Transcript of Ray Patriarca, Joe Zerilli, "Andy Boston"

[B.]

Transcript of a conversation from January 1963 in Providence, with Ray Patriarca, Joe Zerilli, and Andrew "Andy Boston" Parilla (Gambino soldier) discussing some issues "Andy Boston" is having in Brooklyn.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 1&tab=page

- As with most of these conversations, it is confusing trying to figure exactly what they're discussing, but it sounds like "Andy Boston" (who is very familiar with the Eppolito and Lombardozzi crews) is having an issue with Freddy Eppolito and Patriarca/Zerilli are trying to give him advice. Apparently Eppolito invited Andy to a bar and then threatened him.

- There is a part early on about Boston suspecting his wife of infidelity and that Eppolito knows who is banging Andy's wife but won't tell him, or is possibly banging Andy's wife himself. It sounds like there is a long history and possibly another beef as well between Andy and Eppolito that I can't quite figure out. He is also accusing someone (Eppolito) of conspiring against Carlo Gambino, but Patriarca/Zerilli try to talk him down and tell him not to "have a hard on for somebody".

- At one point, Zerilli tells Andy that he is from the Commission. Zerilli then goes on to say that "we have a group that go around..." then says "our Commission is gonna be broken up with Jimmy (Eppolito?), Charlie Bengaratz (Dongarra?), Carmine (Lombardozzi), and Carl's brother (probably Paolo)." He says "We're gonna break that up for the simple reason that we cannot work no more, we're too hot." Zero idea what he's talking about.

- Zerilli also says "there is a conspiracy coming up" involving Angie (Bruno probably, who is mentioned earlier), Hyman, it involves a few more of Freddy's crew," who "have been very active and they don't go home." Almost sounds like he's talking about a hit squad? Hard to say.

- Not sure who "Andy Boston" is, but he is definitely a made member, as he says that Freddy Eppolito told his brother (probably Jimmy) that he wanted to kill Andy, but it's clarified that this happened before Andy and Freddy were made... but then they seem to say that it actually happened after they were made.

- Zerilli has never met Andy before this and Andy is "like a brother" to Patriarca, so he could be a Gambino member who is originally from New England. Patriarca says he saved Andy's life twenty years earlier. Andy says he is visiting Providence because his sister lives there, so he could be from there originally. He seems to be active in NYC either way.

- Joe Zerilli says that Andy "belongs to Joe and the boss on the Commission". Later Andy talks about contacting Joe N Gallo, who is "acting deputy chief" for "Charlie", but Joe Zerilli tells him that he shouldn't go to Joe N Gallo, he should go to his "cavotich" (ph) because "that's why he's there". He says that after seeing the "cavotich", he should then go to Joe N. Gallo. "Cavotich" is either a reference to Andy's captain or the family consigliere. Since this is 1963 I'm under the impression that Joe Gallo was not yet the acting consigliere, but an acting captain. Hairy or someone can you confirm?

- Zerilli asks if Andy got permission to visit Providence and meet with Patriarca/Zerilli, and Andy says he told Freddie (Eppolito) he was going to go and that Freddie offered to give Andy a "letter for an introduction" to Patriarca, but Andy says he doesn't need a letter and will "just say hello" to Patriarca. This to me indicates that Andy is in the Eppolito crew, which may be why this is a tricky situation and Andy violated mob protocol by going to Joe N. Gallo, as he's having a dispute with his captain. What is really interesting to me is the letter of introduction...

- Andy Boston is in business with Freddie and Jimmy Eppolito in a "caper" (ph) business. Paper?

- Andy has a nephew who at this time was in his mid-20s and had the nickname "Snookie". No idea if he was associated with the family.

- Joe Zerilli takes complete control of the conversation and shows a great deal of authority the entire time. What surprises me I guess is how familiar he is with the Gambino family and its various members. Seems he was involved in some kind of business (possibly numbers?) with the Gambinos, and it somehow related to "Ginny Jerome" (Jimmy Squillante).

- Andy owes "Joe Gramaldi" 30 to 40 thousand dollars.

- Joe Zerilli says that Carlo Gambino is aware of this meeting and will want to know that they spoke with Andy about his problems. Zerilli stresses that Andy not make a fool out of himself when he meets with Carlo Gambino, and Patriarca stresses "don't make a fool out of me. Don't you dare."

- Joe Zerilli says "Johnny went away" and "there was a whole bundle there" that the administration got a piece of. Earlier in the transcript there was a brief reference to "Johnny Roberts" (Robilotto), so I am guessing they're saying when Roberts was killed, the administration took a piece of his rackets.

- Zerilli assured Andy that if he made any mistakes, it was because he wasn't taught right, not because he's a "rat at heart". Seems to say that because the Gambino family is so large, there are a lot of men who weren't taught rght. He says that Andy is "not in danger like years ago." Based on the reference to "Johnny" and this last comment, I take it to mean Andy may have earlier been associated with Johnny Roberts and that faction.

