 | |
| Vincent Nicholas Scozzari | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Aliases |
Cozy Vinny |
| Nationality |
Italian-American |
| Born |
February 22, 1950 (Age: 42) |
| Physical description | |
| Ethnicity |
Caucasian (Italian descent) |
| Hair color |
White |
| Eye color |
Brown |
| Skin color |
White |
| Portrayed By |
Joseph Merlino (Mafia Boss) |
| Familial and political information | |
| Known family |
Angelino Scozzari Alphonse Fragiacomo (Uncle) |
| Affiliations |
The Terranova Crime Family |
| Miscellaneous information | |
| Occupation(s) |
Mafia Captain (Old Strip Crew) |
| Owned vehicles | |
Vincent Nicholas Scozzari (born February 22, 1950), also known as Cozy Vinny or Nicky June on the streets, is an Italian-American mafia captain of the Terranova crime family born in Las Venturas, San Andreas.
Scozzari started his life in crime at the age of fifteen in an Italian-American youth gang, and gradually worked his way up into the mafia until reaching his current status as a soldier. Although predicted by others, Scozzari's current rank was not influenced by his father's position in the mafia.
With the promotion of his father to underboss, and eventually acting boss, Scozzari became a soldier without a caporegime. Shortly after, Alphonse "Alphie Frags" Fragiacomo, Vincent's uncle was released from jail and took back the reigns of the Strip crew and employed Vincent as a feared enforcer and soldier.
After Fragiacomo had been promoted to underboss, Scozzari succeeded his uncle as caporegime of the Old Venturas crew, a crew once led by his father Nicholas Scozzari. The crew therefore bears a line of leadership hailing from the Scozzari family and its relatives or other family.
Nowadays, Scozzari is working hard on improving his crew properly and currently maintains the second most powerful, if not most powerful crew in Las Venturas in the one and only crime family stationed there. In the meantime, Scozzari checks up on some of the men in the South Garcia Gang to assure their success and progress in general.
History
Early Life
Scozzari was born to American-born Nicholas Scozzari whom was, during Vincent's birth already deeply involved with the American mafia. Scozzari was born in Las Venturas in 1950, only ten years after the war once the States witnessed a high economical boost. Scozzari grew up with two brothers and a siste along with his parents. His uncle, cousins and aunt were living next door with whom he grew up gradually.
Peter "Plain Petey" Nicifora, Benjamin "Benny" Iaquinto, Anthony Scozzari and another brother of Scozzari became friends during their childhoods, mainly due to the fathers being life-time friends already due to their affiliation in the mob. Due to that, the families of said mobsters visited frequently and caused the children to lay contact.
With family involved with the stereotypical Italian mobsters, Scozzari and his siblings rose in age whilst coated with expensive accessoires, clothing, jewelry and valuable items generally affordable only by wealthy citizens. With this, the family's wealthy lifestyle attracted both the media and the police. Despite supposedly requiring to lead the life secretively, Scozzari and his siblings noticed their father careless about the attention of anyone near them, and resumed to live the way he did.
Scozzari's life in school ended miserably. Although appearing somewhat innocent in the school, the Italian-American friends he literally dominated and possessed, the boy grew up to be a potential leader and secretive teenager. With this, Scozzari had childhood companions, namely Nicifora, Iaquinto and other Italian-American children of whose fathers were also affiliated with the mob. Supplies of the school were often partially stolen and subsequently sold to children in the school for a less expensive price to acquire a nice buck every week. The price was consciously lowered to attract the people to Scozzari and his 'henchkids' instead of the school's cafeteria.
Involvement in Crime
Due to the involvement in crime, the boys were automatically expected to walk into their fathers' steps and gradually become involved with crime themselves. The group of childs managed to become involved with an Italian-American youth gang which was controlled by the Terranova syndicate. Being the sons of mobsters, the group already wore a respected name among the streets, which they heavily abused by often demanding unnecessary items, or simply to rally the gangsters in the gang to do lousy tasks for them.
The affiliation with the gang caused them to perform numerous illegal activities such as stealing, burglary and fraud. These activities were considered dull by the group to which they instead started creating illegal fights in the back alleys of the street with bets to create gambling, using the widely-known casinos in the city as inspiration. The fights often featured human beings, but gradually the gang started training American Staffords to fight for them.
Ascending in Crime
With the large income and infamous name gained through these gambling events, the group of teenagers caught the soldiers of Terranova's attention. This led to the potential associates becoming a wanted asset to any soldier. Due to Scozzari's father being a powerful soldier already, he employed all of the children under him and initiated them as associates or connected guys after seven years of loyalty to the street gang, now living in their early twenties.
Being an associate of the crew, Scozzari wielded power over the youth gang and employed them as hitmen and for extortion. Due to the reasonable manpower he now possessed, his power grew enormously for an associate, acquiring strong connections over the state of San Andreas with street gangs in Los Santos, and the Triads in San Fierro. Due to this, Scozzari became an influential associate of the crew over the years.
