Vincent Angelo Meli (; ; January 2, 1921 – January 7, 2008) was an Italian-American mobster who was a soldier of the
Detroit crime family
The Detroit Partnership (also known as the Detroit crime family, Detroit Combination, Detroit Mafia, Zerilli crime family, and the Tocco–Zerilli crime family) () is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Detroit, Michigan, and ...
.
Early years
Meli was born on January 2, 1921, in
San Cataldo, Sicily, to Frank Meli and Grazia Panzica; and he immigrated to the United States at the age of 10.
His father was a member of the
Detroit Partnership along with his uncle
Angelo Meli.
His sister, Marie Antoinette, married attorney
Bill Bufalino
William Eugene Bufalino (; April 13, 1918 – May 12, 1990) was an American attorney who represented the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1947 until 1971. He retired in 1982. Bufalino worked closely with Jimmy Hoffa until 1971. B ...
. His cousin, Maria, married
Jack Tocco
Giacomo "Jack" William Tocco ( 1927 – July 14, 2014) was an Italian-American mobster and long-time leader and mob boss of the organized crime organization known as the Detroit Partnership, based in Detroit, Michigan. Of Sicilian ancestry, h ...
, future crime boss of the family.
In 1944, he graduated from the
University of Notre Dame in
South Bend, Indiana.
[ ] Enlisting in the
United States Army soon after graduation,
Meli saw a lot of action and was discharged three years later. During his service, Vincent was a member of Operation Overlord. This was the code name for the Battle of Normandy where Allied operations launched the successful invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II. His division was a primary force in helping to secure Nuremberg concentration camps and free the prisoners.
Meli married Grace Mercurio, and had two daughters, Carmen and Phyllis, and four sons, Frank, Carl, Vincent, and Paul.
Music business and labor racketeering
Shortly after his return to Detroit, Meli became involved in organized crime. He was a major crime figure who attempted to gain control of Detroit's coin machine industry. At age 24, with the financial backing of his uncle Angelo, successfully bought the Meltone Music and Jay-Cee Music Co with Peter Tocco, Michael Polizzi, and Raffaele Quasarano.
A capo by the 1960s, Meli was a major labor racketeer and, through
Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone, was an associate of
Teamsters Union
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...
President
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle Hoffa (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971.
F ...
. During the 1990s, Meli was tied to labor racketeering. He was named by former Detroit mobster Nove Tocco and retired federal agents as an associate of Michael Bane,
president of
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit.
Founde ...
's Teamster Local 614, during federal investigations into labor union corruption.
In 1979, Meli was convicted of extortion, and began serving a three-year sentence on January 3, 1984.
Death
Meli died on January 7, 2008, of bone cancer at St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital Warren in
Warren, Michigan,
at the age of 87. He is buried in Resurrection Cemetery,
Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan.
References
Further reading
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meli, Vincent
1921 births
2008 deaths
American gangsters of Sicilian descent
Burials in Michigan
Deaths from bone cancer
Detroit Partnership
Italian emigrants to the United States
People from Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
People from San Cataldo, Sicily
Gangsters from the Province of Caltanissetta
University of Notre Dame alumni
United States Army personnel of World War II