Shanaia Rivera's List: Philadelphia Crime

• The "Black Mafia," naming themselves this with little respect blacks had at the time was formed to coordinate and consolidate historic black crime in numbers, prostitution, and extortion of legitimate businesses, while combining with the rising drug demand in Philly. It can be argued that their success drove legitimate black business and capital, such as the numerous successful African American owned banks, medical practices, stores, landlords, and other AA business to escape the city as segregation pressures faded. Angelo Bruno, the don of the Philadelphia crime family, discouraged drug dealing in his South Philadelphia, but could not prevent deals being made by the NY Mafia families such as the Gambinos, which were doing business with the growing black organized crime that became the Black Mafia. Bruno turned away from renegades who "did business" with, or supplied, the black drug lords, so long as they met their financial obligations to him and to the NY families. In fact, a rough outline of Italian organized crime (OC) east of Broad St., with Black OC west of Broad St. became a shorthand to describe South Philly's hidden forces for decades, damning efforts at urban renewal.
• The Black Mafia used formalized meetings, and legal incorporated nonprofits as cover, and imposed a hierarchy on its members in an attempt to create discipline among members. Members and associates were called "Part I" and low-ranking members were named "The Little Brothers."^{[citation needed]} Members could move up in the chain of command according to certain established criteria. The meetings were organized at different locations between 1969 and 1975 based on this hierarchy, while later iterations of leadership did not wish to record activities on paper.^{[citation needed]} As the gang gained local control, separate meetings were held for those holding positions of power and those that were general members. The average number of attendees ranged from 40-60 and minutes were taken during the course of the meetings. Many members were transported to and from meetings while blindfolded by more powerful members to avoid compromising the secrecy of the location.^{[citation needed]}
• One of the first incidents to be attributed explicitly to the Black Mafia by law enforcement officials was the severe beating of Pennsylvania Deputy Insurance commissioner David Trulli in May 1969. Trulli, then investigating an insurance fraud case, was beaten with a lead pipe by Richard "Pork Chops" James apparently at the request of a third party. Trulli lost three teeth and required 26 stitches to close his wounds. Before James could be brought back from jail in New York City, where he had been arrested for murder on November 23, 1969, he died of a drug overdose. At the time of his death, James had a history of 32 arrests. Camden police department intelligence files states that James was sent to New York at the orders of "Bo" Baynes to fulfill a murder contract. While staying in New York, he had murdered a woman and a child and had wounded the man he was supposed to murder. The files state that James subsequent overdose in jail was in fact, a "hot shot" administered to him by other Black Mafia members. The Strike force concluded the overdose was arranged to "ensure his silence in a Black Mafia related assault case".

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• Quaker domination was threatened by their declining share of the population, while the Anglican-based proprietary party, led by William Allen, sought to woo the German vote. From 1739 to 1740 efforts courting the German vote tripled the voter turnout.^[1]

   

  Tensions came to a head on election day, October 1, with Allen nominated in the election for inspector. Rumors claimed that the Quakers were attempting to bring large numbers of non-naturalized German immigrants to the polls and that the Anglicans were supporting bands of vigilantes to attack them.^[1]

   

  When the two parties were unable to agree on methods to supervise the election, a group of seventy sailors, shouting anti-Quaker oaths, cheering for Allen and wielding clubs attacked the Germans and Quakers assembled at the Courthouse to vote. In response to a hail of bricks, the Germans (and, uncharacteristically, perhaps some Quakers) responded with violence,^[1] albeit defensive.^[2]

• With the sailors driven back, the Quakers retreated into the Courthouse, bolting the doors behind themselves. The Anglicans, apparently believing one or more of the sailors was being held hostage, regrouped to attack the Courthouse.^[2]

   

  A Quaker spokesman managed to convince the rioters that there were no hostages, somewhat quelling the violence. At this point, a number of Germans and Quakers, armed by the Sheriff to defend their rights,^[2] counter-attacked the Anglicans, driving the attackers from the area and allowing the elections to proceed.^[1][2

