AN ERA ENDS IN PHILADELPHIA
by Jeff Canarsie
An era in Philadelphia lore has ended with the death of Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo. Nicky died Friday in the medical center inside of Butner FCI in North Carolina. Nicky had been in ill health for months and while it was not reported publicly, I have been told that Nicky wasn't expected to make it through Christmas, and his weight had been plummeting for months prior.
There is a lot one can say about Nicky Scarfo, as he was more like Al Pacino in Scarface than Marlon Brando in the Godfather. He was a blood thirsty gangster that believed that one could change the forecast by putting bullets in his problems. History will argue that under the Scarfo reign there was more bloodshed than anything, but also under Nicky the Philadelphia LCN made some serious money, especially with SCARF INC, a construction company of dimwits who did rebar and cement work(and not exactly the right way either, much to the laughter of other companies) Sort of like the rehab windows thing Vincent Gigante had, but at least he put the windows in right side up.
In mentioning Vincent Gigante, Scarfo owes his rise to infamy to "the chin." Had Gigante not played his hand, Scarfo likely would have ended up in a body bag himself, or stuck out in Atlantic City to collect nickles and dimes the rest of his life. It's not to say that Nicky wasn't capable, he was, he just had a penchant for murder and mayhem over making money.
An example would be the time he stabbed a guy in a diner over a seat. There was a beef over a seat in a diner, and rather then just walk away, Scarfo used a butter knife to make his point clear. He would wind up doing time, and in effect getting himself banished to Atlantic City to dwindle.
Scarfo was know to be stubborn as a mule and completely disrespectful. It truly depends on what circle you listen to, but Nicky just did what Nicky wanted to do. While he was coming up in the mob, the Philadelphia Consigliere at the time Joe Rugnetta had offered his daughters hand in marriage to a despondent Scarfo. Rather than politely decline, Scarfo explained he would not marry any "girl who looked like an ape." Rugnetta obviously wanted revenge. He was disrespected and wanted Scarfo's head on a platter. The boss, Angelo Bruno wouldn't allow it, and Nicky was forced to apologize and give up some money in return. This was just an instance of Nicky Scarfo doing exactly what he wanted and "fuck everyone else."
The knife incident, his mouth, and the consternation of another mobsters daughter effectively ended up getting Nicky sent to Atlantic City. There wasn't any money at the time in Atlantic City and while Nicky did his best to service his small bookmaking and loan shark racket just wasn't producing enough to survive. He desperately wanted to get back to Philadelphia. Insert Vincent "the chin" Gigante.
What hasn't been reported by many, is this. Vincent Gigante was responsible for some real cloak and dagger stuff. He was directly responsible for the attempted murder of Frank Costello(with Vito Genovese) he also was responsible for the murder of Angelo Bruno. Your mob authors haven't told you that. Instead they try and wave a tapestry of politics, and the truth is, many upper echelon mobsters have been involved in taking out bosses. From Lucky Luciano, Joe Bonanno, Carlo Gambino, and Vincent Gigante all played snake in the grass.
NICKY'S ASCENT TO POWER
As I mentioned without Vincent Gigante, Nicky Scarfo would have been just another corner mobster. What makes this story interesting is that Gigante despite what has been reported had a huge hand in what happened to Angelo Bruno. Angelo Bruno as history will tell you was the "docile don." A quiet man who relied on dialogue over debauchery. He would rather talk something out than to use a gun. Where Bruno went off the rails was his penny pinching ways, and allowing other mob families to have enterprises in North Jersey. To the guys on the street they were fighting over ten rackets, which consequently has always been the issue for Philadelphia's underworld, and Bruno had allowed other families to enter the scene and operate in the territory. The other issue was Atlantic City and drugs.
Once legalized gambling entered New Jersey, Philadelphia laid claim. It was in there territory and they felt that it belonged to them. The other five families didn't see it that way and it became a huge problem. Bruno was apt to fight the good fight, but realized there was more harmony in alignment rather than division which infuriated Philadelphia LCN members who felt choked off by Bruno financially, especially when he had a no tolerance for drug sales even though he was allowing Genovese's to openly sell in Philadelphia for a huge kickback. He allowed another family to sell drugs, but banned his own men. The turmoil was reaching a boiling point.
