Raymond Patriarca, Jr.

Raymond Patriarca, Jr. (born February 24, 1945), a.k.a. Ray Junior and Junior, is a former gangster from Providence, Rhode Island and the son of Italian-American mob boss Raymond L.S. Patriarca, after whom the Patriarca crime family was named. The crime family has two factions: one in Providence, Rhode Island and the other in Boston, Massachusetts. He was boss of the crime family for six years after the 1984 death of his father.

In 1970, Patriarca Senior, also known as Il Patrone, and several Patriarca family associates were convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Il Patrone was sentenced to 10 years in prison but continued to run his crime family while there.

Patriarca Sr. continued to be plagued by law enforcement for the rest of his life, and was charged numerous times for a variety of crimes until his death in 1984. In 1983, Il Patrone was charged with the murder of Raymond Curcio, and in 1984, he was arrested for the murder of Robert Candos, whom the mob boss believed was an informant.Il Patrone died of a heart attack, aged 76, on July 11, 1984, bringing into question the leadership succession of the New England crime family.

After the death of Il Patrone, the New England Mafia began a period of slow decline, resulting from both legal prosecution and internal violence. Jerry Angiulo, the family underboss until he was incarcerated, attempted to take over as boss, despite being in jail. However, Larry Zannino, the family's top lieutenant, backed Junior for the position. Securing the backing of the Gambino Crime Family, the National Commission approved Junior's ascendancy to leadership and his position was confirmed. Angiulo was demoted and Zannino was made consigliere.

Junior was considered a weak leader compared to his father. He managed to keep the peace in his crime family due to the support of the Gambino crime family of New York. Zannino was sentenced to thirty years in prison in 1987, and it further weakened Junior's position. With Zannino in jail, William "Wild Guy" Grasso became underboss. Some law enforcement officials believed that Grasso was actually in charge, who was known for his ruthlessness, but these rumors ended when Grasso was found dead in June 1989 by a Springfield, Massachusetts-area gangster with ties to the Genovese crime family.Nicholas Bianco then took over the family's Providence operations.

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