Boston's Bulger is killed in federal prison

James "Whitey" Bulger, longtime Boston underworld figure, was found dead Tuesday, October 30, within a high-security penitentiary in Hazelton, West Virginia.

Sources indicated that Bulger was "killed." Federal authorities are investigating the circumstances.  The New York Times, citing two unnamed Federal Bureau of Prisons employees, reported that at least two inmates beat Bulger to death. The Boston Globe reported that the prison in Hazelton has experienced a string of violent attacks. Two other inmates were killed in fights at the understaffed institution earlier this year, according to the Globe. Bulger was found unresponsive at 8:20 a.m. Efforts were made to revive him.

Eighty-nine-year-old Bulger, sentenced to two life prison terms after being convicted of involvement in eleven murders, had only arrived in Hazelton on Monday, October 29. He was transferred from a prison in Florida and held for a time at a transfer facility in Oklahoma City.

Bulger was part of South Boston's Winter Hill Gang. While engaged in his own illicit rackets, he fed information to the FBI about Mafia rivals and assisted in the dismantling of the Angiulo Mafia organization in Boston in the 1980s. His cooperation with federal agents provided him with protection from prosecution for more than a decade. When authorities finally were poised to arrest Bulger early in 1995, he was apparently tipped off and vanished. The indictment against him included charges that he participated in nineteen gangland killings.

FBI corruption was revealed in 2002, when Bulger's handler, John J. Connolly, Jr., was convicted of racketeering and obstruction of justice.

Bulger quickly earned the top spot on the FBI's Most Wanted List. The government reward for information leading to his arrest reached $2 million in September 2008. A worldwide search (there were reports that Bulger might have fled to Sicily) ended on June 22, 2011, with Bulger's arrest in California. He had been living in Santa Monica with his longtime companion Catherine Greig. Agents found $800,000 in cash and more than thirty firearms hidden in their apartment.

Catherine Greig pleaded guilty to helping Bulger elude the police. She was sentenced in 2012 to eight years in prison. She remains behind bars in Minnesota.

Bulger came to trial at Boston's federal courthouse in June 2013. The jury concluded five days of deliberations on August 12, 2013, finding Bulger guilty of racketeering offenses and participation in eleven murders. On November 14, 2013, he was sentenced by federal Judge Denise J. Casper to two consecutive life sentences plus five years.

Born September 3, 1929, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Bulger grew up in a South Boston housing project. His criminal activity started at an early age. He was arrested in 1956 for bank robbery. Following conviction, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison, but served just nine years. When he emerged from prison, he became a key member of the Winter Hill Gang. A younger brother, William, went into politics and became a longtime leader in the Massachusetts State Legislature.

Sources:

• "Crime lord Whitey Bulger appears in LA court, remanded to Massachusetts," New York Post, June 23, 2011, nypost.com.
• "Fugitive Boston mobster arrested on Westside," Los Angeles Times, June 23, 2011.
• "James 'Whitey' Bulger killed in West Virginia prison, sources say," WCVB-5 Boston, Oct. 30, 2018, wcvb.com.
• "Whitey Bulger, galpal nabbed in California," Boston Herald, June 23, 2011.
• Butterfield, Fox, "F.B.I. agent linked to mob is guilty of corruption," New York Times, May 29, 2002, p. 14, nytimes.com.
• Harvey, Matt, "Update: U.S. Attorney Powell in WV...," WVNews, Oct. 30, 2018, wvnews.com.
• Kennedy, Helen, "Boston mobster James (Whitey) Bulger spotted in Sicily?" New York Daily News, Sept. 15, 2007, nydailynews.com.
• Ivory, Danielle, and William K. Rashbaum, "Whitey Bulger said to have been killed by inmates in prison attack," New York Times, Oct. 30, 2018.
• McFadden, Robert D., "Whitey Bulger, notorious Boston mobster and informant, is dead at 89," New York Times, Oct. 30, 2018, nytimes.com.
• Pulice, Chris, "Inmate death at United States Penitentiary Hazelton," U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, news release, Oct. 30, 2018.
• Rocheleau, Matt, and Emily Sweeney, "James 'Whitey' Bulger's killing is just the latest in a string of troubling violence for W.Va. prison," Boston Globe, Oct. 30, 2018, bostonglobe.com.

