Salvatore Testa, The Crowned Prince of the Philadelphia Mob, was the son of Philadelphia Mob Boss Phil Testa who was killed by a nail bomb planted under his porch in 1981. Salvie, as he was called was a Rising Star in the Scarfo crew during the early 1980’s, so much so that 6 months before his death he was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. This specific move would cause tensions…
On this day in 1902 we saw the birth of Meyer Lansky who was born in Grodno in the Russian Empire (now western Belarus). Around the age of 9/10 Meyer and his family immigrated to the U.S. settling in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Meyer went on to grow the mobs gambling empire, and was the brain behind many of its decisions. He held considerable influence with the Italian Mafia despite being a member…
On this day in 1934 the former investigative reporter for the New York Times, Selwyn Raab was born in Manhattan’s Lower-East side. Raab has written extensively about the American Mafia, as well as appearing on several TV programs and interviews. What us Mafia buffs may now him best for is the 2005 bestseller, Five Families (which we have both read, and listened to the audiobook!). Over the last 20 years Selwyn has been a consultant…
On this day in 1915, The Howard Hughes of the Mob was born in Brooklyn. Big Paul Castellano controversially succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family after Carlo’s passing in 1976. Many thought that Aneillo Dellacroce would take the reigns of the family, but he was in prison at the time of the decision, and couldn’t contest it. Castellano controlled the family for 9 years, ordering many hits during his time at…
On this day in 2012 Henry Hill passed away at the age of 69. For 25 years he was a Luchesse Crime Family associate who took part in the 1968 Air France Heist and then ten years later in the infamous 1978 Lufthansa Heist. In the Lufthansa Heist an estimated $5 million in cash ($18.1 million today) and $875,000 in jewelry ($3.2 million today) were stolen. In 1980 he became an FBI informant and the…
Although, allegedly murdered in September 1985, Pino Greco’s body has never been found. His death only confirmed in 1989 when pentito, Francesco Marino Mannoia, told authorities that his brother had been present at the time of Greco’s death. Francesco Marino’s brother, Agostino had told him everything, that he was downstairs in the house when he heard gunshots, and upon going upstairs saw Pino lying dead on the floor, with one of his assassins holding a…
Anthony Casso built his empire through various rackets from drugs to garment district operations and everything in between. He was a natural born killer who worked as an underboss to Vic Amuso in the Lucchese Crime Family. However, many have said that Casso pulled the strings. In 1994 he plead guilty to 72 counts he had been indicted on, including 15 murders. His lifelong motto; “kill or be killed.” Casso Rising Through the Ranks Ruthless…
On this day in 1971 Joseph Valachi passed away in El Paso, Texas at the age of 67 from heart attack. Joe was of course the mobster who made Cosa Nostra a household name, and front newspaper headlines as he lifted the lid on the inner workings of the mob. You can read more about Valachi here: http://thencs.org/29DF5wr To mark the 48th anniversary of his passing we have put together a podcast on the Valachi…