- Andy says he's "seldom been in trouble" and that he's been minding his own business for 7 years. Based on the timeline, this could also point to him having been affiliated with the Roberts faction ~7 years earlier.

- Finally they come back to the wife issue and Zerilli tells Andy to get a divorce. Andy says he already chased her and Zerilli tells him not to take her back or he'll lose all respect. Interesting to me, as the stereotype of old time Sicilian guys like Zerilli is that they are anti-divorce, but here he is recommending it.

- When discussing the fact that Andy deserves to be respected, Patriarca says that Andy "was a man when he was a kid with me", so he def was a New England associate at some point.

- Zerilli again brings up Johnny Roberts, saying that everything Roberts had is "up there", referring to "paper, pencils and about four hundred thousand dollars." Everything else he says about this is too confusing to make sense of, but it again sounds like some of Roberts' businesses were split up when he was killed.

- Zerilli claims to be broke, as he is constantly traveling on behalf of the Commission and unable to manage his own business.

- When asked where he is from by Zerilli, Andy says "Capri, the island". First time I've heard of a member whose family came from Capri.

- Andy has connections to the west coast, including someone named "Mr. Da Food" (ph... cracked up at this name). He also knew "Jack Draynaski" (Dragna) when Andy was "hooding, for the hoods". Zerilli discusses having trouble with "Galolie" (ph) in that area.

- In conclusion, they seem to think that Andy should claim his actions were justified due to the way Eppolito abused him when they met at the bar. Andy's official story will be that Eppolito abused him at the bar and he didn't know what he did wrong and had no one to turn to.

- Zerilli assures Andy that nothing will be done against him "on the sly." He again brings up Johnny Roberts, saying that a situation like that won't happen again. It gets confusing, but Zerilli continues on a tangent here talking about how he explained and clarified the situation (the Johnny Roberts situation?) to several people. He says "without the boss's representative, it was dead", and how Zerilli "did the talking" and "explained the whole thing". He says it "pertained to the Brooklyn boys", and that they wanted an explanation which he gave them to help settle any "hard feelings". There was someone from Brooklyn who was "almost made in the Commission" who apparently asked for an explanation but Zerilli can't remember his name. I am thinking this could be Armand Rava. Either way, I interpret this confusing bit to mean that Zerilli was involved in mediating the problems within the Gambino family after Anastasia's death.

- Andy wanted to kill someone named "Al" with a pistol and Joe Zerilli says it was a good thing he "missed him". Joe says he "wouldn't have used a pistol" and said a shotgun would be better. Andy asks why we didn't "use it in Brooklyn" (the shotgun)? Joe says he told them to "hold a rifle". Andy talks about getting a "bigger truck" and while someone is "picking up the bricks", a guy pulls up in the truck and hits the guy with "two barrels" (shotgun). They would be right near Andy's house and could go right upstairs from there. He talks about how close they came and how the guy "must have had a jacket on" (bulletproof vest?). Sounds like they are discussing an attempted murder that Andy tried to pull off.

- Continuing on the last point, Andy talks about wanting to "catch the sucker cold" because "he was on alert all the time, this bum". Andy recommended that "Mike" (probably Scandifia, who Andy is close to and is referenced throughout this transcript) use shotguns. Says he thought they'd catch him, but it was a shame. Sounds like they're still talking about the failed hit attempt on "Al". I was thinking this whole thing about "Al" could be a reference to Alfred Santantonio, but since this was a failed attempt I'm not so sure.

- Zerilli tells Andy that anytime he wants to get a hold of him, get in touch with "Andy Norgabolitch" (ph). He says to talk to Freddie (Eppolito), who should then talk to "Gabolitch" (ph).

- Patriarca says that Andy has "been around down here before he was made. he and I grew up together with Freddie." This seems to be saying that Freddie Eppolito, Andy Boston, and Ray Patriarca all grew up together? Does he mean literally? This is strange as I didn't know there was any connection between the Eppolitos and New England/Providence.

- Andy again reference "Joe Gramaldi" who he says is 59-60 years old and was involved in the numbers business. Could this be Joe Grimaldi of the Bonannos, father of Vito? Patriarca seems to say "Gramaldi" has a connection to California.

- Andy considered Jimmy Eppolito a neutral party in his dispute with Freddie despite the fact that they were brothers. Zerilli says Jimmy Eppolito is nice and respectable.

[B.]

Sorry for the rambling, convoluted attempts to make sense of everything but I found it all pretty fascinating reading the bosses of Detroit and New England mediate a dispute that a former New England associate turned Gambino soldier had with his capo in Brooklyn.

