Gangland News July 20th 2023

[Dr031718]

Meet Little Robert, The New Big Man In The Colombo Crime Family
The Colombo family has chosen a well-respected but little-known wiseguy pal of late Mafia boss Andrew (Mush) Russo to lead the beleaguered borgata in the wake of the feds' blockbuster racketeering case that ended last week in 14 guilty pleas, including one by the family's reputed boss-in-waiting, Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico, Gang Land has learned.

The new acting boss, sources on both sides of the law say, is Robert (Little Robert) Donofrio, 66, a former member of the rebel faction headed by ex-acting boss Victor (Little Vic) Orena. In 1991, Donofrio switched sides and fought alongside mobsters loyal to Russo and Persico's uncle, the family's longtime imprisoned boss, Carmine (Junior) Persico, in the bloody two-year-long Colombo family war that ended in 1993.

Donofrio — he stands about 5'-6" tall — was not snared with Skinny Teddy and other family honchos in the 20-year-long shakedown of a construction workers union. He appears to have avoided all trouble with the law since pleading guilty in 1992 to plotting to whack Orena and other rebel mobsters. Little Robert is currently serving as the crime family's acting boss, according to the sources.

Sponsored by capo William (Wild Bill) Cutolo, Donofrio was inducted by Orena in 1988 with the blessing of Junior Persico. Little Robert was a loanshark in a crew headed by Orena capo Pasquale (Patty) Amato in June of 1991, when he opted to team up with the Persico faction when Little Vic decided to try to take over the reigns from the imprisoned-for-life official boss.

Donofrio pleaded guilty to conspiring to murder Orena faction members from June of 1991 to July of 1992. Twice, he was on hit teams that were poised to kill Wild Bill during visits to his girlfriend Betty Ann, once on Thanksgiving Day of 1991, and again in June of 1992, according to an FBI report obtained by Gang Land.

Little Robert's role in the Thanksgiving Day rubout, which was slated to take place near Betty Ann's grandmother's house in Borough Park, was to "protect the shooters" who'd be wearing "Hasidic outfits" of black pants, coats and hats and beards, according to the October 23, 1992 FBI report.

"We were gonna dress up as Hasidic Jews," turncoat gangster Joseph (Joey Brains) Ambrosino stated two months later at Orena's trial. "We had machine guns, stolen vans, bullet proof vests, bulletproof hats and silencers," but they never used them, Ambrosino testified, because capo Carmine Sessa, the Persico faction leader, called it off that morning.

Donofrio was among ten gangsters who pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial for conspiring to murder unnamed mob rivals. But Donofrio and his co-defendants were far less deadly than longtime FBI top-echelon informer Gregory Scarpa, a Persico loyalist who killed four gangsters and wounded three others during the civil war. Little Robert & Company were more like The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight in Jimmy Breslin's novel that was based on the Crazy Joe Gallo crew.

Donofrio and his cohorts were unable to dispatch Wild Bill at his girlfriend's home in Staten Island in June of 1992, or take him out in "several attempts to murder Cutolo at Don Peppe's Restaurant" in South Ozone Park. They also failed to whack Orena rebels Joseph Scopo, Thomas Petrizzo, Gabriel Scianna, or Vincent (Chickie) DeMartino, according to the 1992 FBI report.

Prosecutors wanted life sentences for Donofrio and nine cohorts who were guilty of conspiring to murder unnamed rivals. But Brooklyn Federal Judge I. Leo Glasser ruled that was excessive since no intended victims were killed. He gave gangsters who were convicted at trial 13 years, and those, like Little Robert, who pleaded guilty, eight years behind bars, and three years of supervised release.

Switching sides did cost him a prison stretch, but it was also profitable, Ambrosino testified at Patty Amato's racketeering trial. Donofrio told him, he said, that Amato had contributed $20,000 to Little Robert's loanshark bank, for which he made two one percent "vig" payments before abandoning Amato's crew — a net gain of $19,600.

Despite his unquestioned loyalty to Andy Russo and Carmine Persico during the internecine family feud, and his role in two plots to kill Cutolo, sources say that Donofrio has often been heard stating that Wild Bill Cutolo was his "best friend in the Life."

