{"id":7028216,"date":"2026-08-05T08:08:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T08:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/american-history\/james-jack-white-licavoli-clevelands-last-powerful-boss\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T08:08:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T08:08:09","slug":"james-jack-white-licavoli-clevelands-last-powerful-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216","title":{"rendered":"James &#8220;Jack White&#8221; Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland&#8217;s Last Powerful Boss"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James T. Licavoli stands as one of the most significant figures in Cleveland organized crime history, presiding over the family during its most turbulent and violent era. Known by the aliases \u201cJack White\u201d and \u201cBlackie,\u201d Licavoli rose from St. Louis bootlegger to become boss of the Cleveland crime family in 1976. His reign was marked by a brutal gang war with Irish mobster Danny Greene that turned Cleveland into \u201cBomb City, USA\u201d and ultimately brought the family to its knees. In 1982, Licavoli became one of the earliest organized crime figures convicted under the newly enacted RICO Act, cementing his place in mob history for both his power and his downfall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>St. Louis Roots and Early Criminal Career<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincentio Licavoli was born on August 18, 1904, in St. Louis, Missouri, the third of four children born to Sicilian immigrants Dominic and Girolama Licavoli. The Licavoli family would become a veritable dynasty of organized crime, with multiple members\u2014including cousins Peter and Thomas \u201cYonnie\u201d Licavoli\u2014rising to prominence in various cities across the Midwest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In St. Louis, young James joined his cousins in the Russo Gang, engaging in bootlegging during Prohibition. On October 6, 1926, the 22-year-old Licavoli was shot in the leg and arrested after a wild chase and shootout with St. Louis police. Despite having fired on the officers, he was charged only with carrying a concealed weapon, and even that charge was eventually dropped\u2014an early demonstration of the legal maneuvering that would characterize much of his career.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"639\" src=\"https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/James-Licavoli-Levenworth-prison-photo.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210891\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.6025277968223686;width:470px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/James-Licavoli-Levenworth-prison-photo.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/James-Licavoli-Levenworth-prison-photo-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/James-Licavoli-Levenworth-prison-photo-768x479.jpg 768w, https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/James-Licavoli-Levenworth-prison-photo-850x530.jpg 850w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Licavoli crew later moved their operations to Detroit, where they wrested control of the city\u2019s rackets from the notorious Purple Gang. During this period, Licavoli served time at Leavenworth for bootlegging charges. After his release, he relocated to Toledo, Ohio, reportedly to avoid heat from the murder of an anti-Mafia radio broadcaster.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Establishing Power in Cleveland<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1938, James Licavoli arrived in Cleveland, where he would spend the rest of his life. There he formed close friendships with fellow mobsters Jimmy \u201cThe Weasel\u201d Fratianno and Anthony \u201cTony Dope\u201d Delsanter. The trio embarked on various criminal enterprises, including robbing gambling halls across northeast Ohio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1940, Licavoli was formally inducted into the Cleveland crime family. He quickly established control over illegal gambling and the vending machine industry in the neighboring cities of Youngstown and Warren, Ohio. During this period, police suspected him in the murders of Jim \u201cMancene\u201d Mancini and gambling czar Nate Weisenberg, though no charges ever materialized.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By 1970, Licavoli had become known as \u201cthe king of the hill\u201d\u2014referring to Murray Hill, Cleveland\u2019s Little Italy neighborhood where the mob maintained its stronghold. He lived modestly for a man of his reputation, sharing a house with a roommate and, despite reports of considerable wealth, exhibiting a miserly streak. He was caught using stolen credit cards on vacation, inserting slugs into vending machines, and even attempting to shoplift a pair of pants from a department store.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Kefauver Committee<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1951, when Senator Estes Kefauver\u2019s traveling committee on organized crime arrived in Cleveland for public hearings, Licavoli was among those subpoenaed to testify. He refused to answer questions about his illicit slot machine operations and unreported income to the IRS. For his defiance, he was indicted for contempt of Congress, though the charge was ultimately dropped in court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Ascending to Boss<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In May 1976, longtime Cleveland boss John Scalish died during heart surgery without officially naming a successor. Though Scalish had led the family for over three decades, he had allowed membership to decline and failed to clearly designate who would follow him. Within six days of Scalish\u2019s death, James Licavoli was selected as boss with the backing of key family members including Anthony \u201cTony Dope\u201d Delsanter, Pasquale \u201cButchie\u201d Cisternino, Ronald \u201cRonnie the Crab\u201d Carabbia, and Eugene \u201cThe Animal\u201d Ciasullo.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Licavoli was initially reluctant to take the position, but the family needed strong leadership to prevent infighting. He selected his relative Leo \u201cLips\u201d Moceri as underboss. What Licavoli couldn\u2019t have anticipated was the firestorm about to engulf Cleveland\u2019s underworld.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Greene War<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Danny Greene was an Irish-American union boss turned gangster who had allied with mob-affiliated labor leader John Nardi. When Licavoli became boss, he implemented a \u201cstreet tax\u201d on Greene\u2019s businesses and threatened to take over Nardi\u2019s rackets. Greene and Nardi refused to submit, and what followed was one of the bloodiest gang wars in American mob history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The conflict turned Cleveland into a war zone. In 1976 alone, there were 37 bombings in Cuyahoga County, earning the city the nickname \u201cBomb City, USA.