Question- Thomas Principe

[Clark]

Hey everybody,

Just wondering if anyone had any information or a photograph of Thomas Principe? He was a Hoboken based Genovese member who was very close with Lawrence Dentico, Joseph Scarbrough, Sally Bugs etc. You often see his named tossed around as one of the ".22 Caliber Killers." From what I can tell, he was indicted in the 1980s in relation to a construction scam, and then he went missing after it was found that he may have been withholding money?

Any and all info is appreciated.

Thanks guys,

Clark

[Pogo The Clown]

I have a Genovese member Thomas “Tommy” Principe dying in 2000. Is this the same guy. There was another Genovese member nambed Amato “Matty” Principe (born in 1908 is long dead). Possibly a relative?


Pogo

[Clark]

Thanks Pogo. This Thomas Principe would be born around 1932 in Hoboken (or possibly Jersey City). He was heavily involved with the Genovese in that area and was identified as a "high-level member" in some court documents I found. He and Dentico, Sally Bugs etc. go all the way back to the 1950s together. The date of death you have adds to his mystery. I believe he had a son also named Thomas Principe who passed away around 2000, so it could also be him?

Here is an except from the Jersey Journal, The (Jersey City, NJ) - August 18, 2005. Other than the below, I have only found one or two articles about his disappearance. It surprises me how little coverage it received, especially given that it was during the trial of a Mayor and State Senator. The 80s were a crazy time, I guess?

"Dentico was accused of being the top-ranking mobster in the corruption trial of former Union City Mayor and state Sen. William V. Musto.

"It was Lawrence Dentico to whom and from whom money flowed," U.S. Attorney William Robertson said during the 1981 corruption trial. "It was Lawrence Dentico from whom instructions flowed."

Rudolph Orlandini, a Hoboken developer, made secret tape recordings of Musto and several reputed mobsters discussing payoffs and kickbacks, but no one scared him as much as Dentico, federal authorities said.

Even fellow mobsters tread carefully around Dentico. Mob hitman Thomas Principe reportedly turned "white as a sheet" when Little Larry started grilling him about bribes Principe had reportedly collected from Orlandini, but hadn't passed on.

Shortly after that meeting, another mobster told Orlandini he wouldn't be making any more payments to Principe because he "would not be around." Principe was never seen again, law enforcement officials said.

"It is, indeed, a fair inference that Principe was murdered and that Dentico played a role in the murder," read a 1982 memorandum from the U.S. Attorney's Office."

[HairyKnuckles]

I can´t find no solid information on Thomas Principe´s demise but during Bobby Manna´s murder trial in 1989, prosecutors claimed that an "reputed mobster", a CI, had informed them that Principe "sleeps with the fishes". He had been missing since around 1979. He was indicted and convicted in 1982 on RICO charges in absentia.

FBI described him as the most prolific mob hitman on the east coast and suspected him being involved with several murders in the 1970s. He was indicted with Dentico and Bobby Manna and several others on loansharking and extortion charges in 1965 but they were all acquitted in spite of overwhelming evidence of their guilt. I have never seen evidence of him being made. I get the feeling he was a goon, an enforcer only, someone Manna and Dentico used for rough and tough stuff,

I believe this is him:

Thomas Principe: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record
Name: Thomas Principe
State of Issue: New Jersey
Date of Birth: Thursday September 10, 1931
Date of Death: October 1985
Est. Age at Death: 54 years, 1 months
Location of Last Benefit Paid:
City: West Nyack
County: Rockland
State: New York

Note that his death record is not confirmed. I can not explain why his date of death is listed exactly October 1985. But by that time, he had been missing for close to six years.

[willychichi]

I can´t find no solid information on Thomas Principe´s demise but during Bobby Manna´s murder trial in 1989, prosecutors claimed that an "reputed mobster", a CI, had informed them that Principe "sleeps with the fishes". He had been missing since around 1979. He was indicted and convicted in 1982 on RICO charges in absentia.

