John Nardi
Encyclopedia
John Nardi was an influential associate of the Cleveland crime family who was involved in labor racketeering in Cleveland, Ohio
. At the end of his criminal career, Nardi turned against his crime family in a bloody gang war.
, a retired consigliere
from the Cleveland crime family. He earned his first police record entry in 1939 at the age of twenty three. He had been employed by vending workers union to sell the services of their repair technicians. Sometimes he was too enthusiastic. When Nardi threatened a bar owner with bodily harm, the then Safety Director Elliot Ness ordered him to be arrested. Eventually, the charges were dropped.
Nardi soon became business partners with Ohio
Teamsters
official William Presser, a mob associate and father of future Teamsters president Jackie Presser
in several Jukebox companies.
By the 1940s, Nardi had become a member of the Vending Machine Service Employees Local 410, part of the Teamsters Union. He soon became secretary-treasurer of the Local. Nardi also formed ties with Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno
a future boss with the Los Angeles crime family
with whom he also ran a bookmaking operation in Cleveland's Little Italy.
Nardi soon built numerous street rackets such as illegal drugs, extortion
, labor racketeering, illegal firearms, illegal gambling, and loan sharking.
), but he was too independent and ambitious to accept its structure. Not content to wait years to become a made man
, or full member, of the organization, Nardi eventually stopped paying tribute to the family. By the late 1960s, the Cleveland family was losing patience with Nardi due to his independence and his ties with Danny Greene
, the boss of Cleveland's Irish mob
. In 1976, Nardi returned from Florida
where he successfully defended himself against federal narcotics and gun-running charges. His uncle, Anthony Milano, was hoping to have his son, Peter, return from the West Coast to work with Nardi. Upon his return, he approached Danny Greene for an alliance. The Cleveland crime family had already made several attempts on Nardi's life and Nardi needed to find allies. Greene saw that Nardi's street rackets would be a valuable addition to his organization.
In 1976, after the Moceri murder, Licavoli and new underboss Angelo Lonardo
went to New York to talk to Anthony Salerno
, the titular head of the New York Genovese crime family
. The two Cleveland mobsters wanted Salerno's help in murdering Greene and Nardi. Nardi and Greene had previously taken a trip to New York to discuss a partnership with Gambino crime family
boss Paul Castellano
about a meat business venture in Texas. Salerno agreed to speak to Castellano and to have Nardi and Greene murdered on their next trip to New York. However, neither Greene or Nardi travelled to New York again.
Just weeks before his death, Nardi granted an interview to a reporter inquiring about a rumor that Licavoli and he were feuding. During the interview, Nardi stated that he and Licavoli were lifelong friends and vehemently denied the allegations that there was a feud between them. He also denied that Danny Greene worked for him stating that they were just friends.
On May 17, 1977, in Cleveland, a bomb was placed in a car next to Nardi's vehicle in the rear of the parking lot of the Teamsters Joint Council 41, across from the musicians union. When Nardi left his office and entered into his vehicle, the bomb was detonated by remote control. The impact from the explosion had blown away both of Nardi's legs. According to the book To Kill the Irishman by Rick Porrello, as Nardi was being pulled away from the wreckage, Nardi whispered "It didn't hurt" in a final act of defiance. He was pronounced dead within minutes.
. In the film, Nardi is portrayed as a high ranking Cleveland crime family member rather than an associate. Being passed over for promotion to boss of the family and James Licavoli taking over Nardi's rackets prompts Nardi to fully align himself with Greene.
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
. At the end of his criminal career, Nardi turned against his crime family in a bloody gang war.
Early years
Born Giovanni Narcchione in Cleveland, Nardi began his mob work as an enforcer for the local vending machine workers union. He is the cousin of Anthony Delsanter, brother of Nicholas Nardi and father of John Nardi Jr. and Carol Nardi. Nardi would become a representative of his uncle Anthony MilanoAnthony Milano
Anthony "Tony" Milano was an Italian mobster who rose to power in America working for the Cleveland crime family in the American Mafia. He served as the long time Underboss in the Cleveland crime family from 1930 until his retirement in 1976...
, a retired consigliere
Consigliere
Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
from the Cleveland crime family. He earned his first police record entry in 1939 at the age of twenty three. He had been employed by vending workers union to sell the services of their repair technicians. Sometimes he was too enthusiastic. When Nardi threatened a bar owner with bodily harm, the then Safety Director Elliot Ness ordered him to be arrested. Eventually, the charges were dropped.
Nardi soon became business partners with Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
official William Presser, a mob associate and father of future Teamsters president Jackie Presser
Jackie Presser
Jackie Presser was an American labor leader and president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters from 1983 until his death in 1988. He was closely connected to organized crime, and allegedly became president of the Teamsters based on the approval and support of the Cleveland Mafia...
in several Jukebox companies.
By the 1940s, Nardi had become a member of the Vending Machine Service Employees Local 410, part of the Teamsters Union. He soon became secretary-treasurer of the Local. Nardi also formed ties with Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno
Jimmy Fratianno
Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno was a Cleveland, Ohio, mobster and later acting head of the Los Angeles crime family before becoming a government witness...
a future boss with the Los Angeles crime family
Los Angeles crime family
The Los Angeles crime family is an Italian American criminal organization based in Los Angeles, as part of the American Mafia . Since its inception in the early 1900s, it has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. family gained power...
with whom he also ran a bookmaking operation in Cleveland's Little Italy.
