by gohnjotti » Mon Feb 13, 2023 11:25 pm
I have found two pieces of information which might be coincidence but thought I would share. In the 1980s and 1990s, at least two Republican Oyster Bay politicians had links to the Colombo crime family. Obviously, Oyster Bay and the surrounding areas had a lot of known mob influence regarding garbage hauling contracts in the 1970s and 1980s, but what I have found seems to be an under-investigated link between the notoriously corrupt city council and the Colombo crime family.
In 1986, the Oyster Bay general services commissioner and Republican Party executive leader for Massapequa Park, Sal Tese was indicted on charges that he endorsed and cashed checks to himself that were intended for various Nassau County Republican groups. He was also charged separately with using town employees for private work. This follows a theme in Oyster Bay as Tese's predecessor was accused of using town services for private use in 1977. Tese is also a cousin of former Colombo street boss Tommy Gioeli, and although he hasn't been linked to the Colombo crime family, he allowed Gioeli to use his property to store the car used in the Ralph Dols murder in 1997. Gioeli also worked as a laborer for the Town of Oyster Bay from 1968 until 1981, whereas his cousin Tese started working for the council in 1967.
Reading about this reminded me of Michael Imbergamo, who was murdered alongside Colombo soldier John Minerva in 1992, part of the ongoing Colombo war. Imbergamo was an Oyster Bay GOP committee member and plumbing inspector for the town. He was never linked to the Colombo family, but a Newsday article after the shooting quotes Homicide Det. William Cocks, who noted that Imbergamo was very close to Minerva, drove him around, and was armed at the time of his death.
Sal Tese and Michael Imbergamo were both GOP Oyster Bay Town committee members and Tommy Gioeli and John Minerva were members of the same crew. Seems like it's more than just a coincidence.
I have found two pieces of information which might be coincidence but thought I would share. In the 1980s and 1990s, at least two Republican Oyster Bay politicians had links to the Colombo crime family. Obviously, Oyster Bay and the surrounding areas had a lot of known mob influence regarding garbage hauling contracts in the 1970s and 1980s, but what I have found seems to be an under-investigated link between the notoriously corrupt city council and the Colombo crime family.
In 1986, the Oyster Bay general services commissioner and Republican Party executive leader for Massapequa Park, Sal Tese was indicted on charges that he endorsed and cashed checks to himself that were intended for various Nassau County Republican groups. He was also charged separately with using town employees for private work. This follows a theme in Oyster Bay as Tese's predecessor was accused of using town services for private use in 1977. Tese is also a cousin of former Colombo street boss Tommy Gioeli, and although he hasn't been linked to the Colombo crime family, he allowed Gioeli to use his property to store the car used in the Ralph Dols murder in 1997. Gioeli also worked as a laborer for the Town of Oyster Bay from 1968 until 1981, whereas his cousin Tese started working for the council in 1967.
Reading about this reminded me of Michael Imbergamo, who was murdered alongside Colombo soldier John Minerva in 1992, part of the ongoing Colombo war. Imbergamo was an Oyster Bay GOP committee member and plumbing inspector for the town. He was never linked to the Colombo family, but a Newsday article after the shooting quotes Homicide Det. William Cocks, who noted that Imbergamo was very close to Minerva, drove him around, and was armed at the time of his death.
Sal Tese and Michael Imbergamo were both GOP Oyster Bay Town committee members and Tommy Gioeli and John Minerva were members of the same crew. Seems like it's more than just a coincidence.