He also provided information leading to the convictions of Crea, Louis Daidone, Dominic Truscello, Joseph Tangorra, Anthony Baratta, and a number of family captains, soldiers and associates. The eight brazen armed robbers were Robert Comfort, Sammy Nalo, Donald 'Tony the Greek' Frankos, Al Green, Ali Ben, Robert "Bobby" Germaine, and Al Visconti. While in Italy he formed a connection to Charles Luciano and began informing on Luciano to the Bureau of Narcotics. By collecting gasoline taxes from customers and then not paying them to the government, Balagula was making very large profits. In 1958 he was arrested and tried for narcotics charges. In 1952, Joseph Valachi and others murdered Eugenio Giannini near Correale's club. In 1994, Amuso was convicted of federal racketeering and murder charges and sent to prison for life. [205] He married Carmelina Alberti and the couple had two daughters, Nina Vento and Liboria Pancaldo. [30][31] On November 4, 1987 Cavalieri died of natural causes.[29]. Alfonso T. "Tic" Cataldo (April 18, 1942 August 21, 2013) was a soldier in the New Jersey faction. . The charges included extortion and labor racketeering within the construction industry and murder for hire of former Bonanno crime family boss Carmine "Lilo" Galante. However the reasons he was placed in charge differ. The Mafia in New York discovered that Giannini was an informer and ordered his murder. "The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia. Her ex-husband asked a Lucchese crime family member to commit the assault, prosecutors say. House. Lucchese crime family, New York-based organized crime syndicate. [71], Anthony "Ham" Delasco (sometimes spelled Dolasco) was a former boxer and capo in New Jersey. Bread" LoCascio (June 10, 1916 September 2, 1997) was a New York mobster involved in drug trafficker along with his older brother Carmine LoCascio. In 1990, Amuso and Casso became fugitives to avoid prosecution in the famous "Windows Case. On November 19, 1986, Furnari was convicted on all counts, including the Galante murder. However, in January 2007 it was reported that Cutaia was the primary liaison between jailed boss Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and the three man panel of capos who were running the family. In 1960, U.S. authorities finally located Accardi in Turin, Italy and on November 28, 1963, after a long legal fight, Accardi was extradited back to New York. [65] In October 2012, Cutaia was sentenced to one year in prison for loan sharking. [201] In 1930, Reina was murdered, and boss of bosses Joe Masseria appointed his ally Joe Pinzolo as the new boss of the Reina family. Originally these were intended to document business signage and make sure signs were in compliance with city code. [147], In 1972, Manzo was kidnapped by James McBratney, Eddie Maloney, Tommy Genovese, and Richie Chaisson; they held him for $150,000 in ransom, then released him when it was paid. 15 murders since 1981 unsolved. [275], In 1992, Frankos falsely claimed to author William Hoffman he took part in the murder of Jimmy Hoffa, with a hit team consisting of him and Irish-American mobsters John Sullivan and James Coonan. Life Magazine. [200] On September 5, 1930, Joe Pinzolo was murdered by Girolomo "Bobby Doyle" Santuccio. Papa's infamous theft became famous after the movie French Connection II. [201] On November 19, 1936, Rannelli was murdered outside of 235 East 107th Street, a building that was owned by Vincent Rao. [5] She was confronted about her father's past and denied that he was ever involved in organized crime. [183] He worked closely with mobsters Anthony Loria and Virgil Alessi.[183]. He was made sometime in the 1940s operating drug trafficking and loansharking rings. [76], Salvatore "Sally Bo" DiSimone (sometimes spelled DeSimone) (died October 2017), was a former capo. 3. In 1967, family boss Thomas Lucchese died of a brain tumor, leaving the family to be run by an interim boss, Carmine "Mr. Gribbs" Tramunti. That was enough to convince Amuso that DeFede had been skimming profits; Amuso reportedly decided to have him murdered. Born and raised in Corona, Queens, he was arrested as a 17-year-old along with four other youths for carrying out a series of burglaries that robbed eight businesses in north Queens of $26,000 during a week-long spree in 1950. [174] Despite his wounds, Migliore survived. He was expelled from the program for attempted bribery and assault a number of years later. He got the nickname "The Gap" after losing two front teeth in a childhood fight. Subcommittee on Departments of State. He opted to break his blood oath and become a government witness, by his own account, to protect his family. [109] Lastorino arranged to bring Facciola to a Brooklyn garage, where Lastorino stabbed Facciola and Pagliarulo shot him six times in the face and chest. 