2nd Murder Charge in Two Days Filed Against Mob Figure
Reputed mob boss Nicodemo Scarfo was charged Friday with murder for the second time in two days, a move that federal and state prosecutors said would weaken organized crime.
“This is an historic occasion,” U.S. Atty. Edward Dennis Jr. said at a news conference.
Scarfo and nine of his associates were charged with murder, possession of an instrument of crime and conspiracy in the 1984 slaying of Salvatore Testa, once one of Scarfo’s close associates.
The charges were filed a day after New Jersey authorities announced the indictment of Scarfo, 58, of Atlantic City, N.J., and Nicholas Virgilio, 59, of Philadelphia in the murder of former Somers Point Municipal Court Judge Edwin H. Helfant.
“Our cooperative efforts are paying off,” Dist. Atty. Ronald Castille said, announcing that he would seek the death penalty.
Scarfo has been in jail since his indictment in November on a federal charge of conspiring with Philadelphia City Councilman Leland Beloff to extort $1 million from a Delaware River waterfront developer. Beloff’s trial ended in a deadlocked jury, and he will be retried later this month.
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