TOM PAPANIA
Mobster... Enforcer Mafiosa...
Gangster...
These are all names that at one time described Tom Papania from an abused
New York street punk of 15 years of age, until 1984.
Tom's main goal in life was to find a place where he belonged, that gave him
power and wealth. Until one day, he met his Creator.
Tom had worked his way up in organized
crime to a trusted position in the New York Gambino organized crime family.
Tom answered directly and only to Paul Castellano. Previously Papania had
answered only to Carlo Gambino. Gambino joked that nothing could harm Tom,
neither knives nor guns, and he didn't know what it would take to kill him,
since numerous attempts on his life had failed. Gambino died of natural causes,
and was replaced by his brother-in-law, Paul Castellano.
From 1976 to 1985, Paul “Big Paul” Castellano was the capo di tutti
capi, boss of all bosses, of New York’s Gambino crime family, then the
most powerful of the city’s five families
Tom wielded fear, terror, and brutality
to control the New York mob's expanding interests. Bomb threats to contracts
on Tom's life couldn't stop the hell bound course crime had put him on. One
day, after a road to Damascus experience, Tom Papania surrendered his life
to Christ.
December 16, 1985 Paul Castellano was gunned down outside of Sparks Steak
House in NY. Tom Papania had effectively walked out on the Mafia, something
unthinkable and
punishable by death. A contract had been put out on Papania's life.The contract
came to an end with the assasination of Paul Castellano. Tom's past caught
up with him and he was sent to the Atlanta federal penitentiary to await trial.
The trial was one of Atlanta's longest, lasting 11 months. God used the maximum
security cells of the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary to mold and develop Tom
Papania's new, Christ-filled character. Tom had accepted Jesus Christ, as
his Lord and Savior.
A year later, Tom was set free
by the Grace of God. Tom continued in his commitment to Christ and is an ordained
evangelist and executive director of God's Saving Grace Ministries. Tom now
goes back into the prisons with the power of the holy spirit, truly setting
captives free.
As with all who take a stand and are speaking the truth in love,Tom never
stopped being attacked, often the victim of smear campaigns and websites trying
to discredit Tom's testimony with cleverly constructed deceptions.
Tom is happy to share his testimony with your local church. It will be a blessing for both your local church and Tom to see the lost come to the Lord in a mighty way leading any to accept Jesus as their Savior.
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