6. In 1973, with Tramunti's imprisonment, Corallo finally became the official Lucchese boss. [184], Michael "Mike" Pappadio was a Bronx soldier who controlled the Garment district racket, after his bother Andimo Pappadio was murdered. They would come into conflict with an accomplished . [3] When Delasco died in the late 1960s, Accetturo took over his rackets.[73]. [182] In 1975, Papa was convicted and sent to the Atlanta Federal Prison in Atlanta, Georgia. [190] The second indictment charged Perna, along with Michael Taccetta, Anthony Accetturo and Tommy Ricciardi, with corruption. Anthony DiLapi (February 9, 1936 February 4, 1990), also known as "Blue Eyes over the Bridges" or "Fat Anthony", was a soldier. Anthony (Tony Ducks) Corallo, Luccheses handpicked successor, was one of the targets of a 1985 FBI investigation that led to his conviction, along with those of the bosses of the Genovese and Colombo families, on charges that included racketeering, extortion, loan-sharking, and murder. Just before the hit, he told D'Arco that he'd gotten word that "you and I are going to be killed and hurt".[264]. The defendants were arrested on February 25, 1985, on various charges, including labor racketeering, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling and murder. His criminal record since 1911 consisted of: assault, burglary, swindling, homicide, embezzlement. Past member(s) Joseph Abate. [115] His son Joseph "Torty Jr." later went on to control a drug operation in lower Manhattan. [74] DiLapi controlled the Lucchese family's Teamsters union local in New York City's Garment District and a bookmaking business, and owned part of a vending machine company in Brooklyn. [20] In August 1997, Caravaggio, along with other members of the Lucchese family's New Jersey faction, was indicted and charged with racketeering, loan-sharking and gambling. [25] From 1986 to 1988, Cataldo was one of the twenty defendants in the 21-month-long trial of the Lucchese crime family's New Jersey faction. in English from Southeast Missouri State University and an M.A. and agreed to become a witness.[271]. In 1989, Chiodo became a caporegime in charge of funneling payoffs from Local 580 of the Ironworkers' Union to the Lucchese leadership. The trial began in September 1986. [144] In 1980, Mancuso and Samuel Cavalieri were under investigation for corruption of Local 29 of Blasters, Miners and Drill runners Union. [106] He was sponsored by George Conte, who was filling in for his real sponsor George Zappola. He served as an associate of future boss Tommy "Three-Finger Brown" Lucchese's 107th Street gang [219] in operating extortion, loansharking, narcotics and prostitution rings during the 1930s. He served as consigliere during the 1960s. [199], Stefano Salvatore "Steve" Rannelli (sometimes spelled Rondelli) (born in Palermo, Sicily November 19, 1936) was an early member of Tom Reina's family in the Bronx. In July 2000, the Third Circuit Federal Court of Appeals ruled that the parole board officials had been denying Furnari's parole eligibility on the tainted assertions of mob turncoat Casso. On February 5, 2002, DeFede was released from a Lexington, Kentucky prison medical center. [110] In September 1991, during a Staten Island meeting, Vic Amuso and Anthony Casso replaced Alphonse D'Arco as acting boss and created a four-man ruling panel that consisted of Lastorino, Alphonse D'Arco, Anthony Baratta, and Salvatore Avellino. [19], Robert "Bucky the Boss" Caravaggio (1939 July 28, 2017) was a soldier and leader of the New Jersey faction. [214] Other aliases of Russo listed by the FBN were: Mike Fedesco, Mike Partiro, Max Sender.[215]. [93], On June 12, 1986, one of Balagula's rivals, Russian-American gangster Vladimir Reznikov, entered Balagula's nightclub in Brighton Beach. Historically, organized crime in most U.S. cities has been controlled by single criminal organizations, but in New York City several prominent organizations have shared territory; they are known as the Five Families. On April 13, 1991, Lastorino shot Boriello to death outside his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn home. The Gambino Crime Family was founded by Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila, who took over a gang of newly transplanted Mafiosi from Sicily after leaders Lupo Saietta and Giuseppe Morello were handed a 30 . [136] Pappadio worked closely with family boss Anthony Corallo. He was then convicted of numerous crimesincluding racketeering, extortion, murder, and conspiracy to commit murderand sentenced to 455 years in prison. [23] Caravaggio died on July 28, 2017, from pancreatic cancer.[24]. DeFede entered and left the Witness Protection Program, moving to live in Florida under an assumed name. [57] His daughter Danielle married John Baudanza, who later became a member of the Lucchese family. [124] He worked with his brother Carmine LoCascio, John Ormento, brothers Joseph and Peter DiPalermo, Rocco Mazzie, James Picarelli and Sammy Kass in many criminal rackets.