Maxie's Colombo Profiles

[maxiestern11]

How old is he Gohn? I never heard of him

He’s 49 or 50 pretty sure he’s from Bensonhust

Thanks Ant

[AntComello]

Anyone ever hear of Vincent “the little guy” Posa from Brooklyn. Not sure if he’s made or not

Hasn’t been confirmed made, but has been confirmed by the Probation Department as still being active. If he has been inducted, it would have to be after his 2006 release from prison.

I bet he’s inducted by now seems like he’s got some clout

[ATTHEBARBERSHOP]

He was inducted this year.anyone know when that new chart will be posted that Ghon was working on

[maxiestern11]

He was inducted this year.anyone know when that new chart will be posted that Ghon was working on

Which one?

[gohnjotti]

He was inducted this year.anyone know when that new chart will be posted that Ghon was working on

Where'd you hear this, out of curiosity?

[SonnyBlackstein]

How old is he Gohn? I never heard of him

He’s 49 or 50 pretty sure he’s from Bensonhust

From Bensonhurst?


Think I found a pic of him.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/491bade5-1 ... 51b3abef38

[AntComello]

How old is he Gohn? I never heard of him

He’s 49 or 50 pretty sure he’s from Bensonhust

From Bensonhurst?


Lmfao


Think I found a pic of him.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/491bade5-1 ... 51b3abef38

[AntComello]

6AC687AA-1989-4678-9C70-B6FA51DC80D6.jpeg

[maxiestern11]

A Maxie’s Exclusive: SONNY FRANZESE - BIOGRAPHY
-
I originally posted this as a “stand alone” story because of the legendary individual involved and the in-depth research it took to compile this profile .... I may later expand it to include more of Sonny’s life story!
—-
Re-use or the re-posting of this article elsewhere is strictly prohibited without the written consent of Maxie!
———————————————————————————————————-
JOHN (SONNY) FRANZESE - born 1919 as Giovanni Carmina Franzese (TN). It is said Sonny was born on the ship in route from Naples, Italy to Ellis Island, NYC., USA.
-
FBI # 3400301, NYCPD # B-164829.
-
Raised and resided for the first thirty years of his life in the Greenpoint-Williamsburg section of Brooklyn (346 Leonard Street). Married young, to Ann Schiller in 1942, he fathered three children before they later divorced.
-
With his second marriage to Tina (née Capobianco), he fathered three more children and adopted one, they moved to Nassau County (384 Jefferson St., Franklin Square). By 1961 they had relocated again to the exclusive “Hamilton Park” section of Roslyn (47 Shrub Hollow Road). He and Tina (with seven children) had now settled firmly into suburbia!
———
Personal Traits:
-
A ruggedly handsome man at 5’-9” tall and a trim-muscular 175lbs, with full jet-black hair crew-cut style, and always speaking in a measured-even low tone, he exuded the very essence of what the public imagined a Mafioso to be..... he was once called “a mobster straight out of central casting”...... it was not an overstatement!

Sonny was a health-nut way before the Jack La Lanne era. Since the late 1930’s, he’d been taking 20+ vitamins a day. Sonny was a diet conscience calorie-counting hood, who watched his food intake religiously! He also kept fit by lifting weights in his basement long before it became in vogue.

Sonny never smoked cigarettes or drank! Although frequenting and owning bars and nightclubs all his life. He always drank “club soda”. Only when in the private company of a few of his highly trusted personal men would he occasionally have a single glass of red wine! As he aged into his nineties, he would allow himself one or two glasses of wine on occasion...... he never wanted to be “out of control” or vulnerable.

He also never owned a car of his own, and rarely drove. Instead, Sonny had a steady stream of chauffeur-bodyguards over the decades squire him around town.

Known for never having sensitive conversations indoors, Sonny made fashionable so-called “walk and talks” long before other mobsters did so. LE would see him on a Manhattan street corner, day after day receiving a steady stream of mob underlings. One after the other, like clockwork, one would approach him, they’d walk in public while chatting, and when finished, another mob guy would be received as the previous guy departed.

He also would frustrate LE by never using the same “public” telephone twice, making it nearly impossible for agents to “bug” his calls.

Note: [it was later widely reported by mob guys, that during the 1970’s Sonny had become the handball champ at Leavenworth Penitentiary and later Otisville FCI while serving jail time]
———-
.........What the FBI thought:

“He’s one of a kind,” said Robert Lewicki, a retired FBI agent who persuaded Sonny’s son John Jr. Franzese to wear a wire against the mob in 2005. “There’s never been a guy like Sonny. There will never be another guy like Sonny, the last of a dying breed.”

And although law enforcement authorities believe Franzese committed or ordered the murders of up to 50 people, Lewicki is not the only former FBI agent who has a grudging respect for him.

“I think it’s amazing that he stood up all those years,” said Bernard Welsh, a former FBI agent who tracked the Colombo Family and arrested Franzese several times on parole violations. “He never gave anybody up.”
-
...... and the New York City police:

Sgt. Ralph Salerno, Cosa Nostra expert for the NYPD said “Sonny Franzese is the big comer in the Cosa Nostra. He has an extraordinary talent for organized crime. He knows when to compromise and when to get tough; he knows how to run a business and crime is big business, and, most important, he’s an expert at not getting caught.”
-
And Nassau County rackets bureau chief Norman Levy stated this:
“The criminal empire bossed by Franzese and his subordinates is so vast that the file maintained on them by Nassau D.A. William Cahn and our staff weighs nine pounds. Similar files are kept by the Suffolk Police Intelligence Squad, New York City and Queens County district attorney’s office.”
———-
Some of his Roslyn neighbors included Lucchese labor racketeer Harry Davidoff, Genovese soldier Zookie Esposito, Gambino capo Patsy Conte and down the block lived the Bonanno’s Frank Mari]
—
Note: [another noteworthy takeaway was that his Roslyn home, although beautiful, had no shrubs or bushes whatsoever around the foundation of the house. It was completely barren. LE correctly believed that Sonny avoided such landscaping so as not to make a ready hiding spot for a would-be killer..... only years after the “Gallo-Profaci War” did he acquiesce to his wife Tina and allow her to minimally decorate the property]

