Ferdinand Boccia
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Ferdinand "The Shadow" Boccia (March 18, 1900 - September 19, 1934) was an New York mobster and gambling racketeer who was killed by Vito Genovese. After Lucky Luciano's imprisonment for pandering in 1936, Genovese saw an opening to become the boss. Taking advantage of Luciano's absence from the New York underworld, Boccia became an early victim of Genovese's killing spree to gain status in the National Crime Syndicate.
A minor New York mobster involved in illegal gambling, Boccia assisted Vito Genovese in setting up a rigged card game (including the introduction of the victim, a prominent businessman). Boccia demanded a third of the profits made during the game several days later. Refusing to pay Boccia his share, Genovese hired Willie Gallo and Ernest "The Hawk" Rupolo to murder Boccia.
The cause and date of his death has been disputed in several accounts ranging from being killed by five men during a dispute over dividing the winnings following a fixed card game on February 9 and shot to death in Brooklyn September 19, 1934 as well as his body being found in the Hudson River on May 11, 1937.
Following his death however, Rupolo was offered $175 to murder Gallo. After escaping two attempts on his life, Gallo managed to turn in Rupolo and implicated both Rupolo and Genovese in the Boccia murder. While Rupolo was sentenced to twenty years for attempted murder, Genovese fled the country to Italy where he would remain in exile until 1946, where he would eventually be turned over to New York authorities. However, lacking enough evidence, Genovese was release from custody.
[edit] References
- Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 0-688-04350-X
- Gage, Nicholas. Mafia, U.S.A. Chicago: Playboy Press, 1972.
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
- Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0
[edit] Further reading
- United States Congress. Senate. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Waterfront Investigation: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. 1953. [1]
- United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. Investigation of Improper Activities in the Labor Or Management Field. 1959. [2]
- United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs. 1988. [3]