[124]. Peter Chiodo died in January 2016, aged 65, of natural causes. Cataldo grew up in Newark, New Jersey with his cousins Michael and Martin Taccetta. ", "Justice Story: How 'French Connection' heroin went missing from NYPD Property Clerk's Office: $70 million drug theft rocked city police department in 1972", "Further Developments in the 'French Connection' Case", "United States of America, Appellee, v. Vincent Papa, Defendant-Appellant (Argued September 23, 1975. [57][64] On October 25, 2009, Cutaia was sentenced to 39 months in federal prison for bank fraud. [137] In the 1960s, Macaluso became partners with Lucchese mobster Andimo "Tony Noto" Pappadio in Ideal Trucking and in Garment Carriers Corporation. In June 1976, Abate attended Anthony Accetturo's induction ceremony into the Lucchese family. Issue 1806. [91] According to one former associate, The LCN reminded Marat of the apparatchiks in the Soviet Union. After Balagula acceded to his demands, Reznikov told him, "Fuck with me and you're dead, you and your whole fucking family; I swear I'll fuck and kill your wife as you watch, you understand?"[94]. Tony Soprano. On March 10, 1992, Lucchese associate Michael Spinelli shot Patricia Capozallo, Chiodo's sister, while she was driving in Bensonhurst. The Lucchese family controlled the trucking industry (which it sometimes used to manipulate other businesses by limiting their shipping options) and the garment industry in New York, often in association with Carlo Gambino. When asked what prompted this transformation, Chiodo replied "I was shot 12 times". [138] In 1965, Pappadio was sentenced to two years in prison for refusing to answer questions before a Federal grand jury in Manhattan about meeting with Tommy Lucchese. [180] On October 25, 1988, Sarecho Nalo was murdered, while on the phone with Greek crew boss Spiro Velentzas disputing gambling territory when Michael Spinelli pulled the trigger shotting him. Between 1969 and 1972, New York Police Department detectives James Farley, Joseph Nunziata, Frank King and others were paid by Papa to steal approximately $70 million in confiscated narcotics (heroin) from the New York City Police Property Clerk's office in Lower Manhattan. DeFede also estimated that a low ranking family soldier would make on average $50,000 per year. [83] DiSimone's other son Andrew DiSimone became a made member in the Lucchese family. Perna's father Joseph Perna was a mob bookmaker and shylock during the 1960s operating from Newark, New Jersey. Eugenio Giannini a former soldier who became an informant to the Bureau of Narcotics. In 1991, Gioia Jr. was inducted into the Lucchese crime family in a ceremony held in Howard Beach, Queens. [54], According to investigator Robert Anglen, a Phoenix, Arizona real estate developer, the individual known as Frank Capri is really former mob informant Frank Gioia Jr. [28] Alfonso is a blood relative to Genovese capo Augustino "Crazy Augie" Cataldo and Genovese soldier Pete "Scarface" Cataldo. He is the uncle to Lucchese family soldier and union boss Anthony DiLapi. Tonight, the police arrested John Adamson, a 32yearold man who had summoned Mr. Bolles to a meeting to discuss alleged involvement of Arizona political figures in a land scandal. In the early 1920s, Russo was inducted into the Newark family of Gaspare D'Amico, and during his time under this family, he attended the 1928 Cleveland Mafia meeting at the Hotel Statler as an official member. The Lucchese crime family is one of New York Citys Five Families, along with the Gambino, Bonanno, Genovese, and Colombo organizations. Having heard of Amuso's plans to kill him, DeFede immediately became a government informant. After posting a $92,000 bond, Accardi skipped bail and fled to Turin, Italy, where he continued smuggling heroin into the US and Canada. Mafia Game. [190] On August 13, 1993, they were all convicted of racketeering and both Thomas Ricciardi and Anthony Accetturo agreed to become government witnesses and testified against Taccetta and Perna. [280] He moved to Europe in 1950, and began smuggling U.S. medical supplies into Italy. Furnari reigned as one of New York's top Mafia bosses throughout the early 1980s until his 1985 racketeering indictment. [42] He served as acting boss in 1967. By Gunmen Waiting Outside Home", "United States of America, Appellee, v. Andimo Pappadio, Defendant-appellant, 346 F.2d 5 (2d Cir. In 1995, Furnari started challenging the "no parole" stipulation of his sentence in court. [258], Peter "Fat Pete" Chiodo (19512016), was a former caporegime in the Lucchese family before becoming a government witness. Origins. This escalation led them to rule in secrecy from an unknown location, with Alphonse (Little Al) DArco becoming their representative as acting boss for eight months in 1991. Amuso then named DeFede his acting boss to replace Alphonse D'Arco with a weaker and more controllable man at the top, after Amuso began to suspect D'Arco of being a government witness against him. [39][44][45] Coco was convicted and sentenced to fifteen years in prison on loan-sharking and extortion. Michele has a B.A. [290] In 1928, after Valachi was released from prison Petrilli introduced him to Girolama "Bobby Doyle" Santucci and Tom Gagliano. [74] He also worked with Thomas Gambino, the son of Carlo Gambino and son-in-law of Thomas Lucchese, in extorting businesses in the Garment District. [84] Salvatore DiSimone died in October 2017. [142] Mancione died in 2013. In 1956, Furnari was released from prison on parole. 