DeCavalcante crime family

Early Newark family

In the city of Newark, New Jersey, Italian criminals were divided into two ethnic factions; the "Sicilians" and the "Neapolitans". The Sicilian Mafia faction was headed by Stefano "Don Steven" Badami, while the Neapolitan faction was led by Ruggiero "the Boot" Boiardo.

In 1920, Prohibition began in the United States, presenting many gangs with the opportunity to make a lot of money through bootlegging, the production, importing, transportation and selling of illegal alcohol. With large amounts of money to be earned, violence erupted throughout cities and towns in New Jersey as criminals fought for control of illegal bootlegging rackets, with the two most powerful bosses in Newark being Boiardo and Jewish gangster Abner "Longie" Zwillman.

By the early 1920s Boiardo had controlled a number of lottery games, a large extortion racket from shaking down merchants for protections money, and a large bootlegging operation. Boiardo was very overweight but a very flashy dresser, often wearing a belt buckle studded with 150 diamonds that had an estimated worth of $20,000, a five-carat diamond ring, and a fifteen-diamond pin to hold his tie in place.

Boiardo secured control of the First Ward, which was known as Newark's Little Italy, and operated an extensive bootlegging operation in Newark and throughout New Jersey. Zwillman was based out of the Third Ward, where he controlled one of the largest bootlegging enterprises in New Jersey.

In early 1930, Boiardo ordered his First Ward gang to expand into the Third Ward territory and began demanding that saloon owners buy liquor from him. This started the Newark bootleg wars, which lasted several weeks as Boiardo's First Ward gang waged war against Zwillman's Third Ward gang. In late 1930, both Boiardo and Zwillman decided to end the war after numerous failed assassination attempts against each other.

During Thanksgiving week of November 1930, more violence erupted as another assassination attempt was made against Boiardo which he survived after a gunman fired a shotgun into his car, hitting his neck, mouth, chest and arm with thirteen slugs. In early December 1930, Boiardo was released from the hospital, only to be arrested by the police for having a gun in his possession during the assassination attempt on him. Later he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

At the same time that Boiardo was on trial for gun possession, Zwillman was imprisoned for assault and began serving six months in jail. After being released from prison, Boiardo and Zwillman ended the fighting.

Meanwhile, across the river, a bloody Mafia war, known as the Castellammarese War, broke out in New York City in February 1930 as Sicilian Castellammarese Mafia boss Salvatore Maranzano challenged New York City Mafia boss Joe "The Boss" Masseria for the position of capo dei capi. In Newark, the Sicilian boss Badami joined Maranzano's alliance, while Neapolitan boss Boiardo sided with Masseria.

On April 15, 1931, Masseria was murdered, leaving Maranzano the most powerful mobster in America. Maranzano appointed Badami the boss and Sam Monaco the underboss of the Newark family.

On September 10, 1931, Maranzano was murdered, leaving Badami without protection from his enemies. Days later on September 13, 1931, the bodies of Badami's underboss Sam Monaco and top member Louis Russo were found floating in Newark Bay. The loss of Monaco and Russo caused Badami to flee Newark, leaving the family without leadership. The Newark family broke apart, as many members joined the Gagliano family's Jersey crew, while the remaining members stayed with Gaspare D'Amico.

D'Amico had moved to Newark during the early 1920s, settling in the Northeastern neighborhood of Woodside. After D'Amico took over as boss, he faced a number of rebellions against his leadership. In 1935, D'Amico was challenged by Vincenzo Troia for control of the Newark family, but he acted quickly and ordered Troia and his associates murdered.

The second challenge to D'Amico leadership occurred in 1937, when Salvatore Lombardino and others attempted to murder him but failed. During the assassination attempt D'Amico's father was murdered. Fearing for his life, D'Amico fled to Puerto Rico, where he died in October 1975. It was later discovered by the Commission that Profaci family boss Joseph Profaci had backed Lombardino and had ordered the assassination attempt on D'Amico.

