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Frank Tieri

Alphonse Frank Tieri, also known as "the Old Man" and "Funzi" (February 22, 1904 - March 31, 1981) was a New York mobster who eventually became a front, or acting, boss of the Genovese crime family. Tieri was the first mobster to be convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

Born in Naples, Italy, Tieri's family immigrated to New York in 1911. Tieri was denied US citizenship twice living as a resident alien in Brooklyn. Compared to some of the more flamboyant and violent Cosa Nostra bosses such as John Gotti, Tieri was considered a fairly low-profile and diplomatic mobster. He was convicted of armed robbery when he was aged twenty but otherwise managed to avoid attracting too much attention to himself, living in a modest home in Brooklyn. Tieri claimed to be an employee of a sportswear manufacturer.

In 1972, after the murder of Genovese boss Thomas Eboli, Tieri became the front boss of the Genovese family at age sixty-seven. At that time, it was speculated that Gambino crime family boss Carlo Gambino had ordered Eboli's murder. Gambino allegedly named Tieri as the new boss so that Gambino could control the Genovese family. However, most experts now believe that Philip Lombardo controlled the Genovese family during this period and appointed Tieri the front boss after Eboli's murder. Tieri was a low key manager who ran things smoothly, using violence only as a last resort. He was considered one of the smarter acting bosses.

Federal prosecutors eventually charged Tieri with being the head of a crime family that was involved in extortion, illegal gambling, and other criminal activities. In January 1981, the ailing Tieri, using a wheelchair and tethered to an oxygen tank, was convicted of violating the RICO act and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. Tieri's lawyers argued he was sick, and dying, but prosecutors claimed he was acting, and the judge ruled in their favor.

On March 31, 1981, Tieri died of natural causes at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.

Further reading

• Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
• 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
• Milhorn, H. Thomas. Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers. Boca Raton, Florida: Universal Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1-58112-489-9
• 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

External links

• Frank "Funzi" Tieri at Find-A-Grave