Gangland - 3/8/18

[Chucky]

This Week in Gang Land By Jerry Capeci

Petey Red, A 'Kind Hearted' Lower East Side Wiseguy, RIP

Gang Land Exclusive! A large outpouring of neighborhood denizens and old friends from Knickerbocker Village joined wiseguys from all around the town this week to pay their final respects to Peter (Petey Red) DiChiara, a venerable Lower East Side tough guy who rose to the heights of his chosen station in life but never forgot where he came from.

DiChiara, a powerful Genovese crime capo who sources say served in recent years as a "street boss" and as a consigliere for family boss Liborio (Barney) Bellomo, died Friday morning after a months-long battle with a host of ailments stemming from heart disease he had suffered with for decades. He was 75.

Petey Red, whose headquarters was a social club on Market and Cherry Streets, "a stone's throw from his home," was never viewed by mob busters as a particularly crafty gangster. But over the years, he was cagey enough to avoid implicating himself in criminal activity on FBI bugs or in talks with wired-up informants even when he got caught up in undercover investigations.

Even so, DiChiara spent nearly five years behind bars after he was hit with racketeering charges in 2001, along with 44 other mobsters and associates from all five New York families following the blockbuster three-year FBI probe involving turncoat mob associate Michael (Cookie) D'Urso.

Even in that case, it wasn't Petey Red who put himself and many of his crew members behind bars, but the dozens of other Genovese mobsters taped by D'Urso while he was wearing a wire from 1998 to 2001 — wiseguys like Alan (Baldie) Longo, Joseph Zito, and the late Salvatore (Sammy Meatballs) Aparo.

DiChiara's Market Street club was essentially closed from 2001 until 2007. But when DiChiara and his crew member-defendants — including Rosario (Ross) Gangi and cousins Frank (Frankie Machines) DeMeo and Salvatore (Sallie D) DeMeo — had done their time, Petey Red began holding court there again and it soon became a hotbed of activity.

For a few years, beginning in 2008, DiChiara was under investigation for alleged illegal activities in the city's newspaper delivery rackets based on dealings he had with officials of the scandal-plagued newspaper-drivers union, the Newspaper and Mail Deliverers Union (NMDU), according to affidavits filed by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

As Gang Land reported in 2014, the DA's office obtained evidence from wiretaps and efforts by the NYPD's Organized Crime Investigation Division that Petey Red was earning payoffs and kickbacks through a "shell corporation" from schemes in which non-union drivers delivered stolen newspapers and magazines to newsstands and other selected area distributors.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn later used the evidence compiled by the DA's office to file labor racketeering charges against six NMDU drivers and low-level officials, who all copped plea deals to relatively minor fraud or theft charges. But DiChiara wasn't charged with any crimes. He was spotted in several meetings with union officials who were overheard setting up their meets, but he was never picked up chatting with any of them.

DiChiara wasn't that lucky in the 1998-2001 FBI probe, even though he wasn't a major focus of the feds and D'Urso, and he wasn't snared in much incriminating talk by the super snitch, said a former federal mob buster in the case.

"We didn't have a lot of conversations with Petey Red, but we did get many conversations about him," said the former law enforcement official, who recalled an amusing but telling anecdote about DiChiara that occurred at a Long Island country club in 1997, according to what D'Urso told the feds after he flipped.

It took place in the clubhouse after a round of golf by a foursome that included DiChiara, D'Urso and mobster Sallie D DeMeo. A club official knocked a hat off Petey Red's head, "squished it in his hands and stuck it in his chest and told him, 'No hats allowed in the clubhouse' and Petey got as red as a beet," the source said.

As the pompous club official walked away, D'Urso, who had been involved in a murder the year before, asked Petey Red, "You want me to make him disappear?"

"No," replied DiChiara, "he's a jerk that doesn't know any better. Forget about it."

"He was a very kind hearted man," said a woman friend of the DiChiara family who said good-bye to Petey Red on the two days he was waked at the Provenzano Lanza Funeral Home at 43 Second Avenue. "He was very generous to everyone, anyone who needed a hand," she told Gang Land. "He was always for the underdog. He wasn't my friend, he was my brother."

