The downward spiral began on March 21, 1980, when Angelo Bruno, the so- called “Docile Don” who built the group into a successful enterprise in the 1960s and 1970s and who served as a member of the now-defunct ruling “commission” of LCN families, was gunned down in Philadelphia. A year later, a bomb blast killed Bruno’s  successor, Philip “Chicken Man” Testa. The subsequent reign of Atlantic City-based Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, which was marked by erratic violence, ended in 1988 with his conviction on federal racketeering charges for which he was sentenced to 55 years in prison. Upon conviction, Scarfo tapped his uncle, Anthony “Tony Buck” Piccolo, to lead the organization, which he did until early 1991. Piccolo passed the reins of leadership to John Stanfa of Medford, N.J., who served as boss until early 1994, when he, Piccolo and numerous subordinates were arrested and jailed on yet another large-scale federal RICO case. In November 1995, Stanfa and Piccolo were both convicted, with Stanfa receiving a life sentence. Ralph Natale, who was released from a 15-year stint in federal prison just six months prior to Stanfa’s RICO arrest, was next to seize control of the organization’s top leadership position. Natale selected Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino to be his underboss. Merlino then went on to assume control of the family in June 1998 after Natale was incarcerated for violating his parole by associating with known criminals.

In the summer of 1999, federal prosecutors obtained two separate drug conspiracy indictments against Natale, Merlino and several of their criminal associates. Both were based on information provided by Ronald Previte, a Bruno family caporegime, who had cooperated secretly with the FBI for several years. To make matters worse for the remnants of this group, Natale himself became a cooperating witness for the federal government just after his drug trafficking indictment. As such, Natale became the first LCN boss to “flip” in the history of organized crime in the United States.

Natale’s cooperation yielded an abundance of information for law enforcement authorities and has led to several important prosecution efforts, including the drug  trafficking case in which he was originally named as a defendant just prior to becoming a government witness. In that matter, with the threat of Natale’s testimony looming, his five former co-defendants, Anthony Viesti, Raymond Rubeo, John Santilli, Thomas Constantine and Robert Constantine, negotiated plea agreements prior to trial.

Based on information Natale and Previte were able to provide, the original drug trafficking charges against Merlino were expanded to a federal indictment aimed at the upper echelon of the Bruno organization. Superseded on three occasions, the indictment in its final form was a broad, 36-count RICO indictment charging nine defendants with, among other things, murder, attempted murder, extortion, loan-sharking, illegal gambling, theft and drug trafficking. Several former members and associates of the Bruno group testified as government witnesses at the trial. Although none of the defendants was found guilty of the murder charges when the verdicts were announced on July 20, 2001, all were convicted of lesser crimes. Substantial terms of incarceration were handed out at the time of sentencing, with Merlino and George Borgesi each receiving 14 years.

On March 10, 2000, Bruno member Peter “Pete the Crumb” Caprio was arrested by the FBI subsequent to his indictment for two murders. Caprio, who at the time of his arrest was the caporegime of the Bruno group’s northern New Jersey crew, was charged with the December 7, 1996 murder of Bruno family member Joseph Sodano and the July 16, 1994 murder of Bruno family associate William “Crazy Willie” Gantz, Sodano’s “right-hand man.” According to the charges, Caprio conspired with longtime criminal partner Philip “Philly Faye” Casale to murder both Sodano and Gantz. Caprio started to cooperate with the FBI shortly after his arrest. He did so after learning that Casale had  been cooperating with the FBI and tape recording conversations in which Caprio implicated himself in numerous criminal activities. On July 10, 2000, Caprio pleaded guilty in federal court to murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, loan-sharking, gambling and other racketeering activities. As part of the guilty plea, Caprio agreed to cooperate with the federal government in return for dismissal of the March 2000 indictment against him.

On March 30, 2000 Camden Mayor Milton Milan was charged with numerous criminal acts in a 19-count federal indictment. The indictment was made public one day prior to Joseph Merlino and several co-defendants being charged in the sweeping federal RICO indictment. Among other things, Milan was accused of taking bribes from the Bruno family, laundering the proceeds of drug deals and spending $7,500 in campaign funds on a Puerto Rican vacation. In addition, he was accused of accepting cash, home improvements and vacations from vendors who were awarded contracts or sought to attain contracts with the City of Camden. On December 21, 2000, Milan was found guilty on 14 counts of the 19-count indictment. While testifying at the Milan trial, Natale indicated that he consciously and methodically sought to corrupt Milan in pursuit of city contracts. Natale testified that he utilized long time friend and Bruno family associate Daniel Daidone to effectuate his plan, which included passing bribes to Milan. During Milan’s trial, Natale testified that he utilized Daidone as a conduit to send between $30,000 and $50,000 in bribes to Milan from 1996 through 1998. On June 15, 2001, Milan was sentenced to 87 months in prison and 3 years probation.

On April 10, 2001, a federal jury in Camden convicted former Hammonton police detective James DeLaurentis of extorting money from a Hammonton bar owner, as well  as accepting a bribe from the owner. The case was based on information supplied by Previte. DeLuarentis, who handled liquor license enforcement for Hammonton, used Previte as an enforcer to intimidate and collect $14,000 from the bar owner. DeLaurentis used Previte to carry out the plot because of Previte’s reputation as an organized crime figure. DeLuarentis threatened to cite the bar for violations that might lead to the loss of its liquor license if the extortion demands were not met.

