Tommaso Buscetta (Palermo, July 13, 1928- New York, April 2, 2000) was one of the first members of the Sicilian Mafia that broke the code of silence and helped authorities prosecute hundreds of Mafia members both in Italy and the U.S. In return for his many testimonies he was allowed to live in the U.S. and was placed in the Witness Protection Program. He died of cancer in 2000.



In 1909, Giuseppe Calicchio, an immigrant from Naples, began work for the Morello gang in Highland, New York as a printer and engraver of counterfeit Canadian and US currency. In 1910, the printing plant was raided and Calicchio along with his boss Giuseppe Morello and 12 other gang members were arrested. Calicchio received 17 years hard labor and a $600 fine, but was released in 1915.



In 1908, Antonio Cecala was a counterfeiter working for Giuseppe Morello. His career was short lived after he was convicted in 1909 of conterfeiting and sentenced to 15 years and a $1,000 fine.



Phillip Leonetti (b. March 27, 1953) seemed to pattern his life after his uncle, Philadelphia crime family boss Nicodemo Scarfo. In the 1980s, Leonetti was moving through the family crime ranks as a mob hitman, capo and then underboss to Scarfo.
After receiving a 55-year prison sentence in 1988 on murder and racketeering charges, Leonetti decided to work with the federal government as an informant. His testimony resulted in the convictions of high-ranking mobsters including John Gotti. In return for his cooperation he was released from prison after serving only five years.