Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo (May 16, 1938 – February 6, 2014) was an Italian-born 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 ...
and longtime
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
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 ...
in
, under the imprisoned boss
Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi.
Murder of Al Colicchio
On September 13, 1960, Palermo allegedly murdered Alphonso "Zeeny" Colicchio. Colicchio was the owner of a bar and grill in Elizabeth, New Jersey who had been disrespectful to DeCavalcante boss Nicholas Delmore. On Delmore's orders, Palermo and other DeCavalcante mobsters entered Colicchio's bar and started beating him. When Colicchio resisted, Palermo allegedly shot him to death. Palermo kept the murder quiet for the sake of fellow DeCavalcante mobster Riggi, who was Colicchio's brother-in-law.
From made man to underboss
In the late 1970s, Palermo became a
made man
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 ...
, or full member, of the DeCavalcante family. With the retirement of boss
Simone "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante, Riggi became the family boss and designated Palermo as his underboss.
Racketeering acquittal
In 1989, Riggi and Palermo, along with several other associates, were put on trial for
racketeering
Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit.
Originally and of ...
and
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, ...
by illegally using Local 394 of the International Association of Laborers and Hod Carriers, to extort jobs, goods and services from the construction industry in New Jersey. Additionally, Riggi used his power and influence to place subcontractors and workers other than laborers at various construction projects around the state. In this way, Riggi and the DeCavalcantes were able to rip-off union
welfare
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
and pension funds. In 1990, Giovanni Riggi was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Palermo was acquitted on his racketeering charges.
On the ruling panel
During the 1990s, acting boss
Giacomo "Jake" Amari died of
stomach cancer, which triggered a huge power vacuum between several mobsters who were trying to reorganize the DeCavalcante crime family. But Palermo and
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 ...
Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile were loyal to the imprisoned Riggi, and decided to create the "Ruling Committee/Panel", which consisted of three various capos who were to run the family's day-to-day activities.
Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo (not related to Jimmy Palermo) and
Charles "Big Ears" Majuri, together with Jimmy Palermo who was demoted to
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 he ...
, were placed on the panel, which went as an administration of "street bosses" in the 1990s.
Riggi's acting boss
After Vincent Palermo became only one of the mobsters turning state's evidence after 2000, as well as increased law enforcement pressuring the entire DeCavalcante crime family, the imprisoned Riggi used Jimmy Palermo along with Stefano Vitabile and
Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti as the family's acting bosses. Palermo became a victim of his own success, as he was indicted on labor racketeering, extortion and two murder conspiracy charges, and ultimately put under house arrest in 2004.
References
External links
La Cosa Nostra – State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation 1989 Report – The DeCavalcante Family
* ttp://www.ipsn.org/indictments/loren-maltese_indictment/decavalcante_indictment2.htm UNITED STATES OF AMERICA vs. Girolamo Palermo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palermo, Girolamo
1938 births
2014 deaths
People from Elizabeth, New Jersey
DeCavalcante crime family
American gangsters of Italian descent