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Raymond Loreda Salvatore Patriarca (; March 17, 1908 – July 11, 1984) was an American mobster 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 ...
, who became the long-time boss of 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 ...
, whose control extended throughout
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
for more than three decades. Patriarca died on July 11, 1984.


Early life

Patriarca was born on March 17, 1908, in
Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...
, to Eleuterio Patriarca, an Italian immigrant from the village of
Arce, Lazio Arce (Neapolitan: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Frosinone, in the region of Lazio, Italy. it is an agricultural centre located on a hill overlooking the Via Casilina, in the Latin Valley and in the middle valley of the Liri. ...
, and Mary Jane DeNubile, an Italian American. At the age of four, Patriarca moved with his family to
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 ...
, and left school when he was eight to shine shoes and work as a bellhop. During his teenage years, Patriarca was charged with hijacking, armed robbery, assault, safecracking, and auto theft. He was indicted as an accessory to murder before Prohibition's end in 1933. During the 1930s, the Providence Board of Public Safety named him "public enemy No. 1". He was sentenced to five years in prison for robbery, but he was paroled in 1938 after serving four months in prison. An inquiry revealed that Executive Councilor
Daniel H. Coakley Daniel Henry Coakley (December 10, 1865 – September 18, 1952) was an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and attorney from Massachusetts. He was a key figure in early 20th century Boston politics, as an ally Distri ...
, a close associate of Governor
Charles F. Hurley Charles Francis Hurley (November 24, 1893 – March 24, 1946) was an American attorney and the 54th Governor of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and one of its first Irish-American governors. Early years Charles Francis Hurley was born in Cambr ...
, had drawn up a parole petition based on the appeals of a "Father Fagin", whom Coakley had fabricated. Coakley was impeached and dismissed from the Governor's office. This scandal enhanced Patriarca's reputation in the underworld, as it demonstrated the power of his political connections. In 1939, Patriarca married Helen G. Mandella and had a son, Raymond Patriarca Jr.


Rise to power

During the 1940s, Patriarca continued to rise in power. In 1950, mobster Philip Buccola fled the country to avoid prosecution for tax evasion, and Patriarca took control of his criminal operations. In 1956, Patriarca made drastic changes in the crime family, the biggest being to move his base of operations to Providence, Rhode Island. He ran his crime family from the National Cigarette Service Company and Coin-O-Matic Distributors, a vending machine and pinball machine business on Atwells Avenue in the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence. Every card game, prostitution ring, and illegal business in Providence had to pay a kickback to Patriarca. Patriarca's reign as leader of the
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
syndicate was rumored to be brutal and ruthless. In one incident, he allegedly ordered an elderly mobster to murder his own son, after Patriarca lost a substantial amount of money on a bad deal. The father pleaded for his son's life, so Patriarca exiled him from the family. Patriarca's
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 under ...
Henry Tameleo also persuaded him to relent. In another incident, Patriarca demanded that several members of the crime family pay him $22,000 after federal authorities seized a hijacked shipment of cigarettes that he had financed. He allegedly ordered the murder of his brother for failing to notice an electronic surveillance device placed in his office by federal agents. He allegedly ordered the murder of several members of the McLaughlin Gang during the Irish Mob wars between the
Charlestown Mob The Charlestown Mob was an Irish mob group in Charlestown, which figured prominently in the history of Boston for much of the 20th century. The gang was headed by the McLaughlin brothers ( Bernie, Georgie, and Edward "Punchy" McLaughlin) a ...
and the
Winter Hill Gang The Winter Hill Gang is a loose confederation of organized crime figures in the Boston, Massachusetts, area. The gang members and leadership are predominantly Irish-American and Italian-American descent. The organization itself derives its ...
. This occurred when
Bernie McLaughlin Bernard McLaughlin (1921 – October 31, 1961) was an American gangster from Charlestown, Massachusetts, and leader of " The McLaughlin Brothers" gang. Early life Before Bernie formed his own crew he was a loan shark and enforcer for the Angi ...
started interfering with Patriarca's loansharking operations 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 ...
.


Imprisonment

In March 1970, Patriarca and several of his associates went on trial for murder and conspiracy to commit murder, the chief witness being robber and hitman John "Red" Kelley, who afterwards went into the federal
witness protection program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...
. Kelley gave testimony linking Patriarca and other family members to the murder of Rudolph "Rudy" Marfeo and Anthony Melei. Kelley had been contracted by Patriarca to kill Marfeo. Patriarca and his associates were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder; associate Maurice Lerner also was convicted of murder. The mob boss was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but he continued to run his family while imprisoned. Lerner and the other defendants were subsequently exonerated when it was established that Kelley had perjured himself at the trial, as had FBI agent H. Paul Rico, who had corroborated Kelley's testimony.


Death

Patriarca suffered from heart disease and diabetes for many years. He died of a heart attack on July 11, 1984, at the age of 76. He is buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Providence, Rhode Island.


References


Further reading

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Patriarca, Raymond L. S. 1908 births 1984 deaths American crime bosses American gangsters of Italian descent American Roman Catholics Burials in Rhode Island Criminals from Massachusetts Criminals from Rhode Island Fratricides Patriarca crime family People from Providence, Rhode Island People from Worcester, Massachusetts 20th-century Roman Catholics