Note: [during the construction of his Roslyn home in 1961, FBI agents had installed “bugs” in the kitchen walls and den after construction workers had left for the day. For years Sonny wondered how the feds knew even the smallest of details about him]
———
The youngest son born to Carmine (Turiddo di Leone) Franzese aka “Turi the Lion” - an early associate of the Camorra of Downtown Brooklyn. The father was associated with other “Napolitani” hoodlums such as Vito Genovese (an early idol and mentor of Sonny), Mike Miranda and other Camorristi, who later became inducted Mafiosi.
—
Although his father was affiliated with the “Napolitani” Genovese faction, Sonny was befriended as a young hoodlum by the top “capo di decina” overseeing his Greenpoint neighborhood for Joe Profaci - a veteran Sicilian mafioso by the name of Sebastiano (Bustiano) Aloi.
-
After observing how Franzese conducted himself in the neighborhood, Aloi took the young hoodlum under his wing, putting him “on record” with the Profaci Family, which was the preeminent Cosa Nostra Family operating the area along with the Bonanno Family.
———
Note: [in 1961, the FBN stated “his native toughness and deceased father’s prestige in the Mafia are aiding his rise to the top of Brooklyn’s Mafia racketeers”]
———
As Sonny grew in stature and reputation, and “served” Aloi and the Family as required of him,
Aloi eventually proposed Sonny for formal induction by either his mid-late twenties or early thirties, and was accepted into the Family shortly thereafter.

Note: [when first coming up,
he originally operated out of The Miami Bar, a Greenpoint neighborhood gin mill co-owned with his brother Mike]
-
By age thirty-five (1954-55) he had been elevated to “capodecina” of his own regime. Several “soldati” were assigned to him, in addition to several close friends that he proposed for induction within his own crew.

Note: [I know some say he became a capo in 1962, I do not believe that is correct!.... 1962 may be when LE learned of it]
-
By the late-1950’s Sonny had gained a notorious reputation as a top hoodlum, “torpedo” for the Brooklyn underworld and the “biggest comer” in the world of organized crime.

In 1964, prosecutors once claimed in open court that LE suspected Franzese had committed an estimated 30-50 gangland killings in his raise to the top of the family.
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By the early 1960’s he was being closely watched and hauled in on a regular basis by Brooklyn-Queens rackets detectives and federal authorities.

He became one of the top racket figures in the Jackson Heights section of Queens. At the time, the 1950’s, that area was the top entertainment capital of New York City, second only to Manhattan itself.

Sonny was partners with capo Frank Tieri in “The Orchid Room” - one of the most popular night spots in the area. He also held interests in “The Flamboyant”, another top Queens nightclub. Upon migrating to Nassau County, he invested and opened the most popular nightspot yet, the “San Su San” in Mineola, which featured top entertainers such as Jimmy Roselli, Sammy Davis Jr., and Frank Sinatra Jr..... everybody who was anybody frequented the San Su San.

....Sonny was at the top of his game!
————
Legitimate and semi-legitimate interests included:
nightclubs-bars and restaurants
dry-cleaners
real estate investments
trucking companies
entertainers & professional boxers
record companies and recording studio’s -his company signed some of the biggest stars including Dionne Warwick and many others.
(he was partners in a top Manhattan talent agency with Norby Walters - whose father “Soldier Major” had been a close friend of Sonny)
-
He listed his occupation for decades as partner in a Greenpoint dry cleaning shop - L & R Cleaners (635 Metropolitan Avenue), and later a record company - Karma-Sutra Records.
———-
A short list of his notorious criminal associates have included many bosses:
-
Sebastiano Aloi
Joseph Profaci
Giuseppe Magliocco
Salvatore Mussachio
Vito Genovese
Raymond Patriarca
Toddo Del Duca
Joseph Gioelli
John Oddo
Carmine Lombardozzi
Vincenzo Plumeri
Philip Rastelli
Vincent Napoli

......but Franzese was well acquainted with nearly all members of the NY/NJ and nationwide LCN.
———
By the mid-1960’s, since elevated to the “underboss” position by Joe Colombo as his number two, he was arguably the number one target of every law-enforcement agency in the greater New York City area (and the nation for that matter) including the FBI. It was once said “that J. Edgar Hoover would give his left testicle to get Sonny Franzese”!
-
He and his “regime”, having grown to be the largest of the Profaci-Colombo Family and one of the most deadly, operated extensively throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Nassau-Suffolk area of Long Island.

He was largely credited with having expanded the Brooklyn based Family’s influence into Queens and Long Island. At the time the Island was untapped fertile territory. The Colombo Family became the biggest mob group by far in the area.
-
It was said by LE that he controlled the largest group of bookmakers and shylocks - estimated at over 400 - in the Long Island-Queens area.
———-
As later reported in U.S. Senate Hearing testimony, by 1968, Franzese had reputedly infiltrated the Times Square “flesh” industry. He and Larry Abbandando were alleged to have moved in on several pornography firms and peep-show operators.

