The Mafia Commission Trial: Rudy Giuliani’s RICO Tactics Against New York’s Five Families Organized Crime Syndicate
Updated: Oct 1
Giuliani vs. The Mafia: The Battle That broke the mob
During the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, the Italian-American Mafia ruled New York City with power and fear. Mafia crime families traditionally operated under the Italian inspired "La Cosa Nostra" mantra, with deeply rooted operations in New York and beyond.
The five prominent crime families profited from illicit activities such as extortion and drug trafficking, along with a host of other criminal enterprises. Together, they had become the US government's number one target.
Enter Rudy Giuliani, a man determined to disrupt this cycle of crime.
As the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Giuliani took an aggressive approach to organized crime. His efforts would eventually lead to the downfall of notorious Italian-American mafia kingpins and disrupt the structure of the mob.
Giuliani’s vigor and acumen throughout the Mafia Commission Trial reshaped law enforcement strategies across the United States and set a new benchmark in tackling organized crime. Giuliani was more than just a talented lawyer; he understood the Mafia's intricate web of operations.
His strategy was to dismantle the Mafia from the ground up. Giuliani used effective tactics, including racketeering laws, to bring mobsters to justice and create a ripple effect that would alter New York’s crime landscape.
The Mafia Commission Trial
As U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Giuliani led high profile efforts to take down key figures in the Italian-American crime syndicate. Giuliani's aggressive approach to law enforcement leaned on RICO, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. It let prosecutors go after the Mafia's leadership and systematically pursue its criminal enterprises.
The 1986 case, known as the Mafia Commission Trial, was officially titled United States v. Anthony Salerno. It centered on the Commission, which prosecutors described as the governing body of La Cosa Nostra, and put the leadership of New York's Mafia families on trial. Giuliani said he was inspired to pursue the Commission after reading Joseph Bonanno's 1981 autobiography, A Man of Honor. He then decided to use RICO to target the Mafia's leadership.
The racketeering case was significant because prosecutors used RICO to pursue the leadership of an organized criminal enterprise rather than focusing solely on individual criminal acts. The charges included racketeering activities such as extortion and loansharking, as well as the Commission-authorized 1979 murders of Bonanno boss Carmine Galante and two associates. Anthony "Bruno" Indelicato was convicted of taking part in Galante's killing.
After a ten week trial, the jury convicted all eight defendants on November 19, 1986. Three were identified by authorities as Mafia family bosses: Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno of the Genovese family, Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo of the Lucchese family, and Carmine "Junior" Persico of the Colombo family. The remaining five defendants were Gennaro Langella, Ralph Scopo, Salvatore Santoro, Christopher Furnari, and Anthony Indelicato.
In January 1987, Judge Richard Owen sentenced seven of the defendants to 100 years in prison, while Indelicato received a 40 year sentence. The bosses who thought they were untouchable learned otherwise. The full weight of the law had finally come for the men at the top.
FBI surveillance
During the early 1980s, the FBI was gathering substantial evidence against high ranking members of the Mafia. Through extensive investigations and electronic surveillance, federal agents were able to document criminal activity and expose the inner workings of organized crime. The FBI used wiretaps, bugging devices, and other forms of electronic surveillance to monitor organized crime figures, including members of the Mafia.
Alongside the FBI, members of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force also gathered evidence through electronic surveillance. Established in 1970, the task force was created to investigate and prosecute organized criminal activity across New York State.
Its work produced important evidence in the Mafia Commission case. Robert Kubecka, a Long Island garbage hauler who had refused to cooperate with the mob's control of the waste hauling business, agreed in 1982 to wear a recording device. The Information he gathered helped persuade a judge to authorize a wiretap on the home phone of Lucchese family figure Salvatore Avellino.
The surveillance showed Avellino driving Lucchese boss Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo during the day. In March 1983, task force agents, acting under a court order, planted a listening device in Avellino's Jaguar. The recordings and information gathered through the surveillance became an important part of the evidence developed against New York's Mafia leaders.
These surveillance techniques allowed investigators to intercept communications and document meetings that could provide evidence of criminal activity. Wiretaps and other forms of surveillance were valuable in organized crime investigations because they could reveal conversations and relationships that were otherwise difficult to establish. The FBI has documented the importance of undercover operations, wiretaps, and enterprise investigations in its efforts against the Mafia during this period.
The evidence gathered through these investigations helped prosecutors build cases against Mafia members and establish connections within organized crime. Combined with RICO, these investigative techniques gave federal prosecutors powerful tools to pursue not only individual criminals but also the leadership and structure of organized crime.
The mob had spent decades counting on silence. In the end, their own words helped bring them down.
Lasting Impact of Giuliani’s Fight Against Crime
Rudy Giuliani's fight against the Mafia culminated in the prosecution and conviction of some of the most influential figures in the Italian-American Mafia. His efforts represented a significant moment in the fight against organized crime in America. His use of RICO, combined with extensive investigative and surveillance techniques, demonstrated how federal prosecutors could target not only individual criminals but also the leadership and structure of organized crime.
The Mafia Commission Trial also became part of a broader series of high profile organized crime prosecutions. The Pizza Connection Trial, which began in 1985 and concluded with convictions in 1987, targeted a major heroin trafficking network connected to the Sicilian Mafia. Gambino boss John Gotti was later convicted in 1992 of racketeering and other charges. The case was brought by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn after Giuliani had left the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Giuliani's efforts helped establish his reputation as one of the most prominent federal prosecutors in the fight against organized crime. Together, these prosecutions demonstrated the reach of federal racketeering laws and their ability to target organized crime at the leadership level.
Giuliani's legacy
Giuliani's fight against the Mafia demonstrated the character and persistence required to tackle organized crime, no matter how entrenched criminal organizations may be. During this period, Rudy Giuliani faced numerous death threats, with reported contracts placed on his life by powerful mafia figures, according to Fox News.
His aggressive pursuit of organized crime figures made him a prime target for retaliation. Reflecting on the threats he faced, Giuliani said:
"You get used to living with it, and you make a choice, and you say to yourself, it’s worth doing what you’re doing, and it’s always a remote possibility."
Giuliani's fight against the Mafia helped establish his national profile and shape the next chapter of his career. To explore that chapter, read our deep dive into his time as transformative mayor of New York City.
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