Giuseppe 'Joe Lupo / Peppi' Perugino was an early Capodecina of the Bruno Family's crew in Chester, Pennsylvania.
Born April 13, 1897 in or near Curinga comune of Catanzaro, Calabria.
In October 1932 arrested by State Police in Reading, PA for bootlegging. The following year he was indicted federally on a similar charge. Both cases were dismissed.
Around 1934 Perugino and Felix 'Skinny Razor' DeTullio, acting as shooter and driver respectively, were reputed to have carried out the murder of an unspecified male known as 'Indian Nuts'.
Perugino was then living on South 10th St in South Philadelphia, where he also owned a coffee shop. Within a couple of years he left the city for Chester, running a candy store from his address at 1208-1210 West 3rd St.
In July 1936 he was indicted on another bootlegging charge and paid a $5,000 fine.
In September 1938 arrested by Chester PD on carrying concealed weapon charge. Case dismissed.
In January 1940 among forty-five indicted in a widespread Federal bootlegging case. Those charged in addition to Perugino included Bruno Members James Gaglioti and Frank 'Zip' Zirpoli, Gaglioti's brother Tony as well as Carmelo Sciglitano, uncle to Bruno Members Joseph and Antonino.
Perugino was convicted and served three months at Berks County Prison in Reading, PA.
By the 1940s he was the leader of the Bruno Family's crew in Chester. Members included Dominick Festa, James Gaglioti, Demetrio Pennestri and the Sciglitano brothers. All were Calabrian.
Associates included William 'Fish Cake' Dostiglio, Mario 'Murph' Eufrasio and Charles 'Fat Charlie' Zoiena.
In addition to conducting legitimate business, particularly in beer distribution, Perugino and his men oversaw the city's numbers and horsebetting operations. Card games were run from the candy store on 3rd St, a common meeting place for the crew.
Years later one of the FBI's member sources, likely Harry Riccobene, was asked about Perugino: "..He said Perugino had the reputation of being a gunman [and] had something to do with the murder of an individual he recalled as being nicknamed 'Speed Brown'. Regarding 'Speed Brown', he said 'Speed Brown' was found on the 'back road' of Chester [and] part of Brown's body had been amputated and placed in his mouth by the murderers."
Perugino's last encounter with the law came in April 1945, when temporarily held for suspicion by the Philadelphia PD.
He died of a heart attack in Atlantic City, New Jersey on August 3, 1949.
Waked from South Philadelphia with burial in Saint John the Evangelist Cemetery in Pittston.
James Gaglioti is reported to have briefly held a leadership role in the wake of Perugino's death. By 1960 Joseph Sciglitano was Capodecina.
