1992 in organized crime

"See also:"
1991 in organized crime,
other events of 1992,
1993 in organized crime and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'.

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Events

*Massachusetts mafia captain Vincent M. Ferrara pleads guilty to racketeering, extortion, gambling and ordering the 1985 murder of Vincent Limoli. [http://news.bostonherald.com/columnists/view.bg?articleid=152570] [ [http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/11/ruling_that_freed_mafia_captain_is_upheld/ Ruling that freed mafia captain is upheld - The Boston Globe ] ]
*John D'Amato, the boss of the New Jersey mafia family is shot and killed by Anthony Capo on the orders of Stefano Vitabile. According to later testimony by Capo, D'Amato was killed because he was homosexual, an offence punishable by death within the Mafia. [ [http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/06/061306mob.htm Gay News From 365Gay.com ] ]
*January 10 - Gambino crime family captain George Remini was convicted of obstruction of justice and civil contempt for refusing to testify at the trial of his former captain Thomas Gambino, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
*January 30 - The Italian Supreme Court confirms the sentence of the Maxi Trial and upholds the Buscetta theorem that Cosa Nostra was a single hierarchical organisation ruled by a Commission and that its leaders could be held responsible for criminal acts that were committed to benefit the organisation. The Mafia had counted on Salvo Lima and Giulio Andreotti to appoint Corrado Carnevale to review the sentence. Carnevale, known as "the sentence killer", had overturned many Mafia convictions on the slenderest of technicalities previously. Carnevale, however, had to withdraw due to pressure from the public and from Giovanni Falcone – who at the time had moved to the ministry of Justice. Falcone was backed by the minister of Justice Claudio Martelli despite the fact that he served under prime minister Andreotti.
*February – A meeting of the top leaders of the Mafia decides to openly confront the Italian state after the confirmation of the Maxi Trial sentence. On the death list are: The Antimafia judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino who had prepared the Maxi Trial; head of police Arnaldo La Barbera, the politicians Salvo Lima, Calogero Mannino and Claudio Martelli (minister of Justice at the time) and business man Ignazio Salvo, the go between of the Mafia to reach Giulio Andreotti.
*March 10 - The sister of Lucchese Family captain turned witness, Peter Chiodo was shot as she sat in a car in front of her Brooklyn home. Chiodo would testify against Lucchese Family boss Vittorio Amuso.
*March 12 - Sicilian politician and Salvatore Lima is shot and killed on his way to Palermo. Salvo Lima had failed to block the confirmation of the Maxi Trial sentence and had to die as a message to Giulio Andreotti to act on Cosa Nostra’s behalf. However, Andreotti by then was unable and unwilling to do anything.
*April 2 - Gambino crime family boss John Gotti is tried in the United States District Court in New York.
*May 22 - Chicago Outfit godfather Antonino "Tony," "Joe Batters" Accardo died of heart problems in his home in the Chicago area. Accardo held the title of boss from the mid-1940s until 1957, when he became consigliere, allowing Salvatore "Sam," "Mooney" Giancana to take the title of boss. However, Accardo maintained power over all important decisions and "hits" until his death. Former Outfit top boss and secret consigliere until his death in the 1970s, Felice "Paul 'The Waiter' Ricca" DeLucia was once overheard on a wiretap remarking that Accardo, “....had more brains before breakfast than Capone had all day.”
*May 23 - Sicilian anti-mafia magistrate Giovanni Falcone, his wife Francesca Morvillo, and three police officers: Rocco Di Cillo, Antonio Montinaro and Vito Schifani are all killed in an explosion on their way to Palermo from Palermo International Airport. The explosion came from a bomb placed in a ditch at the side of the road that was remotely detonated by Giovanni Brusca on the orders of Salvatore Riina.
*June - The members of Laborers Local 110 voted out St. Louis Family boss Matthew M. (Mike) Trupiano, Jr. He would be convicted of embezzlement later in the year, and sent to prison.
*June 15 - Lucchese crime family boss Vittorio Amuso was convicted of 54 racketeering counts, including murder, narcotics trafficking, loansharking, labor racketeering, and illegal gambling. Testifying for the prosecution were former acting boss Alphonse D'Arco and captain Peter Chiodo.
*June 23 - John Gotti is convicted of 13 counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, loansharking, racketeering, obstruction of justice, illegal gambling and tax evasion and is sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parol.
*June 25 - Bonanno crime family soldier Thomas "Tommy Karate" Pitera was convicted of murdering six people and operating a narcotics trafficking business. Pitera dismembered and buried his victims in a marshy Staten Island makeshift graveyard.
*July 16 – Gaspare Mutolo starts to collaborate with Italian authorities, in particular with Paolo Borsellino who is frantically investigating the killing of his friend and colleague Giovanni Falcone.
*July 19 - Sicilian anti-mafia magistrate Paolo Borsellino and five police officers: Agostino Catalano, Walter Cosina, Emanuela Loi, Vincenzo Li Muli and Claudio Traina are killed in a car bomb in Palermo on the orders of Salvatore Riina.
*September 6 – Arrest of Mafia boss Giuseppe "Piddu" Madonia.
*September 12 - Pasquale, Paolo en Gaspare Cuntrera of the Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia family are arrested on the airport Fiumicino nearr Rome after they had been expelled from Venezuela.
*September 17 - The Mafia kills Ignazio Salvo. He was a victim in a series of murders staged by the Mafia in retaliation for the confirmation of the sentence of the Maxi Trial by the Italian Supreme Court in January 1992.
*September 25 - Santo Trafficante III, the nephew of former Tampa boss Santo Trafficante, Jr., was indicted for his involvement in bank fraud and money laundering at the Key Bank of Florida.
*October 1 - Chicago Outfit leader Gus "Gussie" Alex , was convicted by a jury for orchestrating extortions of successful businessmen by a violent gang of Outfit thugs. Alex’s former associate Lenny Patrick provided damaging first-hand accounts of the gang’s extortion activities, which included bombing the offices of businessmen who refused to back into mob pressure.
*November 16 – Tommaso Buscetta testifies before the Antimafia Commission about the links between Cosa Nostra and Salvo Lima and Giulio Andreotti. He indicates that Salvo Lima as the contact of the Mafia in Italian politics. "Salvo Lima was, in fact, the politician to whom Cosa Nostra turned most often to resolve problems for the organisation whose solution lay in Rome," Buscetta testified. Other collaborating witnesses confirmed that Lima had been specifically ordered to "fix" the appeal of the Maxi Trial with Italy's Supreme Court and had been murdered because he failed to do so.
*December 2 - Lucchese soldier Patrick Testa is shot to death by an unknown gunman in the garage of a Brooklyn used car lot. The hit was allegedly ordered by Anthony Casso, the Underboss of the Family at the time. ["Lucchese Emissary Becomes Mob-War Casualty". (December 3, 1992). "The New York Times".]

