According to reports Peter Limone the alleged boss of the New England Mafia also known as the Patriarca crime family has passed away.
The 83-year old reputed mobster had been battling cancer for the last five years before finally succumbing to the disease according to his obituary. According to the feds, Limone acted as the Cosa Nostra families consigliere for years before taking over as the boss in 2009 after the retirement of former boss Luigi Manocchio. This signaled a shift in the organized crime families power base from Providence, Rhode Island back to Boston where it currently remains. The feds still consider Limone to be the current boss of the family although acting boss Carmen “The Big Cheese” Dinunzio is believed to now be in control.
“Peter Limone”
The aging mobster’s health and legal troubles is believed to have limited his capacity as boss and his role inside the mafia family over the last few years. Various sources reported that Limone had retired and had become somewhat of an unofficial consigliere and counsel for DiNunzio allowing him to take the reigns. The current family administration is believed to also include underboss Matthew Guglielmetti Jr and consigliere Joseph “Joe the Bishop” Achille. Limone may be best known for the fact that he spent 33 years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. In 1968 Peter and three others were found guilty of murdering Edward “Teddy” Deegan back in 1965 and sentenced to death although that sentence was later overturned to a life sentence.
There was only one problem Joseph Barboza the FBI informant who fingered Limone and company for the murder lied in an effort to protect a mob hitman who he was friends with that had actually taken part in the hit. The FBI set up the four men to take the fall hoping to protect their informant. By the time evidence was discovered that proved Limone and the others had been framed two of them had already passed away behind bars. Peter was released from prison in 2001 with an apology from the FBI along with a massive sum of $26 million dollars for his troubles. Although he had become wealthy he remained loyal to the mafia family that stayed loyal to his real family during the years he was locked away and stepped back in as consigliere.
Limone was arrested in 2009 and charged with extortion, illegal gambling, and loan-sharking and was sentenced to five years probation in 2010 after pleading no contest. He was also sentenced to 2.5 years in a county jail but that sentence was suspended as long as he complied with the term of his probation. He was ordered to avoid contact with known mafia figures and agreed to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet which also affected his ability to run the New England mob family. By the time his probation ended his health was in decline which seemingly forced him to take a step back from running things. It is unclear as to exactly when he stepped back from his capacity as boss clearing the way for a new Patriarca family administration.
Another one of those old timers that are a dying breed. Guy collected millions and was still a mobster threw and threw and although it def wasn’t a smart move he steps right back into the fold. It doesn’t seem like his death will affect all that much on the streets today as he wasn’t really involved all that much in the current administration. Perhaps The Cheeseman now officially becomes boss.
I agree with your description of a real old school man of honor and stand up guy…..Back when Federal Hill wise guys. Were all over Atwell avenue…And yes The Power base was Raymondo Patriarch and providence….His Loyalty extremely hard to find nowadays……..The cheese man is The Boss and a rebuilding period for New England Mob….AKA….Patriarch Family is ongoing…..And when in providence Rhode island make sure and have. Dinner at CAMILLE,S i
Minchia! Now your talking … The boys from “the hill”.
Just a side note, that piece of shit Barboza was killed literally 2 blocks from the house I grew up in. By that point he was trying to throw his weight around San Francisco. The quiet and very unassuming Jimmy the hat Lanza gave the go ahead for that madman to meet his maker. Another arrogant fool who thought he could leave Witsec and start running amok without regard to his own safety. Not sure if he underestimated the small LCN family in SF or just didnt give a fuck but either way that was the end of Joe The Animal. Good riddance!
Wow Jimmy Lanza now that’s a name you don’t hear often ..he was a big fish back in the day.
Just thought I’d throw in the Lanza reference and see what comes up. Very little written about his small San Francisco Family. That book recently came out about them and I read it but again not much to tell as they were very small and stayed way below the radar. By all accounts thats the way Lanza wanted it also. Like I said before, many people had no clue there even was a Mafia here. They have been totally dormant since the early 90’s anyway. That book about “Jimmy The Weasel Frattiano” gives some decent info on Organized Crime in the Bay Area. That and some old news articles about the DeJohn murder and the Barboza hit as well as an old Look Magazine article is pretty much all I’ve ever found about Bay Area LCN. If anyone knows of more reading on the topic please let me know.
