DeCavalcante Crime Family - Research Paper

Introduction

The DeCavalcante crime family an organized crime unit whose main activities take place in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and its surrounding areas. The crime unit has its operations extended onto other areas such as the Hudson River in New York. Its wave of crimes is part of the widely known phenomenon called the Cosa Nostra (Rudolph 14). The same phenomenon is also called the American Mafia. The family maintains a very close relationship with crime families in New York, Philadelphia and New England. With these interacts with other crime families, the Decavalcante has sifted a lot of fear from the number of crimes that it has been able to pull off. The crime family deals with illegal activities that range from drug trafficking, fencing, fraud, extortion, hijacking, loan sharking, money laundering, pier thefts, and murder. Due to their frequent interaction with different crime groups and law enforcement, the family has made its name out of sheer breaking of the law. This crime unit was the inspiration behind the fictional dramatic series the Sopranos. Additionally, the family has also inspired the CNBC program called mob money.

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In the prohibition era of alcohol and whiskey in the United States, the Decavalcante crime family was recognized as autonomous. This continued until Sam Decavalcante took control of the operations. During this time, the family had several bosses who worked together to conduct gang operations. Throughout the 1920's, there was the Newark family headed by Gaspare D'Amico, Gaetano Reina controlled the Reina family, and Stefano Badami controlled the Masseria and Elizabeth families. D'amico was in charge of monitoring all the bootlegging and illegal gambling operations. Later in 1935, Vincenzo Troia was murdered for trying to take over the Neward family. After a failed assassination attempt, D'amico fled to the United States forcing the families to be divided into territories. Later on, Stefano Badami took over the Elizabeth family. In his reign, his region was characterized by frequent faction fights as the members struggled to take full control of New Jersey. In a power struggle in 1955, Badami was murdered. Phil Amari stepped up to run the family after Badami's death. Phil was well known for his involvement in labor racketeering by United States law enforcement. With this reputation, he was well positioned to run illegal activities in what is considered as a power ridden the flow of operations (Rudolph 29). It is because of this overuse of his power that his reign did not last. This was because of the existence of several factions that were secretly conducting operations and opted for the release of Amari from power. He later on relocated to Sicily and was replaced by Nick Delmore. In his time in power, Nick Delmore was well respected for the way that he conducted gang operations. Even though the family is based on the illegal use of force to gain resources, Nick was considered a master planner for the family's activities. Nick, later on, died in 1964 and was replaced by his nephew, Sam Decavalcante. It was after this shift of power that all the territories merged and were recognized as the DeCavalcante Crime Family of New Jersey.

Sam DeCavalcante was the pioneer of the age of class and diplomacy in the ruling of the crime family. He had previously gained some experience in activities involving murder gambling and racketeering. His name in the streets was Sam, the plumber. Within five years only, Sam doubled the number of men working with the crime family. He owned a heating and air conditioning company called Kenilworth for which he claimed his nickname. The company was a legal representation of his work and a source of taxable income for local authorities. At times, Sam was referred to as the count for his claim to the relationship with the Italian royal lineage. He and his 54 associates were tried and charged with a crime that led to the loss of over 20 million dollars from the public (Raab 79). He was given a five-year sentence after which he retired from mafia business. However, the federal bureau of investigation still linked Sam to some of the operations that were conducted by the Decavalcante family. After his retirement, Sam the plumber appointed Giovanni Riggi as the successor to the throne of the family. Being a business agent for the internal association of laborers and hod carriers, Riggi pioneered a significant increase in the construction and labor racketeering business. Later in the 1980's, evidence shows the Riggi was greatly influenced by John Gotti, the boss to the Gambino, crime family. Giovanni Riggi was later convicted for racketeering, and he was forced to appoint John D'Amato as the acting leader. Claims of ties to homosexual acts by D'amato lead to his murder in 1990. Riggie then leads the Decavalnte family from prison. Giacomo Amari was then appointed the acting boss of the family. He later died due to cancer in 1997.

In the 1990's, the Decavalnte family was ruled by a panel. At this time, the gang was flourishing in its gang activities in New Jersey. It was not until 1998 that Ralph Guarino, an associate in the family become an FBI associate (Raab 86). At this time, the family faced a lot of problems with law enforcement. In his time working with the FBI, Ralph would record conversations that were involving criminal businesses in New Jersey. Such recordings crippled the family's activities. In December 1999, law enforcement officers arrested over 30 members of the family. To date, Riggi's influence in the events in the family is limited. With several changes in power and structure in the family, it has changed regarding operations and jurisdiction. Francesco Guarraci is believed to be the current leader of the Devante family. Additionally, law enforcement agencies believe that Guarraci is backed by Joseph Miranda.

