investigating the killing intimated Manzo had been associated with organized crime figures, and formed a special task force to probe the case. ALL of this, however, will represent no final solution, Lacey feels, unless the public can be aroused from apathy. More than 20 indictments have been returned against public officials over the years; officials have been criticized and censured; business firms and contractors doing busi ness with the city have been indicted. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. When took this job, I gave a com mitment to Senator Case and Attorney General Mitchell that I would stay as long as I could afford to do so financially, or until I felt I had the office organized and matters well in hand. Kuklinski died in prison before he could testify against Gravano, who was then serving a 20-year sentence for prior drug convictions. (Amanda Brown/The Star-Ledger), FBI agents escort one of more than 100 suspects arrested in New Jersey, New York and other locations on the East Coast in January 2011 as part of the largest national-level organized crime takedown in the bureau's history. New York detectives, Internal Revenue agents and Federal Bureau of Narcotics agents were aware of the pivotal importance of Duke's Restau rant, but when they tried to go over to New Jersey for a little sleuthing, they were often chased out of town by local policemen. When Richie recovered, he was sent to prison for 2 years because he had been car rying a gun himself when he was put upon on Broad Street. I saw a lot of [mob activity] going on back then. A longtime mob associate with reputed ties to both the Genovese family in New Jersey and the Patriarcha family in New England, Lardiere known as "Johnny Coca-Cola" was gunned down in the parking lot of a motel in Bridgewater early Easter morning in 1977 by a killer who sped off in a waiting car, authorities said at the time. He specialized in trial work was generally considered brilliant at it and represented some of the largest corporations in the nation in especially diffi cult cases. Sixteen slugs perforated Boiardo's anatomy, and his life was probably saved by his $5,000 diamond belt buckle. An early Jewish organized crime figure, Schultz ran afoul of his criminal associates in 1935 when he asked the mob for permission to kill Thomas Dewey, a famed prosecutor who later would be elected governor of New York. His brother Martin Taccetta, though sentenced to life, was let out of prison in 2005 after granted his appeal that he was framed in his murder trial. In addition to the mobs continued infiltration of the waterfront, the indictments sketched out a myriad of fraudulent schemes. Apartment rent in Lower Vailsburg has increased by 1.9% in the past year. Third, it corrupts the business man. First, it corrupts law enforcement and office hold ers. The Vailsburg section of Newark is on a hill which closely aligns with the suburban and park areas outside it. I don't really care.. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. When you're my age, Lacey says Sutherland told him, and you look back on your life, your pride will not be the size of the estate you are going to leave, but what you have accomplished know that you have an ex tremely lucrative law practice, but when you get to this point the money you didn't make won't seem to matter so much. DeCarlo's favor ite racket over the years has been loansharking, and he and three asso ciates are on trial for having tried to collect thousands of dollars week in vigorish Ithe loan shark's term for usurious interest) from Saperstein, allegedly beating him in the process until his face turned purple and his tongue bulged out.. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022). Class of 1988. All rights reserved (About Us). It consisted of Joe Adonis, Frank Cos tello's partner, as chairman of the board; Albert Anas tasia, the enforcer; the Moretti brothers, Willie and Solly, and Anthony (Tony Bender) Strol lo, the right arm of Vito Geno vese. THIS was the reasoning that led Lacey to commit his most controversial act so far, his advocacy of the release of the DeCarlo tapes. ", Thomas Cammarata, the attorney for Leonardis and the ILA local, said, "Obviously hes pleading not guilty.". "This is an organization that continues to regenerate itself like a snake. Taccetta, also known as "Mike T," was born in the Vailsburg neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey on September 16, 1947. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. DECARLO: What about the big furnace he's got back there? The reve lation came when of the boys got together in Sam's of fice to talk over the finer points of murder. I was struck by Angelo "Gyp" Decarlo in part. The answer is mixed. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (User Agreement updated 1/1/21. Follow him on Twitter at@ThomasDMoriarty. Accetturo later returned to run his Newark operations with Taccetta in early 1975.