Miles Away (Carrion #1)(2)
In Chicago, the Morena’s had infiltrated the banking industry, lifting millions off of American and international investors.
In Miami, the Castellanos were up to their eyeballs in drug trafficking with connections in Cuba, Columbia, and the Dominican Republic.
In Philadelphia, the Capadonno’s were running protection orders for everyone from local Mom & Pop stores straight up to major sports franchises and politicians. Former mayor of Philadelphia Jeremiah Vincent paid off Sonny and Michael Capadonno just to keep them out of his office on a daily basis.
Meanwhile, up in New York City, the Rigatti’s were the reason the term white collar crime was even coined in the first place with embezzlement, Ponzi schemes, corruption and money laundering. It is estimated that the Rigatti’s profited over 7.6 million dollars in schemes in the 1960s alone.
“The Six” brought organized crime to unparalleled heights. Pooling funds together, the Coalition took their respective cuts and fanned the cash out to all the members of their families. A member’s standing in the hierarchy of their family dictated the amount of their cut, with Capos and Consiglieres earning more than a soldier or an associate. This proved to be an effective model for the Coalition until the summer of 1967.
Relatives of made men enjoyed a protected status, namely the women and the children. No connected member of the six could actively pursue a daughter, sister or mother of a commanding member of the crime family without that member’s consent. Whether it was a capo, a consigliere, underboss or a boss, if you wanted to date his daughter, sister or mother, you had to get his blessing. The Capadonno’s were never exactly known for following the rules, though.
In 1967, when Sonny Capadonno was just promoted to Capo, he made the mistake of getting romantically involved with Gino Rigatti’s daughter Stephanie on the sly. Sonny broke a cardinal rule when he got the daughter of a NY mob boss pregnant. Although Sonny did right by Stephanie by marrying her, providing her housing and giving her money to prepare for the baby, it wasn’t enough to undo the damage that was done. Gino Rigatti was mortified, and worse yet, enraged. Sonny Capadonno and Stephanie Rigatti had brought shame to the Rigatti’s family name.
It was the dawn of a new age. The game was changing, and the Capadonno’s weren’t playing by the old rules. They were flashy and brazen. It appeared to the other coalition members that the Capadonno’s were egging the feds on—daring them to make a move.
On April 17, 1968, Leon F. Capadonno was born to Sonny and Stephanie. It was a birth that should have brought the two families together, but instead it caused a great divide. The baby that came of that union would go on to become the mayor of an as of yet undeveloped town—Carrion, New Jersey. Although in 1968, Carrion, New Jersey was nothing more than a sleepy resort town in the Pine Barrens, it would soon become a hub for organized crime.
On August 24, 1971, as Sonny Capadonno was walking out of the Federal Court House in Center City Philadelphia with his brother Michael at his side, he was ambushed. As he stepped off the curb, three shots rang out. In the middle of broad daylight, Gino Rigatti opened fire upon Sonny, in retribution for bringing such shame upon his family name. Sonny clutched his chest in shock. None of the shots hit Sonny, but as he was blinded by the light of the sun, he couldn’t see where his attacker was coming from. His brother Michael did, though, and as the last blast was fired, Michael reached for his gun and shot Gino Rigatti dead on the spot. His body fell limp and crashed to the street. Michael Capadonno was arrested and served a term of 372 days after winning an appeal that he killed Gino Rigatti in self-defense.
This coup caused the Capadonno’s to make a strategic move. Uprooting from their home in South Philadelphia, the Capadonno’s sought out the quiet refuge of Carrion, New Jersey. The quiet marshes of New Jersey proved to be the perfect location—an epicenter of crime situated between just an hour from Philadelphia, Atlantic City and New York. Leaving the Corelli’s in charge in South Philly, the Capadonno’s oversaw the operations in Philly and Carrion, and now they had their eyes set on Atlantic City and New York. The Capadonno’s would stop at nothing until control was theirs. The Rigatti’s didn’t take too well to this power drive.
Time did nothing to heal the rift between the families. In 1998, Giancarlo Rigatti, son of Gino Rigatti, was shot and killed in a bar in South Philadelphia. Four days later, Miles Capadonno, son of Michael Capadonno, was arrested. He is up for parole in 2015.
As they say on TV, to be continued.
—Handwritten by Federal Agent Tom Cantrocini and contained within the official agency file
PROLOGUE
May 18, 1998
6:37 P.M.
Mi Famiglia Restaurant
South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
THE COOL CROON OF MEL Carter belted from the speakers of the Mi Famiglia restaurant as Miles Capadonno twirled a strand of linguini around his fork. The song “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me” played from the speakers that were situated in the corners of the dining room as the patrons enjoyed their dinner. The song caused Miles to chuckle as he looked up at his girlfriend, whose cheeks were turning pink from embarrassment. Letty Alves looked up at Miles with an innocent gaze. She was a radiant beauty with wavy brown hair and a pair of big, chestnut brown eyes. Despite the glances from other young men in the restaurant, Letty only had eyes for Miles. Sipping on a Shirley Temple drink with an extra maraschino cherry slipped in? Letty listened intently as Miles talked. A lull in the conversation presented itself when a waiter brought a slice of caramel cheesecake to the table. With one lit candle burning from the top of the dessert, Letty smiled, and quietly gushed, “Happy Birthday, Miles!”