Vic Amuso is not as bad as he is portrayed to be

[Little_Al1991]

The narrative surrounding Amuso is that he was “manipulated” by Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso and that he was a weak boss.This couldn’t be further from the truth, constantly I see Amuso being played down by informants but Vic Amuso has been the boss of the Lucchese Family since 1986…He certainly isn’t weak and he wasn’t manipulated by Gaspipe.

There’s also so much more about Vic’s story that we still do not know, ranging from his time in the Gallo crew to actually how he became the boss.Gaspipe claims that Christopher “Christie Tick” Furnari, who mentored Vic and Gas, actually asked Gaspipe to take over the 19th hole crew as Capo because Furnari was promoted to Consigliere.Gas says that he told Furnari to give it to Casso instead and Casso goes on to say the same thing when it came down to being the boss of the Lucchese Family but i just don’t believe it.

After Amuso became boss, he actually promoted Casso to Capo but I thought he didn’t want the position originally when Furnari offered it to him? He also ended up being promoted to the Consigliere position by Amuso and the Underboss position to by Vic but Vic shelved him in 1994 and completely stripped him of his position.Vic Amuso has also had total control over the Lucchese Family for decades now…Also, a lot of people think that as soon as Amuso went to the top, that Gaspipe came straight with him but actually when Amuso first became boss he had Ettore “Eddie” Coco and Mariano “Mac” Macaluso with him at first in the administration positions.Vic is the one who actually promoted Gaspipe.

Here’s a story from John Pennisi about Amuso’s son in law Joseph “Little Joey” DiBenedetto, John said that Joey told him that if he wanted to he could become a Capo in Queens and all it would take is for him to visit his father in law, Vic Amuso and then Vic would immediately put word out onto the street that he wanted Joey as a Capo and then it would be done.He also promoted Michael DeSantis to the Acting Boss position in 2017.Vic’s reputation on the street is still well respected according to John Pennisi who also said people really respected the way Amuso conducted himself as boss.

I’ve heard some people call Amuso a gentleman, one of the last old school bosses and based of the facts, i do actually believe this.We don’t really know much about Vic still, the informants (especially Casso) make him seem weak and just bad overall but there’s a lot to him in my opinion.The facts are that Amuso’s still the boss and people still love him today on the street.He’s got guys who are still loyal to him today and there’s a reason for that.

[Etna]

Joey also had personal issue with his father-in-law, Vic. So, I'm not sure that would have been the case. Joey never went to Vic to ask for anyone to be Capo. It wasn't really "all they had to do." That was not do-able.

[Little_Al1991]

Joey also had personal issue with his father-in-law, Vic. So, I'm not sure that would have been the case. Joey never went to Vic to ask for anyone to be Capo. It wasn't really "all they had to do." That was not do-able.

According to Pennisi, that’s what Joey told him.He told him he could go and visit then it would immediately happen.I know that Joey and Vic fell out.Joey hasn’t visited Vic for over a decade now but judging by that story from Pennisi, I’m sure Vic would be willing to put their issues behind them if Joey visited him

[Etna]

Joey also had personal issue with his father-in-law, Vic. So, I'm not sure that would have been the case. Joey never went to Vic to ask for anyone to be Capo. It wasn't really "all they had to do." That was not do-able.

According to Pennisi, that’s what Joey told him.He told him he could go and visit then it would immediately happen.I know that Joey and Vic fell out.Joey hasn’t visited Vic for over a decade now but judging by that story from Pennisi, I’m sure Vic would be willing to put their issues behind them if Joey visited him

He would? Do you know Vic?

[Little_Al1991]

Joey also had personal issue with his father-in-law, Vic. So, I'm not sure that would have been the case. Joey never went to Vic to ask for anyone to be Capo. It wasn't really "all they had to do." That was not do-able.

