Mafia Cops

Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, known as the "Mafia Cops," were former NYPD detectives who engaged in criminal activities for the Lucchese and Gambino crime families. From the mid-1980s to the mid-2000s, they participated in murders, kidnappings, witness tampering, and money laundering. Arrested in 2005, they were convicted in 2006 and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009.

Caracappa, who worked in the NYPD’s Organized Crime Homicide Unit, retired in 1992 and later moved to Las Vegas. Eppolito, whose family had deep Mafia ties, retired in 1990 and briefly pursued acting. Both detectives worked closely with mob underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, carrying out contract killings, including those of Gambino capo Edward Lino and Lucchese member Bruno Facciolo. After an extensive investigation, their convictions were reinstated in 2008, and New York City paid $18.4 million to victims’ families. Caracappa died of cancer in 2017, and Eppolito died in 2019 while incarcerated.