Victor Orena
Encyclopedia
Vittorio "Little Vic" Orena (born August 4, 1934) is a New York City
mobster who became the temporary acting boss of the Colombo crime family
. When an attempt by Greg Scarpa(who was an F.B.I. informer for 35years),Carmine Sessa and John Pate to kill Orena third Colombo family war,starting one of the bloodiest Cosa Nostra wars of the late 20th century.
In the early 1970's the new Colombo boss Carmine Persico
allegedly had a few people "made" into his family, even though the "books" were officially closed, forbidding the introduction of any new members into the Mafia. One of these men was Victor Orena, who rose through the ranks and operated in Brooklyn, Long Island, and New Jersey. Orena was a well dressed. old school classy businessman with an edge and despite his youth specializing in labor rackets and Business.
were convicted in the Mafia Commission Trial
and sentenced to 139 years in prison. To run the family in his absence, Carmine Persico created a "Ruling Committee" of Orena, Joseph Russo, and Benedetto Aloi
. With Persico both in and out of prison, Orena was able to set up operations almost everywhere in the New York and New Jersey area.
When John Gotti became Gambino boss in 1986, Orena was able to expand his criminal dealings with the Gambinos. Orena now became a top earner in the Colombo family. Orena also increased his influence with brothers Vincenzo
and Benedetto Aloi, leaders of the Colombo Brooklyn faction. Orena was also close friends with Lucchese crime family
mobsters Victor Amuso and James Burke. Many considered Orena to be a polished individual as a tough guy. Many described him as well-liked,Intelligent, generous, and soft spoken with a strong demeanor.
In November 1989, Orena allegedly ordered the murder of Colombo mobster Thomas Ocera. Ocera was allegedly skimming mob profits, had let police seize Colombo loansharking records, and had supposedly killed an associate of John Gotti. On November 13, Gregory Scarpa who was in fact an F.B.I.informant with a 30 year relationship strangled Ocera with a length of piano wire
It was later known that Scarpa had no contact with Orena , in fact he was the catalyst in the plot to kill Orena,using his top men Carmine Sessa and John Pate in the hit that failed. Most believe it was because of Orena's strong stance against narcotics, while Sessa and Scarpa and Page were secretly in the drug business.Scarpa,Sessa and John Pate all cooperated with the F.B.I.
The Mafia Commission which represents the five families,urged Orena to poll the capo's and for then to address Persico on this issue. Orena instructed consigliere Carmine Sessa
to quietly poll all the capos as to how they wanted to answer the Commission who ordered Orena to ask Persico to stop or they would lose their seat on the Commission like the Bonnano family. Given his popularity within the family, Orena was well liked by the capo's three of the capo's being Persico cousins and brother..However, Sessa and Greg Scarpa, under the pretense of being loyal to the Persicos saw an opportunity for advancement . Instead of conducting the poll, Sessa,who was controlled by Greg Scarpa mounted an attempt to murder Orena without approval from Persico.Sessa later said he could not tell Carmine Persico's brother Theodore because he felt Theodore would run to Orena and warn him.
An alternate theory is that Sessa and Pate attacked Orena without the approval of Carmine Persico because Both Sessa and Pate were involved in narcotics trafficking, which Orena did not allow. Fearful that Orena would kill them, Sessa and Pate concocted this story about Orena wanting to poll the capos so that Carmine Persico would back them. It was later revealed that Sessa was totally controlled by Greg Scarpa and was loyal to Scarpa not Orena nor Persico. Sessa also had foreknowledge of the fact that Scarpa was an agent of sorts with the F.B.I. and had seen special favors from his friends in the F.B.I., Sessa immediately cooperated with the F.B.I. upon his arrest and there was speculation that he was working as a confidential informant along with Scarpa and Frankie "blue eyes" Sparaco during the war committing murders while informing on others. Scarpa committed 6 murders while an F.B.I. informant,while Sparaco killed 5,while both men were confidential informants, both men were agitators and besides the actual murders may have had as many as 25-30 attempts to murder between them.
home and waited for Orena to arrive home. As Orena was driving down his street, he recognized several men in the parked car. Realizing they were waiting to kill him, Orena drove away. By the time the gunmen spotted Orena, it was too late to act.
