Carmine John Persico Jr., known by nicknames such as 'Junior,' 'The Snake,' and 'Immortal,' was a prominent American mobster who served as the longtime boss of the Colombo crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1973 (when he became acting boss after Joseph Colombo's imprisonment) until his death in 2019. Born into an Italian-American family in Brooklyn, Persico rose through the ranks of organized crime starting in the 1950s, engaging in activities including extortion, loan sharking, hijacking, and narcotics trafficking. His leadership was marked by his elusive style; he often delegated operations to underbosses like Victor Orena while maintaining control from behind the scenes. Persico navigated intense internal conflicts, including the Colombo wars of the 1970s, where he allegedly ordered multiple murders to consolidate power. In 1986, he was convicted in the landmark Mafia Commission Trial (also known as the Commission case) for racketeering, murder, and other charges, receiving a sentence of 100 years. Despite this, he continued to run the family from prison, sparking another bloody war in the 1990s between his loyalists and Orena's faction, resulting in at least 12 deaths. Persico served 32 years incarcerated, primarily at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, where he died of natural causes on March 7, 2019, at age 85. Throughout his life, he was accused of numerous crimes, including the 1970 murder of Colombo underboss Joseph Yacovelli and involvement in labor racketeering with unions like the International Longshoremen's Association. His tenure solidified the Colombo family's resilience amid RICO prosecutions, but also highlighted the violent infighting and federal crackdowns that plagued La Cosa Nostra.