Tino Fiumara
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Tino "T" Fiumara (/fjuːˈmɑːrə/; August 11, 1941 – September 16, 2010), also known as "The Greek," was a major figure in the Genovese crime family and was acting boss. Since the 1980s, he had been the leader of the Genovese New Jersey faction in northern New Jersey. After his final release from prison Fiumara lived on Long Island.
Early criminal career
Tino Fiumara was born in Livingston, New Jersey to parents from Ali Superiore, Italy. His associates usually called him "T" or "the good-looking guy." Fiumara later earned the nickname "The Greek" from operating a crew in a Greek neighborhood of Bergen County, New Jersey. He had two daughters and a son. Fiumara has allegedly been linked to several ruthless murders. He allegedly shot dead a childhood friend over a simple dispute.
In the 1960s, Fiumara established himself in the New Jersey faction of the Genovese crime family. He began working in the crew of Genovese family caporegime Peter LaPlaca, who controlled the ILA activities at the local level in New Jersey.
First imprisonment
In 1979, Fiumara was convicted of labor
In February 1994, Fiumara was released from prison and quickly assumed control of the New Jersey faction. Fiumara's old rival, John DiGilio, was murdered by the Genovese family in 1988. The previous head of the New Jersey faction, consigliere, Louis "Bobby" Manna was imprisoned in 1989 for conspiracy to murder Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. Another rival, Lucchese crime family capo Anthony Accetturo, had been demoted by his boss and was in hiding. Fiumara was now completely in charge.
"Powerhouse"
By the mid-1990s Tino Fiumara was recognized as a "Mafia powerhouse" in New Jersey. In 1996, Coppola became a fugitive to avoid prosecution for a 1977 New Jersey murder. Fiumara and Coppola continued to communicate throughout the later part of the 1990s, as Coppola still played an active role in the leadership of the Fiumara crew; Coppola's reputation and close association with Fiumara allowed him to continue making money while in hiding.
In April 1999, Fiumara was returned to prison on a parole violation. To meet with Genovese superiors and associates in New York City, Fiumara had been driven to the meetings hiding in car trunks. Fiumara was to be released in 2002, however in 2003, Fiumara received another eight-month parole violation. Fiumara had been in contact with Coppola, still a fugitive, and failed to report the contact to law enforcement.[5]
On November 30, 2005, the body of Genovese mobster Lawrence Ricci was found in a car trunk in New Jersey. It was rumored that Fiumara approved Ricci's murder because he had refused to plead guilty in an ongoing racketeering trial.[2][5]
In 2009, the
As a known associate and supporter of longtime Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante, Fiumara had played an important role within the Genovese crime family's New Jersey faction for more than 30 years. For 15 years Fiumara had been recognized as the head of the New Jersey rackets for the Genovese crime family and in the last several years he was seen as a future candidate for boss of the Genovese family.[7] Up until his death, Fiumara was involved in New Jersey rackets and was a power within the family.[8]
Fiumara died on September 16, 2010, of cancer.[9]
References
- ^ a b "Jersey mob soon to get infusion of old blood" The Star Ledger April 10, 2002
- ^ a b c For Christie, Family Tie No Candidate Can Relish" New York Times September 24, 2009
- ^ United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (1984). Waterfront Corruption Report. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 80, 99, 114. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ "DIELAND: Mob: The Genovese Family". Archived from the original on 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2010-06-12.
- ^ a b "Tino Fiumara" Archived 2010-03-02 at the Wayback Machine Gangsters Inc March 25, 2007
- ^ "Where the Least Unpopular Man Wins" John H.Bohrer Huffington Post November 3, 2009
- ^ "Genovese family may soon have new boss" Archived 2010-05-10 at the Wayback Machine Mafia Today
- ^ "Tino looks for Christmas past" Jerry Capeci Huffington Post April 12, 2010
- ^ Conte, Michaelangelo (September 20, 2010). "New Jersey mobster with Hudson County roots dies of natural causes". NJ.com. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
Further reading
- Block, Alan A. East Side-West Side: Organizing Crime in New York, 1930-1950. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1983. ISBN 0-87855-931-0
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
- "For Christie, Family Tie No Candidate Can Relish" The New York Times David M. Halbfinger and David Kocieniewski September 23, 2009