\u201d Most were car bombings, the preferred weapon of both sides. While Licavoli himself was never directly targeted, his organization suffered devastating losses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In August 1976, just months after Licavoli took power, his underboss Leo Moceri disappeared after attending a Feast of the Assumption festival in Little Italy. His bloodstained car was found in an Akron hotel parking lot, but his body was never recovered. Eugene \u201cThe Animal\u201d Ciasullo was severely wounded in a bombing at his Richmond Heights home in July 1976.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Licavoli declined offers of assistance from both the <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/genovese-family\/\">Genovese crime family<\/a> in New York, led by Frank \u201cFunzi\u201d Tieri, and the Chicago Outfit, led by <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/tony-joe-batters-accardo-de-facto-boss-of-the-chicago-outfit\/\">Tony Accardo<\/a> and Joseph Aiuppa. He feared that accepting outside help would cost him control over Cleveland\u2019s profitable criminal operations. The Chicago bosses eventually declared their neutrality and ordered their subordinates not to assist either side.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Turning the Tide<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By 1977, Licavoli was desperate. He recruited hitman Ray Ferritto, who had connections to both the Cleveland and Los Angeles crime families. On May 17, 1977, Ferritto and Pasquale Cisternino successfully planted a car bomb that killed John Nardi in a parking lot outside a Teamsters local office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Nardi eliminated, Licavoli focused on Greene. In the first week of October 1977, Licavoli met with Cisternino, Angelo \u201cBig Ange\u201d Lonardo (son of 1920s boss \u201cBig Joe\u201d Lonardo, who had become Licavoli\u2019s new underboss after Moceri\u2019s death), and Ferritto on a boat at Mosquito Lake, about 50 miles east of Cleveland. They listened to a tape recording from a phone tap Licavoli had ordered on Greene and learned that Greene had a dental appointment scheduled for October 6.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cisternino and Ferritto fashioned a bomb inside a special metal box welded into a Chevrolet Nova. On the day of Greene\u2019s appointment, Ferritto drove to the dentist\u2019s parking lot in Lyndhurst while Ronald Carabbia positioned the Nova nearby. When Greene emerged from his appointment and climbed into his car, they detonated the bomb remotely. Danny Greene was killed instantly. A backup team with high-powered rifles had been standing by in case the bomb failed, but it wasn\u2019t necessary.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"454\" src=\"https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Danny-Greene-bombing.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-210892\" srcset=\"https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Danny-Greene-bombing.jpg 600w, https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Danny-Greene-bombing-300x227.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 43-year-old Greene\u2019s death ended the mob war and secured Licavoli\u2019s control over Cleveland\u2019s criminal operations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The FBI Mole and Downfall<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With Greene eliminated, Licavoli enjoyed a brief period of unchallenged authority. The Cleveland family had even managed to infiltrate the FBI\u2019s Cleveland office by bribing a female clerk named Geraldine Rabinowitz to provide information about organized crime investigations and the identities of government informants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a conversation with his lifelong friend <a href=\"https:\/\/americanmafiahistory.com\/jimmy-the-weasel-fratianno-the-highest-ranking-mob-turncoat\/\">Jimmy Fratianno<\/a>, Licavoli ironically remarked: \u201cJimmy, sometimes, you know, I think this fucking outfit of ours is like the old Communist party in this country. It\u2019s getting so that there\u2019s more fucking spies in it than members.\u201d What Licavoli didn\u2019t know was that Fratianno himself had become an FBI informant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Ray Ferritto was arrested for Greene\u2019s murder after a suspicious motorist reported his getaway car\u2019s license plate to police, he quickly agreed to cooperate with authorities. Fratianno, learning that Licavoli had discovered the FBI mole and fearing his own cover would be blown, entered the Witness Protection Program in November 1977. The FBI arrested Rabinowitz within weeks, closing Licavoli\u2019s source inside the bureau.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>RICO Conviction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Licavoli was arrested for Greene\u2019s murder just two months after the October 1977 bombing. At trial in 1978, Cisternino and Carabbia were convicted, but Licavoli was acquitted. When Fratianno testified against Licavoli in a federal racketeering trial for the bribery of Rabinowitz, Licavoli was again acquitted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, prosecutors weren\u2019t finished. They targeted Licavoli under the newly enacted Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, legislation specifically designed with extended penalties for organized crime activities. At age 77, Licavoli was brought to trial with five other defendants in federal court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On July 8, 1982, all defendants were convicted. On July 30, 1982, Licavoli was sentenced to serve 17 years in federal prison. He became one of the earliest organized crime figures convicted under RICO, a legal framework that would eventually dismantle Mafia families across the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Death Behind Bars<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James Licavoli was imprisoned at the Oxford Federal Correctional Institution in Wisconsin. Warden R.D. Brewer described him as a quiet prisoner who caused no trouble.