February 4 – Gambino associate and former DeMeo Crew member Richard DiNome is shot to death in his living room by an automatic weapon. Two other individuals with no known organized crime ties who happened to be at his residence at the time were also murdered. Authorities suspect members of the DeMeo Crew murdered DiNome to prevent him from becoming a cooperating witness for the government, but no evidence links them to the crime and the case remains unsolved.
February 7 – The entire hierarchy and top members of the Kansas City crime syndicate are indicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri. Charges against the crime family include conspiracy to murder Carl Spero in 1978 as well as skimming operations from the Argent Corporation, the Tropicana casino, and various Kansas City bingo halls. After seven months, boss Carl and his son capo Anthony "Tony Ripe" Civella plead guilty on September 7 receiving 10–30 years and 5 years imprisonment and fined, respectively.
March 30 – Paul "Big Pauly" Castellano and 23 other individuals are indicted by the Southern District of New York in relation to crimes committed by members of and associates to a crew headed by Gambino soldier Roy DeMeo. The 78-count indictment accused the individuals of a variety of racketeering acts including extortion, loansharking and over 25 murders.
April – Cesare Bonventre, then the youngest capo in the Bonanno crime family is murdered.[2] Bonanno underboss and future successor to Phil Rastelli, Joe "Big Joey" Massino feared Bonventre's growing power and wealth and felt Bonventre might make a move to seize control of the family since Massino was on the lam from an indictment at the time. Named in an indictment issued on April 9 charging Bonventre and others with involvement in the Pizza Connection case, Bonventre fails to appear, and is assumed to be hiding out to avoid arrest. However, FBI agents discover human remains stuffed into three 60-gallon drums in an office building in Garfield, New Jersey on April 17. By sometime in early May, the remains are positively identified via fingerprints as Beonventre's. He apparently had about $1600 cash on him at the time of his murder, which was left untouched.[3][4]
April 9 – Milwaukee racketeer Frank "Frankie Bal" Balistrieri, with his sons John and Joseph Balistrieri, are convicted of extortion under the Hobbs Act based on the testimony of an FBI undercover agent by Balistrieri. Introduced to Balistrieri as a vending-machine representative of the Bonanno Family members, soldier Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero and capo Mike "Mimi" Sabella, the agent was the victim of an extortion attempt by Balistrieri after the agent attempted to intrude into the Milwaukee vending-machine business without Balistrieri's prior approval. Balistrieri was later sentenced to 13 years imprisonment on May 29, and his sons received eight-year prison sentences and fined on July 30.
June – The United States and Italy hold the first meeting of the Italian-U.S. Working Group on Drug Interdiction.
June 22 – Laborers Local 95 officials Joseph Sherman and Stephen McNair were convicted of labor racketeering in connection with an extortion of Chiavone-Chase Corporation. Prosecutors allege the extortion was directed by Genovese boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante.
July 2 – In a 4–3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court declares labor leaders can be required by law to be of good moral character,[5] thereby greatly assisting state officials to take an active role in policing labor union leadership.
September 18 – Lucchese crime family leader Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo, along with 21 others and 16 organizations, is indicted for conspiring to monopolize the private garbage collection business on Long Island, New York as well as splitting quarterly payments from companies of an estimated $50,000 between Corallo and Gambino crime family leader Paul Castellano.
December 5/7 – Gambino crime family soldiers (and reputed members of New Jersey's Cherry Hill Gambino Crew) Rosario Gambino, Erasmus Gambino, Anthony Spatola, and Antonio Gambino are fined $300,000 on drug related charges and sentenced to combined 143 years imprisonment.[clarification needed]
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