Surviving the Mob

by Dennis Griffin

  “When Mike Yannotti failed to kill Sammy Karkis, I was pissed off. But Nicky actually did me a favor by stopping the hit. If it had gone through, there’s a good chance I could have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and I might still be locked up. And by the time I was in a position to kill Sammy myself, other circumstances intervened and I didn’t. I know that he has a young daughter today and I feel good about that.

  “When I look back at it, I realize how many times I came close to becoming a murderer. And each time a matter of inches—or with Burzo a fraction of an inch—resulted in my victim’s wounds being non-fatal.

  “And it wasn’t just the shootings. In 1984 when we blew up the cars in the garage of that house Vic Amuso’s nephew was staying in, nobody inside got killed. What about the night I was driving the Mercedes shell and being chased by the cops? I ran every traffic light and made it through all those intersections doing over a hundred miles an hour and nobody died or even got hurt. But if they had—especially some innocent motorists—I’d have been responsible.

  “So yeah, I was damn lucky. I know it and I thank God for it every day.

  “If you think joining the Mob means you’re entering a life of honor, you’d better think again. It ain’t like what you might see on television or in the movies. That’s right, in today’s Mob, that old saying about honor among thieves is a lot of bullshit, trust me.

  “Let’s take the leadership. When I was a kid, I thought the bosses walked on water. They were legends in the neighborhood. But when I was in prison, several of them were in there with me. I even shared a cell with a couple. I’m telling you straight that most of the Mob icons I met behind bars didn’t match their street reputations. When it came to winning their criminal cases, they were willing to throw anybody and everybody under the bus to beat the rap. Real standup guys.

  “It’s very important that you understand this. In today’s Mob, the money and loyalty go from the bottom up. They don’t come back down to the guys on the street. If you get pinched and have to do some time, don’t count on your crime family to take care of your real family.

  “Look what they did to Fat Sal. He was loyal and one hell of an earner. They forgot about him for two years while he was locked up. And then when they were worried about Sal flipping, they sent him fifty fuckin’ bucks for his commissary! He kicked a lot of money up to these guys and that’s how they thanked him. That shows the definition of loyalty from the bosses’ perspective.

  “So if you take the organized-crime route, the people you’ll be associating with won’t be true friends. The bosses will use you to make themselves rich and do their dirty work. They’ll pick your bones clean. And in the life you’re only as good as your last earn. So if you stop producing, you’ll become expendable.

  “You’ll also be in jeopardy if you become too good at your job. If the boss thinks you’ve become a threat to him, that you have designs on his job and the ability to do it, you’re probably not long for this world.

  “And if you fall out of favor with your boss and have to go, one or more of your peers will likely be assigned to eliminate you. The guy you’ve committed crimes and socialized with for years will have dinner with you one night and put a couple in your head the next.

  “I’m currently doing organized-crime-related volunteer work. I help law-enforcement agencies by educating their investigators on how the Mob operates. I also counsel at-risk youths who are at a crossroads in their lives. I tell them the same things I’m telling you here.

  “There is no honor or glory in being a gangster and the retirement options suck. If you want to dance at your daughter’s wedding or be at the ceremony when your grandson graduates from high school, you’d better choose another line of work.

  “I know that many of you I’m trying to reach will think I’m full of shit. You know better, right? The crew you’ll hook up with won’t have any Nicky Corozzos or Mike Yannottis. Even if it does, you’re too smart and tough to be taken advantage of. If you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like to sell you. The only trouble is I can’t go back there to sign the papers.

  “Seriously though, one time when my father visited me while I was in state prison, he said there are only two options for organized-crime guys: prison or death on the street. He asked me why I thought I’d be the exception to the rule. I didn’t answer him, but in my mind I thought I was too smart and tough to end up back behind bars or dead. Yeah, right.

  “Jail cells, cemeteries, landfills, and sometimes the trunks of abandoned cars usually end up as the homes of guys who thought they were too smart and tough. I wasn’t, they weren’t, and you aren’t. The life is like making a deal with the devil. Don’t do it.

  “Having said all that, I don’t know how many of you wannabe wiseguys will have second thoughts. But let me be perfectly clear. If even one young man—just one—is willing to accept the truth and change the course he’s on, I will have made a difference.”

