Utica, New York - Demographics - Organized Crime in Utica

Organized Crime in Utica

Utica, from the turn of the 20th century, and probably to a lesser extent even today, is and was a center for organized crime. It was a city where rackets were and are reputedly controlled by the Buffalo Cosa Nostra family and at least three other families, including the Scranton, Colombo, and Genovese family which had and likely still have a local presence. At least three Uticans attended the infamous Apalachin Meeting mafia summit. Utica was a battleground in the late 1970s and early 80s when the Buffalo Family was weakened after the death of Boss Stefano Magaddino and other families and influences jockeyed for power and influence, and multiple gangland style homicides took place between 1979 and 1986. More recently in the 1990s, the infamous "Falange Crew" (A group who seemed to have highly unusual multiple and somewhat ambiguous ties to the Buffalo, Scranton, and Colombo families) ran the rackets, until they were decimated by federal indictments and convictions.