Mob Ledger

Files on the American underworld

Territory

The ground

Where the families in this archive actually kept their headquarters, and where the things in it happened. Four cities, one tab each. Points, not shaded territory — the record supports addresses far better than it supports borders.

West Philadelphia Center City South Philadelphia Camden Atlantic City The Schuylkill The Delaware Sixty miles east N 1 2 3 4 5
A schematic, not a survey. Atlantic City is sixty miles east of the rest and sits at the edge here for reference, not distance.

  1. Point1

    Snyder Avenue

    South Philadelphia · The Philadelphia Family

    Angelo Bruno was shot in the passenger seat of his car outside his own house here on 21 March 1980, ending twenty-one years without a war.

  2. Point2

    Porter Street

    South Philadelphia · The Philadelphia Family

    Philip Testa was killed by a nail bomb under his front steps on 15 March 1981, eleven months after succeeding Bruno.

  3. Point3

    The Schuylkill Expressway

    West of Center City · The Philadelphia Family

    John Stanfa survived an ambush on this road during the 1993 war with the younger South Philadelphia crew around Joseph Merlino.

  4. Point4

    The federal courthouse

    Market Street, Center City · The Philadelphia Family

    The 1988 racketeering trial that convicted Nicodemo Scarfo and most of his leadership, on the evidence of men he had promoted himself.

  5. Point5

    Georgia Avenue

    Atlantic City, New Jersey · The Philadelphia Family

    Scarfo had been sent to Atlantic City in effective exile under Bruno. When casino gambling arrived in 1976 he was the man already living there.