James T. Licavoli
James T. Licavoli | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Licavoli's 1947 police mugshot | |
| Born | Vincentio Licavoli November 24, 1904 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S |
| Died | November 23, 1985 (aged 80) Oxford, Wisconsin, U.S |
| Resting place | Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri |
| Other names |
|
| Occupation | Crime boss |
| Predecessor | John T. Scalish |
| Successor | John Tronolone |
| Relatives |
|
| Allegiance | RICO charges (1982) |
| Criminal penalty | 17 years' imprisonment (1982) |
James T. Licavoli (born Vincentio Licavoli; August 18, 1904 − November 23, 1985), also known as "Jack White" or "Blackie", was an American
Early life
Vincentio Licavoli was born in
On October 6, 1926, Licavoli was shot in the leg and arrested after a wild chase and shootout with St. Louis Police. Though he had fired on the police, Licavoli was charged merely with carrying a concealed weapon and even that charge was dropped.[3] On August 9, 1927, on the outskirts of Chicago, Licavoli survived a "one-way ride" that claimed the lives of his friends, Anthony "Shorty" Russo and Vincent Spicuzza.[4] Licavoli then went with his cousins to Detroit where, as part of the Detroit Mafia, they wrested control of the city's rackets from the self-destructing Purple Gang, previously dominant in Detroit. There, he was convicted of bootlegging and served a stint at Leavenworth. Upon his release, he joined his cousins in Toledo, where they had moved to avoid heat from the murder of a crusading anti-Mafia Detroit radio broadcaster, Jerry Buckley.
The Licavolis and their cousin, Calogero "Leo Lips" Moceri, did not remain in Ohio for long. Five members of the gang including Yonnie were arrested for the murder of a popular Toledo bootlegger. Peter Licavoli returned to Detroit and regrouped - his force retaining the original Purple Gang title. James Licavoli went on the lam and hid in
Move to Cleveland
One of many in the Licavoli family to become involved in organized crime, James Licavoli first arrived in Cleveland in 1938.
In 1951, Licavoli was called before the
Rise to power
By 1970, James Licavoli had become known as "the king of the hill" - Murray Hill, Little Italy. He never married and remained a lifelong bachelor. He lived with a 70-year-old roommate who was also a bachelor and worked as a carpenter. Since his income had never been declared, he was even able to draw a monthly social security check[citation needed].
Licavoli had been called "Blackie" while he was growing up in Collinwood. Now he was known in the Mob as "Jack White," an ironic reference to his swarthy complexion.
Despite his immense wealth, he had a reputation for being cheap and occasionally foolish to the point of embarrassment. Once at a local mall, he was detained by store detectives for switching the price tags on a pair of pants. After hearing about his background, the department store manager declined to prosecute. Another time, he was caught using slugs on machines. He also used stolen credit cards on vacations.
In 1976, longtime Cleveland family boss
Cleveland mob war
During this time, Licavoli had to deal with Irish gangster Danny Greene trying to take control of rackets in Cleveland. Mafia associate John Nardi sided with Greene and switched alliance, strengthening Greene's criminal empire and giving him an advantage on the Cleveland family. This erupted into an all out war with many of Licavoli's supporters being killed in the process.
These murders soon gained the attention of other criminal organizations, particularly the
During the early phases of the war, Licavoli was on the defense. Although no attempts were made on his life, many of Licavoli's men and associates were killed in the war. This included one of Licavoli's most powerful allies, consigliere Leo Moceri, whose bloodstained car was found in a hotel parking lot in Akron, Ohio. Repeated attempts to kill Nardi and especially Greene failed. However, in 1977, things started turning in his favor. His men were able to kill Nardi with a car bomb. Later the same year, he hired Ray Ferritto to kill Danny Greene. While Greene was visiting the dentist, Ferritto parked his car attached with a car bomb next to Greene's. When Greene left the dentist's office and went to his car, the bomb was ignited, killing Greene. Licavoli would go on trial for their murders, but was eventually acquitted.
With the deaths of Nardi and Greene, Licavoli assumed complete control of criminal activities in Cleveland. Under Licavoli, the Cleveland syndicate successfully infiltrated the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Cleveland branch. They accomplished this by bribing a female clerk to update them on organized crime investigations and provide the identities of government informants. In a later conversation with lifelong friend and FBI informant Jimmy Fratianno (described in Fratianno's biography The Last Mafioso), Licavoli commented "Jimmy, sometimes, you know, I think this fucking outfit of ours is like the old Communist party in this country. It's getting so that there's more fucking spies in it than members."
Downfall
Ferritto was implicated in the murder of Danny Greene when the license plate of his getaway car was reported to the
On November 23, 1985, James Licavoli died of a sudden
In popular culture
Licavoli was portrayed onscreen by actor
Further reading
- Shaffer, Terry, "Illegal Gambling Clubs of Toledo", Happy Chipper Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-0-615-64443-1
- Jacobs, James B., Christopher Panarella and Jay Worthington. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0
- Neff, James. Mobbed Up: Jackie Presser's High-Wire Life in the Teamsters, the Mafia, and the FBI. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989. ISBN 0-87113-344-X
- Porrello, Rick. To Kill the Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia. Novelty, Ohio: Next Hat Press, 2004. ISBN 0-9662508-9-3
References
- ^ a b c d "JAMES T. LICAVOLI, CRIME LEADER IN CLEVELAND". The New York Times. November 26, 1985.
- ISBN 978-1-59629-905-4, pgs. 75–76.
- ^ Waugh, pgs. 96-98.
- ^ Waugh, pgs. 110–112.
- ^ a b c Moceri dead... Agents say crime chief slain in mob war John Dunphy and Douglas Balz, Akron Beacon Journal (December 20, 1977) Archived March 28, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Cleveland's reluctant 'godfather' Thomas M. Burnett, United Press International (July 8, 1982) Archived March 28, 2024, at archive.today
- ^ Lynch, Maxine L. (November 25, 1985). "City Mafia Boss Dies Imprisoned". The Plain Dealer. pp. A1, A10.
- ^ "Burial Is Slated For Suspected Mob Boss". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 27, 1985. p. 20.
- Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 0-688-04350-X
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
