Nicodemo Scarfo Jr the son of former Philadelphia mafia boss Little Nicky Scarfo has been sentenced to 30 years on racketeering and conspiracy charges. He was charged last summer with committing bank fraud and other related offenses in relation to the First Plus Financial scam. Along with the lengthy prison sentence Scarfo has also been ordered to pay over $14 million dollar in restitution for money stolen from First Plus Financial. The 50 year old mobster received a stiff sentence because U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler believed it was warranted because this would be Scarfo’s fifth conviction and his second time in the federal prison system.
Nicky Scarfo Jr is an alleged member of the Lucchese crime family of the New York mafia. In the late 1980’s a battle was under way for control of the Philly mafia which led to as assassination attempt on the Nicky Jr. The hit is believed by many mob sources to have been carried out by mobster Joseph Merlino as a message to the elder Scarfo that he no longer had control of the mafia in Philly. After the attempted hit and fearing for his son’s life the elder Scarfo struck a deal to have his son become a member of the Lucchese family.
In an indictment back in 2010 for gambling and racketeering charges Scarfo was identified as a capo in the Lucchese family and was in control of the families New Jersey based operations. He along with 33 reputed mobsters in the Lucchese family were charged with running what authorities labeled as a $2 billion dollar international sports betting operation. His father and former Lucchese family boss Victor Amuso were named as unindicted coconspirators as part of the First Plus Financial case.
