Family Matters: A 28-Year-Old Is Said To Be Heir to Top Job In Philadelphia Mafia --- Salvatore Testa Has Knack Of Surviving Gunshots; A Clean Police Record --- Did a Jeweler Die of Fright? The Wall Street Journal April 19, 1984 Thursday


Copyright 1984 Factiva, a Dow Jones and Reuters Company
All Rights Reserved


(Copyright (c) 1984, Dow Jones & Co., Inc.)

The Wall Street Journal

April 19, 1984 Thursday

LENGTH: 1790 words

HEADLINE: Family Matters: A 28-Year-Old Is Said To Be Heir to Top Job In Philadelphia Mafia --- Salvatore Testa Has Knack Of Surviving Gunshots;
A Clean Police Record --- Did a Jeweler Die of Fright?

BYLINE: By Paul A. Engelmayer, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

BODY:


PHILADELPHIA -- With more than 70 commendations for bravery, heroism and valor, 40-year-old Michael Chitwood is the most decorated police officer in this city's history. Still, he says, he fears one man: a 28-year-old former real-estate salesman with a clean police record.

The man's name is Salvatore Testa. And according to Mr. Chitwood, who left the Philadelphia Police Department in 1983 to become the chief of police in nearby Middletown Township, "He gives you that look like he might rip your jugular vein out."

More to the point, according to the 1983 report of the Pennsylvania Crime Commission, Salvatore Testa is a member of the Mafia. Indeed, crime-commission members now say that Mr. Testa is the fastest-rising star in Philadelphia's organized-crime family. At an age when many people are just starting to climb a career ladder, Mr. Testa is said by law-enforcement agencies to be on the brink of controlling this city's Mafia -- a job usually held by men twice his age.

It is no small job. According to the crime commission, the Philadelphia Mafia's drug-dealing, loan-sharking, racketeering and gambling operations bring in several hundred million dollars a year. Much of that activity is centered in the coveted Atlantic City market, which the Philadelphia mob shares with the New York Mafia.

Crime-commission investigations show the Philadelphia mob, mostly through "straw owners," controls a significant number of legitimate businesses, including about 100 local restaurants and dozens of bars. It also operates jewelry shops, trucking outfits, vending operations, game arcades, construction and cement companies, janitorial concerns, beer distributorships and other businesses with heavy cash flows that allow behind-the-scenes owners to siphon off an estimated several hundred million dollars annually.

In size, the Philadelphia mob "competes with the largest corporations in the area. The tax loss (to government) is horrendous," says the commission's executive director, Wallace P. Hay. He estimates that between 5% and 10% of an average Philadelphian's weekly expenditures are ultimately channeled back to the mob.

Partly because of his youth, partly because of his exploits and largely because of his uncanny ability to survive gunshots, Salvatore Testa is certainly the mob's most celebrated figure these days. A handsome, stocky 6-footer, he has appeared numerous times on the front pages of local papers. In 1980, in an incident police say wasn't mob-related, Mr. Testa was shot in the groin and leg after an argument outside of a South Philadelphia restaurant. He made his front-page debut in August 1982 after he was shot eight times at close range at an outdoor market in South Philadelphia and left for dead. He survived, but two gunmen were caught and convicted. He dodged another assassination attempt several months ago.

Mr. Testa's father, Philip ("Chicken Man"), headed the mob here for a year before being blown up in March 1981 by a nail bomb planted on his front porch. The junior Mr. Testa wouldn't be interviewed for this article. But his attorney, Robert F. Simone, strongly denies that Salvatore Testa is a mobster, emphasizing his clean police record. "I don't think there's any evidence that he's done anything wrong," says Mr. Simone, who maintains his client gets a bad rap because of his father's reputation. "The evidence is that his last name is Testa. Guilt by association is what it boils down to." Mr. Simone speculates that the gunmen who shot Mr. Testa may have been aiming for someone else.

Still, the crime commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have identified Salvatore Testa as a capo, or deputy, to Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, 55, reputedly the current boss of the Philadelphia Mafia. And to local lawmen, Chicken Man's son symbolizes a new, swaggering breed of mobster that has become dominant in recent years.

The change dates from March 1980, when 69-year-old Angelo Bruno, the "Gentle Don" of Philadelphia organized crime for 21 years, was gunned down in his parked car. Since that time, some 21 reputed area mobsters have been murdered, including many of the more businesslike figures. The leadership vacuum has been filled by a younger, more flamboyant crowd. Like Salvatore Testa, its members are viewed as more violent and brash than the old guard.

