Michael Salvatore Taccetta (born September 16, 1947), also known as "Mad Dog," is a high-ranking member of the
Lucchese crime family
The Lucchese 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, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as ...
Taccetta, also known as "''Mike T''," was born in the Vailsburg neighborhood of
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Gambino crime family's ''capo'' Joseph Paterno, for whom Taccetta reportedly worked in his early teens. Taccetta is the son of Angelo Taccetta, a self-employed building materials supplier, who law enforcement agencies reputed was 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 oa ...
" in the Lucchese crime family. Taccetta stands at 5'7" and weighs close to 225 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.
Michael was first arrested for assault at the age of twelve and was sent to Boys Town, a Catholic youth facility. He lived in
Florham Park, New Jersey
Florham Park is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 11,696,Saint Benedict's Preparatory School
St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictines.
The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The school has been accredit ...
in Newark at nineteen years old and attended one semester at
Johnson & Wales University
Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...
School of Business in
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 ...
. Taccetta returned to New Jersey and enrolled in
Essex County College
Essex County College (ECC) is a public community college in Essex County, New Jersey, United States.
History
In August 1966, the Essex County Board of Freeholders approved the creation of Essex County College and in September 1968, more than a ...
School of Business for a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management, receiving grades of C and D. He later worked as a laborer with his father and younger brother at the family construction supply firm. Taccetta married his long-time girlfriend, Carol Ann Nozdrovicky, whom he had met at Newark Preparatory in his early twenties. They have 4 children, including Carlo Taccetta, who allegedly is a made member of the Lucchese crime family. The couple lived with Carol's parents in South Orange, New Jersey before moving into a three-family house.
Winning the New Jersey State Lottery
In 1983, Taccetta's wife, Carol Ann, won $611,979 from the
New Jersey State Lottery
The New Jersey Lottery is run by the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its In-house draw games are: Pick-3, Pick-4, Jersey Cash 5, Pick-6, Quick Draw, and Cash Pop. Its multi-jurisdictional draw games are: Cash4Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball. The ...
. Carol was deemed the '100th Millionaire' by the State Lottery Commission, since it began holding the lottery in 1969. She described Michael to the media upon winning the lottery as an "oil company consultant." They were married for seventeen years and Michael fathered four children. As father and husband, he attended the Holy Family Parish with his family. Michael is the godfather to his brother Martin's children as Martin is to his. Michael was a heavyset man whose dark, sunken eyes always appeared to be tired.
Family mob ties
Michael Taccetta is the cousin of mobsters Michael Perna, and Daniel, Joseph and Thomas Ricciardi. He was especially close to his cousin Daniel, who was five years younger. The two cousins were described as being 'inseparable' during the 1960s. Robert Buccino, a New Jersey organized crime expert, said that Taccetta and Ricciardi ran with a gang that thought nothing of "beating up someone 10 to 1". His cousins Daniel and Thomas later became informants and turned state's evidence when facing jail for murder and drug trafficking.
Michael is the uncle of Joseph Perna born c.a. 1969, John Perna born c.a. 1977 and Ralph Perna Junior born c.a. 1972. They followed their father and uncle into organized crime. He is the father of
Pamela Abdy
Pamela may refer to:
*''Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded'', a novel written by Samuel Richardson in 1740
*Pamela (name), a given name and, rarely, a surname
* Pamela Spence, a Turkish pop-rock singer. Known as her stage name "Pamela"
* MSC ''Pamela'', ...
, a film producer whose credits include " Garden State" that was awarded an
Independent Spirit Award
The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...
for Best First Feature in 2005 as well as three other movies including " Man on the Moon" in 1999.
Although recognized as an ''associate'' of the Gambinos, Taccetta was influenced by his older friend from childhood, Anthony "Tumac" Accetturo, who, at the age of 17, was already recruited by the rival Lucchese crime family, and joined Accetturo's street crew in their
North Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...
faction. During the mid-1960s, both Michael and Martin Taccetta started with Accetturo in illegal gambling and
loansharking
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.
