Problems, Questions…contact me.
All information entered to post a comment, name, email address etc., will not be used for any purpose other then to confirm you are a real person. We will not sell, share or publish our visitors email addresses and we will not email you for any reason. We believe in omerta!
If you've a real interest in New England Organized Crime and landed on this page by following a browser link and haven't seen the homepage you should check it out here. There are two videos with info on the current state of the family here. It'll give you an idea of whats happening and who's who. Really worth watching.
1970:
North Attleborough, Mass,US: The skeleton of Bobby Candos found in North Attleborough 22 months after his disappearance. He was shot in the head three times
Cranston, RI, US: Louis “The Fox” Taglianetti and his girlfriend Elizabeth McKenna found shot to death at 2045 Broad Street Cranston RI. At the time of his death Taglianetti was under indictment for the 1962 murder of John F "Jackie" Nazarian.
Providence, RI, US: All defendants with the exception of Manocchio and Vendituoli go to trial for the Marfeo, Melei murders. The defendants were sentenced as follows: Patriarca 10 years, Sciarra 10 years, Learner two life sentences, Fairbrothers 10 years, and Rossi 10 years.
New York,NY,US: The Italian American Anti-Defamation League, later called the Italian-American Civil Rights League was formed. On April 30, 1970 this group, led by mobster Joseph Colombo, picketed the Manhattan headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. They were there to protest the recent arrest of Colombo's son, Joseph Colombo Jr., on a charge of conspiracy to melt down old U.S. silver coins into ingots. Prior to this, the senior Colombo had complained of unfair harassment of him and his family by various federal law-enforcement authorities, who alleged that Colombo was the boss of one of New York City's five Mafia families — a charge he repeatedly denied.
Joseph Colombo
The 30 demonstrators who appeared at the FBI building were joined by others in successive days, and ultimately their number grew to more than 5,000. A logo, consisting of the numeral "1" superimposed upon a map of the United States, with the organization's name encircling it, was then devised. The logo invoked Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer.
Within two months, the organization claimed 45,000 dues-paying members, and held a large rally in Columbus Circle on June 28, 1970. Among the participants were five U.S. Representatives and several prominent entertainers.The league gained further momentum when Frank Sinatra held a benefit concert in its honor at Madison Square Garden in November of that year.
The group then turned its attention to what it perceived as cultural slights against Italian-Americans, using boycott threats to force Alka-Seltzer and General Motors to withdraw television commercials the league objected to, and also got United States Attorney General John Mitchell to order the United States Justice Department to stop using the word "Mafia" in official documents and press releases. The league also secured an agreement from Al Ruddy, the producer of The Godfather, to omit the terms "Mafia" and "Cosa Nostra" from the film's dialogue, and succeeded in having Macy's stop selling a board game called The Godfather Game.
1971:
Providence, RI, US: Ronnie Coppola, a loan shark and bookmaker and Robert “Bobby” DeLuca a Patriarca family member were arrested for pistol-whipping a man outside a social club.
Providence, RI, US: Aurelio H. Cesario’s body found outside the Federal Hill Anti Poverty Headquarters.
New York,NY,US: In June, the the Italian-American Civil Rights League held another rally in Columbus Circle. Prior to the rally, Joe Colombo's position became more difficult with the release from prison of Joey Gallo. Gallo had previously battled for control of the Profaci/Colombo organization during the "Gallo-Profaci War." Gallo used his time in prison to build alliances with other ethnic criminals, most particularly African-American criminals in Harlem and the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, and was using these contacts to disrupt Colombo's activities in Brooklyn. Joe Colombo was approaching the podium to address the crowd when an African American later identified as Jerome Johnson who had somehow managed to obtain press credentials,approached Colombo and fired three shots from an automatic pistol into his head.
.jpg "Jerome Johnson")
Jerome Johnson
Colombo's son and several others wrestled the gunman to the ground. At that point, a second man stepped out of the crowd and shot the gunman dead. The second assailant managed to escape and was never identified. The assault left Colombo in a coma from which he would never recoverand he died on May 22, 1978.
