James T. Licavoli (born Vincentio Licavoli; August 18, 1904 − November 23, 1985), also known as "Jack White" or "Blackie", was an American mobster based in Cleveland, Ohio, and one of the earliest organized crime figures to be convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act). Early life Vincentio Licavoli was born in St. Louis, Missouri on August 18, 1904, the third of four children of Dominic and Girolama Licavoli. They immigrated to the United States from Sicily and eventually settled in St. Louis. In St. Louis, James Licavoli along with his cousins, Peter and Thomas also known as "Yonnie" were members of the Russo Gang. On October 6, 1926, Licavoli was shot in the leg and arrested after a wild chase and shootout with St. Louis Police. Though he had fired on the police, Licavoli was charged merely with carrying a concealed weapon and even that charge was dropped. On August 9, 1927, on the outskirts of Chicago, Licavoli survived a "one-way ride" that claimed the lives of his friends, Anthony "Shorty" Russo and Vincent Spicuzza. Licavoli then went with his cousins to Detroit where, as part of the Detroit Mafia, they wrested control of the city's rackets from the self-destructing Purple Gang, previously dominant in Detroit. There, he was convicted of bootlegging and served a stint at Leavenworth. Upon his release, he joined his cousins in Toledo, where they had moved to avoid heat from the murder of a crusading anti-Mafia Detroit radio broadcaster, Jerry Buckley. The Licavolis and their cousin, Leo "Lips" Moceri, did not remain in Ohio for long. Five members of the gang including Yonnie were arrested for the murder of a popular Toledo bootlegger. Peter Licavoli returned to Detroit and regrouped - his force retaining the original Purple Gang title. James Licavoli went on the lam and hid in Pittsburgh where he stayed with up-and-coming mob boss John Sebastian Larocca. Move to Cleveland One of many in the Licavoli family to become involved in organized crime, James Licavoli first arrived in Cleveland in 1938. There he became good friends with Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno and Tony "Dope" Delsanter. Among their exploits at the time, they teamed up to rob northeast Ohio gambling halls. In 1940, Licavoli was made into the Cleveland crime family and quickly established control over illegal gambling and the vending machine industry in the neighboring cities of Youngstown