Carmine John Persico Jr. (; August 8, 1933 – March 7, 2019), also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", was an American mobster and the longtime boss of the Colombo crime family in New York City from 1973 until his death in 2019. He served 32 years in federal prison from 1987 until his death on March 7, 2019.
Youth and crimes
Background Carmine Persico was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Carmine John Persico Sr. and Assunta "Susan" Plantamura. His father was a legal stenographer for several law firms in Manhattan. His brothers Theodore Persico and Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico (died 1989) also became caporegimes in the Colombo crime family. His son Alphonse, named after the boy's uncle and commonly known as "Little Allie Boy", eventually became a capo as well. He was the uncle of Theodore Persico Jr. The family lived in the Carroll Gardens and Red Hook sections of Brooklyn.
Persico dropped out of high school at age 16. By then he was a leader of the Garfield Boys, a Brooklyn street gang. However, one contemporary source says that in 1950 he had actually belonged to the South Brooklyn Boys, a successor gang to the Garfield Boys. In March 1951, 17-year-old Carmine Persico was arrested in Brooklyn and held without bail on a homicide charge in the fatal shooting of Steve Bove, 26. Police said they were also seeking Persico's brother in connection with the killing.Raab, p. 322 In the early 1950s, Persico was recruited into the Profaci crime family, the forerunner of the Colombo family, by longtime capo Frank Abbatemarco. At first Persico did bookmaking and loan-sharking, then moved into burglaries and hijackings. During this decade he was arrested over 12 times but spent only a few days in jail. He also started working with Joe Gallo and his brothers, Albert Gallo and Larry Gallo.
Anastasia murder In 1957, Persico allegedly participated in the murder of Albert Anastasia, the former leader of Murder, Inc. and the boss of what was then the Anastasia family. Anastasia's underboss Carlo Gambino wanted control of the family and conspired with his allies, Genovese family boss Vito Genovese and Profaci boss Joe Profaci, to kill Anastasia. Profaci allegedly gave the job to Persico and the Gallo brothers.
On October 25, 1957, Anastasia entered the barbershop of the Park Sheraton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. As he relaxed in the barber chair, two men—with scarves covering their faces—rushed in, shoved the barber out of the way and fired at Anastasia. After the first volley of bullets, Anastasia allegedly tried to lunge at his killers. However, the stunned Anastasia had actually attacked the gunmen's reflections in the wall mirror of the barber shop. The gunmen continued firing, finally killing Anastasia. No one was ever charged in the Anastasia killing.Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires, pg. 726
Profaci and Magliocco regimes
The Gallo faction By the late 1950s, Persico and the Gallos were becoming increasingly dissatisfied with Profaci's leadership. Profaci demanded high tribute payments from family members and was viewed as a wealthy autocrat. The First Colombo War started on November 4, 1959, when Profaci's gunmen murdered Abbatemarco on a Brooklyn street. Abbatemarco had stopped paying tribute to Profaci earlier that year with the support of the Gallo faction. It is speculated that Carlo Gambino and Lucchese family boss Tommy Lucchese were encouraging the Gallos to challenge Profaci, their enemy. When Profaci took Abbatemarco's lucrative rackets away from the Gallos, the warfare began.
On February 27, 1961, the Gallos, led by Joe Gallo, kidnapped four of Profaci's top men: underboss Joseph Magliocco, Frank Profaci (Joe Profaci's brother), capo Salvatore Musacchia and soldier John Scimone.Cage, Nicholas (July 17, 1972) "Part II The Mafia at War" New York pp.27-36 Profaci himself eluded capture and flew to sanctuary in Florida. While holding the hostages, Larry and Albert Gallo sent Joe Gallo to California. Profaci's Capo & later underboss John ‘Sonny’ Franzese negotiated with the Gallos and all the hostages were released peacefully.Capeci (2001), p.303
Changing sides On August 20, 1961, Joe Profaci ordered the murder of Gallo members Joseph "Joe Jelly" Gioielli and Larry Gallo. Gunmen allegedly murdered Gioielli after inviting him to go deep-sea fishing. Gallo survived a strangulation attempt in the Sahara club of East Flatbush by Persico and Salvatore "Sally" D'Ambrosio after a police officer intervened.Raab (2006), pp.321-324 The Gallos then began calling Persico "The Snake"; he had betrayed them, the war continued on, resulting in nine murders and three disappearances. Persico was indicted later that year for the attempted murder of Gallo, but the charges were dropped when Gallo refused to testify.
On June 6, 1962, Profaci died of cancer and Magliocco became the new family boss. However, the war with the Gallo faction continued. In early 1963, Persico survived a car bombing and his enforcer Hugh McIntosh was shot in the groin as he attempted to kill Larry Gallo.Capeci (2001) p.305 On May 19, 1963, Gallo gunmen ambushed Persico in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn. A panel truck pulled alongside Persico's car and two men shot him in the face, hand and shoulder. Persico reportedly spat out the bullet that had entered his face. Soon after this attempt on his life, Persico was imprisoned on extortion charges. By the fall of 1963, with Joey Gallo also imprisoned, the shooting war had ended with Magliocco the winner.
In late 1963, after an unsuccessful attempt to take over the Commission, Magliocco was forced into retirement. He was replaced by Colombo, who had alerted the Commission to Magliocco's plot. The Profaci crime family was now the Colombo crime family. In turn, Colombo rewarded the imprisoned Persico by naming him a capo.
Colombo regime
Profitable crew After he was promoted to capo, Persico was constantly on the streets. He was involved in labor racketeering, extortion, loan-sharking, hijacking, illegal gambling, and especially murder for hire. By the late 1960s, Persico's crew was one of the most profitable in the Colombo family. In 1968, Persico was convicted on federal hijacking charges after five separate trials dating back to 1960. On January 27, 1972, he was finally sent to prison on these charges, where he would spend eight years. The trial was noted for the only appearance of former mobster Joseph Valachi as a prosecution witness.
Colombo and Gallo shootings In February 1971, Joey Gallo was released from prison. On June 28, Colombo was shot and severely wounded at the second annual Italian-American Civil Rights League rally in Manhattan. The shooter, a black ex-convict named Jerome Johnson, was immediately shot dead by Colombo's bodyguards. Colombo survived in a paralyzed state until his death on May 22, 1978. Police concluded that Johnson was the sole shooter. Both law enforcement and the Mafia assumed Gallo had organized the hit; he had built ties with black gangsters while in prison and, upon his release, threatened to start another gang war unless he received $100,000 compensation.Raab, pp. 195-197
On November 11, 1971, Persico went on trial in state court on 37 counts of extortion, usury, coercion, and conspiracy, all stemming from a loan-sharking operation out of a Manhattan fur shop. On December 8 a jury acquitted him of all charges; all 12 prosecution witnesses said they could not identify Persico.
After the Colombo shooting, underboss Joseph Yacovelli assumed the role of acting boss. On April 7, 1972, Joey Gallo was shot and killed by Persico gunmen as he was celebrating his birthday at Umberto's Clam House in Manhattan's Little Italy. Looking for revenge, Albert Gallo sent a gunman from Las Vegas to the Neapolitan Noodle restaurant in Manhattan, where Yacovelli, Alphonse Persico, and Gennaro Langella were dining one day. However, the gunman did not recognize the mobsters and shot four innocent diners instead, killing two of them. After this assassination attempt, Yacovelli fled New York, leaving Persico as the new boss,Capeci (2001), p.306Raab, p. 325 with Persico himself coordinating the suppression of the Gallos.
Persico regime
Prison
In 1973, Persico was imprisoned on hijacking and loan-sharking charges, and sentenced to eight years in prison."THE CITY; Persico Trial Put Off On Bribery Charges" (January 6, 1981) The New York Times His incarceration coincided with the release of his brother Alphonse from 17 years in prison. Persico designated Alphonse as acting boss with support as underboss from Gennaro Langella and Carmine's other brother, Theodore. Langella supervised various labor rackets for the family, including their stake in the "Concrete Club", and exerted control over various labor unions, including Cement and Concrete Workers District Council, Local 6A. In 1979, Persico was released from federal prison.
On August 11, 1981, Persico pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge of attempting to bribe an IRS agent from 1977 to 1978 while in federal custody. The evidence included a recording of Persico offering the agent $250,000 in exchange for getting him an early release from prison. On November 9, 1981, Persico was sentenced to five years in federal prison.
Federal fugitive
On October 14, 1984, Persico and the rest of the Colombo family leadership were indicted on multiple racketeering charges as part of the "Colombo Trial". After the indictment was published, Persico went into hiding. On October 26, the FBI began a national manhunt for Persico, and soon named him as the 390th fugitive to be added to their Ten Most Wanted list.
Persico hid in the home of his brother-in-law and minor mob associate Fred DeChristopher, in Hempstead, New York. Unbeknownst to Persico, DeChristopher had been relaying information to the FBI for the previous two years after being caught up in a sting operation, and had already told the Bureau of Persico's whereabouts. The FBI concocted the fake "manhunt" to shield DeChristopher, who would later provide damning testimony against Persico as a key witness for the prosecution. Persico was arrested on February 15, 1985, at the home of DeChristopher. An FBI agent actually called the residence and spoke with Persico, telling him the house was surrounded. Persico and another mob associate that had been visiting him surrendered peacefully. Persico, the only head of a mafia family to ever make the Ten Most Wanted list, later autographed one of the posters for an FBI agent.
On July 1, Persico pleaded not guilty along with 11 other New York Mafia leaders, after a previous indictment on a second set of racketeering charges as part of the Mafia Commission Trial. Prosecutors aimed to strike at all the crime families at once using their involvement in the commission. According to Colombo hitman and FBI informant Gregory Scarpa, Persico and Gambino boss John Gotti backed a plan to kill the lead prosecutor, and future New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani in late 1986, but it was rejected by the rest of the commission.
Life imprisonment
Colombo and Commission trials
At the start of the commission trial Persico decided to serve as his own lawyer. He believed that his history of convictions gave him sufficient experience to defend himself. His co-defendants vehemently disagreed with this decision, and the judge warned Persico that he would be waiving "incompetent counsel" as the grounds for an appeal.Raab, p. 293 Persico received counsel from lawyers to help guide him when the prosecutors questioned him. He tried to project a friendly image to the jury and urged them to put aside any preconceptions about "the Mafia" or "Cosa Nostra". Many believe that Persico inadvertently sabotaged his own defense by acknowledging criminal activities during his cross-examinations of prosecution witnesses.Raab, p. 295