0. [207] During the 1963 Valachi hearings, Rao was listed as the Lucchese family's consigliere. The new owner, Stephen Paskind, served as the front owner of the company; while claiming he controlled 84% he actually only had 42%. [105], Carmine "Willie the Wop" LoCascio (September 23, 1911 March 13, 1983) was a New York mobster who was involved in drug trafficking along with his brother Peter LoCascio. Suppa was a soldier in the Lucchese family's New Jersey faction operating in Florida as Anthony Accetturo's right-hand man. [188] In August 1988, Ricciardi, along with his brother Daniel and twenty other members of the New Jersey faction, were acquitted in a 21-month trial. Once there, Hoffa was shot and killed by Coonan and Frankos using suppressed .22 pistols. "[95] Casso also requested a photograph of Reznikov and a description of his car. [233] On September 6, 2000, Truscello was indicted, along with acting boss Steven Crea, capo Joseph Tangorra, soldiers Joseph Datello, Philip DeSimone, Arthur Zambardi, Anthony Pezzullo, and Joseph Truncale, on labor racketeering, extortion, and bid-rigging charges. Thomas "Tommy Tea Balls" Mancuso (August 29, 1907 1981) former member of the Harlem crew. [146] Manzo also owned Villa Capra, a restaurant in Cedarhurst, New York, where he conducted illegal activities. After a 1991 meeting during which he feared being murdered, D'Arco went into hiding and soon became a government witness himself. [20] In 2002, Cataldo was indicted on illegal gambling charges and for the October 7, 1981 murder of William Kennedy. [124] In 1935, he was arrested on illegal alcohol trafficking and narcotic trafficking. Robert Friedman, "Red Mafiya: How the Russian Mob has Invaded America," 2000. [259] He was known as "Fat Pete" because of his enormous girth400lb (180kg) to 500lb (230kg), depending on the source. During the late '90s, Amuso's relationship with DeFede began to sour. [44][47] By the late 1980s, Coco was considered a semi-retired mobster living in Florida. By age 15, Furnari was managing his own loanshark operations in Brooklyn and Northern New Jersey. [30] Mancuso died in 1981. [79] On December 22, 2003, a soldier in his crew Albert J. Circelli Jr. was shot and killed inside Rao's, an Italian restaurant located in Harlem by mafia associate Louis "Louie Lump Lump" Barone. Organized crime: 25 years after Valachi. By the fall of 1986, Corallo realized that he, Santoro and Furnari would not only be convicted, but were facing sentences that would all but assure they would die in prison. Joseph "Little Joe" D'Arco is a former soldier who is currently in witness protection, as had his father, former acting boss Alphonse D'Arco, until his death. As capo Santoro operated out of East Harlem and the Bronx, controlling large heroin drug trafficking operations during the 1950s. [61] In 1995, Cutaia was indicted for extortion, loan sharking, and racketeering; in 1996, he pled guilty to extortionate extensions of credit and was sentenced to thirty months in prison. Furnari managed the Council through the union secretary and treasurer, James Bishop, and Bishop's associate, Frank Arnold. [265] The government quickly brought Chiodo's immediate family into the federal Witness Protection Program. Popular film portrayals of the family include The Godfather (1972) and GoodFellas (1990). In 1924, Christopher Furnari was born in New York to first-generation Sicilian-Italian emigrants from Furnari, a commune in the Province of Messina in Sicily. Emigrating from Corleone and Palermo, Sicily, one settled in East Harlem's "Little Italy" and the other settled in the Lower East Side in the Mulberry Street section of "Little Italy" in . [8] Delasco ran his crew from East Orange, New Jersey, where he controlled jukebox machines, cigarette vending machines,[72] illegal gambling and loan-sharking operations in Newark, New Jersey. [182] Papa ran his criminal operations from Ditmars Car Service, in Astoria, Queens, and from the Astoria Colts Social Club. [289] The testimony from Pennisi stated that if the Bronx faction refused to step aside, imprisoned boss Amuso had approved of a hit list that included a captain and several members of the Bronx faction.