Linda Scarpa is the daughter of infamous Colombo crime family mobster Gregory Scarpa, who was known as the “Grim Reaper” on the streets. Scarpa was one of the most feared enforcers in the New York mafia for years serving as an executioner for Colombo family boss Carmine Persico and former consigliere Carmine Sessa. Many of the murders Scarpa committed happened during the bloody Colombo family war from 1991-1993. The book by Linda Scarpa called The Mafia Hit Man’s Daughter
According to the new book Scarpa was known as the Grim Reaper “because if you did wrong and were in the life, or you hurt his family or anyone he cared about, it was his job to bring you death.” As a hitman for the mob he claimed to have stopped counting the number of victims at 50. Even as he suffered from AIDS, which he contracted during a blood transfusion he maintained his mafia loyalty joining the Persico faction during the 1990’s Colombo war at the behest of long time mob pal Sessa against a rival internal faction led by Victor “Little Vic” Orena.
Linda says in the new book that her mother, Linda Schiro was a mistress of Scarpa’s and she grew up thinking someone else was her father and that he was just a friend of the family. She didn’t learn the truth about her and her brother Joey’s real father until she was a teenager. But she says even before she knew he was her father she loved him and tells how as a kid, she always had the best cloths and nicest cars. According to Linda her and brother Joey often went with Scarpa to the crew’s Wimpy Boys Social Club in Bensonhurst where Scarpa worked. They always got free chocolate egg creams at the next door luncheonette and candy from the store across the street.
“Greg Scarpa and daughter Linda“
But Linda would soon learn the truth about her father’s gangland dealings and according to her she lived in fear. She tells a story from back 0n November 18, 1991 when she really learned what it meant to be the daughter of a mafia hitman. Mobsters from the rival faction of the Colombo family were waiting for the Grim Reaper that morning as he left the family’s home in Bensonhurst. Linda followed her father out of the driveway when she cut off a van which had come speeding down the block. It almost slammed into her and she had some choice words as she pulled off. When they got to the end of the street there was a truck blocking the intersection and the van stopped behind them and as she looked down at her then 8 year old son she all of a sudden heard sounds like fireworks.
She was right in the middle of a mafia hit as guys emerged from the vehicles and surrounded the cars dressed head to toe in all black and carrying long black guns with silencers. She said as soon as she hard the shots ring out she saw her father go down. At only 22 years old, she froze wanting to put her kid on floorboard where he would be safe she couldn’t move. Joseph “Joe Fish” Marra a mob pal of her fathers jumped out of his car and returned fire turning things into a fire fight. After almost being hit he jumped back into his car as one of the other hitmen panicked spraying shots everywhere including into Linda’s car. She said her father’s car had taken so many shots it looked like Swiss cheese before finally taking off through the stop sign.
Linda survived the violent ordeal and as she returned home, she was confident her father had been killed. She told her mother “Big Linda” Schiro that Scarpa was dead before seeing him walk through the door. She said he was pale as a ghost, but had survived the hit attempt and started to cry after seeing her and the baby were okay. He looked at her and said ‘You saved my life. You realize that, right?’ ” He then said “Don’t worry,They’re all f–king dead. They’re going to f–king die, starting tonight.” Little Linda also goes on to tell about her father’s relationship with the FBI and in particular an FBI supervisor named Lin DeVecchio.
She said her father gave the license plate number from one of the vehicles used in the hit and Lin checked around informing Scarpa that it was owned by William “Wild Bill” Cutolo a member of the families rival faction. She said he knew for sure then that the hit was sanctioned by Vic Orena and Wild Bill and then knew who his targets were. DeVecchio was tried back in 2006 on charges that he helped Scarpa carry out multiple gangland murders during the bloody mafia war, but the case collapsed after Linda Schiro denied DeVecchio’s involvement in the Scarpa murders a decade earlier in an interview with the Village Voice.
But Linda would later tell investigators about how DeVecchio helped Sacrpa through the Colombo wars as his FBI handler. She alleges that Gregory secretly aided the FBI for years in exchange for cash and tips. Little Linda said her father once joked about his relationship with the Feds when they were young telling her to call him “Greg. Greg Bond” in reference to his love for James Bond spy movies. She said it wasn’t until she was older when she realized what he was talking about. She also goes into a beat down of a former boyfriend by her father and his crew and the murder of a man who tried to attacked her as a kid. She even talks about the murder of her brother Joey and much more.
The new mafia book is definitely one of the more interesting to be released over the last several years and is a must read. You can get a copy of the book The Mafia Hit Man’s Daughter
A Scarpa movie would be fantastic esp if it was well done and went into a lot of detail as to the Colombo war and his FBI relationship. This should be a pretty interesting book i think and its one i will def add to my collection.
Don’t forget about his helping FBI during Civil Rights murders. Especially since it’s been found in files of what/who/how he got info about the murders. He was like “Robin Hood ” except his tactics weren’t “legal”,per say
Yes for all the bad he definitely did seems there was a little good mixed in at least in some form or fashion.