Shortly after Scozzari's employment to the crew, his father was murdered by Thomas "Little Chuck" Vallante out of obsession for power, as his father was promoted to underboss and it being necessary for Vallante to take out the administration of the family, including the underboss, whom was also a father. This affected Scozzari's position in the crime family slightly, but his respected name was retained and a proper burial was held. Due to the awareness of his father's murderer, Vincent sought revenge on the killer in which he failed, due to Vallante's life in which he spent in prison ultimately met death due to a riot.
With Vallante's death, Scozzari's depression descended back to slight satisfaction, his earnings and general business gained a boost. With the many murders occurring within the family, Scozzari became a potential and rising associate in the syndicate; not only for his last name, however.
The Hit
At the age of thirty-four and after performing several criminal activities such as prostitution and protection rackets along with extortion, Nicifora and Scozzari were assigned to execute a hit on an independent loan shark of the city whom declined and was unable to pay back the Strip crew previously led by his now-deceased father Nicholas Scozzari.
The murder was done in the victim's house, which the two mafiosi busted in. While Nicifora was already a made man overseeing the murder on the loan shark, Scozzari shot the loan shark multiple times in the chest, causing the body to fall down into the cozy bonfire in the house. With the corpse falling into the fire and burning alive whilst bleeding heavily, Scozzari earned the nickname Cozy Vinny.
Second Opinion
After committing the murder on the man in debt, Scozzari was assumed to gain the status of a made man shortly after. Rumours said that the boss of the family wished to display his unbiased behaviour, and to prevent members and henchmen to conclude that Scozzari would have only been inducted based on his father's high position in the crime family.
The boss suggested another idea to the capos once they sat down and discussed about Vincent's button, and came to the idea to let the son of Nicholas Scozzari implement another hit. A year after the creation of the conclusion, Scozzari managed to execute a group of associates whom were out of order alongside once more Iaquinto and Nicifora. The associates' bodies were rumored to have been torn apart and dumped in dumpsters done by African-Americans supposedly hired by Scozzari and his henchmen to prevent traces leading back to them.
Scozzari, the Soldier
A mere month after the hit and laying low momentarily, Scozzari and his sidekick Iaquinto were sent for and met with the boss John Facchiano alongside his uncle Alphonse "Fragile Jackie" Fragiacmo and several soldiers including Nicifora whom Scozzari used to gain approval from the higher-ups if necessary. A ceremony occurred, Iaquinto and Scozzari were officially initiated into the syndicate as made men and were given several important privileges and abilities politically.
With relatives owning a high position in the Terranova syndicate (Nicholas Scozzari as underboss. Alphonse Fragiacomo as capo), a fair amount of henchmen of the organization, and even made men were rumored to have talked behind Scozzari's back. The rumors suggested that the official and permanent status in the family was only due to the high positions of his relatives in the mafia and were implying that the button was influenced by it.
Due to this exact reason, Scozzari was angered and personally killed (in co-operation with Iaquinto and Nicifora) five of the associates whom despised Scozzari and revealed lies to the criminal underworld. The rest - as stated by the media - were slaughtered by the Italian-American youth gang. It was said to have been commissioned by Scozzari, Iaquinto and Nicifora to cleanse the Terranovas' sickening thoughts of Vincent's undeserved rank as soldier.
The made men, exactly two, whom were reported as 'good-for-nothing' soldiers were murdered with the boss' and Fragiacomo's consent. To prevent any attachments to the organization, the Hispanic gang in Los Santos were to execute the murders successfully. With the plans and murders accomplished, the respect of the three made men grew enormously and fear rose highly for their names.
On the Boat
After Alphonse Fragiacomo's promotion to underboss, Scozzari was appointed caporegime or captain of the Old Venturas Strip crew; the crew was once led by his father Nicholas Scozzari, and Scozzari himself acquired association with the crime family due to his father recruiting him to the crew. With the long-time membership of the crew, both as associate and soldier, the time had come to take its reigns and rally its members.
Within the first year of being upped to captain or 'skipper', as he was referred to, Scozzari's power grew outrageously which caused him to suffer from megalomania, driving him into creating irrational and insane ideas. Due to these actions, Scozzari eventually was punished and spent six months in jail for unknown reasons. It was presumed the high life had become the better of him. Within these six months, miraculously he regained sanity and was visited by underboss Fragiacomo frequently.
Once emerging from the prison's gates, Scozzari noticed the amount of respect formerly provided to his very being had decreased incredibly, which needed doing. Rules were fiercely enforced from that day, associates were personally straightened out or brought back on the 'right' path to acquire respect and general fear for his name. Although usually considered 'laid-back', the mobster was known for illuminating the room with order if need be.