Philadelphia crime family

[33][34] A complex dispute involving disgruntled subordinates and territory claims by New York's Genovese crime family led to Bruno's murder in 1980.

Scarfo increasingly involved the family in narcotics trafficking and demanded that all criminals pay a street tax for operating in his territory.

Increased violence and law enforcement prosecutions also convinced several mobsters to cooperate with the government in order to escape death or prison.

The war ended in 1994, when Stanfa and most of his supporters were arrested by the FBI, though less intensified fighting continued until 1996 and began to involve violence from outside the family until the early 2000s.

The Philadelphia family has been weakened over the past 30 years due to internal violence, government turncoats, and law enforcement action following the passage of the RICO Act.

They busied themselves with bootlegging, extortion, loansharking, and illegal gambling, and it was during the Prohibition era that Sabella and his crew were recognized as members of the wider Sicilian crime syndicate of New York City and Chicago.

After Sabella's retirement, two of his top lieutenants, John Avena and Giuseppe Dovi, began a five-year war for control of the family.

Avena was murdered by members of his own faction on August 17, 1936, and Joseph "Joe Bruno" Dovi became boss of the Philadelphia family.

On October 22, 1946, Dovi died of natural causes at a New York City hospital, and Giuseppe “Joseph” Ida was appointed by the Commission to run the Philadelphia family and its rackets.

Some mobsters, like Philip Testa,[11] Antonio Caponigro,[11] Harry Riccobene[42] and Raymond Martorano, ran drug trafficking operations clandestinely without Bruno's knowledge.

[45] Caponigro's co-conspirators Frank Sindone, Alfred Salerno, and John Simone were also murdered for killing a mob boss without the permission of the Commission.

Bruno's successor, his former underboss Philip Testa, lasted just under a year as the boss of the family before he was killed by a nail bomb under his front porch on March 15, 1981.

[46] Peter Casella and Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, the late Testa's underboss and consigliere respectively, were both vying to take over the family.

Narducci was killed and Casella was banished from the Mob and fled to Florida, leaving Scarfo the major candidate for boss of the family.

Nicodemo Scarfo was a powerful Bruno crime family mobster who operated mostly in Atlantic City, New Jersey prior to his accession to boss.

The last person to stand in Scarfo's way was the well-respected, long-time Philadelphia crime family mobster and made man, Harry Riccobene.

When Nicodemo Scarfo became Boss, he wanted to unify organized crime in the area and dreamed of running a smooth criminal empire.

Loan shark, drug dealer and pawn shop owner John Calabrese was killed by Joseph Ciancaglini Sr., Tommy DelGiorno, Frank Iannarella and Pat Spirito.

Frankie "Flowers" D'Alfonso was brutally beaten by Salvatore Testa and Joey Pungitore for refusing to pay the street tax.

[40] Along with Scarfo, underboss Philip Leonetti, three of the family's four capos or captains, Joseph Ciancaglini, Francis Iannarella Jr. and Santo Idone, and soldiers such as Albert Pontani, Salvatore Merlino and Charles Iannece were arrested.

[50] The prosecutions were strengthened by Mafia members Tommy DelGiorno and Nicholas "Nicky Crow" Caramandi agreeing to cooperate with law enforcement and testify at trial for the government in order to escape long prison terms and Scarfo's ruthless regime.

[55] The New York Mafia's intrusion in Philadelphia Mafia affairs was not well received by many of the younger Philadelphia-born mobsters in the Philadelphia crime family, including Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino, the son of former underboss Salvatore Merlino, who saw Stanfa as an outsider who had not worked his way up in the organization due to being imprisoned during the entire Scarfo era.

Natale named Michael Ciancaglini, Steven Mazzone, George Borgesi, Gaetano "Tommy Horsehead" Scafidi and Martin Angelina as Merlino's key associates and co-conspirators in the plan.

[60] They continued attacking each other for months, including a freeway ambush Stanfa survived, and several failed attempts on Merlino's life.

According to the former executive director of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission, Frederick T. Martens, "Stanfa brought in people, like the Veasey brothers, who had no background in the mob but who were willing to break legs and pull a trigger".

During this time, Merlino and Natale oversaw the crime family's gambling, loan sharking, extortion and stolen goods rackets.

In March 1998, Anthony Turra, on trial on charges of plotting to kill Merlino, was shot dead outside his home by a gunman in a black ski mask.

[75][76] In June 1998, Natale was jailed for a parole violation; Merlino subsequently took control of the family and cut off support to the imprisoned boss.

[97] In 2007, 23 people, including four members of the Philadelphia crime family, were charged with running an illegal sports betting operation out of a poker room at the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City.

[105] Following Merlino's release from prison in 2011, the FBI and organized crime reporters believed he continued to run the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia.