Anthony Accetturo

In 1970, Accetturo moved to Florida to avoid an investigation of his gambling operations in Newark. Another reason for his move was that South Florida was open to all the crime families for exploitation. In the early 1970s, Abate went into semi-retirement, and Lucchese boss Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo put Accetturo in charge of the entire Lucchese operation in New Jersey. The membership books of the Mafia had been closed since 1957, which meant that Accetturo was not an official member yet. This made his promotion even more remarkable, since Corallo chose him over several made men who had previously been his superiors. Nonetheless, in the eyes of Corallo, Abate, and the family leadership, Accetturo represented the Mafia ideal: loyal, trustworthy, and a good earner. During his absence, Accetturo designated his lieutenant, Michael "Mad Dog" Taccetta of Florham Park, to run the day-to-day operations of the crew.

In 1976, with Abate as his sponsor, Accetturo finally became a made man in the Lucchese crime family, along with the Taccetta brothers, Michael and Martin. Accetturo described getting inducted into the family as “the greatest honor of [his] life” at the time. He recalled that his ceremony was somewhat less elaborate than was normally the case for someone who was due to become “a friend of ours.” Although the ceremony—spilling a drop of blood on a picture of a saint, and burning it—was ostensibly secret, its broad lines were very well known in the Italian-American community. Accetturo was thus surprised when Corallo simply told him to burn a picture of a saint, and swear not to betray the Lucchese family. He later found out that the top leadership of the family thought so highly of him that they felt they could dispense with the usual formalities.[2] Accetturo would finally become the official boss of the Jersey Crew by 1979 when Abate retired.

In February 1973, Accetturo was indicted for loansharking and extortion. He was eventually arrested in Miami, with his bail set at $10,000. In 1976, the State of New Jersey tried to extradite Accetturo from Florida, however, he fended off the order due to poor health. Based in Hollywood, Florida, Accetturo would continue to elude federal authorities while remaining involved in Lucchese interests in New Jersey. In 1980, the murder of Philadelphia crime family boss Angelo "The Gentle Don" Bruno created a power vacuum in that family, with rivals Philip Testa and Nicodemo Scarfo fighting for control.

On October 18, 1985, Accetturo was indicted on charges of threatening government witnesses, and posing a threat to public safety. He was later charged with intimidating of competitors of the Lucchese-controlled Taccetta Group Enterprises, along with credit card and wire fraud. Facing a number of federal prosecutions, Accetturo was granted a stay of sentence, and was allowed to live in his Florida residence.

In 1987, Accetturo, Taccetta, and several other Jersey Crew members went on trial for narcotics and racketeering charges. The 21-month trial became one of the longest in U.S. history. When the verdict was read, the defendants were pronounced not guilty on all counts, a stunning rebuke to the government. As it turned out, however, the trial had been compromised by jury tampering—a common problem for Mafia trials. When the Luccheses got word that the nephew of an unidentified Jersey Crew capo was on the jury, they paid him $100,000 to vote for acquittal. Acceturo thus went into the courtroom knowing he was assured of at least a hung jury.[3] During the RICO trial, the relationship between Accetturo and Taccetta deteriorated into an outright power struggle. Taccetta was jealous of the rise of Accetturo’s son, Anthony Accetturo Jr., within the New Jersey crew. Taccetta also felt that the senior Accetturo had given him very little respect and deference over the years that he had been watching the New Jersey operation.

Finally, Taccetta ordered a murder contract on the elder Accetturo. When the trial ended in acquittals for the defendants, Accetturo returned to Florida for his own safety. In September 1989, New Jersey authorities extradited Accetturo from North Carolina, due to his refusal to appear and testify before a grand jury about labor racketeering and other state offenses. Due to Taccetta’s murder contract, Accetturo was placed in protective custody. In 1993, Taccetta was sent to federal prison.

