Elena Semander

popular name: Salvatore Testa

date_of_death: September 14, 1984

age: 28

cause_of_death: Murdered - mob hit

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Salvatore "Salvie" Testa, nicknamed "The Crowned Prince of the Philadelphia Mob", was an Italian-American mobster who served as a caporegime and later acting underboss for the Philadelphia crime family. Testa made his reputation as a hitman for the Philadelphia family during a period of internal gang conflict. The son of former boss Philip “The Chicken Man” Testa, Salvatore Testa was an emerging figure in the mob until he was killed on the orders of Philadelphia crime family mob boss Nicky Scarfo. Mobster-turned-informant Thomas DelGiorno said close friend and associate of Testa, Joseph Pungitore, reluctantly agreed to join the plot to kill Testa during the summer of 1984. Scarfo was worried that Testa was forming his own crew and began gaining too much power. Scarfo was also angry when Salvie broke his engagement with the daughter of a high-ranking mob official. Testa was lured to a sweet shop in South Philadelphia where Salvatore 'Wayne' Grande shot him twice in the head. Testa's body was dumped in a ditch in then rural southern New Jersey. As a result of the slaying Joseph Grande, Charles Iannece and Nicholas 'Nicky Crow' Caramandi were initiated into the mob. But don't let the "Prince" moniker - Salvie Testa was a violent psychopath who enjoyed killing, even once ordering the hit on a rival including the children in the family. It has been reported that he was directly responsible for the murder of, at a minimum, 15 people. Upon his death, he was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Yeadon, PA.

popular name: Baby Face Nelson

date_of_death: 19341127

age: 25

cause_of_death: Homicide - gunshot wounds

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Lester Gillis, aka George Nelson, aka Baby Face Nelson was a notorious gunman and bank robber who was responsible for killing more FBI agents than any other person. He was called Baby Face Neslon due to his small size and youthful appearance, but few dared stay that name to his face. He was directly connected to and worked with gangsters John Paul Chase, Homer Van Meter and the John Dillinger Gang.

popular name: Joseph Colombo

date_of_death: May 22, 1978

age: 54

cause_of_death: Cardiac arrest related to shooting

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Joseph Colombo Sr. became the boss of the Colombo crime family, one of five families associated with the American Mafia in New York City. Joseph Colombo’s father Anthony was an early member of the Profaci crime family, forerunner of the family that would eventually bear his name. After Anthony Colombo was found strangled to death in a car with his mistress, a young Joe dropped out to of high school to join the U.S. Coast Guard. He was diagnosed with neurosis and discharged from the service and resumed a normal lifestyle with jobs that included ten years as a longshoreman and six years as a meat salesman. Eventually Joe Columbo drifted back into the life of organized crime and Colombo followed his father into the Profaci family becoming an enforcer and quickly promoted to Caporegime. Separate from his crime family, Colombo went on to create the Italian-American Civil Rights League in 1970, hosting the first Italian Unity Day rally in Columbus Circle later that year. On June 28, 1971, Colombo was shot three times at the second annual rally by Jerome A. Johnson. The shooting left Colombo paralyzed and he died seven years later of cardiac arrest. Many members of the Colombo family claim Joe Gallo, mobster of the Profaci crime family, was to blame for the shooting due to his falling out with Colombo.