On December 3, Scarpa sent a team to kill Orena soldier Joseph Tollino. Tollino escaped, but his companion, Genovese crime family
mobster Thomas Amato, was killed accidentally. On December 5 and 6, Cutolo sent teams that murdered Persico loyalists Rosario Nastasa and Vincent Fusaro. On December 8, Orena supporter Nicky Grancio was murdered. Soon after after that Matteo Speranza, an innocent employee of a shop owned by Persico associates, was murdered by the a young Brooklyn underling Anthony Libertore and his want to be Father trying to make a name themselves with Joe Scopo,Brooklyn Colombo's . The Libertore's co-operated with the F.B.I. once imprisoned but were not found credible.
By this time, the Colombo warfare was receiving a great deal of public attention. On December 16, 1991, the Brooklyn District Attorney summoned Orena and the other Colombo principals to a grand jury
meeting to testify about the conflict. The mobsters all refused to testify.
As the war progressed into 1992, Orena was indicted on charges of murder and racketeering. To ensure his personal safety, Orena had gone into hiding at his girlfriend's new house, which was still under construction in Valley Stream, New York
. Orena outfitted the basement into a small apartment for himself. On April 4, 1992, agents arrested Orena at the house. A search uncovered four shotguns, a large supply of ammunition, and a bullet-proof vest. In testimony made in 1997, Gregory Scarpa Jr. would claim that his father planted the guns in the house to frame Orena. However, this charge was never proven.
On March 10, 1997, a judge refused to overturn Orena's conviction. The appeal was based on an alleged conspiracy between Gregory Scarpa Sr. and his FBI handler, Lindley DeVecchio
, against Orena during the Colombo war. On January 16, 2004, a judge denied Orena's appeal for a new trial.
As of October 2011, Orena is serving a life sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) near Terre Haute, Indiana
. While in prison, Orena has became a Catholic Eucharistic minister
, helping the priest administer the host and wine to inmates during Mass.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
mobster who became the temporary acting boss of the Colombo crime family
Colombo crime family
The 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 ....
. When an attempt by Greg Scarpa(who was an F.B.I. informer for 35years),Carmine Sessa and John Pate to kill Orena third Colombo family war,starting one of the bloodiest Cosa Nostra wars of the late 20th century.
Background
Born in New York City, Orena's father died when he was a child. Orena spent time in a reform school and eventually dropped out of high school. According to his son, Orena entered the mob life because The wiseguys were the big figures in the neighborhood and the nice clothes,cars the "glamor" of it and the fact that some of these men had rough beginnings.In the early 1970's the new Colombo boss Carmine Persico
Carmine Persico
Carmine 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...
allegedly had a few people "made" into his family, even though the "books" were officially closed, forbidding the introduction of any new members into the Mafia. One of these men was Victor Orena, who rose through the ranks and operated in Brooklyn, Long Island, and New Jersey. Orena was a well dressed. old school classy businessman with an edge and despite his youth specializing in labor rackets and Business.
Brooklyn capo
In 1985, Carmine Persico and "acting boss" Gennaro LangellaGennaro Langella
Gennaro Adriano Langella also known as "Gerry Lang", is a member of the Colombo crime family who eventually became underboss and acting boss.-Background:...
were convicted in the Mafia Commission Trial
Mafia Commission Trial
The Mafia Commission Trial was a criminal trial in New York City, USA. Using evidence obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, eleven organized crime figures, including the heads of New York's so-called "Five Families," were indicted by United States Attorney Rudolph Giuliani under the...
and sentenced to 139 years in prison. To run the family in his absence, Carmine Persico created a "Ruling Committee" of Orena, Joseph Russo, and Benedetto Aloi
Benedetto Aloi
Benedetto "Benny" Aloi was a New York City mobster who became consigliere of the Colombo crime family. Aloi was a main figure in the famous "Windows Case".-Early years:...
. With Persico both in and out of prison, Orena was able to set up operations almost everywhere in the New York and New Jersey area.
