Vincent Dominic "Jimmy" Caci
'' Las Vegas Review-Journal'', February 5, 1998 (born August 1, 1925 – died August 16, 2011) was a

Los Angeles crime family The Los Angeles crime family, also known as the L.A. Mafia or the Southern California crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Los Angeles as part of the larger Italian-American Mafia. Since its inception in the ea ...

member and 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 he ...

(Captain) in the family.COLUMN: John L. Smith
''Las Vegas Review Journal'', April 22, 2001 Caci was born in

Westfield, New York Westfield is a town in the western part of Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 4,513 at the 2020 census. Westfield is also the name of a village within the town, containing 65% of the town's population. This unique to ...

to Alfonzo and Josephine Caci, one of eight siblings. He grew up in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...

. In the 1970s, Caci spent eight years at

Attica prison Attica Correctional Facility is a maximum security campus New York State prison in the Town of Attica, New York, operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. It was constructed in the 1930s in response ...

for armed robbery where he met Stephen "the Whale" Cino. They would both eventually switch to the Los Angeles family. In the late 1970s he moved to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. He was promoted to caporegime shortly after by boss

Peter Milano Peter John Milano (December 22, 1925 – April 21, 2012) was a Los Angeles-based, American mobster, and former Crime boss, boss of the Los Angeles crime family. Milano was active in organized crime from the 1950s until his death. His legitimate bu ...

. Until his death, he remained active as a loan shark in

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

and

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Caci kept close ties to the Buffalo crime family and helped contribute to the growing ties between the two families. He owned his own construction company in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

and was the owner of a restaurant and night club in New York and California. His younger brother, Charles James Caci, was a

nightclub singer A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...

, known as "Bobby Milano". Until his death in 2006, Charles was a soldier in his brother's crew. Other members of Caci's crew included Cino, Rocco Zangari, Steven Mauriello and Vince Lupo along with associates Kenny Gallo, Tommy Jones (a suspected enforcer and hitman, alleged to have committed his first contract killing at 18), Robert "Puggy" Zeichick, and Alfred Mauriello. In 1984, Caci was arrested with some twenty other Los Angeles mobsters for attempting to take over a $1 million a week illegal

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. However, due to lack of evidence, Caci was not charged. When

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and Carmen Milano were sentenced to prison in 1988, Caci became street boss of the Los Angeles family for a short time. In August 1996, Caci was sentenced to 42 months in prison for

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agre ...

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activity ...

, and interstate transportation of fraudulently obtained money for his role in a

telemarketing Telemarketing (sometimes known as inside sales, or telesales in the UK and Ireland) is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequen ...

scheme that victimized over 100 people in

the Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. Caci avoided serious jail time by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

in connection with the Las Vegas

RICO The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

cases "Operation Thin Crust" and "Operation Button Down", which were investigations into Mafia influence in

Southern Nevada Southern Nevada (SNV) is a region and the southern portion of the U.S. state of Nevada which includes the Las Vegas Valley. It also includes the areas in and around Pahrump and Pioche. Tonopah and Hawthorne are sometimes also referred to as part ...

in 1997. In 1998 Caci was convicted and received a six-month sentence. Owning a home in

, Caci died on August 16, 2011, aged 86, at the

Eisenhower Medical Center The Eisenhower Medical Center (EMC) is a not-for-profit hospital based in Rancho Mirage, California, serving the Coachella Valley region of Southeastern California. It was named one of the top one hundred hospitals in the United States in 2005. ...

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and locate ...

. He is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery,

Cheektowaga, New York Cheektowaga () is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is the ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caci, Jimmy 1925 births 2011 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Los Angeles crime family People from Buffalo, New York People from Palm Springs, California People from Westfield, New York