James Napoli

James "Jimmy Nap" Napoli (November 4, 1911 – December 29, 1992) was a New York mobster who was a Caporegime in the Genovese crime family. From the 1950s to the 1980s, he controlled one of the largest illegal gambling operations in the United States, reputedly earning up to $150 million annually.[1][2]

Napoli was known as a "Gentleman's Gentleman". Intelligent and well-respected, Napoli maintained ties to most of the major crime families.

Jimmy Nap used Crisci’s Restaurant as a base for his job activities.[3]

In 1969, Napoli was indicted for fixing several boxing matches. In the 1970s, Napoli reportedly operated the largest numbers operation in the United States. By 1976, the operation allegedly employed 2,000 people and grossed over $150 million a year. Napoli apparently ran this huge operation from a lounge in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn. In 1978, Napoli was convicted for gambling and sentenced to five years in federal prison.[4]

In July 1988, Napoli was indicted on murder conspiracy charges. He had been taped by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents as he discussed the attempted murders of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, Gene Gotti and mob associate Irwin Schiff.[5]

On December 29, 1992, Napoli died of natural causes in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan.[6] He was buried in St. John Cemetery, Queens, New York.

Napoli was married to Grace Perrota from November 29, 1933 until her death in 1962, with whom he had five children (four sons and a daughter). Napoli later got remarried to Jeanne Napoli, a former nightclub singer and theatrical producer, with whom he had two daughters. In 1984, Napoli invested $250,000 in an unsuccessful musical biography of actress Marilyn Monroe that starred Jeanne.[6]

Napoli's son, Rocco Napoli, later became a Genovese family soldier and had previously served in the Vietnam war, claiming to have killed around 30 Vietnamese soldiers during his tenure within the U.S. Army service during the 1960s. Rocco Napoli served as the Business Manager of the Local 21 of the Laborer International Union of North America in Newark, New Jersey.[7] Rocco Napoli was arrested in June 1988 along with former Genovese family consigliere Bobby Manna on charges of conspiring to murder 3 individuals, John Gotti, Gene Gotti and the August 1987 murder of Irwin Schiff, Napoli may have also participated in the August 1987 murder of Daniel Conlin, whom had served as the President of Teamsters Local 891,[8] and he was also accused of participating in racketeering from between 1980 and 1988.[9] In September 1989, Napoli was sentenced by former U.S. District Judge Maryanne Trump Barry to over 6 years in prison for charges of racketeering conspiracy, extortion, illegal gambling and labor racketeering.[10][11][12] In 2021, Rocco Napoli released a documentary based on the life of himself and his father, called American Rackets, which can be viewed via YouTube and rented on Sky TV UK. Rocco Napoli died on August 4, 2024.

References

  1. ^ A Son's Journey from Organized Crime to Sobriety-My Father My Don Archived 2011-07-10 at the Wayback Machine May 27, 2009
  2. ^ Raab, Selwyn (September 2005). Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-30094-4.
  3. ^ "James Napoli". The Original Tombstone Tourist. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
  4. ^ Newton, Michael (2021-04-16). Iceman of Brooklyn: The Mafia Life of Frankie Yale. McFarland. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-4766-8196-2.
  5. ^ Hanley, Robert (July 2, 1988). "Taped Meetings Detail Mob Plot to Kill 2 Gottis". The New York Times. p. 27. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  6. ^ a b *"Epic saga of the Genovese Family: Eight Million Stories" Archived 2007-10-01 at the Wayback Machine By Anthony Bruno TruTV Crime Library:
  7. ^ "Theft of Genovese defendant's Jaguar delays trial". UPI. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  8. ^ "Investigators say union control important to mob". UPI. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  9. ^ "In the Matter of Rocco J. Napoli and Thomas J. Fallacara". IPSN. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  10. ^ "3 N.J. MAFIOSI DRAW LONG PRISON TERMS". Deseret Times. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  11. ^ "The Nation : 3 Powerful New Jersey Mafiosi Convicted". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
  12. ^ "80 years in mob rubout case". UPI. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
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