Alphonse Persico

Alphonse T. Persico, known as Little Allie Boy or just Allie Boy (born February 8, 1954), is an American mobster who served as the official acting boss of the Colombo crime family from 1996 to 2019; he is the son of crime boss Carmine Persico.

Background Alphonse T. Persico was born on February 8, 1954, in New York City. As a young child he grew up in South Brooklyn and Bensonhurst.

Persico's father was Carmine Persico, a former boss of the Colombo family. Alphonse Persico has two brothers, Lawrence and Michael Persico. He was nicknamed "Little Allie Boy" to distinguish him from his father's older brother, who was also named Alphonse and was a caporegime (captain) in the Colombo family; he died in 1989. Alphonse Persico was married to Teresa Persico.

Unlike some mafiosi, the young Alphonse Persico was a promising student who graduated from high school and was accepted into college at St. John's University School of Law. Instead, he quit St. John's after his sophomore year, presumably to work for his father. By his early 20s, Persico was a soldier in his father's family, and by his mid-20s, Persico was reportedly a capo. Like many other mafiosi, Persico enjoyed the power and excitement of the mob life. In 1983, Persico was arrested for heroin possession, but the case was dismissed. The sentencing judge, John F. Keenan, urged Little Allie Boy to renounce his life of crime, pointing out that he would still be fairly young once he got out of prison. "You are a chump if you stay in the Colombo family," Keenan said.

In the spring of 1991, Orena decided to depose the Persicos and become boss in his own right. He told consigliere Carmine Sessa to call a referendum of the family capos to approve his takeover. Instead, Sessa alerted the imprisoned Carmine Persico, who promptly ordered Orena's murder. On June 20, 1991, Persico gunmen made an unsuccessful attempt to kill Orena at his home. In November 1991, after several months of negotiations, the Persico and Orena factions broke into open warfare. Still in prison, Alphonse Persico directed the campaign against Orena. By October 1993, Orena and many of his followers had been sent to prison. Carmine Persico retained control of the Colombo family.

On August 8, 1994, Alphonse Persico was acquitted of the 1993 federal racketeering and murder charges due to the revelations about Colombo capo Gregory Scarpa and his relationship with the FBI. Persico was now a free man, but he did not become acting boss right away. Instead, Persico spent much of the next few years at his family home in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. In 1994, Carmine Persico appointed Andrew Russo as acting boss. When Russo went to prison in 1996, Alphonse Persico took over as acting boss.

Cutolo murder Alphonse Persico's second stint as acting boss would last only a year before he was sent back to prison. In early 1999, the US Coast Guard stopped Persico in his speedboat as he was motoring in the Florida Keys. After searching the vessel, Coast Guardsmen arrested Persico for possessing a shotgun and a semiautomatic handgun as a felon.

In October 1999, Persico was arrested again in New York on federal racketeering, loan sharking and bank fraud charges. The arresting agents searched Persico's Brooklyn apartment and uncovered $25,000 in cash along with records of extensive loan sharking and credit card fraud activities. He was released on bail. Assistant U.S Attorney Jim Walden, deputy chief of the Brooklyn Organized Crime section, prosecuted Persico. In 2000, Persico was convicted on the Florida gun charges and sent to federal prison in Florida for 18 months.

The government also suspected Persico in the Cutolo murder and was starting to build a case against him. Persico was held without bail. As part of the plea, Persico was forced to publicly acknowledge his role as acting boss of the Colombo family. However, on November 3, 2006, the judge declared a mistrial due to allegations that Cutolo's wife Marguerite had lied under oath. In the second trial, on December 28, 2007, Persico and underling John "Jackie" DeRoss were convicted of murder in aid of racketeering and witness tampering. On February 27, 2009, Persico was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the Cutolo murder.

Aftermath In February 2010, Colombo hitman Frank Sparaco reportedly told prosecutors that Persico had ordered the 1992 murder of Michael Devine, a Staten Island nightclub owner. Devine, who was found shot to death in a car, had allegedly enraged Persico by dating Persico's wife Teresa during their separation. No charges have been filed.

In September 2015, Persico was serving his life sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Coleman near Coleman, Florida, and in July 2017, he was transferred to the Federal Correctional Institution, McKean.