Albert J. Wicks, mob prosecutor

ALBERT J. WICKS, a tough mob prosecutor who put legendary Mafia figures Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, Santo Idone and John Stanfa behind bars, died Jan. 9 of a heart attack while on vacation in Maui. He was 67.

Last weekend, he was buried where he was born, in Woodstock, Ill.

In 1974, Wicks began his 21-year career in Philadelphia as a federal prosecutor on the Organized Crime Strike Force.

"For more than 20 years, I valued his advice and hard work," said Joel Friedman, chief of the Organized Crime Office during Wicks tenure. "He was a leader in our office and contributed greatly in our successes. Society benefited from his tireless efforts."

It was a heady time, four years after the federal Racketeering Influenced-Corrupt Organization Act, known as RICO, was passed and prosecutors and investigators were still figuring out how best to use it. In 1981, Wicks became one of the first prosecutors to use the law in "Operation Gangplank," a federal probe of 10 mobsters accused of gambling and loan-sharking.

He quickly learned the impact on the first defendants charged with RICO. Before trial, then-mob boss Phillip "Chicken Man" Testa and capo Frank "Chickie" Narducci were killed, but later, six defendants were convicted.

"He had a dry sense of humor," recalled Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fritchey, co-counsel on high-profile cases. "He had a sharp mind, was well-organized and had a good sense of trial tactics."

Wicks was persistent in pursuing organized gangsters. Stanfa lied before a federal grand jury about his role in driving mob boss Angelo Bruno home the night he was assassinated in 1980. He disappeared for several months. The feds found him in a Maryland pizza shop. And Wicks' prosecution landed Stanfa in prison for eight years. As crime boss in 1995, Stanfa was convicted of murder and racketeering, and sentenced to seven life terms.

In 1986, Wicks asked Arnold Gordon, then chief of homicide in the district attorney's office, to prosecute Harry Riccobene - the oldest "made" mobster in the United States - and his gang for killing Frank Monte, mob consigliere, or adviser, during the Riccobene-Scarfo war.

"It was highly unusual," said Gordon of the joint probe. "Al gathered evidence in a federal grand jury, but it was not a RICO case. They didn't have federal jurisdiction in the murder, and we did."

By 1988, Wicks, Fritchey and Gordon worked together with two other federal prosecutors in a 2 1/2-month racketeering trial that put Scarfo and 18 others behind bars for 24 to 55 years.

But the Scarfo trial team won the Justice Department's prestigious John Marshall Award for Outstanding Legal Achievement in 1990.

In 1989, Wicks successfully prosecuted mob capo Santo Idone and three others from Delaware County.

During summers, Wicks mentored law interns, including Richard Zack, who followed him into the U.S. Attorney's Office and prosecuted recent public corruption cases.

Born and raised in Woodstock, Ill., Wicks graduated from the University of Illinois before entering the Navy. He served two tours in Vietnam, rising to the rank of lieutenant.

In 1973, he graduated from William and Mary Law School, where he was editor of the Law Review. He was accepted into the honors program at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he served briefly before moving to Springfield, Delaware County, and joining the strike force.

In 1995, Wicks retired as a career federal prosecutor, and moved to New England. He traveled widely with his wife, whose name is being withheld because of concern for her safety. The couple had no children. *