According to Pennisi, that’s what Joey told him.He told him he could go and visit then it would immediately happen.I know that Joey and Vic fell out.Joey hasn’t visited Vic for over a decade now but judging by that story from Pennisi, I’m sure Vic would be willing to put their issues behind them if Joey visited him

He would? Do you know Vic?

“Judging by that story from Pennisi, I’m sure Vic would be willing to put their issues behind them if Joey visited him.” I said that because Joey claims that if he did visit Amuso and ask him to make him into a Capo, he would do it immediately.So that’s why I said that.

[AnIrishGuy]

The idea of Gaspipe as some kind of wise, cunning leader who passed a) becoming a Capo; and b) becoming boss mainly stems from the Phillip Carlo book. Whilst not without it's interesting points, I would classify that book as a borderline novel. He is so far up Casso's ass that it's very hard to discern fact from fiction.

As someone pointed out above, the fact that so many guys on the street still respect Amuso certainly tells us something about the calibre of the man, but we shouldn't forget that the late 80's / early 90's killing spree that he ultimately authorised (whether or not being influenced by Casso) did as much damage to LCN as the Colombo war or Gotti peacocking on Mulberry. It was short-sighted and none too bright.

[Dapper_Don]

Casso was extremely influential and in many respects could be said was the final call in the family as Vic authorized anything Casso wanted done, after they were both on the run in separate locations Vic eventually gets picked up by the feds (all intents are that Casso dropped a dime to the FBI) and Casso kept running the show thru Little Al until Amuso spent some time after being picked up, reflected on everything that happened and how things transpired, all the murders put forward by Casso so then Amuso sends a directive to the family that Casso is persona non grata and to ignore him. casso even had a planned hit on Amuso's brother, Bobby, thru Frank Lastorino (reason why Frank is shelved today according to Pennisi) and others back then, Casso had no qualms about anything.

[Little_Al1991]

The idea of Gaspipe as some kind of wise, cunning leader who passed a) becoming a Capo; and b) becoming boss mainly stems from the Phillip Carlo book. Whilst not without it's interesting points, I would classify that book as a borderline novel. He is so far up Casso's ass that it's very hard to discern fact from fiction.

As someone pointed out above, the fact that so many guys on the street still respect Amuso certainly tells us something about the calibre of the man, but we shouldn't forget that the late 80's / early 90's killing spree that he ultimately authorised (whether or not being influenced by Casso) did as much damage to LCN as the Colombo war or Gotti peacocking on Mulberry. It was short-sighted and none too bright.

I believe that there is so much more about Vic Amuso that we still do not know about.He’s still go so much respect on the street but if you look at how he is portrayed in books and documentaries, it just doesn’t add up to the facts that he’s still the boss and that he is loved on the street.The family still respect him even after the killing spree.The fall of Amuso was the botched hit on Chiodo which led to him becoming an informant then another botched hit on Al D’Arco led to devastating consequences for the Mafia and Vic Amuso

[Little_Al1991]

Casso was extremely influential and in many respects could be said was the final call in the family as Vic authorized anything Casso wanted done, after they were both on the run in separate locations Vic eventually gets picked up by the feds (all intents are that Casso dropped a dime to the FBI) and Casso kept running the show thru Little Al until Amuso spent some time after being picked up, reflected on everything that happened and how things transpired, all the murders put forward by Casso so then Amuso sends a directive to the family that Casso is persona non grata and to ignore him. casso even had a planned hit on Amuso's brother, Bobby, thru Frank Lastorino (reason why Frank is shelved today according to Pennisi) and others back then, Casso had no qualms about anything.