"I'm not surprised," said one former federal mob buster. "Cutolo was the real deal, and was well liked by most mobsters back then. It was the Administration of the crime family that didn't like him, and feared him, and had him killed" he said, referring to the 1999 disappearance and murder of Wild Bill, whose remains were dug up by the FBI in 2008.

Sources say Little Robert has quietly established himself in a produce business that he used to run with his father, a World War II veteran, since his release from prison in July of 2000. He completed his three years of post-prison supervised release without a peep in 2003, according to court and federal Bureau of Prison records.

"Don't let that fool you," said a former FBI supervisor. "He's a dyed in the wool gangster; a true blue wiseguy who's been a major player in the family for years. He knows Teddy Persico his entire life, and he has the respect of the Orena faction guys too."

"Robert's position," said one usually reliable underworld source, "is that once the feud ended and peace was declared, there weren't two factions, but one family. He says it, he believes it, and he should be a stabilizing force."

"He's a nice guy, well respected by everyone," said a longtime Brooklyn denizen who lives near the home that Donofrio shares with family members in the Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights neighborhood that was home to Carmine Persico and family patriarch Joe Colombo when they headed the crime family.

While Little Robert has managed to avoid any legal trouble for more than two decades, sources say it's not for a lack of trying by the feds.

Donofrio might easily have joined 127 other mob connected defendants from six states who were rounded up by the FBI a dozen years ago on Mafia Takedown Day on indictments that were obtained by federal prosecutors in four states.

Sources tell Gang Land that in late 2010, two wired-up turncoats tape recorded Donofrio talking with Colombo capo Anthony (Big Anthony) Russo about an effort by the Colombo family to extort money — for medical expenses — from the Gambinos for their stabbing of mob associate Walter Samperi. The sources say that Little Robert came close, but didn't implicate himself in criminal activity in the taped talks.

As it turned out, on January 20, 2011, Mush Russo, Skinny Teddy, and 37 other Colombo wiseguys and mob associates were rounded up and arrested on a slew of racketeering charges — but not Little Robert Donofrio who survived to rise to the top rank in his crime family.

Skinny Teddy & Vinny Unions: A Colombo Family Odd Couple

They are both Colombo family capos. They both pleaded guilty to the same racketeering charge. And their sentencing guidelines in their plea agreements are identical, 63-to-78 months. Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico and Vincent (Vinny Unions) Ricciardo have very little in common with Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, the well-known Odd Couple of TV and movie fame.

But the duo are the odd couple of the Colombo crime family racketeering indictment that charges them, along with a gaggle of other wiseguys with being part of a 20-year-long shakedown of a Queens-based construction workers union, Local 621 of the United Construction Trades & Industrial Employees Union, and its president, Andrew Talamo.

There are some differences in their plea deals. Ricciardo can appeal any prison term above 97 months as excessive. Persico's number on that issue is 105 months. But the feds have agreed not to seek more than six years for him, and to drop charges that Persico violated his post-prison supervised release. Skinny Teddy will forfeit $3000, while Vinny Union's number is $350,000.

Ricciardo is described by the government as the architect of the long running extortion scheme. He allegedly began shaking down Talamo in 2001 for monthly payments that totaled more than $350,000 until the feds unsealed the indictment in September of 2021. At that point, Vinny Unions and Skinny Teddy were jailed as ex-cons who were dangers to the community.

With the help of Domenick Ricciardo, a cousin who pleaded guilty months ago, Vinny Unions collected his monthly payments from Talamo for the next 20 years. The payments continued even while Vinny Unions was serving a 42-month prison term for extortion charges he got in 2005 for labor racketeering charges involving a different shakedown of Local 14 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.

Talamo continued paying, according to the government, because of "repeated threats of violence" from Vinny Unions. Among the threats was a powerful one that he and mobster Michael Uvino delivered to the union boss in January of 2020 while he was at home with his family.

Eight months later, in September of 2020, according to court filings, the duo "went to the union's office in Queens and attempted to confront employees there" so loudly and violently that police responded and stopped them as they drove away empty handed. Cops let them go when they lied and stated "they were attempting to collect a check," according to a government filing.

