Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi (February 1, 1925 – August 3, 2015) was a New Jersey mobster and member of the
DeCavalcante crime family
The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia organized crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and various other North Jersey ...
since the 1940s, before the family had acquired its name. Riggi was the leader of the "Elizabeth crew" in the family when he was a
Caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a ''made member'' of an Italian crime family who head ...
. He had been the acting boss during the 1970s and became the official boss around 1982. Riggi was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center (FMC)
Devens, Massachusetts
Devens is a regional enterprise zone and census-designated place in the towns of Ayer and Shirley (in Middlesex County) and Harvard (in Worcester County) in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is the successor to Fort Devens, a military post tha ...
, on extortion and labor racketeering convictions. He was released on November 27, 2012.
Early career
John Riggi had been a business agent of the "International Association of Laborers and Hod Carriers", in New Jersey for years. He was promoted to the position of official boss of the
DeCavalcante crime family
The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia organized crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and various other North Jersey ...
(a crime family within the criminal world of "
Cosa Nostra
The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia-terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily a ...
") with close ties to the
Five Families
The Five Families refers to five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian American Mafia formed in 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War.
Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs ...
of New York and represented at meetings of
The Commission by the
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 ...
, Riggi reaped the enormous benefits of large labor and construction racketeering, loansharking, illegal gambling activities as well as a large legitimate income. Riggi also had the family maintain their old traditions. Riggi established a close friendship with new
Gambino crime family
The Gambino 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, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...
boss,
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss ...
. It was thought that Riggi still ran the family from prison despite being very sick.
His release date was in late 2012, but he was due to stand trial for ordering the shooting and murder of
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, New York, resident Fred Weiss, a former journalist for the Staten Island Advance newspaper and real-estate developer in September 1989.
The murder was allegedly a favor for
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss ...
, who was worried that Weiss was a government informant and that this would put the Gambino and DeCavalcante families at high risk. Weiss and two mob partners had purchased a vacant property in Staten Island and started illegally dumping large amounts of dangerous
medical waste
Biomedical waste or hospital waste is any kind of waste containing infectious (or potentially infectious) materials. It may also include waste associated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical or laboratory ...
there. When local authorities uncovered the scheme and started investigating Weiss, the two mob families became nervous. Gotti, who worried that Weiss might become a government witness in exchange for leniency requested that the Decavalcantes murder Weiss to protect them. On September 11, 1989,
Vincent Palermo
Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo (born June 4, 1944) is an Italian American former mobster who was ''de facto'' boss of the New Jersey DeCavalcante crime family before becoming a government witness in 1999. Fictional mob boss Tony Soprano, the protag ...
and
Anthony Capo Anthony "Tony" Capo (1959/60 – January 23, 2012) was an American hitman in the DeCavalcante crime family who later became a government witness and entered the Witness Protection Program. His aliases included Marshall Beach, Mathew Beach and Wade B ...
, as well as a crew of twelve other DeCavalcante associates in a convoy of four vehicles, drove to the New York condominium of Weiss' girlfriend. As Weiss left the building and climbed into his car, Palermo and Capo got out of their vehicle, approached Weiss and murdered him by shooting him in the face multiple times. Both of them would become "
made men
In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oa ...
" as a result of this.
Leading from jail
In 1990, Riggi was indicted on state and federal extortion and labor charges, pleading guilty in 1992 and sentenced to 12 years in prison at
Butner
Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,397 as of the 2020 census. Butner was managed by the state of North Carolina from 1947 through 2007.
History
A bill passed by the North Carolina General ...
in North Carolina.
While in jail, Riggi appointed a ruling panel to take control of the
DeCavalcante crime family
The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia organized crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and various other North Jersey ...
until his release, but the acting boss of the panel, Gaetano "Corky" Vastola was arrested and jailed as well.
John D'Amato
John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato (died January 1992) was a New Jersey mobster and former acting boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. After being recruited by Gambino crime family boss John Gotti to take over the family, he was suspected of engaging ...
was then appointed as acting boss. D'Amato's reign was short, as it soon became clear that he had been recruited by the
Gambino crime family
The Gambino 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, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...
and had been conspiring to murder Vastola. Later in 1991, D'Amato came into an argument with his girlfriend, who was also involved with
Anthony Rotondo
Anthony Rotondo (born 1957) is a former capo in the DeCavalcante family of New Jersey and police informant.
Early life
Anthony Rotondo lived with his father Vincent "Jimmy the Gent" Rotondo, and his father expressed wishes for his son to beco ...
. She told Rotondo that when she and D'Amato were out at clubs during the evenings, D'Amato would be swinging and have sex with other men. Reportedly, Rotondo became quite upset that someone within the family was taking part in
homosexual
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
acts and shared it with the current administration members
Giacomo Amari
Gioacchino "Jake" Amari (March 14, 1945 – June 14, 1997) was an Italian-American mobster who served as acting underboss and later acting boss of the DeCavalcante crime family of New Jersey.
Criminal career
According to the testimony provid ...
, the reputed underboss, and Stefano Vitabile, the powerful consigliere, who decided to have D'Amato murdered after informing the incarcerated Riggi. In January 1992, D'Amato was reported missing; his body has never been found.
Vincent Palermo
Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo (born June 4, 1944) is an Italian American former mobster who was ''de facto'' boss of the New Jersey DeCavalcante crime family before becoming a government witness in 1999. Fictional mob boss Tony Soprano, the protag ...
,
Anthony Capo Anthony "Tony" Capo (1959/60 – January 23, 2012) was an American hitman in the DeCavalcante crime family who later became a government witness and entered the Witness Protection Program. His aliases included Marshall Beach, Mathew Beach and Wade B ...
and Anthony Rotondo would later testify about this murder against their former associates. In September 2003, Riggi was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to ordering the 1989 murder of Weiss.
[ In 2006, ]Philip Abramo
Philip Abramo (born 1945), also known as "The King of Wall Street" and "Lou Metzer", is a caporegime in the New Jersey DeCavalcante crime family who was allegedly involved in security fraud and murder. He is the capo of the DeCavalcante family's cr ...
, Giuseppe Schifilliti Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti (born 1938) is a former prominent member of the DeCavalcante crime family since the 1980s, heavily involved in labor racketeering and extortion activities.
Made by DeCavalcante
Toward the mid 1970s, Giuseppe Schifill ...
and Stefano Vitabile were sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in the murder. Riggi was released from the Federal Medical Center, Devens
The Federal Medical Center, Devens (FMC Devens) is a United States federal prison in Massachusetts for male inmates requiring specialized or long-term medical or mental health care. It is designated as an administrative facility, which means it ha ...
on November 27, 2012.
Death
After his release, Riggi lived in a small house in Edison, New Jersey, with his nurse/doctor. He died there on August 3, 2015, at the age of 90.[
]
References
Notes
*Smith, Greg B. Made Men: The True Rise-and-Fall Story of a New Jersey Mob Family. Berkley Books
Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group.
History
Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berk ...
, 2003.
*Jacobs, James B. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994.
*Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime. New York: NYU Press, 1999.
*Goldstock, Ronald, Martin Marcus and II Thacher. Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry: Final Report of the *New York State Organized Crime Task Force. New York: NYU Press, 1990.
*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Organized Crime in America: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, *United States Senate. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1983.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riggi, Giovanni
1925 births
2015 deaths
Gangsters from Newark, New Jersey
American gangsters of Italian descent
American crime bosses