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Patriarca crime family

The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, the Boston–Providence Mafia, or the Office, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family operating in New England. The family consists of two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, and the other in Boston, Massachusetts. The Patriarca family is active in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Connecticut.

History
Early years Before the start of Prohibition, two separate Mafia families emerged in New England: one based in Boston, Massachusetts, and the other based in Providence, Rhode Island. Gaspare DiCola acted as boss of the Boston family until his assassination on September 21, 1916. This allowed Gaspare Messina, a Sicilian mobster who had alleged close ties to Bonanno crime family in New York City, to become the new boss. Meanwhile, the Providence family formed in 1917 under Frank Morelli, who went on to control bootlegging and illegal gambling operations in both Providence and Connecticut. In 1924, Messina stepped down as boss of the Boston family, assuming a businessman's role while working with Frank Cucchiara and Paolo Pagnotta from a grocery store on Prince Street in the North End. A power struggle ensued within the Boston mob as rival gangs fought for illegal gambling, bootlegging, loan sharking and rackets. East Boston mobster Filippo Buccola emerged as the boss of the Boston family. During the early 1930s, Buccola battled other ethnic gangs for territory in Boston, along with his underboss Joseph Lombardo, another mobster from the North End. In 1932, Morelli merged his Providence family with Buccola's Boston family, forming the New England crime family. The business was known to family members as "The Office." 's Rhode Island State Police I.D. photo Patriarca was a strict and ruthless leader; he ran the family for decades and made it clear that other Mafia organizations were not permitted to operate in New England. He was skilled at warding off police and maintaining a low profile, thus receiving little hindrance from law enforcement. The family ventured into new rackets such as pornography and narcotics, though mob informer Vincent Teresa insisted that Patriarca forbade the family to deal in drugs. During his reign as boss, Patriarca formed strong relationships with the New York-based Genovese and Colombo crime families, deciding that the Connecticut River would be the dividing line between their territory and his own. while the Genovese family controlled organized crime in Hartford, Connecticut; Springfield, Massachusetts; and Albany, New York. Law enforcement agencies worked to develop informants within the Mafia and finally succeeded in 1966, when Joseph "The Animal" Barboza, a Patriarca family hitman, was arrested on a concealed weapons charge. Barboza claimed to have killed twenty-six people but became concerned when Patriarca did not raise his bail and two of his friends were killed for trying to do so. He soon decided to turn informant. Based on Barboza's testimony, Patriarca and Tameleo were indicted in 1967 for the murder of Providence bookmaker Willie Marfeo. Patriarca was convicted and began serving time in 1969, and Angiulo served as acting boss. Patriarca resumed control of the family after his release from prison in 1974. For his testimony, Barboza was given a one-year prison term, including time served. He was paroled in March 1969 and told to leave Massachusetts permanently. In 1971, Barboza pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in California and sentenced to five years at Folsom Prison; he was murdered in San Francisco by Joseph "J. R." Russo on February 11, 1976, less than three months after his release. Patriarca was plagued by law enforcement for the rest of his life, and he was charged numerous times for a variety of crimes until his death. In 1978, Vincent Teresa testified that Patriarca had participated in a 1960 attempt by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to kill Fidel Castro that was never carried out. In 1983, Patriarca was charged with the murder of Raymond Curcio, and was arrested in 1984 for the murder of Robert Candos, whom Patriarca believed was an informant. Patriarca died of a heart attack on July 11, 1984, aged 76. Patriarca Junior and decline (right), with Raymond Patriarca, Jr. (left) After Patriarca's death, the New England family began a long period of decline, resulting from both legal prosecution and internal violence. Angiulo attempted to take over as boss from behind bars, while Larry Zannino, the family's top lieutenant, backed Patriarca's son Raymond Patriarca, Jr. for the position. The Commission approved Patriarca, Jr.'s ascendancy to leadership, and his position was confirmed. Zannino was made consigliere, but he was sentenced to thirty years in prison in 1987. Angiulo was sentenced to forty-five years in prison on racketeering charges. Other senior members died or were imprisoned, such as Henry Tameleo and Francesco Intiso. William "The Wild Man" Grasso, an East Hartford-based gangster, became underboss because of the younger Patriarca's weak leadership. Some investigators believed that Grasso was actually in charge, but these rumors ended when Grasso was found dead in June 1989, slain by a gangster from Springfield as factions of the family began fighting each other for dominance. Grasso's murder weakened Patriarca, Jr.'s position. Nicholas Bianco was eventually indicted for the murder, but he became acting underboss before taking over the family's Providence operations. On March 26, 1990, Patriarca, Jr. and twenty other family members and associates were indicted on charges of racketeering, extortion, narcotics, gambling and murder. The indictments included underboss