  Index

  129 Mott Street 53

  Alvino, Todd 30–32, 34, 37–39, 234

  “America’s Most Wanted” 242

  Amuso, Vittorio “Vic” 23–24

  Anthony Gerbino 41

  Aparo, Sammy “Meatballs” 54

  Arena, Robert 76–77, 125, 130, 132, 134, 135–136, 136–138, 139–140, 142–145, 154, 162, 198, 234, 237

  Aronwald, William 75

  Attica 103

  Auto Crime Task Force 40

  Bamboo Lounge 37

  Barrett, Tommy 182

  Bilotti, Tommy 42

  blackjack 58–59

  Bolino, Mike 120, 130, 136–138, 140

  Bonano family 157

  Bracchi, Sal “Sally the Lip” 23

  Brooklyn House of Detention 98–100, 108, 176, 177

  Brooklyn, New York 1, 3, 5, 9–11, 12, 22, 31, 36–37, 124, 129, 132

  Bullhead City, Arizona 87

  Burzo, Ralph 3–4, 83–88, 96

  Cacace, Joel 75–76

  Callahan, Michael 175, 177, 178, 180

  Carbonaro, Thomas “Huck” 210–213

  Carini, Eddie 75

  Carini, Vincent 75

  car theft 7–8, 14–17

  Casso, Anthony “Gaspipe” 23–24, 28–29, 73

  Castellano, Paul, ix, 16, 33–34, 42, 80

  Clinton Correctional Facility 103

  Colombo family 41, 74, 122, 157, 203

  Colombo War 115

  Conte, Georgie 82

  Corozzo, Joseph, Jr. “Jo Jo” 12, 19–20, 146–149, 150

  Corozzo, Joseph, Sr., 20–21, 24–25, 177

  Corozzo, Nicholas “Nicky”, ix–x 7, 9, 67, 69–71, 117, 119–120, 122, 143, 154–155, 180, 245, 246

  aquitted 72

  arrest and 169–171

  as Gambino leader 236–237

  attempted shooting of 26–27

  crew and 21, 38, 41, 48, 166–167

  crew problem and 69–70

  gambling and 10

  gangster mode and 13

  illegal gambling and 242

  indictments and 39, 229–230, 240–243

  loyalty and 93–95, 122–123, 126–127, 182–183

  murder and 141, 214–215

  Sammy Karkis and 119

  sentencing of 243

  shakedown and 238–239

  sit-downs with 28–29

  Corozzo, Rocco 7, 26

  Coxsackie Correctional Facility 104, 106

  craps 53–57

  credit card fraud 24–26, 48–49

  Cullotta, ix

  Cutaia, Domenico “Danny” 76, 140, 143, 144, 154, 162, 164, 168

  Cutolo, William, Jr. “Billy” 120, 121, 123–125, 129–130, 131–132, 136, 203–210

  Cutolo, William “Wild Bill” 120, 122, 124, 129, 131–132, 136, 138, 143, 154, 161–162, 164–165, 166–168, 171, 198, 201–210

  cyber-bookmakers 66–67

  D’Amico, John “Jackie the Nose” 115, 117, 236

  D’Angelo, Joseph
“Little Joey” 231

  DeMeo, Roy 14, 83

  DeMeo, Sal 160–161, 182, 193, 200

  DiDonato, Amelia Macchiarole 29

  DiDonato, Andrew 4, 5

  arson and 23–24

  as a citizen 222–226, 227–228

  as a fugitive 87–88, 149, 150, 171–172, 173–174

  as cooperating witness 178–181, 185–187

  bank robbing and 157–161, 173–174

  brother-in-law and 89, 133–134, 155–156, 245

  carpet cleaning and 133

  car stealing 14–17, 39–40

  Corozzo crew and 19

  counterfeiting and 125–126

  court trials and 92–99, 96–98

  credit card fraud and 48–49

  divorce and 123

  drug dealers and 18–19

  early crimes 5–8, 9–10

  fake ID and 163–164

  fatherhood and 77–78

  fencing and 71, 121

  first shooting 20–21

  horse betting and 50–51, 69–71

  in court 182

  insurance fraud and 47

  lessons learned and 244–250

  loansharking and 41–42

  marijuana and 5–8, 49–50, 130, 134, 136–137, 153–154, 164, 172–173

  marriage and 95–96

  Marriott and 134–135

  Nicky Corozzo, introduction to 11–13

  parole and 127–129, 132, 147–149, 216–222

  perjury and 98

  police and 10, 36–37, 88–89, 174–176

  pot dealers and 35

  praying and 159

  prison and 98, 102–116, 177–178, 181–182, 183–184, 188, 190–191, 193–194, 197–198, 200–201, 213, 214–219

