Philip Testa
| Philip Testa | |
|---|---|
1956 Philadelphia Police Department mugshot of Philip Testa
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| Born |
Philip Charles Testa April 21, 1924 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | March 15, 1981 (aged 56) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Cause of death | Bombing |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | "The Chicken Man", "The Julius Cesar of the Philadelphia Mob", "Philly" |
| Occupation | Poultry business |
| Criminal charge | RICO |
| Spouse(s) | Alfia |
| Children | Salvatore Testa, Maria |
| Motive | inner family coup started by capo Frank (Chickie) Narducci Sr. |
| Conviction(s) | dropped from docket after he was murdered |
Philip Charles Testa (April 21, 1924 – March 15, 1981), also known as "The Chicken Man" or "The Julius Caesar of the Philadelphia Mob" or "Philly", was a Sicilian-American Mafia figure known for his brief leadership of the Scarfo crime family. Testa became boss after popular former boss Angelo Bruno was murdered by his own consiglieri Antonio Caponigro who, in turn, was ordered killed by The Commission for acting without permission. About a year after Bruno's death, Testa was killed by the blast of a nail bomb allegedly ordered by his underboss Pete Casella. According to the Philadelphia press that event marked the beginning of the four-year Philadelphia Mafia War that led to 30 mobsters being killed.
Testa's nickname came from his involvement in a poultry business.
Testa was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and lived in South Philadelphia with his family in his teenage years. In South Philadelphia he met and befriended future mob boss Angelo Bruno. He later married an attractive woman named Alfia Arcidiacono (records show her family owned a farm in Salem County, New Jersey). In early police dossiers on Testa, he was identified by law enforcement as not having a legitimate source of income and was solely dependent from winnings as a "common gambler". He saw himself as a Roman general and statesman like Julius Caesar in the world of organized crime. He occasionally worked in the construction business in arranging contractors for repairs and renovations in South Philadelphia.
He was a dour-looking man with a pockmarked face who stood at 5 foot 8 inches, weighed 183 pounds, had brown hair and brown eyes, and was well built. He reportedly had dark emotionless eyes, a bulbous nose and scowl that made press photographers back away from him. His pockmarked face is thought to be one of the reasons behind his nickname, as the pockmarks are believed to have been caused by a horrible case of chicken pox with the scars never fully healing. Testa sported a thick mustache despite Mafia code stating that members could not sport mustaches. He wore blue-collar clothing, giving off the appearance of a "badly dressed plumber than an old world don", as one associate described him. He fathered a daughter, Maria.
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