To many, a recent incident amply demonstrated the fear instilled by this "new mob." As the police reconstruct things, from the accounts of witnesses, Mr. Testa and several colleagues loitered conspicuously near a local jewelry store run by the nephew of a rival of Mr. Testa's. Sometimes they tapped on the window. The nephew -- who had no known criminal activities -- closed shop early one afternoon in December, shut himself in a walk-in safe and shot himself in the head. "Scared to Death?" asked the front-page headline of the tabloid Philadelphia Daily News the next day.

Shortly afterward, says Gino Lazzari, a special agent of the crime commission, informants reported Mr. Testa bragging that he didn't have to "hit" anybody anymore and that "all he had to do is call them up and tell them he wants to see them."

In another widely publicized incident, a local real-estate developer was punched, kicked and stabbed in the throat, reportedly after a nightclub argument with Mr. Testa. According to press and police accounts, a Pennsylvania grand jury looked into the fracas but didn't press charges after the victim suddenly decided not to cooperate.

"We'd love to convict him of doing something," says Capt. Frank Wallace, until recently the head of the Philadelphia Police Department's organized-crime unit. "Needless to say, he's the apple of our law-enforcement eye."

Law-enforcement officials believe young Testa is Nicodemo Scarfo's right-hand man and heir apparent. When Mr. Scarfo was released from a Texas jail in January after serving 17 months on a handgun-possession charge, it was Mr. Testa who, bedecked in suit and tie and 10-gallon hat, kissed him on the cheek, carried his bags and rode with the boss to the airport in a rented white limousine. Mr. Testa's attorney says the encounter was "merely a show of friendship. There's no crime to be with somebody."

Salvatore Testa's swift rise through the underworld, as described by Mafia watchers, shows the extraordinary importance of family connections in this most veiled of professions.

Mr. Testa's father, a longtime lieutenant of Angelo Bruno's, had a criminal record stretching back to 1940. By the mid-1970s, he had become Bruno's underboss. When Bruno died, he was the natural successor.

But Philip Testa sheltered his son from mob activities for more than two decades, the police say. Salvatore was raised in South Philadelphia, where he attended several private Catholic schools. Albert DiGiacomo, vice principal of St. John Neumann High School, remembers him as an average student who was respectful to his teachers and got along well with other students.

After a year at Temple University, he went to work as a real-estate salesman for a South Philadelphia firm owned by family friend Ralph Pupo, Angelo Bruno's son-in-law. Mr. Pupo says Salvatore was an "astute" salesman who worked 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week. "He's a very kind and gentle person," Mr. Pupo says. "To us, he's still a wonderful little boy."

Around 1979, Salvatore gave up full-time real-estate work. That year, he and the son of another reputed mobster applied for a liquor license at an Atlantic City nightclub they had bought in 1977 with $195,000 of their fathers' money. But the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control turned them down, citing in its decision its suspicion that the young men were fronting for their "criminally disqualified" fathers. In protest, the pair's attorney accused state officials of applying the adage "Like father, like son."

The police believe Philip Testa initiated his son into the Mafia shortly before he was murdered. (Salvatore's mother had died of cancer four months earlier.) Soon after the murder, the police say, they began to hear that Salvatore had vowed revenge.

Exactly one year to the day after Philip Testa's death, the body of a man named Rocco Marinucci turned up in a green plastic trash bag in a south Philadelphia parking lot. Mr. Marinucci, a low-level ally of Philip Testa's foes and a prime suspect in the elder Testa's murder, had been shot numerous times in the chest, neck and mouth, and his hands were bound with clothesline. Three large, unexploded firecrackers had been stuffed into his mouth -- a symbol, say organized-crime experts, that Philip Testa's friends had reciprocated for the nail bomb. No one has been charged with Marinucci's murder.

Since then, according to the crime commission's Mr. Hay, Mr. Testa has consolidated his power, bringing many friends into the mob. He has also inherited many of his father's allies. The most crucial has been Mr. Scarfo, a dapper former boxer who took over the mob after the death of Philip Testa, his mentor.

According to the Philadelphia police, much of Philip Testa's wealth has also passed to his son, including four Philadelphia properties valued at about $800,000. Salvatore Testa made an additional $1.1 million last year from the sale of his Atlantic City nightclub, bought through a third party by developer Donald Trump. The night Philip Testa was slain, the police found $15,000 in cash on his body and another $90,000 in his home.

