The Mafia’s Grim Reaper
Even by mafia standards, Greg Scarpa lived a surreal and violent life.
Gregory Scarpa was born in Brooklyn, NY to first generation Italian immigrant parents. His father worked a job hauling coal. In the midst of the Great Depression, young Greg would join his father on the job, yet quickly realized that hard labor wasn’t for him. He desired for more.
It is the standard mafia introduction. He noticed some men in his neighborhood driving nice cars and wearing fancy clothes. They always seemed to have money, but never held actual jobs. Greg became acquainted with the neighborhood wiseguys and started working for them.
Right away, Scarpa established himself as a bruiser. He was a fairly big guy and had a mean streak that fit perfectly in his line of work. His loyalty and ability to collect debts for his bosses allowed Scarpa’s stature in the family to steadily rise.
Becoming a Made Man
In 1953, Scarpa was ordered to kill a man and did it without hesitation. It was the catalyst for him being officially made into the Profaci family which became the Colombo family.
His worth was proven in his cold hearted ability to kill people, but Scarpa was a good earner too. He was involved in illegal gambling, loansharking, hijacking…