Anyone know who Andy Boston might be? I couldn't track down many Andy/Andrews (if that's his full first name) in the Gambinos. There is Andrew Alberti, but he was apparently from a different crew. Alberti committed suicide in 1964 and was apparently facing legal trouble due to a gem robbery. In this transcript Andy Boston repeatedly refers to having to go to court for some reason. Andy Boston certainly had some issues going on in his life that might make him want to kill himself (cheating wife, problems with his captain, legal issues), but I can't find any connection between Alberti and Providence or New England. Thinking it's not him.

edit: Nevermind. His name is Andrew Parilla.

[B.]

Looks like this could be him:

Andrew Parillo
United States Social Security Death Index
birth: 1 June 1909
death: August 1971 Brooklyn, Kings, New York

I found an Andrew Parillo born around the same time in providence.

[HairyKnuckles]

Here´s all the Andys I´ve got listed as Gambino members (around 1960):

Andrew Ferraiola
Andrew Alberti (member of Dongarra´s crew)
Andrew Avellino (member of Rizzo/Ferrara crew, but possibly at some point under Eppolito, lived in NJ, nicknamed "Mingie")
Andrea Torregrossa Sr (shelved in 1967)
Andrew Torregrossa Jr

So the Andy Boston mentioned in OP could be any of these, unless Andy is actually nickname for someone whose first name actually is Anthony or Angelo etc. Like in the case of "Fat" Andy Ruggiero (who originally came up under Tommy Rava but later ended up under Dellacroce).

- Joe Zerilli says that Andy "belongs to Joe and the boss on the Commission". Later Andy talks about contacting Joe N Gallo, who is "acting deputy chief" for "Charlie", but Joe Zerilli tells him that he shouldn't go to Joe N Gallo, he should go to his "cavotich" (ph) because "that's why he's there". He says that after seeing the "cavotich", he should then go to Joe N. Gallo. "Cavotich" is either a reference to Andy's captain or the family consigliere. Since this is 1963 I'm under the impression that Joe Gallo was not yet the acting consigliere, but an acting captain. Hairy or someone can you confirm?

Yes, Joe N. Gallo was acting captain for Dongarra during this time. he was upped to acting consigliere in 1967.

[B.]

Here´s all the Andys I´ve got listed as Gambino members (around 1960):

Andrew Ferraiola
Andrew Alberti (member of Dongarra´s crew)
Andrew Avellino (member of Rizzo/Ferrara crew, but possibly at some point under Eppolito, lived in NJ, nicknamed "Mingie")
Andrea Torregrossa Sr (shelved in 1967)
Andrew Torregrossa Jr

So the Andy Boston mentioned in OP could be any of these, unless Andy is actually nickname for someone whose first name actually is Anthony or Angelo etc. Like in the case of "Fat" Andy Ruggiero (who originally came up under Tommy Rava but later ended up under Dellacroce).

[- Joe Zerilli says that Andy "belongs to Joe and the boss on the Commission". Later Andy talks about contacting Joe N Gallo, who is "acting deputy chief" for "Charlie", but Joe Zerilli tells him that he shouldn't go to Joe N Gallo, he should go to his "cavotich" (ph) because "that's why he's there". He says that after seeing the "cavotich", he should then go to Joe N. Gallo. "Cavotich" is either a reference to Andy's captain or the family consigliere. Since this is 1963 I'm under the impression that Joe Gallo was not yet the acting consigliere, but an acting captain. Hairy or someone can you confirm?/quote]

Yes, Joe N. Gallo was acting captain for Dongarra during this time. he was upped to acting consigliere in 1967.

Thanks. I edited my post because I found another doc where he is identified as Andrew Parilla. Looks like his real name was Andrew Parillo.

[Pogo The Clown]

Great stuff. Thanks for taking the time to post all of this.


Pogo

[HairyKnuckles]

Thanks. I edited my post because I found another doc where he is identified as Andrew Parilla. Looks like his real name was Andrew Parillo.

The Andrew Parillo mentioned seems to have been born in NY, But who knows, it´s possible he lived in New England at some point. I´ve never heard of him before and can´t see him listed on any memberchart lists. Perhas JD knows more about him?

[B.]

Thanks. I edited my post because I found another doc where he is identified as Andrew Parilla. Looks like his real name was Andrew Parillo.

The Andrew Parillo mentioned seems to have been born in NY, But who knows, it´s possible he lived in New England at some point. I´ve never heard of him before and can´t see him listed on any memberchart lists. Perhas JD knows more about him?

The one born in ~1910 in Providence is a good bet.

One thing that stands out is what a huge deal the whole Johnny Roberts situation was on a national level. Zerilli keeps going back to it in this conversation. Back when I read the Valachi papers the first time I remember thinking he was just some Anastasia lackey who got wiped out, but he seems to have been a major force before he got killed. Magaddino seems to have similar (though more confusing) ramblings about that situation.

