Patriarca crime family

Patriarca crime family

Raymond Patriarca, who was the boss from 1954 to 1984.
Founded	c. 1916; 108 years ago (1916)
Founder	Gaspare Messina
Named after	Raymond Patriarca
Founding location	Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island, United States
Years active	c. 1916–present
Territory	Primarily Greater Boston, the Providence metropolitan area and Eastern Connecticut, with additional territory throughout New England, as well as Las Vegas and South Florida[1]
Ethnicity	Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates
Membership (est.)	30 made members (2012)[2]
Activities	Racketeering, gambling, murder, narcotics, waste management, robbery, fencing, loan sharking, extortion, bookmaking, money laundering, smuggling, fraud, prostitution and pornography[3]
Allies	Bufalino crime family Chicago Outfit Colombo crime family DeCavalcante crime family Gambino crime family Genovese crime family Philadelphia crime family Hells Angels MC[4]
Rivals	Charlestown Mob Winter Hill Gang and various other gangs in New England

The Patriarca crime family (/ˌpætriˈɑːrkə/, Italian pronunciation: [patriˈarka]), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia or the Office, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family operating in New England. The family consists of two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, and the other in Boston, Massachusetts. The Patriarca family is primarily active in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with other territory throughout New England.

Raymond Patriarca became boss of the family in 1954 and led the organization from the Federal Hill neighborhood of Providence until his death in 1984. Under Patriarca's leadership, the family profited primarily from illegal gambling, loansharking, pornography and trafficking in stolen goods.^[2][5] Patriarca also held a stake in the Dunes hotel and casino in Las Vegas, from which he benefited from the "skimming" of the casino's revenue.^[6] At peak membership, the Patriarca family consisted of over 100 "made men".^[2]

Upon the death of Patriarca Sr., his son Raymond Patriarca Jr. succeeded him as boss of the family. Patriarca Jr. was an ineffective leader, and he was the target of an attempted coup led by family consigliere Joseph "J. R." Russo of the Boston faction during the late 1980s. Patriarca Jr., Russo and numerous others were imprisoned on RICO charges in 1992, and Boston mobster Frank Salemme subsequently emerged as boss of the family. Internal warfare in the Patriarca family continued in the 1990s as a renegade faction within the Boston underworld led by Robert F. Carrozza challenged Salemme loyalists for control of the family. Salemme and Carrozza were imprisoned during a string of convictions, and Luigi Manocchio took over as boss in 1996, returning the family's leadership to Providence.

The family is currently led by Carmen "The Cheese Man" Dinunzio, who is part of the Boston faction. As of 2012, the family's membership is estimated at approximately 30 "made" members.^[2]