He would later additionally be credited (along with soldier Anthony Peraino) of being a behind the scenes principal of the famed porn movie “Deep Throat”.
————-
By 1963, It seemed that Sonny was in the newspapers every other day, with either he or associates getting investigated or arrested for their racket activities .....this publicity culminated in two very extensive articles-exposes’ written.
-
One was Life Magazine, which devoted half the entire periodical to Franzese’s background and his murder trial. The other was in Newsday, released on Christmas Eve 1965, entitled “The Hood in our Neighborhood”.... an extensive expose on his biography and climb up the underworld ladder.
-
Sonny instantly became the most publicized underworld boss in the country! ..... the John Gotti of his era. He was Gotti before Gotti was Gotti! ......Nobody but nobody was more notorious in the Mafia!
———-
Sonny’s “core” crew consisted of appx 8-10 formally inducted soldiers, another 10-12 top quality capable “proposed” associates in line for formal induction years later when the “books” would open in 1975, another 30-40 active, capable “second tier” associates, and numerous other “outer ring” hoodlums of every size and shape, literally numbering into the hundreds!
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As both federal authorities and mob figures alike recognized..... Sonny controlled “an army within an army”! ......

gamblers, loansharks, extortionists, truck hijackers and thieves, strong-arm men and enforcers, union officials and labor racketeers, etc......indeed - “a Family within a Family”!
———
That being said, he was a feared guy, maybe too feared!...... by both LE and the Mob! From the FBI on down to his own Family Boss Joey Colombo and many other mobsters.... all kept a wary eye out for Sonny, with jealousy, envy, fear and yet a grudging respect for him!
———
Activities; he and his crew were into nearly everything (with the definite exception of narcotics - Sonny never fucked around with drugs). But pretty much everything else was on the table and fair game:
-
extortion, shakedowns & protection
shylocking
policy-numbers
bookmaking
floating dice and card games
truck hijacking
after-hour unlicensed “bottle clubs”
armed robberies and thefts
labor-union racketeering
business infiltration
police bribery (the pad)
stock thefts and frauds
strong-arm and enforcement
pornography
gasoline tax-bootlegging
———-
Sonny’s criminal record starts 1938:
felonious assault
rape
bookmaking and conspiracy
disorderly conduct (thrice)
vagrancy
robbery
extortion (twice) and conspiracy
attempted extortion
bank robbery and conspiracy
murder (1st degree)
contempt of court
parole violations (6 times)
Rico conspiracy including (usury, extortion)
—
Over an (80) eighty-year span he was convicted of:
contempt of court
bookmaking
bank robbery conspiracy (50 years - served 9 yrs then paroled)
six-parole violations (2 yrs, 4 yrs, 8 yrs, 2 yrs, 4 yrs, 2 yrs)
Rico conspiracy (8 years)

Note: [additionally he was held without bail several times for murder, etc..... so he has served a total of over forty-years of his life in prison]
———-
As stated above, at his “zenith”, Franzese oversaw a huge crew (rivaling that of a small LCN Family, which literally numbered into the hundreds), in addition to his more formal duties as the Colombo underboss, and that of overseeing the additional 100-130 or so “formal inducted” membership of the other regimes.
———-
But his original “core” crew, of his closest confidants, friends and mob associates easily numbered 40-50 quality “capable” hoodlums.
-
This “core” crew, mostly based in Greenpoint-Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, owed their allegiance to Sonny and Sonny alone!
-
It was a fact not lost on the Colombo hierarchy! First Joe Colombo, then Carmine Persico, both would come to cast a respectful but wary eye on Sonny’s suspected real “strength”!
———
The original Franzese “crew” (circa 1950-1965) consisted of most of the men listed below, close associates who LE say were formally inducted at different intervals through the years as the “books” allowed:
-
[inducted between 1951-1958]
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Joseph (Little Joey) Brancato
Dominick (Mimi) Scialo
Joseph (Jojo) Vitacco
Anthony (Tony the Gawk) Augello
Rosario (Black Sam) Nastasa
Ferdinand (Freddy Red) De Lucia
———
[inducted between 1975-1980]
-
John (Johnny Irish) Matera
Robert (Bobby Green) Falvo
Carmine (Tutti) Franzese
Michael Franzese
———
[inducted between 1990-2005]
-
Frank (Frankie Camp) Campione
Michael Catapano
Vincent (Big Lou) Russo

Note: [there were additional soldiers assigned to his crew from time to time by the administration, that list is not included. The above named men were his “core” regime]
——————
[significant close “associates” circa 1955-1995 included]
-
Felice (Philly Cigars) Vizzari
Gennaro (Big Jerry) Galtieri
Alphonse (Big Funzi) Tarricone
Dominick Santoro
George Papageorge
Lawrence (Baccala’) Abbandando
(Charlie Monk) LNU
Albert Maione
Nicholas (Nicky Iron-Shoes) Botta
William (Red) Crabbe
Michael Franzese (Tutti’s father)
Onofrio (Nufio) Franzese
Joseph (Whitey) Florio
Nicholas Potere
Robert (Bobby Blue Eyes) Mauro
Carmine Scotti
Joseph (Joe Cousins) Fiore
John (Johnny Tarzan) Lusterino
Ralph (Ronnie) Esposito
Lazzaro (Larry) Sangiovanni
Anthony (Tony C) Carrozza
Lawrence Carrozza
Frederick (Fat Freddy) DeGregorio
John (Johnny V) Vanasco
Dominic Famulari
Anthony (Flemmo) Famulari
Louis (Louie the Mole) Morra
Anthony Polisi
Louis (Lou Curry) Arcuri
Lawrence Messina
Samuel Galasso
Frank Giampoli
Joseph (Joe D) DiGorga
___
Note: [this list is far from complete, but reflects most of the important members and significant criminal associates of the last sixty-plus years.....there were dozens and dozens of additional less important associates I didn’t include]

Note: [over the decades 99% of his most trusted men passed away. He was basically left with no core crew. As he aged, it forced him to accept strangers and untested men into his inner circle, thereby allowing “rats” such as Guy Fatato and others to get “close” and set him up]
———-
In 1953, Jojo Vitacco and others (Papageorge, Arcuri among them) were arrested several times that year for several truck hijackings and robbery of a wholesale Manhattan furrier. It was thought that as key crew members, Sonny was behind the ring.

