John H. Nacrelli, also known as Jack Nacrelli, is an American politician who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

mayor of

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

from 1968 to 1979. Nacrelli was convicted on federal bribery and

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 ...

charges related to his activities as mayor and served two years in prison.

Career

Nacrelli was appointed to the Chester City Council in 1966 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Garry E. Boden. He was elected for a two-year term on the council in 1967. Nacrelli was elected mayor of Chester in 1968 and served until 1979.

Corruption

Nacrelli was affiliated with an illegal

numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

gambling operation of the Miller-Fontaine syndicate. Nacrelli directed the Chester Police Department to arrest numbers operators who tried to compete with the Miller-Fontaine operation. The corrupt political system set up by Nacrelli stretched beyond Chester and into Delaware County. Nacrelli was convicted of racketeering and income tax evasion for accepting $22,000 in bribes associated with the illegal gambling operation. He served two years in federal prison and returned to Chester in March 1982. A few months after his release from prison, Nacrelli began working as a sales representative for JP Amusement, an illegal video poker machine business operated by Willie Smith, a known

loan shark 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 narcotics financier and Joseph and James Iacona - the brothers of Gary Iacona, who was indicted for his involvement in the

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and ...

capo Santo Idone. According to testimony at the 1989 Pennsylvania Crime Commission, Nacrelli would intimidate tavern owners to remove competitive video poker machines from their establishments and replace them with JP Amusement machines. Nacrelli continued to play a role in local politics and Chester city government after his release from prison. He retained influence in the control of

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

matters and the official affairs of the Chester City Council and the Chester School District. Nacrelli was hired by Westinghouse to influence Delaware County politicians into supporting the development of the Westinghouse trash incinerator in Chester despite the objections of

Willie Mae James Leake Willie Mae James Leake (March 13, 1932 – August 28, 1997) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as Republican mayor of Chester, Pennsylvania from 1986 to 1991. Leake was the first female and first African-American mayor of Che ...

, the mayor at the time. On October 25, 1988, Chester City Council signed an agreement to build the Westinghouse trash incinerator in Chester with Mayor Leake abstaining.

Personal life

Nacrelli was married to Doris (Casey) Nacrelli and together had a son John H., Jr. born in 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nacrelli, John 20th-century American politicians American people convicted of bribery American gangsters of Italian descent Mayors of Chester, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania city council members Pennsylvania politicians convicted of corruption Pennsylvania Republicans Philadelphia crime family Politicians convicted of racketeering American people of Italian descent

Career

Corruption

Personal life

See also

References