  Ralph Burzo and 83–88

  rebuildable cars and 46–48

  reputation and 45, 49

  Robert Arena’s murder and 145–146, 154–155

  shooting and 27–28

  stealing car parts 8

  testifying and 192–193, 232–237

  the hole and 111

  witness intimidation and 39–41

  witness protection and 197–198, 200–201, 216, 219, 223–224

  work release and 117–121

  DiDonato, Andrew Dominick, Jr., 88, 92, 119, 219

  DiDonato, Dina 44–45, 83–85, 92, 114–115, 123, 191–192, 219

  DiDonato, Patrina 5, 22–23, 45, 118, 128–129, 152–153, 185, 187

  DiDonato, Vincent 22–23, 87–88, 93

  DiLeonardo, Michael “Mikey Scars” 91, 212

  DiMaria, Leonard “Lenny” 11–13, 39, 42, 94, 117, 166–168, 169–170

  Disney World 163

  Dono, Tommy 141, 147, 150, 188

  Downstate Correctional Facility 102–103

  Dragonetti, Vincent 12, 39, 90, 144, 171

  Edgecombe Correctional Facility 116, 117–118

  Elmira Correctional Facility 105

  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 125, 128, 169–170, 174, 176, 206, 212, 230

  Fishkill, New York 103

  Florida 24–26, 146, 163, 169

  Gambino, Carlo, ix

  Gambino crime family 12, 39, 46, 92, 95, 117, 141, 153, 167, 169, 178, 210, 231, 234, 245

  Genovese crime family 22, 114, 151, 157, 182

  Gerbino, Anthony 14–15, 24, 27, 29, 32, 36, 38, 39, 44, 86–87, 90, 95, 97

  Geritano, Benny 141, 147, 150, 188

  Girard, Vince 176, 178

  Goodfellas 37

  Gotti, John, ix, 39, 42, 51, 72, 80, 82, 116, 117, 169, 194, 210

  Gotti, John A., Jr., viii, 79, 91, 117, 167, 171, 173, 230, 232–237

  Gotti, Peter 210, 228

  Gravano, Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” 42, 73, 74, 194, 210, 228