Joe Colombo's murder was never solved. The prime suspect was Joe Gallo because he had alliances with black criminals and the killer, Johnson, was black. Also, Gallo resented Colombo due to Colombo's role in the earlier gang war. Carlo Gambino also was considered a suspect. Gambino was angered over the increasing publicity generated by Colombo's League activities. On one occasion, it is alleged that Colombo addressed Gambino's concerns by literally spitting in his face. In addition, the assassin Johnson had connections with the Gambinos.
Israel: In 1970, with the FBI hounding him for income-tax evasion, Meyer Lansky moved to Tel Aviv. He spent a year there and applied for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return, which grants citizenship to all Jews. Under pressure from the U.S. Justice Department, Israel government turned him down, as did the Israeli Supreme Court. He was arrested in Panama by the FBI while seeking asylum.
1972:
Providence, RI, US: U.S. Supreme Court declares the death penalty too cruel and Tameleo’s sentence was commuted to life.
Providence, RI, US:Richard “Dickie” Callei, an organized crime associate is charged with the murder of Aurelio H. Cesario.
Richard “Dickie” Callei
Johnston,RI: Richard “Red Bird” Gomes stabbed Robert Cullen, 46, of Providence, to death in the basement of a Johnston bar. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
1974:
Providence, RI, US: James “Jimmy” Carr, an associate of Dickie Callei while seated in his vehicle at Africa Street and DePasquale Avenue is shot in the head but survives due to his lead lined hat. He later disappears from the Providence scene.
1975:
Rehoboth, Mass, US: Richard A. “Dickie” Callei was found dead of gunshot and stab wounds in a shallow grave in Rehoboth.
Providence, RI, US: Nine masked men entered the Bonded Vault Co. in Providence, Rhode Island, robbed several employees at gunpoint, broke into most of the safe-deposit boxes in the vault, and escaped with approximately $4 million in cash and valuables.
Providence, RI, US: Raymond Patriarca is paroled, during the six years Patriarca was behind bars he continued to run his crime family from inside prison.
1976:
Providence, RI, US: Nine were indicted in Providence County Superior Court for the Bonded Vault Co robbery. After a hearing in Superior Court, six were ordered held without bail.
Belmont, Mass, US: Frank "The Cheeseman" Cuccharia killed his wife and then committed suicide at their Belmont Mass. home.
San Francisco, US: Joseph “The Animal” Barboza is murdered in San Francisco by Joseph “J. R.” Russo. Barboza is often considered the "Joe Valachi" of New England with regards to his testimony. He was believed to be the first gangster turned witness against the New England Family.
1977:
Providence, US: Vito DeLuca a Patriarca family member is convicted for extortion.
1978:
Providence, RI, US: John Cicilline, a criminal-defense lawyer hired as a paralegal Mafia under boss Nicholas Bianco, freshly paroled from federal prison.
Providence, RI, US: Harold Tillinghast arraigned on defrauding Industrial National Bank for more then $40,000.00
Washington, US: Vincent Teresa testified that he was present in 1960 when the CIA gave the mob a $4 million dollar contract to murder Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Teresa stated that Raymond Patriarca helped select Maurice (Pro) Werner, a Brookline, Massachusetts, convict, to kill Castro but the plot was never carried out.
Providence RI: Joseph "Joe Onions" Scanlon disappeared from the streets of Providence.This case marked the first time in Rhode Island that prosecutors tried a case without a body. Mob associate Nicholas Pari and Andrew Merola spent ten years in prison for their roles in the homicide.Testimony at trial indicates the pair thought Scanlon was an informant for police. Police believe the body was dumped in Narragansett Bay.
1979:
Providence, RI, US: Luigi Giovanni “Baby Shacks” Manocchio participated in the killing of Rudolph Marfeo and Anthony Melei. Manocchio became a fugitive for the next ten years before resurfacing to face the charges. After a plea bargain, where he answered to murder conspiracy charges, he served a two and a half-year sentence.
Louie "Baby Shacks' Manocchio
Jamestown, R.I. US: The lifeless body of thirteen-year-old Richard Valente washed ashore on a beach bordering Narragansett Bay. An autopsy revealed that Valente had been badly beaten, but that drowning caused his death.
Cranston,RI: Richard “Red Bird” Gomes is freed from the ACI.
Popularity: 43% [?]
