Frank Coppa
Frank Coppa Sr. (born September 11, 1941) is a Sicilian-American gangster in the Bonanno crime family who was a close friend of Joseph Massino and Frank Lino and made large sums of money in stock fraud schemes. In 2002, Coppa became the first Bonanno made man to turn state's evidence.[1]
Biography
Coppa was born in Manalapan Township, New Jersey. He graduated from high school and spent a few months in college before dropping out.[2]
Coppa lived in New Jersey and Staten Island, but operated his criminal activities on the eastern edge of Bensonhurst and Williamsburg on the corner of Broadway and Kent in Brooklyn. This area included a low-income municipal housing project called Marlboro Houses, where he eventually became involved in drug trafficking.[3]
Coppa acquired many assets, including parking garage leases,
Criminal career
At age 19, Coppa was arrested for attempted burglary of a clothing store, but did not spend any time in prison.[5]
Coppa began his serious criminal career selling stolen watches and furs from transport truck hijackings, grossing $20,000.
In the early 1970s, Coppa first became involved in stock fraud schemes. Coppa and his associates bought stock in Tucker Drilling, a nearly worthless
In 1977, boss Carmine Galante inducted Coppa into the Bonanno family in recognition of his ability to earn money.[6]
In 1978, Coppa survived an assassination attempt. As he was entering his
In 1979, Coppa was convicted for his role in the Tucker Drilling scam but successfully avoided a prison sentence.[2]
After undercover FBI agent
During the 1980s, Coppa was indicted for income tax evasion for not declaring income received from his bus company. In 1992, Coppa was convicted and received several years in prison.[4] In 1994, Coppa was released from prison.[9]
By the late 1990s, Massino and Coppa had become close associates. Massino appreciated Coppa because his stock schemes netted large amounts of money for the Bonanno family. During this period, Massino and Coppa went to France with their wives to celebrate Massino's birthday. Coppa paid for the entire trip, which included stays at expensive hotels and meals at classy restaurants.[2]
On March 3, 2000, Coppa was indicted on
Government witness
In October 2002, having served several months on his recent stock fraud conviction, Coppa was indicted again on racketeering charges of extortion against Barry Weinberg, a Bonanno business associate. To avoid prosecution on his own criminal charges, Weinberg secretly recorded conversations for law enforcement in which Coppa pressed him for extortion payments.[12]
Facing charges that would have all but assured he would die in prison if convicted, Coppa decided to become a government witness, later declaring that, "I didn't want to do no more time." He became the first member of the Bonanno family to break his blood oath; until then the Bonannos had been the only family to have never had a member turn informer since the Castellammarese War. Coppa's defection precipitated a mass defection of Bonanno leaders to the government, eventually including Massino himself.[4]
Coppa testified against Massino. According to Coppa's testimony, the government allowed him to keep $1.7 million in personal assets and a townhouse in Florida.[13]
References
- ^ Marzulli, John (2005-04-10). "The Rise & Fall Of New York's Last Don. Pale. Bloated. Shuffling". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2012-03-31.
- ^ ISBN 0-425-20939-3.
- ^ a b "Born to Steal: When the Mafia Hit Wall Street"[permanent dead link] By Gary Weiss
- ^ ISBN 9781429907989.
- ISBN 978-0-8065-2874-8.
- ISBN 0-312-36181-5.
- ^ Raab, pp. 617–620
- ^ Crittle, pp. 102–104
- ISBN 9781429907989.
- ^ Feuer, Alan (March 3, 2000). "19 Charged in Stock Scheme Tied to Mob". New York Times. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^ Claffey, Mike (March 3, 2000). "40M STOCK SCAM 19 SAID TO HAVE TIES TO U.S., RUSSIAN MOBS ARE CHARGED". New York Daily News. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ISBN 978-0470154458.
- ^ Marzulli, John (January 29, 2005). "MASSINO SANG FOR MONEY Talking don seen in fed shocker". New York Daily News. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
Further reading
- Crittle, Simon, The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino Berkley (March 7, 2006) ISBN 0-425-20939-3
- DeStefano, Anthony. The Last Godfather: Joey Massino & the Fall of the Bonanno Crime Family. California: Citadel, 2006.
- Pistone, Joseph D.; & Woodley, Richard (1999) ISBN 0-340-66637-4.
- Pistone, Joseph D.; & Brandt, Charles (2007). Donnie Brasco: Unfinished Business, Running Press. ISBN 0-7624-2707-8.