Bianco, consigliere Joseph Russo, and lieutenants Biagio DiGiacomo, Vincent Ferrara, Matthew Guglielmetti, Joseph A. Tiberi Sr, Dennis Lepore, Gaetano J. Milano, Jack Johns, John "Sonny" Castagna, Louis Fallia, Frank and Louis Pugliono, Frank Colontoni and Robert Carrozza. The arrests were described as "the most sweeping attack ever launched on a single organized crime family." One of the most damaging pieces of evidence was a tape recording of a Mafia induction ceremony, at which thirteen mafiosi were present. Because of this embarrassment, Patriarca was replaced as boss by Bianco, who maintained a very low profile. However, Bianco was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 1991, while eight other family members were convicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges. Bianco died in prison in November 1994. On January 6, 1992, all of the defendants in the RICO trial pleaded guilty and received lengthy sentences and large fines. Patriarca, Jr. was sentenced to eight years in prison in June 1992 after pleading guilty to racketeering charges. In 1993, 26 others were indicted and convicted for running a bookmaking operation. Internal warfare Frank Salemme took control of the family after the RICO trial of Patriarca Jr. which moved the family's base of power to Boston. Salemme's ascension to boss sparked tension among the family's factions. On March 31, 1994, Patriarca soldiers Ronald Coppola and Pete Scarpellini were shot and killed at a social club in Cranston, Rhode Island, by another Patriarca soldier, Nino Cucinotta, during a card game. On October 20, 1994, Joe Souza was shot inside an East Boston phone booth, dying from his injuries on October 31. On December 11, 1994, 25-year old drug dealer and Salemme loyalist Paul Strazzulla was shot and killed, his body recovered inside of his fire-torched car in Revere, Massachusetts. In January 1995, Salemme was indicted along with Stephen Flemmi and James "Whitey" Bulger on extortion and racketeering charges, and Salemme discovered through court documents that his close allies Flemmi and Bulger were long-time FBI informants. The grand jury testimony that resulted in the indictments was dominated by Sean Thomas Cote, who was the first of four indicted members to turn state's evidence. The jury ultimately acquitted the defendants of most charges but was deadlocked on murder and racketeering charges. Following Salemme's indictment, Providence family member Luigi "Baby Shacks" Manocchio took control of the family. Several of the defendants changed their pleas to guilty during a second trial, including Ciampi and Eugene Rida. Salemme pleaded guilty to racketeering charges on December 9, 1999, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. On January 19, 2011, Manocchio was arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was charged with extortion and conspiracy. Manocchio had stepped down as boss in 2009 after the FBI began investigating two strip clubs in late 2008. In February 2012, Manocchio agreed to plead guilty and was sentenced to 5½ years in prison for extortion on May 11, 2012. It was revealed after many members of the crime family were charged in several in RICO indictments that two Caporegimes Mark Rossetti and Robert DeLuca had become government informants. On December 17, 2011, family associate Anthony "Ponytail Tony" Parrillo was arrested after a physical altercation at his establishment in Providence, Club 295, and was later charged with two counts of felony assault. Parrillo had his bouncers attack patron Jack Fernandes after misidentifying him for another man who had engaged in sexual acts in the club's bathroom then stabbed a security guard when he confronted him about it: Fernandes was using the same bathroom stall as the aggressor. The assault began in the bathroom and continued in the back alley of the club where Fernandes's wife, Sumiya Majeed, was injured as well. Parrillo was sentenced to serve five years of a 15-year sentence on April 11, 2016, but appealed his conviction to the Rhode Island Supreme Court. He was released on bail pending the appeal, but his motion was denied and he began his sentence on August 5, 2020. On April 25, 2012, DiNunzio was arrested and charged with racketeering and extortion. On September 13, 2012, DiNunzio pleaded guilty to shaking down Rhode Island strip clubs and was sentenced to six years on November 14, 2012. In 2012, the Patriarca family was estimated to have about 30 made members active in the New England area, centered in the cities of Boston and Providence. Spagnolo took over as acting boss after DiNunzio was arrested back in 2012. Upon his release, he was thought to renew his position within the family and reconvene with his old North End crew. DiNunzio reportedly inducted his nephew, Louis "Baby Cheese" DiNunzio and two other members of his crew, Johnny Scarpelli and Salvatore "Tea Party Tore" Marino into the family during a ceremony held in the basement of a North End restaurant and attended by Limone, acting boss Anthony "Spucky" Spagnolo and Providence capo Matthew "Good-Looking Matty" Guglielmetti. At that same event, DiNunzio promoted his bodyguard Gregory "Fat Boy" Costa to capo of the North End crew. He was succeeded by his acting boss Carmen DiNunzio, another powerful Boston mobster. DiNunzio brothers and Boston North End crew When Carmen DiNunzio became the new boss his administration consisted of underboss Guglielmetti and consigliere Joseph "Joe the Bishop" Achille, both members of the Providence faction. On July 18, 2022, former boxer and actor Dino Guilmette was arrested on drug trafficking charges in Cranston, Rhode Island. He had been the target of a two-year investigation by the Rhode Island State Police into the sale of cocaine and lorazepam, which he reportedly engaged in, in September and November 