Michael J. Coppola (born May 18, 1946),[2] also known as "Mikey Cigars", is an American mobster and captain in the Genovese crime family active in their New Jersey faction.

[5] Coppola became an acting caporegime (captain) while Tino Fiumara was in prison in the 1980s and 1990s,[6] running the day-to-day activities of the New Jersey faction Fiurama had orders relayed to him.

[8] Another story has it that Lardiere entered into a heated argument with Ralph "Blackie" Napoli, a caporegime in the Philadelphia crime family and his death was ordered.

[5] When Lardiere got out of his car at a Bridgewater, New Jersey motel,[9] the killer was standing in front of him with a .22 automatic pistol, complete with a silencer.

In 1996, Lucchese crime family mobster Thomas "Tommy" Ricciardi who had been arrested on murder and extortion charges, decided to cooperate with authorities.

When the FBI requested a DNA sample on August 8, 1996 which could have proved he was at the murder scene, Coppola fled his Spring Lake, New Jersey home with his wife.

[8] A fellow New Jersey mobster for the Genovese family and a Furmara/Coppola associate, was charged by the FBI with illegally harboring Coppola during the months before he was caught and arrested.

[7] While conducting a search of their Upper West Side home they found a book entitled "The Methods of Attacking Scientific Evidence".

Louis James Rizzo Jr., Coppola's step-son, was also convicted for conspiracy to harbor a fugitive and sentenced to 3 years in prison.

[10] Coppola waived a speedy arraignment and spent the next two nights sleeping at FBI headquarters in lower Manhattan at an undisclosed hotel.

His defense lawyer Henry Mazurek said that Coppola only dragged out the process out of concern for his wife, who he feared would also be arrested and charged.

Defense lawyer Henry Mazurek told jurors that Coppola admitted to making a "rash" decision to flee, but that it didn't prove he's a killer.

[20] On July 21, 2009, Coppola was acquitted of the murder,[15] partially due to the DNA test proving inconclusive since it matched 11 million white men in America.