The Commission decided to disband the Newark family, while declaring Newark an open city and dividing the family's territory among the Five Families of New York. The Luciano-Genovese family's New Jersey faction grew in power as Richard Boiardo became the family's caporegime of the Newark crew and powerful New Jersey mobster Willie Moretti became the family's underboss, while also controlling operations in Bergen county. The Gagliano family's Jersey crew caporegime was Settimo "Big Sam" Accardi, a former member of Badami's Newark family, who controlled operations in Newark and North Jersey. The Mangano family's Newark crew was controlled by Antonio Paterno, a former member of the Newark family. The Profaci family's New Jersey crew was led by Salvatore Lombardino, the man behind the attempted murder of Newark boss D'Amico. The Bonanno family's Newark crew was led by Antonio Riela. The city of Newark also had other gangsters fighting for dominance and territory, including the Philadelphia crime family, which had formed their own North Jersey crew, Zwillman, who maintained strong ties with Luciano and Moretti, and former Newark boss Badami, with his own small group.

Early Elizabeth family

In the city Elizabeth, New Jersey the Mafia faction was made up of mostly immigrants from Ribera, Sicily. The Mafia group was based out of the Peterstown section of Elizabeth. The earliest known boss the Elizabeth Mafia faction was Filippo "Big Phil" Amari. He was born in Ribera, Sicily and arrived in Elizabeth in the early 1920s. During Amari's time as boss he recruited Emmanuel Riggi, Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso and Frank Majuri into his Mafia faction. Over the years Amari continued to grow in power and was recognized by US law enforcement as being heavily involved in extortion, labor racketeering, loansharking, and narcotics activities in Elizabeth and Newark.

After fleeing Newark "Don Steven" Badami relocated in Orange, New Jersey. Badami continued operating a small Mafia group while working alongside other Mafia families. Badami was unsuccessful in taking over the Elizabeth Ribera Mafia faction because he had been born in Corleone, Sicily.

On March 31, 1955, Badami was murdered in a Newark restaurant, being stabbed 40 times. The police held Frank Monaco as a witness in the murder; he confirmed that he was the brother of Sam Monaco, a former associate of Badami who was murdered in 1931.

In 1956, Nicholas "Nick" Delmore became boss after Amari retired and moved back to Sicily. Delmore was a longtime member of the Elizabeth faction, going back to the Prohibition era, when he owned the Maple Shade Inn in Berkeley Heights and worked with Abner Zwillman in some brewery operations.

In September 1930, Delmore became a fugitive following the killing of a federal Prohibition agent. Delmore was arrested in 1933 and charged with murder, but was later acquitted. In 1957 Delmore attended the infamous 1957 Apalachin Convention to represent the Elizabeth family of New Jersey, with his underboss Frank Majuri and capo Louis LaRasso.

Delmore ran the Elizabeth family until the early 1960s, when he became ill. In 1964, Delmore died and his nephew Sam DeCavalcante was installed as new boss of the Elizabeth family. Under DeCavalcante's regime the Commission began to recognize the Elizabeth family as an autonomous crime family and officially recognized it as the "DeCavalcante crime family" of North Jersey.

Sam DeCavalcante

The official criminal organization began with Sam DeCavalcante, known as "Sam the Plumber" and "The Count". He was born in 1912 and was involved in illegal gambling, murder, and racketeering for most of his life. He rose to power in 1964, and he was incarcerated in 1969. He doubled the number of made men within his family during the 1960s. He died of a heart attack in 1997 at age 84.

DeCavalcante owned Kenilworth Heating and Air Conditioning in Kenilworth, New Jersey as a legal front and source of taxable income, for which he gained the nickname "Sam the Plumber". He also claimed to be of Italian royal lineage, earning him the nickname "The Count".

DeCavalcante and 54 associates were charged and tried in 1969. He pleaded guilty to operating a gambling racket turning over $20 million a year, and was sentenced to five years in federal prison. At the same time, a New York State report indicated that his family, as well as another Mafia family, controlled 90 percent of the pornography stores in New York City. In the early 1980s, DeCavalcante retired to Florida, leaving capo Giovanni Riggi as acting boss of the family. He largely stayed out of Mafia business, although the FBI believed that he was still advising the family into the early 1990s.

John Riggi

After DeCavalcante left prison in the mid-1970s, he appointed Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi as acting boss of the family while he stayed semi-retired in Florida. DeCavalcante stepped down as boss officially in 1980, passing leadership to Riggi, who had been a business agent for Local 394 of the Laborers' International Union of North America in New Jersey for years.

Once Riggi was promoted to the position of official boss, he reaped the enormous benefits of large labor and construction racketeering operations, as well as loansharking, illegal gambling, and extortion activities. Riggi also had the family maintain their old traditions, which Sam DeCavalcante had seen as unnecessary. In 1981, bosses and underbosses of the DeCavalcante and Colombo families attended a conclave in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, to divide territory in Miami.

