{{Redirect-distinguish|Manocchio|Menocchio}} {{Short description|American mobster (1927–2024)}} {{Infobox criminal | name = Luigi Giovanni Manocchio | image_name = Luigi Manocchio mugshot (cropped).jpg | image_size = | image_alt = | image_caption = 1968 mugshot of Manocchio | birth_date = {{birth date|1927|6|23}} | birth_place = [[Providence, Rhode Island]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|12|8|1927|6|23}} | death_place = [[Bristol, Rhode Island]], U.S. | other_names = "Baby Shacks", "Louie", "The Professor", "The Old Man" | occupation = [[Crime boss]], [[mobster]] | allegiance = [[Patriarca crime family]] | conviction = [[Extortion]] (2012) | penalty = Five and a half years' imprisonment }}
'''Luigi Giovanni''' "'''Baby Shacks'''" '''Manocchio''' (June 23, 1927 – December 8, 2024) was an American [[mobster]] from [[Providence, Rhode Island]]. He was the boss of the [[New England]]-based [[Patriarca crime family]], which is part of the [[American Mafia]].<ref>''The Boston Globe'', Alleged underboss of New England Mafia is arrested By Shelley Murphy and Raja Mishra, December 2, 2006</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/20/fbi-arrests-127-mafia-crackdown |title=FBI arrests 127 in its biggest ever Mafia crackdown |publisher=www.guardian.co.uk |date=2011-01-20 |accessdate=2011-01-20}}</ref>
==Biography== [[File:Luigi Manocchio - FBI Wanted Poster.jpg|thumb|1969 FBI Wanted Poster of Manocchio]] Manocchio had a criminal record dating back to the 1940s. In November of 1967 he was shot in the neck and seriously wounded during a running gun battle on Federal Hill in Providence. In 1969, Manocchio was indicted for participating in the murders of Rudolph Marfeo and Anthony Melei.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He fled to [[France]], but later returned to the United States, living undercover in [[New York City]] for most of the 1970s.<ref>United States District Court, District of Massachusetts, ''United States v. Francis P. Salemme'', et al. Cr. No. 94-10287-MLW</ref> In 1979, Manocchio finally surrendered to law enforcement and pleaded guilty to several lesser charges. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
In July 1996, Manocchio was [[indictment|indicted]] with 43 others in a burglary ring. Prosecutors claimed that this Patriarca-sanctioned gang was responsible for stealing $10 million in merchandise. When his trial began in April 1999, Manocchio pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was sentenced to three years of [[probation]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/family_epics/providence_mob/8.html "All About the Providence Mob] by Allan May Crimelibrary.com</ref> From that point, Manocchio continued his steady rise in the ranks of [[organized crime]], becoming boss in 1996.
Manocchio was promoted to boss of the Patriarca family following the imprisonment of many of the organization's other leaders. He was described as a "shrewd, opportunistic old-school leader who excels at keeping a low profile" and "tough and capable".<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Mannochio's headquarters was a [[laundromat]] in the [[Federal Hill, Providence, Rhode Island|Federal Hill]] section of [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]].
In March 1999, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) charged family enforcer Jim Palumbo in [[New Haven, Connecticut]], and associates Rocco Folco and Anthony St. Laurent with [[loan sharking]]. In December 2004, Palumbo was named, but not indicted, and later jailed, in a case involving [[Boston]] mob captain Frederick Simone as the defendant. The indictment identified Manocchio as Patriarca family boss, Alexander "Sonny Boy" Rizzo as underboss, Rocco Argenta as [[consigliere]] and Carmen DiNunzio, Mark Rosetti and [[Matthew Guglielmetti]] as [[caporegime|capos]].
