Ronald Previte (October 9, 1943 – August 21, 2017) was an American corrupt police officer for the
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD or Philly PD) is the law enforcement agency, police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police a ...
and an
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 ...
against 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 ...
.
Previte was born in 1943, 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 ...
to
Sicilian-American
Sicilian Americans (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Sìculu-miricani; Italian language, Italian: Siculoamericani'') are Americans of Italian people, Italian Sicilians, Sicilian birth or ancestry. They are a large ethnic group in the United States.
...
parents, but was raised in
Hammonton, New Jersey
Hammonton is a town in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that has been referred to as the "Blueberry Capital of the World". As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town's population was 14,711, a decline of 80 from the 2010 census coun ...
. Previte joined with the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, serving in the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, and when he returned, he joined the
Philadelphia Police Department
The Philadelphia Police Department (PPD or Philly PD) is the law enforcement agency, police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The PPD is one of the oldest municipal police a ...
. During his time in the police force, Previte extorted traffic violators, shook down restaurant owners, stripped impounded cars, stole from crime scenes and solicited payoffs from bookies and mobsters. Previte was forced to resign from the police force in 1979, and in 1981, began working as a security officer for the
Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City
Tropicana Atlantic City, also known as The Trop and previously as TropWorld Resort, is a resort, casino hotel located on the beach and Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties and operated by Caesars Ent ...
where he swiped cash and chips, stole trucks of furniture and bar supplies out of the casino warehouse and money from guests while running prostitutes and poker games out of unoccupied suites.
Previte was arrested for theft in 1985, but the charges were dropped after he agreed to work with
New Jersey State Police
The New Jersey State Police (NJSP) is the official state police force of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a general-powers police agency with statewide jurisdiction, designated by troop sectors.
History
As with other state police organization ...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'', December 17, 1996. Accessed November 18, 2013. "Sources said yesterday the bookmaking ring was part of a broader gambling and loan-sharking operation controlled by reputed mob figure Ron Previte of Hammonton." In 1992, Previte became an
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 ...
for the
Federal Bureau of Investigation
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, ...
for which he was paid $750,000 between 1992 and 2002. By 1993, Previte was a big earner for the Philadelphia crime family, became 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 ...
, and also became the personal driver for boss
John Stanfa
Giovanni "John" Stanfa (; born December 7, 1940) is an Italian-born American former boss of the Philadelphia crime family from 1991 to 1995. Convicted of multiple charges in 1995, Stanfa was sentenced to life in prison.
Early life
Stanfa was b ...
. Previte wore a
wire
Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm
A wire is a flexible strand of metal.
Wire is c ...
for more than two-and-a-half years, recording more than 400 hours of conversations, also testifying during mob trials, which helped convict over 50 mobsters, including
Joey Merlino
Joseph Salvatore "Skinny Joey" Merlino (born March 13, 1962) is an Italian-American mobster and reputed boss of the Philadelphia crime family. He rose to power in the mid-nineties after he allegedly fought a war for control of the criminal organ ...
and
Ralph Natale
Ralph Samuel Natale (March 6, 1935 – January 22, 2022) was an American mobster. He was the boss of the Philadelphia crime family from 1995 until 1999, when he became the first American Mafia boss to turn state's evidence. Natale helped sentenc ...
. Following the trials, Previte turned down offers for witness relocation, and lived under an assumed name in Hammonton.
Previte is the subject of the 2004 book ''The Last Gangster'' by
George Anastasia
George Anastasia (born February 5, 1947) is an American author and former writer for ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. He is widely considered to be an expert on the American Mafia. He was an organized crime investigative reporter, who was once tar ...