Casso definitely had Vic’s ear but I don’t think what he said was the final call because whenever he wanted someone dead, he had to ask for Vic’s permission because he’s the boss.After Amuso’s arrest which was due to a tip of from Casso, a ruling panel was put in place during this time which Al D’Arco was apart of but he also was demoted from the Acting Boss position before this.Amuso doesn’t like Lastorino because of what happened, Pennisi says that Vic blames him for what happened when referring to the plot.Casso was just selfish, extremely selfish.He only cared about himself and in 1994, he proved that when he decided to become a rat but only because he just didn’t want to do the time…He should have took that 22 year plea deal

[Pmac2]

I hate what if but casso should have took that i think it was 26 which is 20 yrs about in the feds. Imagine casso would have got out in 2012 2013. He would have lived out his life on the street for a handfull of years. All those othee luchese guys who took the big numbers all lived threw the bids and alive to an free. All but 1 the guy richie who got life anyway because he didnt take a plea

[Dapper_Don]

Casso was extremely influential and in many respects could be said was the final call in the family as Vic authorized anything Casso wanted done, after they were both on the run in separate locations Vic eventually gets picked up by the feds (all intents are that Casso dropped a dime to the FBI) and Casso kept running the show thru Little Al until Amuso spent some time after being picked up, reflected on everything that happened and how things transpired, all the murders put forward by Casso so then Amuso sends a directive to the family that Casso is persona non grata and to ignore him. casso even had a planned hit on Amuso's brother, Bobby, thru Frank Lastorino (reason why Frank is shelved today according to Pennisi) and others back then, Casso had no qualms about anything.

Casso definitely had Vic’s ear but I don’t think what he said was the final call because whenever he wanted someone dead, he had to ask for Vic’s permission because he’s the boss.After Amuso’s arrest which was due to a tip of from Casso, a ruling panel was put in place during this time which Al D’Arco was apart of but he also was demoted from the Acting Boss position before this.Amuso doesn’t like Lastorino because of what happened, Pennisi says that Vic blames him for what happened when referring to the plot.Casso was just selfish, extremely selfish.He only cared about himself and in 1994, he proved that when he decided to become a rat but only because he just didn’t want to do the time…He should have took that 22 year plea deal

Pennisi himself put out videos that say Vic was basically highly influenced by Amuso while they were out on the street, guys in the family would even comment on Vic being led along the way ordering hits etc,what hits did Amuso nix that Casso wanted done? IIRC none, Casso even whacked the guy who tried to kill him and also summoned two guys from the Gambino family to witness Hydell all tied up and fess up to the hit attempt, Casso didnt ok any of this by Vic. it was ordered and done by Gaspipe. Casso was basically pulling the strings all along put by Amuso being up front he got some cover for himself, smart. D'Arco mentions in one of the documentaries that Vic was always unsure of himself, seemed like self-esteem issues allowed Casso to pull the strings. I am not taking away anything from Vic, he was definitely capable in his own right but its obvious who held the most sway in that family during that time.

[Little_Al1991]

Casso was extremely influential and in many respects could be said was the final call in the family as Vic authorized anything Casso wanted done, after they were both on the run in separate locations Vic eventually gets picked up by the feds (all intents are that Casso dropped a dime to the FBI) and Casso kept running the show thru Little Al until Amuso spent some time after being picked up, reflected on everything that happened and how things transpired, all the murders put forward by Casso so then Amuso sends a directive to the family that Casso is persona non grata and to ignore him. casso even had a planned hit on Amuso's brother, Bobby, thru Frank Lastorino (reason why Frank is shelved today according to Pennisi) and others back then, Casso had no qualms about anything.

Casso definitely had Vic’s ear but I don’t think what he said was the final call because whenever he wanted someone dead, he had to ask for Vic’s permission because he’s the boss.After Amuso’s arrest which was due to a tip of from Casso, a ruling panel was put in place during this time which Al D’Arco was apart of but he also was demoted from the Acting Boss position before this.Amuso doesn’t like Lastorino because of what happened, Pennisi says that Vic blames him for what happened when referring to the plot.Casso was just selfish, extremely selfish.He only cared about himself and in 1994, he proved that when he decided to become a rat but only because he just didn’t want to do the time…He should have took that 22 year plea deal

