George Anastasia - Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob—The Mafia’s Most Violent Family

BLOOD AND HONOR

BLOOD AND HONOR

INSIDE THE SCARFO MOBTHE MAFIAS MOST VIOLENT FAMILY

George Anastasia

Camino Books, Inc.

Philadelphia

Copyright 1991, 2004 by George Anastasia and Nick Caramandi

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Published by arrangement with the author.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Anastasia, George.

Blood and honor: inside the Scarfo mob, the Mafias most violent family/George Anastasia.

p. cm.

Originally published: 1st ed. New York: W. Morrow, c1991. New material included.

ISBN 0-940159-86-4 (alk. paper)

e-ISBN 978-1-933822-64-8

1. MafiaPennsylvaniaPhiladelphia Metropolitian AreaCase studies. 2. Scarfo, Nicodemo Domenic, 1929 I. Title.

HV6452.P4M3425 2004

364.1060974811dc22 2003055602

This book is available at a special discount on bulk purchases for promotional, business, and educational use. For information write to:

Camino Books, Inc.

P.O. Box 59026

Philadelphia, PA 19102

www.caminobooks.com

For my father, and his father before him

Contents

This book could not have been written without the advice, encouragement, and support of many editors, reporters, and friends whom I have worked with over the years.

I would especially like to thank Bill Marimow, who thought of me when this project was first being discussed and who is most responsible for my involvement in it. Also Bob Samsot, an editor and friend who will recognize sections of what follows.

There are also dozens of reporters, law enforcement officials, and attorneys who worked on various aspects of the Scarfo story or investigationas the case may beand whose excellent work and willingness to cooperate made my job easier. These include the criminal and court reporters at the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, detectives with the New Jersey state police and Philadelphia police department, members of the FBI and U.S. Attorneys Offices in Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and Newark, and officials with the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation and the Pennsylvania Crime Commission.

In Atlantic City, I would like especially to thank Michael Schurman, a friend and former reporter who was one of the best in the business.

Special thanks also to Susan Leon, whose hard work and determination helped shape this manuscript, and to Jerry Perles, for his wisdom and counsel.

Finally, Id like to say thank you to my wife, Angela, and daughters, Michelle and Nina, for their support and encouragement and for their love.

Leland Beloff Former Philadelphia city councilman. Sentenced to ten years in prison after being convicted of conspiring with the mob in a $1 million shakedown of a major waterfront developer.

Chelsais Stevie Bouras Head of Philadelphias Greek mob. Killed in a South Philadelphia restaurant on May 27, 1981, in a dispute over methamphetamine dealing.

Angelo Bruno Mafia boss of Philadelphia and southern New Jersey from about 1959 until his assassination on March 21, 1980. His death set in motion five years of internecine warfare that left more than twenty mob members and associates dead and Nicodemo Scarfo as the boss of a new and more violent Mafia family.

John Calabrese Mob associate involved in drug dealing and loan-sharking operations with Antonio Caponigro. Murdered on October 6, 1981, after failing to fall in line under Scarfo.

Antonio Tony Bananas Caponigro Brunos consigliere and head of the Newark branch of the family. Suspected of plotting Brunos murder. Found dead in the Bronx on April 18, 1980.

Nicholas Nicky Crow Caramandi Scarfo soldier and top money earner. Became a government witness after being marked for death. Testified at eleven trials resulting in fifty-two convictions. Pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges. Sentenced to eight years. Released in October 1990. Now in Federal Witness Protection Program.

Peter Casella Bruno capo elevated to underboss by Philip Testa. Fled to Florida after planning Testas murder in 1981. Died of natural causes two years later.

Joseph Chickie Ciancaglini Scarfo capo sentenced to forty-five years in prison following conviction on federal RICO charges in 1988.

Michael Mickey Coco Cifelli Suspected drug dealer murdered for selling drugs to the son of a mob figure. Gunned down in a South Philadelphia bar on January 4, 1979.

Ralph Big Ralph Costobile Caramandi associate and South Philadelphia bar and construction company owner. Pleaded guilty to labor racketeering charges. Sentenced to three years in prison.

Albert Daidone Atlantic City Bartenders Union official. Convicted with Raymond Martorano of plotting the murder of John McCullough.

Frank Frankie Flowers DAlfonso Top Bruno associate and big-time money earner for the organization. Brutally beaten on Scarfos orders on October 29, 1981. Murdered on July 23, 1985.

Thomas Tommy Del DelGiorno Former Scarfo capo. Became a government witness after being demoted to the rank of soldier. Believed he was marked for death. Testified at a dozen trials. Pleaded guilty to a federal racketeering charge. Sentenced to five years in prison. Released in May 1990. Now in the Federal Witness Protection Program.

Dominick Mickey Diamond DeVito Nick Caramandis original mob mentor. Found murdered on February 25, 1982. Victim of a twenty-year-old Scarfo grudge.

Ronald Cuddles DiCaprio Mob associate. Driver for Pat Spirito murder. Convicted of racketeering charges. Currently serving twenty-year prison sentence.

Anthony Spike DiGregorio Associate of Nicodemo Scarfo and Nick Caramandi. Served as caretaker at Scarfos Fort Lauderdale home.

Angelo Chick DiTullio South Philadelphia drug dealer. Victim of Mafia P-2-P importation scam. Convicted of federal drug charges. Serving eighteen-year prison term.

Vincent Falcone Atlantic City cement contractor killed for insulting Scarfo and his nephew Philip Leonetti. His body was found in the trunk of his car in Margate, New Jersey, shortly after the December 16, 1979, slaying.

George Fresolone Scarfo soldier who secretly recorded his own Mafia initiation ceremony while working undercover for the New Jersey state police. Now a cooperating witness for the New Jersey Attorney Generals Office.

Joseph Grande Scarfo soldier. Convicted of RICO charges. Currently serving a forty-year prison sentence.

Salvatore Wayne Grande Brother of Joe Grande. Hit man in Salvatore Testa murder. Convicted of federal RICO charges. Currently serving a thirty-eight-year prison sentence.

Edwin Helfant Atlantic City lawyer and part-time municipal court judge. Killed in a cocktail lounge on February 15, 1978, after failing to follow through on a promise to rig a judicial proceeding.

Robert Hornickel Suspected drug dealer. Found murdered in South Philadelphia on January 27, 1983.

Francis Faffy Iannarella, Jr. Scarfo family capo. Convicted of RICO charges and of Frank DAlfonso murder. Sentenced to consecutive forty-five-year and life sentences.

Charles Charlie White Iannece Caramandis Mafia partner in crime. Triggerman in Pat Spirito murder. Convicted of RICO charges. Sentenced to forty years in prison.

Joseph Ida Philadelphia Mafia boss who fled to Italy after the 1957 mob conclave in Apalachin, New York.

Saul Kane Former Atlantic City bail bondsman and longtime Scarfo associate. Convicted in separate cases of federal drug charges and extortion. Serving twenty-five-year prison sentence.