Riggi used his power and influence to place subcontractors and workers at various construction projects around the state, and the DeCavalcantes were able to steal from union welfare and pension funds. Riggi continued to run the family throughout the 1980s, with underboss Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo and Stefano Vitabile as consigliere, after Frank Majuri died of health problems. Around the mid-1980s Riggi fell increasingly under the influence of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti.

After Riggi's conviction for racketeering in 1990 he appointed John D'Amato as acting boss of the family. D'Amato was later alleged to have participated in homosexual acts and was murdered in 1992. Riggi continued to run the family from his jail cell, but appointed Giacomo "Jake" Amari as his new acting boss.

All was seemingly settled until Amari became ill and died slowly of stomach cancer in 1997. This caused a massive power vacuum within the family, with many high-ranking members pushing for the role of boss.

The Ruling Panel

After acting boss Amari's death, Riggi organized a three-man ruling panel in 1998 to run the day-to-day business of the crime family, consisting of Girolamo Palermo, Vincent Palermo (no relation), and Charles Majuri, with Stefano Vitabile as the reputed consigliere and adviser to the three.

The Panel infuriated longtime captain Charles Majuri, who had been a hardworking member of the family since his teens and felt that he was wronged when he was not selected as the only acting boss. To gain complete control of the DeCavalcante family, Majuri decided that he should murder Vincent Palermo, leaving himself in charge of the family. Majuri contracted soldier James Gallo to murder Vincent Palermo.

Gallo was, however, a strong ally and friend of Vincent Palermo's, and told him about Majuri's plans. In retaliation, Vincent Palermo decided to have Majuri murdered. After one plot fell through, the murder was eventually called off.

Informants and convictions

Toward the late 1990s, the Ruling Panel kept running the DeCavalcante crime family with Giovanni Riggi still behind bars as the boss. The downfall of the DeCavalcante family was precipitated in 1998, when an associate named Ralph Guarino became an FBI informant in an effort to avoid a long prison sentence in connection with taking part with two others in a heist of $1.6 million from the World Trade Center. Guarino spent ten years undercover working for the FBI. He wore a listening device and recorded conversations that mobsters would have about criminal business. During Guarino's time as an informant, fellow mobster Joseph Masella was gunned down on the orders of Vincent Palermo.

Using information provided by Guarino, US law enforcement launched a large-scale arrest on December 2, 1999 of over 30 members and associates of the DeCavalcante crime family. Palermo realized they would likely spend the rest of their lives behind bars and decided to cooperate with the FBI in exchange for a lenient sentence. This resulted in the arrest of twelve more men less than a year later, decimating the crime family's hierarchy and putting it on the brink of extinction. Other top members, such as Anthony Rotondo and Anthony Capo, also agreed to become government witnesses.

In 2001, 20 mobsters were charged with racketeering, seven murders, fourteen murder conspiracies, attempted murder, extortion in the construction industry, and stock fraud. This was the fourth indictment of the family since 1999. Since then, several other top mobsters agreed to become government witnesses in exchange for being given lenient sentences, or even no sentences at all. US law enforcement even charged Giovanni Riggi, who had been hoping to be released in 2003, and sentenced him to ten additional years in prison.

Current position and leadership

Between 1999 and 2005, about 45 men were imprisoned, including the family's consigliere and seven capos. With the decline of the DeCavalcante family, New York's Five Families have taken over many of the rackets in northern New Jersey. Riggi was in jail until November 27, 2012, and died in 2015. Longtime acting boss Francesco Guarraci died of cancer in 2016.

In March 2015, the FBI arrested 10 members and associates of the crime family on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and distribution of drugs, including 71-year-old captain Charles "Beeps" Stango and 72-year-old consigliere Frank Nigro. Associates Rosario Pali and Nicholas DeGidio were convicted on April 4, 2017, after pleading guilty to distributing more than 500 grams of cocaine. DeGidio was sentenced to one and a half years in prison, and Pali was sentenced to over six years. Luigi Oliveri was charged with possession of contraband cigarettes and sentenced to six years in prison.

In March 2017, Stango was sentenced to ten years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit murder. Stango reportedly wanted Nigro and associate Paul Colella to get permission from the New Jersey hierarchy to kill Luigi Oliveri, but the murder was not committed because Stango did not get an answer. Prosecutors claimed that Stango and his son had plans to open a high-end escort service in Toms River, New Jersey.

