FBI crushed crime family in New York

The head of the Decavalcante crime family, Giovanni Riggi — known as "Uncle John" or "The Eagle" — has been incarcerated since 1990, but he had continued to lead the family from his prison cell, sending down orders through three associates. But at dawn on Thursday, a three-year investigation culminated with the arrest of 11 additional leaders of New Jersey’s Decavalcante family, whose activities often spilled over into the neighbouring state of New York.

In the late 1980s, an extensive operation in New York busted the area’s five largest families, who were under the leadership of John Gotti. Although the families still operate today, they are much weaker and under constant surveillance.

As the upper ranks weakened, smaller families like the Decavalcante clan came to the forefront and expanded their dealings in New York, investigators from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation explained.

The Decavalcante family often worked alongside some of the major families, added Barry Mawn, an assistant director of the FBI’s New York bureau.

If found guilty, the 12 accused Mafiosos face life in prison on charges of killing eight people as well as committing fraud, racketeering and gambling. Investigators believe that Mafioso Frederick Weiss was killed in 1989 by Decavalcante henchmen at the behest of John Gotti, who suspected that Weiss was preparing to consult authorities. The other victims were Decavalcante members or associates suspected of betrayal.

Testimony from former Decavalcante members and federal agents who infiltrated the crime family helped bring the clan down. "The famous code of silence is a dying relic of the mob’s past," Mawn said. "We had collaborators in this case, and the investigation is going on."

"Never before has a single blow of this magnitude been levelled against organised crime," said Joseph Dunne, deputy commissioner of the New York Police Department. "We got them all." In 1978, Riggi succeeded the clan’s founder, Simone "Sam the Plumber" Decavalcante, and avoided prison until 1990 by bribing and threatening jurors.