NAMES IN THE NEWS : Mobster’s Home Auctioned Off
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The mansion of convicted extortionist and murderer Nicodemo (Little Nicky) Scarfo, reputed Philadelphia Mafia boss, was sold to a single bidder for $500,000, officials said today. First Peoples Bank of New Jersey turned in the bid at a Broward County Sheriff’s Office auction Tuesday, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Ruth Ann Kopsa. In lieu of cash payment, she said the bank received a credit toward more than $1 million in liens it holds against the mansion’s owner of record, Leonard J. Mercer Jr. Mercer, 55, was released from federal prison two weeks ago after serving nine months for bribing a Teamsters union official to obtain a pension fund loan.
The home was appraised at $850,000 and includes some of the furnishings Scarfo used in his vacation home, said Carl Lingle, bank vice president. The two-story Spanish-style house was dubbed “Casablanca South” by Scarfo, 60.
He was arrested in New Jersey in January, 1987, and was sentenced to 69 years in federal prison for extortion and murder.
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