Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, one of the most feared and violent mob bosses in American organized crime history, died in prison on January 13, 2017, while serving a 55-year sentence. Born in Brooklyn on March 8, 1929, to Italian immigrants from Naples and Calabria, Scarfo moved with his family to South Philadelphia at age 12. After graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1947, he briefly chased a career as an amateur boxer before his fiery temper convinced him to pursue another path under the wing of his uncle, mob soldier Nicky Buck. Scarfo was formally inducted into the Philadelphia crime family in 1954 during a ceremony in New Jersey presided over by then-boss Joseph Ida.
His uncle and another relative were also welcomed as soldiers that day. Early friction with the family leadership surfaced when Scarfo refused to marry the daughter of consigliere Joe Rugnetta, a slight that caused visible embarrassment. His violent tendencies broke into public view in 1963 when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter for fatally stabbing a longshoreman, earning a six-month prison sentence. After his release, Scarfo was sent by boss Angelo Bruno to oversee the family’s interests in Atlantic City, which was then considered a backwater.
He spent nearly two years in prison from 1971 to 1973 for refusing to testify before the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, sharing a cell with Bruno and Genevese crime family figures like Lewis Mana, with whom he developed a close relationship. The legalization of gambling in Atlantic City in 1976 transformed Scarfo’s fortunes. He established a concrete contracting company with his nephew, using intimidation to pressure developers to buy from him. In 1978, he orchestrated the murder of Judge Edwin Hant, who had refused to cooperate with Scarfo and his associate Nicholas “Nick the Blade” Virgilio.
The judge was shot multiple times in a crowded restaurant while dining with his wife, establishing a climate of fear that defined Scarfo’s reputation. The family was thrown into chaos in 1980 when longtime boss Angelo Bruno was assassinated. His trusted consigliere Antonio Caponigro engineered the hit, believing it would elevate his status. Within weeks, Caponigro was found murdered, his body riddled with bullets and stuffed in a car trunk with $300 cash shoved in his mouth and anus—a message from the American Mafia commission that killing a boss without approval would not be tolerated.
Phil Testa then rose to boss and brought Scarfo in as consigliere, but his reign was brief. In 1981, Testa was killed by a nail bomb planted beneath his porch, orchestrated by underboss Peter Casella and Capo Frank Narducci Sr. Narducci was later gunned down, while Casella was banished and fled to Florida. With the family engulfed in an internal war, Scarfo seized control, appointing Salvatore Merino as underboss and Frank Monte as consigliere.
Between August 1982 and January 1984, Scarfo was incarcerated at FCI Lompoc for gun possession but maintained control from behind bars with the help of two bodyguards he called his “pistoleros. ” During this period, an aging capo named Harry Riccobene began rallying opposition against Scarfo’s brutal regime. The conflict turned personal when Scarfo’s younger brother Mario became a government informant. The violence culminated in Riccobene receiving a life sentence for first-degree murder.
In 1984, Scarfo ordered the murder of Salvatore Testa, the son of the late boss Phil Testa. Testa was a skilled hitman and rising star in the organization whose ambition alarmed Scarfo. The killing sent shockwaves through crime families across the country and significantly eroded trust in Scarfo’s leadership within a world where loyalty was paramount. In 1985, Scarfo attempted to extort $1 million from prominent developer Willard Rouse, dispatching associate Nicholas Caramandi to deliver the demand.
Rouse refused and reported the approach to the FBI. The bureau launched an investigation and deployed an undercover agent posing as Rouse’s representative. The operation eventually led Caramandi to turn against Scarfo’s organization and testify against him. Caramandi was indicted in 1986 for his role in the extortion attempt.
Between 1987 and 1989, Scarfo was convicted on multiple charges, including conspiracy, racketeering, and first-degree murder, resulting in sentences totaling over 69 years. One life sentence was later overturned. His nephew Phil Leonetti, whom Scarfo had elevated to underboss in 1986, also flipped and testified in 1989. During this turbulent period, Scarfo’s son Mark suffered greatly from the bullying he endured at school because of his father’s reputation.
On November 1, 1988, at age 17, Mark attempted suicide at his father’s concrete supply company in Atlantic City. He was found by his mother in cardiac arrest and revived by paramedics, but remained in a coma until his death in April 2014. Scarfo appeared before a Senate subcommittee, where he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment rights. His attorney explained that Scarfo was also considering a Fourth Amendment claim due to an ongoing appeal contesting the legality of a search of his premises.
At the hearing, Scarfo refused to answer questions about his residence, occupation, relationships with union officials, knowledge of the murders of Angelo Bruno and Phil Testa, his income tax filings, and his connections to members of other crime families. When questioned about a 1980 murder trial where he was acquitted, he did confirm he had been charged with murder on the testimony of Joe Salerno, and that co-defendants Lawrence Molino and Philip Leonetti were also acquitted. Scarfo’s leadership expanded the family’s operations in extortion, loan sharking, and drug trafficking while mirroring the organizational structure of more powerful New York families. His reign was defined by bitter power struggles and numerous killings, and the attention he attracted from law enforcement ultimately weakened the Philadelphia crime family for years after his imprisonment.
His son Nicodemo Scarfo Jr. followed him into organized crime, affiliating with the Lucchese family and receiving a 30-year sentence in 2015 for securities fraud, racketeering, and illegal gambling. Scarfo’s life has been the subject of books and documentaries, and his legacy is often cited in discussions about the decline of organized crime in America.