• n the aftermath of the riot, the Anglicans' proprietary party lost the election in a landslide. Reports show that many voters had altered their original ballots, crossing out their original vote for the proprietary party and instead voting for the Quakers.^[2]

   

  Fifty-four sailors and party leaders were jailed. Allen, the proprietary leader, in an effort to clear his name, sued one of the Quaker leaders for claiming that Allen had planned to assault. The matter was turned over to the Quaker-led Assembly (over Allen's objections) for investigation. The Assembly cast the investigation as the result of public outcry, when it is likely none truly existed.^[2]

   

  After questioning 49 witnesses, most of whom were Quakers and including none of the sailors, the Assembly ruled that Allen, his business partner, the mayor and two others (all Anglicans) should be investigated for being negligent in their duties and subverting the Pennsylvania Charter. Allen was ruled the instigator of the riot. After months of investigation, they turned the matter over to the Quaker-controlled Supreme Court.^[2]

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• Herman and Paul Petrillo were cousins and both were experienced in the world of elaborate crimes. Herman was an expert counterfeiter and Paul was running an insurance scam business. In Philadelphia, they joined forces with Morris Bolber to establish a "matrimonial agency." ^[1] On the surface, the three men were helping recently-widowed women to remarry, move on with their lives, and establish life insurance policies for their new husbands. In reality, however, the agency was just an elaborate conduit towards collecting money from the life insurance policies.

   

  Vincent P. McDevitt was an Assistant District Attorney in Philadelphia. Early in 1939, the District Attorney, Charles F. Kelley, assigned him to the homicide case of Ferdinando Alfonsi, who had died on 27 October 1938. McDevitt immediately had information from two undercover detectives, agents Landvoight and Phillips. From them, McDevitt had an informant, one George Meyer, who ran a local upholstery cleaning business. Meyer encountered Herman Petrillo when he was trying to obtain money for his business. Petrillo had offered to provide him with a large sum of money, legal tender and counterfeit, if Meyer would perform a hit on Alfonsi. Landvoight and Meyer had played along with the murder plot, with Meyer hoping for an advance pay-out and Landvoight hoping to finally bust Petrillo's counterfeiting crimes.^[2] Working undercover, of course, Landvoight helped Meyer "play along," as the Petrillos plotted the murder that they wanted Meyer to carry out.
• The plan was to steal or buy a car, take Alfonsi out to a dark country road and hit him with the car, thus making the murder looking accidental.^[3] Herman Petrillo preferred the idea to steal the car rather than buy one, but Landvoight and Phillips were hoping to convince Petrillo to give them money to buy a car for the murder, as it would give them the opportunity that had so long prayed for, to arrest him on counterfeit charges. In the end, Petrillo sold them some fake tender, ostensibly for buying a means of transportation to the planned crime scene. The "play along" plan continued until Meyer, on a whim of curiosity and concern, decided to visit the intended murder victim. At the front door of the house where Alfonsi lived, Meyer learned from an old woman who had opened the door that Alfonsi was gravely ill. After notifying Phillips, he returned with Phillips and Landvoight to the Alfonsi house. They found Alfonsi to be bizarrely ill, suffering symptoms of bulging eyes, immobility, and being unable to speak. At their next meeting with Herman Petrillo, after Petrillo handed Phillips an envelope full of counterfeit bills, Phillips asked about the plan to murder Alfonsi. Petrillo replied that there was no reason to worry about it anymore; it was being handled, apparently.^[4]
• Ferdinando Alfonsi expired after being admitted to the National Stomach Hospital. The cause of death was heavy metal poisoning. The autopsy revealed tremendous arsenic levels. The detectives assigned to the case were Michael Schwartz, Anthony Franchetti, and Samuel Riccardi. They instantly thought of the rumors, already well-developed, about a highly-organized arsenic killing spree surging through the city. Indeed, there were distinct patterns. The victims tended to be Italian immigrants, as Alfonsi was, and to have high levels of arsenic in their bloodstreams.

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