Pizza Connection, The.

An encyclopedia entry for "The Pizza Connection" is presented. It refers to the case involving 20 members of the Sicilian and American Mafia who were arraigned on October 24, 1984 on conspiracy charges of smuggling heroin and cocaine into the U.S. The smuggling activities of the gang were estimated to be worth 1.6 billion U.S. dollars. The investigation about the gang started in July 1979, after the murder of the Bonanno Family boss Carmine Galante. The gang transport the drugs using pizzas and other commodities such as lemons, shirts and pears.