
Charles Anthony "Charlie White" Iannece Sr. (12 April 1935-5 June 2020) was a soldier in the Philadelphia crime family and a deadly operative under the reign of Nicodemo Scarfo in the 1980s. He was a trusted mafioso and partner in crime to future turncoat Nicholas Caramandi.
Biography[]
Charles Anthony Iannece was born to an Italian-American family in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 12 April 1935. His criminal career saw its beginnings in the bookmaking business, and he operated a multitude of illegal gambling spots in the city up to the 1970s. In 1973, Iannece was busted as a result of these activities and a judge handed down one year of probation, but he rapidly violated it by engaging in a gambling ring with notorious Philadelphia bookie John Mellilli. Afterward, he more closely affiliated himself with the local Mafia family and became a close associate of mob associate and swindler Nicholas Caramandi, partnering with him in the bookmaking business under capo Pat Spirito. Iannece also developed a reputation as a hitman, being sent out by family boss Nicodemo Scarfo with his superior and partner on the hunt for his rival Harry Riccobene in 1982, hatching several different plots to dispatch him. However, as time went on, Spirito reneged on following Scarfo's orders, leading to the boss accusing him of getting cold feet and ordering him killed, assigning the contract to Iannece and Caramandi. While ostensibly on the lookout for Riccobene, Iannece shot Spirito twice in the back of the head then jolted out of his car with Caramandi and escaped in a getaway vehicle. He was also present and responsible for various other hits and attempts during the war with Riccobene, including the shooting of Frank Martines and the killing of Riccobene's brother Robert. His assistance was also sought a year later when Scarfo orchestrated the death of aspiring captain Salvatore Testa, who was shot dead in a Philadelphia candy shop before his body was dumped in New Jersey by Iannece and Salvatore Scafidi. As reward for this murder, he and Caramandi were inducted into the family as soldiers in the Fall of 1984. Three years later, Iannece was indicted with the rest of the mob hierarchy for, among other charges, the extortion of Penn's Landing developer Willard Rouse, and he went on the run fleeing from the initial charged offenses. He was ultimately arrested in the Poconos in October 1987 and sentenced to 40 years in prison in racketeering charges. 24 years into his bid, in 2011, Iannece was paroled and was believed to be in good standing with the reigning Merlino regime. He died of natural causes on 5 June 2020, at 85 years of age.