- 1993 in organized crime
"See also:"
1992 in organized crime ,
other events of 1993,1994 in organized crime and the
list of 'years in Organized Crime'.----
Events
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Philadelphia mobster Gaetano "Tommy Horsehead" Scafidi, Jr. is shot at in his car by two men in skimasks. [http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=12330]
*January 8 – Arrest ofBalduccio di Maggio , former driver ofTotò Riina . He starts to collaborate and indicates the movements of Riina.
*January 15 - Acting on a tip-off from informant theCarabinieri arrestsTotò Riina in Palermo as he sat at some traffic-lights in his car. The informant was Riina’s former driverBalduccio di Maggio ; several of his relatives were later murdered for this [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/68229.stm] ).Giovanni Brusca has offered a controversial version of the capture of Totò Riina: a secret deal between Carabinieri officers, secret agents and Cosa Nostra bosses tired of the dictatorship of the Corleonesi. According to Brusca,Bernardo Provenzano "sold" Riina in exchange for the valuable archive of compromising material that Riina held in his apartment in Via Bernini 52 in Palermo. The Carabinieri’s (Reparto Operativo Speciale) persuaded the Palermo Public Prosecutor's Office not to immediately search the Riina’s apartment, but then abandoned the surveillance after six hours leaving it unprotected. The apartment was only raided 18 days later. The delay was caused by a "misunderstanding" over the surveillance.
*February 7 -Milwaukee boss Frank P. "Mr. Big" Balistrieri died in his home from a heart attack. Balistrieri had been released fromprison 15 months earlier after serving a term forextortion .
*February 19 - Staten Island housewifeJudith Shemtov was shot to death in a botched home invasion by a consortium of mob wannabes from the Bath Beach and New Springville Boys gangs. The robbery crew consisted of futureBonanno crime family associatesThomas Reynolds ,James Calandra , and futureColombo crime family associateChris Paciello , who would become famous as a club king in Miami, partying with the likes ofPuff Daddy ,Jennifer Lopez ,Daisy Fuentes , Madonna andNikki Taylor . After being charged with the murder Paciello became a cooperating witness in 2000, deciding to testify against Colombo crime family leadersAlphonse "Allie Boy" Persico andJackie DeRoss .
*March 2 - New Orleans bossCarlos Marcello died in his sleep in his Metairie home, which he had resided at since his 1989 release from prison.
*March 27 – Former prime ministerGiulio Andreotti is accused of collusion with the Mafia by the proscution office inPalermo .
*April 6 –Tommaso Buscetta , testifying before the prosecutorsGian Carlo Casselli andGuido Lo Forte , admits that the "national politician" to whomSalvo Lima would turn for matters regardingLa Cosa Nostra isGiulio Andreotti .
*May 14 - Television-journalistMaurizio Costanzo , host of the "Maurizio Costanzo Show" that broadcasted some Antimafia episodes, just escapes a car-bomb attack on1993 .
*May 18 - Arrest of fugitiveCatania Mafia bossNitto Santapaola in a farmhouse hideout outsideCatania after being on the run for 11 years.
*May 24 - Seven people, includingpriest Juan Jesús Cardinal Posadas Ocampo , are assassinated the parking lot of theGuadalajara International Airport inMexico . Posadas Ocampo received 14 gunshot wounds whilst in his car. The government inquiry into the murder concluded that Posadas Ocampo was killed accidentally in a battle between rivaldrug cartel s.
*May 25 -Chicago Outfit boss John "No Nose" DiFronzo and associate Donald "the Wizard of Odds" Angelini were sentenced to 3 years forconspiracy andfraud charge s stemming from their roles in ascheme to infiltrate an Indiancasino .
*May 28 - The Mafia detonates a bomb that kills five people and damages theUffizi Gallery in Florence. Cosa Nostra is starting a series of bomb attacks on place of cultural heritage in an open confrontation with the Italian state after the arrest of Totò Riina onJanuary 15 .
*June 25 - Rochester crime family bossSamuel Rusotti died in prison while serving a sentence for committing two murders, three attempted murders and for extorting several gambling clubs. Russotti’s 1984 conviction marked the downfall of the Rochester based organized crime family. Russotti had been responsible for causing the ABC War, where seven family members were murdered and numerous bomb explosions took place over a two year period.
*July 22 –Salvatore Cancemi , acting boss of the Porta Nuova Mafia family, walks into theCarabinieri station on Piazza Verdi inPalermo and turns himself in. Cancemi opposes the violent terrorist strategy of the Mafia after Riina’s arrest and fears for his life because he had said so. Riina’s brother in lawLeoluca Bagarella also suspected that Cancemi had been behind the arrest of Riina.
*July 27 -28 – The Mafia detonates bombs at the Villa Reale Museum and the Pavilion of Contemporary Art in Milan, and the Church of San Giorgio and the Lateran Vicariate in Rome on. In total the attacks (including the one in Florence onMay 28 ) left 10 people dead and 93 injured.
*July 27 - Lucchese crime family consigliereSteven Crea , soldierDominick Truscello ,Genovese Family caporegimeSalvatore Lombardi ,Gambino Family soldierJohn Gammarano , andDeCavalcante Family soldierGaetano Vastola were indicted for extorting DeLuxe Homes of Pennsylvania, a building of modular residences used in housing developments in Brooklyn and the Bronx.
*August 4 - Former associate of Tampa Bay bossSanto Trafficante, Jr. ,Harlan Blackburn was sentenced to 24 ½ years at the age of 74 on cocaine-conspiracy charges.
*August 24 -Chicago Outfit street bossSalvatore DeLaurentis was sentenced to 18 ½ years in prison forracketeer ing andincome tax evasion . A week earlier, Outfit underboss Ernest "Rocky" Infelice was sentenced to 63 years in prison for similar racketeering activities as leader of the Outfitstreet crew .
*October 20 - TheColombo crime family war came to an end with the final casualty, captainJoseph Scopo , a leader in the Orena faction, was gunned down outside his home by associateJohn Pappa . Pappa received 45-years for his role in the war, while Alphonse Persico escaped prosecution for the war. RivalVictor Orena received a lengthy prison term. The war resulted in several Colombo family members becoming cooperating witnesses including former consigliereCarmine Sessa ,John Pate , andSalvatore Miciotta .
*December 2 -Colombia ndrug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed inMedellín
*December 4 -Tijuana Cartel memberFrancisco Rafael Arellano Félix is arrested by the Mexican Federal Judicial Police and hasUS$ 150,000 cash seized. Arellano Félix is then incarcerated in a federalmaximum security prison inToluca, Mexico on violations of illegal arms possession, drugs charges and involvement in the murder of Cardinal Juan Posadas Ocampo.Arts and literature
Births
Deaths
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Gaetano Scafidi, Jr. "Tommy Horsehead",Philadelphia mobster
*February 7 -Frank Balistrieri , Milwaukee crime boss
*March 2 -Carlos Marcello , former New Orleans crime boss
*June 25 -Samuel Rusotti , Rochester crime boss
*October 20 -Joseph Scopo , Colombo crime family capo
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