Philadelphia's Greek Mob, or the Greek Mafia, are a low-profile criminal organization of ethnic Greek American

Greek American

Greek Americans are Americans of Greek descent also described as Hellenic descent. According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimation, there were 1,380,088 people of Greek ancestry in the United States, while the State Department mentions that around 3,000,000 Americans claim to be of Greek descent...

s with alleged connections to the Italian

Italian American

An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...

 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...

. They were formed in southern Greece by the original boss Steve Kondonyanis. Kondonyanis also had strong ties with the Efthimiades family of Macedonia in Northern Greece. When the Efthimiades family was run out of power in the 1960s, Kondonyanis decided to move his operations to the culturally diverse America. When Kondonyanis was sentenced to jail to serve life for murder, mobster Chelsais Bouras took over.

Chelsais "Steve" Bouras

Throughout the 1970s until 1981, Chelsais Bouras of Upper Northeast Philadelphia headed the Greek Mob in Philadelphia, participating in mostly loansharking, 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...

, methamphetamine

Methamphetamine

Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...

 trade, and gambling. Bouras directed the mob efficiently, and he carried out business with more prominent families such as the Philadelphia Mafia

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...

. He was a close associate of Italian wiseguy and Scarfo soldier Raymond Martorano.

Assassination

In May 1981, at the Meletis Greek restaurant in South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...

, Bouras was gunned down alongside his girlfriend Janette Curro, Ray Martorano, and Philadelphia radio personality Jerry Blavat

Jerry Blavat

Jerry Blavat , also known as "The Geator with The Heator", is an American disc jockey who is known for promoting oldies music on the radio in the Philadelphia area. Blavat was born in South Philadelphia to a Jewish father and Italian mother....

. Curro's family had ties to the Mafia: her nephew Joe "Crutch" Curro, a made member of the Philadelphia La Cosa Nostra, was known to the FBI since a 1976 FBI wiretap at Frank’s Cabana Steaks in South Philadelphia — a base of operations for mob capo Frank Sindone, until his death in 2004.

Bouras was approximately 50 years old and Jeannette Curro was 54. Though Bouras and Curro were killed, Martorano and Blavat were only wounded. It is reported that Nicodemo Scarfo

Nicodemo Scarfo

Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Domenico Scarfo is a member of the American Mafia who eventually became the Boss of the Philadelphia crime family after the death of Angelo Bruno and Phil Testa...

 of Philadelphia's notorious 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...

 ordered the hit, as Bouras had refused to pay Scarfo's street taxes, specifically for his meth ring. There have also been speculations that Martorano arranged the hit for Scarfo because of eyewitness claims that the gunman motioned for Martorano to move out of the way before opening fire. To this day, no one has ever been connected with the hit. The assassination took place just one day after the murder of another Greek mobster, Harry Peetros of Upper Darby.

Activity in the 1980s

After Bouras' assassination, the Greek Mob did get involved with the mob war in Philadelphia in the 1980s, attempting to gain rackets in Atlantic City, but activity declined after the war. They had close connections to the Black Mafia and were even involved in the high profile prosecution of Mafia lawyer Robert F. Simone in 1994. Simone was a close associate in the 1980s.

Current activity

Although rather prominent in the 1970s and 1980s, the Greek Mob has cooled down and remains rather dormant. However, there have been some occurrences of members being found loan sharking in Philadelphia in modern times. The reason for this dormant period could be traced back to the leaders lost in the 1980s mob war in Philadelphia, which was initiated after Bouras' assassination.