Italian jails aren't as much fun as they used to be

Flouting many years of tradition, the conservative Italian government of Silvio Berlusconi (left) seems intent on making prison an unpleasant experience.

According to a story by Nick Pisa of the UK Telegraph, the Berlusconi administration has been cracking down on prison privileges formerly extended to convicted Mafiosi. Among the measures recently instituted, inmates are prohibited from singing. Officials noted the possibility that convicted crime bosses could communicate orders through their songs.

Prison socializing has also been curtailed. It is common for Mafiosi deemed dangerous to be locked in their cells for 23 hours each day and to have only limited exposure to family, friends and attorneys. The government has a list of 570 prisoners it feels are threats to society.

"We have evidence that in the past orders and messages were passed on and we have also stopped them mixing with each other as well. They will spend the majority of their day alone in their cells," Justice Minister Angelino Alfano said.

Sicilian Mafiosi sentenced to 400+ years

Palermo Judge Piergiorgio Morosini sentenced 38 Sicilian Mafiosi today to a total of more than 400 years behind bars, according to a story published by the Makfax daily Internet newspaper.

The defendants, arrested in 2006, included the alleged leaders of 13 Sicilian Mafia clans. The longest prison sentences - 20 years apiece - were given to Antonio Rotolo, boss of the Pagliarelli organization, and Franco Bonura, boss of the Uditore organization.

Both organizations are based in the outskirts of Palermo. Uditore is a community to the northwest of the center of Palermo City. Pagliarelli lies to the southwest of the city center. The Uditore clan was known to be close to Corleone-based Sicilian boss of bosses Bernardo Provenzano, who was captured by Italian authorities in 2006 after four decades as a fugitive.

According to a report from Independent Online in South Africa, the leaders of the Sicilian crime families were caught through a combination of Provenzano's records and electronic surveillance at a Palermo garage where the bosses regularly met.

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Sicily's governor, Salvatore Cuffaro (right), was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday for aiding Mafia leaders by supplying information about ongoing investigations, according to a report by Reuters.

Cuffaro, member of the right wing Catholic political party, pledged to remain on the job during the appeal process, which could take years. He has served as governor for seven years, winning reelection to the post two years ago. His trial has gone on through the past three years. If the conviction is upheld, Cuffaro will be barred from holding public office.


A co-defendant, Michele Aiello, was sentenced to 14 years for associating with members of organized crime, leaking classified information and illegally accessing law enforcement computers, according to a story by the BBC.

Italian police nab Mafia administrator

Italian police last week announced the arrest of 72-year-old Giuseppe Lipari, suspected of managing the business affairs of now-jailed Sicilian Mafia boss Bernardo Provenzano.

NY link found in Sicily Mafia arrests

The arrest of 14 suspected organized criminals in Sicily has revealed a link between Mafia groups on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, according to a story published in the Australian Daily Telegraph.

The 14 suspects face extortion and money laundering charges as well as charges related to assisting fugitive crime boss Salvatore Lo Piccolo.

Wiretaps revealed that the suspects were in contact with organized crime bosses in New York. The news report specifically mentions New York's Gambino Crime Family. Sicilian mobsters are reportedly funneling proceeds from illegal operations into real estate speculation in Brooklyn.

Palermo Mafia boss shot down

Nicolo Ingarao, 46, reputed Mafia boss in Palermo, was shot and killed in his Sicilian home city in broad daylight today, according to a report published by the Agence France-Presse news agency. (AFP indicated that it was quoting an earlier ANSA news agency story.)

Ingarao was shot at least four times as he left a police station where he was required to report each day as a condition of his house arrest.

