New England Patriarca Mafia
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Organized crime in the United States keeps the FBI and other law enforcement agencies in a never-ending investigation of criminals suspected of the infiltration of legitimate businesses. A notorious twentieth century organized group was the New England Patriarca Mafia, or N.E.P.M.. Originating in 1915, the N.E.P.M. evolved over the early twentieth century decades, until 1954 when Raymond Loredo Salvatore Patriarca was donned as boss* and promptly began to expand its power. Due to mafia-related language that will be present throughout the paper, a page of definitions is supplied at the end of the paper. Defined words throughout the paper will be noted with an asterisk, ” * “.
To gain a basic knowledge for what organized crime really is and how the N.E.P.M. falls into this category, a short summary of legal characteristics is required. As defined by the Presidents Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice, organized crime is,
“A society that seeks to operate outside the control of the American people and their governments. It involves thousands of criminals*, working within structures as complex as those of any large cooperation, subject to laws more rigidly enforced than those of legitimate governments. Its actions are not impulsive but rather the result of intricate conspiracies, carried on over many years and aimed at gaining control over whole fields of activity in order to amass huge profits” (P.C.C., 1970).
Organized crime is a collective result of the commitment, knowledge, and actions of three components: (1) Criminal groups, who are core persons tied by racial, linguistic, ethnic or other bonds; (2) Protectors, who are persons who protect the groups interests; and (3) Specialist support, which are persons who knowingly render services on an side-job basis to enhance the groups interests. In order to thrive, an organized crime group needs many different elements. First, it needs an ensured continuity of members, clients, supporters, funds, etc. Additionally, it needs structure, criminality, violence, memberships based on common grounds, and a willingness to corrupt a power and profit goal. Generally, mafia organized crime groups disguise themselves behind the ownership of a legitimate business to avoid questioning from the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) regarding any financial sources. The illegal enterprises are more likely to be smaller than their legal counterparts due to lack of external credits, lack of court enforceable contracts, a need to restrict knowledge of participation in the enterprise, and the inability to advertise or create goodwill for the enterprise itself, as opposed to goodwill for its agents.
Raymond Patriarca was born on March 17, 1908 in Worcester, Massachusetts to Italian immigrants Eleuterio and Mary Jane (DeNubile) Patriarca. At age three, the Patriarca family relocated to Federal Hill in Providence, Rhode Island, where his father opened a liquor store. Spending 59 of his 76 years of life being classified as a criminal*, Patriarca wasted no time in earning his nickname of the “King of Rackets”. It started at age seventeen, when he served his first jail sentence for a liquor law violation. His first known criminal position was serving as a guard for mafia bootlegging shipments as well as a hijacker of rival shipments. At age 21, he was imprisoned again, but this time being convicted of federal offenses including conspiracy to murder, armed robbery, violating the White Slave Act*, adultery, auto theft, and breaking and entering. In the late 1930s, Patriarca gained attention from the mafia and became an important Lieutenant and Hitman for Phil Buccola, the current New England mafia boss. In 1938, Patriarca was convicted of carrying a gun without a permit, possession of burglary tools and the armed robbery of the Brookline Jewelry firm, and was sentenced three to five years in state prison. This case was the beginning of his continuous involvement in political corruption. Just 84 days after being in jail, the Massachusetts Executive Council approved his pardon petition. Years later, Councilor Daniel H. Coakley, a disbarred lawyer, was impeached as a result of his involvement in the Patriarca case and several other matters. In 1938, Patriarca married Helen G. Mandella, the sister of and assistant messenger in the office of Leverett Saltonstall who was then governor of Massachusetts and went on to become a U.S. senator. Together they gave birth to a son, Raymond J. Patriarca, who went by “Junior”. By the early 1950s, Bucolla retired as boss and moved back to Sicily to escape the widespread trials occurring regarding La Cosa Nostra*, or L.C.N.. By 1952, Patriarca was powerful enough to take on his rival mob boss Carlton OBrian. The N.E.P.M. became dominant in the underground of Rhode Island following the murder of OBrien, and Patriarca became the new boss in 1954. Once Patriarca had ultimate control over the N.E.P.M., he rapidly expanded its power to include Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine. His expansion of power included loansharking*, gambling, hijacking, etc. Out of his office, he operated National Cigarette Service and Coin-O-Matic Distributors, a vending machine and pinball business to keep himself from being in the I.R.S.s spotlight. At one point, his office was bugged and Patriarca was recorded admitting to underbosses* about how he was able to influence the decisions of prosecutors, bribe police officials for intelligence information and affect government decisions on granting licenses, probation, and parole. Luckily, Patriarca proved the bugs to have been placed illegally and was acquitted of charges. After Ms. Mandellas death from cancer in 1965, Patriarca went on to marry Rita OToole, a former hostess at a Rhode Island nightspot. The two moved from Providence to Johnston, Rhode Island where Patriarca made an office on Atwells avenue. In 1968, Patriarca was arrested and convicted of conspiracy to murder William “Willie” Marfeo, a small-time hood who ran an illegal dice game without Patriarcas permission on his “turf”. Marfeo was killed by four shotgun blasts in the telephone booth of a restaurant in Federal Hill in 1966. Patriarca was sentenced to 5 years in the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta and was fined $10,000. A man asked to commit the murder was Joseph Barboza Barron, a tough ex-boxer from New Bedford who had claimed to have killed at least 40 persons. He was arrested in Boston for gun possession and forfeited $70,000 to make bail. When he asked for the help of the N.E.P.M. but was denied reimbursement, Barron realized that the N.E.P.M. did not care about him and became an F.B.I. informant. Barrons testimony was a key factor in the conviction of Patriarca. After serving