Philadelphia crime family
The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Bruno crime family, Scarfo crime family, Philadelphia Mafia, Philadelphia Mob, Philly Mafia, Philly Mob, South Philly / South Philadelphia Mob, Philadelphia-South Jersey Mob / Mafia is an Italian American criminal organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is one of the most active American Mafia families outside of the Five Families of New York. Formed and based in South Philadelphia, the family operates in various Philadelphia neighborhoods but holds or has been known to hold territory or influence in other nearby areas outside of Philadelphia and throughout the surrounding Delaware Valley and South Jersey, including Atlantic City, Camden, Cherry Hill, Hammonton, Vineland, Ventnor City, Margate City, Trenton, the city of Chester, Pennsylvania and other areas of Delaware County; Newark, New Jersey; Wilmington, Delaware and the surrounding area; and Baltimore, Maryland. The Philadelphia family is notorious for its violence, due in particular to its succession of very violent bosses and multiple mob wars.
Under Angelo Bruno (1910–1980), or the "Gentle Don," the family enjoyed its most peaceful and prosperous reign. He was murdered in 1980, setting off a brutal mob war that lasted over a year until Nicky Scarfo took over as boss. Scarfo openly involved the family in narcotics, which Bruno had refused to do. Unlike Bruno, Scarfo was infamous for his short temper and penchant for violence. Scarfo's bloody tenure throughout the 1980s saw the murder of over 30 of his own men. Eventually, he and many of his supporters were imprisoned. Following Scarfo's imprisonment, a power vacuum led to yet another mob war and period of unrest that lasted throughout the 1990s until the early 2000s. The unrest was largely the result of two warring factions: the "Young Turks," or the younger American-born members led by Joseph Merlino, and the older traditional mafiosi led by Sicilian-born John Stanfa. Following the imprisonment of Stanfa, Joey Merlino took control of the family. Merlino was later imprisoned in 2001, at which point Joseph Ligambi took over.