They were all convicted and jailed.
———-
In 1955, Vitacco is investigated and hauled in for the suspected double-murder of two gangland hijacking figures found hacked apart and shot in a car parked on a Lower East Side street. As Vitacco’s capo, Sonny was suspected of ordering the hits!
-
The charges were dismissed.
———
In 1962, Sonny, Frank Giampoli and several others are picked up for the extortion and systematic shakedown of beauty parlors using a beauty & barber labor-union as a “whip” throughout the Queens area (Flushing, Jackson Heights and Forest Hills). His minion’s were accused of releasing mice and swarms of bees into the beauty shops, scaring away all the screaming women customers to coerce shops owners to pay him weekly protection money.
-
The charges were dismissed
———-
In 1964, he and several pals (Papageorge, Falvo, Santoro, Charlie Monk among others) were investigated for their “push” into various nightclubs and restaurants throughout Queens and Nassau. Suspected of shakedowns, extortion and obtaining hidden ownership of multiple establishments over the years.
-
Although a grand jury was empaneled, LE fails to make a solid case. No formal charges are ever brought.
———-
In 1964, he and several of his men (Matera, Crabbe, Florio among others) were arrested, indicted and went to trial for the gangland execution of underworld hit man turned informer, Ernest (Ernie the Hawk) Rupolo.

After mysteriously disappearing, Rupolo’s body washed ashore on Jamaica Bay...... it was a text-book gangland rubout!

An autopsy revealed that he had been repeatedly shot, stabbed and gutted. His body wrapped in heavy motorcycle chains and attached to heavy cement-blocks at the ankles, and dropped into the bay. Despite his stomach and lungs having been ripped open so he wouldn’t float, his body washed ashore anyway.

After a highly publicized trial, Sonny and company were all acquitted!

Note: [years earlier, Rupolo had testified against Vito Genovese for a murder. Some say that Sonny had a special extra-incentive to kill Rupolo as a favor to his idol and hero Vito. And that he architected the murder with an “artistic mob flair” toward perfection since Vito - who died in 1969 - was watching admirably!]
————
In 1965, he, Matera and several others were again indicted for the home-invasion robbery of a jukebox machine executive on Nassau’s South Shore. Money, jewelry and other valuables were taken.

They were all acquitted at trial.
————
Also in 1965, he and soldier Nastasa were arrested with others by Manhattan D.A. Morgantheu on gambling charges for taking an extortionate cut of a $100,000. a week Manhattan bookmaking operation.
————
In 1966, Franzese was suspected of being a behind the scenes conspirator after his bodyguard-driver John Matera, of (96 Elizabeth Street, Manhattan “Little Italy”) was among five hoods arrested (including Galtieri and Tarricone) for the spectacular and brazen armed robbery of safe-deposit boxes at the plush Harbor Island Spa Hotel - in Miami.

Over $2,000,000. in jewels and money were heisted..... none of which was ever recovered!

Matera and Galtieri would ultimately be convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in Florida.
————
In 1966, Matera, Crabbe and associate Pasquale Pasqua also were tried and convicted in the robbery of $125,000. in rare coins from a Madison Avenue coin dealer. Franzese of course was reputed to have been their behind the scenes coordinator.

Matera got 5-10 yrs, Crabbe 15-20 yrs, Pasqua 10-15 yrs in state prison.
————
In 1966, Franzese and company (Matera, Crabbe, Florio and Potere) were again indicted, this time the FBI seized them for allegedly operating an complex multi-state bank robbery ring, that had “cased” and robbed a series of banks in various states such as New York, Utah, Massachusetts, etc.
-
Sonny was specifically charged with multiple counts of bank robbery conspiracy....... but this time around things would be different!

Note: [the entire complexity of the case would be too voluminous to explain here, but THIS case was his downfall! And I can safely say that indeed Sonny was completely “framed” by J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI, federal prosecutors, and the courts! The bottom line was that he was getting way too big for his own good. LE as well as some in the mob wanted him out of the way. J. Edgar Hoover was embarrassed, ordering his agents to “get Franzese” at any cost!..... and they did!]
-
Subsequently in 1967, Sonny was tried and convicted by a “Kangaroo Court” and sentenced to fifty (50) years in federal prison by judge Jacob Mishler.

After serving 9 years he was able to make parole in late 1978, with the other 41 years dangling over his head like a guillotine. Originally sentenced to two-25 year “bits” running wild, under the old law and special stipulations in it, Franzese was eligible for parole.
———-
Side Note: [After being paroled, by 1983, Sonny and company had infiltrated the wholesale gasoline business on LI, becoming partners with con-man Larry Iorizzo, (and although Sonny would violate parole) his disciples, with son Michael leading, would go on to dominate the multi-million dollar “gasoline tax-bootlegging” racket under Sonny’s auspices...... but that’s a story for another day! ]
———-
Not to belabor the minutia, Since 1978, Sonny has violated his parole six times by my count. Anybody else typically would either have not been violated or served no more than three to nine months tops for “technical violations” which is all he’d ever been charged with..... typically meeting with others who had a criminal record - a minor violation.

