1976 in organized crime
Encyclopedia
See also:
1975 in organized crime
,
other events of 1976,
1977 in organized crime
and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'
.
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1975 in organized crime
1975 in organized crime
See also:1974 in organized crime,other events of 1975,1976 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-----Events:*Antonio Milano, an operator of the syndicate controlled Brotherhood Loan Company and Underboss of the Cleveland Mafia, retires and succeeded by Leo "The Lips"...
,
other events of 1976,
1977 in organized crime
1977 in organized crime
See also:1976 in organized crime,other events of 1977,1978 in organized crime and thelist of 'years in Organized Crime'.-----Events:*Pittston-based Bufalino crime family leader Russell Bufalino, one of the three dominant organized crime syndicates operating in Pennsylvania, is arrested and later...
and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'
Timeline of organized crime
This is a timeline of the history of organized crime.Note: Sources included are Carl Sifakis's The Mafia Encyclopedia, Herbert Asbury's The Gangs of New York and others. Online references also include Thomas P...
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Events
- John RiggiGiovanni RiggiGiovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi is a New Jersey mobster and member of the DeCavalcante crime family since the 1940s, before the family had acquired its name. Riggi was the leader of the "Elizabeth crew" in the family when he was a Caporegime. He had been the acting boss during the 1970s and has...
succeeds Sam DeCavalcanteSam DeCavalcanteSimone Rizzo "Sam" DeCavalcante , known as "Sam the Plumber", was a member of the New Jersey Mafia. Claiming descent from the Italian royal family, DeCavalcante was nicknamed "The Count"...
as boss of the New JerseyNew JerseyNew Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
crime family. - February 12 - Joseph "The Animal" BarbozaJoe BarbozaJoseph "The Animal" Barboza was a Portuguese-American mafioso and one of the most feared mob hitmen during the 1960s...
, an enforcer for the Patriarca crime familyPatriarca crime familyThe Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
, is beaten to death in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. Barboza, who had been imprisoned for murder, had agreed to become a government informant and had entered the Federal Witness Protection Program after testifying against Raymond L.S. PatriarcaRaymond L.S. PatriarcaRaymond Loreda Salvatore Patriarca, Sr. was an Italian-American mobster from Providence, Rhode Island who became the longtime boss of the Patriarca crime family, whose control extended throughout New England for over three decades...
. - February 20 - A plea by Carmine PersicoCarmine PersicoCarmine John Persico, Jr. also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", has been the de-facto boss of the Colombo crime family since the early 1970s. Persico has overseen gang wars, murders, and major rackets, most of the time from prison. He has been serving life imprisonment without...
, boss of the Colombo Family, for reduction of his 14-year sentence for hijacking is denied. - March 19 - Lawrence Paladino, the godson of Frank "Funzie" Tieri, is indicted for tax evasion. Paladino, who allegedly was in the shylock business with Matthew IannielloMatthew IannielloMatthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello is a New York mobster with the Genovese crime family mobster who specialized in vice operations. He was acting boss of the family from 1998–2005 and is the owner of numerous nightclubs in the New York City area.-Little Italy:Ianniello got the nickname "Matty the...
, had been indicted for extortion and bribery in 1975. With the death of Tieri, who would be succeeded by Anthony SalernoAnthony SalernoAnthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was a New York mobster who served as front boss of the Genovese crime family to family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante from the 1970s until his conviction in 1986...
, Ianniello would become the Underboss of the Genovese Family. - April 23 - Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
boss Philip RastelliPhilip RastelliPhillip "Rusty" Rastelli was a New York mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family.-Biography:...
is convicted of an antitrust violation and extortion, arising out of his efforts to create a monopoly in the mobile commissary business. Rastelli is sentenced on August 27, 1976, to 1 year on the antitrust count and to 3 concurrent 10-year terms on 3 counts of extortion. - May - Joe "Mad Dog" Sullivan, after serving 10 years for second degree manslaughter, is unexpectedly given a parole from the state of New York and released from prison. He is soon hired by "Fat" Tony SalernoAnthony SalernoAnthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was a New York mobster who served as front boss of the Genovese crime family to family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante from the 1970s until his conviction in 1986...
