Testimony of Dominick Cicale notes (2006 Basciano trial)

[antimafia]

what book is this?

Cosa Nostra News: The Cicale Files, Vol. 1: Inside the Last Great Mafia Empire.

[johnny_scootch]

Certainly possible. I had a look at Cicale's ancestry and found his paternal grandmother was from Naples and her maiden name was Ronga. I don't know how common a surname that is but I know Frank Nitti's father-in-law was a Ronga. Wasn't able to make a connection to the Cicale family Rongas though

I remember there was a Ralph Ronga mentioned in the Gravano book Underboss. He had died and Shorty Spero’s brother started a rumor Sammy was fucking her or trying to. It’s one of the reasons Sammy got transferred to Toddo’s crew.

[PolackTony]

was this Thomas Lee Asian?

He testified he was Italian American

Wonder if there's a document giving his Italian family's name. Maybe Leo or DeLeo would be my first guess.

Certainly possible. I had a look at Cicale's ancestry and found his paternal grandmother was from Naples and her maiden name was Ronga. I don't know how common a surname that is but I know Frank Nitti's father-in-law was a Ronga. Wasn't able to make a connection to the Cicale family Rongas though

If you’re interested, Frank Nitto’s father-in-law was Dr Gaetano Ronga, a physician from Nola (today in Napoli but in the past in Terra di Lavoro province), which was the capital of the district that that the Genovese, Boiardo, and Eboli families came from. Ronga was the personal physician and friend of Chicago boss Tony D’Andrea and a member of the “Consiglio Supremo” of the Unione Siciliana (despite not being Sicilian) when D’Andrea was President.

I haven’t looked into Cicale’s ancestry myself. Do you know where exactly his Ronga side was from? The surname is relatively common in Campania so there may be no connection.

[Guest]

The lawer Lee must have been a real moron. Throw your life away over sending messages. I would have told them no. What did Vinny gorgeous have on him to get him to do it in the first place. Was his only crime passing the messages or he get caught for $$$

He went back to being a lawyer in NY

[Pmac2]

Cicale was inducted for less then 2 yrs according to my math. He gets made end of 2003 flips in 05. I guess he was close to Vinny for that 1 yr

[PolackTony]

“Vinny Blimpie”? Excuse my ignorance, but did Basciano own a Blimpie’s location too?

[chin_gigante]

“Vinny Blimpie”? Excuse my ignorance, but did Basciano own a Blimpie’s location too?

Yeah, he owned a Blinpie franchise in the past.

In response to your other question about Cicale and the Rongas, I think I have the location written down somewhere, I can find it tomorrow.

[PolackTony]

“Vinny Blimpie”? Excuse my ignorance, but did Basciano own a Blimpie’s location too?

Yeah, he owned a Blinpie franchise in the past.

In response to your other question about Cicale and the Rongas, I think I have the location written down somewhere, I can find it tomorrow.

I’m interested in the Blimpie’s location too, lol. There’s hardly any of them left now.

On that note, here’s the former Hello Gorgeous salon on Tremont. I believe that a relative of either Vinny or Angela owns it today, though I’m not 100% sure.

[chin_gigante]

Cicale was inducted for less then 2 yrs according to my math. He gets made end of 2003 flips in 05. I guess he was close to Vinny for that 1 yr

Released from prison 1999, on record with Basciano 2000. Saw Basciano about 10-15 times between 1999 and the Frank Santoro murder in Feb 2001. Moves back to the Bronx March 2001 and starts seeing Basciano every day. Gets proposed by Basciano but knocked down because of the five-year moratorium on guys with drug convictions. Inducted early August 2003 and promoted to acting captain by December 2003. Elevated to official captain sometime in 2004. 'Unofficially' elevated to the acting administration in November 2004, organises the Randy Pizzolo murder Nov 2004. Arrested Jan 2005, flipped Jan 2006.

Spent a year and five months on the street after being straightened out.

[dave]

There's a Peter Cicale credited in the cast of Goodfellas playing Pete the Killer Abinanti. Might have been Cicale's uncle.

Yep, he is Dominick's uncle. Dom just talked about it at the start of his interview with OC Shortz (00:39)
https://youtu.be/TZMB3OiuR4E

[Guest]

Interesting that a joker poker machine in one of Vinny's social clubs was pulling in $15k / month (??) and one that Cicale had set in up in a bar with probably a larger range of actual customers made him $3k over the course of two years. I wonder if was a 'social club' in the sense that it was non-descript and private, but people went there specifically to hang out and gamble, and it wasn't a "mob" social club

[B.]

Excellent posts. Thank you.

Since Rudy Pipolo of the Gambinos was in the Bronx I'm curious if Cicale's cousins were related to him.

[B.]

With Joe Marsala, he started as an associate of Vinny Asaro. Marsala ran a gas station and gave Asaro free gas but Marsala later decided to ask Asaro for payment. Asaro became unhinged and Marsala sought protection from Sal Vitale and Joe Massino, who was on the lam. Vitale carried a message from Massino to Asaro to lay off Marsala but Asaro flew into a rage because Vitale was still only an associate. Vitale went to Rastelli who sent him back to Asaro to tell him Vitale was authorized by Rastelli to carry the message. Marsala ended up being released to Massino as a result.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Spent a year and five months on the street after being straightened out.

And gets the word Barney's a front and gets introduced to, da reel (he's a rapper now), Westside official.

That's a full 17 months.

[chin_gigante]

I’m interested in the Blimpie’s location too, lol. There’s hardly any of them left now.

The most in-depth information about Basciano's Blimpie franchise I could find was from Anthony DeStefano's book Vinny Gorgeous:

At the end of 1988 or early 1989, not long after state police interviewed him about the Colangelo case, Bascaino, released from his work-release program on the gun charge, went back home to his wife Angela, and their three sons in the Bronx - their youngest son, Michael, not yet born. Parole officials, state records show, were impressed with the 'excellent support base' Basciano had at home, meaning his wife and children. He also had two video rental outlets to which he returned for work, and he was preparing a Blimpie sandwich franchise store nearby as another venture in his business empire on East Tremont Avenue.
The Blimpie operation was little more than another food joint in an ethnic Italian and Hispanic neighbourhood. Basciano worked behind the counter himself, slicing the provolone and salami and serving customers. The neighbourhood liked that kind of service from an owner, and Basciano's chattiness endeared him to customers. When business was slow in the sandwich store, he could always go next door to the video store.
Unable to compete against bigger video chain stores, Basciano began transitioning his businesses soon after he left state custody. Records show that in November 1991 he incorporated Tremont Nail & Tanning Salon, Inc, which he ultimately named Hello Gorgeous, on East Tremont. With both Vinny and Angela on the premises, Hello Gorgeous did well for a while. Nicknames don't always stick, and his businesses sometimes provided him with new ones. Vinny from the Bronx had become 'Vinny Blimpie', and now the salon inspired his latest moniker, the one that stuck: 'Vinny Gorgeous.'

I also checked my notes on Cicale's ancestry. His connection to the Rongas comes from his paternal grandmother. As far as I've been able to figure out, her parents were from Sant'Antimo in Naples.