Loyalists of his father, Carmine, the crime family's long time boss, (right) and followers of Victor (Little Vic) Orena duked it out for two years. The loyalists won, but 12 people were killed in the process.

The feds, whose position is that mob wars, even if they are just gangsters vs. gangsters, are illegal and endanger the public, recently dropped loansharking charges against Allie Persico. But John Pappa, the baby-faced hoodlum who fired the last shots for the victors, was sent away for life. Allie, who has to be wondering whether it was worth it, is back behind bars, jailed on federal weapons charges lodged against him in Florida.

Pappa, a 25-year-old (right) who, maybe more than anyone else, helped the Persico faction win the internecine blood-letting that propelled Persico to the top, could set a federal prison record for actual time served. Pappa got four life-without-parole terms for four murders, which took place during a one-year period. They included the Oct. 20, 1993 rubout of Joseph Scopo, a capo and buddy of Orena. He also got 45 years for drug dealing and other miscellaneous charges.

Scopo was the 12th and last casualty in the war. Gangsters need to carefully manage their reputations. Pappa boasted to numerous colleagues, criminals and cohorts, that he killed Scopo in his campaign to become a "made" man --in other words, to be officially inducted into the Colombo family with all the attendant status and privileges, like being introduced to mobsters as a "friend of ours."

Pappa managed to keep his big mouth shut as Brooklyn Federal Judge Raymond Dearie meted out the four life-without-parole terms. Dearie said it was hard to sentence a young man to life without parole, which is mandated by federal sentencing guidelines. But he noted that his job would have been much more difficult if U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno

Pappa, who has a tattoo with the Italian words for "Death Before Dishonor" on his back, appeared to tough it out during the brief proceedings. His face was completely blank during Dearie's sentencing, and he left the courtroom without looking back at his family or relatives of murder victims who attended the entire trial.

Meanwhile, prosecutor Jim Walden told magistrate judge Robert Levy that the dismissal of loansharking charges against Persico was technical, that Persico was trying to negotiate a plea deal, and that they would be reinstated if no deal was reached.

One of the few college-educated Mafia bosses, Persico was acquitted in 1994 of taking part in the mob war, but pleaded guilty to the weapons charges last month. His lawyer, Barry Levin, is trying to get him released on bail so he can enjoy the Christmas holidays with his family before he begins his prison term.

At the end of the summer, Robert (Bobby Zam) Zambardi and Joseph (Joe T.) Tomasello (right) , key members of the Persico faction, were sentenced for their wartime activities after agreeing to plea deals.

Zambardi, 59, who had been originally charged with four murders and faced life, was allowed to plead guilty to racketeering charges and received 11 years.

Tomasello, 66, accused of conspiring to kill five members of the Orena faction, pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy charges and was sentenced to eight years.

According to Gang Land's unofficial tally, 41 mobsters and assorted associates on the Persico side were convicted of federal crimes related to the internecine war, and only one, Alphonse Persico, was acquitted.

On the Orena side, 13 gangsters were acquitted and 16 members, including Orena, (left) were convicted.

The Colombo war, which was the worst kind of mobster recidivism or the stuff that only happens in the movies, further reduced one of the city's weakest crime families, one that had been

Where were these guys in the early 1970s. Wasn't there a major Motown song that had this verse:

"War! What is it good for? Absolutely nothin', nothin', nothin', nothin'...
"Say it again, war, war, war, war, war . . .
"What is it good for? Absolutely nothin'! . . .