  Great Meadow Correctional Facility 103

  Gregory Hotel 124, 132

  Hawkins, Yusef 98–99

  Hill, Henry 37

  horse betting 50–51, 68–69

  Hudson Correctional Facility 113

  insurance fraud 47–48

  Jacona, Joey 114

  Jamaica 50

  Karkis, Samuel “Sammy” 4, 85, 89–91, 95, 96–98, 101, 118–119, 155, 246

  labor unions 46

  Las Vegas 65–67

  Lattanzi, Albert 16, 18, 24, 27, 29–30

  Laughlin, Nevada 87

  Lichtman, Jeffrey 232

  loansharking 41–42

  LoCascio, Frank “Frankie Loc” 217

  Lucchese crime family 17, 23, 26, 29–32, 37, 48, 73, 76, 105, 130

  Lynskey, Timothy 178

  Macchiarole, John 1

  Macchiarole, murders of Genovese family 1

  Macchiarole, Pasqual “Paddy Mac” 1, 22, 23

  Madison Square Garden 89

  Mafia. See Mob, The Maione, Louis 170

  Mangiavillano, Salvatore “Fat Sal” 151, 210–213, 228–229, 247

  Maranga, Thomas 142, 234, 237

  Mariani, Louis “Louie Black” 231

  Marino, Danny 178

  Marriott Hotels 134

  Marshals Service 223

  Mazzarese, Paul 157–161, 193

  Meats Supreme 33

  Metropolitan Correction Center 124

  Metropolitan Correction Center (MCC), 178

  Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn 108

  Miraglia, Joe 158–161, 182, 193

  Mob, The

  Commission 81

  counterfeiting and 125

  drugs and 80–81, 170–171

  gambling and 52–67

  induction to 79

  internal theft and 71

  jury tampering and 72–73

  labor unions and 46

  legends and 190–191

  life and death 156

  loyalty and 180, 191, 229

  nepotism and 69

  protocol and 73

  Mormando, Nicholas “Nicky Cowboy” 211

  Muri, Joe 175, 177

  National Auto Theft Bureau 47

  New York Police Department (NYPD), 53, 128, 174, 206

  Nicky the Blonde 182, 193

  numbers 63–65

  NYPD detectives 128

  Off Track Betting (OTB), 50, 53, 62–63, 65, 69

  O’Keefe, Patty 104–105, 110–111, 112–113

  Olive Garden 224

  Operation Touchback 240

  Ossining, New York 103

  Otisville, New York 180, 181

  Otto, Theodore 212

  Pagano, Danny 114, 120

  Pape, George H., 73–74

  Persico, Carmine “The Snake” 41, 75, 203

  Persico, Danny 188–189

  Persico, Theodore “Teddy” 74–75, 105, 188

  Placido, Tony “Tough Tony” 138, 139–140

  poker 58

  prison

  corruption and 106–107

  extortion and 106–107

  homosexuality in 106–108

  race betting 62–63

  Raiola, Sandra 3–4, 90

  Rappaport, Ed 88, 92–93

  Reagan, Ronald 54

  rebuildable cars 46–48

  Riker’s Island 98, 101, 108

  Ruggiano, Anthony “Fat Andy” 94

  Russo, Andrew 190

  San Diego, California 133

  Scanlon, Tom 174–175, 216

  Scarpa, Greg “The Grim Reaper” 157

  Scheindlin, Judge Shira 232, 239

  Scuderi, Tommy 158–161, 182, 193

  Secret Service 54

  shylocking. See loansharking Sifton, Judge Charles P., 192–193

  Sing Sing 103, 108

  Slate, Ridson N., 194, 197

  Sliwa, Curtis 115–116, 229–230

  Smith, Frank 74–75

  sports-betting 52–53, 59–62

  Stasio, Phil “Fat Philly” 106, 110, 112–113

  Staten Island, New York 132, 160

  Testa, Patty 15

  Urgitano, Joey 105, 110–111, 112–113

  U.S. Marshals S
ervice 194–197

  Witness Protection Program, viii, 188, 193, 194–197, 207

  Yannotti, Michael “Mikey Y” 29, 38, 39–40, 74, 86–87, 95, 97, 120, 161–163, 173, 175, 182, 231, 246

  car stealing and 16

  demolition derby and 36–37

  evidence and 28

  Florida and 24–26

  fundraiser for 238–239

  introduction to 10–11

  Mercedes and 32–34

  mob friendships and 40, 43

  murder and 141, 143–144, 154, 155–156, 167–168, 214–215

  rivalry and 74, 115, 118–119

  Sammy Karkis and 90

  trial of 232–237

  ABOUT HUNTINGTON PRESS

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  LIVING TO TELL ABOUT IT

  What do you do when the law wants you behind bars and the New York crime families want you buried?

  That was the life-and-death dilemma confronting Andrew DiDonato, who began his criminal career at age 14 under the watchful eyes of the local Mob.

  By the time he was 17, the infamous Gambino family made DiDonato an associate of the Nicholas Corozzo crew. For the next 14 years, he was a loyal street soldier, immersed in dangerous and profitable criminal activities: burglary, forgery, extortion, loan sharking, car theft, bank robbery, counterfeiting, drug dealing, credit-card and insurance fraud, witness tampering, weapons possession, and attempted murder.

  He was also involved in the underworld gambling operations, which took in millions dealing dice and cards, booking sports and horses, and running numbers. Between these pages you’ll find the most in-depth look at Mob gambling ever published.

  At age 31, DiDonato ran afoul of both the law and his friends, turning him into a hunted man on two fronts. After 17 months on the run, the law caught him first.