Friends and other sources say that all four viewings on Sunday and Monday were well attended by a steady stream of crew members and wiseguys from several crime families, and a diverse mix of current as well as former Lower East Side residents who made the trip to express their condolences to DiChiara's wife and children.

Attorney Mathew Mari, a former neighbor and longtime friend, was one of many who did. "A lot of tough guys came out of the 4th Ward," said Mari, using an old election district numeral to identify the melting pot area south of Chinatown and between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. "Peter was one of the toughest and certainly the nicest. He will be missed," he said.

Even Brooklyn Federal Judge I. Leo Glasser, who sentenced Petey Red to 63 months and fined him $50,000 back in 2002 found a soft spot in his judicial heart for the wiseguy. "It has been a long time since I've been to Knickerbocker Village, Mr. DiChiara," Glasser told him back then.

In the months leading up to his sentencing, Petey Red underwent triple bypass heart surgery. Glasser responded by relaxing his bail conditions, and allowed DiChiara to take morning and afternoon jaunts between the two bridges under the FDR viaduct as part of his doctor-prescribed post-operation exercise.

Glasser also did not immediately remand him. He permitted Petey Red to self-surrender to whatever institution that was later chosen for him by the federal Bureau of Prisons.

DiChiara, who is survived by his wife Nancy, son Joseph, daughter Rosemary, a sister JoAnne and six grandchildren he adored, was laid to rest Tuesday at Calvary Cemetery following a funeral mass at the Church of the Most Precious Blood at 109 Mulberry Street.

Feds Look For Plea Deal With Skinny Joey

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office indicated quite strongly last week that it would prefer to quietly close out its controversial 46-defendant case against wiseguys and associates from five crime families with plea deals — rather than endure another painful racketeering conspiracy trial with Philadelphia mob boss Joseph (Skinny Joey) Merlino.

The first indication came on Wednesday when prosecutors gave Merlino's only remaining codefendant in the monstrous case, Genovese capo Eugene (Rooster) Onofrio, a surprisingly sweet plea deal. Rooster was offered a maximum prison term of less than three years in the plea agreement, with sentencing guidelines of 27-to-33 months.

To satisfy the main racketeering count — which would have carried a longer recommended prison term — Onofrio pleaded guilty to cigarette bootlegging and loansharking charges. His recommended maximum sentence is two years less than it was in the plea deal that he and prosecutors originally agreed to in November. Onofrio later backed out of that deal when he got to court.

Onofrio, 75, had been slated to go to trial with Merlino in January, but was severed from the case for health reasons. After Judge Richard Sullivan declared a mistrial last month, he ordered the mobster's lawyer to file a report about his ability to stand trial by March 2. He pleaded guilty two days earlier.

On the surface, the case against Rooster was much stronger — and easier to prove — than the one against Skinny Joey. That's because the key witness against Onofrio is an undercover FBI agent who served as Rooster's driver for more than a year. He would likely be a much more credible witness at trial than mob turncoat John (J.R.) Rubeo, who was implicated in the theft of $500,000 from bookmakers.

Sources say another factor in agreeing to a plea deal with Onofrio, is not having to publicly expose the agent who posed as an old high school friend of Rubeo's. The plea deal keeps the agent under wraps — for future undercover work or to bring charges against other FBI targets that popped up in the five year probe.

As Gang Land reported exclusively last year, the agent used "mob ties" he developed in the case to get a "no show" job with The Safety Group Ltd., a Manhattan based company with offices in Philadelphia that promotes itself as an "industry leader" with 25 years of experience in fire safety and emergency preparedness for hotels and other commercial buildings.

In his plea deal, Onofrio, whose sentencing is scheduled in July, also agreed to forfeit $40,000 he made selling bootleg smokes and accept a fine of $95,000.

Two days after they wrapped up Onofrio's plea deal, prosecutors Max Nicholas and Lauren Schorr disclosed in a letter to Judge Sullivan that they had begun another round of plea negotiations with Merlino attorneys Edwin Jacobs and John Meringolo.

Sullivan agreed with the prosecutors' request to give the parties until April 9 to see if they could work out a deal before scheduling a retrial.

