Ralph Scopo

Ralph "Little Ralphie" Scopo Sr. (November 21, 1928 – March 9, 1993) was a New York mobster with the Colombo crime family who became a powerful labor racketeer. He was the father of Colombo mobsters Joseph Scopo and Ralph Scopo Jr., and the grandfather of Joseph Scopo Jr. and Ralph Scopo III.[1]

Concrete Club

Scopo was the president of the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council of the Laborers' International Union of North America from 1977 to April 1985.[2] During this time, Scopo used his position to extort money from cement contractors in New York in return for large construction contracts and labor peace. Contracts between $2 million and $15 million were reserved for a club of contractors called the "Concrete Club", which were selected by The Commission.[3] In return, the contractors gave a two percent kickback of the contract value to The Commission.[3][4] Although Scopo was only a low-ranking soldier, his membership in the Concrete Club allowed him more influence than some capos in the Colombo family.

In a recorded conversation[2] with a non-club contractor, Scopo was heard explaining:[3]

Scopo: ... The concrete's gotta be twelve million?
Contractor: Yeah. Why can't I do the concrete?
Scopo: You can't do it. Over two million you can't do it. It's under two million, hey, me, I tell you go ahead and do it.
Contractor: Who do I gotta go see? Tell me who I gotta go see?
Scopo: You gotta see every Family. And they're gonna tell you, "no." So don't even bother.
Contractor: And if Tommy goes and talks to them?
Scopo: They'll tell you no. No matter who talks. I know they'll tell you no. I went through this not once, a hundred times. I can't get it for myself. How could I get it for somebody else?

The Cosa Nostra's control over the cement companies was backed up by violence. In a recorded conversation[2] with contractor James Costigan, Scopo explained how the Concrete Club "protected" contractors:[3]

Scopo: If I tell you stories about Contractors that you know, that's supposed to get hurt, that I protected ...
Costigan: Why would any, they get hurt?
Scopo: Well, we ... for doin' what they're not supposed to be doin'.

In another recording in April 1984, Scopo tells an associate that the Gambino crime family had murdered capo Roy DeMeo because they feared DeMeo might become a government witness and testify against them.[5]

Racketeering convictions

In 1980, the FBI initiated Operation Genus against all five of the New York Cosa Nostra families, an effort that would result in the infamous Mafia Commission trial. As part of this investigation, agents placed a remote listening device in Scopo's car.[6]

On February 25, 1985, Scopo and other high-ranking Cosa Nostra leaders were indicted on federal racketeering charges.[7] Scopo was specifically charged with extorting $326,000 from a concrete supplier. As a result of the indictment, Scopo was forced to resign from the District Council.[3] Along with the other defendants, Scopo pleaded not guilty on July 1, 1985, in what would become known as the Mafia Commission Trial.[8] On November 14, 1985, the trial was interrupted when Scopo complained of chest pains and was transported to a local hospital. However, he was able to return to the trial the next day.[9]

Prison

On November 19, 1986, Scopo was convicted in the Commission Trial of racketeering for carrying out the orders of the Mafia Commission.[4] On January 13, 1987, Scopo was sentenced to 100 years in prison without an option for parole and fined $240,000.[10] Two months later, on March 21, 1987, the remaining leadership of the Concrete Workers District Council resigned, to be replaced by a court-appointed trustee.[11] After Scopo's conviction, his son Joseph became the new capo for his father's crew and later family underboss.

On July 17, 1987, Scopo was convicted of federal extortion charges in connection with the Colombo Trial (which was separate from the Commission Trial).[12]

On March 9, 1993, Ralph Scopo Sr. died of natural causes while serving his sentence at United States Penitentiary, Lewisburg.[13] On October 20, 1993, his son Joseph Scopo was murdered by loyalists of Colombo boss Carmine Persico.[13]

References

  1. ^ "25 Years Later, Jailed Mafia Boss Allegedly Still Runs Cement Workers Union". Mafia Today. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b c "Colombo Jury Hears Tape of '83 Conversation About Payments". The New York Times. December 21, 1985.
  3. ^ a b c d e Goldstock, Ronald (1990). Corruption and racketeering in the New York City construction industry: final report to Governor Mario M. Cuomo. New York: New York University Press. p. 79. ISBN 0-8147-3034-5.
  4. ^ a b Lubasch, Arnold H. (November 20, 1986). "U.S. Jury Convicts Eight As Members of Mob Commission". The New York Times.
  5. ^ Capeci, Jerry (2004). The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Alpha Books. p. 14. ISBN 1-59257-305-3.
  6. ^ Busting the mob: United States. New York: New York University Press. 1996. p. 80. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0.
  7. ^ Lubasch, Arnold H. (February 27, 1985). "U.S. Indictment Says 9 Governed New York Mafia". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "11 Plead Not Guilty to Ruling Organized Crime in New York". The New York Times. July 2, 1985.
  9. ^ "Illness Interrupts Racketeering Trial" The New York Times November 14, 1985
  10. ^ Lubasch, Arnold H. (January 14, 1987). "Judge Sentences 8 Mafia Leaders to Prison Term". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Raab, Selwyn (March 22, 1987). "The Government Goes to Work on "Corrupt' Unions". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Lubasch, Arnold H. (July 18, 1987). "2 Convicted of Racketeering In Mafia Construction Case". The New York Times.
  13. ^ a b James, George (October 2, 1993). "Man Tied to Crime Family Is Shot to Death in Queens". The New York Times.

Further reading

  • Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
  • Davis, John H. Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN 0-06-016357-7
  • Goldstock, Ronald. Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry: Final Report of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force. New York: NYU Press, 1990. ISBN 0-8147-3034-5
  • Jacobs, James B., Christopher Panarella and Jay Worthington. Busting the Mob: The United States vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0
  • Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime. New York: NYU Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8147-4247-5
  • Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families: The Rise, Decline & Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empire. New York: St. Martins Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8