The seeds were laid, when Consigliere Antonio Caponigro gunned down Angelo Bruno outside of his home with John Stanfa sitting in the front seat. The problem was, Caponigro thought he had permission of the Comission to carry out the murder. In fact, he did. The problem was Gigante was playing some very machiavellian shit. Gigante gave the go ahead, and sent Frank "Funzi" Tieri to discuss the issue with Caponigro. Caponigro believed everything was good, and killed Bruno. A week later Caponigro was sent for, to face Vincent Gigante. Vincent Gigante simply asked Tieri if he had given permission to Caponigro, which he denied. Caponigro argued, and shortly after the meeting Caponigro was killed. What makes this interesting is that, the idea that the commission was asked. Never happened. Gigante acted on his own, and wanted to restructure Philadelphia. So to save face, he explained that he would handle the "unsanctioned" murder of a boss in Philadelphia and the commission went along with it. It was a really shrewd move.
Vincent Gigante then offered the role to Scarfo which he declined in favor of Chicken Man Testa. It's not that Scarfo didn't want the position or that he felt "Testa deserved it." Scarfo knew that there would be some revenge for the Caponirgro hit and didn't want any part of it. The bottom end for Gigante was restructuring of Philadelphia and a huge kickback of Scarf, Inc, and in turn when Scarfo did take over he had no issues sharing the spoils of Atlantic City with the other five families. It made business sense for everyone involved. Once Testa was killed in huge porch bomb, Nicky took over the reigns as boss.
Nicky reorganized the family, took out the Riccobene's who wouldn't come in line and pay tribute. He would go on to kill anyone who spoke out of turn, even killing Salvatore Testa over fear that Testa was garnering too much attention from others in the mob. Nobody was safe under the Scarfo reign, and his zero tolerance and blood thirsty actions made Philadelphia more unstable than anything. They don't call it the Scarfo Wars for nothing. He more than likely was the only boss to openly enjoy participating in murders when he didn't have to.
The hell Scarfo unleashed in Philadelphia still resonates today as Philadelphia has always been known to be a bit shaky on the back end. This is also the reason why Philadelphia has no seat on the commission, they are just an unstable bunch, or at least were. History will look back on Scarfo more as a serial killer than your prototypical boss, and that's probably the way Nicky would want to be remembered, you know, as Michael Corleone, who walks into the bar, pops two guys and leaves the gun at the scene to show emphasis. That's who Nicky was, who he will always be, a stone cold gangster. Phildelphia will never be the same without Little Nick running amok.
An era in Philadelphia lore has ended with the death of Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo. Nicky died Friday in the medical center inside of Butner FCI in North Carolina. Nicky had been in ill health for months and while it was not reported publicly, I have been told that Nicky wasn't expected to make it through Christmas, and his weight had been plummeting for months prior.
There is a lot one can say about Nicky Scarfo, as he was more like Al Pacino in Scarface than Marlon Brando in the Godfather. He was a blood thirsty gangster that believed that one could change the forecast by putting bullets in his problems. History will argue that under the Scarfo reign there was more bloodshed than anything, but also under Nicky the Philadelphia LCN made some serious money, especially with SCARF INC, a construction company of dimwits who did rebar and cement work(and not exactly the right way either, much to the laughter of other companies) Sort of like the rehab windows thing Vincent Gigante had, but at least he put the windows in right side up.
In mentioning Vincent Gigante, Scarfo owes his rise to infamy to "the chin." Had Gigante not played his hand, Scarfo likely would have ended up in a body bag himself, or stuck out in Atlantic City to collect nickles and dimes the rest of his life. It's not to say that Nicky wasn't capable, he was, he just had a penchant for murder and mayhem over making money.
An example would be the time he stabbed a guy in a diner over a seat. There was a beef over a seat in a diner, and rather then just walk away, Scarfo used a butter knife to make his point clear. He would wind up doing time, and in effect getting himself banished to Atlantic City to dwindle.
Scarfo was know to be stubborn as a mule and completely disrespectful. It truly depends on what circle you listen to, but Nicky just did what Nicky wanted to do. While he was coming up in the mob, the Philadelphia Consigliere at the time Joe Rugnetta had offered his daughters hand in marriage to a despondent Scarfo. Rather than politely decline, Scarfo explained he would not marry any "girl who looked like an ape." Rugnetta obviously wanted revenge. He was disrespected and wanted Scarfo's head on a platter. The boss, Angelo Bruno wouldn't allow it, and Nicky was forced to apologize and give up some money in return. This was just an instance of Nicky Scarfo doing exactly what he wanted and "fuck everyone else."