2021. According to a State Police affidavit, Guilmette has ties to the New England Mafia and dealt in narcotics trafficking under the authorization of Guglielmetti. On October 27, 2022, Rhode Island State House senior deputy chief of staff John Conti resigned from his post amid allegations that he was a silent partner in a marijuana growing business with Patriarca family associate Raymond "Scarface" Jenkins. A State Police probe revealed the two shared an interest in the Organic Bees marijuana grow operation, which started in 2017 and shut down in 2022 because Conti and Jenkins would not disclose their involvement in the business. On August 23, 2024, family underboss Edward Lato died of natural causes, aged 77, after surviving a heart attack and undergoing treatment for cancer. On December 8, 2024, former boss Luigi Manocchio died in Bristol, Rhode Island, at the age of 97. On September 21, 2025, family boss Carmen "The Cheese Man" Dinunzio died at the age 68 of natural causes. == Historical leadership ==
Historical leadership
Boss (official and acting) ''Excluding: Frank Morelli the leader of the Providence family from 1917–1932, when he stepped down becoming underboss to Buccola. Boston • 2025–present: Robert "Bobby Russo" Carrozza Boston Underboss (official and acting) • c. 1920–1932: Joseph "J.L." Lombardo died on January 20, 2005 Boston • 2004–2016: Carmen S. "The Cheese Man" DiNunzio Boston—promoted to acting boss • Acting 2008–2009: Peter "Chief Crazy Horse" Limone—promoted to boss Providence • Acting 2026–present: Biagio "Benny the Greaser" DiGiacomo Boston • 1998–2002: Rocco "Shaky" Argenti—died Providence • 2003–2009: Peter "Chief Crazy Horse" Limone—promoted to Boss Providence • 2018–2024: Unknown • 2024–present: Antonio "Spucky" Spagnolo Boston ==Current members==
Current members
Administration BossRobert F. "Bobby Russo" Carrozza — Carrozza is the stepbrother of former consigliere and East Boston mobster Joe "J. R." Russo. He was part of the "renegade faction" of mobsters led by capos Russo and Vincent "Vinnie the Animal" Ferrara who challenged William Grasso and Frank Salemme for control of the family. In 1990, Carrozza was among twenty mobsters indicted on RICO charges. He was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 1992 after pleading guilty to federal racketeering charges. Carrozza was promoted to boss of the family when Carmen DiNunzio died in 2025. A Barrington resident, Ruggiero was a close associate of former bosses Salemme and Manocchio, for whom he acted as a driver and bodyguard. In 1997, Manocchio ordered him to reclaim the family's illegal operations in Fall River after the incarceration of high-ranking associate Gerard "The Frenchman" Ouimette, who previously oversaw rackets in the area. In 2012 he bought the Fall River Ford automobile dealership and was shortly thereafter elected to the city's Board of Economic Development. DiGiacomo unknowingly allowed an undercover FBI agent Vince DelaMontaigne to infiltrate his crew during 1983 to 1987. As a result, the FBI surveillance team was able to record a Mafia induction ceremony on October 29, 1989. In February 1987, DiGiacomo along with soldier Anthony Spagnolo were arrested and charged with illegal gambling and conspiracy to commit murder. In 1976, Spagnolo along with East Boston capo Joe "J.R." Russo murdered notorious New England mob turncoat Joe "The Animal" Barboza, in San Francisco. During the 1980s, Spagnolo reported to East Boston capo Biagio DiGiacomo, a Sicilian born New England mobster operating from the Roma restaurant. In 1990, he participated in a Mafia induction ceremony where they burned the card of a saint at a house in Medford, and he was arrested afterwards. After his release from prison Spagnolo took over as capo of the East Boston crew. He was a member of the "East Boston crew" along with Carrozza under Joseph "J. R." Russo when the East Boston mobsters challenged Francis "Cadillac Frank" Salemme during his ascension to boss of the family. After Salemme's top enforcer, Richard "Richie the Hatchet" Devlin, began attempting to extort tribute from Ciampi and Michael "Big Mike" Romano in October 1993, Ciampi and Romano sought and received the permission of imprisoned soldier Carrozza to lead a rebellion against the Salemme leadership. On March 31, 1994, Ciampi opened fire on Devlin and another Salemme enforcer, Richard "Richie Nine Lives" Gillis, outside the Breed's Hill Social Club. Devlin was killed despite wearing a bullet-proof vest, while Gillis survived being shot three times. Ciampi was indicted alongside 14 others on federal murder and attempted murder charges in April 1997. On November 1, 1999, Ciampi pleaded guilty to killing Devlin and wounding Gillis, and participating in several other attempted murders. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Ciampi was released from prison in 2013. Costa was DiNunzio's bodyguard and driver and was described as his "top collector". He served a prison sentence and was released on May 10, 1996. Costa was arrested in 2002, and again in 2006 with Carmen DiNunzio on racketeering charges but was acquitted. In 2012, acting boss Anthony DiNunzio was indicted along with Providence capo Edward Lato and Providence soldier Alfred Scivola for extorting a number of Rhode Island strip clubs. The son of family soldier Matthew Guglielmetti Sr., he was favored by Raymond L. S. Patriarca from his early criminal career in the 1970s. He was inducted in a Boston ceremony in 1977 along with seven other mobsters, and was arrested with his father in 1984 for liquor hijacking, though the charges were later dropped. Guglielmetti was promoted to capo by Raymond Patriarca Jr. in the late 1980s and was put in charge of the family's Connecticut faction after the murder of William Grasso in 1989. That same year, he