by B. » Thu Feb 26, 2015 11:20 pm
Lou_Para wrote:I don't think that DeCicco really gave away too much. Before Paulie was cold,everybody in the Mob knew that Gotti was behind it. DeCicco was already in line to become underboss,and I think that he felt that Failla (as well as most of the Gambinos) would be too scared of Gotti to do anything against him.
Failla had a good little setup under Paul,and Gotti let him keep his rackets and income.However,I believe that Jimmy was of the old school,and that whacking a boss without permission was the cardinal sin. I'm figuring that Chin told him that he would support him and Marino as the new heads of the Gambinos once Gotti and DeCicco were gone.
DeCicco was a bit of a weasel as well. According to Gravano, DeCicco told him that if Gotti screwed up,the two of them would kill him and take over.
It's not that they didn't know who did it, but that he indirectly admitted to being involved. The way mob politics work is that everyone usually knows everyone else's business through gossip and assumption, but they need to have something to grab onto, even if it's small. Telling a loyal old capo "not to worry" after the boss and his top guy just got shot a matter of feet away is basically an admission.
The whole "We're investigating the murder but our family is intact and we're all smooth sailing... in the meantime, we're going to promote John Gotti" thing is a bad line, but it's just typical mob bullshit. If DeCicco really told Failla (and possibly Gammarano) not to worry, he implied that he was involved in the conspiracy and knew the killers' intentions. If Failla was even a little bit shrewd in mob politics, he would have used that to fuel the fire against DeCicco/Gotti... particularly DeCicco who might not have been an obvious suspect in the killing.
And you're right about DeCicco being a weasel. He was one of Castellano's favorites and also had the respect of the other groups in the family, yet he was the lynchpin in the Castellano murder and willing to kill the next boss, too, as you said. There is also a possibility he was an informant. Gus Sclafani claimed to have info that DeCicco was a rat and as a result Sclafani was killed. Sclafani provided worthwhile info from his source to other family members, so why he would start calling one of the most powerful and popular members a rat if he didn't strongly believe it is open for debate.
DeCicco could have been the mysterious Gambino informant who called LE and told them about the Commission meeting that ended up getting photographed. Relatively few members would have known the exact time and location, let alone that a Commission meeting was happening, and DeCicco happened to be the chauffeur who drove all Commission members from their cars to the house. I believe everyone else who was at that meeting was indicted in the case, but not DeCicco. This was probably because he didn't attend the actual meeting and wasn't otherwise known to be connected to Commission crimes, but he was still in a position to report the meeting without hurting himself, which can't be said for the other members we now of who attended.
The other thing is... who was the informant that told the FBI where to place the bugs in Paul Castellano's house? He liked having his guys come over to his house, but next to Tommy Bilotti, DeCicco was a regular at the house and knew Castellano's habits well.
It is speculation but he does find his way right into the center of all of these incidents, and in my opinion he is the type of guy who would secretly inform. Gravano, a government witness who lived in complete denial about what he'd become, talked DeCicco up as an old school no nonsense guy, but he also talked himself up that way. They both conspired to kill their boss, one of the biggest sins in the life. Gravano broke the other cardinal sin of turning government witness, so it's not hard for me to believe that DeCicco had done something similar by giving up info.
[quote="Lou_Para"]I don't think that DeCicco really gave away too much. Before Paulie was cold,everybody in the Mob knew that Gotti was behind it. DeCicco was already in line to become underboss,and I think that he felt that Failla (as well as most of the Gambinos) would be too scared of Gotti to do anything against him.
Failla had a good little setup under Paul,and Gotti let him keep his rackets and income.However,I believe that Jimmy was of the old school,and that whacking a boss without permission was the cardinal sin. I'm figuring that Chin told him that he would support him and Marino as the new heads of the Gambinos once Gotti and DeCicco were gone.
DeCicco was a bit of a weasel as well. According to Gravano, DeCicco told him that if Gotti screwed up,the two of them would kill him and take over.[/quote]
It's not that they didn't know who did it, but that he indirectly admitted to being involved. The way mob politics work is that everyone usually knows everyone else's business through gossip and assumption, but they need to have something to grab onto, even if it's small. Telling a loyal old capo "not to worry" after the boss and his top guy just got shot a matter of feet away is basically an admission.
The whole "We're investigating the murder but our family is intact and we're all smooth sailing... in the meantime, we're going to promote John Gotti" thing is a bad line, but it's just typical mob bullshit. If DeCicco really told Failla (and possibly Gammarano) not to worry, he implied that he was involved in the conspiracy and knew the killers' intentions. If Failla was even a little bit shrewd in mob politics, he would have used that to fuel the fire against DeCicco/Gotti... particularly DeCicco who might not have been an obvious suspect in the killing.
And you're right about DeCicco being a weasel. He was one of Castellano's favorites and also had the respect of the other groups in the family, yet he was the lynchpin in the Castellano murder and willing to kill the next boss, too, as you said. There is also a possibility he was an informant. Gus Sclafani claimed to have info that DeCicco was a rat and as a result Sclafani was killed. Sclafani provided worthwhile info from his source to other family members, so why he would start calling one of the most powerful and popular members a rat if he didn't strongly believe it is open for debate.
DeCicco could have been the mysterious Gambino informant who called LE and told them about the Commission meeting that ended up getting photographed. Relatively few members would have known the exact time and location, let alone that a Commission meeting was happening, and DeCicco happened to be the chauffeur who drove all Commission members from their cars to the house. I believe everyone else who was at that meeting was indicted in the case, but not DeCicco. This was probably because he didn't attend the actual meeting and wasn't otherwise known to be connected to Commission crimes, but he was still in a position to report the meeting without hurting himself, which can't be said for the other members we now of who attended.
The other thing is... who was the informant that told the FBI where to place the bugs in Paul Castellano's house? He liked having his guys come over to his house, but next to Tommy Bilotti, DeCicco was a regular at the house and knew Castellano's habits well.
It is speculation but he does find his way right into the center of all of these incidents, and in my opinion he is the type of guy who would secretly inform. Gravano, a government witness who lived in complete denial about what he'd become, talked DeCicco up as an old school no nonsense guy, but he also talked himself up that way. They both conspired to kill their boss, one of the biggest sins in the life. Gravano broke the other cardinal sin of turning government witness, so it's not hard for me to believe that DeCicco had done something similar by giving up info.