Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti (born 1938) is a former prominent 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 Jer ...
since the 1980s, heavily involved in labor
racketeering 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, ...
activities.
Made by DeCavalcante
Toward the mid 1970s, Giuseppe Schifilliti was
inducted into the DeCavalcante crime family, under the leadership of
Simone "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante and early underboss,
Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi. By starting out as a soldier, Schifilliti was hired in the same "Laborers' International Union of North America" at Local 1030, where he used to extort and bribe union officials to influence the power of the DeCavalcante crime family in construction sites, throughout the 1970s, alongside Riggi, who was then seen as the new boss of the family.
Caporegime by Riggi
During the early 1980s, Giovanni Riggi was in total charge of the DeCavalcante crime family, as he promoted Schifilliti to the rank of ''
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 ...
'' or Captain within the family. Operating out of the
faction, Schifilliti became a top member of the family alongside
Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo and Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile, with labor and construction
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, ...
,
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, ...
,
loansharking
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
money laundering as criminal activities. Schifilliti also reputedly went under the radar, and operated with huge muscle throughout the 1980s, and early 1990s without a single indictment.
LaRasso and D'Amato
In 1989, Riggi and several others were tried for racketeering and extortion charges. There was also internal rivalry brought up between the
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
and Elizabeth factions of the family. In 1990, Riggi was convicted on the charges and he was sentenced to 15 years. To make sure everyone knew he still ran the family, he ordered Schifilliti 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 Vitabile, to organize the murder of former underboss,
Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso, who was reported missing in 1991, as well as the then-current acting boss,
John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato, who was murdered in 1992. Schifilliti was reportedly involved in both cases, as he cooperated much with Vitabile and the imprisoned Riggi.
Indictments and trials
In 2000, internal rivalry almost brought a new war to the streets of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, as prominent acting boss
Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo was eager to control the entire DeCavalcante crime family, as he organized the attempted murder of rival Charles "Big Ears" Majuri, but failed to kill him. Later, an indictment wave of a four-year-investigation put 50 members and associates of the DeCavalcante crime family on trial, including prominent members Schifilliti, Palermo, Stefano Vitabile, Girolamo Palermo and
Philip "Phil" Abramo, with labor racketeering, loansharking, extortion, fraud, illegal gambling, murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges. As that wasn't enough, Vincent Palermo decided to turn state's evidence, as did capo
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 ...
and soldier
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 ...
, over the next year due to the indictments. Schifilliti was held against bail, and due to his age, put under house arrest and put on trial in late 2001, and 2002.
Current status
Schifilliti was tried with Vitabile and Abramo on two counts of murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder. He was charged with the murders of Louis LaRasso and the murder of John D'Amato, including the attempted murder of Charles Majuri. Schifilliti was convicted of racketeering, loansharking and extortion in 2003,
as well as being convicted along with Vitabile and Abramo on the murder and conspiracy charges from the 1990s in late 2005. In 2006, Schifilliti was sentenced to life imprisonment along with Vitabile and Abramo.
In September 2008, a federal appeals court reversed Schifilliti's racketeering conviction and ordered a new trial.
References
Further reading
*Smith, Greg B. ''Made Men: The True Rise-and-Fall Story of a New Jersey Mob Family''.
Berkley Books, 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.
External links
IPSN.orgBy JOHN ELIGON
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schifilliti, Giuseppe
1938 births
American gangsters of Italian descent
DeCavalcante crime family
People from Elizabeth, New Jersey
American people convicted of murder
Living people
People convicted of murder by the United States federal government