Nicodemo Scarfo - Atlantic City

Atlantic City

In Atlantic City, Nicky ran a bookmaking and loan sharking operation. He invested in an adult bookstore owned by Alvin Feldman. He moved into an apartment owned by his mother Catherine. He was soon joined there by his sister Nancy Leonetti and her eight-year-old son Phillip. Scarfo raised a family in the house with his second wife Domenica who gave birth to Nicodemo Salvatore Scarfo Jr and Mark Scarfo. Soon Scarfo's first son Chris was living with them, as well.

In 1971 Scarfo met Nicholas "the Crow" Caramandi, a con man with connections to DeVito. The two began running scams together, two of which made $15,000. Scarfo was later incarcerated for contempt. During his incarceration he heard that Feldman had been stealing money from him; upon Scarfo's release from prison Feldman disappeared.

"You won't see him no more...." - Nicodemo Scarfo on Alvin Feldman

Caramandi kept in touch with Scarfo and every once in a while would run a scam with him. But Scarfo was struggling to survive in Atlantic City let alone rebuild his reputation within the Philly Mob, although his conviction for contempt had proven he could keep his mouth shut.

In 1972 Scarfo attempted to arrange a lenient sentence for Nicholas Virgilio who had been convicted in a murder case. Scarfo went to Edward Helfant and gave him $12,000 to reduce Virgilio's sentence. But Virgilio got 12 years, hardly the lenient treatment he and Scarfo were expecting.

Scarfo's fortunes changed with the legalization of casino gambling in 1976, which brought Atlantic City new prosperity and soon made Scarfo a powerhouse.

He soon established close ties with Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union (HEREIU). Scarfo's longtime relationships with Frank Gerace (former local president) and Frank Lentino (former union business agent) gave him access to Atlantic City mayor Michael Matthews. Scarfo turned Local 54 into a cash cow for the mob. He began receiving monthly payments of about $20,000 from the union.

Around this time many members of the Family began to suspect that Bruno was allowing members of the Gambino crime family to engage in drug trafficking activities throughout New Jersey in exchange for a cut of the profits. This was in contradiction to Bruno's zero-tolerance policy towards drug trafficking among his soldiers.

In 1977, Rugnetta died and was succeeded by Tony Caponigro as consigliere. Caponigro was the captain of the Newark branch of the Philadelphia crime family.

In 1978, Nicky Virgilio was released from prison after serving six years. Scarfo helped arrange for Virgilio to be able to get revenge on Helfant. Not long after Virgilio's release, Eddie Helfant was shot five times as he sat in a bar with his wife.

Soon the first casinos were opening in Atlantic City and money was soon pouring into the former backwater. Scarfo took full advantage and set about squeezing the casinos of their income. As Atlantic City once again began booming, the heads of the Five Families became interested in the City. While Atlantic City had long been recognized as the domain of the Philadelphia crime family, the New York families wanted a piece of the action as well. However, under the rules of the Mafia, no other family could set up shop in another family's territory without permission—and Bruno only let them in reluctantly.

In 1979, Scarfo helped arrange the murder of Mickey "Coco" Cifelli, a known drug dealer who was no longer "welcome" in Philadelphia. Coco was gunned down in a restaurant in South Philadelphia. Coco's murder had been sanctioned by Bruno, but it wasn't long until Scarfo would kill without permission.

By that time, Scarfo, Leonetti, and the Merlino brothers had set up a concrete company Scarf Inc. This was a way for them to insure that their families would get a "piece" of both the legitimate and illegitimate world. Vincent Falcone began belittling Scarfo and Leonetti behind their backs. It wasn't long until they found out about Falcone's "loose lips".

Scarfo watched with glee as his beloved nephew Phil Leonetti took out a 38 and shot Falcone in the back of his head. Scarfo mocked Falcone's body calling him a "c---------" and a "no good m-----------". Scarfo then bent down and listened to where Falcone's heart would've been beating if he were alive. Scarfo then suggested that Leonetti shoot him once more and Phil did as told; he shot Falcone in the chest. Merlino helped Scarfo and Leonetti dispose of the body. Not long after, Falcone's body was discovered stuffed in the trunk of a car.

Genovese Boss Funzi Tieri began to try to gain a cut of the lucrative bookmaking operation Caponigro was running in New Jersey. The operation made $2 million a week. Bruno defended his consigliere's propriety rights at a meeting with Funzi and the other heads of the New York families, who ruled in Bruno's favor. Funzi humbly accepted the decision, on the surface.