Carmine Persico
| Carmine Persico | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
August 8, 1933 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Boss of the Colombo crime family |
| Criminal charge | Murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, loansharking, racketeering, illegal gambling |
| Criminal penalty | 139 years imprisonment |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Children |
Alphonse Persico Michael Persico Lawrence Persico |
Carmine John Persico, Jr. (born August 8, 1933 in Brooklyn) also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", has been the Boss of the Colombo crime family since 1973. Persico has overseen numerous gang wars, murders, and major rackets, even though he has spent all but four years of his reign in prison. He has been serving a sentence of 139 years in federal prison since 1987.
Persico was born on August 8, 1933, in Brooklyn to Carmine John Persico, Sr. and Assunta "Susan" Plantamura. His brothers, Theodore Persico and Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico (died in 1989) also became capos in the Colombo family. His son, named Alphonse after the boy's uncle and commonly known as "Little Allie Boy", eventually became a capo, as well. Carmine Persico, Jr.'s nephew is Theodore Persico, Jr.
Carmine Persico, Sr. was a legal stenographer for several law firms in Manhattan and provided his family with a comfortable living. The Persico family lived in the Carroll Gardens and Red Hook sections of Brooklyn.
Carmine Persico, Jr. 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, the 16-year-old Persico actually belonged to the South Brooklyn Boys, a successor gang to the Garfield Boys. In March 1951, 17-year-old Persico was arrested on charges of fatally beating another youth in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. However, all charges were eventually dropped.
In the early 1950s, Persico was recruited into the Profaci crime family, forerunner of the Colombo family, by longtime capo Frank Abbatemarco.At first, Persico did bookmaking and loansharking, then he moved into burglaries and hijackings. During this decade, Persico was arrested over 12 times but spent only a few days in jail. Persico also started working with the Gallo brothers: Joe, Albert and Lawrence.
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 crime family. Anastasia's underboss Carlo Gambino wanted control of the family and conspired with his allies, Genovese crime family boss Vito Genovese and Profaci boss Joseph Profaci, to kill Anastasia. Profaci allegedly gave the job to Persico and the Gallo brothers.
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