Antonio Caponigro - Rise To Power

Rise To Power

He rose in rank to become the Family Consigliere during the 1970s. Caponigro foresaw the end of the peaceful Angelo Bruno regime and decided to put the task upon himself to hasten it. Indictments for racketeering were being brought against the ailing Angelo, and there was no leadership in either the methamphetamine industry or casino gambling. Caponigro knew that he could count on the support of several key members of Bruno's administration after the don died.

Accordingly, Caponigro traveled to New York City to consult his friend Frank Tieri, from the Genovese crime family. Caponigro controlled a lucrative numbers operation in Newark, a holdover from the 1960s when New York had ceded parts of North Jersey to the Philadelphia crime family. Tieri also had activities in the area, and he had challenged Caponigro's incursion. Caponigro appealed the territorial dispute to the National Crime Syndicate, which, acting on Bruno's recommendation, ruled in favor of Caponigro. Caponigro approached Tieri with a plan to murder Bruno and take over the Philadelphia crime family. Tieri assured Caponigro that he would support him before the Commission. He returned to Philadelphia believing that his planned coup was now officially sanctioned. He recruited the support of his brother-in-law Alfred Salerno (no relation to mob turncoat Joseph Salerno or mob boss Anthony Salerno) and Bruno regime capos John Simone and Frank Sindone, and ordered the assassination.