The mafia in Philadelphia Part 2
The era of Gangland violence
The New York families appointed Phil Testa to be the boss in Philadelphia following Angelo Bruno. Pete Casella served as his underboss and Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo as his consigliere. Phil Testa’s reign was a short one as a bomb filled with roofing nails and explosives hidden under the porch of his duplex blew him to bits on March 15, 1981. Underboss Pete Casella blamed the attack on the Philadelphia roofers union, hence the roofing nails. As it turned out Pete Casella was behind the killing of Phil Testa.
Casella took control of the Philadelphia mob scene claiming the New York families had approved of him, but “Little Nicky” Scarfo challenged that by setting up a meeting with the heads of the Genovese and Gambino families, where he found out that the New York families had not approved Casella's taking the leadership mantel. Instead, they appointed Scarfo as the new boss, a decision that would bring violence tothe Philadelphia organized crime scene to unprecedented levels.
In the four years after the assassination of Angelo Bruno, 30 members of the Philadelphia organized crime scene bought their tickets in mob-related disputes. Scarfo’s regime was attacked from both the inside and the outside. Salvatore "Salvie" Testa, a fast-rising hitman in Scarfo’s organization had made over fifteen hits for the boss. Despite that, Scarfo turned on Testa, and ordered a hit on him. This made Scarfo untrustworthy by the members of his own organization. This distrust came to a crescendo when Scarfo met his demise as a result of five members of his regime becoming government informants, testifying against him. The Philadelphia mafia was essentially wiped out by a wide-reaching RICO case brought by the FBI. Scarfo was convicted in 1989 for the murder of Frank "Frankie Flowers" D'Alfonso, and is currently serving two lengthy federal prison sentences.
The New York families appointed Phil Testa to be the boss in Philadelphia following Angelo Bruno. Pete Casella served as his underboss and Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo as his consigliere. Phil Testa’s reign was a short one as a bomb filled with roofing nails and explosives hidden under the porch of his duplex blew him to bits on March 15, 1981. Underboss Pete Casella blamed the attack on the Philadelphia roofers union, hence the roofing nails. As it turned out Pete Casella was behind the killing of Phil Testa.
Casella took control of the Philadelphia mob scene claiming the New York families had approved of him, but “Little Nicky” Scarfo challenged that by setting up a meeting with the heads of the Genovese and Gambino families, where he found out that the New York families had not approved Casella's taking the leadership mantel. Instead, they appointed Scarfo as the new boss, a decision that would bring violence tothe Philadelphia organized crime scene to unprecedented levels.
In the four years after the assassination of Angelo Bruno, 30 members of the Philadelphia organized crime scene bought their tickets in mob-related disputes. Scarfo’s regime was attacked from both the inside and the outside. Salvatore "Salvie" Testa, a fast-rising hitman in Scarfo’s organization had made over fifteen hits for the boss. Despite that, Scarfo turned on Testa, and ordered a hit on him. This made Scarfo untrustworthy by the members of his own organization. This distrust came to a crescendo when Scarfo met his demise as a result of five members of his regime becoming government informants, testifying against him. The Philadelphia mafia was essentially wiped out by a wide-reaching RICO case brought by the FBI. Scarfo was convicted in 1989 for the murder of Frank "Frankie Flowers" D'Alfonso, and is currently serving two lengthy federal prison sentences.
No comments have been added yet.