, head of the Genovese crime familyGenovese crime familyThe Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
, to systematically eliminate high ranking associates of Mickey Spillane'sMickey Spillane (gangster)Michael Spillane, much better known as Mickey Spillane , was an Irish-American mobster from Hell's Kitchen, New York City...
Hell's Kitchen organization, specifically Tom Delaney and Eddie "the Butcher" Cummiskey. - May 20 - Lucchese FamilyLucchese crime familyThe Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
soldier Joseph Brocchini is shot to death by the GambinoGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
-affiliated DeMeo CrewRoy DeMeoRoy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
in an unsanctioned murder. - May 28 - Frank Diecidue, the Tampa Family Underboss, is indicted with several associates and charged with conspiracy and multiple counts relating to their participation in a RICORacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ActThe Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
. Diecidue would be convicted on November 16, 1976, along with 4 members of the Tampa gang. - June 12 - Vincent Governara is gunned down in BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
by Gambino Soldier Anthony GaggiAnthony GaggiAnthony "Antonino" "Nino" Frank Gaggi was a captain in the New York Gambino crime family who supervised the infamous DeMeo crew, headed by Roy DeMeo. It is estimated that the DeMeo crew murdered between 75 and 200 people....
and Gambino Associate Roy DeMeoRoy DeMeoRoy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
. The murder was retaliation for a physical altercation between Gaggi and Governara years earlier. Governara would succumb to his wounds the following week while hospitalized. - July 13 - Florida resident George Byrum is found shot and stabbed to death in the bathroom of an oceanside motel. His murder would remain unsolved until the early 1980s, when information supplied by Gambino Associate Dominick MontiglioDominick MontiglioDominick Montiglio is a former associate of the Gambino crime family. The nephew of Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi, who was a powerful and respected captain in the Gambino family, Dominick became a government witness in 1983 after being arrested for extortion and went on to testify in two Federal trials...
revealed that Byrum had been murdered by Gambino Soldier Anthony GaggiAnthony GaggiAnthony "Antonino" "Nino" Frank Gaggi was a captain in the New York Gambino crime family who supervised the infamous DeMeo crew, headed by Roy DeMeo. It is estimated that the DeMeo crew murdered between 75 and 200 people....
and Gambino Associate Roy DeMeoRoy DeMeoRoy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
for providing a tip to thieves that led to Gaggi's Florida home being robbed. - August 20 - Edward Cummiskey is shot to death at the Sunbrite Saloon. Recently paroled Irish criminal Joseph 'Mad Dog' Sullivan would be suspected in the crime after the saloon's barkeep identified Sullivan as the shooter from a photograph shown to him by associates of Cummiskey. Sullivan is never charged with the crime and the murder remains officially unsolved.
- August 22 - Leo "The Lips" Moceri, Underboss of the Licavoli Crime FamilyLicavoli Crime FamilyThe Licavoli Mob was an Italian American mob that was based in Detroit and St. Louis. The mob was formed by the brothers Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli and Peter "Pete" Licavoli.- Background :...
