December 6, 1983
The war in Philadelphia continued. Mob bosses Angelo Bruno and Phil Testa had met their spectacular ends in 1980 and ’81 respectively. Control of the Philadelphia family had been awarded to Nicodemo Scarfo, through a deal he’d brokered with the Gambino and Genovese families, for partial interest in the gambling mecca of Atlantic City.
Not everyone was pleased with this state of affairs, however. Chief among Scarfo’s detractors were the Riccobene brothers—Harry, Mario and Robert—since Scarfo was expecting the Riccobenes to pay tribute, something they’d never had to do before. It seems that under Bruno and then Testa, the Riccobenes had held special status, been independents and as such, hadn’t had to share their wealth. Now, with Scarfo calling the shots, all of that was about to change. Harry, naturally enough, had other ideas.
“Little Nicky” Scarfo was a ruthless operator. Whereas Don Bruno would use murder as a last resort, for Scarfo violence was always the opening move. It was no surprise, then, when Scarfo decided it was time for Harry to go. He just didn’t expect the Riccobenes to fight back.
It was open war in Philadelphia, the kind of knock-down, shoot-’em-up bloodbath that used to explode in Chicago during the 1920s and ’30s. Gunmen drove through the streets and bodies were dropping everywhere. Once, while Harry was making a call from a phone booth, the Scarfo faction happened by and shot him five times. That wasn’t enough to take out Harry, though—the 70-year-old managed to knock the gun from his assailant’s hand and was still standing after the incident.
Failed attempts like this were getting under Scarfo’s skin, and he ordered the boys to step it up a bit. Though they managed to hold their own for quite a while, the Riccobenes couldn’t stand up to the rest of the Philly Family. It didn’t help that by 1983 not only Scarfo but Harry and Mario Riccobene were in prison. With two top players gone, the Riccobenes weren’t able to hold out much longer.
It was the last volley in the battle for Philadelphia. On December 6, 1983, Robert Riccobene was returning home from shopping with his mother. As the pair stepped out of their car, Scarfo’s men opened fire. Robert turned to run, but didn’t get very far and fell dead as he tried to hop a fence. He had been murdered right in front of his mother, a supposed breach of Mafia rules, which shows far things had gotten out of hand.
The Riccobenes had been subdued, and Little Nicky Scarfo was busy carrying out business from his prison cell. In fact, Nicodemo Scarfo was just getting started.