In May of 2021, Ricciardo described a prior confrontation he had with Talamo to mob associate Andrew Koslosky, a longtime pal who was wired-up by the FBI and is a cooperating witness in the case, that if it was necessary, "we will go to his house and break his fucking head."

"I grabbed Andrew and told him, 'You got to see him because he is with me. Otherwise I go to his house I break his head,'" he told Koslosky. "So anyway," Vinny Unions continued, "He is deadly afraid. He wants to meet me in restaurant. He is afraid but I told him, 'The restaurant ain't going to help. If I am going to kill you, you would have been dead already.'"

And, a month later, Ricciardo reiterated to Koslosky that he would kill Talamo if he stopped paying, stating that Talamo "knows I’ll put him in the ground right in front of his wife and kids, right in front of his fucking house . . . I'm not afraid to go to jail, let me tell you something, to prove a point? I would fucking shoot him right in front of his wife and kids."

The government has more taped talks in which Vinny Unions links himself to the shakedown of Local 621 and the crime family's alleged plan to extort $10,000 a month from the union's benefit funds. But just from the wiretap snatches cited above, along with Koslosky's decision to testify against him, it's not hard to see why Ricciardo would cop a plea deal rather than go to trial.

By contrast, though, prosecutors don't have any taped talks in which Persico implicates himself in the 20-year-long extortion of Talamo, or the plot to steal $10,000 a month from the union's benefit plan. In court filings, prosecutors assert that taped talks that Ricciardo and Uvino had with Koslosky establish that Skinny Teddy was a fully supportive participant of their plans.

On June 21, 2021, Vinny Unions assured Koslosky that the "new regime," which included "Teddy," and a wiseguy whose name is redacted, would support their plan, which included installing Koslosky into Local 621.

"Of course they're gonna honor it," said Ricciardo. "You think they don't know? They know, Teddy knows, he knows, what's the matter with you? You think I just talk to these fucking idiots in Brooklyn?" (An apparent reference to Administration members Castallazzo, DeMatteo and Russo, who Vinny Unions was meeting in the Gravesend section of the Borough of Churches.)

A month later, prosecutors contend, Uvino also indicated in a taped talk with Koslosky that Persico supported their extortion plans.

Ralph DeMatteo "It's smooth sailing" when Teddy "takes over," said Uvino, noting that "the guy is the best guy in the world to deal with. He wants to just go out, have a good time."
Koslosky: And he's all okay with everything we're doing?
Uvino: Everything. I told him everything's running smooth. No problem. He says, 'Do whatever youse have to do.' I told Teddy, once we're in there, I says, then once everything's set, then once it starts rolling it just keeps rolling, but it's gotta get set first. He's like no problem youse know what you are doing."

In bail motions, as well as other court filings and public statements, attorney Joseph Corozzo has argued that the government's contention about Persico's support for the extortion of Local 621 was "speculative" and that he and his client were "preparing for trial" because they were "confident that a jury will not convict my client on actions that might take place in the future."

But there was no talk about going to trial before Brooklyn Federal Judge Hector Gonzalez last week.

Persico calmly pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and pleasantly noted that his scheduled sentencing date, October 17, was his fiancé's birthday.

"She can come to court," said Gonzalez.

Corozzo told Gang Land he stood by his previous filings and statements about the charges against Persico, but would hold off any further discussion about them until sentencing day.

The lawyer did say he "fully expect(s)" that his client's fiancé will accept the judge's suggestion to come to court on her birthday.

"She's a lovely woman, and very supportive of him," Corozzo said. "She has already sacrificed a lot for her fiancé. She's not worried about celebrating her birthday in court."

Easy Come, Easy Go: Colombo Mobsters Forced To Return $12,000 From FBI Snitch

It wasn't a lot of money, but the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office found the way to recover $12,000 in government dough that allegedly made its way into the coffers of the Colombo crime family through the well-orchestrated, sting-like largesse of turncoat gangster Andrew Koslosky, Gang Land has learned.

Koslosky, a renowned singer for more than 30 years who has had roles in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway musicals and has been a featured soloist at many U.S. churches, including St. Patrick's Cathedral, gave the cash to his mobster friends while he was wearing a wire for the FBI and tape recording their conversations for the feds.

Now it's time to hand the free money back to the feds.

