(CNN) Longtime mob boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico died at 85 on Thursday, his attorney Benson Weintraub confirmed Friday.

Weintraub told CNN that Persico died at Duke University Medical Center, not far from the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, where he was serving his 139-year sentence. Weintraub said his client had just finished serving 36 years.

"From my legal relationship with Carmine, he was a great client, a nice guy, and a wonderful man," Weintraub told CNN affiliate WABC-TV

Persico was responsible for running much of the organized crime in the United States as the longtime reputed boss of the Colombo crime family in New York City, WABC reported. He was convicted of racketeering and murder in the late 1980s, which WABC said was considered one of Rudy Giuliani's most triumphant victories against the mob when Giuliani was the US attorney in Manhattan. Persico reportedly ordered a hit on Giuliani in response, WABC said.

Persico acted as his own lawyer, drawing the praise of the judge and attorneys alike, according to a 1986 New York Times story.

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