Salvatore Testa is almost never seen in public without several husky friends, who surround him when he frequents this city's stylish nightclubs. Detectives say he is an amateur athlete with a fascination for mob lore. Officers who searched the Testa home after the father's death found a video cassette recorder downstairs with tapes of just two movies: "The Godfather" and "Godfather II." Until recently, Mr. Testa was engaged to be married to the daughter of Salvatore "Sonny" Merlino, described as Mr. Scarfo's underboss.

Authorities say Mr. Testa has played a key role in Mr. Scarfo's bloody turf feud with a mob faction headed by Harry "The Hunchback" Riccobene, 73, a former Bruno deputy who fell out of favor when Philip Testa gained power. Mr. Riccobene was the target of two unsuccessful murder attempts in 1982, shortly before he left to serve a racketeering sentence in jail.

The attempt on Mr. Testa's life in the summer of 1982, police say, was meant as retaliation. Joseph Pedulla and Victor DeLuca, the two men convicted in January 1983 of the shooting, are described as allies of Mr. Riccobene. Most recently, Mr Riccobene's half brother, Robert, was shot dead as he walked his mother from his car to her home. Mr. Riccobene's nephew, Enrico, was the jeweler who committed suicide eight days later.

Appreciate the articles, man.

Great article

Thanks curiosity I tried of find the article but nothing but its sad that a man even a mobster was killed for a newspaper article.

He wasn't killed over a newspaper article, there's a lot more to it than that.

Sinatra is correct. Salvie was murdered due to Chuckie Merlino's bitterness at Testa for leaving his daughter, rumors that may have been true told by soldiers such as Faffy and Tommy Del, and for his disrespect to Scarfo and Chuckie Merlino.

Salvie decided to go against authority and became "too big for his britches".

In the Mafia, that is a perfectly justifiable reason to be killed.

I'm not agree,in the Leonetti book Salvie ask Scarfo if can broke with Maria Merlino without offend Merlino and Scarfo said that you re young and something similar.
When the article said that Testa as the crowned prince of mafia in philly, the Scarfo ego was damaged and give that Merlino was angered with Salvie scarfo put gasoline on fire and said to his underboss that Salvie disrespected him and his family. More scarfo was the boss and salvie a trusted capo while merlino was a drunken underboss if he wanted that Salvie gonna live he would fuck off merlino when he must asked the ok for whack alive, but Scarfo in his paranoia feared to be killed by scarfo like Bruno and phil testa, so the fate of salvie was signed.

I really think that news story got him killed, similarly how that story on Sonny Franzese in the 60s " The hood in our neighborhood", made Colombo nervous, as it described him not only as the Colombo heir apparent, but COSA NOSTRAS big comer..



I just think Scarfo feared Testa, that story with Maria is goofy, what kind of boss kills his most trusted, capable capo, basically over some broad? And this from the guy WHO WENT TO BAT FOR CHUCKIE WHO BROKE THE RULES AND FUCKED WITH A MADE MANS NIECE, or daughter, or whatever.

So he could bend the rules for Chuckie, ( who he eventually shelved anyway cause he was a hot mess and petty, and pit his guys against each other, just a bad leader)not a kid who he was supposed to look on as another son?
The hippocracy is shameless...

I can see your thought process and I agree in theory but in actuality by the time Salvie was killed in September 1984, he wasn't Scarfo's "most trusted, capable capo". He was definitely capable but not trusted.

By this point, Salvie was making moves on his own, not reporting to meetings, and allegedly got in a fight with Scarfo at Scarfo's house and got kicked out. I think he also got in a fight with Chuckie Merlino, though I'm not sure.

It is hippocracy but think who we're talking about. Shameless, indeed.

Scarfo definitely feared Testa but it seriously wasn't because of this news article. Look at the informants, neither Tommy Del, Nicky Crow or Phil Leonetti cite the article story as being the reason he was killed, they all say the same thing. First off, Scarfo was playing the Merlino/Testa situation to his advantage. I think its Nicky Crow or Leonetti who says Testa actually went to Scarfo while he was in La Tuna and asked for his advice on how to handle the situation with Merlinos daughter. Scarfo told him he was young, and had the right to see and be with who he wanted, and if it wasn't Chuckies daughter then so be it. Testa told Scarfo Chuckie was making an issue of him calling the wedding off, Scarfo told Testa he'll handle Chuckie when he came home. Scarfo himself was playing both sides because he actually feared that if Testa married Merlinos daughter, they'd form this eventual super-faction of the Testa's and Merlinos and would move to take over the family for themselves.