Nardi soon built numerous street rackets such as illegal drugs, 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...
, labor racketeering, illegal firearms, illegal gambling, and loan sharking.
Fight with the family
Nardi could have enjoyed a bright future with the Cleveland family (the Licavoli Crime FamilyLicavoli Crime Family
The Licavoli Mob was an Italian American mob that was based in Detroit and St. Louis. The mob was formed by the brothers Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli and Peter "Pete" Licavoli.- Background :...
), but he was too independent and ambitious to accept its structure. Not content to wait years to become a made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
, or full member, of the organization, Nardi eventually stopped paying tribute to the family. By the late 1960s, the Cleveland family was losing patience with Nardi due to his independence and his ties with Danny Greene
Danny Greene
Daniel "Danny" J. Patrick Greene was an Irish American mobster and associate of Cleveland mobster John Nardi during the gang war for the city's criminal operations during the 1970s. Competing gangsters set off more than 35 bombs, most attached to cars in murder attempts, many successful...
, the boss of Cleveland's Irish mob
Irish Mob
The Irish Mob is one of the oldest organized crime groups in the United States, in existence since the early 19th century. Originating in Irish American street gangs of the 19th century — depicted in Herbert Asbury's 1928 book The Gangs of New York — the Irish Mob has appeared in most...
. In 1976, Nardi returned from Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
where he successfully defended himself against federal narcotics and gun-running charges. His uncle, Anthony Milano, was hoping to have his son, Peter, return from the West Coast to work with Nardi. Upon his return, he approached Danny Greene for an alliance. The Cleveland crime family had already made several attempts on Nardi's life and Nardi needed to find allies. Greene saw that Nardi's street rackets would be a valuable addition to his organization.
Gang war
In 1976, the smouldering dispute between the Cleveland family and Greene and Nardi broke into open warfare. Both sides started planting car bombs in mobsters' cars. The warfare escalated with the murder of Cleveland underboss Leo Moceri. Each year the Cleveland family ran the Feast of the Assumption festival in the Little Italy section of Cleveland. At the end of the 1976 festival, Nardi claimed that the Cleveland family owed him a share of the illegal gambling profits from that event. Moceri publicly denied Nardi's claim and the two sides exchanged threats. In the summer of 1976, Moceri disappeared; in August his Mercedes-Benz sports car was found soaked in blood. Greene and Nardi then went after Eugene "the Animal" Ciasullo, the family's most feared enforcer. Ciasullo was seriously injured by a bomb placed on his front porch.In 1976, after the Moceri murder, Licavoli and new underboss Angelo Lonardo
Angelo Lonardo
Angelo Anthony Lonardo was a Cleveland crime family mobster who later became the acting boss of the family in the early 1980s. Lonardo was born in 1911 in Cleveland to Joseph and Concetta Lonardo. His godfather was Anthony Milano...
went to New York to talk to Anthony Salerno
Anthony Salerno
Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was a New York mobster who served as front boss of the Genovese crime family to family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante from the 1970s until his conviction in 1986...
, the titular head of the New York 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...
. The two Cleveland mobsters wanted Salerno's help in murdering Greene and Nardi. Nardi and Greene had previously taken a trip to New York to discuss a partnership with 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 Paul Castellano
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
about a meat business venture in Texas. Salerno agreed to speak to Castellano and to have Nardi and Greene murdered on their next trip to New York. However, neither Greene or Nardi travelled to New York again.
Death
There were two murder attempts on Nardi's life by Cleveland family mafiosi Butchie Cisternino and Allie Calabrese prior to his eventual murder. They tried to assassinate Nardi in Little Italy with a high-powered rifle. Another attempt was made a few days later when a shotgun blast was fired at Nardi from a moving car. In response to these murder attempts, Nardi threatened that everyone responsible for taking shots at him would be killed.Just weeks before his death, Nardi granted an interview to a reporter inquiring about a rumor that Licavoli and he were feuding. During the interview, Nardi stated that he and Licavoli were lifelong friends and vehemently denied the allegations that there was a feud between them. He also denied that Danny Greene worked for him stating that they were just friends.
On May 17, 1977, in Cleveland, a bomb was placed in a car next to Nardi's vehicle in the rear of the parking lot of the Teamsters Joint Council 41, across from the musicians union. When Nardi left his office and entered into his vehicle, the bomb was detonated by remote control. The impact from the explosion had blown away both of Nardi's legs. According to the book To Kill the Irishman by Rick Porrello, as Nardi was being pulled away from the wreckage, Nardi whispered "It didn't hurt" in a final act of defiance. He was pronounced dead within minutes.
In popular culture
In the 2011 film Kill the Irishman, John Nardi was portrayed onscreen by actor Vincent D'OnofrioVincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
. In the film, Nardi is portrayed as a high ranking Cleveland crime family member rather than an associate. Being passed over for promotion to boss of the family and James Licavoli taking over Nardi's rackets prompts Nardi to fully align himself with Greene.