Authorities labeled Ingarao the underworld boss of an area in central Palermo. He was placed under house arrest while awaiting trial on charges filed against him in June 2006. His trial was scheduled for next April.

Sicilian authorities are concerned that Ingarao's killing could trigger a Mafia clan war.

Accused 'godmother' returns to UK

Ann Hathaway reached a deal with Italian prosecutors that allowed for her return to Britain last night, according to a story published by the UK Guardian Unlimited.

Hathaway, 44-year-old mother of two and the wife of jailed Sicilian Mafioso Antonio Rinzivillo (the couple appear in the photo above), admitted to Mafia associations and was given a suspended sentence by an Italian court. She was released and returned home to the Middleton area.

Italian prosecutors had arranged for her extradition from the UK by arguing that she managed her husband's underworld empire in his absence. Hathaway has denied the charge.

Related MobNews posts:

• Hathaway agrees to return to Italy 03-23-07
• UK's Hathaway faces extradition to Italy 01-25-07
• UK 'Godmother' arrested 01-19-07
• UK press tracks Mafia 'godmother' 01-08-07

Sicilian mob boss is focus of 3 books

Three new books discuss the underworld career of reputed Sicilian Mafia boss of bosses Bernardo Provenzano, according to a story by Steve Scherer of Bloomberg.com.

The books are all written in Italian: "Iddu: La Cattura di Bernardo Provenzano," "Il Codice Provenzano," and "Pizzini, Veleni e Cicoria."

The first book deals largely with the manhunt for the Sicilian boss who eluded authorities for more than 40 years. The second deals with the supposed code used by Provenzano to retain control over his vast underworld empire while in hiding. The third is largely a discussion with Italy's top Mafia prosecutor Pietro Grasso.

Related MobNews posts:

• Pondering Sicilian succession 03-31-07
• Sicilian godfather's Bible verse puzzle 01-04-07
• Two ambush murders in Sicily 08-22-06
• Sicily police arrest 52 suspected mafiosi 06-20-06
• Provenzano nearly caught in '04 05-09-06
• Sicilian boss's code 04-26-06

Pondering Sicilian succession

A March 28 article from Janes Intelligence Review mulls the transfer of power within the Sicilian Mafia after the April 11, 2006, arrest of boss Bernardo Provenzano.

There is speculation that the Cosa Nostra is ruled at the moment by a triumvirate of Matteo Messina Denaro (right) of Trapani, Salvatore Lo Piccolo of Palermo and Domenico Raccuglia from Piana degli Albanesi.

Related MobNews posts:

• Sicilian godfather's Bible verse puzzle 01-04-07
• Two ambush murders in Sicily 08-22-06
• Sicily police arrest 52 suspected mafiosi 06-20-06
• Provenzano nearly caught in '04 05-09-06
• Sicilian boss's code 04-26-06

Sicilian Mafia link seen in Namibian gem firms

There is evidence that two recently licensed diamond firms in Namibia are linked to the Sicilian Mafia, according to a story published March 23 by The Namibian.

That story reports on an 18-month-long investigation into the licenses. Zackey Nefungo Nujoma, son of a former Namibian president and ex-member of the national intelligence service, was reportedly involved in obtaining approval for the licenses to cut and polish gems. Nujoma has stated that he did nothing improper and is not aware of any organized crime links to to the Avila and Marbella companies.

The newspaper quoted unnamed official sources as saying the companies are fronts for reputed Mafioso Vito Palazzolo.

Hathaway agrees to return to Italy

A British court decided today that Ann Hathaway (above), 44, will return to Italy within the next 10 days, according to a story in the Manchester Evening News. Facing Mafia-related charges in Italy, Hathaway reportedly agreed to the extradition.

The Italian government insists that the wife of jailed Sicilian Mafia boss Antonio Rinzivillo helped to administer the Rinzivillo empire in his absence. After Rinzivillo's conviction, Hathaway returned to her hometown in the Manchester area, where she lived with her two children. The Italian government requested her extradition, and Hathaway was arrested at her home on Jan. 18.