In 2016, Anthony Stango Jr. was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to using a telephone in interstate commerce to conduct a prostitution operation, conspiring to distribute five grams or more of cocaine, distributing more than $70,000 worth of cocaine, and possessing a shotgun as a convicted felon.

In 2015, longtime member Charles "Big Ears" Majuri became the new official boss of the family.

In July 2022, capo Charlie Stango was released from federal prison and went into a New York halfway house.

On January 2, 2023, longtime family member and former influential capo Paolo "Paul" Farina died of natural causes at the age of 96.

In late 2025, family boss Charles Majuri began to step into retirement while shifting power to Domenico "Mimmo" Marzullo, Majuri's successor as the family's boss. Majuri died of natural causes on September 6, 2026, aged 85.

Boss (official and acting)

^{Excluding: Stefano Badami the boss of the Newark family late 1920s–1931, when he fled and Gaspare D'Amoco the boss of Newark family late 1931–1937, when he fled}

• 1920s–1956 — Filippo "Phil" Amari — retired ^Elizabeth
• 1956–1964 — Nicholas "Nick Delmore" Amoruso ^Elizabeth
  • Acting 1962–1964 — Sam DeCavalcante — became official boss ^Elizabeth
• 1964–1982 — Simone "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante — retired ^Elizabeth
  • Acting 1970s–1982 — Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi — became official boss ^Elizabeth
• 1982–2015 – Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi – died of prostate cancer on August 3, 2015 ^Elizabeth
  • Acting 1989–1990 — Gaetano "Corky" Vastola — imprisoned
  • Acting 1990–1992 — John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato — murdered in January 1992 ^Elizabeth
  • Acting 1992–1997 — Gioacchino "Jake" Amari — died of stomach cancer on June 14, 1997 ^Elizabeth
  • Ruling panel — 1997-1999 — Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo, Vincent "Vinnie Ocean" Palermo and Charles "Big Ears" Majuri — members arrested
  • Ruling panel — 2000-2004 — Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo, Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile and Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti
  • Acting 2005–2007 — Joseph "Joe the Old Man" Miranda — stepped down ^Elizabeth
  • Acting 2007–2015 — Francesco "Frank" Guarraci — became street boss; died on April 14, 2016 ^Elizabeth
• 2015–2026 — Charles "Big Ears" Majuri ^Newark — died on September 6, 2026
  • Acting 2025–present — Domenico "Mimmo" Marzullo

Street boss

A "street boss" will sometimes run several crews at once.

• 2015–2016 — Francesco "Frank" Guarraci — mentioned by Charles Stango in December 2012 wiretaps as "Horse"; died on April 14, 2016
• 2016–2021 — Joseph "Milk" Merlo — died on June 3, 2021

Underboss (official and acting)

^{Excluding: Sam Monaco the underboss of the Newark family late 1920s–1931, until he was murdered on September 10, 1931}

• 1920s–1956 — Nicholas "Nick Delmore" Amoruso — became boss ^Elizabeth
• 1956–1957 — Francesco "Fat Frank" Majuri — became consigliere ^Elizabeth
• 1957–1964 — Simone "Sam the Plumber" DeCavalcante — became boss ^Elizabeth
• 1964–1982 — Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso — demoted ^Elizabeth
  • Acting 1970s — Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi — became acting boss ^Elizabeth
  • Acting 1970s–1982 — Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo — became official underboss
• 1982–2004 — Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo — convicted
  • Acting 1991–1992 — Gioacchino "Jake" Amari — became acting boss
  • Acting 2003–2005 — Joseph "Joe the Old Man" Miranda — became acting boss
• 2007–2014 — Joseph "Joe the Old Man" Miranda — died in 2014
• 2016–2024 — Joseph "Little Joe" Giacobbe, Jr.
• 2024–present — Charles "Beeps" Stango

Consigliere (official and acting)

• 1920s–1957 — Unknown
• 1957–1983 — Francesco "Fat Frank" Majuri — died in 1983 ^Elizabeth
  • Acting 1982–1983 — Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile — became official consigliere
• 1983–2006 — Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile — sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006, conviction overturned in 2008, released in 2013
  • Acting 2002–2003 — Frank D'Amato — arrested
• 2006–2007 — Francesco "Frank" Guarraci — became acting boss
• 2007–2016 — Frank "Goombah Frankie/Shipe" Nigro — arrested 2015
• 2016–2026 — Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti — died on October 10, 2026