I haven’t seen or read much about him… I believe he goes back to the Joe DiMaggio (NY Yankee) era..when there was a little Italy section near the Bay.. I could be wrong. But We all know Jimmy the weisel !
Yea he was from North Beach which is a small Italian neighborhood literally next door to Chinatown. Funny thing is its just like New Yorks Little Italy in that its basically just a few blocks of tourist attractions and what little of it is even left is quickly being devoured by Chinatown. Most of the good old school mom and pop restaurants have since closed down because rent is simply too high. There is a handful of old school Italian families that still live there but not many. Its hard to find native San Franciscans anywhere in the city these days. That is where Lanza and his crew were based out of. The locals absolutely knew who he was but thats about it. According to all the articles about him he tried very hard to keep a low key operation and was very hesitant to make new guys. The family at its peak had only 25-30 guys tops. Some of them were Zips as well. Lanza apparently did not like all the heat that Frattiano eventually brought on them and quickly tried to make him disappear. There was an even smaller but separate family in San Jose that they were very close with. By all accounts they are completely defunct now also. San Jose had even less Italians haha. Another factor was that the SFPD was known for taking the LAPD style approach to gangsters from the East Coast or Midwest showing up. It’s definitely a big enough city but small enough that new Wiseguys wouldn’t go unnoticed…
Not to jump in,but i thought The Weasel was an LA guy. Since i remember he lived/owned a house and had several businesses there
The Weasel was an LA guy but he was often off doing his own thing all over California. He decided to set up shop in SF for a while and had ambitions of doing big things there. He checked in with Lanza per protocol and got the OK to operate. He figured Lanza was a boring old man not taking full advantage of the rackets there and so he started making moves all over. Problem was there was heat all over him constantly. This is exactly what Lanza always was cautious to avoid. Word came out that Lanza had possibly put an open contract on Frattianos head. I think by this time he had drawn the wrath of his own faily administration down south. This is all stuff he claims in his own book. It wasnt long before he learned of it and cooperated with the FBI. A interesting side note is Frattiano claims even certain Mexican Mafia friends of his from prison offered to help him fight the Wiseguys. Frattiano had done a lot of time in California Prisons and apparently made friends with some of those guys. Those guys held immense power in the Prison System and still do. I dont think they were particularly afraid of the LA Mob guys especially at that time. They weren’t known for having a lot of hardened killers which didnt help then command any respect in gang infested California….
Wasn’t frattiano originally from the Cleveland syndicate? Or somewhere in the Midwest I assume
He was from Cleavland but headed out West and was made out there. Jumped between them and the Outfit for a bit also.. kinda unusual career I guess you could say… most of those California Wiseguys were from other parts of the US though. Mainly East Coast and Midwest cities to my knowledge.
The way he described it in his book was that he was already known to the Cleavland Police and had done prison time there. He figured the West Coast was wide open which a lot of it was. He made a lot of moves in California but continued to catch cases and do stretches in prisons like Folsom. I will say he was a tough guy because Wiseguys in a place like Folsom Prison didnt just get automatic respect as there were not many of them around. He held his own and apparently made friends with some Heavy Hitter La Eme(Mexican Mafia) guys. They even offered to back him up when some of his own LA Family members were turning on him. Not to minimize the power of LCN especially back then but they simply didn’t have that kind of sway in California State Prisons like they did in the Fed Joints. To have the friendship of notorious La Eme guys was a credit to Frattiano’s reputation as a worker in the killing sense. La Eme absolutely hold the most power in that staye system and still do to this day. Lets just say they didn’t appear to be intimidated at all by the LA Family at all. They just took a shine to the Weasel due to his own personal reputation as a tough guy.
That’s correct the prison system has an alliance between the Mexicans and the Aryans. Which leaves out the black gangs. But Italians never did have a stronghold on the West Coast. I believe they were even mocked to a certain degree by the East Coast Italians. I do remember reading something about the Chicago outfit trying to get their hands on the movie industry in Hollywood. I guess Las Vegas was as far west as they had their reach for power.
But like in the movie Goodfellas the Italians had a lot of pull in the prison systems in the East Coast. Obviously times have changed but they still pull strings and they keep among themselves from what I hear.
It’s funny my daughter and I went to Disneyland n California a few years ago and I spoke to a few customers who were Mexican and when I told him I was from the New York City area they were beaming about the Italian mob (when the show Mob Wives was a hit).. they seemed fascinated.
