Lawrence Ricci

File:LawrenceRicci1.jpg

Federal Bureau of Investigation mugshot of Lawrence Ricci.

Lawrence A. Ricci (June 17, 1945 Bayonne, New Jersey– November 30, 2005 Union City, New Jersey) was a reputed Genovese crime family caporegime based in Brooklyn.

Lawrence was born to first generation immigrants from Macerata, Italy. It is not known if he is a descendant of Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci. Officially a dairy products salesman, Ricci was actually a major mob figure on the Brooklyn waterfront. In 1979, Ricci was sentenced to prison for attempting to extort $4,800 from a Parsippany, New Jersey restaurant owner.

In February 2005, Ricci was charged with wire fraud and extortion. Using his control of an International Longshoremen’s Association local, Ricci diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Cosa Nostra from a medical fund for longshoremen. Ricci embezzled the money by steering a union pharmaceutical contract to a company with known Mafia ties. The Genovese and Gambino crime families netted over $400,000 and Ricci received $70,000. The trial began in mid-September and Ricci testified early in the proceedings. On October 7, 2005, Ricci failed to show up in court. The judge issued an arrest warrant for Ricci and the trial continued. On November 7th, the absent Ricci and his two co-defendants were acquitted on all counts.

On November 30, 2005, a patron complained about a foul odor and flies around a car at the Huck Finn Diner in Union, New Jersey. The car had been parked at the diner for the last six weeks. The restaurant manager called police, who discovered the rapidly decomposing body of Lawrence Ricci in the trunk; he had been shot twice in the back. There was speculation that the Genovese family killed Ricci during his trial because he had refused to accept a plea bargain and a prison sentence. A law enforcement official was also quoted as saying the slaying resulted from an unrelated power struggle in Ricci's mob crew.

In March 2007, federal authorities linked Genovese member Michael Coppola to the Ricci murder.

External links

• National Legal and Policy Center: LONGSHOREMEN (ILA) Body in Car Trunk Was Ricci’s; Funeral Held
• New York Times: Metro Briefing | New York: Brooklyn: Court Papers Detail Mob Killing By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM; COMPILED BY JOHN SULLIVAN
• National Legal and Policy Center:LONGSHOREMEN (ILA)Union Officials, Mobster Found Not Guilty; Questions Remain
• New York Times: Body Found in Car Is Said to Be Mob Figure's By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
• New York Times: THE REGION; Charge Reinstated Against Fiumara
• http://www.state.nj.us/sci/pdf/solidwaste.pdf