On March 27, 2001, the FBI arrested two members and seven associates of La Cosa Nostra groups, including the Bruno family, after a federal RICO indictment was unsealed. That indictment charged Bruno family member Vincent “Beeps” Centorino with murder for having conspired with others to murder Sodano. Natale, Merlino, Caprio and Casale also took part in that murder. An August 20, 2001 superseding indictment also charged Merlino with having played a role in the Sodano murder; however, a federal jury acquitted him of both charges – conspiracy and murder in aid of racketeering – on March 8, 2004.

Aside from the relentless attack by law enforcement, the Bruno group’s inclination toward violent self-destruction has contributed to its decline. In the two decades since the namesake boss’ assassination, at least 30 members and associates have been murdered. Scores of others have either joined their former leaders behind bars or otherwise faded from the scene for various reasons. According to various law- enforcement estimates, approximately half of the roughly 50 individuals who are still carried on the books as “made” members of the group are now serving time in prison. Of the 25 or so who are not incarcerated, 15 are considered inactive due to illness or  advanced age. There now are approximately 100 associates, whereas a decade ago there were about 270.

Although the Bruno group has shrunk to the point where it has difficulty mustering enough members to man more than a few street-level “crews” on a regular basis, there apparently remains sufficient criminal activity – primarily illegal gambling, extortion, loan-sharking and narcotics enterprises – to warrant a full-time leadership regime. The current boss is Joseph Ligambi of Philadelphia, who assumed the top post in July 1999 amid the renewed federal assault on the group’s leadership ranks. A member of the Bruno group since his induction by former boss Scarfo in 1986, Ligambi made his “bones,” according to law enforcement authorities, by acting as a triggerman in the 1985 murder of associate Frank “Frankie Flowers” D’Alfonso. Although Ligambi and eight other Bruno family members were initially found guilty of D’Alfonso’s murder and sentenced to life in prison, the convictions were overturned on appeal, and they subsequently were acquitted in a second trial. In 1988, Ligambi was among a large Bruno contingent, including Scarfo, named as defendants in the sweeping federal racketeering case that year. While Scarfo and others eventually wound up with substantial prison terms, Ligambi avoided trial by pleading guilty to gambling offenses and was sentenced to only three and a half years in prison.

Ligambi, thus far, has managed to avoid indictment because he favors an extremely low-key operating style – in sharp contrast to his immediate predecessor, Joseph S. Merlino, who relished playing the role of a flashy wiseguy. “Skinny Joey” Merlino built a high public profile on overblown charity stunts, verbal fisticuffs with New Jersey casino regulators and drunken summer encounters with local police in  Margate. From his base in Philadelphia, he also became a magnet for negative attention within the mob because of his routine failure to pay gambling debts and his tolerance of drug abuse by associates. Ligambi’s stewardship, meanwhile, carries an echo of that of the low-key Natale as remnants of the Bruno organization struggle to regroup. In the long run, however, this sort of below-the-radar leadership may make little difference in the history of the Philadelphia/South Jersey mob. The group’s remarkable propensity for yielding turncoats has left few subordinates who can be trusted to help Ligambi do the job.

Ligambi’s underboss is Joseph “Mousie” Massimino, who was inducted into the LCN by former boss John Stanfa in 1992. 1n 1993, Massimino pled guilty to a New Jersey state racketeering accusation for his involvement in loan-sharking, gambling and drug trafficking activities. He served a five-year prison term before being released in July of 1998. Massimino’s days as underboss appear to be numbered, as he faces a substantial period of incarceration as a result of being indicted in early 2001 by New Jersey state authorities for leading an extensive gambling and loan-sharking enterprise. Until his death in early April 2004, the third person in the hierarchy, serving as consigliere to Ligambi, was Joseph “Joe Crutch” Curro. A resident of Washington Township, Gloucester County, Curro was paroled in 1994 from the New Jersey state prison system, where he served a sentence for murder.

Most of the criminal enterprises that traditionally have sustained the Bruno group continue, albeit at a reduced level. These include illicit sports and numbers betting, video gambling, loan-sharking, extortion and general thievery. Trafficking in narcotics, particularly methamphetamine, also remains a lucrative enterprise for the group’s  members and associates. The 1999 indictments of Natale and Merlino demonstrated that top elements of the Bruno LCN increasingly choose to engage directly in drug dealing, whereas the group’s “made” members traditionally derived income from narcotics second-hand through the financing of drug transactions and from the collection of a “street tax” from narcotics traffickers. The apparent increased acceptance of “hands-on” drug dealing by family members may stem from Natale’s drug-trafficking roots, for which he, in part, served a 15-year prison term. One particular strength that Merlino brought to the group in this regard was an established working relationship with various criminal motorcycle gangs, which have traditionally provided the Bruno LCN with an effective conduit into the illicit methamphetamine trade. Meanwhile, the Bruno group has had limited success in its efforts to undermine and infiltrate legitimate businesses for use as fronts for criminal activities. In one instance, during Natale’s reign, the group failed in 1998 to consummate the attempted takeover of a Cherry Hill restaurant that law enforcement authorities say was to have been used as a base of operations.

One significant measure of the Bruno organization’s deterioration is its virtual surrender of criminal opportunities in Atlantic City. During the Scarfo era of the 1980s, the Shore gambling resort proved to be fertile ground for many income-producing ventures, both criminal and legitimate. Under the Ligambi’s leadership, the organization still seems to lack the wherewithal to mount any foray into the world of legitimate business.