Louis LaRasso

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Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso (* 1926 , † 1991 ) was an Italian-American mobster of the US American Cosa Nostra and for two decades the official underboss of the DeCavalcante family , which operates from its headquarters in Elizabeth (New Jersey) .

Ascent

Under the regime of head of the family Filippo Amari LaRasso mid-1950s became the Capo Regime of Elizabeth fraction of the family promoted.

LaRasso took part in 1957 with Underboss Nicholas "Nick" Delmore (née Amoruso) and Capo Francesco "Frank" Majuri ( Newark Fraction ) at the famous Apalachin meeting . Since there were several factions that conspired against each other and tried to take control, Amari withdrew to Sicily while he was still responsible and was thus represented by Delmore at the meeting. Delmore himself was promoted to official boss , Majuri to the new consigliere and LaRasso to the new underboss.

Delmore led the organization from then until he fell ill in the early 1960s and the rebellious times of New Jersey came to an end. He died in 1964 and his nephew Sam DeCavalcante became the new boss of the "DeCavalcante family", which from then on was officially recognized as an independent family.

In 1969, DeCavalcante and LaRasso were charged and convicted of illegal gambling operations. LaRasso were sentenced to 5 years in prison.

A favor for Carlo Gambino

In 1965, before LaRasso went to jail, Carlo Gambino - the powerful Boss Gambino family from New York City - asked DeCavalcante for a favor. The aim was to eliminate an associate gangster of the Genovese family and partner in the garbage disposal business named Joseph "Joey Surprise" Feola , because he had become unreliable. According to Jerry Capeci, Feola was lured to a garage by LaRasso, strangled, wrapped in a linen bag, and buried. LaRasso later confirmed this to Gambino capo James “Jimmy Brown” Failla .

Night of release

In the mid-1970s, when DeCavalcante was released from prison, he partially withdrew from the family business, went to Florida and appointed Giovanni Riggi as acting boss. During this time LaRasso lost more and more power and Riggi promoted Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo to reigning underboss in 1978. He was to remain so until LaRasso either died or officially resigned. DeCavalcante himself, officially resigned in 1982, leaving Riggi in sole charge of leadership.

In 1989, Giacomo "Jake" Amari was promoted to the new incumbent underboss, as Riggi and Palermo, along with some other employees, were brought to justice for union corruption and extortion. A year later, Riggi was sentenced to 15 years in prison while Palermo was acquitted on his allegations. Riggi then appointed John D'Amato as the incumbent boss of the family.

His murder

It was around this time that the relationship between D'Amato and LaRasso is said to have wavered. In the summer of 1991, Louis LaRasso was reported missing after no one saw him on his 65th birthday. D'Amato reportedly feared LaRasso as a rival and thought he would follow Capo Charles Majuri - the son of Frank Majuri - in an attempt to take over the helm of the DeCavalcante family. His body was never found. From then on, Giacomo Amari officially took over his office and directed all workers and construction operations.

On December 2, 1999, the FBI arrested Vincent Palermo (unrelated to Girolamo) and about 30 other members and some of the family's associates. Palermo realized he might spend the rest of his life behind bars and decided to cooperate with the FBI in exchange for a lighter sentence. Among other things, he confessed to the killing of LaRasso.

Individual evidence

  1. The Changing Face of Organized Crime in New Jersey: A Status Report May 2004, pp. 121–125.
  2. Mob Story . Nj.com. May 9, 2003. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  3. ^ Mafia: the government's secret file on organized crime By United States. Dept. of the Treasury (pg. 284)
  4. SICK DON GETS 10 Real Soprano too ill for court . In: Daily News , September 27, 2003. Retrieved March 12, 2012. 
  5. [1]
  6. ^ Fire, Alan: New Charges for Mob Family as US Indictment Names 20 . In: The New York Times , April 20, 2001.