Philip Charles Testa (April 21, 1924 – March 15, 1981), also known as "The Chicken Man", was an Italian-American mobster known for his brief leadership of the

Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Bruno–Scarfo crime family,< ...

of the

Italian-American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply t ...

. He became

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 Philadelphia crime family after the previous boss and his close friend,

Angelo Bruno Angelo Bruno (born Angelo Annaloro, ; May 21, 1910 – March 21, 1980) was a Sicilian-American mobster who was boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "The Docile Don" due to his prefere ...

, was murdered by Bruno's own ''

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...

'', Antonio Caponigro, who, in turn, was ordered killed by The Commission for murdering a boss without permission. Testa's nickname came from his involvement in a poultry business. About a year after Bruno's death, Testa was killed by the blast of a

nail bomb A nail bomb is an anti-personnel explosive device containing nails to increase its effectiveness at harming victims. The nails act as shrapnel, leading almost certainly to more injury in inhabited areas than the explosives alone would. A nail ...

at his home in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

. The assassination was allegedly ordered by Testa’s own

underboss Underboss () is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian Mafia, Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the Crime boss, boss. The un ...

, Peter Casella, as part of the Second Philadelphia Mafia War.

Early life

Testa was born to Sicilian immigrants in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and lived in

with his family in his teenage years. In South Philadelphia he met and befriended future mob boss

. He later married Alfia Arcidiacono (records show her family owned a farm in

Salem County, New Jersey Salem County is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its western boundary is formed by the Delaware River, and it has the eastern terminus of the Delaware Memorial Bridge, which connects the county with New Castle, Delaw ...

). In early police dossiers on Testa, he was identified by law enforcement as not having a legitimate source of income and was solely dependent from winnings as a "common gambler." Testa and his wife had a son who also became involved in organized crime,

Salvatore Testa Salvatore A. "Salvie" Testa (March 31, 1956 – September 14, 1984), 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 ...

, and was killed three years after his father. In 1970, Testa became

. When Bruno was murdered in 1980, Testa became boss, appointing

Nicodemo Scarfo Nicodemo Domenico Scarfo Sr. (March 8, 1929 – January 13, 2017) also known as "Little Nicky", was an American mobster who served as boss of the Philadelphia crime family from 1981 to 1990. Infamously known for his murderous reputation, Scarf ...

as ''

''.

Death and aftermath

One month before Testa was murdered, he, Frank Narducci Sr., Harold and Mario Riccobene,

Pasquale Spirito Pasquale "Pat The Cat" Spirito (May 26, 1939April 29, 1983) was an American mobster who was a soldier in the Philadelphia crime family from 1981 until his death on April 29, 1983. Career Little is known about Spirito's early life. He is the son ...

, Joseph Ciancaglini, and several associates were indicted in a federal racketeering case that centered on gambling and loansharking operations run by the mob. The case was based on an investigation called Operation Gangplank and was one of the first built on the

RICO Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was e ...

by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia. On March 15, 1981, Testa returned to his home in

that was across the street from

Stephen Girard Park Stephen Girard Park is a park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the South Philadelphia neighborhood of Girard Estate, bounded between West Shunk, West Porter, 21st, and 22nd Streets. Originally it was part of two parcels of land that Stephen Gi ...

. As he was opening the door to his twin home at 2117 Porter Street, a

exploded under his front porch. His death was allegedly ordered by his underboss and drug trafficker Peter Casella and capo Frank Narducci Sr., which later resulted in Narducci being gunned down and Casella being banished from the Mob and fleeing to Florida. Testa's murder sparked a war within the family.

seized the top position for himself, promoting his long time friend Chuckie Merlino as his underboss and Testa loyalist

Frank Monte Frank Monte (June 21, 1931 in South Philadelphia – May 13, 1982 in South Philadelphia) was a member of the Philadelphia crime family. When Nicodemo Scarfo became boss, he named Monte as his consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural is a positio ...

as his ''consigliere''. Scarfo went on to lead the family for a decade with a bloody rampage, fueled by paranoia and aggression.

In popular culture

Testa's violent death is referenced in the opening lines of musician

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

's song "

Atlantic City Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city in Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of the Atlantic City- Hammonton metropolitan sta ...

". He was portrayed by

Larry Romano Lawrence John Romano (born July 31, 1963) is an American film and television actor. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, he was a regular on ''NYPD Blue'' and the sitcom ''The King of Queens'', on which he played Richie Iannucci. He played First B ...

in the film ''

The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (also known as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 book '' I Heard You Paint Houses'' by Charl ...

''.

References

External links

Philip "Chickenman" Testa
at Find A Grave {{DEFAULTSORT:Testa, Phillip 1924 births 1981 deaths 1981 murders in the United States 20th-century American criminals American crime bosses Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Yeadon, Pennsylvania) Deaths by improvised explosive device in the United States Murdered American gangsters of Italian descent Murdered Philadelphia crime family members People of Sicilian descent People murdered by the Philadelphia crime family Gangsters from Philadelphia People murdered in Pennsylvania Philadelphia crime family Unsolved murders in the United States

Early life

Death and aftermath

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading

External links