Arts and literature

*"The American Gangster" (documentary)
*"American Me" (film) [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103671/ American Me (1992) ] ] starring Edward James Olmos and William Forsythe
*"Hard Boiled" (film) [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104684/ Lat sau san taam (1992) ] ] starring Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung Chiu Wai
*"Hoffa" (film) [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104427/ Hoffa (1992) ] ] starring Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito and Armand Assante
*"Juice" (film) [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104573/ Juice (1992) ] ] starring Omar Epps, Tupac Shakur and Samuel L. Jackson
*"" (film) [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105553/ Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992) (TV) ] ] starring Brian Dennehy, Jeff Daniels, Maria Conchita Alonso, Eli Wallach, Robert Prosky and Al Waxman
*"Who Do I Gotta Kill?" (film) [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105815/ Who Do I Gotta Kill? (1994) ] ] starring James Lorinz, John Costelloe, Vincent Pastore and Steve Buscemi

Births

Deaths

*John D'Amato, New Jersey mob boss
*March 12 - Salvatore Lima, Sicilian politician and mafia associate
*May 23 - Giovanni Falcone, Sicilian anti-mafia magistrate
*May 23 - Francesca Morvillo-Falcone, Sicilian magistrate and wife of Giovanni Falcone
*May 23 - Rocco Di Cillo, Sicilian police officer
*May 23 - Antonio Montinaro, Sicilian police officer
*May 23 - Vito Schifani, Sicilian police officer
*July 19 - Paolo Borsellino, Sicilian anti-mafia magistrate
*July 19 - Agostino Catalano, Sicilian police officer
*July 19 - Walter Cosina, Sicilian police officer
*July 19 - Emanuela Loi, Sicilian police officer
*July 19 - Vincenzo Li Muli, Sicilian police officer
*July 19 - Claudio Traina, Sicilian police officer
*December 2 - Patrick Testa, Lucchese Family soldier

Notes