Matthew M. "Mike" Trupiano Jr. (November 8, 1938 – October 22, 1997) was the

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

of the St. Louis crime family from 1982 to 1997.

Early life

Matthew Trupiano was born on November 8, 1938, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

to a

Sicilian-American Sicilian Americans (; ) are Italian Americans who are fully or partially of Sicilian descent, whose ancestors were Sicilians who immigrated to United States during the Italian diaspora, or Sicilian-born people in U.S. They are a large ethnic grou ...

family. His father immigrated from

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

and met his future wife in Detroit. Trupiano eventually ran into gambling problems with the

Detroit Partnership The Detroit Partnership (also known as the Detroit crime family, the Detroit Combination, the Detroit Mafia, the Zerilli crime family (), and the Tocco–Zerilli crime family) is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan ...

, the local

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protect ...

organization, and was forced to leave the city.

St. Louis crime family

With the help of his uncle, St. Louis crime family boss

Anthony Giordano Antonio Rico Giuseppe Giordano (June 24, 1914 – August 29, 1980) was the boss of the St. Louis crime family.Editorial. "Giordano, St. Louis Mobster Boss, Dies." ''Chicago Tribune'', August 30, 1980, pp. W19. Early life Anthony Giordano, n ...

, Trupiano moved to

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He soon became president of the crime family-controlled Local 110 of the

Laborers' International Union of North America The Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA, stylized as LiUNA!), often shortened to just the Laborers' Union, is an American and Canadian labor union formed in 1903. As of 2017, they had about 500,000 members, about 80,000 of whom ...

(LIUNA). After Giordano died in 1980 and John "Johnny V." Vitale. became boss, Trupiano was allowed to become a

made man In the Sicilian and American Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. In order to become eligible to be "made", an associate must fulfill several requirements, such as being Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by ...

in the family. When Vitale died in 1982, Trupiano succeeded him as boss, and Joseph Cammarata became his underboss. In 1991, Trupiano was arrested for operating an illegal

gin rummy Gin Rummy, or simply Gin, is a two-player card game variant of Rummy. It has enjoyed widespread popularity as both a social and a gambling game, especially during the mid twentieth century, and remains today one of the most widely played two-pla ...

game in the back of a St. Louis car dealership. Since Trupiano was a union officer gambling on union work time, prosecutors could charge him with embezzlement of union funds. In June 1992, due to the criminal charges, Local 110 voted Trupiano out of office. In October 1992, Trupiano was convicted of one illegal gambling charge and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. The judge advised Trupiano to stay away from gambling. In poor health, Trupiano was released from prison after serving 16 months.
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Trupiano suffered a heart attack at his home on October 22, 1997, and was pronounced dead at St. Anthony's Medical Center in South

St. Louis County, Missouri St. Louis County is located in eastern Missouri. It is bounded by the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the east, the Missouri River to the north, and the Meramec River to the south. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1, ...

References

External links

St. Louis Family
AmericanMafia.com.

, ''The St. Louis Crime Family''. Crime Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Trupiano, Matthew 1938 births 1997 deaths American trade union officials convicted of crimes American crime bosses American gangsters of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent American prisoners and detainees American people of Italian descent Laborers' International Union of North America people Trade unionists from Missouri Gangsters from Detroit People from St. Louis County, Missouri