Yea La Eme definitely had a general respect for LCN overall but just not necessarily the LA Family. Seems like the only time they had a solid rep was when Jack Dragna ran that ship and even then their lack of muscle didnt help much. Irony there is that Frattiano and Frank Bumbiansero were two of their main hardened killers and both informants in the end lol. Sorry if I spelled Bomps name wrong. All those vowels get this Mick confused haha
LAPD were known for taking the strongarm approach towards out of town gangsters as well. Its been over dramatized over the years but there was truth to it for sure…SFPD was a very Irish Catholic dept much like the East Coast but LA had a more WASP mentality I believe
there’s a good possibility that the future of organized crime in America will be half breed…
i.e Liam Gambino?? Ha! Just saying…
Shit , thats already been going on for a bit. There are a number of half Italians. Gotti Jr. was half Jewish… times are tough. Gotta find recruits where ya can I guess….They don’t advertise it much but there are a number of made guys who are half breeds…
That is correct. I Just read a great article on a hoodlum from Providence Rhode Island name Ralph demasi… When you get a chance Google this guy’s name ..I think it’s a first..
I think he’s originally from the Cleveland area. But he did set up shop n LA.
Limone came back because “the family”..took care of his family while away.. I mean wow… That’s how they did it in the old days! They’re still honor among these Wise Guys.
That’s the way is should be. Especially if the guy is stand up and gonna do heavy time . I’m not saying there is any good reason to rat out your friends but seems like one of the common themes was guys complaining that no one was taking care of their actual families. Not only that but actually taking over their rackets while they’re gone in prison. Talk about adding insult to injury. From a practical self preservation standpoint as a Boss I wouldn’t want to be giving these guys reasons to flip when they are already facing a long stretch in the can. Maybe I’m wrong but it seems like a few gestures of good faith could go a long way for a a dude who might be on the fence regarding cooperation with the Feds…
Exactly! Especially grabbing their rackets while in prison and not giving back upon release.. that was an issue in Philly with this borgesi fella.. he was pissed! Luckily he’s a stand-up guy..I mean he could of been singing to the feds while out on the street because of the insult.
What’s your take on the Philly vs new England syndicate? Who has more rackets/organized (In your opinion)?
I wouldn’t consider myself the expert by any means on this subject compared to some of the regular posters here. Both families have been hit extremely hard over the past 20 years by Law Enforcement etc… Also both families appeared to have had a fair amount of infighting and factions. I would have to guess that the Patriarcha Family was probably larger numbers wise at their peak on account of them covering a larger geographical area compared to the Bruno/Scarfo family mainly being in Philly. Although they had Atlantic City and other parts of Jersey so its hard to say. I’m sure some of these other regulars on here may have more concrete info about that. I will say that the NE family actually having one of their induction ceremonies recorded was a huge blow to their standing. Both families seem to have been in a constant state of civil war ever since their namesakes either died or went to prison. Both families look like they have some of their old school heavy hitters coming back out of prison though so we’ll see how that plays out.
Just a side note, in my humble opinion the strongest single family in their heyday was the Chicago Outfit!!! Not only did they have a huge city all to themselves but almost all of the other smaller families West of Chicago had to go through them to the Commission which basically meant they had some authority over the other families. They have had a permanent seat on the Commission from its beginning. From what I have read they had more stake in Las Vegas then any other single family and control over the Teamsters Pension Fund. They had a very independent streak from the beginning. A lot of the NYC families were supporting Capones rivals during some of the conflicts. These other families wanted to keep things very siciliano and Capone was a Neapolitan. In the end Capones crew one and everyone else had no choice but to deal with him. They did a fairly good job of actually keeping drugs out of their rackets and not just on paper. They had top guys dealing with corruption in local politics. They had several non Italians basically in Leadership positions due to their skill level as gangsters. Maybe not technically made men but untouchable just the same. Guys like Tony Accardo and Paul Ricca were solid bosses and well respected by their troops. Them and the Detroit Family were very strong and well disciplined. They were one of the few examples of when being much more Americanized from the start actually worked to their advantage.. They are also now a shell of there former selves but I say The Outfit was the single most powerful family in the USA at one point.
there was other reasons he came back aswell he got millions in compensation but it took a few years for him to actually get the money so for awhile he had to earn that played a part. He probably just loves the life its all he has ever known what else is he going to do been in prison over 30 years
Minchia! 30 years. .. I’m sure there were stack of envelopes waiting for him when he got out. But I agree, that’s all he knew (the life).
