Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo (May 16, 1938 – February 6, 2014) was an Italian-born American
mobster and longtime
underboss of the
DeCavalcante crime family in
Elizabeth, New Jersey, 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 o ...
, 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 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 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
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...
, which triggered a huge power vacuum between several mobsters who were trying to reorganize the DeCavalcante crime family. But Palermo and
Consigliere 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, 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