attended a "making" ceremony in Medford, Massachusetts presided by Patriarca Jr. and Joseph Russo. Guglielmetti served as underboss of the family between 2016 and 2020. He was made underboss again in 2025. Tortora was born in Boston. In 1967, Tortora was sentenced to at least 3 years in prison for armed robbery and assault with a weapon. In 1972, Tortora was sentenced to 15 years in prison for bank robbery, and he was paroled in 1981, whilst on parole, Tortora was convicted of extortion and sentenced to 8 years in prison, and he was released in March 1986. Tortora, a close associate of East Boston mobster Joseph Russo, was inducted into the Patriarca family in October 1989. On March 22, 1990, Tortora was indicted with seven others on various crimes including RICO. In April 1992, Tortora was sentenced by former U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf to 13 years in prison with a fine of $2000 for extortion. He is now residing in Whitefield, New Hampshire. In the mid-2020s, Tortora was reportedly promoted to capo and tasked with overseeing the family's rackets in New Hampshire and Maine. In October 2003, Barone admitted to new charges of racketeering, and that he had also admitted to being an accomplice in the July 1979 murder of Anthony "Dapper" Corlito, and that he had shot a security guard during an armed robbery in 1982. Although Barone could possibly have been sentenced to 20 years in prison, he was sentenced to time served. • Darin Bufalino (born March 1961) — soldier. Bufalino was charged with the February 1984 murder of Vincent DeNino, and captured in June 1987 whilst hiding in Fuengirola, Spain after becoming a fugitive. DeNino was shot four times in the head and was found in the trunk of a car in a parking lot in Revere, Massachusetts, allegedly over a $10,000 debt. Bufalino was the chauffeur and bodyguard of former boss Frank Salemme during the early 1990s, and was later associated with Mark Rossetti, who served as a captain in the Patriarca family. In 1999, Bufalino was sentenced to 10 years in prison for participating in an armed robbery which took place in 1993 at the Boston Five Cents bank at the Northgate Shopping Center in Revere; he was released in 2005. In January 2009, Bufalino was charged for the $11,000 extortion of a landscaper from Beverly, Massachusetts. In April 2012, Bufalino was sentenced by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Linda Giles to seven years in prison for conspiracy to commit extortion and attempted extortion. Bufalino was released from prison in December 2018. • Louie "Baby Cheese" DiNunzio — soldier. Louie DiNunzio is the son of Anthony DiNunzio. He was inducted into the family by his uncle Carmen DiNunzio. • Vincent "Vinnie The Animal" Ferrara (born April 1949) — soldier. According to the FBI, Ferrara was "made" into the family in 1983 and was sponsored by North End capo Donato "Smiling Danny" Angiulo. In 2005, Ferrara's lawyer had the charge of Limoli's murdered removed and had six years removed from his prison sentence. In 2006, Ferrara was released prison and claimed he retired from Mafia affairs. Ferrara allegedly served as capo operating from Norfolk County. In 2008, Ferrara was on trial in Norfolk County for bookmaking, but the charges were later dropped. • Vincent "Dee Dee" Gioacchini — soldier. Giocchini was a close ally to Frederick Simone • Salvatore "Tea Party Tore" Marino (born March 1977) — soldier operating from the North End. East Boston mobster who worked for former capo-turned-government informant Mark Rossetti. • Pryce Quintina (born January 1940) — soldier. Quintina is close a ally to Anthony Spagnolo. In March 2016, Quintina was sentenced to over 1 year in prison for extortion, after he had pleaded guilty, along with Boston faction soldier Antonio Spagnolo, in December 2015 for conspiring to interfere with interstate commerce by extortion. In 2025, he was identified as a soldier in Boston. • Frederick "Freddie the Neighbor" Simone (born April 1950) — soldier. Simone is a member of the Boston faction. He served as capo of the "Day Square crew" operating in East Boston and Revere. In 1987, Simone was sentenced to serve a 15-to-20-year prison sentence, after being convicted of murder conspiracy from the 1981 murder of Angelo Patrizzi; he was released in 1998. According to law enforcement, Simone was involved in participation of loansharking and illegal gambling operations from between 1991 and January 2002. In January 2005, Simone was sentenced to a 5-to-6-year state sentence. Simone is longtime member of East Boston crew serving under Biagio DiGiacomo and Anthony Spagnolo. In the early 2000s Simone along with Vincent Gioacchini started a serious feud with their capo Anthony "Spucky" Spagnolo over gambling territory in East Boston. According to the U.S. attorney's office, he served as a captain during the early 2000s, and operated an illegal gambling operation in 1999 worth at least $600,000. • Albino Folcarelli (born February 1958) — soldier. In July 2012, Folcarelli was sentenced by former U.S. District Judge William E. Smith to seven years in prison with three years of supervised release and a forfeiture of $25,000, for participation in an extortion conspiracy to extort $25,000 from a Rhode Island male. Maine–New Hampshire factionWilliam "Billy The Angel" Angelesco — soldier currently living in Temple, Maine, with operations in New Hampshire and Maine. Angelesco was an enforcer with the North End "DiNunzio crew" in the "North End crew". According to informant reports and former associates, Angelesco became sponsored by DiNunzio as a made member for the 1999 murder of gang rival, Kevin "Mucka" McCormack, although he was never arrested for the crime. (It is important to note that the informant reports were based on "hearsay"). In 2020, he was sentenced to 37 