Interview · moment 8 of 12
Ralph Scopo, the Commission Case, and the Decline of the Mafia
from Least Likely Cop · #114
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
3 minGuest
Bo explains his relationship with mob figure Ralph Scopo (bagman for the Five Families), the 1985 Commission Case that took down mob bosses, his theories on why organized crime and racial demographics shifted in the NYPD, and reflects on the level of violence he witnessed, including the Palm Sunday Massacre killer's recent release from prison.
- 31:35Tim's guest explains earning respect from mobsters by never working in organized crime for them, maintaining integrity as a cop.
- 32:04Tim asks whether the decline of the mafia after the Commission case and subsequent corruption prosecutions contributed to the drop in New York City crime.
- 32:27Good policing and community involvement, plus diversification of the police department from 98% white to about 65% other ethnicities, may have helped reduce crime.
- 33:12Tim and his guest debate the terminology for Asian nationalities, with Tim arguing you can call them Chinese at a Chinese restaurant.
- 33:45Tim asks whether John Gotti seemed like he'd become the kingpin when the guest knew him as a kid.
- 33:57Joey Scopo—who the guest thought would be the big guy—got machine-gunned down in his driveway during a Colombo war in his late forties.
- 34:11The guest describes the level of violence in old New York, explaining that modern residents have no concept of the brutality that defined that era.
- 34:28Tim's guest's last case involved walking into a scene with ten dead people shot in the head, including eight children.
New York Citythe mafiaTom CarlJoey GalloLong Island