On January 20, 2005, the FBI raided the Providence office of the [[Laborers' International Union of North America]] (LIUNA) and the offices of Capital City Concrete in [[Cranston, Rhode Island]], all part of an investigation into labor [[racketeering]] in the [[Rhode Island]] construction business. Among those arrested in the Capital City raid was Guglielmetti, who was charged with overseeing distribution of [[cocaine]] bound for Canada, and [[money laundering]].<ref>''Providence Journal'', April 24, 2006</ref>
In November 2009, Manocchio reportedly ceded control of the Patriarca family to mobster Peter Limone.<ref>[http://mafianewstoday.com/tag/luigi-manocchio/ "2009 Mafia Happenings - A Recap"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714020350/http://mafianewstoday.com/tag/luigi-manocchio/ |date=2011-07-14 }} Mafia News Today website January 1, 2010</ref> Limone died of cancer on June 19, 2017.<ref>Murphy, Shelley (June 20, 2017). "Peter Limone, who spent 33 years in prison for murder he didn't commit, dies at 83". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 26, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.</ref>
On January 20, 2011, Manocchio was indicted on charges of extorting payments from the owners of the Cadillac Lounge and Satin Doll club, both [[adult entertainment]] establishments in Providence. The indictment listed his nicknames as "Louie", "The Professor", "The Old Man", or "Baby Shacks".<ref name="indict">[https://www.justice.gov/opa/lacosanostra.htm indictment pdf at justice.gov]</ref> In 2012, Manocchio pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. Manocchio told the court: "By virtue of my position, I inherited the deeds of my associates" and "I simply do not want my family or my friends to believe I personally threatened anybody."<ref>{{cite news|title=Former New England mob boss Luigi Manocchio sentenced to 5½ years in prison for strip club extortion|url=http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2012/05/former-new-england-mob-boss-sentenced-years-prison/i0IOhifrBU9FvUFUG4RXOJ/story.html?p1=News_links|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515000109/http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2012/05/former-new-england-mob-boss-sentenced-years-prison/i0IOhifrBU9FvUFUG4RXOJ/story.html?p1=News_links|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 15, 2012|accessdate=11 May 2012|newspaper=Boston Globe|date=11 May 2012|author=Milton J. Valencia|author2=Martin Finucane}}</ref> On May 12, 2015, Manocchio was moved from federal prison in [[Butner, North Carolina]], to a [[halfway house]] in Providence. On November 4, 2015, Manocchio was released.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.providencejournal.com/article/20150512/NEWS/150519716|title=Report: R.I.'s last mob boss Manocchio, 87, moved to halfway house|publisher=providencejournal.com|date=May 12, 2015}}</ref>
Manocchio died in [[Bristol, Rhode Island]], on December 8, 2024, at the age of 97.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fenton |first=Josh |date=December 8, 2024 |title=Luigi “Baby Shacks” Manocchio — Former New England Crime Boss — Is Dead |url=https://www.golocalprov.com/news/luigi-baby-shacks-manocchio-former-new-england-crime-boss-is-dead |access-date=December 8, 2024 |website=GoLocalProv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Tim |date=December 8, 2024 |title=Manocchio, last New England mob boss from Rhode Island, dead at 97 |url=https://www.wpri.com/target-12/manocchio-last-new-england-mob-boss-from-rhode-island-dead-at-97/ |access-date=December 8, 2024 |website=[[WPRI-TV]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mooney |first=Tom |date=December 8, 2024 |title='I inherited the deeds of my associates': 'Baby Shacks' Manocchio, once-powerful mob boss, dies |url=https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/crime/2024/12/08/luigi-baby-shacks-manocchio-former-head-of-the-new-england-mafia-dead/75205668007/ |access-date=December 8, 2024 |website=[[The Providence Journal]]}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110213002216/http://www.wpri.com/dpp/target_12/inside_mafia/target-12-who-is-baby-shacks WPRI.com Target 12: Who is Luigi 'Baby Shacks' Manocchio'?] By Tim White * [https://web.archive.org/web/20021030113831/http://www.geocities.com/OrganizedCrimeSyndicates/newengland.html Organized Crime Syndicates: The New England LCN Family] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061211003809/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/12/09/lower_in_profile_mafia_still_thrives_in_ne_officials_say/ Boston.com: Lower in profile, Mafia still thrives in N.E., officials say; Old patterns persist as membership dips] By Shelley Murphy
{{s-start}} {{s-other|[[American Mafia]]}} {{succession box | title = [[Patriarca crime family]]<br>Boss<br>'''1996–2009''' | before = [[Frank Salemme]] | after = Peter Limone | years = }} {{s-end}}
{{Patriarca crime family}} {{American Mafia}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manocchio, Luigi}} [[Category:1927 births]] [[Category:2024 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century American criminals]] [[Category:21st-century American criminals]] [[Category:American crime bosses]] [[Category:American gangsters of Italian descent]] [[Category:Patriarca crime family]] [[Category:Criminals from Providence, Rhode Island]] [[Category:American extortionists]]