Former mob boss dies in custody

PHILADELPHIA — Nicodemo “Little Nicky” Scarfo, whose reign over the Philadelphia Mafia in the 1980s was one of the bloodiest in its history, died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner. N.C., a prison spokeswoman said Tuesday. He was 87.

Scarfo led the Philadelphia-southern New Jersey mob from 1981, when thenboss Philip “Chicken Man” Testa was killed by a nailbomb outside his home, until around the time he and more than a dozen associates were convicted of racketeering charges in 1988.

Scarfo, described as 5-foot-5 with a highpitched voice, was “a greedy, ruthless despot” who reveled in “wanton, ruthless and senseless violence,” Philadelphia Inquirer reporter George Anastasia wrote in his book, “Blood and Honor.” The Philadelphia Daily News once called him “the undersized Atlantic City man with the oversized temper.”

Ultimately, Scarfo’s vengeance and mismanagement forced several of his associates to be witnesses for prosecutors.

Scarfo, a long-time soldier, rose to prominence soon after the assassination of mob boss Angelo Bruno in 1980. His killing set in motion a mob war that lasted more than half a decade and left more than two dozen mobsters dead.

Scarfo’s undoing began in 1986, when he was indicted for trying to shake down a developer who wanted to build a project on the Delaware River waterfront. His reign finally ended in 1988 when he and 16 others were convicted of racketeering.