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for a 2018 robbery he committed in Abington, Massachusetts. During the early 1990s, Patriarca stepped down as boss and retired from mob life. He became involved in real estate in Rhode Island. Associates Boston factionEnrico Ponzo — associate. Ponzo is an associate from Boston's North End who became affiliated with the family from the age of 20. He was identified as a Patriarca "shooter" after Revere police found a fully automatic machine gun and silencer during a search of his apartment. In June 1989, Ponzo was involved in a failed assassination attempt on Frank Salemme, firing at Salemme with an Uzi in a drive-by shooting outside a Saugus pancake house. He fled Boston in 1994, becoming a fugitive. Ponzo initially lived in Arizona, where he operated a marijuana trafficking organization, before settling in Marsing, Idaho, where he became a cattle rancher under the alias "Jay Shaw". In 1997, he was indicted alongside 14 others on racketeering charges. After Ponzo's ex-girlfriend informed authorities of his whereabouts, He was sentenced on April 28, 2014 to 28 years in prison. He was a close associate of Frank Salemme Jr., On June 13, 1982, Weadick and James Haney lured Patriarca/Winter Hill Gang associate Joseph Mistretta to Weadick's home in Burlington and shot him dead. While Weadick and Haney cleaned up the crime scene inside the residence and as Mistretta's body lay in the trunk of his own car outside, the pair were arrested after police were called by a neighbor. Weadick was convicted of first-degree manslaughter and sentenced to ten years in prison. Maine–New Hampshire factionChristian "Chris" DeMarco — associate currently affiliated with Boston, suspected of running rackets in New Hampshire and Maine with alleged ties to the Springfield MA Genovese Crew. As of 2026 it is alleged that DeMarco acts as a "link" between the Springfield MA Genovese Crew and Patriarca Family in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine. • John Giannelli Sr. — suspected associate involved with running an Illegal Sports betting operation in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. New Haven factionMariano "Mario" Grasso — associate. Mariano Grasso is the son of former underboss William "The Wild Guy" Grasso. In 2004, Grasso was arrested along with New Haven, CT Mobster Anthony Ascenzia and charged with running an illegal sports betting operation. • Eddie Parrette — leader of Connecticut faction of the Patriarca family with the base of operations in New Haven and Branford. Parrette has been a longtime member of the Ascenzia-Connecticut crew, serving as the driver and bodyguard to Connecticut mobster Rico Petrello and controlling bookmaking operations for then crew leader Anthony Ascenzia. • Dino Guilmette — Providence-based associate. On July 18, 2022, former boxer and actor Dino Guilmette was arrested on drug trafficking charges in Cranston, Rhode Island. Guilmette was involved in narcotics trafficking under the authorization of Guglielmetti. ==Former members==
Former members
Boston faction Vittore Nicolo "Nicky" Angiulo — former consigliere who operated from Boston's North End. Vittore Nicolo was the eldest of all the Angiulo brothers. In 1983, Angiulo was indicted along with his four brothers on federal racketeering charges. He was deemed unfit to stand trial due to ill health, however. The FBI stated that Nick Angiulo was demoted from consigliere position after his brother Gennaro Angiulo tried to become the new boss of the family. On September 13, 1987, Angiulo died from a kidney ailment, aged 71. On September 19, 1983, Francesco Angiulo and six other mobsters, including his brothers Gennaro, Donato and Michele, were arrested on RICO charges. He was convicted of racketeering and sentenced on April 3, 1986 to 25 years in federal prison and $60,000 in restitution. Angiulo was released in 2000 and died from heart failure on May 30, 2015, aged 94. • Donato F. "Danny" Angiulo — former capo. Born in March 1923, Angiulo was identified in 1983 as a captain based in Boston's North End. In February 1986, Donato was convicted of racketeering. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and fined $40,000 in April 1986. He was paroled in 1997. Angiulo died on May 3, 2009, aged 86. • John C. "Johnny" Cincotti — former soldier. Cincotti was born in Revere and raised in the North End of Boston. He was a protégé of Ralph Lamattina and Ilario Zannino. In November 1966, Cincotti helped clean up the murder scene after two members of Joseph Barboza's gang, Arthur Bratsos and Thomas DePrisco, were lured to Lamattina's bar, the Night Lite Café, and killed. He and Lamattina were found scrubbing blood from the floor when police arrived. In 1968, Cincotti and Lamattina assaulted Stephen Flemmi in an afterhours club. As Flemmi was unable to retaliate directly against Cincotti or Lamattina, who were "made men", he instead had his associate John Martorano murder Hubert Smith, an African American man who had also taken part in the beating. Two Black teenagers were killed alongside Smith when he was shot by Martorano. Cincotti was convicted of racketeering and gambling on August 14, 1986. He was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison and fined $70,000 in October 1986. Cincotti was released in 1997. He supplied Boston mobster Johnny Martorano a World War II machine gun from his arsenal of weapons, to kill rival gangster Al "Indian" Angeli. Cucchiella was loyal to Boston Mafia capo Ilario Zannino and Providence based family boss Raymond L. S. Patriarca. Cucchiella died in 1993. • Carmen Salvatore "The Cheese Man" DiNunzio; also known as "The Big Cheese" — former boss. During the 1980s, DiNunzio and his brother Anthony were underlings of Jerry Angiulo. In 1992, they were both indicted along with