by eboli » Sat Feb 19, 2022 4:25 am
Coppola got fast-tracked in the family, thanks to Barney Bellomo. They were childhood friends, but Coppola was also his chauffeur, bodyguard, debt collector, arsonist, etc.
On March 1, 1983, he torched a Holiday Inn in the Bronx, allegedly on Bellomo's orders. Coppola did a few years in the can for the crime and became a made member shortly after he got out.
By early to mid-1990, Bellomo promoted him to acting captain, and Ralphie became a very influential figure in the family. Mostly thanks to his pull in the Javits Center. There are quite a few stories about him from the 1980s and 1990s, and I might do a write-up on him when I have some free time.
The Feds received reliable information that he got clipped because he stole money from the family, but there were other transgressions before that. Shortly before his death, Coppola placed a downpayment for a very expensive mini-mansion in Upstate New York.
Coppola got fast-tracked in the family, thanks to Barney Bellomo. They were childhood friends, but Coppola was also his chauffeur, bodyguard, debt collector, arsonist, etc.
On March 1, 1983, he torched a Holiday Inn in the Bronx, allegedly on Bellomo's orders. Coppola did a few years in the can for the crime and became a made member shortly after he got out.
By early to mid-1990, Bellomo promoted him to acting captain, and Ralphie became a very influential figure in the family. Mostly thanks to his pull in the Javits Center. There are quite a few stories about him from the 1980s and 1990s, and I might do a write-up on him when I have some free time.
The Feds received reliable information that he got clipped because he stole money from the family, but there were other transgressions before that. Shortly before his death, Coppola placed a downpayment for a very expensive mini-mansion in Upstate New York.