Who Was Victor Orena? The Acting Boss Who Went to War With Persico
Mobsters DailyVictor "Little Vic" Orena was the Colombo family's acting boss who in 1991 challenged imprisoned boss Carmine Persico for permanent control, triggering the Third Colombo War. Captured in 1992 and convicted of racketeering and murder conspiracy, he was sentenced to life in prison, where he remains the war's biggest loser.
The loyal stand-in
Persico, running the family from federal prison, appointed Orena, a Brooklyn capo, as acting boss in the late 1980s. By most accounts Orena governed competently and grew popular with captains tired of Persico's prison edicts and family appointments. The Colombo world he inherited is the one inhabited by Colombo hitman Greg Scarpa, who would become the war's most notorious soldier.
Orena's mistake is the oldest in the life: confusing running the shop with owning it. The Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater leans into that world for the holidays — Tony in black-and-white stencil, gabagool energy, built for November and December parties.
He read the succession wrong
In 1991 Orena asked the other families to recognise him as boss, suspecting Persico planned to hand power to his son Alphonse. Persico loyalists struck first, and a two-year shooting war followed. The FBI arrested Orena in 1992 at a girlfriend's home; a jury convicted him that year. The war's wider damage is part of the story of why the Mafia fell.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Orena challenge Persico? He believed Persico intended to install his son as successor and sought recognition as boss himself in 1991.
How was Orena caught? The FBI arrested him in 1992; he was convicted of racketeering, including conspiracy in the war's violence.
Is Orena still in prison? Yes. He is serving a life sentence and his later compassionate-release bids were denied.
Keep reading: The Five Families · How the Commission Trial Broke the Mob · How Valachi Broke the Code of Silence · What Was the Third Colombo War? The Family That Ate Itself, Explained · 'Wild Bill' Cutolo
From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — real mafia history, the bosses and wars behind the fiction.
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