The knife incident, his mouth, and the consternation of another mobsters daughter effectively ended up getting Nicky sent to Atlantic City. There wasn't any money at the time in Atlantic City and while Nicky did his best to service his small bookmaking and loan shark racket just wasn't producing enough to survive. He desperately wanted to get back to Philadelphia. Insert Vincent "the chin" Gigante.
What hasn't been reported by many, is this. Vincent Gigante was responsible for some real cloak and dagger stuff. He was directly responsible for the attempted murder of Frank Costello(with Vito Genovese) he also was responsible for the murder of Angelo Bruno. Your mob authors haven't told you that. Instead they try and wave a tapestry of politics, and the truth is, many upper echelon mobsters have been involved in taking out bosses. From Lucky Luciano, Joe Bonanno, Carlo Gambino, and Vincent Gigante all played snake in the grass.
NICKY'S ASCENT TO POWER
As I mentioned without Vincent Gigante, Nicky Scarfo would have been just another corner mobster. What makes this story interesting is that Gigante despite what has been reported had a huge hand in what happened to Angelo Bruno. Angelo Bruno as history will tell you was the "docile don." A quiet man who relied on dialogue over debauchery. He would rather talk something out than to use a gun. Where Bruno went off the rails was his penny pinching ways, and allowing other mob families to have enterprises in North Jersey. To the guys on the street they were fighting over ten rackets, which consequently has always been the issue for Philadelphia's underworld, and Bruno had allowed other families to enter the scene and operate in the territory. The other issue was Atlantic City and drugs.
Once legalized gambling entered New Jersey, Philadelphia laid claim. It was in there territory and they felt that it belonged to them. The other five families didn't see it that way and it became a huge problem. Bruno was apt to fight the good fight, but realized there was more harmony in alignment rather than division which infuriated Philadelphia LCN members who felt choked off by Bruno financially, especially when he had a no tolerance for drug sales even though he was allowing Genovese's to openly sell in Philadelphia for a huge kickback. He allowed another family to sell drugs, but banned his own men. The turmoil was reaching a boiling point.
The seeds were laid, when Consigliere Antonio Caponigro gunned down Angelo Bruno outside of his home with John Stanfa sitting in the front seat. The problem was, Caponigro thought he had permission of the Comission to carry out the murder. In fact, he did. The problem was Gigante was playing some very machiavellian shit. Gigante gave the go ahead, and sent Frank "Funzi" Tieri to discuss the issue with Caponigro. Caponigro believed everything was good, and killed Bruno. A week later Caponigro was sent for, to face Vincent Gigante. Vincent Gigante simply asked Tieri if he had given permission to Caponigro, which he denied. Caponigro argued, and shortly after the meeting Caponigro was killed. What makes this interesting is that, the idea that the commission was asked. Never happened. Gigante acted on his own, and wanted to restructure Philadelphia. So to save face, he explained that he would handle the "unsanctioned" murder of a boss in Philadelphia and the commission went along with it. It was a really shrewd move.
Vincent Gigante then offered the role to Scarfo which he declined in favor of Chicken Man Testa. It's not that Scarfo didn't want the position or that he felt "Testa deserved it." Scarfo knew that there would be some revenge for the Caponirgro hit and didn't want any part of it. The bottom end for Gigante was restructuring of Philadelphia and a huge kickback of Scarf, Inc, and in turn when Scarfo did take over he had no issues sharing the spoils of Atlantic City with the other five families. It made business sense for everyone involved. Once Testa was killed in huge porch bomb, Nicky took over the reigns as boss.
Nicky reorganized the family, took out the Riccobene's who wouldn't come in line and pay tribute. He would go on to kill anyone who spoke out of turn, even killing Salvatore Testa over fear that Testa was garnering too much attention from others in the mob. Nobody was safe under the Scarfo reign, and his zero tolerance and blood thirsty actions made Philadelphia more unstable than anything. They don't call it the Scarfo Wars for nothing. He more than likely was the only boss to openly enjoy participating in murders when he didn't have to.
The hell Scarfo unleashed in Philadelphia still resonates today as Philadelphia has always been known to be a bit shaky on the back end. This is also the reason why Philadelphia has no seat on the commission, they are just an unstable bunch, or at least were. History will look back on Scarfo more as a serial killer than your prototypical boss, and that's probably the way Nicky would want to be remembered, you know, as Michael Corleone, who walks into the bar, pops two guys and leaves the gun at the scene to show emphasis. That's who Nicky was, who he will always be, a stone cold gangster. Phildelphia will never be the same without Little Nick running amok.
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