When Licavoli Tapped His Cane, Lives Would End

I know a collector who owns the cane that belonged to Jack Licavoli, the Cleveland mob boss during the 1970s -- that volatile time when Danny Greene declared war on his former partners in the mob. And the cane played its own role in history, including in the story of Greene.

Cleveland boss Licavoli

"Jack White," or "Blackie," as Licavoli was called, would tap the cane on the floor whenever he ordered a hit, as if to punctuate his declaration. I have been told about this mannerism by an anonynmous source who spoke with guys who were present many times when such orders came down, along with the tip of the cane. (Licavoli may have carried the cane as a result of being shot in the leg in 1928, but I have not been able to confirm this.)

He must have really banged that thing pretty hard when he ordered Greene to be taken out; as anyone who knows his history, or has watched the film "Kill the Irishman," that dude was like a giant hemorrhoid growing right out of the crack of Jack's ass.

Licavoli (August 18, 1904 − November 23, 1985) was one of the earliest organized crime figures to be convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act).



Licavoli arrived in Cleveland in 1938. He was eventually made and inducted into the Cleveland crime family, quickly establishing control over illegal gambling and the vending machine industry in the neighboring cities of Youngstown and Warren, Ohio.

In 1976, longtime Cleveland family boss John Scalish died without having appointed a successor. By then Licavoli, who had slowly built up his power base and strength over the decades, along with an immense fortune, was considered by many to be the logical successor. He became boss of the Cleveland crime family.

Unfortunately for Licavoli, the Irish gangster Danny Greene commenced trying to take control of Mafia rackets in Cleveland. Mafia associate John Nardi sided with Greene, giving him an advantage over the Cleveland family. This erupted into an all-out war during which many Licavoli supporters were killed. Still, Jack White refused offers of help from both New York and Chicago, knowing full well families from these cities would send crews to muscle their way in before the ring of the last shot had even died out. Licavoli hired an outside hit man and took care of Greene & Co. on his own -- despite what you saw in the film.

The Mafia prevailed, as it usually does.

In 1985, James Licavoli died of heart attack at the Oxford Federal Correctional Institute in Oxford, Wisconsin.

But the cane still exists:


Licavoli's cane is owned by Goodfellas4God Ministries.