
Harry "Hunchback Harry" Riccobene, born Enrico Riccobene (27 July 1909-19 June 2000) was a soldier in the Philadelphia crime family and one of its most active and renowned members over his five-decade spanning criminal history. A violent and brazen Sicilian-born gangster, he set off a multiyear gang conflict with his rival, Mafia boss Nicodemo Scarfo in the 1980s.
Biography[]
Enrico Riccobene was born to a Sicilian Mafia-connected family in Enna on 27 July 1909. His father Mario was a "man of honor" and when his son was six years old, they immigrated to the United States through the Port of Ellis Island before settling in the migrant Italian community of South Philadelphia. Through his influence, "Hunchback Harry", as he was called due to his four-foot-eleven build and peculiar appearance, ingratiated himself into the local criminal element and was initiated as a member of Salvatore Sabella's family at 16 years old in 1927. Highly motivated and with a talent for illicit activities, Riccobene began establishing his first gambling and shylocking rackets, as well as delving into the growing narcotics trade, racking up several convictions for the sale of opium by the 1950s. At that point, he was a primary shareholder in a sprawling interstate heroin network he supervised in partnership with Philadelphia and New York mafiosi, which, along with the proceeds derived from his other interests, curried him the favor of crime boss Angelo Bruno and his close associates, who saw Riccobene as an efficient operative. His bustling operation of the immoral substance came down in 1956, when Riccobene and his co-conspirators were detained by authorities, and he received a prison sentence in the range of 7-and-a-half to 15 years.
While serving his time, in 1963, Riccobene was approached by federal agents and he agreed to give up information on the structure and dynamics of the Philadelphia Mob, admitting to his and his affiliates' roles in the organization. After being struck with superseding charges while imprisoned, he was ultimately released in 1975, returning to his operation which he had left in the responsibility of his younger half-brothers Robert and Mario "Sonny". With his newly-regained freedom, Riccobene began forming partnerships with other syndicates, especially the Pagan's Motorcycle Club and African-American drug gangs, re-entering the heroin business and acting as a major financier. Through this boost in both his position and finances, his approach towards other members of the family turned sour and disrespectful, particularly to Nicodemo Scarfo of Atlantic City, an up-and-comer who despised Riccobene due to his dealing in drugs. Following the murders of Angelo Bruno and Philip Testa, in 1981, both he and Scarfo were candidates for the top position in the family, but the title went to the latter as he was more broadly respected and had never engaged in practices prohibited by the Mafia. As such, by the early 1980s, Riccobene was practically an outcast, belonging to an organization whose boss utterly detested him and left to operate his activities independently along with his brothers and their underlings.
One of Scarfo's first policies he implemented as leader of the family was the imposition of a street tax on all independent criminals and gangs in Philadelphia, who were forced to pay up to stay in business. After some time, he began demanding the same of Riccobene and his crew, an order Harry vehemently refused to oblige. The tensions between the family hierarchy and Riccobene, which were already at an all-time high, escalated to a breaking point afterward, and Scarfo began plotting his enemy's death. He ordered his consigliere Frank Monte to meet with Sonny Riccobene and feel him out on a potential plot against his brother. Sonny said he would consider it before promptly notifying Harry, who loaded up his crew for the war with Scarfo, firing off the opening shots by shooting Scarfo's messenger, Monte, to death in May 1982. Riccobene became the number one target of Scarfo's men, and he survived two separate assassination attempts by Scarfo's hitters Salvatore and Joseph Grande in the same year. Late into the year, the on-the-alert Riccobene was arrested with a handgun inside his vehicle by authorities, and a year later, he was struck with additional charges for racketeering and murder. His hopes of posing a threat to Scarfo were decimated with his brother Robert being killed in December 1983 and Sonny turning state's witness, and in 1985, Riccobene was sentenced to life in state prison. He died of cancer at a penitentiary hospital in Dallas on 19 June 2000, at 90 years old.