After taking power in 1981, bloodthirsty Philadelphia mafia boss Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo went to war with the rogue Riccobene crew, led by pint-sized Philly mob figure Harry (The Hunchback) Riccobene, a veteran of the city’s rackets dating back to his teen years during Prohibition. Riccobene refused to recognize or pay tribute to Scarfo and in turn Scarfo assigned his top capo, the strapping and handsome Salvatore (Salvie) Testa, to lead the hostile takeover of Harry the Hunchback and his merry band of mafia misfits.
Below is a timeline of events tied to the friction on the streets in South Philly in 1982 and 1983 when Little Nicky and Harry the Hunchback clashed for control of the Bruno-Scarfo crime family:
*Both Scarfo and Riccobene died behind bars,
The Scarfo-Riccobene Mob War Timeline (March 1982-December 1983)
March 1982 – Mob Don Little Nicky Scarfo declares war on rival rackets boss Harry Riccobene and his faction of the Philly mob.
May 13, 1982 – Philadelphia mob consigliere Frank Monte, a Scarfo confidant, is killed at a gas station by Riccobene hit men in a preemptive strike launched on the sitting administration.
June 8, 1982 – Harry Riccobene survives an assassination attempt when he is ambushed by a Scarfo assassin in a telephone booth.
July 31, 1982 – Philadelphia mob captain Salvie Testa, the commander of Little Nicky’s war on the Riccobenes, survives an assassination attempt when he is ambushed in the city’s historic Italian Market and sustains bullet wounds to the chest and shoulder.
August 21, 1982 – Harry Riccobene survives another assassination attempt when a Scarfo gunman open fires on him behind the wheel of his car while stopped at a street corner in South Philly.
April 29, 1983 – Philadelphia mob soldier Pasquale (Pat the Cat) Spirito is killed on Scarfo’s orders, gunned down behind the wheel of his car for failing to carry out murder contracts on members of the Riccobene crew as instructed.
November 3, 1983 – Riccobene Crew lieutenant Sammy Tamburrino is shot to death behind the counter of his variety store.
December 6, 1983 – Philly mobster Bobby Riccobene, Harry’s brother and right hand man, is gunned down outside his mother’s house.
The post The Scarfo-Riccobene War Timeline: Philly Mob Blood Feud Brewed In Early Years Of Little Nicky’s Reign appeared first on The Gangster Report.