[Antiliar]

Good synopsis, B. Even though you thought it was rambling, I enjoyed reading your analysis. These transcripts can be notoriously difficult to make sense of.

[Cheech]

This is what I like. Great discussion. B. Great topic. Much appreciated

[Cheech]

More of these topics are welcome. Hairy you haven't broken down a file in a while. You should do one.

[Cheech]

Re caper business. It's a shake down of a bar restaraunt sounds like cause next they say if we eat and rink we're happy cause we have to pay so many people off. No?

[Cheech]

Maybe not cause now there talking numbers. Hard to follow. Really good job. Sorry for,cluttering the thread.

Edit: could 7 years possibly mean when he got his button?

[B.]

Glad you guys enjoy this type of thing... during downtime at the office it's kind of relaxing to read through these and try to make sense of it as I go. Kind of an unedited stream of consciousness take.

Edit: could 7 years possibly mean when he got his button?

I think you're right about that. I was distracted by all the talk about Robilotto, but I think he's saying that he's just tried to do his own thing since ~1956 which could very well be when he got in.

I am looking at Freddy Eppolito's FBN file, and who is the first name under "criminal associates? Andrew Alberti. It also says below that Eppolito is in the narcotics business with Alberti. I don't know where the FBI got the last name Parilla from, but it still seems possible to me that "Andy Boston" could be Alberti. Maybe someone can find out for sure if Alberti ever had ties to New England. It seems unlikely to me that a guy like "Andrew Parilla", an established Gambino with ties to different parts of the country, would be picked up on wiretaps talking to boss and not show up on a single list or get mentioned elsewhere, but you never know. There is still an Andrew Parillo born in RI who can't be ruled out, either, and from all the info I can find, the Albertis were always in NYC and never Providence.

HK, do you know when the information is from about Alberti being under Dongarra? It's interesting to me because "Andy Boston" reached out to Dongarra's acting capo Gallo when he was having trouble with Eppolito in January 1963, so that to me indicates there is an existing relationship there. Could be possible that Alberti was with Dongarra before Eppolito, or maybe transferred to Dongarra's crew after his beef with Eppolito? The timeline is limited because of Alberti's 1964 suicide. "Andy Boston" comes across to me like someone in dire straits, like I said earlier, with his wife cheating, a beef with his capo/business partner (who might also be fucking his wife), and pending court case. Zerilli and Patriarca instill some confidence in him as this conversation goes on, but I got the impression "Andy" was personally in a troubled frame of mind.

Anyway, the second name on Eppolito's "criminal associates" list is Robilotto. It also says that Eppolito was the prime suspect in Robilotto's murder. It's starting to make more sense why Zerilli repeatedly brings up Robilotto's name.

Says Eppolito owns Colonial Enterprises jukebox company. Not sure if that's the company that Andy Boston was a partner in, though.

[HairyKnuckles]

HK, do you know when the information is from about Alberti being under Dongarra? It's interesting to me because "Andy Boston" reached out to Dongarra's acting capo Gallo when he was having trouble with Eppolito in January 1963, so that to me indicates there is an existing relationship there. Could be possible that Alberti was with Dongarra before Eppolito, or maybe transferred to Dongarra's crew after his beef with Eppolito? The timeline is limited because of Alberti's 1964 suicide. "Andy Boston" comes across to me like someone in dire straits, like I said earlier, with his wife cheating, a beef with his capo/business partner (who might also be fucking his wife), and pending court case. Zerilli and Patriarca instill some confidence in him as this conversation goes on, but I got the impression "Andy" was personally in a troubled frame of mind.

I am under the impression that Andy Alberti always was in the crew headed by Roccobono/Armone/Dongarra. I don´t remember where the info originates from but it goes way back. And JD made a post over on RD a couple of years ago on Dongarra´s crew members where Albert is listed. Off the top my head, it´doesn´t ring a bell with me that Alberti was possibly under Eppolito at some point. Another interesting point regarding Alberti´s death is that an informant claimed that he was actually murdered but the murder was made to look like a suicide. His murder was ordered by Joesph Biondo, on the sneak. According to this informant, ordering Alberti´s murder was one of the reasons Gambino had Biondo shelved.

I found some articles on Andrew Parillo (born in 1909). He definitely had a police record. This is from 1930:



And if it is same Andrew Parillo (who later lived in Brooklyn), he was also arrested in 1943 and charged with conspracy to operate an illegal still. Two others were arrested too in same case; Edward Salvatore and Angelo Dellacarto. At the time, Parillo lived at 654 Classon Avenue in Brooklyn. And in 1962, he was arrested (with Peter Salzone) for operating a policy bank. At that time, Parillo lived at 100 Caton Avenue in Brooklyn.