But because of his notoriety, he nonetheless was always sentenced to no less than two years incarceration. And several times sentenced to four years and an unconscionable eight years at a time..... Not until this last arrest and violation had he ever be charged with “new criminal activity” as he has this last time around in 2008-2010.

Basically they were making Sonny do “life” on the installment plan!
———-
Only with this last big Colombo Family indictment (acting boss Tommy Gioeli and 11 other family members and associates) did Sonny face “new” criminal charges of loansharking and extortion. He was convicted at trial, receiving eight years that at age 93 nobody, LE or the street, thought he would survive!
-
But whether it was a fabulous “gene” pool he drew from, all those vitamins he took religiously over the decades, his weekly handball, racketball and jogging he was so slavishly devoted to, or probably a combination of all the above, coupled with an uncanny mental stamina..... Mr. John (Sonny) Franzese served his full sentence, emerging from prison aided by a walker and wheelchair at the historic, very ripe old age of 100 years old!
-
Sonny made front page news in every newspaper across the country! Touted as “the oldest prisoner in the federal prison system”...... if it wasn’t so tragic, it would have been funny!
-
You have to laugh and certainly give him credit for literally outliving all the local and federal agents,
prosecutors, trial judges and parole officers who hounded him practically his entire life! .....
-
At the “golden” age of 102 years old, (and I might add) with ALL his marbles and still sharp as a tack, Sonny is the living embodiment of all that “The Life” is, or ever was supposed to be!

Note: [Sonny has also endured the embarrassment, shame and ridicule of having both his sons go “bad” - becoming informants for the FBI. Yet, his reputation has stood
the test of time.....he is revered!]
———
One of the highest compliments that one mafioso could ever bestow upon another mafioso was to say that he was a “hoodlums hoodlum”! .....

THAT is who Sonny was and is! ..... a complete hoodlum and mafioso to his very core! ..... till the end!
————
Buona Salute Sonny!.........

One last note, and a bit of levity at that. We Italians often use a phrase when toasting of “Cento Anno” which literally means “One Hundred Years of good health”!
-
If you should ever have the good fortune to be in his company, remember to always toast “Cento Anno e Dieci” or “One Hundred and Ten Years of good health” ..... otherwise you just may get knocked dead! LOL
__________
————-
Footnote:
There were hundreds of pages more I could write on his life’s exploits, but it would take a Herculean effort to encapsulate all his life story. I tried my best to shrink it to fit this narrative...... if all enjoy, maybe I’ll attempt to tackle more at some later date......... I welcome your thoughts.
———————————————————————————————————-

[maxiestern11]

VINCENZO (VINNY) ALOI - born 1933, in Brooklyn, NY. Raised in the Ozone Park section of Queens (117th Avenue). After getting married, he relocated and has resided for years, since appx 1964, at (6 Maurice Lane), Suffern, NY, in the Town of Ramapo.
-
Has a winter home in Delray Beach, Florida, where he is currently said to spend most of his time.
——
FBI #5034958, NYPD #B-487654.
——
Activities: garment racketeering,
shylocking, stock fraud, extortion, gambling.
——
The son of old-time Profaci “capo di decina” Sebastiano (Buster) Aloi. Aloi also has several younger brothers who followed he and his dad into “the life”, Benedetto (Benny) and Sebastian Jr., both listed as inducted members of the Colombo Family (former Profaci).
——-
By the late-1950’s, Vinny Aloi had been identified as a “soldier” in the family serving under his father. By the early-mid 1960’s the FBI (and several CI’s) had named him as a newly selected “captain” and very close associate of newly named Family Boss Joseph Colombo.
-
Aloi would go on to serve the borgata as a top capo and its “acting boss” after the shooting of Colombo in 1971, in tandem with Tommy Di Bella before Persico took over in the late 1970’s, and again during the turmoil of the third Colombo-Orena War of the early 1990’s.
-
For the next forty years, Aloi would serve “on and off” many times in various “administration” positions during the near constant turmoil of this family. An although reluctant because of his preference for the “shadows”, nonetheless became a de-facto “consigliere” providing advise as the family needed through the years!
-
Note: [it’s widely known in the mob, that Aloi is arguably the savviest member in the family, and one of the most knowledgeable mafiosi as far as “the rules go”. He knows proper Mafia decorum probably better than any other member (with the possible exception of Sonny)......Bustiano taught him very well!]
——-
Aloi is business conscience, and legitimate businesses have always been a priority to him. He had invested over the years in:
-
Pixie Girls Coat Co., of 1333 Broadway, Manhattan - (listed as a salesman in 1957)..... started by his dad
-
Cameo Flower Shop, Inc., of
149-03 Jamaica Avenue, Queens. -(manager-vice president earning $12,000. year as of 1964)
——
Garment District:
-
Capitalizing on his father’s original financial interests in the garment district, Vinny bought, developed and over the years expanded several garment trucking firms originally based in NYC, until later expanding into New Jersey where he bought a complex of buildings and land from which he today bases a huge garment trucking and storage warehousing complex (his kids - Robert, Vincent, Sebastian and their sister are now in business with their dad).

It has become a valuable multi-million dollar concern. Utilizing his power as a “caporegime” and highly respected mafioso, he leveraged his influence to manipulate the ILGWU (International Ladies Garment Workers Union) and other rag-trade industry related unions to insure a steady series of dress factory accounts to keep his trucks rolling and his warehouse full.

His influence also helped to keep his companies “non-union” or with “sweetheart” contracts, thereby giving the Aloi’s the “edge” in business!
——-
In 1968, Vinny was one of six top Mafia leaders arrested during a crime “confab” (a suspected mini-commission meeting) in midtown Manhattan at the “House of Chan” Chinese Restaurant.

