#7: The Murder of Ferdinand "The Shadow" Boccia

In this episode, we tell the story of the murder of a low-level associate of the Luciano Crime Family, Ferdinand “The Shadow” Boccia.

This story is an amazing tale of murder and mayhem, and the consequences of this seemingly insignificant hit are enormous. The killing of Boccia, who was nothing more than a low-level family associate, had a ripple-effect on the mob that played out not just over days or years, but decades.

Consider the situation in the early 1930’s. The Castellammarese War had recently concluded with Charles “Lucky” Luciano established firmly as the victor, becoming head of his own crime family, and the modern American Cosa Nostra being formed. There were 5 families in New York City and 20+ families stretched across the United States all working collaboratively together and operating under a unified set of rules.

Just below Luciano in the pecking order was one, Vito Genovese. Upon the creation of the Luciano Crime Family, Vito Genovese was named Underboss and Frank Costello was named Consigliere (the #3 position in the family). Vito is firmly entrenched in a position of power.

Then the murder of Boccia occurs in 1933 and Vito is forced to flee to Italy for almost ten years. During that time, Luciano is arrested and put in jail for a very long prison stretch and names Costello as acting boss.

When Genovese finally returns from his Italian exile, he is bumped down to Caporegime, a prestigious position certainly but something he believed to be beneath his status.

This resentment leads to the power play against Costello which culminates in an assassination attempt, which in turn is followed by the hit on Albert Anastasia, which leads to Carlo Gambino, which leads to Vito’s ultimate arrest, and which leads to the Gambino family being the preeminent Cosa Nostra borgata over the 20-30 years after the events of 1957.

But if you playback the tape, those wild events likely never happen (or go down much differently) if Vito never has to flee to Italy. And Vito never flees to Italy if he first doesn’t murder Boccia.

And in hindsight, if Vito had it to do over again, maybe he’d think twice about hitting Boccia knowing what it ultimately would lead to? But then again, I doubt it.

In the end it’s impossible to know how events might have changed, but as you listen, just think about the effects on the mafia if this hit never went down and be sure to leave a comment below with your thoughts.

Anyhow, here’s the real story of the Boccia murder from the perspective of Vito Genovese and the subject of our recent biography, Mike Miranda.

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