Frank Sindone (1928 – October 29, 1980), also known as "Barracuda Frank", was a
loan shark
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 ...
and soldier in the
Bruno crime family
The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and ...
who helped plot the 1980 murder of family mob boss
Angelo Bruno
Angelo Bruno (born Angelo Annaloro; ; (May 21, 1910 – March 21, 1980) was a Sicilian-American mobster, notable for being boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "the Gentle Don" due to ...
.
Personal background
Sindone was described as the chief loanshark of Angelo Bruno, suggesting that he may have run a family bank or large scale operation for Bruno. Sindone had previously served time for narcotics trafficking and was heavily involved in
illegal gambling
Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...
within the Philadelphia metropolitan area. Sindone also operated in concert with Philadelphia family associate, Harry D'Ascenzo, who had ties to mobsters in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Sindone was
made
Made or MADE may refer to:
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* ''Made'' (Big Bang album), 2016
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*'' M.A.D.E. ...
into the Philadelphia family in the early 1970s together with Joseph Ciancaglini. They were the last mob associates to be made into the family under Bruno.
Murder of Angelo Bruno
In 1980, Sindone joined forces with
consigliere
Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...
Antonio Caponigro
Antonio Rocco Caponigro (January 22, 1912 – April 18, 1980), also known as Tony Bananas, was the consigliere of Angelo Bruno in the Philadelphia crime family. He is known for ending the peaceful Bruno regime by ordering his murder over a d ...
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Frank Tieri, the boss of the New York
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 ...
, in a plan to overthrow Bruno.
Their motive for killing Bruno stemmed from a money dispute. Tieri had recently demanded a larger percentage of the revenues from Caponigro's two million dollar
bookmaking
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
History
The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795.
Range of events
Bookm ...
operation in
Hudson County
Hudson County is the most densely populated county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It lies west of the lower Hudson River, which was named for Henry Hudson, the sea captain who explored the area in 1609. Part of New Jersey's Gateway Region in ...
, New Jersey. Bruno opposed giving Tieri this extra money and pleaded his family's case to the Mafia Commission. The Commission sided with Bruno and refused Tieri's request.
However, Tieri was still determined to take over Caponigro's bookmaking operation. Learning that Caponigro was planning to overthrow Bruno, Tieri told Caponigro that he would get the Commission's approval for the
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
and provide other assistance. Tieri never went to the Commission, but he nevertheless told Caponigro he had the Commission's blessing. On March 21, 1980, an unknown gunman, believed to have been Caponigro's cousin Alfred Salerno, shot and killed Bruno in his car.
Deaths of the conspirators
After Bruno's assassination, Sindone's plan was to become
underboss
Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The under ...
of the Philadelphia family with Caponigro as boss. However, less than a month later, Caponigro and his cousin were found stuffed in the trunks of two cars a few miles apart in the South Bronx section of New York City. On September 17, 1980, John Simone was found dead. On October 29, 1980, Frank Sindone was found dead in an alley behind a variety store in
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.List of unsolved murders
These lists of unsolved murders include notable cases where victims were murdered in unknown circumstances.
* List of unsolved murders (before 1900)
* List of unsolved murders (1900–1979)
* List of unsolved murders (1980–1999)
* List of u ...
References
*Anastasia, George. ''Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob, the Mafia's Most Violent Family''. Philadelphia: Camino Books Inc, 2003.