Description
Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
on the orders of Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese. On December 23, 1971, Taccetta was convicted of conspiracy to operate a lottery and numbers, for which he was sentenced to less than two years in prison, and fined $1,000. He was identified as a career criminal offender and an ''associate'' of other criminal offenders.
Career
During the early 1970s, Accetturo, who currently worked as Taccetta's mentor, was indicted on illegal gambling charges in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. Taccetta was chosen by Accetturo to run day-to-day activities in Newark. In February 1973, Accetturo was indicted for loansharking and
extortion
Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
. He was eventually arrested in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
. Accetturo later returned to run his Newark operations with Taccetta in early 1975.
Lucchese Made Man
In 1976, the newly made
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, ...
of the Lucchese crime family, Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo decided to strengthen his New Jersey faction, inducting Accetturo, Taccetta and several others into the Lucchese crime family that year. Accetturo was put in charge of the
North Jersey
North Jersey comprises the northern portions of the U.S. state of New Jersey between the upper Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of northern New Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquial one rather than an administrati ...
faction of the Luccheses, and Taccetta became his top protégé.
Expanding Jersey
During the late 1970s, Accetturo encountered several indictments, as the State of New Jersey tried to extradite Accetturo, but failed due to poor health. Accetturo later relocated his business interests to Miami and
Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...
, but remained the official chief of New Jersey. Taccetta was again chosen to run the Northern Jersey faction on Accetturo's behalf, and soon expanded Accetturo's operations, to include extortion,
drug trafficking
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...
and
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
, through his "legitimate" business "Taccetta Group Enterprises", where Taccetta's position was company president.
Philly operations
On March 21, 1980, the boss of 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 ...
Angelo "Gentle Don" Bruno was shot to death, in the aftermath of which the double dealing Funzi Tieri of the Genovese LCN had " The Commission" support the murder of all those involved in the Bruno murder (though they had been encouraged to do the same by Tieri). After this, Philip Testa found himself boss, but was killed by his underboss Pete Casella. Consigliere
Nicodemo Scarfo
Nicodemo Domenico "Little Nicky" Scarfo Sr. (March 8, 1929 – January 13, 2017) was a member of the American Mafia who became the boss of the Philadelphia crime family after the deaths of Angelo Bruno and Phil Testa.
During his criminal car ...
, then fighting the remnants of the Casella faction to maintain control of the Philadelphia family. When Accetturo heard of this, he ordered Taccetta to establish a new crew of the Lucchese crime family, under Taccetta's control. Because of the bad relations between the two factions in Philadelphia's crime family, and Taccetta and Accetturo exploiting the situation, the relationship between
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 ...
and the
Five Families
The Five Families refers to five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian American Mafia formed in 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War.
Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs ...
worsened.
Excluded from New Jersey
On January 6, 1984, Taccetta was excluded from New Jersey casinos, stemming from his prior convictions in the 1970s. Despite his exclusion, Taccetta kept operating in North Jersey. His brother Martin then served as ''acting boss'' on behalf of Taccetta in the mid-1980s.
Longest trial in U.S.
In 1986, prosecutions which resulted in the
Mafia Commission Trial
The Mafia Commission Trial (in full, ''United States v. Anthony Salerno, et al'') was a criminal trial before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City, United States, that lasted from February 25, 19 ...
were set up in New York, to try Anthony Corallo and the entire administration of the Lucchese crime family. Taccetta and Accetturo were also arrested that year, along with 18 other top mobsters of the Northern New Jersey faction. The indictment was the result of a four-year investigation. The charges were 76 counts of labor racketeering, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking,
money laundering
Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
, and conspiracy. The longest trial ever in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, it went for more than 21 months. Stunningly, unlike the Mafia Commission Trial, in the case of Taccetta and Accetturo and their associates, all 20 defendants were acquitted on the
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 ...
predicates, but as the trial was overdue, rivalry developed in the Jersey Crew.
