Topic: James Li

James T. "Blackie" Licavoli also known as "Jack White" (August 18, 1904 - November 27, 1985) was a Cleveland, Ohio mobster and one of the earliest organized crime figures to be convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

James Licavoli was born Vicentio Licavoli in Sicily, the third of four children of Dominic and Girolama Licavoli. They emigrated to the United States and eventually settled in St Louis along with other members of their family. In St Louis, James Licavoli along with his cousins, Peter and Thomas also known as "Yonnie" were bootleggers.

In 1928, Licavoli was shot in the leg and arrested after a wild chase and shootout with St Louis Police. Though he had fired on the police, Licavoli was charged merely with carrying a concealed weapon and even that charge was dropped. Later, Licavoli went with his cousins to Detroit where they had wrested control of the city's rackets from the Purple Gang. There he was convicted of bootlegging and served a stint at Leavenworth. Upon his release, he joined his cousins in Toledo, where they had moved to avoid heat from the murder of a crusading Anti-mafia radio broadcaster, Jerry Buckley.