Second, there's the issue of Testa's rackets, his crew and the money he was earning and Merlino wanting it for himself. When Scarfo came home, the guys under Chuckie Merlino, Faffy Iannerella and Tommy Del were feeding things to Scarfo, some of which was debatable, like Testa using drugs as well as dealing them, Testa wanting to break from the Scarfo mob and start his own family, and that Testa had gotten too close with the blacks. Testa wasnt a user, but he certainly made money off the Meth, and p2p trafficking that was going on. By most accounts Testa was very loyal to Scarfo, it's debatable if he ever wanted to start his own family, again most sources say that was unlikely, and he definitely wasn't forming a supergang with his crew and black gang members. What Chucky's men were doing was giving Scarfo reasons and getting him riled up enough to sign off on a hit on Testa. According to Nicky Crow, Merlino definitely felt disrespected by Testa calling off the wedding after everything was set and paid for, but according to Crow, Merlinos own words were "he can live if he simply steps down as a capo and gives up everything (his rackets and his crew) and started from the bottom again as a soldier". Thats supposedly what he told Crow and Charlie White. That gives the impression that it wasn't about the wedding, but simply a scheme for money, and a way to make Testa's posessions, his own (Merlino). Leonetti, despite his later claims, did not vouch for Testa, nor did anyone else, and Scarfo decided to hit him.

Considering all this informant testimony, which you can read from Crow himself in his book, Blood And Honour, and the court testimonies of Tommy Del, the article played a little role in Testas death. By the time this article came out, Testa may have already been on the hitlist, as I believe it came out around the same time, or after the funeral they had all attended, in which Merlino gave Testa the kiss of death. Nicky Crow also testified that he was told that during a dinner, which he didn't attend, that Merlinos group "buried Testa last night, and Scarfo says he's gotta go"....Crow also testified during court that he believed as he was told, that Testa was killed as an "affair of honor" for calling off the wedding , an action Scarfo had earlier backed him on, and that Testa had "gotten too big for his britches". The latter of which was the result of the burying of him by Merlino and his crew to Scarfo.

Its a nice story to recite, but the article literally had little to do with the murder of Salvy Testa.

And Testa only stopped showing up to meets after he'd heard there was a hit out on him by his own guys. He stopped going to Atlantic City, and every supposed meeting, was simply a reason to get him to a place so he could be killed. They came up with numerous, fake meetings and Testa ditched them all, he knew how they planned. He didn't expect his child hood friend and the guys he had recruited into the mob to turn on him, which is what happened and that's how they caught him. Pungitore approached him with a phony issue of one of the Grande brothers having issues with collection money, and that he needed help from Testa on how to handle it, Testa was lured to a clubhouse he was renovating, and was shot in the back of the head by Wayne Grande, I believe it was.

And Merlino was known as a heavy drinker, but at this time, Scarfo still had a little faith in him that he'd get it together.

Scarfo, Jr?

Scarfo Sr, I believe.
It wasn't necessarily a physical fight, more an argument.
At least, I think that is what happened. I'll try to find the article saying that.

I always wonder what would of happened if Scarfo had had a change of heart and changed his mind on killing him, what would of become of him? My view is he would of gone done with Scarfo, faffy, Pungitore etc in the late 80s, and actually may be coming out of prison around now like Faffy did. Man that would be interesting!

It had to be Scarfo Jr.
You cannot touch a boss and live....Remember Paulie Gulino?

If he touched Sr., he would have whacked him right there...Look what happened to people who dis the quality of his concrete work!

Sr. was 55 years old in 1984...Don't think a 28 year old would try and fight a 55 year old man AND a tiny one...Testa was over 6 feet I think.

He'd definitely be running the Philly Mob right now I believe. I know there would definitely be no Merlino or those guys, Stanfa would've never risen up the way he did in those guys absence. The Merlinos would've been outcasts with Chucky and his drinking, and the fact that people actually wanted to kill Joey. I think Ligambi would still be in the admin right now, but aside from him, I don't think any of the Joey Merlino camp would've climbed the ranks very far. One or two of them may have been capos. Testa would've never allowed the Nicky Jr shooting to take place, so he'd be a high ranking capo almost definitely. I think the landscape would be entirely different. With Scarfo Jr acting until they all got released.


And it probably wasn't a fight but a verbal argument. In that case it would definitely be Scarfo Sr.