Pennisi himself put out videos that say Vic was basically highly influenced by Amuso while they were out on the street, guys in the family would even comment on Vic being led along the way ordering hits etc,what hits did Amuso nix that Casso wanted done? IIRC none, Casso even whacked the guy who tried to kill him and also summoned two guys from the Gambino family to witness Hydell all tied up and fess up to the hit attempt, Casso didnt ok any of this by Vic. it was ordered and done by Gaspipe. Casso was basically pulling the strings all along put by Amuso being up front he got some cover for himself, smart. D'Arco mentions in one of the documentaries that Vic was always unsure of himself, seemed like self-esteem issues allowed Casso to pull the strings. I am not taking away anything from Vic, he was definitely capable in his own right but its obvious who held the most sway in that family during that time.

Didn’t Casso get shot by Jimmy Hydell and the others in September of 1986? I think it was around that time, I don’t think Vic was the boss during that month but about 2 months later he became the boss.After Casso was shot, the first person he called was Vic.I don’t think that Casso held the most sway because Vic put Casso on the shelf and that stripped him completely of his rank.Casso couldn’t do anything about it once Vic put him on the shelf

[AnIrishGuy]

Can someone re-clarify for me exactly why Amuso shelved Casso following his own arrest? Was it solely that he suspected Casso of giving him up?

[Shellackhead]

He was planning on taking over the family before he got arrested

[Dapper_Don]

Casso was extremely influential and in many respects could be said was the final call in the family as Vic authorized anything Casso wanted done, after they were both on the run in separate locations Vic eventually gets picked up by the feds (all intents are that Casso dropped a dime to the FBI) and Casso kept running the show thru Little Al until Amuso spent some time after being picked up, reflected on everything that happened and how things transpired, all the murders put forward by Casso so then Amuso sends a directive to the family that Casso is persona non grata and to ignore him. casso even had a planned hit on Amuso's brother, Bobby, thru Frank Lastorino (reason why Frank is shelved today according to Pennisi) and others back then, Casso had no qualms about anything.

Casso definitely had Vic’s ear but I don’t think what he said was the final call because whenever he wanted someone dead, he had to ask for Vic’s permission because he’s the boss.After Amuso’s arrest which was due to a tip of from Casso, a ruling panel was put in place during this time which Al D’Arco was apart of but he also was demoted from the Acting Boss position before this.Amuso doesn’t like Lastorino because of what happened, Pennisi says that Vic blames him for what happened when referring to the plot.Casso was just selfish, extremely selfish.He only cared about himself and in 1994, he proved that when he decided to become a rat but only because he just didn’t want to do the time…He should have took that 22 year plea deal

Pennisi himself put out videos that say Vic was basically highly influenced by Amuso while they were out on the street, guys in the family would even comment on Vic being led along the way ordering hits etc,what hits did Amuso nix that Casso wanted done? IIRC none, Casso even whacked the guy who tried to kill him and also summoned two guys from the Gambino family to witness Hydell all tied up and fess up to the hit attempt, Casso didnt ok any of this by Vic. it was ordered and done by Gaspipe. Casso was basically pulling the strings all along put by Amuso being up front he got some cover for himself, smart. D'Arco mentions in one of the documentaries that Vic was always unsure of himself, seemed like self-esteem issues allowed Casso to pull the strings. I am not taking away anything from Vic, he was definitely capable in his own right but its obvious who held the most sway in that family during that time.

Didn’t Casso get shot by Jimmy Hydell and the others in September of 1986? I think it was around that time, I don’t think Vic was the boss during that month but about 2 months later he became the boss.After Casso was shot, the first person he called was Vic.I don’t think that Casso held the most sway because Vic put Casso on the shelf and that stripped him completely of his rank.Casso couldn’t do anything about it once Vic put him on the shelf

Look at informant testimony, indictments, etc and it is quite clear that Casso held the most sway in the family while he was there with Vic. Casso had Patty Testa who was close to Vic killed by Lastorino, also there was a plan to murder Amuso's brother Bobby. All of this involving Lastorino, which has led to him being on the shelf today as Pennisi discussed.