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Salvatore Boca (1936 - 1971) was an Italian-American mobster and a caporegime in the Lucchese crime family of New York City during the 1970s. He partnered with French drug trafficker Alain Charnier in the "French Connection", only to be killed by the NYPD after they busted the exchange, Boca's very first large-scale drug deal, on Wards Island.

Biography[]

Salvatore Boca was born in New York City, New York to a family of Sicilian immigrants; he was the brother of Lou Boca. Boca became involved with the Lucchese crime family, an Italian-American Mafia crime syndicate based on Long Island. In 1968, he was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery for attempting to hold up the Tiffany's on Fifth Avenue in broad daylight, but Tiffany's declined to prosecute him, sparing him two to five years in prison. The NYPD also suspected him of pulling off a hit contract on a man named DeMarco. Boca and his wife Angie Boca ran "Sal and Angie's", a candy and sandwich store, as a front for Boca's illicit operations; by 1971, although he had only owned the store for a year and a half and took in just $7,000 (about $51,200 in 2022) a year, he owned a Mercedes in his wife's name and a Dodge in his brother's name, and he accrued $100 (about $730 in 2022) tabs at the Copacabana.

Boca and Charnier in Washington DC

Boca and Charnier in Washington DC

In 1971, Boca partnered with underworld lawyer Joel Weinstock and French drug trafficker Alain Charnier to smuggle a massive heroin shipment into the United States via Wards Island. He and Weinstock discovered from their chemist associate Howard that the French heroin was 89% pure, and that it was worth $32 million (around $224 million in 2022) on the streets. Boca was anxious to quickly be over with the deal to secure the money, but Weinstock cautioned him to take things slowly lest they attract the attention of the police. However, the NYPD wiretapped Boca on suspicion of drug trafficking after Jimmy Doyle saw Boca drinking with Weinstock and several other drug traffickers at the Copacabana. FBI Agent Clyde Klein tailed the two of them to Washington, DC, where Boca and Charnier had a tense conversation over Boca's associates' insistence on delaying the deal until things had settled down. Charnier insisted on a quicker meeting, lest he leave the country and leave Boca empty-handed. Ultimately, the French and the mobsters met up at Wards Island, with the police following Henri Devereaux's drug-laden car as it was driven to the hand-off at Wards Island.

Salvatore Boca dead

Boca's dead body

As Boca and Charnier drove onto the Triborough Bridge after their exchange, they found the road blocked by NYPD squad cars. Detective Doyle waved at Charnier, who recognized him as the policeman who had tailed him, causing a frightened Charnier to have Boca speed back down the ramp and back to Wards Island. There, the police besieged the mobsters, and, when one of the mobsters shot a policeman, a gun battle ensued. Boca attempted to escape on foot, and, when he aimed his gun at Detective Buddy Russo, Russo and the police shot him dead with a shotgun.

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