Administration

• Boss — Unknown
• Acting boss — Domenico "Mimmo" Marzullo — (born in March 1964) — Marzullo was born in Avellino. By March 1966, Marzullo lived in New Jersey located on 157 Chestnut Street in Montclair, Essex County. Marzullo is related to Girolamo Palermo and Simone Palermo. Marzullo first became associated with the DeCavalcante family through DeCavalcante member, Joseph Amato. In 1982, Marzullo operated a grocery store located on 117 Grove Street in Montclair, the grocery store was later renovated to a café and deli. In December 1984, Marzullo had received an Apostolic Blessing which was presented by the brothers by the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. By the late 1990s, Marzullo was reporting to DeCavalcante family capo, Francesco "Hotel Frankie" Polizzi, and was heavily involved in loansharking and illegal gambling by 1999. In October 2000, Marzullo attended a meeting among Frank "Frankie the Beast" Scarabino and Salvatore Polizzi, the meeting was concerning the conspiracy to murder DeCavalcante family cooperators, Vincent Palermo and Anthony Capo. In July 2003, Marzullo was indicted for illegal gambling, extortion and loansharking, he pled guilty to illegal gambling and extortion in February 2004 and was sentenced to 29 months in prison, he was released from prison in October 2006. In 2018, Marzullo married Adriana Russo. According to informants in October 2025, Marzullo had been elevated to the position of acting boss.
• Underboss — Charles "Beeps" Stango — is current underboss. Stango is a former capo who operated a crew in Elizabeth. On March 12, 2015, Stango was indicted with Paul Colella, his son Anthony Stango, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking, and prostitution. On March 28, 2017, Stango was sentenced to 120 months after being convicted. In July 2022, Stango was released from federal prison and went into a New York halfway house. In 2024, Stango was promoted to Underboss for the family.
• Consigliere — Unknown

Caporegimes

• Louis "Louie Eggs" Consalvo — capo of his brother-in-law Philip Abramo's "New York City-New Jersey crew". In June 1999, Consalvo, along with Philip Abramo, Philip Gurian, Glen Vittor, and Barry Gesser were charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, interference with commerce by extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and witness tampering. In 2004, Consalvo pleaded mail fraud, wire fraud, and securities fraud, and received a 27-month jail sentence. In 2000, Consalvo was indicted and charged with murdering former underboss Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso in 1991 along with Gregory Rago. The indictment also charged Consalvo with selling 8,000 shares of stock in a company called SC&T International. In 2002, Consalvo accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to 20 to 25 years in prison. In February 2012, he was released from prison.
• Luigi "Lou the Dog" Oliveri — capo operating in Elizabeth. In 2015, Oliveri was charged with possession of contraband cigarettes. Oliveri was a former member of Manny Riggi's Elizabeth-based crew.
• Gregory "Georgie Bayonne" Rago — capo operating in New Jersey. In 2000, Rago was indicted along with Louis Consalvo and charged with the 1991 murder of former underboss Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso.

