Nicodemo Scarfo - The Bruno Regime

The Bruno Regime

In 1957, Ida moved to Italy and was replaced as boss by Antonio Pollina. However, in 1959 the New York Mafia Commission removed Pollina from power and replaced him with mobster Angelo Bruno. Pollina had previously plotted to murder Bruno, who then used his influence with Gambino boss Carlo Gambino on the commission to remove Pollina.

Scarfo soon engaged in several actions that created friction with the family leadership. Family consigliere Joe Rugnetta approached Scarfo about his marrying Rugnetta's daughter. Scarfo declined and allegedly implied that the girl was ugly. The enraged Rugnetta asked Bruno for permission to kill Scarfo, but Bruno refused out of respect for Scarfo's uncle, Nicolos Piccolo. In the early 1960s, Scarfo's friend Merlino was having a sexual relationship with the niece of made men Alfonse "Funzi" Marconi and Guarino "Mark" Marconi. When the Marconi brothers discovered the relationship, they demanded that Merlino be killed. Rugnetta arranged a sit down with Scarfo, Dominic "Mickey Diamond" DeVito, and the Marconis. During the meeting, Scarfo supported Merlino's false claims that he wasn't having an affair with the Marconis' niece. Scarfo's duplicity hurt his standing with Rugnetta even more. In 1963, Scarfo stabbed a longshoreman to death in the Oregon Diner in Philadelphia. He was eventually convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served under one year in prison. Scarfo was released in 1964.

At this point, Rugnetta wanted to kill Scarfo. However, Scarfo's death would have alienated the Piccolo crew. To solve the problem, Bruno sent him to Atlantic City, ostensibly to revive the family's fortunes there. In truth, however, Bruno sent him there as punishment for his brutality. Atlantic City was in the midst of a long-term decline, and Philadelphia bosses had begun sending members there after they'd stepped too far out of line.