Events

*January 25 – Police raid various homes in Sicily and arrest forty-six Mafia suspects believed to be helping

Bernardo Provenzano Bernardo Provenzano (; 31 January 1933 – 13 July 2016) was an Italian mobster and chief of the Sicilian Mafia clan known as the Corleonesi, a Mafia faction that originated in the town of Corleone, and ''de facto'' the boss of bosses (''il capo ...

elude the authorities. Although they did not catch the elusive Mafia boss himself, investigators nonetheless unearthed evidence that 72-year-old Provenzano was still very much alive and in control of the Mafia, in the form of his cryptic handwritten notes, his preferred method of giving orders to his men. *February 4 – Information about

Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as ...

boss Joe Massino's cooperation with police for a reduced jail sentence is released to the press. *February 9 – Susumu Kajiyama, a Japanese crime syndicate member dubbed the "loan shark king", was sentenced to seven years in prison for laundering money."Tokyo loan shark jailed for 7 years"
February 9, 2005, '' Sydney Morning Herald'' *April –

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

mafia captain

Vincent M. Ferrara Vincent M. Ferrara, also known as "The Animal", (born 1949) is an Italian-American mobster from Boston, Massachusetts of the New England-based Patriarca crime family. Criminal career On March 22, 1990, Ferrara was indicted on racketeering and relat ...

has his jail sentence ended by a

US District Court The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

six years before the original set date due to prosecutor

Jeffrey Auerhahn Jeffrey may refer to: * Jeffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * ''Jeffrey'' (1995 film), a 1995 film by Paul Rudnick, based on Rudnick's play of the same name * ''Jeffrey'' (2016 film), a 2016 Dominican Republic documentary film ...

using an illegal court tactic. In 1992 Ferrara pleaded guilty to racketeering,

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

and ordering the

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

murder of Vincent "Jimmy" Limoli. Ferrara had only agreed to plead guilty to the murder because he was presented with a witness, one Walter Jordan. The witness, however, recanted his testimony before Ferrara testified. Auerhahn did not tell Ferrara this and so the District Court overturned the sentence

*April 4–17 reputed mafia figures, including two identified as soldiers of the Genovese crime family, Genovese and Bonanno crime families, arrested in New York City's

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

borough on gambling charges

*June 23 – Turncoat American Mafia, Mafia leader

Joe Massino Joseph Charles Massino (born January 10, 1943) is an American former mobster. He was a member of the Mafia and boss of the Bonanno crime family from 1991 until 2004, when he became the first boss of one of the Five Families in New York City to tu ...

is sentenced to life for racketeering, 7 counts of murder, arson,

loan sharking A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

, illegal gambling, conspiracy and money laundering. *July 19 –

Licio Gelli Licio Gelli (; April 21, 1919 – December 15, 2015) was an Italian financier. A Fascist volunteer in his youth, he is chiefly known for his role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. He was revealed in 1981 as being the Venerable Master of the ...

formally indicted by Roman magistrates for the 1982 murder of

Roberto Calvi Roberto Calvi (13 April 1920 – 17 June 1982) was an Italian banker, dubbed "God's Banker" () by the press because of his close association with the Holy See. He was a native of Milan and was chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in ...

. *September 21 – Chicago mobster,

Albert Tocco Albert "Caesar" Tocco (August 9, 1929 – September 21, 2005), was a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit during the 1970s and 1980s. He was the mob boss of Chicago Heights, the south suburbs, and parts of Northern Indiana. Tocco was describ ...

dies of a stroke in prison. *October – The trial of

Giuseppe Calo Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Giusep ...

and

for the murder of Italian banker

begins. *December 9 – Gambino crime family captain Carmine Sciandra was shot in the stomach after approaching a man outside his brother Salvatore's Staten Island Top Tomato store with a baseball bat. The shooter, Patrick Balsamo, had smashed the store's windows after his daughter, a former employee, complained that Salvatore had groped her. Accompanying Balsamo were Ronald "Ronnie Mozzarella" Carlucci, a

soldier and Michael Viga, a Bonanno associate. *December 19 –

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American M ...

boss,

Vincent Gigante Vincent Louis Gigante (; March 28, 1928 – December 19, 2005), also known as "The Chin", was an American mobster who was boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City from 1981 to 2005. Gigante started out as a professional boxer who fough ...

dies from complications of a heart disease in a federal prison hospital in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

Arts and literature

*June 14 – 10th Anniversary Full Frame Edition DVD of the 1995 film, ''

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

'', released by Universal Studios Home Video *'' Bullets Over Hollywood'' (TV documentary

*'' Carlito's Way: Rise to Power'' (film

starring

Jay Hernandez Javier Manuel Hernandez Jr. (born February 20, 1978), known professionally as Jay Hernandez, is an American actor and fashion model. After making his television debut in NBC's '' Hang Time'', Hernandez made his film debut opposite Kirsten Dunst ...

Mario Van Peebles Mario Van Peebles (born January 15, 1957) is an American film director and actor best known for directing and starring in ''New Jack City'' in 1991 and '' USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage'' in 2016. He is the son of actor and filmmaker Melvin Va ...

Luis Guzmán Luis Guzmán (born August 28, 1956) is a Puerto Rican actor. His career spans over 40 years and includes a number of films and television series. He has appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson films ''Boogie Nights'' (1997), ''Magnolia'' (1999) an ...

Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

, Michael Kelly,

Burt Young Gerald Tommaso DeLouise (born April 30, 1940), known professionally as Burt Young, is an American actor, author and painter. He played Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the '' Rocky'' film series. He was nominated f ...

and

Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He is best known for portraying Gus Fring in the AMC crime drama series '' Breaking Bad'', from 2009 to 2011, and in its prequel series ''Better ...

. * "Biography"br>
– ''Empire of Crime: A Century of the New York Mob'

(TV documentary) *

A History of Violence ''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 graphic novel of the same title by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The film stars Viggo Mortensen, ...

(film) *

Lord of War ''Lord of War'' is a 2005 American crime drama film written, produced, and directed by Andrew Niccol, and co-produced by and starring Nicolas Cage. The film was released in the United States on September 16, 2005, to positive reviews and grosse ...

(film) * Revolver (film) *

The Ice Harvest ''The Ice Harvest'' is a 2005 American neo-noir black comedy film directed by Harold Ramis, written by Richard Russo and Robert Benton, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Scott Phillips and starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and ...

(film)

Births

Deaths

*August 19 – Mahmood Ozdemir, UK Turkish crime boss *September 21 –

, American

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

*October 26 –

Michael Rizzitello Michael Anthony Rizzitello (March 29, 1927 – October 26, 2005), also known as "Mike Rizzi", was a high ranking Italian American mobster in the Los Angeles crime family. Rizzitello's criminal record stretched back to 1947. He was also featured in ...

Los Angeles crime family The Los Angeles crime family, also known as the L.A. Mafia or the Southern California crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Los Angeles as part of the larger Italian-American Mafia. Since its inception in the ea ...

Capo *November 30 – Lawrence Ricci,

Capo *December 19 –

"The Chin",

boss

References

{{Reflist

Organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

Years in organized crime