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References
Scott Flander, Joe O’Dowd and Kitty Caparella, “Death of a Dealer: S. Phila. Drug Seller Found Executed,” Philadelphia Daily News, January 24, 1986, Local, p. 4. Kitty Caparella, “Gang War Looms After Black Mafia Killings,” Philadelphia Daily News, February 4, 1986, Local, p. 6.
See Kitty Caparella, “Slain Drug Kingpin Knew He Was a Marked Man,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 14, 1986, p. 5.
Robert J. Terry and Paul Nussbaum, “Reputed Black Mafia Leader Slain,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 24, 1986, p. B03.
Christopher Hepp, “Accusations Fly During First Debate,” and “Target of Leonard Charge Takes Issue with Being One,” Philadelphia Daily News, September 27, 1983, p. 3 (both articles).
MOVE was a radical group founded by Vincent Leaphart (John Africa) in 1972. It began as a “peaceful, back-to-nature cult,” which“believed man should not conduct research or invent technology.” The group’s members “did not bathe, their children ran naked because it was natural, garbage was buried in their communal backyard, and all of God’s creatures — especially rats — were treated with equanimity. Group members adopted the last name of Africa in honor of Leaphart, whom they regarded as a sort of living spirit.” Kitty Caparella, “MOVE Siege Ends,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 8, 1978, Local, p. 37. The group’s activities became increasingly frustrating to neighbors and authorities, and MOVE reacted more aggressively with each criticism and effort to have them evicted. The group assembled an arsenal of weapons, which they displayed often, including guns, bombs and TNT. The first major MOVE-police confrontation came on August 8, 1978, when authorities attempted to serve warrants on federal weapons charges at the group’s West Philadelphia Powelton Village headquarters. One officer was killed in the gunfire, and another officer and a fireman were also shot. Nine MOVE members were eventually convicted on murder charges. A narrative on the events appears in S.A. Paolantonio, Frank Rizzo: The Last Big Man in Big City America (Philadelphia: Camino Books, 1993), pp. 220–227. The group reappeared approximately three years later with a new “headquarters” at 6221 Osage Avenue in West Philadelphia. Once again, the group became involved in heated arguments with neighbors and officials who were sent out to the site to handle the disturbances the group was creating. Much of the commotion involved MOVE’s “protests against the convictions — some in the form of obscenity-laden harangues over bullhorns late at night.” Miriam Hill, “MOVE, 2002: Modern home, original beliefs,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 7, 2002. The group also continued to display its arsenal to the public from its “compound.” In 1985, MOVE constructed a “reinforced steel and wood bunker” on the compound’s roof, from which they would peer out with weapons in hand. Onceagain, police had warrants to serve to members of the group. Accounts of precisely what occurred on May 13, 1985 when negotiations failed differ. However, the Philadelphia Police Department’s Bomb Squad dropped an explosive device from a helicopter onto the roof of the compound in order to destroy the bunker, and to tear a hole into the building, after which they planned to drop canisters of tear gas into the property. The explosion caused gasoline on the roof to ignite, and a fire began to spread. When firefighters approached the property, they were greeted with gunfire and retreated. A decision was made to allow the fire to burn, after which eleven people inside the compound were killed, 61 homes were destroyed and 250 neighborhood residents were left temporarily homeless. The fire was considered to be one of the worst in the city’s history. L. Stuart Ditzen, “City: MOVE Fire Caused by Explosive; Fire Report Cites Police. ‘Entry Device’,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 31, 1985, Local, p. A01; and Paolantonio, pp. 295–296. One could write, and debate, about MOVE at length, and I do not claim to do service to the controversial history because it is not central to this study. For interested parties, Paolantonio employs the following sources among others: John Anderson and Hilary Hevenor, Burning Down the House: Move and the Tragedy of Philadelphia (New York: W.W. Norton, 1987); Charles Bowser, Let the Bunker Burn (Philadelphia: Camino Books, 1989); and Michael Boyette and Randi Boyette, Let It Burn! The Philadelphia Tragedy (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1989). Several years after the 1985 events, a grand jury cleared Mayor Goode, Police Commissioner Gregore Sambor, Managing Director Leo Brooks and “everyone who had been on the scene” of any criminal culpability. Frank Friel and John Guinther, Breaking the Mob (New York: Warner Books, 1990), p. 299. MOVE, in some capacity, remains active.
