Harry Riccobene
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Harry Riccobene | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | June 19, 2000 Dallas, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 90)
Other names | "The Hunchback" |
Harry "The Hunchback" Riccobene (July 27, 1909 – June 19, 2000) was a high-ranking member of the Philadelphia crime family who became a major figure in the Scarfo-Riccobene gang war that followed the 1981 death of boss Philip Testa.
He was born in
A longtime underworld figure in Philadelphia, Riccobene became a soldier under Prohibition mob boss Salvatore Sabella in 1927. Riccobene witnessed the rash of violence that started with the unsanctioned murder of Philadelphia crime boss Angelo Bruno and his replacement by Philip "Chicken Man" Testa. After running the family for one year, Testa was killed by a nail bomb at his home. Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo then became family boss. Riccobene led a faction against Scarfo for control of family operations in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Scarfo Consigliere Frank Monte informed his crew that he was going to kill Riccobene and take over his loansharking and illegal gambling operations. Monte approached Mario Riccobene, Riccobene's half-brother, and demanded that Mario set up Riccobene to be killed. However, Mario betrayed Monte by telling Riccobene about the plot. Infuriated, Riccobene ordered Mario and hitmen Joseph Pedulla and Victor DeLuca to instead kill Monte, to "... get them before they get us."
Between August 1982 and January 1984, Scarfo was imprisoned in a Texas penitentiary for gun possession. During that time, Riccobene began to form another faction that opposed Scarfo. Mario, Pedulla, and DeLuca camped out in a van near Monte's parked
In 2000, Harry Riccobene died from sepsis at the State Correctional Institute at Dallas, Pennsylvania.[3]
References
- ^ "Too tough to fuggedabout: Notable Mafia nicknames". Fox News. Fox News. May 11, 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ "Former Philly Police Captain Dies at 71". NBC News. NBC News Philadelphia. January 8, 2014. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ^ "Archives - Philly.com". Philly.com. June 22, 2000. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
Sources
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8160-5694-1
- Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2005. ISBN 978-0-8160-4040-7
- Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob - The Mafia's Most Violent Family by George Anastasia, 2004, ISBN 0940159864
- Bureau of Narcotics, U.S. Treasury Department, "Mafia: the Government's Secret File on Organized Crime, HarperCollins Publishers 2007 ISBN 0-06-136385-5