Sources say jurors who spoke to prosecutors and defense lawyers after the mistrial was declared said they were evenly split on the main racketeering charge against Merlino, but deadlocked 10-2 for conviction on charges that he was involved in an $11.3 million health care scam, and 9-3 for conviction on illegal gambling charges.

Ask Andy: Goodfellas Kill Goodfellas, And Sue Other Fellas

Back in 1992, Colombo capo Salvatore Profaci told his brother-in-law that he shouldn't have sued Carmine (Papa Smurf) Franco, a rival Genovese family trash hauler who cheated him. "Goodfellas don't sue goodfellas; goodfellas kill goodfellas," he said. Thankfully, though, they usually file lawsuits when they have a dispute with news reporters.

Profaci's old man, Joe (The Olive Oil King) Profaci, one of the five family godfathers who created the Commission in 1931, did that in 1951 to seek redress against alleged libel. It happened after Profaci, a highly successful businessman who strongly supported his church, was angry that he was exposed as an organized crime leader when he was hauled before the Senator Kefauver Committee that February.

Using information provided by the Bureau of Narcotics, one of the magazines in the Weider Publications chain described Profaci as a "narcotics suspect." Profaci sued but not much came of his claim. He settled out of court for a $100 payment from Weider.

North of the border, Vic Cotroni, the Bonanno capo in charge of the family's Montreal faction, filed a $1.25 million libel suit against MacLean's Magazine for a 1963 article he claimed was libelous. It turned out to be a bad idea on Cotroni's part, even though he won the suit.

When the case was heard in 1972, Cotroni fared even worse than the Olive Oil King. The judge awarded him a total of $2.00 — a buck for the English edition, and a buck for the French edition. There is no record of what Cotroni did with the $2.00.

On the west coast, Joseph Cerrito, boss of the tiny San Jose family sued Life Magazine for a two part series it published in September of 1968 that detailed many alleged criminal activities by mob leaders around the country, including the members of the Mafia Commission. Cerrito, who was barely mentioned by Life, sued the magazine for $7 million.

Thanks to three mafia informers, it was learned that the suit was not Cerrito's idea. It came from Buffalo boss Stefano Maggadino, who convinced the Commission members that a civil action would get the magazine to back off. The thinking was that Cerrito led the most legitimate life and had fewer liabilities than the more powerful mafia leaders. It didn't work out well.

Life's response to the lawsuit was to publish another article focusing directly of Cerrito and his business ties to the Ford Motor Company, which pulled Cerrito's Lincoln Mercury franchise. Life subpoenaed Magaddino, but he managed to quash it based on ill health. Once it was clear that Life was going to play hardball, Cerrito convinced the Commission members that the suit was doing them, and him, no good, and dismissed the suit.

Phillip Medico, the owner of Medico Industries, of Wilkes Barre, PA, filed a $6 million libel suit against Time Magazine for identifying him as a capo in the small but influential Northeast Pennsylvania family in a March 6, 1978 article about later disgraced Congressman Daniel Flood, also of Wilkes Barre. The article stated Flood helped Medico gain federal contracts and that boss Russell Bufalino was a frequent visitor to Medico Industries. A federal judge threw the case out, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling on March 2, 1981.

Carmine Franco, who was the beneficiary of Sal Profaci's 1992 admonition about the Mafia code about goodfellas suing goodfellas, didn't do well in 2016 in a long-running legal battle with New Jersey over 1.9 acre of land it condemned for a tunnel project. The state said it was worth $1.35 million. In 2012 a jury decided the land, officially owned by Franco's wife Mary, and sister-in-law Carol, was worth $8 million. But an appeals court ruled the verdict was based on improper testimony and has ordered a new trial.

[Camo]

Bronx was right then. Dichiara was in the Gangi crew then or am i reading this wrong? Thought i read he was in Barney's crew somewhere, although i guess he could have been transferred later.

But when DiChiara and his crew member-defendants — including Rosario (Ross) Gangi and cousins Frank (Frankie Machines) DeMeo and Salvatore (Sallie D) DeMeo — had done their time, Petey Red began holding court there again and it soon became a hotbed of activity.

