- Vincent Meli
Vincent "Little Vince" Meli (
January 2 ,1921 –January 7 ,2008 ) was aDetroit mobster and present actingUnderboss of theDetroit crime family . The nephew ofAngelo Meli , he succeeded longtime crime bossAnthony Zerilli following his imprisonment.Early years
Born "Vincent Angelo Meli" to Frank Meli and Grazia Panzica in San Cataldo, Sicily, Meli arrived in the United States with his family during the 1920s. In 1944, he graduated from the
University of Notre Dame inSouth Bend, Indiana . Enlisting in theUnited States Army soon after graduation, Meli saw little action and was discharged three years later.Music Business and Labor Racketeering
Shortly after his return to Detroit, Meli became involved in organized crime. He was a major crime figure who attempted to gain control of Detroit's coin machine industry. At age 24, with the financial backing of his uncle Angelo, Meli successfully bought the
Meltone Music andJay-Cee Music Co withPeter Tocco ,Michael Polizzi , andRafaelle Quasarano .A capo by the 1960s, Meli was a major labor racketeer and, through Anthony "Tony Jacks" Giacalone, was an associate of
Teamsters Union PresidentJimmy Hoffa [http://www.geocities.com/jiggs2000_us/giacalonea.html] .During the 1990s, Meli was tied to labor racketeering. He was named by former Detroit mobster
Nove Tocco and retired federal agents as an associate ofMichael Bane , president ofPontiac, Michigan 's Teamster Local 614, during federal investigations into labor union corruption. [http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:IyxE2_lv2lIJ:www.detnews.com/2000/metro/0012/28/d01-168459.htm+%22Vincent+Meli%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=18] .Further reading
*Burnstein, Scott M. "Motor City Mafia: A Century of Organized Crime in Detroit" Arcadia Publishing, 2006 ISBN 0738540846
External links
* [http://www.geocities.com/jiggs2000_us/vmeli.html The Detroit Outfit: Vincent Angelo Meli]
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