Mobsters - Naming Schemes Remember, when the father died, I took the kid under my wing. E-mail me when people leave their comments , Sammy the Bull: Profile of Gambino crime family underboss Salvatore Gravano, How The Hells Angels Actually Works | How Crime Works | Insider, Bonannos go to war in New York: Shooting in Long Island tied to Mikey Nose and Joe C. beef, Watermelons, submarines & sex toys: The craziest ways cartels traffic drugs, How China Is Fuelling America's Drug Epidemic. Philip "Joey Cello" Bacino. But I promise I'll be there for you. When Sammy became consigliere he promoted Vallario to captain, who then took over his crew. Conte botched an ideal opportunity to kill DiBono. Ten months later, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn charged Sammy Bull and son Gerard with buying thousands of Ecstasy tablets in Brooklyn for distribution in Arizona. Milito was not pleased with this decision, and made the mistake of telling other crew members that it was he who should have been given the top spot, not Vallario. Gotti wanted Milito killed for being a Castellano Loyalist. They dressed the same, too, in similar sweat suits and sneakers. Salvatore (Toddo) Aurello, sometimes spelled Avarello, was an extremely low key guy. "I shot a second time in the same spot. Joey flipped in 2004 and helped the FBI make cases on over 40 Gambino family members and associates. Sammy is despised by everyone on both sides of the law, for the same reason: he double crossed them. It was Milito who fired the shots that killed 16 year old Alan Kaiser on August 15, 1977. Inmates claimed Gravano bragged about killing many more than 19 people. Here are some of the most interesting and revealing stories hes told thus far: Gravano has discussed his childhood friend and then crew member Louie Milito many times. It was a fairly minor incident between two future legendary mobsters. Roy fed these rumors. This was the life.. Obviously, I didn't know that Toddo was Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello, a capo in the Gambino crime family, and my father's boss and mentor in the mob. He was released early, in September of 2017. Gravano said Gottis underboss Frank DeCicco wanted Louie dead. A bullet in the head is pretty quick. I didnt see any blood. I knew I couldnt have missed, the gun was only inches from his head, but I felt like I was a million miles away, like this was all a dream." [2] Gravano arrived to find only Ruggiero was present. Gravano quickly acquired tremendous clout in the construction and trucking industries. Linda Milito claimed in her book Mafia Wife she had heard Gravano had smothered an elderly woman to death during a robbery gone wrong and that she was informed by Gravanos former crew members that Gravano had shot her husband Louie Milito twice in the back of the head and once under the chin, contradicting Gravanos former statements that he had simply been standing by the night Milito was shot. On February 9, 1990 Gotti was acquitted. On this particular Sunday, we were cruising around Todt Hill, an upscale community on the southern end of Staten Island, filled with homes owned by doctors, lawyers, and "businessmen.". That was the last straw for Sammy. I didn't know why he addressed people as Bo, not Bro. I thought." I just thought Dad respected him more because he was older. [1] Gravano began to change his boss cowboy image of him when he entered into the plumbing and drywall business with his brother-in-law, Edward Garafola. The life story of iconic Gambino Family consigliere Joseph N. Gallo. [1] Gravano would later express admiration for Simone as a mans man, remarking favorably on the calmness with which he accepted his fate. He requested a mercy killing; however, he died of lung cancer before this could happen. He seems to be holding little, if anything back. After Ravas murder in late 1957, the crew split between Neil Dellacroce and Anthony Rizzo. Presumably, what was the relationship between James Faila and Toddo That is from the FBI vault. Castellano knew this but didn't care and chose to ignore it. My mother would walk me to school every day. Not only did I like him, I went back with his father, who was originally with me. While an enlisted soldier, he mainly worked as a mess hall cook. Paul Agresta was a Connecticut-based Gambino soldier who had been a formally inducted member of the "Honored Society" before coming Thomas (Tommy the Enforcer Altamura moved his bookmaking and shylock operations for the Gambino Family to Miami before meeting an Toddo Aurello was a low-key Gambino Family capo involved in a notorious