Philip Michael Leonetti (born March 27, 1953) is an American former

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 ...

who became the

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 underbo ...

of 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 ...

under his mentor, uncle and former boss, Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, before becoming a government

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a “snitch”) is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law-enforcement world, where informan ...

in 1989 after being sentenced to 45 years 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 ...

.Phil Leonetti, Scott Burnstein, ''Mafia Prince'' Running Press (6 Nov 2012), , At that time, he was the highest-ranking member of the

American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its membe ...

to break his blood oath and turn informant. As part of his cooperation, he served just five years in prison, and later authored a book about the mob.

Early life

Leonetti was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

to Pasquale Leonetti and Annunziata Scarfo. Having been abandoned by his father at an early age, he was brought up by his mother. He moved to Ducktown, the Little Italy of

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

shortly after, where he was protected and supervised by his uncle and other Scarfo members. He appeared to be the opposite of his uncle, a quiet and laid back personality. Leonetti has alleged that, at 8 years of age, he was used as a decoy by Scarfo to dispose of a dead body, explaining to the young Leonetti that he had brutally stabbed a man in a New Jersey bar with an ice pick for disrespecting him. He attended Holy Spirit High School, where he played on the school's basketball team. It was in 1978 that he gained the moniker "Crazy Phil" from a local radio talk show host. Leonetti did not like the nickname and was not referred to as such by his mob peers.

Mob career

In 1979, Nicky Scarfo ordered Leonetti to murder Vincent Falcone, a criminal associate who had been underestimating Scarfo's power within the crime family; he shot him twice. This would not be his last murder for Scarfo. A year later, he would be

initiated Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

as 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 oat ...

. By the early 1980s, Leonetti was already a millionaire and controlled a lucrative trade of racketeering, illegal gambling, loan sharking, extortion and skimming from the Atlantic City casinos. A war within the family was also brewing as short reigned boss

Philip Testa Philip Charles Testa (April 21, 1924 – March 15, 1981), also known as "The Chicken Man", was an Italian-American mobster known for his brief leadership of the Philadelphia crime family of the Italian-American Mafia. He became boss of the Phila ...

was killed by a nail bomb at his home in 1981, and so Scarfo began the war as he secured the

top position A grappling position refers to the positioning and grappling hold, holds of combatants engaged in grappling. Combatants are said to be in a neutral position if neither is in a more favourable position. If one party has a clear advantage such as in ...

for himself and eventually promoting Leonetti as his underboss in 1986. In 1989, Leonetti received 45 years in prison for racketeering charges, while Scarfo was given 55 years. Shortly after, he agreed to testify against Scarfo and the family, also admitting to participating in 10 murders; this allowed for his release after only five years, subsequently going into hiding.

Later life

Shortly after Leonetti was released from prison, he married the former girlfriend of Vincent Falcone, whom he had murdered in 1979. In 2013, he published a book about his criminal life, ''Mafia Prince: Inside America's Most Violent Crime Family and The Bloody Fall of La Cosa Nostra'', which details accounts of the

Five Families The Five Families refers to five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian American Mafia formed in 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War. Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs ...

, the American Mafia Commission and other crime families across the United States.

Notes

References

* Anastasia, George, ''Blood and Honor: Inside the Scarfo Mob - The Mafia's Most Violent Family'' Camino Books (October 2003), * Phil Leonetti, Scott Burnstein, ''Mafia Prince'' Running Press (6 Nov 2012), , * ''Underboss'', A&E Investigative Reports Television show * Zion, Sidney, ''Loyalty and Betrayal: The Story of the American Mob'' Collins Pub San Francisco (June 1994), {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonetti, Phil 1953 births American Mafia cooperating witnesses American gangsters of Italian descent Philadelphia crime family Living people Writers from Philadelphia People convicted of racketeering Holy Spirit High School (New Jersey) alumni Organized crime memoirists People from Atlantic City, New Jersey People from Philadelphia Federal Bureau of Investigation informants American prisoners and detainees