Would be amazing if photos of his wake were released.

Thanks for posting Chucky.

[Ivan]

As always, thanks for posting this in a way that is readable Chucky.

[Wiseguy]

Bronx was right then. Dichiara was in the Gangi crew then or am i reading this wrong? Thought i read he was in Barney's crew somewhere, although i guess he could have been transferred later.

But when DiChiara and his crew member-defendants — including Rosario (Ross) Gangi and cousins Frank (Frankie Machines) DeMeo and Salvatore (Sallie D) DeMeo — had done their time, Petey Red began holding court there again and it soon became a hotbed of activity.

Would be amazing if photos of his wake were released.

Thanks for posting Chucky.

Yeah, from what I've read, it seems Ross Gangi, Sammy Aparo, and Peter DiChiara all ran the same crew at one point or another.

Eventually, Salvatore Aparo, the acting capo to whom Zito reported after Gangi went to prison...
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1235799.html

The Genovese family's "Aparo/DiChiara crew" allegedly solicited help from the Gambino and Bonanno families to identify and contact SEIU bosses who might be willing to accept bribes.
http://nlpc.org/2001/05/21/new-york-loc ... mob-probe/

[the chin 123]

He really was 75 ? I thought 80...

[Camo]

Bronx was right then. Dichiara was in the Gangi crew then or am i reading this wrong? Thought i read he was in Barney's crew somewhere, although i guess he could have been transferred later.

But when DiChiara and his crew member-defendants — including Rosario (Ross) Gangi and cousins Frank (Frankie Machines) DeMeo and Salvatore (Sallie D) DeMeo — had done their time, Petey Red began holding court there again and it soon became a hotbed of activity.

Would be amazing if photos of his wake were released.

Thanks for posting Chucky.

Yeah, from what I've read, it seems Ross Gangi, Sammy Aparo, and Peter DiChiara all ran the same crew at one point or another.

Eventually, Salvatore Aparo, the acting capo to whom Zito reported after Gangi went to prison...
http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1235799.html

The Genovese family's "Aparo/DiChiara crew" allegedly solicited help from the Gambino and Bonanno families to identify and contact SEIU bosses who might be willing to accept bribes.
http://nlpc.org/2001/05/21/new-york-loc ... mob-probe/

Thanks. After posting that i checked Pogo's crew succession thread and he has Petey Red taking over that crew. Must have just misread something or read something inaccurate that led me to believe he was from Barney's.

[bronx]

Thanks Camo.hey even a broken clock is right twice a day,

[SonnyBlackstein]

Thanks for the post chucky.

I’d hope a few people on this board are right now typing up apology PM’s to bronx for the way he’s been treated at times.

Respect where respect is due.

[Camo]

Thanks Camo.hey even a broken clock is right twice a day,

Thanks again for sharing and please continue to do so if possible. I know there's people here who have a big problem with "street guys", i think that's completely fair as there's been tonnes of bullshitters on these sites over the years and after a while you become overwhelmed by it. I think the way to sort that out is for members not to parade everything you say around as absolute fact (i think that happened to PB with every offhand remark he made being turned into 100% fact by some) until there's some other confirmation which i'm sure is fine by you.

[Hailbritain]

Fresh street talk wins thanks Bronx

[Pogo The Clown]

More like Facebook wins.


Pogo

[Snakes]

I don't think he ever claimed it was his intelligence, just "rumor has it." This could be rumor from Facebook, another poster or board, or the wino living in the dumpster down the street. It doesn't really matter.

[Hailbritain]

More like Facebook wins.


Pogo

Is Bronx on Facebook ???

[Hailbritain]

I don't think he ever claimed it was his intelligence, just "rumor has it." This could be rumor from Facebook, another poster or board, or the wino living in the dumpster down the street. It doesn't really matter.

I didn’t see it in any of the groups on Facebook and if I didn’t then neither did many people . I think Bronx knew this from personal info . Let’s give the guy some credit

[Snakes]

Well, I didn't mean it is a dig on Bronx, just that he never specifically said it was his intel so I don't see a need to disparage him when he didn't claim it as his own in the first place.

Anyway, it's a moot point and let's all get back on topic