MOB TALK: Raymond L. S. Patriarca, head of the Mafia family in New England that bears his name, at the front door of the National Cigarette Service Company and Coin-o-Matic Distributors

Raymond L. S. Patriarca, head of the Mafia family in New England that bears his name, is pictured at the front door of the National Cigarette Service Company and Coin-o-Matic Distributors at 168 Atwells Avenue located in the Italian Federal Hill section of Providence, Rhode Island. A front for more sinister operations, "the Coin-o-Matic" as it was known, functioned legitimately as a cigarette vending machine and pinball machine business. But for nearly three decades, it was also the nerve center of the New England Mafia. Members and associates referred to it as "The Office."

From this office, Raymond — rarely Ray, whose first name when uttered in most parts of New England needed no elaboration — controlled a multimillion dollar criminal empire built on illegal gambling, extortion, loan sharking, prostitution, pornography, truck hijackings, fencing, fraud, and labor racketeering. He commanded a highly organized and disciplined outfit with over 100 "made" members at its peak — all of whom had pledged their allegiance to him and their lives to a secret society — and his control extended to an estimated 5,000 underworld figures as well as to crooked police, judges, and politicians. It was from this office that Il Padrone would often decide who would live and who would die. On the left the building can be seen in 1959, on the right in 1976.

At the height of his power Patriarca could often be seen sitting in a chair in front of the unimposing black-and-mint-green Art Deco storefront, a cigarette or cigar dangling from his lips, greeting people as they passed. Often described as an "armed camp," Atwells Avenue was crawling with people trying to curry favor with Patriarca — spotters that would report to him the presence of anyone or anything that seemed suspicious, especially snooping law enforcement officials. Because of this, Patriarca has been referred to as "the mob boss with 1000 eyes." Other aliases and nicknames he had were "The Man," "The Old Man," "The Mayor of Providence," "John D'Nubile," "John Roma," "Il Padrone," and "George," reputedly for George Raft, who, with James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Edward G. Robinson, brought gangsters to life on the movie screens of the 1930s and 1940s. "If you had a meeting with him, you were going to see George. Nobody wanted to get caught on a wire mentioning Raymond."

Every store owner on Federal Hill paid protection money to Patriarca and no major criminal or bookmaker from Maine to Connecticut could operate without paying tribute to him. Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill would write in their book The Underboss on Jerry Angiulo: "By the early 1950s, it was simply impossible to be a major figure in crime in New England and not have to deal with Patriarca. Big-time gamblers needed his race wire or layoff bank, and career armed robbers had to go through him to launder money or goods." In his memoir, turncoat Vincent Teresa said: "No matter what went on in New England, Raymond got a piece of the action." Patriarca also had criminal interests in Florida and in Las Vegas. In 1967 Newsday staff writer Bob Greene wrote that, according to the U.S. Justice Department, Patriarca's family was among the more powerful of the 24 LCN families and that the scope of his activities "staggers the imagination."

1967 is also the same year Patriarca would be arrested for the first time in over 20 years, for the gangland slaying of Willie Marfeo. He'd receive a 5 year sentence for murder-conspiracy. While serving that sentence, he was indicted again, this time for the gangland slaying of Willie's brother, Rudy Marfeo, and his bodyguard, Anthony Melei. For that he received a 10 year sentence for murder-conspiracy. In all, Patriarca would spend a total of 6 years behind bars as boss before receiving an early and controversial parole. He was released in 1975. Reports indicate that he continued to control the mob from behind bars.

Law enforcement experts once described Patriarca as "the most destructive force in the history of the New England underworld." But to some, it wasn't all bad. Raymond was reportedly generous to the neighborhood and kept track of the little people — the workers, tradesmen, and their families. He would pay for scholarships to college, even law school; recover stolen cars; and pay for surgeries and funerals. He regularly donated to the Federal Hill beautification fund and contributed generously to the Holy Ghost Church. One time, a boy in the neighborhood lost an eye, so Patriarca made sure he had access to the best doctors and picked up the tab for the kid's care.

Many of those who grew up on "the Hill" remain nostalgic for Raymond's era where La Cosa Nostra is thought to have kept a lid on what most people fear more than wiseguys settling scores with each other: randomized, unexpected, inexplicable crime. Many feel the neighborhood was safer when "the Mayor of Providence" was in charge — when, as the saying goes, you couldn't break a window on Federal Hill without the Old Man's approval.

A prohibition-era hijacker and armed robber, Patriarca's criminal career stretched back to the 1920s, and he rose to become one of the most powerful and influential Godfathers in American Mafia history. He died of a heart attack in 1984 age 76 with two murder-conspiracy cases pending against him. He is entombed at the Gate of Heaven cemetery in East Providence, R.I., in a large mausoleum befitting of a Mafia don. His only son, Raymond Patriarca, Jr., succeeded him as boss. While the Patriarca crime family remains active in the year 2025, with an estimated 30 "made" members and an unknown number of associates, the power and influence it once enjoyed under its namesake leader — as is typical for all LCN families — fades as time passes us by.

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