Gennaro Langella
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Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella (b. 1939-) was a member of the Brooklyn-based Colombo crime family who eventually became Underboss and Acting boss.
Born in 1939, Gennaro Adriano Langella grew up in Brooklyn and was a close associate of future mob boss Carmine "Junior" Persico. It is believed that Langella secretly became a "made man" in the Colombo family during a time when the New York crime families were not accepting new members. He is the uncle of reputed Colombo crime family sidewalk soldier Anthony Stropoli and father of reputed Colombo crime family associate Vincent Langella.
Langella quickly rose up through the ranks of the crime family. Gennaro received the nickname "Jerry Lang" from Carmine Persico because of his conspiracy of "knowing karate." While Persico served prison time during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Langella doubled as Underboss and even as Acting boss while Persico went into hiding to avoid federal indictments. Langella supervised various labor rackets for the family, including their stake in "Concrete Club", and exerted control over various labor unions, including Laborers Local 6A. On October 24, 1984, Langella, Persico, his son Alphonse, John DeRoss, Andrew Russo, Anthony Scarpati, Dominic Cataldo, Hugh McIntosh, and Frank Falanga were indicted on RICO racketeering and extortion charges. All men would be convicted and receive lengthy prison sentences.
Later, Langella would be convicted in the Mafia Commission Trial, along with Persico, Anthony Salerno, Anthony Corallo, Salvatore Santoro, and Christopher Furnari. Each was convicted and sentenced to 100 years in prison. As of April 2008, Langella is imprisoned in the United States Penitentiary (USP) Canaan in Northeastern Pennsylvania. His projected release date is September 2, 2052, effectively a life sentence.