They were all charged with loitering, as part of a harassment campaign against the mob!

Also picked by detectives was Carlo Gambino, Joseph Colombo and Angelo Bruno - three Family bosses, and three top capos; Aloi, Thomas Masotto and John Simone.

The charges were later dismissed!
———
In 1970, Aloi was one of 16 top mafiosi indicted in a complex 72 count charge for an initial $300,000. securities fraud manipulation of the stock in a New Jersey car rental business - “At Your Service Leasing”. Fraudster and con-man Michael Hellerman had been the point-man in the scheme, later turning informant testifying against the likes of John (Johnny Dio) Dioguardi, Carmine Tramunti, John Savino, Sebastiano (Buster) Aloi, Pasquale (Checko Brown) Fusco, Ralph Lombardo and Vinny (The Sicilian) Gugliaro in addition to Aloi and several others.

This was a multi-pronged fraud which also included the strong-arm takeover of a Miami stock investments firm used to defraud the public of several-million dollars by selling other additional worthless stocks among the conspirators to pump-up the value, that were then dumped on the public for massive profits.
-
In 1973, on a split verdict, five were acquitted, the rest were convicted after a jury trial. Aloi received a stiff 9 years in federal prison.

Dioguardi, Lombardo and Savino were jailed for 10, 5 and 2.5 years respectively.
———
In 1973, Aloi, as “acting head” of the Family at the time, was convicted of perjury after a jury trial. He had been accused of lying about being present at a Nyack apartment to plan the killing of Joey Gallo.

He received a 7 year jail term to run (consecutively) to the 9 year term he got for the stock fraud, for a total of 16 years!

He was paroled in 1985.
———
In 1991, the New Jersey Commission of Investigation during hearings named Aloi as a top garment industry racketeer. He is said to hold ownership or control the following entities:
-
TSI-City Carriers Corp.
Via Motor Service (VMS)

.... trucking firms
—-
Master Truckmen of America (MTA)
-
Greater Blouse, Skirt and Undergarment Assn.

..... industry associations
—-
Local #102 - ILGWU

........ a key industry union. And through these entities has ironclad control of a good segment of the garment industry.
————-
Today Vinny Aloi is semi-retired at 86 years old, and a very wealthy man!
-
His garment industry related maze of companies boasts a multi-million dollar revenue. Among his holdings are a huge apparel trucking company and related warehousing, dress factories and supply houses.
-
He owns numerous properties and buildings in New York, New Jersey and Florida.
-
His family has holdings and hidden interests in several additional businesses...... after several active generations in “the life”, he has made sure to provide a legitimate life for his children and his children’s children!
-
As an original mafioso who was at the very foundation and formation of the American Cosa Nostra, his dad Bustiano Aloi had laid the groundwork for his sons to thrive in the Mafia. It’s all Buster ever knew! And thrive they have!
-
But Vinny made sure to capitalize on his “button” and vast underworld acumen to elevate his children to another level of success!
-
That of legitimate businessmen!
-
Today, although very much revered and respected in Cosa Nostra, and with still a ton of “juice” so to speak, he sits back and enjoys watching his sons and grandchildren at the helm of the Aloi family business empire!
-
He is a very proud man!
-
And I’m sure Bustiano is smiling!

[from up above I’d like to think!] LOL
———————————————————————————————————-

[maxiestern11]

WILLIAM (BILLY) RICCHIUTI - born 1925 in NYC. Resided in Plainview (99 Round Tree Drive), in Nassau County for many years.
——
Activities: mail-cargo thefts, narcotics, gambling.
——
Billy Ricchiuti started out as a short-order cook at a Westbury diner. He later owned an area coffee shop.
——
Associates: during the 1960’s, he initially befriended several Nassau mob figures who frequented his diner. These included associates of the Franzese regime:
-
John (Sonny) Franzese
Robert (Bobby Blue Eyes) Mauro
Louis (Lou Curry) Arcuri
Ralph (The Beak) Jacobson
Robert (Bobby Green) Falvo
John Malizia
George Papageorge
Dominick Santoro
....... but eventually gravitated to several Brooklyn based members.
——
He had a terrible habit as a lifelong degenerate gambler, who doubled as a small-time bookie.
-
Somewhere along the line, to make ends meet or to pay his own gambling debts, he became involved in thefts. It soon graduated to larger scores, and he soon became acquainted with several larcenous young men who worked as baggage handlers at JFK airport in Jamaica, Queens. The year was 1967!
-
He soon tied up with them and started robbing from the airport. They would eventually start snatching U.S. Postal mail bags.
-
Inside these pouches were often a treasure trove of valuables.
-
Gold, jewelry, diamonds, negotiable stocks, bonds and securities, stacks of blank credit-cards, furs, etc..... it was almost too easy to steal, and too good to be true!
-
This went on for several years, enabling the robbery gang to steal over a whopping $100-million in assets.

Note: [aside from cash taken, Ricchiuti was the gang’s main conduit to mafia “fences” to dispose of other goods] l
-
By 1971, the shit started to hit the fan! A gang member was caught on a mail theft; indicted, convicted and jailed. Robert F. Cudak started spilling his guts on the gang. The others had also been previously caught and jailed for similar mail thefts.
-
Senate Hearings were convened in Washington by Senator McClellan about this plague of massive airport thefts across the country.