This was according to Jerome Mondesire, an aide to U.S. Rep. William Gray III (and head of the Philadelphia branch of the NAACP as of 10/02). Kitty Caparella, “Drug Dealer Listed on Campaign Staff,” Philadelphia Daily News, June 4, 1985, Local, p. 5.
Ibid.
Kitty Caparella, “The Straight Dope: Drugs in Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Daily News. The series ran from October 22, 1984 through October 27, 1984.
Kitty Caparella, “Dawson: Key Man Behind Bars; Even Behind Bars, Drug Kingpin Ruled Over an Empire,” Philadelphia Daily News, December 21, 1984, Local, p. 28.
Kitty Caparella, “Drugs in Philadelphia: Prison Drug Traffic — The Light’s Green,” Philadelphia Daily News, December 21, 1984, Local, p. 3.
Raymond “Long John” Martorano was serving a ten-year sentence for a 1982 drug conviction. In the early 1980s, Fortune magazine named him as one of the wealthiest Americans, estimating his worth at $8 million based on traceable income. He was later found guilty, with co-defendant Albert Daidone, on July 31, 1984, of arranging the December 16, 1980 slaying of John McCullough. Martorano and Daidone had recruited Willard Moran to kill McCullough, one of the late Angelo Bruno’s chief associates, because he was trying to organize an Atlantic City, New Jersey bartenders’ union to rival Local 33, of which Daidone was vice president. After Moran and an accomplice, Howard Dale Young, were arrested in South Jersey, Moran consulted Martorano about the possibility of Young cooperating with the prosecution. Martorano responded, “Don’t worry about Howard Dale Young, because when (he) gets over to Philadelphia, I’m a large contributor to the Black Muslims,” Maria Gallagher, “Killer Says Defendants Helped Keep Tabs on Murder Probe,” Philadelphia Daily News, May 25, 1984, Local, p. 18. Young did testify, however, and Moran was convicted in July 1982, and later sentenced to death. Moran then agreed to cooperate with authorities to avoid the electric chair, resulting in the successful prosecutions of Martorano and Daidone. Each received a life sentence for their first-degree murder convictions. Dave Racher, “Life in Prison for Martorano, Daidone,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 3, 1984, p. 3. Martorano and Daidone were released from prison in November 1999, after “the state high court agreed with a lower court ruling that the misconduct by former top city prosecutor Barbara Christie was so egregious, [and] neither should be retried on grounds of double jeopardy,” Kitty Caparella, “Aged Mobster was ‘King of the Quadruple-Cross’,” Philadelphia Daily News, February 6, 2002. After his release from prison, Martorano spent some time in Las Vegas before returning to the Philadelphia — Southern New Jersey region. He was shot and killed in a “gangland-style” murder in 2002. See, for example, George Anastasia and Thomas J. Gibbons, Jr., “Mobster Shot in Center City,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, January 18, 2002.
Kitty Caparella, “The Straight Dope: Drugs in Philadelphia,” Philadelphia Daily News, October 23, 1984, Local, p. 8.
Frank Friel, a former captain of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Organized Crime Unit, has stated that George Martorano and the Black Mafia sold cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and Quaaludes. Frank Friel and John Guinther, Breaking the Mob (New York: Warner Books, 1990), p. 204.
Kitty Caparella, “The Straight Dope: Drugs in Philadelphia; Sidebar to Second of Six Parts — The Kingpins: Who’s in Charge? Men Behind Bars,” Philadelphia Daily News, October 23, 1984, Local, p. 28.