Soldiers

• Philip "Lou Metzer" Abramo — senior advisor and former capo of the "New York City-New Jersey crew", operating in Wall Street, New Jersey and Florida. His brother-in-law Louis Consalvo has been a longtime member of his crew. Abramo was a former associate of John Gotti. In June 1999, Abramo, Philip Gurian, Glen Vittor, Louis Consalvo and Barry Gesser were charged with mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud, interference with commerce by extortion, conspiracy to commit money laundering and witness tampering. In 2004, Abramo pleaded mail fraud, wire fraud and securities fraud and received a 70-month jail sentence and forfeited $1.1 million previously seized by the government in the Bahamas. In 2006, Abramo was sentenced to life in prison for racketeering and the murders of Fred Weiss and John D'Amato. In 2008, the conviction was overturned and he was released in 2018.
• Daniel Annunziata (born September 1938) — soldier. In September 1970, Annunziata was indicted along with Gaetano Vastola and Sam DeCavalcante for extortion and demanded payments of $20,000 from gamblers in 1966 as part of a shakedown in order for their gambling activity to continue, Annunziata's bail was held at $25,000 with a three year prison sentence.
• Jerry Balzano (born on November 14, 1962) — current soldier. Balzano was born in Brooklyn, and his family hailed from Catanzaro and Campania. By April 1986, Balzano continued to reside in Brooklyn, and later relocated to Staten Island by October 1993. Balzano may have had been associated with the Gambino family in New York before he held membership in the New Jersey DeCavalcante family. By January 2001, Balzano lived in Copiague, Long Island. In October 2003, Balzano married Lisa Frantellizzi in Bradley Beach Borough, Monmouth County, and Balzano and his wife lived in Howell Township, Monmouth by December 2004. By the early to mid-2000s, Balzano became a formally inducted member of the DeCavalcante family, and became heavily involved in trafficking marijuana and cocaine, and active in New Jersey, possibly within the Toms River area. In October 2005, Balzano was indicted for conspiracy and narcotics, and in October 2006, Balzano was sentenced to 6 years in prison, he was released in April 2007. By 2010, Balzano was heavily active in fraud, cigarette trafficking and stolen goods, he was partners with DeCavalcante family soldier, Joseph "Uncle Joey" Collina, in these crimes. In August 2010, Balzano and Collina became associated with Colombo family associate and informant, Thomas McLaughlin, with McLaughlin whom recorded Balzano discussing the purchase of stolen electronics and enlisting McLaughlin to help with the extortion of two victims based in Florida and North Carolina in September 2010, in September 2012, Balzano was sentenced to 19 months in prison with 6 months of house arrest, he was released in 2014. By in around 2011, Balzano may have had been placed in the crew headed by DeCavalcante family capo, Frank "Chopper" Aiosa. In 2011, Balzano was arrested for the possession of a handgun and ammunition and received 4 months in prison. In May 2017, Balzano was sentenced to 11 months in prison with 21 months of supervised release for assaulting a man during a road-rage incident on the Route 17 highway in Wallkill, upstate New York, he was released in February 2018. In 2018, the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbour identified Balzano as a member of the DeCavalcante family.
• Paul "Knuckles" Colella (born 1947) — soldier. In March 2015, Colella was indicted alongside nine other DeCavalcante affiliates on charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, murder, promoting prostitution and purchasing 120,000 untaxed cigarettes. Colella and Charles Stango were charged with plots to commit murder.
• Carl Corsentino — soldier. His father was also a member of DeCavalcante family. Corsentino allegedly owned a funeral home on Second Avenue in Elizabeth.
• Joseph "Little Joe" Giacobbe, Jr. — former underboss.
• Anthony "Tony Marshmallow" Mannarino — senior member operating from Florida.
• Bernard NiCastro
• Frank "Goombah Frankie" Nigro — senior advisor and former consigliere. On March 12, 2015, Nigro was indicted along with other members on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking and prostitution.
• Joseph "Tin Ear" Sclafini (born 1938) — soldier. Sclafini served in the United States Army between 1955 and 1957. Sclafini allegedly became inducted into the DeCavalcante family in 1982. In December 1999, Sclafini was indicted on gambling, murder, conspiracy and extortion charges.
• Gaetano "Corky" Vastola (born May 1928) — former capo. According to Sammy Davis Jr., he told the House Select Committee on Crime in May 1972 that he was a friend of Vastola, including dining and playing golf on several occasions. Vastola's first arrest was by the NYPD in 1946 for burglary and resulted in a suspended sentence and probation. In 1960, Vastola was given a one-year sentence for committing an offense against trademarks and was fined $500. In October 1970, Vastola was handed a five-year prison sentence for extortion in interstate commerce, and in March 1972 he was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion for which he received a sentence over two and a half years. In September 1986, Vastola was indicted for conspiracy to extort money and threaten violence, conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, and extortion. In May 1989, Vastola was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and fined $70,000.
• Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile (born 1937) — soldier and former consigliere between 1983 and 2006. In June 2006, Vitabile was sentenced to life imprisonment for ordering the November 1991 murder of Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso, a DeCavalcante capo, and for the January 1992 murder of DeCavalcante family acting boss John D'Amato. The conviction was overturned in 2008, and he was released in 2013.