She faces a possible sentence of 24 years in prison if convicted of all charges against her.

Related MobNews posts:

• UK's Hathaway faces extradition to Italy 01-25-07
• UK 'Godmother' arrested 01-19-07
• UK press tracks Mafia 'godmother' 01-08-07
  

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Charged with banker's murder, four face life in prison

An Italian prosecutor is asking for life prison terms for the four men charged with the June 17, 1982, London murder of a prominent banker, according to a story by Stephen Brown of Reuters UK.

Roberto Calvi (left), once head of the now defunct Banco Ambrosiano, was found dead, hanging from a rope under the Blackfriars Bridge. While his death was initially ruled a suicide, additional forensic evidence surfaced indicating that the suicide was staged and Calvi had been murdered by strangulation.

Accused of the crime are Pippo Calo, an alleged Sicilian Mafioso once known as the Mafia's treasurer; alleged Rome crime boss Ernesto Diotallevi; Sardinian financier Flavio Carboni; and Calvi's bodyguard Silvano Vittor. All the defendants have denied involvement.

Calvi had connections to the Vatican administration and was sometimes called "God's banker." The Vatican Bank was found to own a piece of Banco Ambrosiano when that institution failed just before Calvi's death. At the time, it was Italy's largest bank failure. Banco Ambrosiano is believed to have helped launder money for the Mafia. Calvi is theorized to have skimmed some of the money for himself.

Facing a four-year sentence in connection with the bank collapse, Calvi traveled to London in 1982.

Calvi was also linked with the secret Masonic lodge known as P2, which might in turn have had links to a right-wing terrorist organization. Among other activities, P2 is believed to have been involved in the bombing of a Bologna railway station in 1980. The P2 organization's leader, Licio Gelli, reportedly worked with Mafia leaders on a plan for Sicilian secession from Italy in the 1990s. That movement is blamed for the killings of anti-Mafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino.

FBI uses immigration sting to net racketeers

An FBI undercover operation involving an immigrations officer who gave the appearance of being on the take has resulted in the arrests of 11 alleged members and associates of the Gambino and Lucchese Crime Families and two alleged associates of the Sicilian Mafia, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

The operation reportedly began when Joseph Orlando, alleged Gambino soldier, approached a family associate, believing him to have connections to corrupt government officials. Orlando allegedly sought to pass a bribe through the associate to an immigration official in order to acquire legal residence status for his girlfiend. The associate was unable to deliver, was allegedly threatened and contacted the FBI for protection. Through the associate's cooperation, the Bureau arranged for Orlando to meet with an undercover agent, posing as a corrupt official.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, "Orlando told other members and associates of the Gambino family of the cooperating witness’s purported contact with corrupt government officials; this in turn led other defendants to contact the cooperating witness in attempts to further other criminal schemes."

Those schemes reportedly included the smuggling of gold bars into the U.S. from the Philippines and the release of a reputed Sicilian Mafia associate from U.S. federal detention.

FBI Assistant Director-in-charge Mark J. Mershon seemed especially pleased at the arrest of George DeCicco (right), 77, reputed captain in the Gambino Family. Mershon designated DeCicco the "Cal Ripken" of the American mob.

"George DeCicco has operated continuously for so long that his arrest today is like the end of Cal Ripken’s consecutive-game streak," said Mershon. "The difference is that Ripken’s streak ended when he voluntarily took himself out of the lineup."

A story by Stefanie Cohen in today's New York Post called DeCicco, "the last of the Gotti gang." The story noted that DeCicco was the only member of Gotti's inner circle who had never been busted.

(Several DeCiccos have held important positions with the Gambino family since John Gotti's reign. Frank DeCicco, brother of George, allegedly lured Gambino boss Paul Castellano to his death in 1985 and served as Gotti's underboss until he was blown up by a remote controlled bomb outside of a Brooklyn social club in 1986. Joseph "Joe Butter" DeCicco, another brother, reputedly served the family as an associate for many years.)