@Sinatra
+1 to all of that-Good Post



Yeah the timeline pretty much nixes the "article" theory, I just think Scarfo succumbed to his insecurities a little bit. A guy like Chin wasn't uncomfortable around talent, but a lot of these guys, instead of taking notes, or trying to break bread WITH the earners, just get jealous.

You know what if Scarfo never took that gun charge? I think that single, little 22 might have caused a lot of the Philly mobs decline, kinda crazy when you think about it.

I also think the Riccobene war was a mistake. That was a another talented guy, he shoulda sat down with him. Maybe made a Castellano-Dellacroce type deal, in the book The Laws of Power, there is a very interesting chapter about how to "use your enemies". Machiavelli touches on it as well in the Prince. He basically cannibalized two of, maybe his two STRONGEST crews, for very little gain, I mean Ima take the guys who built up the rackets over the jackals feeding on the carcass...

Well said my friend.

Solid post Cabrini

Here's the article that mentions Scarfo and Salvie getting in a fight. Doesn't say too much. Just one sentence.

http://articles.philly.com/1987-04-11/ne...ta-angelo-bruno

Quoting it: "Two weeks before Testa was found shot to death, according to word that reached authorities, the two men had argued and Scarfo had thrown Testa out of his Atlantic City apartment."

Thanks for sharing this very interesting article. Sounds like Testa could have made it to the top if he didn't get too big for his britches. Very talented guy. what a waste

Very strong points my friend. Still the Riccobene war was unavoidable. Harry clearly didn't respect Nicky and he has made that publicly obvious. Bruno had a great understanding with the Hunchback and could always count on that wing of the Family.

You guys have all the media reports and know just about what happened. The argument was (not )with jr. he was a teen at the time and was not the type to step to Salvie .

This was a perfect storm on Salvi , he was making moves that he did not want others to know and it would not of been a big deal if that was all it was .

He had Chuckie and Tommy and others very jealous of him from the get go ,,,, He had that dumping of the underboss daughter and the fact he had money legally and under the table and a crew of guys that would not bend for solders unless Sal told them to.

The argument was with sr. and I am sure it was about all the shit set up by all those guys in Philly that wanted what he had and they knew NIck was shoot first so they were putting shit out there that was true but twisted.

Nick was not going to go down like Bruno and Testa he was going down his way and everyone knew it and Harry did to.

Nick was the boss and that was that and if you got in his way you were dead .

Always wanted to see the real article that made scarfo go over the edge..nice,,thanx!!

Anyone know the date that Salvie decided to end the engagement to Maria?

I am not 100% convinced that him breaking up with Merlino's daughter is what put the wheels into motion....I don't doubt that it was MORE of a valid reason that SCarfo could sell to the Underboss on Consig as well as the Capos and soldiers BUT, I 1000% agree that Scarfo's methodology of you have to "Kill em and keep on killing" motto that made this happen.

I think it is safe to say that Scarfo was one to think that the rules applied to his minions but somehow, the upper echelon, and more importantly himself, THEY DIDN'T.


Examples:

Watching NY give a pass to Antonio Pollina (Supposedly wanted to whack his boss, which is his right as family boss)

Scarfo himself insulted Consigliere's Giseppe Rugnetta's daughter by calling her ugly supposedly.....Would have equaled death if not for Bruno's compassion.

Scarfo killing a civilian over a seat at a diner.


Salvie was a loyal guy that just got a lot of press for being the Boss's son.


I also believe there is a strong possibility that Little Nicky had a partial interest in eliminating Chicken man....Obvioulsy it is a theory but, does anyone have ANY info to say that Little Nicky was so loyal to Chicken Man, that the theory holds water?

I can totally understand how Caponigro and his crew were angry at Bruno for allowing other families to drug deal, while taking the profits BUT, what exactly did Chicken Man do to set Narducci off? Narducci was already a very rich man without the heat that a boss acquires?

When Ang Bruno was whacked there was a meeting at the Caribe Gardens in south philly attended by representatives of the NY family. At this meeting was Chickie Narducci. The NY family asked Narducci to take the boss position. Narducci declined because of his loyalty to Phil Testa who was actually in line for this position. Testa was named boss and immediately named Scarfo as his under boss instead of Narducci. This infuriated Narducci and he felt disrespected so Testa would have to go. This is the real story

Bruno's compassion AND because he did'nt want cause a rift w/Nicky uncles...Salvie got the press AFTER his pop was killed..Narducci wanted the POWER & was pissed that Phil named Pete Casella underboss.

Testa named Pete Casella (a drug dealer no less) as underboss & Scarfo as Consigliere..