the Outfit leadership on racketeering charges and sentenced to four years in prison. Shortly after, DiNunzio was made capo of the North End crew and in 2003 was promoted to underboss of the family. He pled guilty to bribery charges and was sentenced to six years in prison on September 24, 2009. In February 2015, DiNunzio was released from prison. He became boss of the family in 2017 after the death of Peter Limone. • Nicolo "Nicky" Giso; also known as "Geezer" — former soldier. Giso was born in Boston on July 14, 1923. He was a lieutenant to the Angiulo brothers and was involved in gambling operations in Boston's North End. Giso also served as a liaison between Patriarca underboss Gennaro Angiulo and the Winter Hill Gang. During the 1970s, he began a relationship with Eva "Liz" McDonough, starting when she was aged fifteen. He fathered a son with McDonough. Giso reportedly fell out of favor with the family's leadership due to his relationship with McDonough and because of his use of cocaine. McDonough drew the ire of Angiulo when she allegedly told the mother of a stabbing victim that Patriarca soldier Peter Limone had carried out the attack. In 1981, Angiulo was recorded on an FBI bug planted in Ilario Zannino's office explaining his belief that McDonough should be killed as she had become "a detriment, a jeopardy, a danger" to the Mafia. McDonough was further considered a liability due to her drug use. Flemmi allegedly ordered her killed after she began openly questioning him about Davis' disappearance. Giso lured McDonough to 'One If By Land', a dive bar on Commercial Street in the North End, and asked her to wear a 10-gallon hat she owned. McDonough's headwear made her easily identifiable to two masked gunmen who were waiting to ambush her. The shooting has gone unsolved. By 1986, Giso was in failing health, having had his larynx removed and lost the ability to speak. By September 1956, he was serving a 16 to 20 year prison sentence for an armed robbery in November 1947, netting over $110,000. In 1983, Granito was identified as the captain of the East Boston crew. Granito was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison and fined $35,000 on April 3, 1986 after being convicted of racketeering. • Ralph "Ralphie Chong" Lamattina — former soldier operating from Boston; Lamattina was part of capo Ilario Zannino's crew. He was the brother of fellow Boston faction soldier Joseph "Joe Black" Lamattina. He managed a coffee shop in the North End called the Nite Lite Café. According to government witness Vincent Teresa, Lamattina was in charge of the family's narcotics operations. He was suspected as a culprit in the death of Irish mobster George Killeen, who was shot to death on May 20, 1950. On November 15, 1966, Lamattina was involved in the murders of Greek gangster Arthur "Tash" Bratsos and his bodyguard Thomas "Tommy D" De Prisco, who were lured into the Nite Lite Café and shot to death by Zannino. He was convicted as an accessory after the fact and sentenced to two years in prison. He avoided prosecution and fled to Italy, remaining a fugitive for 11 years before turning himself in on August 14, 1995. He was sentenced to five years in prison, being released on June 1, 2000. Lamattina died on April 10, 2017. • Dennis D. "Champagne" Lepore — former soldier. Born in September 1946, Lepore was identified as a soldier under the "Granito-East Boston crew" in 1983. In April 1992, Lepore was sentenced to between 14 and 16 years in prison for racketeering, to be followed with 5 years supervised release, and a forfeiture of $766,700. • Peter J. "Chief Crazy Horse" Limone — former boss. In order to avoid investigation in the Kefauver hearings, Lombardo retired from racketeering in 1950, turning over his gambling operations to Gennaro Angiulo. Lombardo died, aged 72, at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital on July 17, 1969 after suffering a heart attack. In his teenage years, Quintina was convicted of assault with intent to rob and armed robbery in Worcester, and sentenced to 10-to-12 years in prison. As a Revere-based capo, he operated from Fiore's Market and controlled rackets on the North Shore. In 1972, he was indicted on federal gambling charges but the case was dismissed. He was released on June 12, 1998. Quintina died on August 12, 2001. Rizzo was born in 1913. He was a major organized crime figure in Revere for decades. In 1994, Rizzo was indicted along with three other aging Revere mobsters, known as "the Oldfellas", on federal racketeering charges relating to illegal gambling and extortion. On April 5, 1995, he was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty. • Joseph "J. R." Russo — former consigliere. Russo was a capo of an East Boston crew and headed a renegade faction in an unsuccessful attempt to seize control of the family from Raymond Patriarca Jr., who promoted Russo to consligliere as part of a truce to end the rebellion. He was convicted of racketeering in 1992 and died from cancer in federal prison in 1998. • Francis Patrick "Frankie Boy" Salemme Jr. — former soldier. Frank Salemme Jr. was the son of Frank Salemme Sr. and nephew of John Salemme. He operated under the protection of the Winter Hill Gang while his father was in prison between 1973 and 1988. Salemme Jr. and an associate, Paul Weadick, had a history of "ripping off" drug dealers. He also had a reputation as a violent gangster who frequently engaged in fist fights. Salemme Jr. was marked for death after defrauding a drug ring backed by Patriarca family soldier Joseph Lamattina over a marijuana deal in 1983, and was only saved by the intervention of Winter Hill gangster Stephen Flemmi. In 1985, Salemme Jr. was involved in a feud with North End associate Jimmy Limoli after a $100,000 marijuana rip-off and subsequent robbery of $100,000 