Raymond Joseph Patriarca (; born February 24, 1945), known as Raymond Patriarca Jr., is an American former gangster from

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, son of mob boss

Raymond L. S. Patriarca Raymond Loreda Salvatore Patriarca (; March 17, 1908 – July 11, 1984) was an American mobster from Providence, Rhode Island, who became the long-time boss of the Patriarca crime family, whose control extended throughout New England for more t ...

, after whom the

Patriarca crime family The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, or The Office is an Italian-American American Mafia, Mafia crime family, family in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based ...

was named. The crime family has a faction in Providence and another in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, and he was boss of the family for six years after the death of his father in 1984.

Early years

Patriarca was born in

on February 24, 1945, to mobster

and Helen G. Mandella, who died in 1965. Both of his parents were of Italian descent.

Crime family

In 1970, Raymond Patriarca Sr., nicknamed "Il Patrone", was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, along with several of his mob family associates. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison but continued to run his crime family while there. Patriarca, Sr., continued to be pursued by law enforcement for the rest of his life, and he was charged for a variety of crimes until his death in 1984. In 1983, he was charged with the murder of Raymond Curcio, and he was arrested in 1984 for the murder of Robert Candos, whom the mob boss believed was an informant. "Il Patrone" died of a heart attack, aged 76, on July 11, 1984, bringing into question the leadership succession of the New England crime family.

New boss

The New England Mafia began a period of slow decline resulting from legal prosecution and internal violence after the death of Patriarca, Sr.

Gennaro Angiulo Gennaro Joseph "Jerry" Angiulo Sr. (; March 20, 1919 – August 29, 2009) was an American mobster who rose to the position of underboss in the Patriarca crime family of New England under Raymond L. S. Patriarca. Angiulo was convicted of racketeeri ...

was the family underboss until he was incarcerated, and he attempted to take over as boss despite being in jail. However, Ilario "Larry" Zannino, the family's top captain, backed Patriarca. The National Commission approved Patriarca's ascendancy to leadership with the backing of the

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...

, and his position was confirmed. Angiulo was demoted and Zannino was made ''consigliere''. Patriarca was considered a weak leader compared to his father, but he managed to keep the peace in his crime family due to the support of the Gambino family of New York. Zannino was sentenced to 30 years in prison in 1987, and it further weakened Patriarca's position. With Zannino in jail,

William Grasso William "Wild Guy" Grasso was an Italian-American mobster from East Haven, Connecticut who rose to the position of underboss in the Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England crime family, the Providence crime family or the Boston crime ...

became underboss; he was known for his ruthlessness, and some law enforcement officials believed that he was actually in charge. However, these rumors ended when Grasso was murdered in June 1989 by a

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

-area gangster with ties to the

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American M ...

Nicholas Bianco Nicholas "Nicky" Bianco (March 21, 1932 – November 14, 1994) was an American mobster who became an influential member of the Patriarca crime family of New England. Biography Bianco was born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island. In later y ...

then took over the family's Providence operations. On March 26, 1990, Patriarca, underboss Bianco, and 20 other family members and associates were indicted on numerous charges, including racketeering, extortion, narcotics, gambling, and murder. The arrests were described as "the most sweeping attack ever launched on a single organized crime family". One of the most damaging pieces of evidence was a tape recording of a Mafia induction ceremony at which 13 criminals were present. The FBI was able to match Patriarca's voice to the tape due to a radio interview. Because of this embarrassment, Patriarca was replaced as boss by Bianco, who maintained a very low profile. However, in 1991, Bianco was sentenced to 11 years in prison, while eight other family members were convicted of

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act 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 ...

(RICO) charges. Bianco died in prison in 1994. Patriarca was sentenced to eight years in prison in 1992 after pleading guilty to racketeering charges. On January 6, 1992, all of the defendants in the RICO trial pled guilty and received lengthy sentences and large fines. In 1993, 26 others were convicted for running a bookmaking operation. Cadillac

Frank Salemme Francis Patrick Salemme (August 18, 1933 – December 13, 2022), sometimes spelled Salemmi, also known as "Cadillac Frank" and "Julian Daniel Selig", was an American mobster from Boston, Massachusetts who became a hitman and eventually the boss ...

took over the family after the trials and moved their base back to Boston. When Patriarca was released from prison, he avoided organized crime and went into retirement.

Father and son

In 1986, Patriarca testified before the Judiciary Committee of the Rhode Island House of Representatives during the impeachment of Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Joseph A. Bevilacqua Sr., a former criminal defense lawyer accused of consorting with organized crime figures. The hearings led to Bevilacqua's resignation. During the hearing, FBI wiretaps were introduced of conversations with Patriarca Sr. which took place between 1962 and 1965. According to the FBI logs:

Ray tells Ray Jr. that, when he gets married, to marry an Italian girl, as she will stand by you when you're in trouble or won't call the police if you slap her in the mouth.

Patriarca Jr. defended his father before the press:

My father never, never, never told me about hitting women, Italian women, bothering women. I want to apologize to all the people in the state of Rhode Island because my father… never had a conversation with me like that about women, marrying an Italian girl so you can hit an Italian girl. He never spoke to me like that. In fact, my first wife was Jewish and my stepmother is Irish. My father respected all women.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patriarca, Raymond Jr. 1945 births Living people American crime bosses American gangsters of Italian descent Criminals from Rhode Island Raymond Jr.