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The Patriarca crime family (, Italian pronunciation: [patriˈarka]), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia or The Office, is an Italian-American Mafia family operating in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, and the other in Boston, Massachusetts. The family is currently led by Carmen "The Cheese Man" Dinunzio, who is part of the Boston faction. The family is primarily active in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with other territory throughout New England. History Early years Before the start of Prohibition, two separate Mafia families emerged in New England: one based in Boston, Massachusetts, and the other based in Providence, Rhode Island. Gaspare DiCola acted as boss of the Boston family until his assassination on September 21, 1916. This allowed Gaspare Messina, a Sicilian mobster who had close ties to Bonanno crime family in New York City, to become the new boss. Meanwhile, the Providence family formed in 1917 under Frank Morelli, who went on to control bootlegging and illegal gambling operations in both Providence and Connecticut. In 1924, Messina stepped down as boss of the Boston family, assuming a businessman's role while working with Frank Cucchiara and Paolo Pagnotta from a grocery store on Prince Street in the North End. A power struggle ensued within the Boston mob as rival gangs fought for illegal gambling, bootlegging, loan sharking and rackets. East Boston mobster Filippo Buccola emerged as the boss of the Boston family. In December 1930 or early 1931, a Mafia meeting was held in which Messina was elected the temporary Capo dei capi of the wider American Mafia.: 184  He retired from Mafia affairs in the early 1930s and at his home in Somerville, Massachusetts, in June 1957.: 231  During the early 1930s, Buccola battled other ethnic gangs for territory in Boston, along with his underboss Joseph Lombardo, another mobster from the North End. In December 1931, Lombardo arranged the murder of Frank Wallace, the boss of South Boston's Irish Gustin Gang. In 1932, Morelli merged his Providence family with Buccola's Boston family, forming the New England crime family. Buccola ruled as boss of the combined family from East Boston as he continued to fatally dispatch his competition. After the murder of Jewish mob boss Charles "King" Solomon at Buccola's command, Buccola became the most powerful gangster in Boston. On April 27, 1952, Buccola held a party in Johnston, Rhode Island, to celebrate his retirement and Raymond Patriarca's ascension to boss of the family. He retired to Sicily in 1954, where he ran a chicken farm. He died in 1987 of natural causes at age 101. Patriarca era In 1956, Patriarca made drastic changes in the family, the biggest being the relocation of their base of operations to Providence, using the National Cigarette Service Company and Coin-O-Matic Distributors, a vending machine and pinball business on Atwells Avenue, as a front organization. The business was known to family members as "The Office." Patriarca was a strict and ruthless leader; he ran the family for decades and made it clear that other Mafia organizations were not permitted to operate in New England. He was skilled at warding off police and maintaining a low profile, thus receiving little hindrance from law enforcement. The family ventured into new rackets such as pornography and narcotics, though mob informer Vincent Teresa insisted that Patriarca forbade the family to deal in drugs. During his reign as boss, Patriarca formed strong relationships with the New York-based Genovese and Colombo crime families, deciding that the Connecticut River would be the dividing line between their territory and his own. His long-time underboss, Enrico Tameleo, was also a member of New York's Bonanno family. The New England family controlled organized crime in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, where Genovese capo Carlo Mastrototaro reigned as local boss for half a century, while the Genovese family controlled organized crime in Hartford, Connecticut, Springfield, Massachusetts, and Albany, New York. In addition to having close ties to the Genovese family, Patriarca also sat on the Commission and had investments in two Las Vegas casinos. Another of his underbosses, Gennaro "Jerry" Angiulo, was involved in the numbers racket in Boston and was shaken down by rival mobsters because he was not a "made" member. Angiulo solved this problem by paying Patriarca $50,000 and agreeing to pay him $100,000 per year to become a made member of his family. Angiulo continued to control his large illegal gambling network in Boston. Apalachin meeting and aftermath In 1957, more than sixty of the country's most powerful Mafia bosses, including Joe Bonanno, Carlo Gambino and Vito Genovese, met in Apalachin, New York. Patriarca was also in attendance and was subsequently arrested when the meeting was suddenly raided by police, drawing much attention to him from the press, the public and law enforcement. The situation became worse for Patriarca in 1961, when U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy began an assault on organized crime. Law enforcement agencies worked to develop informants within the Mafia and finally succeeded in 1966, when Joe Barboza, a Patriarca family hitman, was arrested on a concealed weapons charge. Barboza claimed to have killed twenty-six people but became concerned when Patriarca did not raise his bail and two of his friends were killed for trying to do so. He soon decided to turn informant. Based on Barboza's testimony, Patriarca and Tameleo were indicted in 1967 for the murder of Providence bookmaker Willie Marfeo. Patriarca was convicted and began serving time in 1969, and Angiulo served as acting boss. Patriarca resumed control of the family after his release from prison in 1974. For his testimony, Barboza was given a one-year prison term, including time served. He was paroled in March 1969 and told to leave Massachusetts permanently. In 1971, Barboza pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge in California and sentenced to five years at Folsom Prison; he was murdered in San Francisco by Joseph "J. R." Russo on February 11, 1976, less than three months after his release. Patriarca was plagued by law enforcement for the rest of his life, and he was charged numerous times for a variety of crimes until his death. In 1978, Vincent Teresa testified that Patriarca had participated in a 1960 attempt by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to kill Fidel Castro that was never carried out. In 1983, Patriarca was charged with the murder of Raymond Curcio, and was arrested in 1984 for the murder of Robert Candos, whom Patriarca believed was an informant. Patriarca died of a heart attack on July 11, 1984, aged 76. Patriarca Junior and decline After Patriarca's death, the New England family began a long period of decline, resulting from both legal prosecution and internal violence. A.... 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