Raymond Martorano
| Raymond Martorano | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1927 Sicily, Italy |
| Died | February 5th, 2002 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Cause of death | Several gunshot wounds |
| Other names | Long John |
| Occupation |
Vending machine company owner |
| Spouse(s) | Evelyn Martorano |
| Children | George Martorano, Roxanne Greenstone |
| Relatives | Evelyn Greenstone, Max Greenstone (grandchildren) |
Vending machine company owner
Raymond Martorano (born Ignazio Raymond Anthony Martorano; 1927 - February 5, 2002) was an Italian-American mobster based in Philadelphia. He is notable for his role in the methamphetamines trade, as well as his relations with several notable members of the city's underworld. He was also a valuable asset to the Scarfo crime family, due to his connections with the K&A Gang (through John Berkery), Chelsais Bouras, the Pagans MC, and the Junior Black Mafia.
In his early 20s Martorano had relocated from his native Sicily to Philadelphia. Between 1950 and 1955 he was convicted five times for illegal narcotics or liquor dealing. His sentences began as probation and grew to five years in prison.
In the 1960s and 1970s Martorano became associated with Angelo Bruno the boss of the Philadelphia crime family. In the late 1970s Martorano became one of the most successful methamphetamine dealers in the city. The dealing of drugs was supposed to be taboo in the organization, but it was obvious the "Docile Don" had turned a blind eye on the Martorano operation. While Bruno was receiving a cut of the drug profits he was also an employee of the Martorano brothers’ – Raymond and John – vending machine business. This was the mob boss’s legitimate job – a commissioned salesman for the company – for which he earned $50,000 a year. Angelo Bruno’s reign marked a period of underworld calm in Philadelphia. His murder in March 1980 allowed the gloves to come off and inaugurated a period of gangland bloodshed that lasted more than two decades, mostly during the reign of Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo.
In the wake of Angelo Bruno's death, and Nicky Scarfo ascension to boss of the Philadelphia crime family Martorano, who was not a made member under Bruno, earned his button in the Scarfo Family by planning the December 16, 1980 murder of union leader John McCullough. Martorano and his brother-in-law Albert Daidone, a union organizer, hired Willard Moran, described as a low-level South Jersey racketeer, to murder McCullough.
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