Accetturo rivalry
During the trial, both Taccetta and Accetturo agreed that it wasn't the right time for a war. That changed in 1988, as Taccetta declared war on Accetturo, and the North Jersey crew split into two factions. One of the main reasons were that Accetturo had promoted his son, Anthony Accetturo, Jr. to reorganize the Jersey crew upon his retirement, which Taccetta had been eager to take over since the early 1980s. When the trial ended in acquittals, Accetturo returned to Florida for his own safety.
Whack North Jersey
After the conviction of Anthony Corallo in 1986, and the murder of his protégé Anthony "Buddy" Luongo,
Brooklyn, New York
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 ...
faction leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso chose themselves as the new Lucchese bosses. Underboss Casso was allowed wide control by his friend Amuso and became paranoid, murdering several mobsters he feared were disloyal. Amuso hadn't been satisfied with their profit from the New Jersey faction in the late 1980s, as he demanded 50% of both Taccetta and Accetturo's take, which they both refused. Vic Amuso and Anthony Casso, a man of great fear and reportedly with dozens of murders on his hands, announced his order, "Whack Jersey". Summoned to a meeting in Brooklyn with Amuso, the entire North Jersey faction, who were fearful of being massacred, went into hiding. Over the next 12 months, most of the New Jersey crew members came back to the family. Victor Amuso told the returned crew members that Accetturo needed to go. Reportedly, Taccetta sent messages to Amuso in Brooklyn, asking for a contract on Accetturo's life. Amuso is reportedly to have agreed, as Taccetta was now under his wings.
Weakening New Jersey
With Accetturo out of the way, Michael and Martin Taccetta were reportedly the leaders of the New Jersey faction, as Taccetta started cooperating with the head of the Gambino crime family, John Gotti, through Gambino ''caporegime'', Thomas "Tommy" Gambino. During the last years of the 1980s, Taccetta's faction was much weakened due to increased law enforcement and bad relations with Amuso. The new administration was Michael Taccetta as the boss of faction, Michael Perna as the
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 ...
and Martin Taccetta as the official
consigliere
Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...
. Reportedly, around this time law enforcement started seeing the Jersey faction as an independent family.
Trial and imprisonment
In the early 1990s, the entire New Jersey faction's administration was put on trial, including the elder Accetturo, who had been imprisoned due to the contract both Taccetta and Amuso had put on his life in the late 1980s. The two began another war. Michael and Martin Taccetta were given 25 years for racketeering, narcotics, extortion, loansharking, conspiracy and murder in 1993. Taccetta reportedly went on to control the Jersey Crew, while he was serving his sentence in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.
South Woods State Prison
During his years as leader, Taccetta fought several internal wars, both with Accetturo and later Thomas Ricciardi, who turned state's evidence to convict Taccetta. His brother Martin Taccetta, though sentenced to life, was let out of prison in 2005 after granted his appeal that he was framed in his murder trial. Martin has since had his release overturned and is serving a life sentence at
New Jersey State Prison
The New Jersey State Prison (NJSP), formerly known as Trenton State Prison, is a state men's prison in Trenton, New Jersey operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections. It is the oldest prison in New Jersey and one of the oldest correct ...
.
As of April 2012, Michael Taccetta was imprisoned in New Jersey's
South Woods State Prison
South Woods State Prison is a state prison for male offenders located in Bridgeton, Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States. It is operated by the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
History
In the 1990s state officials planned to open a ...
in Bridgeton, New Jersey. He was first eligible for parole on August 13, 2013.
On March 19, 2014, Taccetta was released from prison.
Guy Sterling
Guy Sterling (born September 23, 1948) is an American journalist, author and historian. He spent most of his 35-year newspaper career as a reporter with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark, New Jersey, primarily covering the courts and criminal justice ...