Reputed Mob Boss Acquitted of Murder
Reputed mob boss Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo grinned and raised his hand in a victory salute Tuesday after a jury acquitted him and eight associates of the 1984 slaying of rival Salvatore Testa.
“Not guilty,” jury foreman Ollie Minze said 27 times to the charges of murder, conspiracy and possession of an instrument of crime, three counts for each defendant.
“I love the American judicial system,” Scarfo’s son, Nicodemo Jr., said afterward. He had been in court every day, along with other relatives, supporting his jailed father, an Atlantic City, N.J., cement contractor said by authorities to head the Philadelphia-southern New Jersey mob.
The 59-year-old Scarfo has been in prison since his arrest in January, 1987, for conspiring to extort $1 million from a Philadelphia developer. He is serving a 15-year sentence for that crime.
The acquittal was the second court victory in six months for Scarfo, who was cleared in December on drug charges.
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