Brought hooded and under heavy police guard before the Senate panel, he testified under a grant of immunity to all he knew and implicated his two main confederates who had been previously jailed on other charges.
-
Soon, those two (Ricchiuti and James V. Schaefer) were also subpoenaed to testify. Schaefer (29) immediately agreed to also testify if granted immunity from prosecution, and confessed, implicating Ricchiuti as well.
-
But when Ricchiuti (46) was brought before the panel, he chain‐smoked and cited the Fifth Amendment 88 times in refusing to answer questions about the syndicate.
Both witnesses, who were serving terms for mail theft, had been identified by Cudak as the men who started him on a four‐year career as a mail thief who stole more than $100‐million in Jewels, furs, stocks and‐other valuables from 17 major airports across the country.
-
First Under A New Law!

Cudak, who testified before the subcommittee for several hours secretly and in public, was the first Congressional witness ever to be granted immunity under a provision of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970.
Ricchiuti monotonously recited his constitutional protection against self‐incrimination in response to questions about his skill at playing gin rummy, whether he even knew he existed, and about Cudak's allegation that he had “very good connections with the principal mob‐people in New York and New Jersey.”
-
During his 45 minutes under questioning, Ricchiuti refused to say a word about his suspected links with the underworld “family” of Joseph Colombo of Brooklyn.
-
Note: [Billy’s alleged principal “fences” and contacts within the Colombo Family were Gregory Scarpa, Hy Sands, Frank and Cosmo “Gus” Cangiano]
————
After serving his federal prison term, Ricchiuti returned to his Plainview home and got readjusted to life outside prison walls.

But times had changed! Many of the mob guys he knew were not around or had gotten jailed themselves.

He no longer had his “theft crew” to make the big scores he had become accustomed to!

The only thing that had stayed the same..... the one constant in his life.... was his gambling affliction! But only now he had no way to afford it!
-
It was the late 1970’s-early 1980’s and drugs were more popular than ever.
-
He soon dove head first into pushing large amounts of marijuana! I mean bales and bales of marijuana! Hundreds of pounds at a time!
-
He also employed his children who had become young adults by this time. The Ricchiuti Family soon became a “Crime Family” in the most literal sense of the word!

All his kids were involved...his three boys and daughter too!

Operating directly from their own home, used as their base.....week after week, month after month, for years they moved massive amounts of weed!
-
Before long he also started dabbling in the heroin trade. It was just way too lucrative to pass up. Within a short time he was moving several kilo loads of “junk” at a time.
-
Despite losing his mail-theft racket which had been a “golden goose” for him, Billy seemed to have bounced back financially quite nicely!
-
He was making tons of cash (it’s almost scary to think of how much he was earning). The problem was of course, that every single penny he schemed, he’d blow immediately at the racetrack, a football game, dice game or casino!

During those years, from the airport rackets and narcotics trafficking, he had made millions! Yet he didn’t have two cents to rub together!
-
Constantly broke despite rolling in the dough, he was like a mouse on a wheel, constantly running as fast as he could to keep the ball rolling!
-
Then one day, it all came crashing down!
-
Nassau County Narcotics Squad, the DEA, the FBI, NYPD Narcotics Division....... first they raided his home and arrested every single member of his family!

He, his wife, and all his children! Charged with operating a major marijuana trafficking ring.

They were tried and convicted, and he and most of his boys went to jail!..... but as this case was being handled, Billy was again indicted.

But this time around, it was for the sale of several kilo’s of heroin! The feds had infiltrated his distribution network and had him dead to rights with direct sales.

He was again tried and convicted.
But as a three-time loser, ex-convict and multiple felon, he received a life term!
———-
Billy Ricchiuti stood up like a man! He was shipped off to Terre Haute, Indiana. One of the toughest joints in the nation to serve his time.

I do not remember when he died. But it was at Terre Haute I believe that he passed away.
-
In his lifetime, this man stole, schemed and earned many millions. He should have been a millionaire and quit while he was ahead! But that gambling “bug” had bit him very hard as a young man. It had become a lifelong albatross and impediment to a happy life... for him and more importantly, his wife and family!
-
This is just another mob tale!
—————————————————-——————————————————

[maxiestern11]

I found his BOP record (his last name is actually spelt with two T’s :
—————-
Name: WILLIAM E RICCHIUTTI
Register Number: 02859-068
Age: 74
Race: White
Sex: Male
Deceased: 10/15/1999

[maxiestern11]