, and cousin of Boss James "Blackie" Licavoli, is murdered by the John Nardi-Danny Green alliance trying to take over the Cleveland rackets from Licavoli and his associates. A war that will eventually decimate the Cleveland La Cosa Nostra has started with the opening volley of Leo Moceri's disappearance. - September 5 - John Cutrone, a Gallo loyalist who defected after the death of Joseph GalloJoseph GalloJoseph Gallo may refer to:*Joseph Edward Gallo, cheese producer, brother of winemakers Ernest and Julio Gallo*Joseph N. Gallo, American gangster, consigliere of the Gambino crime family...
and formed an independent gang, is machinegunned to death in a luncheonette in Brooklyn, New York. - October 15 - Carlo GambinoCarlo Gambino"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
, founder of the Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
, dies of a heart attack. Following his death, Paul CastellanoPaul CastellanoConstantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
assumes leadership of the criminal organization upsetting members that favored longtime Underboss Aniello DellacroceAniello DellacroceAniello John "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce , also known as "Father O'Neil" and "The Tall Guy", was an Italian-American gangster and underboss of the Gambino crime family. A capo of his own crew for many years he rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside.-Early...
such as John GottiJohn GottiJohn Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
and the so-called "Blue Collar" faction of the crime family. Despite the support displayed by the Gotti faction, Dellacroce is able to convince them to remain loyal to Castellano. However, anger for the aging mobster being passed over for leadership and resentment towards the increasingly unpopular Castellano continues for several years. - November 4 - Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
Capo Pietro Licata is murdered, allegedly on orders from Sal Catalano. Licata, who oversaw criminal activities in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Knickerbocker Avenue, was one of the few members running crime family operations opposed against the "ZipsZipsZips is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi...
", a faction of Sicilian mafiosi within the Bonanno family dealing heroin and taking over gambling operations in the Knickerbocker Ave., Brooklyn area. - December 15 - Undercover FBI Agent Walter Wayne Orrell is threatened and punched by a Bronx, New York carting company owner named Joseph Gambino and his right-hand-man Carlo Conti. Gambino was described as a cousin of Don Carlo GambinoCarlo Gambino"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
. The FBI Agent was part of a Sting operation designed to combat the monopolistic control the New York LCN had on the carting industry.
Arts and literature
- Bugsy MaloneBugsy MaloneBugsy Malone is a 1976 musical film, very loosely based on events in New York City in the Prohibition era, specifically the exploits of gangsters like Al Capone and Bugs Moran, as dramatized in cinema...
(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074256/ starring Scott BaioScott BaioScott Vincent James Baio is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge....
and Jodie FosterJodie FosterAlicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
. - Cadaveri eccellenti (film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074262/ starring Lino VenturaLino VenturaLino Ventura , was an Italian actor who starred in French movies.-Biography:Born as Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura in Parma, Italy to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, "Lino" dropped out of school at the age of eight and later took on a variety of jobs...
. - The Death CollectorThe Death CollectorThe Death Collector is a 1976 low-budget crime film directed by Ralph De Vito and starring Joseph Cortese, Joe Pesci and Frank Vincent...
(film) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072855/ starring Joe PesciJoe PesciJoseph Frank "Joe" Pesci is an American actor, comedian, and musician.He is known for playing a variety of different roles, from violent mobsters to comedic leads to quirky sidekicks...
and Frank VincentFrank VincentFrank Vincent is an American actor, musician, author and entrepreneur. He is a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull , Goodfellas and Casino . He often plays a gangster and works both in features and...
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Deaths
- Joseph BarbozaJoe BarbozaJoseph "The Animal" Barboza was a Portuguese-American mafioso and one of the most feared mob hitmen during the 1960s...
"The Animal", Patriarca crime familyPatriarca crime familyThe Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family and the Providence crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New England, specifically Providence, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts, and is part of the Italian-American Mafia or "La Cosa Nostra"...
enforcer - May 20 - Joseph Brocchini, former Colombo FamilyColombo crime familyThe Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
soldier - August 20 - Eddie Cummiskey "The Butcher", New York gangster
- August 22 - Leo "The Lips" Moceri, Cleveland crime family Underboss.
- October 15 - Carlo GambinoCarlo Gambino"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
"Don Carlo", New York mobster and founder of the Gambino crime familyGambino crime familyThe Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963... - November 4 - Pietro Licata, Bonanno crime familyBonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
Capo of Knickerbocker Ave.,Brooklyn