With a murder contract placed upon the lives of himself, his son and his wife, and facing a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of racketeering, Accetturo became a cooperating government witness in 1993.
He gained a reputation as a ferocious street fighter, which led several of his fellow gang members to call him "Tumac," after the caveman hero of the 1940 adventure film One Million B.C.
Accetturo became Delasco's protégé, learning trades in illegal gambling and loansharking, which allowed him subsequent control of the Newark area.
Nonetheless, in the eyes of Corallo, Abate, and the family leadership, Accetturo represented the Mafia ideal: loyal, trustworthy, and a good earner.
During his absence, Accetturo designated his lieutenant, Michael "Mad Dog" Taccetta of Florham Park, to run the day-to-day operations of the crew.
[1] In 1976, with Abate as his sponsor, Accetturo finally became a made man in the Lucchese crime family, along with the Taccetta brothers, Michael and Martin.
[1] He recalled that his ceremony was somewhat less elaborate than was normally the case for someone who was due to become “a friend of ours.” Although the ceremony—spilling a drop of blood on a picture of a saint, and burning it—was ostensibly secret, its broad lines were very well known in the Italian-American community.
Accetturo was thus surprised when Corallo simply told him to burn a picture of a saint, and swear not to betray the Lucchese family.
Based in Hollywood, Florida, Accetturo would continue to elude federal authorities while remaining involved in Lucchese interests in New Jersey.
On August 22, 1985, Accetturo and 25 other Lucchese members and associates were indicted in Newark on federal racketeering charges related to gambling, loansharking, credit card fraud, and cocaine and marijuana trafficking.
Facing a number of federal prosecutions, Accetturo was granted a stay of sentence, and was allowed to live in his Florida residence.
Accetturo later relocated to rural North Carolina, where he lived in a luxurious home and his family opened an Italian restaurant.
[2] In September 1989, New Jersey authorities extradited Accetturo from North Carolina, due to his refusal to appear and testify before a grand jury about labor racketeering and other state offenses.
[10] In late 1986, the entire Lucchese hierarchy—Corallo, underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro, and consigliere Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari—received 100-year sentences in the 1986 Commission case.
Blaming Amuso and Casso for the turmoil in the family, Accetturo decided to become a government informant, in hopes of saving his life, and gaining a lenient sentence.
The investigation that ultimately brought him down was led by Robert Buccino, a childhood friend who was now a top organized-crime expert in the New Jersey Attorney General's office.
[14] In an interview with The New York Times writer and Mafia historian Selwyn Raab, Accetturo said he would have never even considered turning informant had Corallo still been running the family.
Martin and Michael Taccetta were sentenced to 25-years to life imprisonment for racketeering, narcotics, extortion, loansharking, conspiracy, and murder in 1993.