Historica Wiki
Advertisement
Francis Iannarella

Francis "Faffy" Iannarella (born 27 April 1947) was a soldier in the Philadelphia crime family. A loyal and effective hitman under Nicodemo Scarfo, Iannarella was sentenced to 45 years in prison for racketeering and murder in 1989, being paroled in 2016.

Biography[]

Francis Iannarella was born to an Italian-American family in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on 27 April 1947, the son of Philadelphia crime family soldier Frank Iannarella. He served in the US Marine Corps and was deployed to fight in the Vietnam War during his early adulthood. His father, a well-respected mobster with ties to boss Angelo Bruno, instructed his son in following his footsteps, and Iannarella began reporting to capo Joseph Ciancaglini. During his early mob career, he "made his bones" by killing loanshark John Calabrese when he refused to pay Nicodemo Scarfo's street tax, shooting him to death inside his car along with Thomas DelGiorno on 6 October 1981, enabling Scarfo to promote him to made man in a ceremony in January 1982. After Ciancaglini was sent to prison in June 1982, Iannarella began working under Chuckie Merlino, and he grew to develop a strong connection with him. During the Scarfo-Riccobene War, Iannarella aided in ending the conflict by participating in the murder of Riccobene loyalist Salvatore Tamburrino on 3 November 1983, and he was the mastermind behind the killing of the last of Harry Riccobene's supporters, his brother Robert, who Iannarella shot in the back of the head in the presence of his screaming mother as he attempted to flee from him on 6 December 1983. He also plotted the murder of Scarfo's rival Frank D'Alfonso, who was shot and killed on 23 July 1985 since he also didn't pay the street tax. On 9 April 1987, Iannarella was indicted along with Scarfo and 10 others on charges of racketeering and murder, being convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison in 1989. He was paroled and freed from jail on 8 July 2016, and he rejoined the crime family, now led by Joey Merlino, becoming a crucial and dependable veteran among several younger mobsters.

Advertisement