Details of how the Devante family recruits its members had been kept secret for a long time. In the late 1960's, one of the family members, John Valachi released a statement before the Senate subcommittee that more incite was realized on the way that the family recruited its members. The first step into the recruitment into the Decavalcante family is to get dressed. The family gives a lot of attention to the way that its members appeared to the public. The second step is to be taken to a secluded place and seated next to a round table next to the boss (Albini 136). The selected members must have been connected to base operations of the gang such as extortion and racketeering. The family selects the most loyal members by recognizing their devotion to the work of the family. In the roundtable, the inductees must hold handles and recite oaths of loyalty. In the Devante family, the new member is paired with a guardian who is referred to as a godfather. The guardian is meant to guide the inductee into mafia life. The induction process ends when they drip a drop of blood from the trigger finger.

Members of the Devante family are bound together by traditions that have been passed from generations in the same family. One of these traditions is that none of the members of the family should be seen with the cops. Any member that interacts with the police is at risk of being removed from the family, and sometimes the family opts for murder as the only solution for such a situation (Reppetto 103). All orders and appointments are to be followed to the latter. Additionally, the family requires that wives should be treated with respect. Money that belongs to other families is not recognized by the family. At the same time, the members of the family should not have any close ties to the police or law enforcement agencies.

Moreover, the members of the family should not go to clubs or pubs. In general, the family tries to maintain a peaceful relationship with its allies while working to ensure that all of its members are far from law enforcement agencies. With these traditions, the DeCavalcante crime family has been able to maintain a low key trail of crime based activities both in New Jersey and its environs. Some of these traditions are universal to the Italian crime families in the United States.

The primary source of money for the Devante family is divided into channels that are both legitimate and illegitimate. The illegitimate channels involved drug trafficking and illegal gambling. The family acts as a middleman to the wholesale drug sellers and the street sellers for drugs. In conjunction with other Italian mafia families, the DeCavalcante family controls the way that drugs such as narcotics are distributed in the United States. Additionally, the family runs illegal taxing of some shops as a way to collect money for its operations. Failure to comply with the payment of this tax will cause a lack of protection, and at times this could lead to violence. In general, the primary source of income for the mafia is participation in any illegal activity by forcing money out of it (Dickie 95). At times, muggings and burglaries could generate revenue for the family. Such actions require large-scale interaction to ensure maximum profit. In this manner, the family is sometimes forced to make joint burglaries and share benefits with other parties, usual families in different regions near New Jersey. One of the most fruitful tactics of this family to generate income has been infiltration of labor unions. There is a theory that states that the Italian mafia is involved in the running of most if not all construction operations in the United States. Through these construction sites, Families such as the DeCavalcante get income from forcing funds out of the construction site workers.

Since its first inception into the mafia, The DeCavalcante family has had its fair share of cases and sentences with law enforcement agencies. Most times, the members are sentenced to more than five years in jail depending on the crimes they committed. Over time, its leaders such have been prosecuted for involvement in illegal operations in the state of New Jersey (Albini 82). One of the most recent convictions was the one that involved Anthony (Bruno) Indelicato who got a 40-year sentence for the involvement in the activities such as burglary and extortion. In March 2017, Newark N.J was sentenced to 120 months in prison for the use of a phone to plan the murder of a rival. This ruling was made by U.S Attorney William Fitzpatrick. Based on recorded tapes that came into possession of the police, Newark used his phone to plan the murder of a "made man" within the DeCavalcante family. This sentencing extended to 3 more members of the family who were found guilty for the illegal possession of firearms and distribution of illicit drugs.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the DeCavalcante family is a crucial player in the operations of the Italian mafia operating in the United States. Many times, law enforcement officers fail to apprehend its members due to the family's extension into sectors such as the police force. For the family, its goal is to grow into a stable organization that works to get income and supports its members. Due to the changes in leaders, the DeCavalcante family always faces a problem of integrating its operations into the ever-changing environment in the state of New Jersey. For the simple fact that its ways of acquiring income are illegal, Law enforcement officers should strive to get rid of such families. Since the families structures are deep-rooted in the states, getting rid of all its members and operations will always prove to be a problem to the government.

Works Cited

Albini, Joseph L. The American Mafia: Genesis of a Legend. New York: Appleton-Century-Dickie, John. Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan,2004. Internet resource.Crofts, 2001. Print.

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