The four wiseguys — underboss Benjamin (The Claw) Castellazzo, consigliere Ralph (Big Ralph) DeMatteo, capo Theodore (Skinny Teddy) Persico and soldier Michael Uvino — have agreed to forfeit $3000 apiece before they face the music for their crimes on sentencing day, according to court records.

Sources say Koslosky, a longtime pal of capo Vincent (Vinny Unions) Ricciardo, began singing for the feds after he was arrested by FBI agents in April of 2021. He funneled the cash to the mob during the five months that he played along with Ricciardo's plan to get Koslosky involved as a union consultant or employee to help the Colombos steal $10,000 a month in benefit funds from Local 621 of the United Construction Trades & Industrial Employees Union.

Neither defense attorneys nor prosecutors have been willing to discuss exactly when and how Koslosky improved his creds with the mobsters, or how he explained the alleged plunder he was sharing with them.

But plea agreements made by Persico, Castellazzo, DeMatteo and Uvino each note that as part of their deal, they are required to forfeit $3000 30 days before sentencing day.

That's chump change compared to the $350,000 Ricciardo has agreed to forfeit as part of his own deal. His cousin Domenick Ricciardo, was required to forfeit $25,000 before he was sentenced. Prosecutors James McDonald, Devon Lash, Michael Gibaldi, and Andrew Reich required turncoat capo Richard Ferrara to forfeit only the illegal gun and ammunition that agents found in his home when they arrested him.

DeMatteo's recommended prison term is 41-to-51 months; Uvino's sentencing guidelines are 37-to-46 months, while Castellazzo's are 21-to-27 months. The prosecutors have agreed not to seek a prison term above the guidelines for any of the defendants. The wiseguys can, and surely will, seek a sentence below the suggested guidelines.

The recommended prison terms of the three defendants who pleaded guilty to conspiring with the mobsters to steal funds from Local 621's benefit plans — longtime Genovese associate Albert Alimena, as well as Ricciardo's girlfriend, Erin Thompkins, and union pension consultant Joseph Bellantoni — are eight-to-14 months.

[Dr031718]

Robert Donofrio

[outfit guy]

Thank You

[Dapper_Don]

Thanks for posting

[luciang]

Thank you for posting!

[NYNighthawk]

Great to have you back Jerry - hope you enjoyed your vacation !

[Adam]

Interesting. Good to get an article that claims to know who the acting boss is of a family after the admin goes down. For some reason in my mind I keep waiting for it to be Billy Russo. But apparently not.

[Little_Al1991]

Great column this week
Jerry is still the best source we have.

[furiofromnaples]

Robert Donofrio

There are chances that would be appointed as boss,one day?

[Gustazul]

Thank you for sharing this week's articles!

[SonnyBlackstein]

The Bo's flying under the radar as per usual.

Wonder if this was from Ferrara. Seriously concerning if not. This SHOULDVE been a good move, and yet its barely a couple of months and the Feds know the new acting, a relative unknown.

Westside shaking their heads.

Thanks for posting

[SonnyBlackstein]

AB or Street has to be THE worst position in a family.
Youre the main target yet what are you getting kicked up too you? Teddy, Benji and Dematteo are hardly going to let him take a decent kick. Theyve lawyers to pay, families to support. So Little Roberts likely barely getting a kick, and now he's target number one.
He'll probably have to take a court appointed attorney when his time comes in 18-24mnths.

You get a few doors opened for you walking into restaurants.

yippee.

[slimshady_007]

Very interesting thanks for sharing.

[DonPeppino386]

Good Colombo column this week. Thanks for posting.

[Little_Al1991]

AB or Street has to be THE worst position in a family.
Youre the main target yet what are you getting kicked up too you? Teddy, Benji and Dematteo are hardly going to let him take a decent kick. Theyve lawyers to pay, families to support. So Little Roberts likely barely getting a kick, and now he's target number one.
He'll probably have to take a court appointed attorney when his time comes in 18-24mnths.

You get a few doors opened for you walking into restaurants.

yippee.

Andrew Russo didn’t earn anything for being the Street Boss but Acting Bosses usually earn.
Benji and DeMatteo have probably been demoted due to the indictments.
He can enjoy the money