Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito were former New York City Police Department (NYPD) detectives who worked on behalf of the Five Families of the American Mafia, principally the Lucchese and Gambino crime families, while they committed various illegal activities. The two became known as the "Mafia Cops". The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York indicted Caracappa and Eppolito in 2005 on charges of racketeering conspiracy for a pattern of murders, kidnappings, witness tampering, obstruction of justice, money laundering, and narcotics dealing with mobsters and mob associates. The acts stretched from the 1980s in New York City to the 2000s in Las Vegas. Both were convicted in 2006, and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009. Both died in prison in the late 2010s. Police careers Caracappa Stephen Caracappa (November 12, 1942 – April 8, 2017) had worked in the NYPD's organized crime unit in Brooklyn, New York City, since the late 1970s before he eventually retired on a disability pension in 1992, living for a time in Great Kills, Staten Island. He subsequently worked as a private investigator and retired in the mid-1990s, moving to Las Vegas along with Eppolito. Caracappa worked inside the Las Vegas Women's Correctional Facility as a correctional officer. While on trial in 2006, both he and Eppolito claimed that they were discriminated against during the proceedings. Eppolito Louis Eppolito (July 22, 1948 – November 3, 2019) was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and raised in East Flatbush. He was the son of Theresa Eppolito, a registered nurse, and Ralph Eppolito, an associate of the Gambino crime family. Eppolito's paternal uncle and cousin, James Eppolito and James Eppolito Jr., were also both made members of the Gambino crime family, belonging to capo Nino Gaggi's crew. Growing up, Eppolito became acquainted with several other mobsters. His uncle and cousin were eventually murdered by both Gaggi and Gambino family soldier Roy DeMeo, with the permission of Gambino boss Paul Castellano. When he applied to the New York City Police Department (NYPD) in 1969, Eppolito falsely stated that he was unrelated to organized crime figures. Eppolito eventually rose to the rank of detective in 1977, a job which garnered him a number of headlines. In 1983, he was suspected and cleared of passing NYPD intelligence reports to Rosario Gambino, a distant relative of Castellano and Carlo Gambino. Eppolito retired as a police officer in late