I guess I should have been more specific and provided more information, but alas I was in a hurry this morning. So here's the skinny.

The first time that the Local 30 gets mentioned in connection with organized crime is with John McCollough. Apparently Angelo Bruno and McCollough had long-standing ties until Bruno was murdered. After Bruno's death Nicky Scarfo had a falling out with McCollough over some labor rackets in Atlantic City (having to do with casino worker unionization & some other things IIRC). In 1980 he was killed by a gunman in his home on order of Phil Testa and Nicky Scarfo over the dispute.

Later, Phil Testa was killed by members of the Philadelphia crime family. By a bomb, comprised of roofing nails & dynamite. Reportedly, it was done in this manner to point suspicion towards the Roofer's Union Local 30 (A predominantly Irish union from what I've read); hypothetically, to make it look like revenge for the assassination of John McCollough.

After John's death, Steven Traitz Jr., a former boxer, aligned himself with Scarfo. Using Scarfo's influence he was able to install himself as the new boss of the Local 30. Over the next decade or so, Traitz and his sons (whom were also in the union) would find themselves in a plethora of racketeering charges ranging from union corruption to assault charges (due to Traitz making collections on behalf of Scarfo), and other due to general labour union cronyism. The Traitz sons were also charged in connection with running a methamphetamine ring in the early 2000s.

I had also read that they were connected to the Northeast Philly Mob, a sort of spiritual successor to the K&A gang. Rumoured to be comprised of Irish-American guys from the Local 30, hoodlums from the K&A area, and a network of vending machine and gambling machine operators. Anyways the Internet is littered with articles about the Traitzes. Seems they were marginally important to Philly organized crime.


Last edited by AmericanCrime; 07/25/12 02:38 AM.