James "Jimmy Nap" Napoli (November 4, 1911 – December 29, 1992) was a New York mobster who was a

Caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a '' made member'' of an Italian crime family who he ...

in 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 ...

. From the 1950s to the 1980s, he controlled one of the largest

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...

operations in the United States. Napoli enjoyed fine foods, good wines, and a life of luxury. Jimmy was known as a "Gentleman's Gentleman". Intelligent and well-respected, Napoli maintained ties to most of the major crime families. Napoli was married to

Jeanne Napoli Jeanne Napoli (October 26, 1938 - October 24, 2010) was an American pop singer, songwriter, actress, and musical performer. She was signed to the Vigor sub-label of New York's De-Lite Records in 1976. She is best known for the disco track, "Le ...

, a former night club singer and theatrical producer. In 1984, Napoli invested $250,000 in an unsuccessful musical biography of actress

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

that starred Jeanne. In 1969, Napoli was indicted for fixing several boxing matches. In the 1970s, Napoli reportedly operated the largest numbers operation in the United States. By 1976, the operation allegedly employed 2,000 people and grossed over $150 million a year. Napoli apparently ran this huge operation from a lounge in the Greenpoint section of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. In 1978, Napoli was convicted for gambling and sentenced to five years in federal prison. In July 1988, Napoli was indicted on murder conspiracy charges. He had been taped by

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, ...

(FBI) agents as he discussed the attempted murders of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti,

Gene Gotti Eugene Gotti (born 1946) is an American mobster in the Gambino crime family. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 1989 for racketeering and drug trafficking charges; he was released in 2018. Early life Gotti was born in the Bronx, New York, ...

and mob associate Irwin Schiff. On December 29, 1992, Napoli died of natural causes in the

Kips Bay Kips Bay, or Kip's Bay, is a neighborhood on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by East 34th Street to the north, the East River to the east, East 27th and/or 23rd Streets to the south, and Third Av ...

section of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

."Epic saga of the Genovese Family: Eight Million Stories"
By Anthony Bruno TruTV Crime Library: He was buried in St. John Cemetery, Queens, New York."James "Jimmy Nap" Napoli"
Find-A-Grave.com

References

1911 births 1992 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Burials at St. John's Cemetery (Queens) Genovese crime family {{Crime-org-stub