in cocaine belonging to Patriarca soldier Anthony Spagnolo, resulting in Limoli being shot to death. In 1987, Salemme Jr. and Weadick were arrested by New Hampshire State Police after a cocaine deal. In 1992, he was indicted on charges of bribing Teamsters union officials to allow a Hollywood film company to shoot scenes in Boston and Providence using non-union labor. Salemme Jr. and his father became the owners of The Channel, a South Boston rock club, using club manager Steven DiSarro as a straw man. DiSarro came under investigation by the FBI and IRS for money laundering and bank fraud relating to real estate deals in which he was involved and testified before a federal grand jury in April 1993. Fearing that he would be implicated, Salemme Sr. ordered DiSarro killed. Salemme Jr. and Weadick strangled DiSarro to death at the home of Salemme Sr. in Sharon on May 10, 1993. His body was then buried behind a mill in Providence. Salemme Jr. died from AIDS-related leukaemia on June 23, 1995, aged 38. During a meeting with Pappas at the Four Seas Chinese restaurant in Boston's Chinatown in the early hours of October 13, 1981, Halloran shot Pappas in the head and killed him. Salemme and Halloran were each charged with Pappas' murder. Halloran was then killed by Winter Hill boss James "Whitey" Bulger on May 11, 1982 after he became an FBI informant. After almost two years as a fugitive, Salemme surrendered to Boston police in March 1983. In 1985, the verdict was overturned by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Salemme died on May 23, 2024, at the age of 81. • Frederick "Freddie the Neighbor" Simone — former soldier. Born in April 1950, Simone was identified as a member of the "Granito-East Boston crew" in 1983. In 1988, Simone was sentenced to a 15 to 20 year prison sentence for participating in the June 1981 murder of Angelo Patrizzi, and by 2000, he had been released from prison. In December 2000, Simone was arrested for firearm charges. In December 2003, Simone pleaded not guilty to 29 charges, including extortion, loan sharking, illegal gambling and money laundering, law enforcement alleged Simone had engaged in loansharking and protection payments between 1991 and January 2002. He died in 2017. New Haven faction Anthony "Tony the Beaver" Ascenzia — former made member who operated a multimillion-dollar illegal sports betting operation in Greater New Haven, Connecticut, area for the family. Ascenzia shared the New Haven gambling profits with his Providence-based capo Matthew Guglielmetti. In 2004, Ascenzia was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $25,000 after pleading guilty to racketeering and tax fraud. • Louis R. Failla — former soldier. Born in December 1927, Failla was identified as a member in 1983. Failla served as a soldier under the "Grasso-Connecticut crew". In August 1991, Failla was convicted of racketeering, he had also been accused of extortion and loansharking. He died in August 1999. • Gaetano J. Milano — former soldier. Milano was born in Naples, Italy in October 1951 and immigrated to the United States with his family in 1955, settling in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. He began his career in organized crime as an associate of the Connecticut faction of the Colombo family before joining the Patriarca family's Hartford, Connecticut crew headed by William Grasso. Milano was inducted into the Patriarca family in 1985, and served as the organization's liaison to the Springfield, Massachusetts faction of the Genovese family. Milano was one of 21 mobsters indicted on federal charges in March 1990. He was granted bail of $1.6 million in October 1989 while being held for conspiracy and racketeering. Milano accepted a plea deal and renounced his membership in the Mafia but refused to testify against his co-defendants. He was released in April 2013. Milano died from heart disease on February 9, 2026, aged 74. He died in December 2007. Providence faction Stephen "Peanuts" Broccoli — former soldier. Born in July 1914, Broccoli served as a soldier under the Rhode Island regime. Between 1935 and 1952, Broccoli had been arrested numerous times for participating in illegal gambling, robbery in Rhode Island, carrying a firearm and crashing a car. In May 1952, Broccoli was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbery. • William "Blackjack" DelSanto — former soldier. Born in November 1943. According to law enforcement, DelSanto became a soldier in the Patriarca family during the 1970s, and he was identified as a soldier under the Rhode Island regime in 1983. DelSanto served as a city sidewalk inspector and allegedly as a driver to Buddy Cianci, the Mayor of Providence. He died in January 2022. • Edward C. "Eddie" Lato Jr.; also known as "Little Eddie" — underboss of the family from 2020 to 2024. He was part of Frank "Bobo" Marrapese's crew during the 1970s and 1980s. Lato was investigated for the murder of Patriarca family enforcer Kevin Hanrahan on September 18, 1992. Hanrahan was shot to death by a pair of masked gunmen outside a steakhouse in Federal Hill. He was sentenced to five years in prison, being released in 2004. Lato was arrested and charged with being the leader of an illegal sports betting ring in Providence on December 10, 2006. on November 19, 2014, he was given a 10-year suspended sentence and 10 years of probation. Then, he was indicted on September 22, 2011, on racketeering and extortion charges stemming from his shakedown of Providence strip clubs along with Scivola and retired boss Manocchio, among others. Lato received the stiffest sentence in the case; nine years in prison. He was released from prison and into a Pawtucket halfway house on January 30, 2019. • Frank "Bobo" Marrapese — former soldier. Born in March 1943, Marrapese was identified as a member in 1983, serving