The Marfeo Brothers Murders – A pair of insubordinate Providence bookmakers, both gangster brethren engaged in a bitter feud with New England mob boss Raymond Patriarca, costing them their lives. Willie Marfeo outright refused to pay tribute to Patriarca, cursed him and assaulted Patriarca’s consigliere, Henry (The Referee) Tameleo when he came to discuss the issue, which led to him being shot-gunned to death on July 13, 1966 in a phone booth at the Korner Kitchen Restaurant in the city’s famous Federal Hill neighborhood. Less than two years later, in the midst of trying to avenge his brother’s death, Rudy Marfeo and his buddy, Anthony Melei were killed inside a Providence grocery store on April 7, 1968 by Patriarca-dispensed hood John (Red) Kelley. Patriarca was convicted in connection with both slayings, although his conviction in the Rudy Marfeo-Anthony Melei hits were eventually overturned when it was discovered Kelly perjured himself at trial and the FBI knew about it and covered it up.
Willie Marfeo is an interesting character, the only one who had the guts to tell Patriarca and Tameleo who they are and where they really belong. Although unfortunately I agree with a user from another forum who said time ago that Marfeo was a "guy with balls of the size of a mountain but no brains"....Indeed, if he had any, he would have either gone on the run or hired somebody to kill Patriarca and Tameleo before they killed him, after he said those 2 things you can read in my signature.
Even though it's unlikely anyone would have accepted the job, trying would still have been better than just waiting for being whacked. And those 2 weren't exactly careful, since they felt themselves as sort of untouchable gods who could do anything with impunity: remember that quote, from the tapes where Patriarca and Tameleo were all livid and almost crying that a "small fry" like Marfeo "dared" to act like that, and Patriarca asked "Why haven't you shot him?" and Tameleo said "I would have I had a gun with me". It would have been a really "clever" move, he must have started suffering from senile dementia: if he killed Marfeo outright there, in public, the first patrol policeman available would have dragged him to jail and he would have received a well-deserved life sentence and would have died in jail WITHOUT being painted as a martyr today, because of his wrongful conviction for the Deegan murder. That one was wrongful, but he only got 5 years for conspiracy to commit the Marfeo-Melei DOUBLE murder! Life sentence for 1 murder and 5 years for 2, really "logical"....If he got a "full" sentence for the Marfeo-Melei hit he was really involved in, then again, his death in prison would have been a "natural consequence" and he wouldn't be a "martyr" today.
These 4 framed guys: Salvati was really a victim, Greco and Limone maybe, I don't know whether they have killed anyone before going to jail, maybe not, but Tameleo deserved ending up like he did imo.
P.S. By the way, was he consigliere at the time? I thought he was the underboss. Also, Patriarca's sentence wasn't reversed I think, he was just paroled early (served 4,5 years from a 10-year conspiracy to commit murder conviction); the one who got his sentence overturned was the triggerman, Maurice "Pro" Lerner, although I think he served 18 years or something before he got released.
