Tyrannical Philly Mafia boss Nicodemo 'Little Nicky' Scarfo dies in prison hospital
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer
Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, the tyrannical mob boss who ruled the Philadelphia underworld in the 1980s, has died while serving out a life sentence at a federal medical center in North Carolina. He was 87.
Once described in a government sentencing memorandum as "a man who sought and achieved a career in the major leagues of crime," Scarfo was considered one of the most violent organized crime leaders in the country.
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Scarfo rose to power during one of the bloodiest periods in Philadelphia organized crime history. Twenty-five mob members or associates were murdered between 1980 and 1985 as the diminutive Scarfo, who stood just 5-5 and weighed 130 pounds, took control of the South Philadelphia-based crime family.
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Mob watchers who followed the rise and fall of Little Nicky said he epitomized organized crime in the 1980s. They said he was the underworld's reflection of the pinstriped outlaws who during that same time period were ravaging Wall Street and gutting the nation's savings and loan associations. The same philosophy seemed to be at work in the nation's financial circles and in the underworld: greed and the raw exercise of power were good; playing by the rules was for suckers.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/Tyrannical-Philly-Mafia-boss-Nicodemo-Little-Nicky-Scarfo-dies-in-prison-hospital.html
Just got a breaking news banner on this. It's a long article, very much biographical in nature, but this represents the beginning of the end of an era. Now we are going into a new era of racketeering right at the White House.
= new reply since forum marked as read
OK, not in real life.
One of the cable channels (maybe "I.D."
has been doing a series about the mob and a couple were about him and the Philly mob.
I went to high school in New Kensington, PA which was run by the Mannarino family, so mob stories interest me.
Some of the mob children were in my high school class, and our art club once had a meeting at a mob home. They were very nice to us and provided excellent Italian snacks.