as a soldier under the Rhode Island regime. In April 1988, Marrapese was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Richard Callei in March 1975. Marrapese had been acquitted in the May 1982 murder of Anthony “The Moron” Mirabella, who was killed at the Fidas restaurant in Providence, and also for the August 1982 murder of Ronald McElroy, who was beaten to death with a baseball bat after accidentally cutting off Marrapese and his friends, who were street racing in Providence. Marrapese was released from prison in May 2008. Marrapese was indicted in May 2011, after a six month joint investigation by the Office of Attorney General and the Rhode Island State Police. In November 2013, Marrapese pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering, five counts of conspiracy to commit extortion and one count of conspiracy to commit usury, he was sentenced to 9 years in prison. In September 2017, Marrapese was denied parole. He died in December 2017. • Edward J. Romano — former capo. Born in November 1924, Romano served as a captain based in Rhode Island. In August 1969, former U.S. Attorney General John N. Mitchell identified Romano as a captain in the Patriarca family to the Senate Investigations Committee. • Rudolph "Rudy" Sciarra — former soldier. Born in March 1924, Sciarra served as a soldier under the Rhode Island regime. In June 1981, Sciarra was convicted of supplying two firearms used in the murder of Raymond "Baby" Curcio in February 1965, Curcio had burglarised the home of Joe Patriarca, the younger brother of former boss Raymond Patriarca, Sciarra was sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in March 2012. • Alfred "Chippy" Scivola Jr. — former soldier operating from Rhode Island. Scivola was arrested in January 1983 along with capo Frank "Bobo" Marrapese for purchasing a hundred La-Z-Boy chairs they knew to be stolen. In 2005, he was convicted of shaking down Stamford, Connecticut, strip clubs and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and was released on January 23, 2015. Scivola died on July 14, 2017. • Albert J. Vitali — former soldier. Born in April 1924, Vitali served as a soldier under the Rhode Island regime. In 1967, Vitali was convicted of possessing stolen goods. He died in July 2014. == Former associates ==
Former associates
Boston faction Michele A. "Mike" Angiulo — former associate. Angiulo helped control an extensive numbers racket operated by the Angiulo brothers in the Boston area. • Jason Brion Angiulo — former associate. Jason Angiulo was the son of Gennaro Angiulo. • Salvatore "Sal" Cesario — former associate. Cesario was a drug trafficker and former professional boxer from Boston's North End who controlled the Patriarca family's narcotics racket. He also had links to New Jersey through his association with Newark-based Gambino family capo Joseph Paterno. Cesario was sentenced to five years in prison in 1953 after he was arrested for selling heroin at a hotel in the South End of Boston. Ralph Lamattina subsequently took over the family's drug operations. • Willie Fopiano — former associate. Fopiano was a minor gangster in Boston's North End who later relocated to Las Vegas. Fopiano released a book, The Godson, in 1993, in which he claimed to have worked for Meyer Lansky. • Carmen Raymond "Gags" Gagliardi — former associate. Gagliardi was a Patriarca family "hit man" during the Boston gang wars of the 1960s. On April 8, 1967, he shot and killed North End bartender and police informant Joe Lanza. Afterwards, police in Medford stopped the car in which Gagliardi and two associates were traveling, finding Lanza's body sitting upright on the front passenger seat. Gagliardi escaped and was placed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. Gagliardi was convicted of second-degree murder and imprisoned at Walpole State Prison, where he was a suspect in the November 25, 1973 murder of Albert DeSalvo, the alleged "Boston Strangler". He died at Walpole of a drug overdose in January 1975. ==Government informants and witnesses==
Government informants and witnesses
Joseph "The Animal" Barboza — former associate (1967) • Vincent "Fat Vinnie" Teresa — former soldier (1971) • Angelo "Sonny" Mercurio — former soldier (1987/1988) • John "Sonny" Castagna — former soldier (1991) • Antonino "Nino" Cucinotta — former soldier (1995) • Francis Patrick "Cadillac Frank" Salemme Sr. — former boss (1999). Salemme was a hitman for the Patriarca family and the Winter Hill Gang during the Boston gang wars of the 1960s. In 1973, he was sentenced to sixteen years in prison for organizing the 1968 car bombing of John Fitzgerald, an attorney representing mob informant Joseph Barboza. Upon his release in 1988, he was inducted into the Patriarca family. Salemme was a member of Raymond Patriarca Jr.'s faction during a power struggle, and survived a shooting by rival mobsters outside a pancake house in Saugus on June 16, 1989. • Mark Rossetti — former capo (2010) • Robert "Bobby" DeLuca — former capo(2011) == List of murders committed by the Patriarca crime family ==
In popular culture
• The Patriarca crime family is considered an important part of the plot of the 2015 biopic crime film Black Mass, as they are considered the main enemies of the Winter Hill Gang, led by the bloodthirsty James "Whitey" Bulger (played by Johnny Depp). In the film, the Winter Hill Gang is involved in a bloody feud with the Boston branch of the Patriarca crime family, led by Gennaro "Jerry" Angiulo (played by Bill Haims), who was also the leader of the Angiulo Brothers and the underboss of the main branch (or Providence branch) of the Patriarca crime family (which was led at that time by Raymond L. S. Patriarca, the fourth boss of the Patriarca crime family). == See also ==
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