During the early 1980s, Mancuso was an associate of the Purple Gang. In 1984, Mancuso fatally shot his wife Evelina and left her body on a bench in front of Jacobi Hospital. Mancuso plead guilty to manslaughter and served ten years in prison. In 2004, acting boss Vincent Basciano promoted him to the acting underboss position. He became acting boss in November 2004, after Basciano was imprisoned. In May 2005, Joseph Massino implicated Mancuso in the 1999 murder of Gerlando Sciascia. In early 2006, Vincent Basciano ordered Mancuso's murder.