underworld event and a mentor to Sammy Gravano. He was ready to start an all out war with the Colombos, who at first attempted to stop Sammy from killing the guy. Pretty soon Gravano started with gang life and ran into trouble with the N.Y.P.D. I just thought Dad respected him more because he was older. They discussed the incident with Sammy expressing that he didn't appreciate Scarpa damaging his business. Salvatore Toddo Aurello retiring - GangsterBB.NET Gravano did not approve of the drug use and demoted Nicky from the crew. After DeCiccos death in 1986, Gravanos specific position within the family varied. With the Gambinos, Gravano became an associate of longtime capo Salvatore Toddo Aurello. Gravano played a major role in prosecuting John Gotti, the crime family's boss, by agreeing to testify as a government witness against him and other mobsters in a deal in which he confessed to involvement in . Gotti and Ruggiero then sought and obtained the approval of the Colombo and Bonanno families, while DeCicco secured the backing of the Luccheses. On Feb. 24, 2000, Gravano, his wife, son, daughter, and son-in-law were arrested on drug charges by Arizona authorities. Gravanos robbery spree impressed Aurello, who proposed him for membership in the Gambino family. 470. One of those times was the unsanctioned murder of Frank Fiala, a very unstable man who tried to buy Sammys nightclub the Plaza Suite. He turned to the FBI and told them all they wanted to know. According to Karen, Sammys daughter, Stymie was Joe DAngelo, my fathers closest friend. He opened a club of his own in Bensonhurst and started a loan sharking business soon after. The beef became too big to resolve and it was decided the men could no longer be in the same crew together. You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Don't you have an account? Sammy "The Bull" Gravano Crew Members | Mafia Hitters She lived so close to school, we could see the playground from her yard. As part of Gravanos cooperation agreement, he would never be forced to testify against his former crew, which included Louis Vallario, Michael DiLeonardo, Frank Fappiano, Edward Garafola, Thomas Carbonaro, Joseph DeAngelo and many other career criminals and wiseguys. An older man named "Toddo" was usually at one of the tables in the back. Lived in Valley . Whenever a meeting with him was arranged, DiBono never appeared. When Gravano warned Gotti about the negative attention from reporters as well as the constant surveillance from the FBI, Gotti instructed Gravano not to worry about it as Gotti knew what he was doing. During his childhood, the condition was not well understood by the medical community of the time, and his problems in school were dismissed as being a slow learner. He was held back on two occasions. When I was six, I found a gun in my parents' bedroom in our apartment on Sixty-first Street in Bensonhurst. Anthony (Tony . Please enter your username or email address to reset your password. I believe Toddo died in 1998 and he remained a loyal soldier of The Gambino's ever since. Its origins started in the city of Palermo, Sicily. When Sammy Gravano switched from the Colombos to the Gambinos, he was placed in Aurellos crew. The book will be released by St. Martin's Press on Feb. 14. Under Gotti the Gambino Family came under enormous pressure from the FBI and it would'nt be long or Gotti would go down. Read about Karen Gravano's interview with "20/20" and watch the full story on "20/20" Friday at 10 p.m. He was too embarrassed even to ask me for help.. Obviously, I didn't know that Toddo was Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello, a capo in the Gambino crime family, and my father's boss and mentor in the mob. Once a top hitman for Sammy, Nicholas Nicky Cowboy Mormando was present for the Fiala hit in 1982. With extensivestreet racketsin large gambling, shylocking, extortion, business infiltration, labor-union racketeering, international heroin smuggling and nationwide distribution, and even political influence, this borgata has always ranked among the two largest and most pervasive in the American marketplace. Please Open it up to activate your account. We should have it posted up for your reading enjoyment a bit later today. Ironically, Gravanos downfall was due to informers among his own associates. But when Gotti was trying to let Gravano take the fall by claiming Gravano had run wild and started whacking people on his own accord Gravano decided to break Omerta and flip. On weekends, my father would sometimes take me with him to "the club" in Bensonhurst. The club looked like a big kitchen, with tables and chairs set out around the room and a few pictures, mostly scenes of Italy, hanging on the walls. Sometime in the early 1970s, Ralph Spero, brother of Shorty, became jealous of Gravanos status as a rising star in the family, fearing he would be made before his own son, Tommy. After Sammy cooperated, Eddie joined Thomas Carbonaro in plotting his murder, but was unsuccessful due to Sammys arrest in 2000. A construction associate of Gravanos unknowingly informed Gravano of DiBonos activities. [1] He was a childhood friend of Colombo crime family associate Gerard Pappa.