DeCavalcante Crime Family Boss John Riggi Dies: Was Not Inspiration for ‘Sopranos’
The one time crime boss of a family once believed to have inspired the hit series “The Sopranos” has passed away at the age of 90.
John Riggi of Edison, New Jersey was confirmed dead by the Corsentino Home for Funerals in Elizabeth, N.J. at the age of 90.
Riggi had served 20 years for racketeering with additional terms tacked on for complicity in contract killings. He was released in 2012.
The DeCavalcante crime family, for which he led, was reportedly in the business of demanding payoffs for labor peace, promoting loan-sharking, sweetheart contracts and gambling, among other things, according to the New York Times, which broke the story of Riggi’s death late Tuesday.
The Times also noted that Mr. Riggi was also implicated in the murder of his successor, who was deposed after his girlfriend revealed that he was bisexual.
“The Sopranos” creator David Chase tells the New York Times his series was actually based on Richie Boiardo, a Newark mobster who lived in the same neighborhood as his mother.
- Jagajeet Chiba, Gambling911.com