Associates

• Dennis R. Horin (born March 21, 1947) — current associate. Horin was born in Elizabeth, Peterstown, and his mother hailed from Sicily, and his father worked in the garment industry by at least 1950. Horin graduated from the Thomas Jefferson High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1965. By the 1980s, Horin became associated with the DeCavalcante family and held membership for Local 394 of the LIUNA. By September 1983, Horin resided in Toms River, New Jersey. In 1985, Horin was appointed as the Welfare Plans Administrator for Union County Health and Welfare Benefits Office Fund and held the position until December 2000, he later became an administrator with the Statewide Benefits Office. In 2001, Horin received the Sons of Peterstown Social Club's "Man of the Year Award" for his service to the Peterstown community and for his philanthropy efforts including contributions to the St. Joseph Orphanage based in Agrigento, Sicily. In 2005, Horin was listed as a senior manager for thne Statewide Benefits Office until 2006. In 2009, Horin served as a director of the Association of Benefit Administrators. As of 2026, Horin resides in Toms River, New Jersey, and Horin is one of the few alleged New Jersey organized crime affiliates with no criminal record, and is noted as a successful and wealthy philanthropist and businessman.
• John "Johnny Balls" Capozzi (born 1981) — associate of the Stango crew. In September 2016 Capozzi was sentenced to two and a half years in prison with two years of supervised release for distributing cocaine, after he had sold more than one-half a kilo of cocaine to an undercover FBI agent for at least $78,000 between December 2014 and March 2015.
• Nicholas Degidio — associate of the Stango crew. In 2015, he was charged with cocaine distribution.
• Mario Galli (born 1992) — associate of the Stango crew. In August 2016, Galli was convicted of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, and he was sentenced to over two years in prison with three years of supervised release and a fine of $1000. In July 2020, Galli was sentenced to six years and four months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm, loaded with twelve rounds of ammunition.
• James Heeney (born September 1979) — associate. In March 2015, Heeney was indicted for conspiring to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine from between August 2012 and March 2013, of which he had sold more than one-half a kilo of cocaine to an undercover FBI agent for $30,000, and he pled guilty in December 2015, Heeney was sentenced by former U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to 5 years in prison.
• Anthony "Whitey" Stango — associate of his father Charles Stango's crew. In 2015, Stango was indicted and charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and run a prostitution business.
• Rosario Pali (born on February 10, 1984) — current associate. Pali's family hailed from Campania. Pali currently holds membership in Ribera Club and Vallatese Club based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, as well as membership in LIUNA Local 394. By his early 20s, Pali was heavily involved in drug dealing. In February 2004, Pali was arrested for participating in a cocaine deal and his bail was set at $11,500. In September 2007, Pali was convicted in Union County for selling narcotics on the grounds of a school campus, he began his sentence in December 2007 and he was released in September 2011. Upon his release, Pali was identified as an associate of the DeCavalcante family and as a member of the crew headed by DeCavalcante family capo, Emanuel P. Riggi, and had been reporting directly to Luigi "Lui the Dog" Oliveri, whom is currently a capo in the family. In April 2017, Pali was sentenced to over 6 years in prison with 3 years of supervised release, however he was released from custody in March 2020.

Books

• Deitche, Scott M. Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey. Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, 2017
• Goldstock, Ronald; Marcus, Martin & Thacher, I.I. (1990). Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry: Final Report of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force. New York: NYU Press. ISBN 0-8147-3034-5.
• Jacobs, James B. (1994). Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0.
• Jacobs, James B.; Friel, Coleen & Radick, Robert (1999). Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime. New York: NYU Press. ISBN 0-8147-4247-5.
• Smith, Greg B. (2003). Made Men: The True Rise-and-Fall Story of a New Jersey Mob Family. Berkley Books. ISBN 0-425-18551-6.

Court proceedings

• United States v. Riggi, 951 F.2d 1368 (3d Cir. 1991).

News articles

• Rashbaum, William K. (October 20, 2000). "Crime Family Dealt a Blow, Police Say". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 29, 2003.
• Rudolph, Robert (May 9, 2003). "Mob Story – How a crime family turned dysfunctional". The Star-Ledger.
• Tuohy, John William (January 15, 2000). "Round Up The Usual Suspects". Rick Parnello's AmericanMafia.com.

Reports

• Schiller, Francis E. (May 2004). The Changing Face of Organize Crime in New Jersey (PDF) (Report). State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2024 – via Government of New Jersey.
• United States Congress, Senate, Committee on the Judiciary (1983). Organized Crime in America: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.
• Zazzali, James R. (September 1990). 21st Annual Report (PDF) (Report). State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 1, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Government of New Jersey.