Officials noted that the undercover operation revealed the close working relationship between American and Sicilian Mafiosi.

The 13 individuals arrested were:

Joseph "Joey Boy" Orlando, DOB March 19, 1949
George DeCicco, DOB March 20, 1929
Robert DeCicco (George's son), DOB July 27, 1950
James Avalone, DOB Aug. 3, 1943
Jerry DeGerolamo, DOB April 1, 1971
Steven "Rigatoni" Famiglietta, DOB Feb. 14, 1962
Michael Fichera, DOB Sept. 14, 1962
Richard Juliano, DOB March 26, 1940
Richard J. Juliano, DOB Jan. 15, 1975
Francesco Nania, DOB Jan. 19, 1967
Vito Rappa, DOB Oct. 15, 1967
Kurt Ricci, DOB Sept. 15, 1965
Joseph "Joey Zack" Zuccarello, DOB April 24, 1954

Related MobNews post:

• FBI busts alleged Gambino, Lucchese members 01-30-07

UK's Hathaway faces extradition to Italy

Ann Hathaway, a 44-year-old housewife and mother of Boarshaw, England, is facing extradition to Italy as an alleged Mafia "godmother," according to a story in the Middleton Guardian.

Italian authorities charge that Hathaway, wife of imprisoned Sicilian Mafia boss Antonio Rinzivillo, helped to run her husband's illicit empire since he has been away. Rinzivillo is serving a 30-year prison sentence in Italy for drug trafficking and the murder of of lawyer Antonio Mirabelle.

Hathaway is specifically charged with running messages from Rinzivillo to underworld colleagues and with laundering cash from Mafia operations.

She denied any wrongdoing and said she was "bewildered" by the charges.

Related MobNews posts:

• UK 'Godmother' arrested 01-19-07
• UK press tracks Mafia 'godmother' 01-08-07

Netherlands to ban Hells Angels

A Netherlands court in Leeuwarden is considering a ban on the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, according to stories on DutchNews.nl and Playfuls.com.

Prosecutors have asked for the ban because of the organization's persistent involvement in crime. The club's Northeast Chapter, based in the town of Harlingen, is named as a defendant in the case.

Officials labeled the Hells Angels the second-largest crime organization in the world, behind only the Mafia. In October 2005, police reportedly found weapons, ammunition and cannabis-growing operations during raids of Hells Angels locations that resulted in 45 arrests.

A dozen members of the disbanded Nomads wing of the Hells Angels are currently facing murder charges. They are accused of killing and mutilating three members of their group. The victims bodies were discovered in 2004.

Kidnapping shows breakdown in Mafia authority

Italian officials believe the recent kidnapping of a rich Sicilian landowner is a signal that the prestige of old line Mafia bosses is in decline, according to a story by Malcolm Moore of the UK Telegraph.

Pietro Licari, 68, was abducted last weekend near his home outside Palermo, in a blatant violation of a Mafia ban on kidnappings that dates back to the 1960s. The relatively small amount of money demanded for Licari's release and other factors have caused investigators to blame the crime on a non-Mafia gang.

According to the story, Cinisi crime boss Gaetano Badalamenti outlawed kidnappings in the late 60s. Badalamenti was later jailed in the United States for heroin trafficking. The ban was violated just once, in 1976, when a youth gang outside of the Mafia abducted a woman. The Sicilian underworld was able to persuade the gang to release the woman.

UK 'Godmother' arrested

Ann Hathaway, 44, was arrested yesterday on suspicion of helping to run the Rinzivillo Mafia empire, according to a story by Pat Hurst of the UK Independent.

Police detained Hathaway at her home near Manchester, England, after the Italian government issued an extradition warrant. Italian officials charge that she has administered the underworld assets of her husband, Antonio Rinzivillo, since he has been in prison.

Rinzivillo is serving 30 years.

Related MobNews post:

• UK press tracks Mafia 'godmother' 01-08-07