CASSANDROS (TONY THE CHIEF) BONASERA - born 1897, Vallelunga, Sicily. Immigrated 1906. Resided and operated all his life from his Brooklyn (1117 83rd Street), Bensonhurst neighborhood.
-
Also known to frequent the Upstate New York Buffalo area.
—————-
FBI # 191363, NYCPD # B-57901.
-
Aka: Anthony Bonasera, Tony Bonasera.
—————-
Bonasera was an original. A old-line veteran mafioso to his core! Among
the first wave of members of “The Honored Society” to hit the shores of America, he plied his stock in trade well!
-
This feared, devout hoodlum and “black hand” style mob terrorist, for the most part, held key sections of Brooklyn under his rule!
-
Well known for his mayhem and terror tactics, few would come to challenge him. He and Oddo early on began dominating his neighborhood, extracting protection payments from local shopkeepers
as was done back in his homeland of Sicily!
—————-
Criminal Activities:
-
Extortion and Shakedowns
Loansharking
Policy (Italian lottery)
Dice-Card Games
Strong-Arm Enforcement (murder)
Garment Rackets
Dock-Pier Thefts
Receiving-Fencing Stolen Goods
—————-
“Tony the Chief” was one of the most notorious public enemies of his day.
-
For the most part operating in Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan, but also going back and forth to Buffalo because of family relations-connections to the notorious DiCarlo Family - Mafia leaders of that city. (Tony married into their family).
—————
Bonasera, became best friends with lifelong partner Giovanni (Johnny Bath Beach) Oddo, another notorious mafioso of the first order in the Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge and Bath Beach sections of Brooklyn (hence his nickname).
-
This duo would become known as among the most feared of Joe Profaci’s earliest “enforcers” and section leaders. Over the years the two would be suspects in numerous gangland killings.
—————
In 1939, both were picked up in a highly publicized arrest for operating a wide-ranging loan-shark and extortion racket in that section of Kings County.
-
Named as leaders of a five-man shylock ring that terrorized and shook-down loan victims, squeezing every penny from them as you would squeeze an orange of all its juice!
-
They charged from 3% to a whopping 10% interest weekly and regularly dished out threats, beatings and worse if payment was not paid timely.
-
In one of the most invasive police investigations of the era, this “Loan Shark” operation was broken with their indictment. Bonasera and Oddo being named the underworld kingpins, who along with their henchmen; Frank (Bo Peep) Tummello, Freddy Amerosa, and Joseph (Joe Beck) Beckowski were named in a secret indictment handed down, that triggered an eight-state alarm for them after they eluded capture.
-
Authorities layed out the details of the charges. Ten counts of extortion and attempted extortion, felonious assaults, and coercion in regard to a long term usury operation that beat, intimidated and actually forced loans victims to flee and hide out while their friends and family tried to negotiate agreeable payoff schedules with the mobsters. After several weeks missing, Oddo returned from a Florida vacation only to be arrested by detectives and placed under a whopping $100,000. bail (a huge amount in 1939). Oddo was immediately sent to The Tombs to await bond. Bonasera (the undisputed kingpin) stayed “on the lam”.
-
At the time, Oddo had 15 arrests (2 for murder) but no convictions, Bonasera had 26 arrests (3 for murder), and three convictions but only for misdemeanors.
-
Ultimately the charges would all be reduced and all defendents would plead out to various misdemeanors, none serving prison time.
-
Note: [this was way before the Rico conspiracy laws. Guys like Bonasera had a party!]
—————-
Originally considered henchmen of former mob boss Francesco (Frankie Yale) Ioele before his death by gunman of Al Capone. Over the years both would be questioned about his murder, as well as, that of Giuseppe (Joe the Boss) Masseria, Giovanni Bazzano, Antonio Colombo and a slew of others.
——————
The Chief was also among the prime suspects in 1938 for a double homicide of two victims, a man and woman, found strangled and left in an automobile right on a Brooklyn street.
-
The male corpse turned out to be Antonio (Nino) Colombo, himself a well-known Profaci soldier and the father of a little boy who would one day rise to lead that Family, Joseph Colombo.
-
Other suspects included Sally (The Sheik) Mussachio and Oddo.
-
Reasoning behind the hits was infidelity. As an inducted soldier he was forbidden from “fooling around”
with another street guys wife. He broke that steadfast rule. The young very attractive woman sitting next to him was alleged to be the wife of another “friend”........ so that was that.....she went too!
——————-
Bonasera boasted an immense criminal history, recording appx thirty arrests since 1916 for:
-
Robbery (3 times)
Armed robbery (twice)
Attempted extortion and assault (twice)
Conspiracy
Disorderly conduct (4 times)
Homicide (3 times)
Petty larceny (3 times - 1 indefinite term)
Assault (twice) - (60 days)
Burglary (4 times)
Felonious assault
Impersonating a policeman (9 months-workhouse)
Possessing a gun
Attempted extortion and conspiracy
Vagrancy (twice)

Note: [as you can view from his record, he paid little penalty during his “career”...... which only added to his bravado]
——————-
Legitimate Interests included:
-
Sarah-Lee Dress Co., of Brooklyn (a sub-contracting firm), co-owned it for many years.
-
J.L.A. Textile Printing Co., in the Bronx (another garment related firm)
——————-
He had a long list of associates, many of whom were the top racketeers of their time;
-
Giuseppe (Joe) Profaci
Giuseppe (Joe Malyoke) Magliocco
Salvatore (The Sheik) Mussachio
Giuseppe (The Clutch Hand) Peraino
Michael (The Sweetheart) Abbatemarco
Giovanni (Johnny Bath Beach) Oddo
Frank (Bo Peep) Tummello
Alfredo (Freddy) Amorosa
Joseph (Joe Beck) Beckowski
Giuseppe (Joe the Wolf) DiCarlo
Paolo Palmieri
Francesco (Frankie Yale) Ioele
Angelo Ioele
Salvatore (Lucky) Lucania
Giuseppe (Joe Adonis) Doto
Giuseppe (Joe Shep) Schipani
Anthony (Tony Gobels) Ricci
-
Note: [liked to frequent a Genovese hangout; the Casa Bianca Restaurant - owned by Doto and Schipani, and the Knock Knock Inn, both in Brooklyn, seemed close to that Family also]
—————-
By the early to mid-1960’s, The Chief was slowing down. Many of the old timers had passed away or were beginning inactive. He chose to do the same, slowly fading from the mob scene.
———
Cassandros “Tony the Chief” Bonasera died in 1972 at 75 years old.
—————————————————-——————————————————

[AlexfromSouth]

Knock knock in was on the corner of 18th ave and 85th st in Brooklyn. Where was Casa Bianca rest?

[maxiestern11]

Knock knock in was on the corner of 18th ave and 85th st in Brooklyn. Where was Casa Bianca rest?

I’m not sure but Joe Adonis supposedly first owned it, or Joe Shep had bought a hidden interest in it. In fact, “possibly” Joe Shep had a tax evasion beef for this hidden ownership. I do know Shep had 2 tax pinches.
-
Shep was also alleged partners with Joe Adonis’ brother Tony in a LI restaurant in the 60’s. Maybe Rockville center, again I’m not certain of the locale