I always found it interesting the way that family was broken in factions between Providence and Boston. So is my understanding correct that Raymond Patriarcha headed up the family out of Federal Hill and then Gerry Anguillo was technically the Underboss and located in Boston? All these articles and books also claim that Anguillo simply paid Patriarcha a heafty sum for that position but had never actually made his bones himself? That is definitely a unique situation if its true as reported. Anguillo must have commanded enough respect though considering all the various mad dog killers and gangsters running around Boston in that era. Can’t think that was an easy bunch to keep in line not to mention all the other Irish gangs in Boston as well. I dont doubt that the LCN held ultimate authority around there but groups like Winter Hill weren’t just lackeys being ordered around. They had their fair share of stone killers in their camp as well. I read that book “Hitman” by Johnny Martarano and he gives a pretty detailed history of Organized Crime in the whole New England area. I was surprised how much detail it went into. Then you have that movie “BlackMass” where it portrays Whitey talking to Martarono like an asshole. Its been said that was totally inaccurate and no one would have spoken to him like that since he was a fuckin heavy hitter himself. It seems like the mob had been trying to court him and Flemmi for some time but they figured why join up and then have to take orders and give away half their earnings when they were already running their own decent sized Organization. It just figures that a couple of Italians would be running what was considered to be the Irish Mob haha.
That Black Mass movie was complete bullshit. They wouldn’t let Mortarano or KevinWeeks work on it as advisers because they were “murderers”. Holier than thou scumbag producers.Gotta read that book now though…
Definitely read that book dude. I figured it was just gonna be another Whitey Bulger story but it blew me away with the detailed history of all the various Wiseguys around Boston and Providence. You figure most of those guys in the Winter Hill gang were tough guys and killers and still Martarano stood out as a get things done type of guy so what does that say about him haha. In fact it was Kevin Weeks who first spoke out after seeing the movie. I understand that Hollywood is always gonna take certain liberties with the story just to make the movie play out the way they want. They went way off the mark with that one though. I thought Dep did a good job and all but they make it look like Flemmi just reluctantly goes along with whatever Whitey wants. Thats all bullshit. Flemmi was a straight up Sociopath. They pretty much all were in that crew. That other scene where they kill an Italian named Anguillo. Total nonsense!!! They were a strong gang full of killers but notion of them just killing a made guy from the North End is ridiculous. All kinds of stupid scenes in that movie and like you said they had plenty of living members of that gang that could have been consulted for the film.. Do check out that book though, you wont be disappointed.
The book was great! I remember reading something to the extent that whitey never felt comfortable around normal civilians.. he needed to be around killers and hoodlums.
Funny you mentioned Federal Hill and Boston… I recall reading an article about how this was a brilliant concept to separate the boss and the underboss in two different states… And it ran smoothly for decades…and Raymond patriaca was as mean and cunning as they came..
Regarding the winter Hill Gang well I’m not sure if they are still operating or as strong as they were.. I’m assuming once Bulger ran … The gang literally imploded.. I mean all their hoodlums have become authors… Writing books and what not.
RIP Peter. He was really only the boss for a brief period in 2009-2010. Tony Dinunzio & Eddie Lato / Bobby Deluca really ran the family from 2010-2012, until the Strip Club Extortion Bust, which knocked off Lato/Dinunzio & ended in Deluca flipping. Spucky Spangolo acted as a front boss for Tony Dinunzio until his brother, and now official boss, Carmen “The Big Cheese” Dinunzio was released from prison – however, Spagnolo was not being groomed to be a full fledged Don. I live in the North End & if I were to make an educated guess I would tab Carmen Dinunzio as the official boss & Matthew Guglielmetti as the official underboss for the foreseeable future. Greg Costa is Carmen’s right hand man in Boston & my assumption would be his brother Tony will act as his official consigliere when he’s released from prison later this year with Joseph Achille acting as Guglielmetti’s consligere (considering New England structures their hierarchy a tad different).
I’m from NYC..I love the North end especially during FIFA.. so alive and energized.
I thought they ran the same syndicate and that they purposely separated the boss and underboss in different states… I read about this system and it seemed to work smooth for years.