Carmine Persico, better known as “Junior” to his close friends, and “The Snake” to the press and his enemies, was one of the toughest and most deadly mafioso to ever walk the streets of New York City, and, for that matter, the entire United States and the world. Starting his criminal career as a teenager, Persico rose up the ranks to become the boss of the Colombo Family and became one of the most powerful gangsters in organized crime.