[3]. The unit would be under the di rection of a Deputy Attorney General and would have the authority to investigate any where in the statea provi sion that should make it more difficult for the underworld to establish its customary fix es on the local and county levels. After the conviction of Anthony Corallo in 1986, and the murder of his protg Anthony "Buddy" Luongo, Brooklyn, New York faction leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso chose themselves as the new Lucchese bosses. More than 2,000 guests turned out, and among them were Mayor Ralph Vil lani, now president of the City Council; Hugh J. Addonizio, then a Congressman, now the indicted Mayor of Newark, and Rep. Peter W. Rodino, still a Democratic Congress man from the 10th District. Cernadas, referred to on surveillance tapes as "The Bull," was accused last month of shaking down his members under threats of violence in what was described as a long-running racketeering operation tied to the Genovese crime family. [6], In the early 1990s, the entire New Jersey faction's administration was put on trial, including the elder Accetturo, who had been imprisoned due to the contract both Taccetta and Amuso had put on his life in the late 1980s. He lived in this huge mansion in Livingston, New Jersey, that supposedly had a place where bodies were disposed of, likely his enemies. EVEN Lacey concedes that the reaction to his probe falls short of the universal cry of outrage he might have wish ed. This is what I think is happening in our society to day.. He is the father of Pamela Abdy, a film producer whose credits include "Garden State" that was awarded an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature in 2005 as well as three other movies including "Man on the Moon" in 1999. Municipal Judge Edwin Helfant was on trial in Trenton on case-fixing allegations when he was gunned down in the cocktail lounge of Atlantic City's Flamingo Hotel in 1978. (FBI photo). But he generally flies under the radar when people think of influential Jewish mobsters. Few peo ple in Newark had any doubt that the witch who had per formed this magical deed was Longie Zwillman, and there was a terrific hullabaloo that included a number of indict ments. This book builds on that canon of work. Top 5 Jersey Cosa Nostra Mob Hits. I think part of it too is [that] New York City is a large iconic brand in and of itself. Then all I want to do is to return to my private trial practice in New York and New Jersey.. He became the boss of New Jerseys only homegrown mafia family, the Elizabeth-area family. THE bloodletting was preceded, as is so often the case in the treacherous quicksands of the underworld, by great show of fraternity. Joseph Cocozza of the Essex County Prosecutor's staff testified, that he and his wife often dined with the Boot and the latter's wife, and he added: We have never con nected him with any gang in our work. The deputy police chief in Newark and the sergeant in charge of the morals squad added their voices to the chorus, testify ing that Richie was simply trying to earn an honest living.. It spoke much about the political climate in Newark that gangsters and politicians mingled in discriminately; among the politicians present were a former U.S. Commis sioner, a candidate for the State Assembly andmost unfortunately Paul Moore, a Democrat who was running for Congress. People said [everyone] from Sam DeCavalcante to Carlo Gambino. In this perspective, the current Jersey in vestigation harbors a far more explo sive potential. 1972. "Its plain that law enforcement is drilling down into the lower and middle echelons of what remains of these criminal organizations," remarked Lee Seglem, assistant director of the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation. So the vital question raised by the current Newark probe is this: Will the public be stirred from its decadeslong apathy by the flood of indict ments and the insidethemob revelations? On Jan. 7, 1963, according to the F.B.I. Underboss Casso was allowed wide control by his friend Amuso and became paranoid, murdering several mobsters he feared were disloyal. Msclassy Milner. He was re-sentenced in 2007 to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years. I don't think they know what they're letting themselves in for, he's a dynamo, said one of his law partners when Lacey was appointed. Russo: He used to put them on there and burn them. Last sum mer the Government released transcripts produced in four years of surveillance of Simone Rizzo (Sam the Plumb er) DeCavalcante, who, says the F.B.I., is a Mafioso of the first water. We called him up to find out why New York gangsters get all the hype, who the lesser known (and most dynamic) New Jersey mobsters were, and, more recently, whoif anyoneThe Sopranos were really based on. N.J. wants out of mob watchdog agency. He likes to drop re