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On November 23, 1985, Licavoli suffered a heart attack and was taken to Adams County Hospital in Adams, Wisconsin, where he died at 5:30 p.m. He was 81 years old. Services were held in St. Louis, where he had grown up and still had family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. District Judge William Thomas, who had presided over the conspiracy trial, said simply, \u201cI deeply regret his death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James Licavoli\u2019s reign as Cleveland boss lasted less than a decade, but it fundamentally altered the trajectory of the Cleveland crime family. The Greene war decimated the organization\u2019s ranks, drew intense law enforcement scrutiny, and provided prosecutors with cooperating witnesses\u2014including Fratianno and Ferritto\u2014whose testimony devastated the family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Following Licavoli\u2019s conviction, Angelo Lonardo took over as boss but was himself convicted of narcotics charges in 1983 and eventually became a government witness. The Cleveland family, once a powerful player in Midwest organized crime with lucrative interests in Las Vegas casino skimming operations and Teamsters pension fund manipulation, was reduced to a shadow of its former self.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Licavoli\u2019s conviction under RICO presaged the wave of prosecutions that would cripple the American Mafia throughout the 1980s and 1990s. His story\u2014from St. Louis bootlegger to Cleveland boss to federal prisoner\u2014encapsulates the rise and fall of traditional organized crime in America. The man who had survived shootouts, gang wars, and decades of criminal activity ultimately fell victim to the very thing he had sought to exploit: his lifelong friend Jimmy Fratianno\u2019s betrayal and the government\u2019s determination to use every legal tool at its disposal to destroy the mob.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>James T. Licavoli stands as one of the most significant figures in Cleveland organized crime history, presiding over the family during its most turbulent and violent era. Known by the aliases \u201cJack White\u201d and \u201cBlackie,\u201d Licavoli rose from St. Louis bootlegger to become boss of the Cleveland crime family in 1976. His reign was marked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7028217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12032],"tags":[240,192091,51252,192092,3519,192093,5986,192094,192095,192098,7289,192096,192097,355],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7028216","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-history","tag-boss","tag-cleveland-mafia","tag-clevelands","tag-danny-greene","tag-jack","tag-jack-white","tag-james","tag-james-licavoli","tag-john-salish","tag-licavoli","tag-powerful","tag-purple-gang","tag-russo-gang","tag-white"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>James &quot;Jack White&quot; Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland&#039;s Last Powerful Boss - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"James &quot;Jack White&quot; Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland&#039;s Last Powerful Boss - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"James T. Licavoli stands as one of the most significant figures in Cleveland organized crime history, presiding over the family during its most turbulent and violent era. Known by the aliases \u201cJack White\u201d and \u201cBlackie,\u201d Licavoli rose from St. Louis bootlegger to become boss of the Cleveland crime family in 1976. His reign was marked [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-05T08:08:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"431\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"539\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"James &#8220;Jack White&#8221; Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland&#8217;s Last Powerful Boss\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T08:08:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216\"},\"wordCount\":1731,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"BOSS\",\"cleveland mafia\",\"Clevelands\",\"danny greene\",\"Jack\",\"jack white\",\"James\",\"james licavoli\",\"john salish\",\"Licavoli\",\"Powerful\",\"purple gang\",\"Russo gang\",\"White\"],\"articleSection\":[\"American History\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216\",\"name\":\"James \\\"Jack White\\\" Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland's Last Powerful Boss - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-05T08:08:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg\",\"width\":431,\"height\":539},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"James &#8220;Jack White&#8221; Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland&#8217;s Last Powerful Boss\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"James \"Jack White\" Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland's Last Powerful Boss - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"James \"Jack White\" Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland's Last Powerful Boss - Som2ny Network","og_description":"James T. Licavoli stands as one of the most significant figures in Cleveland organized crime history, presiding over the family during its most turbulent and violent era. Known by the aliases \u201cJack White\u201d and \u201cBlackie,\u201d Licavoli rose from St. Louis bootlegger to become boss of the Cleveland crime family in 1976. His reign was marked [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2026-08-05T08:08:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":431,"height":539,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"James &#8220;Jack White&#8221; Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland&#8217;s Last Powerful Boss","datePublished":"2026-08-05T08:08:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216"},"wordCount":1731,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg","keywords":["BOSS","cleveland mafia","Clevelands","danny greene","Jack","jack white","James","james licavoli","john salish","Licavoli","Powerful","purple gang","Russo gang","White"],"articleSection":["American History"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216","name":"James \"Jack White\" Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland's Last Powerful Boss - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-05T08:08:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/117760447_307639423819799_6095724330915821764_n.jpg","width":431,"height":539},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7028216#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"James &#8220;Jack White&#8221; Licavoli \u2013 Cleveland&#8217;s Last Powerful Boss"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7028216","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7028216"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7028216\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7028217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7028216"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7028216"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7028216"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=7028216"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=7028216"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}