Maria Gallagher, “Dead Man Had Been Threatened,” Philadelphia Daily News, March 20, 1984, p. 3.
Caparella, “Drugs in Philadelphia: Prison Drug Traffic,” p. 3. It was later discovered that Pearson was also expected to testify in the McCullough murder-conspiracy case against Martorano and Daidone, verifying Moran’s version of events. Jim Smith and Joe O’Dowd, “Martorano Trial Witness Found Dead,” Philadelphia Daily News, March 17, 1984, Local, p. 3.
Kitty Caparella, “D.A.’s Office Probing Corruption in Prisons: Inmate Drug Kingpin Shifted,” Philadelphia Daily News, January 3, 1985, p. 5.
The D’Alfonso murder, including law enforcement’s investigation and the trial of several Scarfo “family” operatives, is recounted in Frank Friel and John Guinther, Breaking the Mob (New York: Warner Books, 1990). Eight defendants, including “family boss” Nicodemo Scarfo, were convicted in the slaying. According to Friel and Guinther, p. 378, Scarfo was “the first don in the history of organized crime to be convicted of first-degree murder.” The convictions were later overturned in 1997. George Anastasia, “Casinos’ Keep-Out List Has Many Mob Figures,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 28, 2002.
Kitty Caparella, “JBM: Its Rise to Power; Brash Young Men Rule Over Drug Trade,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 25, 1989, p. 5.
Kitty Caparella, “High Profile Dealers: ‘JBM’ Called Flash in the Pan,” Philadelphia Daily News, March 18, 1988, p. 15.
Because the discussion is not central to this study, I do not examine whether the Junior Black Mafia is best described in terms of an organized crime group or a “drug gang.” Unlike its predecessor, the JBM was exclusively a narcotics distribution organization. Thus, a reasonable argument can be made the group did not meet widely-held characteristics of organized crime (i.e. they were never engaged in multiple enterprises).There is no consensus in the academic literature on this matter, however. Some gang researchers delineate between gangs and “drug gangs,” with the latter obviously focusing on the drug trade and monopolizing sales market territories instead of residential territories, among other differences. See, for example, Malcolm W. Klein, The American Street Gang: Its Nature, Prevalence, and Control (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 131–135; and Jerome H. Skolnick, Theodore Correl and Elizabeth Navarro, “The Social Structure of Street Drug Dealing,” American Journal of Police, vol. 9 (1990), pp. 1–41. Other researchers argue some gangs have become so sophisticated they are in fact organized crime groups. See, for example, Scott H. Decker, Tim Bynum and Deborah Weisel, “A Tale of Two Cities: Gangs as Organized Crime Groups,” Justice Quarterly, vol. 15, no. 3 (September 1998), pp. 395–425. Decker et al. (p. 423) argue Chicago’s Gangster Disciples “exhibited many characteristics of organized crime groups. In structure, activities, and relationships, this gang has moved well beyond the rather disorganized, informal quality marking groups that have appeared in most American cities in the [1990s].” Scott H. Decker and G. David Curry, “Addressing key factors of gang membership: Measuring the involvement of young members,” Journal of Criminal Justice, vol. 28 (2000), p. 474, explain the debate: At the heart of the controversy over the level of gang organization in crime is the extent to which offenders articulate and embrace common goals, motivate others to join them in a common enterprise, and maintain a structured monetary and emotional commitment to crime as a group enterprise. A recent New Jersey case involving the Latin Kings exhibits these definitional quandaries. Traditionally a “street gang”, 41 members of the Kings were arrested running a fairly sophisticated operation in Paterson and Newark. The indictments for drug, weapons, and racketeering charges were announced on October 30, 2002. Court documents disclosed a structured organization, complete with a leadership, membership dues — often extorted from underlings, and a division of labor. Jake Wahman, “Street Gang Members Arrested,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 30, 2002. A good primer on gangs can be found in Malcolm W. Klein, Cheryl L. Maxson and Jody Miller (eds.), The Modern Gang Reader (Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing, 1995).