During the last years of the Corallo regime, Accetturo had been decreasing his tribute to the point that he was only giving the family $50,000 a year. Although Corallo and Accetturo had an "unbelievably great" relationship, Corallo was undemanding when it came to money. As the years went by, Corallo had lowered his demands from the Jersey Crew.[4]

In late 1986, the entire Lucchese hierarchy—Corallo, underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro, and consigliere Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari—received 100-year sentences in the 1986 Commission case. Before the end of the trial, Corallo realized that he would not only be convicted, but that any sentence would be long enough to assure he would die in prison. He engineered a peaceful transition of power that saw Vittorio "Vic" Amuso become the new boss. Shortly afterward, one of Amuso's compatriots, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, became underboss.

The ascension of Amuso and Casso ended Accetturo's idyllic lifestyle. They demanded that Accetturo turn over 50% of the crew's proceeds to them. When Accetturo refused, the two bosses "pulled down" (demoted) Accetturo from capo to soldier. They additionally put contracts on both Accetturo and his son, also a member of the Jersey Crew. In the fall of 1988, the entire Jersey Crew was summoned to meet with Amuso in Brooklyn—ostensibly to be told of the new chain of command. However, fearing that this was a setup for a massacre, everyone refused to go, and went into hiding soon afterwards. With the family's interests in New Jersey in shambles, an enraged Amuso issued the now-infamous "Whack Jersey" order, demanding that everyone in the faction be murdered.[5]

Over the next 12 months, most of the Jersey Crew's members came back to the family. Amuso told the returned crew members that Accetturo was an outlaw, and needed to be eliminated. Amuso sent hitmen to Florida, searching for Accetturo and his son, Anthony, Jr. However, Amuso did not know that Accetturo was already jailed in New Jersey, for refusing to testify in front a state panel.

In 1993, Accetturo was convicted on racketeering charges. He faced a sentence of at least 30 years in prison—tantamount to a life sentence at his age. He also learned that Amuso and Casso had marked his wife, Geraldine Accetturo, for death. Although Accetturo had known that Amuso and Casso had put contracts on both him and his son, the discovery that they were targeting his wife as well was the last straw. Not only did it violate a long-standing Mafia rule against harming women, Mrs. Accetturo had served many of them meals in headier days. Blaming Amuso and Casso for the turmoil in the family, Accetturo decided to become a government informant, in hopes of saving his life, and gaining a lenient sentence. The investigation that ultimately brought him down was led by Robert Buccino, a childhood friend who was now a top organized-crime expert in the New Jersey Attorney General's office.[6]

Accetturo's decision to break his blood oath was a major coup for investigators. As the highest-ranking New Jersey mobster at the time to turn informer, and a three-decade veteran of the Mafia, Accetturo provided investigators with a clear picture of the Lucchese family, including its penetration and exploitation of businesses in New Jersey, and its relationships with corrupt officials. Accetturo provided information on 13 murders, although he insisted he never personally participated in the slayings. Accetturo provided unexpected information about the origins of the New Jersey family, going back to 1931 and Lucky Luciano. Mysteries about the relationship between the American and Sicilian Mafia were also clarified. As a result of his cooperation, Accetturo was sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison in December 1994. However, in December 2002, his sentence was reduced to time served, and he retired to the South.[7]

In an interview with The New York Times writer and Mafia historian Selwyn Raab, Accetturo said he would have never even considered turning informant had Corallo still been running the family. In those days, he recalled, the Mafia was run by men who never put money above honor, and only killed as a last resort. As he saw it, Amuso and Casso were the ones who betrayed Cosa Nostra principles. Accetturo was especially bitter about Casso, asserting that, “all he wanted to do is kill, kill, get what you can, even if you didn't earn it.”[7]

Upon learning that he and his wife were targeted to be killed, reputed mob enforcer, Thomas Ricciardi, went on to testify against the Taccetta brothers and the remaining defendants. Martin and Michael Taccetta were sentenced to 25-years to life imprisonment for racketeering, narcotics, extortion, loansharking, conspiracy, and murder in 1993. Taccetta reportedly went on to control the Jersey Crew, as he was doing his sentence in Atlanta.