Jimmy Nap Napoli – The King of the Numbers Game

While in 1976 Jimmy Napoli already had served a six-month contempt sentence during a probe of fixed boxing matches at the old tombs in Lower Manhattan, he was now being accused of having bribed prison guards and an assistant warden to provide him special amenities, such as gourmet meals and wine to ease his prison stay.

Vincenzo (Jimmy Nap) Napoli was born in 1911 in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. By 1963, he was living at 53-46 Metropolitan Ave., in nearby Maspeth, Queens. By his mid-50s, he was living at 61 Jane Street in Manhattan and later at 216 E. 31st St.

Jimmy was a former amateur boxer in his youth and remained a boxing fan all his life.

He had three sons, James (Lefty) Jr., Anthony (Tony Nap), and Rocco Napoli, who all became active in the life. Napoli would later marry a former girlfriend and confidante of deceased Lucchese top capo Paul Correale.

FBI #1953027 NYCPD # B=111856

Napoli was long identified as a Genovese associate and would eventually rise to “Captain” status.

Side Note: A key factor to remember was that although Jimmy was very close to the top guys in most all the Families, he always remained an “associate” and was never made for decades.

He is said to have turned down his “button” more than once. During the reopening of the “books” during the mid-1970s, he finally accepted formal induction and quickly rose to “Capo”- it was arguably the biggest mistake of his life.

Napoli was well known as one of the biggest numbers-policy racketeers in the NY-Northern NJ areas for decades, and for that matter, the whole country.

Jimmy Nap (right) and Sy Crisci

He started in out Williamsburg and, throughout his life, would always use that neighborhood as his base of operations. For years he operated out of the Hi-Way Bar & Grill which was his “de facto” headquarters.

Napoli also utilized both nearby Crisci’s Restaurant on Lorimer Street and Bamonte’s Ristorante as drops and meeting places. Sy Crisci who owned Crisci’s Restaurant was a cousin of his.

I personally would often see and say hello to Jimmy at both these eateries. He was always a gentleman with me.

His activities included policy rackets, floating dice games, bookmaking, police bribery, shylocking, and fixed boxing matches.

Although in later life Jimmy handled sports bookmaking (after numbers were legalized), he was primarily a numbers guy for decades.

He had an extensive list of criminal associates which included succeeding Genovese hierarchies such as Brooklyn based Frank (Funzi) Tieri; Lower Manhattan-based power, Vincent (Chin) Gigante; Harlem-based power, Anthony (Fat Tony) Salerno, and Family consigliere and NJ-based power, Louis (Bobby) Manna.

He was also associated with other key hoodlums including:

-- Martin (Motts) Casella -A member, close aide to Manna, and numbers racketeer.

-- Pasquale (Paddy Mac) Macchiarole - A top Genovese capo and power from Williamsburg who was murdered.

-- John (Sonny) Franzese - Colombo underboss/capo from Greenpoint, Williamsburg.

-- James (Lefty) Napoli Jr. - His middle son and longtime aide in the policy rackets. Also a Family associate.

-- Anthony (Tony Nap) Napoli - His oldest son, associate, and street guy.

-- Rocco Napoli - His youngest son who became a union official and Genovese associate (possible member).

-- Louis Pascocello - His cousin and aide.

-- Andrew Biondo - A top aide who controlled the “bank” for Napoli in the 1960s.

I’ve given you his pedigree to lay the groundwork of his life.

Let me say that Jimmy was widely regarded as a gentleman and a nice guy. He was smart and level-headed and was not an inherently vicious guy.

Don’t get me wrong, he was no sucker, but not inclined to violence as a first resort. He was well-liked!

Jimmy Nap ran one of the biggest numbers networks for decades. It spanned from Brooklyn to Manhattan, Queens, and Long Island. He also did heavy business throughout northern New Jersey (much in Jersey City, some in Newark).

By 1969, authorities were starting to pay more attention to Napoli, and he was subpoenaed to testify by a Nassau County rackets grand jury.

Also in 1969, he was one of several hoodlums and boxers hit with perjury charges during an investigation of fixing boxing matches.

He was accused of lying while answering questions related to their friendship with Italian boxing champ Nino Benvenuti and the 1969 suspected dive bout of Frank DePaola vs. light heavyweight champ Bob Foster.

DePaola, mobster Joseph (Joe Carlo) Calabro, and Napoli were the three indicted, and many other boxers and fight promoters figured into the probe.

By 1971, he was under a ton of heat. He became the target of numerous investigations into gambling, police bribery, and fixing pro fights.

In 1979, he was jailed again after refusing to answer grand jury questions probing bribery and the mob.

While in 1976 he already had served a six-month contempt sentence during a probe of fixed boxing matches at the old tombs in Lower Manhattan, he was now being accused of having bribed prison guards and an assistant warden to provide him special amenities, such as gourmet meals and wine to ease his prison stay.

Jimmy Nap

Additionally, the Roman Catholic priest, Louis Gigante (Vinny’s brother), was also jailed for 10 days for contempt after he refused to answer the judge's questions citing his priestly oath and confessional privilege between him and Napoli. Gigante had been accused of helping Napoli gain prison favors.

In 1976, he and many of his men were federally indicted for the operation of a massive policy network spanning New York City and New Jersey. It was a serious problem and hit at the heart of his operations. Law enforcement accused him of heading a policy ring that grossed $150,000,000 yearly.

After trial, Jimmy Nap would be convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment after several years exhausting all appeals.

By the time he was released, there was nothing left of his prized policy operation. They had fallen on hard times. The legalization of the NY Lotto and his prolonged absence had destroyed his business.

Jimmy Nap then diversified into other rackets and deeper into Genovese Family “politics”, utilizing his capo status to better move around. It would only add to his problems and lead to the most serious case of his life!

By 1988, he became involved and indicted on a big RICO murder conspiracy case that included Bobby Manna, Motts Casella, and a host of other Genovese hoodlums.

They were accused, among other things, of plotting the murder of John Gotti and some of his top aides. There were also the additional typical charges of usury, extortion, gambling, and racketeering conspiracy, etc.

I’m not sure what happened to him in this case, but I know that they delayed the case and trial for a long time. I think he was severed or eventually dropped from the case. At any rate, Jimmy was already pushing 80 years old.

Jimmy Nap died in 1992 after a short illness. He will be remembered as a decent guy. I always considered Jimmy more of a racketeer than a gangster per se. And I give that to him as a compliment!

Jimmy Nap Napoli – The King of the Numbers Game

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Jimmy Nap Napoli – The King of the Numbers Game

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