The dealing of drugs was supposed to be taboo in the organization, but it was obvious the "Docile Don" had turned a blind eye on the Martorano operation.
While Bruno was receiving a cut of the drug profits he was also an employee of the Martorano brothers’ – Raymond and John – vending machine business.
His murder in March 1980 allowed the gloves to come off and inaugurated a period of gangland bloodshed that lasted more than two decades, mostly during the reign of Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo.
Martorano and his brother-in-law Albert Daidone, a union organizer, hired Willard Moran, described as a low-level South Jersey racketeer, to murder McCullough.
After several failed attempts at bringing Harry under control by killing him, Scarfo sent Martorano and Frank Monte, the family consigliere, to speak to Mario "Sonny" Riccobene, the hunchback’s half-brother.
Whilst out on bail, he met with members of the Pagans Motorcycle club and informed them of a street tax being imposed on them by his boss Nicky Scarfo.
Enraged by the tax, the Pagans kidnapped Martorano's son George and strapped him with a vest full of dynamite.
Long John reportedly paid them $10,000 up front for the release of his son and promised to have the street tax removed.
Sentenced to die in the Pennsylvania electric chair, Moran flipped and ratted out Martorano and Daidone to save himself.
On January 17, 2002, while driving his Lincoln Town Car along the 700 block of Spruce Street in the Washington Square West section of Philadelphia, Martorano was shot and critically wounded by an unknown gunman or gunmen.