1997 in organized crime

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

See also: 1996 in organized crime, other events of 1997, 1998 in organized crime and the list of 'years in Organized Crime'.

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Contents 1 Events 2 Arts and literature 3 Births 4 Deaths 5 References

[edit] Events

• A gangland battle breaks out between the 14K Triad and the Shui Fong Triad resulting in several deaths.
• 12 members of a family are killed in Ensenada, Baja California when their drug dealer patriarch could not repay a debt owed to Tijuana Cartel member Ramón Eduardo Arellano Félix.
• January 7 - "Fat" Herbie Blitzstein, former "right-hand-man" to Outfit Las Vegas representative Anthony "Tony," "The Ant" Spilotro, was shot to death inside his Las Vegas townhouse. Investigators suspected that Los Angeles Family boss Peter Milano ordered the assassination.
• January 17 - Gambino crime family captain Daniel Marino and associates Gary Furio and John Ryan were indicted for illegally wiretapping the Staten Island home of former underboss Salvatore Gravano in 1991 after he began cooperating.
• April 23 - Genovese crime family consigliere James Ida was convicted of federal racketeering charges, which included illegally controlling the San Gennaro Festival in Little Italy, labor racketeering in several unions, and conspiring to murder caporegime Antonio DiLorenzo in 1988. Ida would be sentenced to life in prison. Before the trial commenced, Ida rejected a 15-year plea deal.
• June 6 – Arrest of Pietro Aglieri, boss of the Santa Maria di Gesù Mafia family in Palermo, in a disused lemon warehouse in the dilapidated industrial area Bagheria together with his "right hand" men, Natale Gambino and Giuseppe La Mattina. It took the authorities almost a year to locate him following the arrest of his right-hand man Carlo Greco. Apparently, Giovanni Brusca, a Riina loyalist arrested in May 1996, helped police identify Aglieri. He had been on the run since 1989.^[1]
• September 17 - Lucchese crime family soldiers James "Jimmy Frogs" Gallione and Mario Gallo admitted to murdering Constabile Farace in 1989.
• September 18 - Tijuana Cartel member Ramón Eduardo Arellano Félix becomes the 451st person to be added by the FBI to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List.
• September 22 - Genovese crime family acting boss Liborio Bellomo was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to shaking down waste haulers, illegally controlling Local 46 of the Mason Tenders Union and ordering the murder of Genovese associate Ralph DeSimone, who he suspected was an informant. Bellomo did not admit to being part of an organized crime syndicate or a member of the Mafia.
• November 3 - Gambino crime family captain Nicholas Corozzo, who was a member of a committee designed to help John A. Gotti, Jr., run the family, pleaded guilty to loansharking, extortion and selling stolen property.
• November 25 - Genovese crime family captain Rosario Gangi and Bonanno crime family captain Frank Lino were indicted for stock fraud in the S.D.N.Y. Over 15 members of their crews were also indicted for operating the intricate scam. Gangi would again be indicted in 1998 for scamming the Port Authority and shaking down contractors on New Jersey’s Newark Airport $342 million monorail project.
• December 19 - Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted on federal racketeering charges, which included extortion and conspiracy to commit murder. Gigante had avoided prosecutions for over 20 years by faking mental illnesses. Gigante would set up a committee to run the family, headed by captain Dominick Cirillo.

[edit] Arts and literature

• 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (film) starring Joe Pesci and David Spade. [1]
• Bella Mafia (film) [2]
• Diaro una siciliana ribelle (film) [3]
• Donnie Brasco (film) [4] starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp, Michael Madsen and Bruno Kirby.
• Hoodlum (film) [5] starring Laurence Fishburne, Tim Roth and Andy Garcia.
• Jackie Brown (film) [6] starring Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Robert De Niro.
• Suicide Kings (film) [7]
• The Last Don (television miniseries) [8] starring Danny Aiello, Joe Mantegna, and Burt Young.
• The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (documentary) [9]
• Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia (non-fiction book) by Peter Maas.

[edit] Births

[edit] Deaths

• Victor Spilotro, Chicago mobster and brother of Anthony and Michael Spilotro
• Matthew "Mike" Trupiano Jr., St. Louis mafia boss
• June 7 - Sam DeCavalcante, boss of the New Jersey mafia family

[edit] References