Mikey Coppola

Michael J. Coppola (born May 18, 1946), also known as "Mikey Cigars", is an American mobster and captain in the Genovese crime family active in their New Jersey faction. He made national headlines when he went into hiding for 11 years to avoid a possible murder conviction. He should not be confused with Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola (1900–1966), also a member of the Genovese family.

Early criminal career Michael Coppola has been working for the Genovese family since the 1960s. He became a made man in the late 1970s and was part of a Genovese hit team known as "The Fist", according to government documents. This team performed murders ordered by the Genovese administration in the late 1970s and 1980s. Coppola was involved in labor racketeering in the trucking industry and New Jersey docks. Coppola served almost five years in prison from 1979 to 1983 for conspiracy and extortion. Coppola became an acting caporegime (captain) while Tino Fiumara was in prison in the 1980s and 1990s, running the day-to-day activities of the New Jersey faction Fiurama had orders relayed to him.

Alleged murder In 1996, Coppola was charged in the 1977 killing of John "Johnny Cokes" Lardiere. According to authorities, Lardiere was released for 26 hours from prison to spend the Easter holidays with his family. Another story has it that Lardiere entered into a heated argument with Ralph "Blackie" Napoli, a caporegime in the Philadelphia crime family and his death was ordered. the killer was standing in front of him with a .22 automatic pistol, complete with a silencer. He spent most of his time moving between apartments in San Francisco and New York City. During his time on the run, he was featured on America's Most Wanted. Although on the run, authorities believed he was still holding power over organized crime in New Jersey as a fugitive. In April 2002, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey obtained an indictment against Fiumara for conspiring to assist Coppola in Coppola's flight. Rizzo was released on November 10, 2009.

Trial In 2009, the FBI believed that Coppola was going to turn state's evidence against the Genovese family and cooperate with the FBI. on orders of Tino Fiumara, one of the men the FBI was hoping to prosecute with Coppola's cooperation. If found guilty of all counts, he could have faced life imprisonment. Defense lawyer Henry Mazurek told jurors that Coppola admitted to making a "rash" decision to flee, but that it didn't prove he's a killer. "He didn't want to stand trial for a murder he didn't commit," Mazurek said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Dennehy told the jury not to be fooled by Coppola's claims and that Coppola "ran because he didn't want to face a jury like you. He hid because he didn't want to face a jury like you." Thomas Riccardi testified that Coppola said he did not agree with the Lardiere murder, but that he followed the orders given to him by Tino Fiumara (who was never charged). Genovese family member turned government witness George Barone was also called to aid the prosecution. Barone was such a difficult witness that the prosecutor apparently decided not to ask him about the Lardiere murder.

A witness to the murder, Raymond Zychlinski, was called on as a defense witness in the case. Zychlinski refuted the prosecutor's story that Lardiere's killer taunted him and said all he heard was a "horrifying scream".

Coppola was then taken into custody already serving time for his original fugitive sentence in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn. On December 18, 2009 Judge John Gleeson sentenced Coppola to 16 years in prison.