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January 22 - Gambino crime family acting boss
John Gotti, Jr., and 39 other associates,
including former MLB Cy Young winner Denny McLain and radio personality John
"Goumba Johnny" Sialiano, were indicted on federal racketeering
charges, which included conspiracy to commit murder, and extortion
of the infamous Manhattan strip club Scores. Testifying against
Gotti would be former underlings Dominic Borghese, Joseph Fusaro,
Michael
Sergio, and Willie Marshall, and former Lucchese soldier Frank "Spaghetti Man" Gioia, Jr.
February 10 - FBI agents raided the Chicago District Council of
Laborers placing the union under the trusteeship of Robert Bloch, who would be given control
of the union’s $16 million in operating funds and $1.5 billion
pension account. The government removed "Made" Outfit soldiers Frank Caruso, Sr., his
son Frank, Jr. and Bruno, the president and business manager of the
union, from union affairs. John Matassa, Jr., vice-president of the
District Council was also listed as a "Made" member of the Chicago Outfit,
and Joseph Lombardo, Jr., the union’s secretary-treasurer, is the
son of Outfit boss Joseph "the Clown" Lombardo.
March 19 - Philadelphia crime family
soldier Anthony Turra was shot to death outside his home on his way
to federal court, where he faced charges including the attempted
murder of underboss Joseph Merlino.
April 28 - Lucchese crime family acting boss
Joseph DeFede
and 11 others were indicted on federal extortion and racketeering
charges involving the family’s joint control of the Garment
District in Manhattan with the Gambino and Genovese families.
Defede would plead guilty to the extortion charges in 1998.
May 24 - Sicilian drug kingpin Pasquale
Cuntrera is arrested on Spain’s Costa del Sol, just five days
after officials in Rome admitted that he had been released from
prison on a technicality. Cuntrera would be brought back to Italy
to serve a 21-year prison sentence.
June 2 - Joseph Russo, a former top leader of the New England
Patriarca crime family dies in a
federal prison. Russo had been a power in the family after Raymond L.S. Patriarca died and
created instability by making his son Raymond, Jr. the new boss.
Russo sat down with John
Gotti and other New York bosses in order to avoid a shooting
war with the Rhode Island mob boss.
June 12 - Philadelphia crime family
boss Ralph Natale Natale is arrested outside his home for a parole
violation and was sent back to prison to serve 11-years of an
unfinished sentence.
September 1 - Lucchese crime family soldier
Nicholas "Fat Nicky" DiCostanza was indicted for heading a violent
Staten Island gang known as "the Port Richmond Crew", which engaged
in drug dealing, extortion, loan sharking, arson, witness
tampering, and murder, including those of George Van Name and
Michael Alba.
October 23 - Colombo crime family soldier
Gregory Scarpa, Jr. was convicted of six counts of racketeering,
loansharking, extortion and tax fraud, including four murder
conspiracies, but was acquitted of committing five murders.
Scarpa’s case received notoriety because his father was a longtime
caporegime who had secretly cooperated with the government for
nearly 30 years, and because Scarpa, Jr. had spied on World Trade
Center bomber Ramzi
Yousef and provided information to the FBI on his
cellmate.
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