1996 in organized crime

See also: 1995 in organized crime, other events of 1996, 1997 in organized crime and the list of 'years in Organized Crime'.

[edit] Events

• March 8 - Former Chicago Outfit top boss Samuel "Sam," "Wings" Carlisi was sentenced to 12 ½ years in prison for supervising a loansharking and extortion operation.
• March 13 - Detroit crime family boss Jack William Tocco was indicted at his vacation home in West Palm Beach, Florida. Tocco and his two brothers Anthony and Paul, and Anthony J. Zerilli, were charged with racketeering and extortion. All men would later be convicted and sentenced to prison. Jack Tocco’s only previous conviction was on charges of operating an illegal ock fight.
• May 20 - Giovanni Brusca, Sicilian mafioso and hitman, arrested near Agrigento on a pending "in absentia" conviction for the murder of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. After his arrest Brusca started to collaborate. However, he was not granted the status of full collaborator until February 1999, despite having confessed numerous murders and other criminal activities. Although many of his evidence was judged to be credible, suspicions remained that his collaboration was part of a strategy to emasculate other pentiti and subvert the course of justice.
• May 20 - Colombo crime family acting boss Andrew Russo was photographed meeting with acting consigliere Joel Cacace at the Doral Inn in Manhattan. The meeting landed Russo in jail for violating the terms of his probation. [[Alphonse "Allie yjcgh, including the office of President Frederick Devine, a Colombo crime family associate. The national union’s new President Douglas J. McCarron dismissed Devine and three union vice-presidents, William Reardon, William Hanley, and Robert Cavanaugh, from their posts, citing longstanding corruption and illegal activity, including extensive ties to members of the Colombo, Gambino and Genovese families.
• August 13 - IBT President Ron Carey placed Local 107 of Philadelphia under federal trusteeship for corruption and ties to organized crime, including its President Thomas Ryan, who had been accused of financial misdealings with Philadelphia family underboss Joseph Merlino. Carey received some criticism for the move by his election opponent James P. Hoffa because Ryan’s Local had supported Hoffa’s candidacy, and he would lose that vote.
• September 6 - Queens District Attorney's office indicted a Queens Irish gang, known as the "New Westies", for operating a massive $17+ million per year cocaine and drug trafficking operation, and committing murders, including that of Patrick Delace whose body was chopped into pieces in a Queens bar. The gang was led by Edward O'Boyle, his younger brother Daniel, and John McDonnell, and had ties to the Genovese and Gambino crime families.
• October 15 - Colombo crime family associate and IBT Local 707 President James McNeil pleaded guilty to helping acting boss Victor Orena hide payments he received in connection with the $3.65 million purchase of the union’s headquarters in Long Island.
• December - Lucchese crime family soldier Frank "Spaghetti Man" Gioia, Jr. pleaded guilty to his role in a massive drug trafficking operation that was based in Manhattan and Boston. While serving his sentence Gioia would become a cooperating witness after learning that captain Frank "Frankie Bones" Papagni was planning to kill Gioia's father, Frank Gioia, Sr., a Lucchese soldier. Gioia played a major role in trials that resulted in the convictions of over 60 family members, including Papagni, Ralph Cuomo, George "Georgie Neck" Zappola, Louis Daidone, Joseph DeFede, as well as Gambino crime family acting boss John Gotti, Jr. and Colombo crime family consigliere Joel Cacace.
• December 7 - Philadelphia crime family captain Joseph Sodano, based out of Newark, New Jersey, was shot to death for hiding money from the administration and reducing his monthly tribute from $4,000 to $1,500 after Nicodemo Scarfo was sent to prison.
• December 9 - Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes announced the indictment of 29 men involved in a massive gambling operation which stretched from New York City to Las Vegas and was linked to the Bonanno and Genovese crime families, which totalled around $400 million per year. The operation was headed by two groups, one led by Frank Tramontano, and the other known as The James Gang, led by James Rossi and Howard Lederer.

[edit] Arts and literature

• The Funeral (film) [1] starring Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Vincent Gallo, Benicio del Toro and John Ventimiglia.
• Gotti (film) [2] starring Armand Assante, William Forsythe, Frank Vincent, Dominic Chianese, Vincent Pastore and Tony Sirico.
• The Last Don (novel) by Mario Puzo.
• Last Man Standing (film) [3] starring Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken and Michael Imperioli.
• Last Man Standing (film) [4].
• Mad Dog Time (film) [5] starring Gabriel Byrne, Richard Dreyfuss, Jeff Goldblum, Burt Reynolds and Billy Drago.

[edit] Births

[edit] Deaths