Kitty Caparella, “Sources: Mob Buys Coke From the JBM,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 30, 1989, Local, p. 3.
George Anastasia, “Police Investigating Reports of a Junior Black Mafia,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 18, 1988, p. B01.
Kitty Caparella, “The JBM Mother of All Trials: Prosecution of 3 Bosses to Chronicle Rise and Fall of Organization,” Philadelphia Daily News, March 30, 1992, Local, p. 5.
Philadelphia Daily News reporter Kitty Caparella has covered these alliances, with all of their permutations, for over ten years. See, for example, “Sources: Mob Buys Coke From the JBM,” August 30, 1989; “Black Mafia Bigwig Visits Merlino,” February 10, 1999; “Mob-Pagan pact,” March 11, 1999; “New Team Already Flexes Its Muscles,” March 11, 1999; “Joey Losing Faces,” June 22, 1999; and “Bank of Charges: Feds Accuse Suspect in 5 More Heists,” August 7, 1999; and “Reputed Merlino ally to testify against Junior Black Mafia associate,” January 23, 2002. Also see George Anastasia, “From an insider, a glimpse into Phila. Mob,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 5, 2002; and Jim Barry, “Junior Mince: The JBM and La Cosa Nostra are getting cozy,” City Paper, October 25–November 1, 2001.
George Anastasia and Robert J. Terry, “JBM: Internal Struggles, External Rivalries,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 27, 1989, p. B01.
Kitty Caparella, “The Warlords of Crack — Old Guard Leader Makes Bid to Rule JBM: Convicted Killer an Organizer,” Philadelphia Daily News, August 25, 1989, Local, p. 18.
Terry and Copeland, “Gang Leader Slips Through Cracks,” p. A01.
Kitty Caparella, “Fugitive Kept His Hands in Drugs, Authorities Say,” Philadelphia Daily News, October 26, 1989, p. 5. Rhone was arrested in his daughter’s home.
Linda Lloyd, “Reputed Mobster Convicted in 1976 Shooting Death,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, March 16, 1991, Local, p. B03; and Dave Racher, “3rd-Degree Murder for Ex-Fugitive,” Philadelphia Daily News, March 16, 1991, Local, p. 7.
Caparella, “Fugitive Kept His Hands,” p. 5.
Dave Racher, “Justice Deferred: He Gets Life for Drug-Related 1975 Killing,” Philadelphia Daily News, May 10, 1991, p. 9. Rhone received a life sentence for the Williams murder. See Common-wealth of Pennsylvania v. Joseph Rhone, Appellant, No. 00625 Philadelphia 1992, Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 422 Pa. Super. 521; 619 A.2d 1080; 1993 Pa/ Super. LEXIS 403, January 27, 1993.
Ibid.
Julia Cass, “Second-Guessing Follows Prison Raid,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 29, 1995, Local, p. E01.
Rich Henson, “At Graterford, Officials Collected Stories Along with Contraband,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 27, 1995.
Kitty Caparella and Marianne Costantinou, “Inmate Throne for Loss: Prisoner’s ‘Kingdom’ Toppled,” Philadelphia Daily News, October 26, 1995, Local, p. 5.
Marianne Costantinou, “Flush With Success? Few Drugs Found, But Inmate Power Structure Broken, Officials Say,” Philadelphia Daily News, October 27, 1995, p. 3.
Del Quentin Wilber, “States swap their worst for prisons’ sake,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 29, 1999. Also, author’s interview of “Jill Rockview”.
Dana DiFilippo and Dave Racher, “Cops, DA target city’s worst thugs,” Philadelphia Daily News, July 30, 2001, p. 3.
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(2003). 1985–2002: Old Heads, Old Habits. In: Philadelphia’s Black Mafia. Studies of Organized Crime, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-306-48132-4_8
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