{{Short description|American gangster (1943–2017)}} {{Infobox criminal |name = Ron Previte |image = File:Ron Previte.jpg |image_size = 250px |caption = Previte (middle), in an FBI surveillance photo in South Philadelphia. |birth_name = Ronald Previte |birth_date = October 9, 1943 |birth_place = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|8|21|1943|10|9}} |death_place = Galloway Township, New Jersey, U.S. |occupation = Police officer, mob informant |allegiance = Philadelphia crime family }} '''Ronald Previte''' (October 9, 1943 – August 21, 2017) was an American corrupt police officer for the Philadelphia Police Department and a member of and an informant against the Philadelphia crime family of the Italian-American Mafia.<ref name="cbsnews1">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/former-capo-i-was-underpaid/ |title=Former 'Capo': 'I Was Underpaid' |publisher=CBS News |date=2007-12-05 |access-date=July 26, 2012}}</ref>
Previte was born in 1943 in Philadelphia to Sicilian-American parents but was raised in Hammonton, New Jersey,<ref name=death/><ref name=life>{{cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/obituaries/ron-previte-dies-informant-mob-bosses-philly-20170829.html|title=Ron Previte, wiseguy informant who brought down Philly mob bosses, dead at 73|publisher=inquirer.com|date=August 29, 2017}}</ref> and attended Hammonton High School.<ref>Anastasia, George. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer-ron-previte-of/124306550/ "Undercover mobster set to testify against Hammonton detective"], ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', February 20, 2001. Accessed May 9, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Previte was well-known in town, having graduated from Hammonton High School in the early 1960s."</ref> Previte joined with the United States Air Force, and when he returned, he joined the Philadelphia Police Department.<ref name=life/> During his time in the police force, Previte extorted traffic violators, shook down restaurant owners, stripped impounded cars, stole from crime scenes and solicited payoffs from bookies and mobsters.<ref name=death/><ref name=life/> Previte was forced to resign from the police force in 1979. By 1981, he began working as a security officer for the Tropicana Casino & Resort Atlantic City and was soon operating as an associate of the Philadelphia crime family, swiping cash and chips from the casino, stealing trucks of furniture and bar supplies out of the casino warehouse, robbing money from guests, and running prostitutes and poker games out of unoccupied suites.<ref name=death/><ref name=life/><ref name="cbsnews1"/>
Previte was arrested for theft in 1985, but the charges were dropped after he agreed to work with New Jersey State Police.<ref name=death/><ref>Anastasia, George. [https://web.archive.org/web/20131203233846/http://articles.philly.com/1996-12-17/news/25643091_1_bookmaking-operation-bookmaking-ring-illegal-wagers "Police: Hammonton Raids Broke Up A Betting Ring"], ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', December 17, 1996. Accessed November 18, 2013. "Sources said yesterday the bookmaking ring was part of a broader gambling and loan-sharking operation controlled by reputed mob figure Ron Previte of Hammonton."</ref> In 1992, Previte became an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation for which he was paid $750,000 between 1992 and 2002.<ref name="cbsnews1"/><ref name=life/> By 1993, Previte was a big earner for the Philadelphia crime family and the personal driver for boss John Stanfa.<ref name="cbsnews1"/> Previte wore a wire for more than two-and-a-half years, recording more than 400 hours of conversations, also testifying during mob trials, which helped convict over 50 mobsters, including Joey Merlino and Ralph Natale.<ref name="cbsnews1"/> Following the trials, Previte turned down offers for witness relocation, and lived under an assumed name in Hammonton.<ref name=life/> Previte was an associate of the Philadelphia mafia and was never made an official member.
Previte is the subject of the 2004 book ''The Last Gangster'' by George Anastasia.<ref name="Anastasia2011">{{cite book|last=Anastasia|first=George|title=The Last Gangster|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uDwTvcOq_bQC&pg=PP6|accessdate=1 January 2013|date=2011-10-18|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=9780062124005|pages=6–}}</ref>
Previte died in a Galloway Township, New Jersey hospital on August 21, 2017, of a heart attack, aged 73.<ref name=death>{{cite web|url=http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2017/08/29/former-philly-mob-captain-ronald-previte-dies/613358001/|title=Former Philly mob captain Ronald Previte dies|website=courierpostonline.com|accessdate=20 September 2017}}</ref><ref name=life/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Philadelphia crime family}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Previte, Ron}} Category:1943 births Category:2017 deaths Category:American Mafia cooperating witnesses Category:Federal Bureau of Investigation informants Category:American gangsters of Italian descent Category:Philadelphia crime family Category:Philadelphia Police Department officers Category:Gangsters from Philadelphia Category:Hammonton High School alumni Category:People from Hammonton, New Jersey Category:Military personnel from Philadelphia Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War