mote classical allusions into routine press conferences, perhaps quoting Alexander Pope or some other favorite authority. Quiet Kenilworth neighborhood sees arrest of soldier in the Genovese crime family, three others in organized crime sweep, Fourteen N.J. residents are among suspected mobsters arrested today in federal operation, FBI arrests more than 100 suspected mobsters in N.J., New York City. Michael was first arrested for assault at the age of twelve and was sent to Boys Town, a Catholic youth facility. "The murder was an unplanned accident arising from a idea to give Craparotta a physical beating as a means of sending him a message," Ricciardi said in an affidavit filed in Superior Court in 2005. The Nixon Adminis tration came to office on the cry of law and order and a pledge to fight crime. Five New Jersey men, including three from Morris County, linked to the New York-based Genovese organized crime family pleaded guilty Wednesday for their roles in a loansharking, unlicensed. Judge says not so fast Why does N.J. want to get rid of a mob watchdog? Frank ly, I don't care. Helfant himself was on trial in Trenton at the time on charges he had accepted $700 to fix an assault and battery case a decade earlier, The Star-Ledger reported. And so he has proposed a series of remedial laws for New Jersey. Franciotti, a prison acquaintence of DiFrisco's, feared Potcher was going to inform law enforcement about his drug dealing activities, DiFrisco told investigators. Certainly, by the 1960s when the FBI started taking a better look at organized crime in New Jersey, The Boot was one of the first guys they really started concentrating on. The two began another war. Some of the tips obviously come from crackpots, but there have been, nevertheless, what would regard as a startling number of good leads., This is encouraging. Also named was Stephen Depiro, who prosecutors say is a soldier in the Genovese organized crime family. The prosecutor is the kind of man who does his pushups every morning to keep in shape. But there were rumors before he died that he had advance-stage Syphilis and that his loose lips led to him getting killed. He had a lot of powerful political connections and he was able to able to leverage them in his gangster career. Its not as fancy or sexy to think of a wise guy operating out of Newark as it is a wise guy operating out of Manhattan. (The Star-Ledger). I flatly state that it will not even go into a muncipality unless and until it has bought its protection against raids and arrests.. More than 120 alleged members and associates of seven organized crime families were arrested today in a series of simultaneous, early morning raids spanning from Brooklyn to New Jersey, on charges ranging from murder to loansharking some involving crimes dating back 20 years or more. Most of the top leadership is now gone. What made him so remarkable, even iconic? He takes the attitude that the only way the public can be made acute ly aware of the reality of the criminal menace is by pub lication of the recorded words of the mobsters themselves. An alleged Genovese family boss, Michael Coppola, was arrested in Lardiere's murder more than 30 years later. While Moretti told the Senate he made his living legally, he admitted being acquainted with other organized crime figures whom he said were not bad people.. I was making big money, really big money at the time, he says, and he didn't see how he could take the $29,000a year U. S. Attorney's post. What you might have accomplished in a few years as U. S. Attorney could well be the one thing in your life would be proud of., This conversation with Sutherland, Lacey says, pried my thinking and had a lot to do with changing my mind.. He died in prison in 1995. Peter Calabro's 1980 slaying in Saddle River was linked years later to an infamous hitman for the Gambino crime family. Four Lucchese family members ultimately were charged with racketeering offenses related to Craparotta's killing. Martin has since had his release overturned and is serving a life sentence at New Jersey State Prison. When he took it over, that was when the FBI was naming families by who was in charge, so it became known as the DeCavalcante family after Sam the Plumber. Anthony Alfano, 76, of Union, and Tonino Colantonio, 32, John Hartmann, 41, and Guiseppe Pugliese, 32, all of Kenilworth, were charged with conspiracy counts linked to illegal gambling. Authorities quickly feared the worst, and weeks later, the former boxer wasfound floating in a bag in the Hackensack River with gunshot wounds to the back of his head. Lacey, as a young lawyer, had had one direct and shocking confrontation with bigleague New Jersey crime. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. As Lacey speaks, there reposes in the courtroom behind the prosecu tion table what can only be described as a time bomb.
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