FBI described him as the most prolific mob hitman on the east coast and suspected him being involved with several murders in the 1970s. He was indicted with Dentico and Bobby Manna and several others on loansharking and extortion charges in 1965 but they were all acquitted in spite of overwhelming evidence of their guilt. I have never seen evidence of him being made. I get the feeling he was a goon, an enforcer only, someone Manna and Dentico used for rough and tough stuff,

I believe this is him:

Thomas Principe: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record
Name: Thomas Principe
State of Issue: New Jersey
Date of Birth: Thursday September 10, 1931
Date of Death: October 1985
Est. Age at Death: 54 years, 1 months
Location of Last Benefit Paid:
City: West Nyack
County: Rockland
State: New York

Note that his death record is not confirmed. I can not explain why his date of death is listed exactly October 1985. But by that time, he had been missing for close to six years.

The declaration of a missing person as legally dead thus falls under state jurisdiction unless there is a reason for the federal government to have jurisdiction (e.g. the party was military personnel who went missing while on active duty). Otherwise, there are 57 U.S. jurisdictions that comprise the United States, each of which has its own law on the question.

People who disappear are typically called missing, or sometimes absent. Several criteria are evaluated to determine whether a person may be declared legally dead:

The party normally must have been missing from their home or usual residence for an extended period of time, most commonly seven years
Their absence must have been continuous and inexplicable (e.g. the person did not say they had found a new job and were moving far away)
There must have been no communication from the party with those people most likely to hear from them during the period the person has been missing
There must have been a diligent but unsuccessful search for the person and/or diligent but unsuccessful inquiry into their whereabouts.

https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200304050

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declared_ ... n_absentia

[Clark]

Thanks for the help guys. I tried to do some more digging over the last few days, but there really isn't too much out there except for some MF stuff in the 1950s and then a handful of articles from the Jersey Journal. The Organized Crime in America Hearings in 1983 have him identified as a made member of the Genovese. Still surprises me that there was so little coverage of his disappearance.

If I come across anything else, I will be sure to post it.

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

I can´t find no solid information on Thomas Principe´s demise but during Bobby Manna´s murder trial in 1989, prosecutors claimed that an "reputed mobster", a CI, had informed them that Principe "sleeps with the fishes". He had been missing since around 1979. He was indicted and convicted in 1982 on RICO charges in absentia.

FBI described him as the most prolific mob hitman on the east coast and suspected him being involved with several murders in the 1970s. He was indicted with Dentico and Bobby Manna and several others on loansharking and extortion charges in 1965 but they were all acquitted in spite of overwhelming evidence of their guilt. I have never seen evidence of him being made. I get the feeling he was a goon, an enforcer only, someone Manna and Dentico used for rough and tough stuff,

I believe this is him:

Thomas Principe: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record
Name: Thomas Principe
State of Issue: New Jersey
Date of Birth: Thursday September 10, 1931
Date of Death: October 1985
Est. Age at Death: 54 years, 1 months
Location of Last Benefit Paid:
City: West Nyack
County: Rockland
State: New York

Note that his death record is not confirmed. I can not explain why his date of death is listed exactly October 1985. But by that time, he had been missing for close to six years.

The declaration of a missing person as legally dead thus falls under state jurisdiction unless there is a reason for the federal government to have jurisdiction (e.g. the party was military personnel who went missing while on active duty). Otherwise, there are 57 U.S. jurisdictions that comprise the United States, each of which has its own law on the question.

People who disappear are typically called missing, or sometimes absent. Several criteria are evaluated to determine whether a person may be declared legally dead:

The party normally must have been missing from their home or usual residence for an extended period of time, most commonly seven years
Their absence must have been continuous and inexplicable (e.g. the person did not say they had found a new job and were moving far away)
There must have been no communication from the party with those people most likely to hear from them during the period the person has been missing
There must have been a diligent but unsuccessful search for the person and/or diligent but unsuccessful inquiry into their whereabouts.

https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0200304050

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declared_ ... n_absentia

Great info! Thanks Cicci