When John Gotti became Gambino boss in 1986, Orena was able to expand his criminal dealings with the Gambinos. Orena now became a top earner in the Colombo family. Orena also increased his influence with brothers Vincenzo
Vincenzo Aloi
Vincenzo "Vinny" Aloi is a New York City mobster involved in stock fraud who briefly served as the acting boss of the Colombo crime family.-Made man to acting boss:...
and Benedetto Aloi, leaders of the Colombo Brooklyn faction. Orena was also close friends with Lucchese crime family
Lucchese crime family
The 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...
mobsters Victor Amuso and James Burke. Many considered Orena to be a polished individual as a tough guy. Many described him as well-liked,Intelligent, generous, and soft spoken with a strong demeanor.
Acting boss
In 1988, Carmine Persico selected Orena to be the acting boss of the Colombo family. Persico had disbanded the "Ruling Committee", which had been decimated by convictions and imprisonments. Persico's brother Alphonse was a fugitive and his son Alphonse (Allie Boy) was in prison. So Persico made Orena the acting boss Showing his faith in Orena, the rise, decline, and resurgence of America's most powerful Mafia empires|year=2006|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|location=New York|isbn=0312361815|pages=333|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=5nAt6N8iQnYC&pg=PA332&dq=%22Victor+Orena%22&hl=en&ei=r0qLTprsGaXh0QH92_zlBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&sqi=2&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=%22Victor%20Orena%22&f=false|edition=1st St. Martin's Griffin ed.}}In November 1989, Orena allegedly ordered the murder of Colombo mobster Thomas Ocera. Ocera was allegedly skimming mob profits, had let police seize Colombo loansharking records, and had supposedly killed an associate of John Gotti. On November 13, Gregory Scarpa who was in fact an F.B.I.informant with a 30 year relationship strangled Ocera with a length of piano wire
Piano wire
Piano wire, or "music wire", is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano strings, as well as many other purposes. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as spring steel.-Manufacture and use:...
It was later known that Scarpa had no contact with Orena , in fact he was the catalyst in the plot to kill Orena,using his top men Carmine Sessa and John Pate in the hit that failed. Most believe it was because of Orena's strong stance against narcotics, while Sessa and Scarpa and Page were secretly in the drug business.Scarpa,Sessa and John Pate all cooperated with the F.B.I.
Power play
By early 1991, Orena . The Colombo's had prospered under Orena, In addition, Carmine Persico had been negotiating for a television biography, which the other families believed would bring unwanted law enforcement interest on the family. Gambino capo Mikey Scars Di Lorenzo testified that Gotti was pushing for Orena to bring the issue before the board of Colombo Captains,known as the administration but Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso who was Boss of the Luchese Family said that Orena was ready to be slated as the Official Boss by the Mafia Commission but the meeting had to be called off because of the John Gotti arrest. REF Gaspipe,confessions of a Mafia Boss.The Mafia Commission which represents the five families,urged Orena to poll the capo's and for then to address Persico on this issue. Orena instructed consigliere Carmine Sessa
Carmine Sessa
Carmine Sessa is an Italian-American mobster and hitman who became the consigliere of the Brooklyn-based Colombo crime family and played a key role in the family from 1991 to 1993. Sessa later became a government witness.-Murders:...
to quietly poll all the capos as to how they wanted to answer the Commission who ordered Orena to ask Persico to stop or they would lose their seat on the Commission like the Bonnano family. Given his popularity within the family, Orena was well liked by the capo's three of the capo's being Persico cousins and brother..However, Sessa and Greg Scarpa, under the pretense of being loyal to the Persicos saw an opportunity for advancement . Instead of conducting the poll, Sessa,who was controlled by Greg Scarpa mounted an attempt to murder Orena without approval from Persico.Sessa later said he could not tell Carmine Persico's brother Theodore because he felt Theodore would run to Orena and warn him.
An alternate theory is that Sessa and Pate attacked Orena without the approval of Carmine Persico because Both Sessa and Pate were involved in narcotics trafficking, which Orena did not allow. Fearful that Orena would kill them, Sessa and Pate concocted this story about Orena wanting to poll the capos so that Carmine Persico would back them. It was later revealed that Sessa was totally controlled by Greg Scarpa and was loyal to Scarpa not Orena nor Persico. Sessa also had foreknowledge of the fact that Scarpa was an agent of sorts with the F.B.I. and had seen special favors from his friends in the F.B.I., Sessa immediately cooperated with the F.B.I. upon his arrest and there was speculation that he was working as a confidential informant along with Scarpa and Frankie "blue eyes" Sparaco during the war committing murders while informing on others. Scarpa committed 6 murders while an F.B.I. informant,while Sparaco killed 5,while both men were confidential informants, both men were agitators and besides the actual murders may have had as many as 25-30 attempts to murder between them.
