Alphonse Frank Tieri also known as "the Old Man" and "Funzi", was a New York mobster who eventually became front boss of the Genovese crime family

Genovese crime family

The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...

. Tieri was the first mobster to be convicted under the RICO Act

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...

.

Early life

Born in Naples, Italy, Tieri's family immigrated to New York in 1911. Tieri was denied US citizenship twice living as a resident alien

Resident Alien

Resident Alien is the debut album from the British glam rock band Spacehog. Released by Elektra Records on 24 October 1995, the album was certified as gold on 29 July 1996 and included the hit single "In the Meantime", which reached the top of the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the United States,...

 in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

. Tieri lived in a modest home in the Bath Beach section of Brooklyn with his wife and two granddaughters. His mistress, a former opera singer from Italy, lived in a house a few blocks away. Tieri claimed to be an employee of a sportswear manufacturer.

Front Boss

In 1972, after the murder of Genovese acting boss Thomas Eboli

Thomas Eboli

Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli was a New York City mobster who eventually became the acting boss of the Genovese crime family.-Early life:...

, Tieri became the front boss of the Genovese family. At that time, it was speculated that Gambino crime family

Gambino crime family

The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...

 boss Carlo Gambino

Carlo Gambino

"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...

 had ordered Eboli's murder because Eboli owed him $4 million. According to this theory, Gambino wanted Tieri to be his figurehead, or front, boss of the Genovese family. However, most experts now believe that it was mobster Philip Lombardo

Philip Lombardo

Philip Lombardo also known as "Benny Squint" and "Cockeyed Phil", was the boss of the Genovese crime family from the late 1960s until the beginning of the 1980s....

 who controlled Tieri, not Gambino.

Tieri was considered a low-profile and diplomatic mobster, a good earner for the family who believed in sharing the wealth with his capos and soldiers. He was convicted of armed robbery when he was aged twenty but avoided further indictments until the end of his life. Given that Tieri was a front boss, it is unknown how much power Lombardo allowed him. However, Tieri did have a reputation as orderly and smart manager who used violence only as a last resort.

Bruno assassination

In 1980, Tieri played a key role in the assassination of Philadelphia crime family

Philadelphia crime family

The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Scarfo crime family, Bruno crime family, Philadelphia Mafia, or Philly Mob, 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...

 boss Angelo Bruno

Angelo Bruno

Angelo "The Gentle Don" Bruno was a Sicilian-American mobster who ran the Philadelphia crime family for two decades. Bruno gained his nickname and reputation due to his preference for conciliation over violence.-Early years:Born in Villalba, Sicily, Bruno emigrated to the United States in his...

 and the opening of Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...

 to the New York crime families. The State of New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

 had announced the introduction of legal casino gambling in Atlantic City and the New York families wanted to open operations there. However, Atlantic City belonged to the Philadelphia family and Bruno wasn't willing to share it. In March 1980, Tieri sent a message to Philadelphia capo Antonio Caponigro

Antonio Caponigro

Antonio Rocco Caponigro , also known as Tony Bananas, was the consigliere of Angelo Bruno in the Bruno crime family. He is known for ending the peaceful Bruno regime by ordering his murder over a dispute concerning the methamphetamine trade.-Early life:Caponigro was born in Chicago, Illinois on...

 that the Mafia Commission would support him as boss if he assassinated Bruno. What Caponigro didn't know was that the Commission had no intention of sanctioning Bruno's murder. On March 21, 1980, Bruno was murdered in his car on a Philadelphia street. The Commission immediately summoned Caponigro to New York for a meeting; two weeks later, his body was discovered in New York with $20 bills stuffed in his orifices. However, the New York families did achieve access to Atlantic City.

Conviction and death

Federal prosecutors eventually charged Tieri with being the head of a crime family that was involved in extortion

Extortion

Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...

, illegal gambling, and other criminal activities. In January 1981, the ailing Tieri, using a wheelchair

Wheelchair

A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...

 and an oxygen tank, was convicted of violating the RICO act. At the sentencing, Tieri's lawyers argued for leniency, saying that he was dying. Prosecutors told the judge it was an act, and the judge sent Tieri to prison for ten years.

On March 31, 1981, Tieri died of natural causes at Mount Sinai Hospital

Mount Sinai Hospital, New York

Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...

 in New York. He is buried in Saint John's Cemetery, Queens

Saint John's Cemetery, Queens

St. John Cemetery is an official Roman Catholic burial ground located in Middle Village in Queens a borough of New York City. It is one of nine official Roman Catholic burial grounds to service the New York Metropolitan Area. St. John along with St. Charles/Resurrection Cemeteries in Farmingdale,...

, New York.