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All Mobbed Up
Published November 20, 2008 @ 04:17PM PST
Police in Providence, RI, today uncovered what they believe to be the body of Joseph "Joe Onions" Scanlon, killed 30 years ago, apparently for turning on fellow Mafia members and talking to the cops. It's a story full of rich Mafia-esque detail, and it concludes a three decade search for the body of Joe Onions, during which police tore up the floor of a social club, searched in junkyards and watched the beaches for the body to wash up. They were happy to find the guy.
The discovery comes on the heels of 18 arrests in Providence this week for involvement in organized crime. The sting was called "Operation Mobbed Up," as in "Hey, you know those guys down at the flea market? I hear those guys are all mobbed up." (Alright, maybe they thought it would be funny to call it 'mobbed up' because it sounds like 'mopped up,' but I like my interpretation and I'm sticking to it)
Cops say the defendants were dealing in stolen goods, selling drugs, running gambling operations - the whole gamut. And one of the ringleaders was 71-year-old Nicholas S. “Nicky” Pari, who already served time for killing Joe Onions. Pari led police to Onions' burial site, and he was present in his wheelchair for the digging. It's a classic American scene.
And the Providence Journal points to an interesting angle of the story - the fact that Pari was convicted without a body. He was the first person convicted in Rhode Island in such a case, but there have been 300 of them in U.S. history, going back to the 19th century. Former prosecutor Tad DiBiase keeps track of these cases and blogs about them at his website, nobodycases.com. There's a hobby out there for everyone.
Joe Onions, who got his name because he made the ladies cry (or so says the ProJo), always wanted to join the Mafia, according to a friend who refused to be named.
“He always had this dream of joining the Mafia,” said the friend. “I said, ‘Joe, why would you want to belong to the Mafia?’ He said, ‘Because if you belong, they’ll give you anything you want.’ I said, ‘Yeah, Joe, but sometimes they might want you to do them a favor and it might not work out so good.’ ”
...“Joe looked up to them,” she said. “He said it was OK. He said, ‘If they decide to kill me, it’ll be over so fast I won’t know it.’ ”
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Author
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Matt Kelley
- Brooklyn, NY
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Matt has worked and volunteered in various capacities in criminal justice reform for several years. When he's not blogging, he works as the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project. Views expressed here are Matt's, and don't represent the positions of the Innocence Project.
WELL HE GOT WHAT HE DESERVED. AT LEAST THEY FOUND HIS BODY, THEY SHOULD HAVE PUT IT IN SEWAGE WITH THE OTHER BAD SMELLING CRAP. YOU DON'T SNITCH ON THE MOB...........PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by David Outlaw on 11/21/2008 @ 08:26PM PST
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