Assassination attempt
In June 1991, an assassination attempt was made on Orena, sparking the Colombo War. On June 20, 1991, a five-man hit team including Sessa, John Pate, and Hank Smurra converged on Orena's Long IslandLong Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
home and waited for Orena to arrive home. As Orena was driving down his street, he recognized several men in the parked car. Realizing they were waiting to kill him, Orena drove away. By the time the gunmen spotted Orena, it was too late to act.
Third Colombo war
The Colombo conflict soon spiraled out of control. On November 18, 1991, Cutolo sent a team to attempt to murder Gregory Scarpa, the Persico's top capo and an infamous hitman. The team ambushed Scarpa as he was driving with his daughter-in-law and granddaughter, but Scarpa and his family managed to escape unharmed. On November 18, Persico loyalist Smurra, a member of the June assassination team against Orena, was shot dead. On November 29, Sessa survived a murder attempt while driving his car.On December 3, Scarpa sent a team to kill Orena soldier Joseph Tollino. Tollino escaped, but his companion, Genovese crime family
Genovese crime family
The 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...
mobster Thomas Amato, was killed accidentally. On December 5 and 6, Cutolo sent teams that murdered Persico loyalists Rosario Nastasa and Vincent Fusaro. On December 8, Orena supporter Nicky Grancio was murdered. Soon after after that Matteo Speranza, an innocent employee of a shop owned by Persico associates, was murdered by the a young Brooklyn underling Anthony Libertore and his want to be Father trying to make a name themselves with Joe Scopo,Brooklyn Colombo's . The Libertore's co-operated with the F.B.I. once imprisoned but were not found credible.
By this time, the Colombo warfare was receiving a great deal of public attention. On December 16, 1991, the Brooklyn District Attorney summoned Orena and the other Colombo principals to a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
meeting to testify about the conflict. The mobsters all refused to testify.
As the war progressed into 1992, Orena was indicted on charges of murder and racketeering. To ensure his personal safety, Orena had gone into hiding at his girlfriend's new house, which was still under construction in Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream, New York
Valley Stream is a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population in the village of Valley Stream was 37,511 at the 2010 census...
. Orena outfitted the basement into a small apartment for himself. On April 4, 1992, agents arrested Orena at the house. A search uncovered four shotguns, a large supply of ammunition, and a bullet-proof vest. In testimony made in 1997, Gregory Scarpa Jr. would claim that his father planted the guns in the house to frame Orena. However, this charge was never proven.
Imprisonment
On December 22, 1992, Orena was convicted of racketeering, the 1989 Ocera murder, and other related charges. He received three life sentences plus 75 years in federal prison. By late 1992, the shooting war had petered out and Carmine Persico remained in control of the Colombo family.On March 10, 1997, a judge refused to overturn Orena's conviction. The appeal was based on an alleged conspiracy between Gregory Scarpa Sr. and his FBI handler, Lindley DeVecchio
Lindley DeVecchio
Lindley DeVecchio is a former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation agent in charge of managing mob informants. DeVecchio worked for the FBI during the Mafia wars in New York during the 1980s and 1990s....
, against Orena during the Colombo war. On January 16, 2004, a judge denied Orena's appeal for a new trial.
As of October 2011, Orena is serving a life sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) near Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute, Indiana
Terre Haute is a city and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, near the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. The city is the county seat of Vigo County and...
. While in prison, Orena has became a Catholic Eucharistic minister
Eucharistic Minister
-Roman Catholic Church:In the Roman Catholic Church, the only minister of the Eucharist is the priest.The phrase "Eucharistic minister" has sometimes been used improperly to refer to an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion....
, helping the priest administer the host and wine to inmates during Mass.
External links
- La Cosa Nostra – State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation 1989 Report - The Colombo/Persico/Orena Family
- Post-Gazette.com Switching sides by Bill Moushey
- Former FBI agent goes on trial in mob-tied murders By SCOTT SHIFREL