[1]. [2] The deal was structured to include $100,000 cash as a down payment, $650,000 in gold bullion under the table, and a $250,000 payment at the closing.[1]. [5], While Gravano was able to evade criminal charges, he had incurred Castellanos wrath over the unsanctioned killing. In January 1990 Gotti went to trial for ordering an assault on carpenter's union boss John O'Connor. Toddo Aurello - GangsterBB.NET Forums for Mafia Movies & More The Aurello crew supervised the Gambino familys control over Teamsters Local 282, which had jurisdiction over building materials to all construction sites in the city. Copyright 2019-2023, Button Guys of The New York Mafia. I told him there would be consequences for drugs. Contact RJ Roger at: BlackHandprintMedia@gmail.com [2] Gravano went on to serve as a mentor and father figure to Coluccis son, Jack Colucci, who would become involved in the construction industry and act as a Gambino family associate. Rumors spread all over the family that DeMeo was killing people at his bar and then dismembering the bodies in an adjacent apartment. Aurello was the son of the late Salvatore (Toddo) Aurello, a cagy Brooklyn capo who sponsored Gravano and his son to be made men. Even though The Rampers considered themselves independent of the mafia, many of the members became part of the mafia later on. When Gravano got out of the army he went back to his Rampers gang. MafiaHitters.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Louie wound up with the Gambino Family, Sammy with the Colombo Family until he was transferred over to the Gambinos as well. He is perhaps most famous to the outside world because he was Sammy the Bull's mentor. ** So you know, we'll be making a fresh post to highlight it. In one interview with Howard Blum, Gravano boasted: They send a hit team down, Ill kill them. In court proceedings Gravano heard FBI tapes of conversations in which Gotti disparaged him for being too greedy and creating a family within a family. Gotti also discussed several murders in which Gravano was involved and worded it to sound like Gravano was a greedy mad dog killer. There was one man in the mafia that Gravano, Gotti and everyone else was weary of, Roy DeMeo aka the Butcher of Brooklyn. Some of his friends were bouncers. Powered by. [1] Gravano arranged a meeting with DiBernardo where Joe Paruta, a member of Gravanos crew, shot DiBernardo twice in the back of the head as the underboss watched. Gravano fell into crime at an early age. Gotti was supposed to be killed as well but didn't attend the meeting and so only DeCicco was blown up. I know the mother, the wife. Milito had been put back on Sammys old crew which was now run by Big Lou Vallario. In Underboss Gravano claims that Gotti met with Johnson during the trial and informed Johnson that as long as he never testified against Gotti, he and his family would not be harmed. Copyright 2012 by Karen Gravano with Lisa Pulitzer, 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Witness to the Mob is a made-for-TV film which premiered on Sunday, May 10, and concluded on Monday, May 11, 1998. [1] Later that night, Gravano confronted Fiala on the street as he exited the Plaza Suite amongst a group of people, asking, Hey, Frank, how you doing?[5] As Fiala turned around, surprised to see Gravano, Milito came up behind him and shot him in the head. In 1970, he committed his first murderthat of Joseph Colucci, a fellow Spero associate with whose wife Tommy Spero was having an affair. At the age of 14 he joined the Rampers, a prominent street gang in Bensonhurst. They didnt call him Cowboy for nothing, he had a serious reputation for violence, and also one as a drug addict. Nicholas Scibetta. Gravano soon found himself in a great position. Ten months went by. Roy responded by telling him how he was fantasizing about how quickly he could kill everyone in the restaurant. Salvatore was the last of five children of parents who were both from Sicily. Upon Colombo associate Shorty Speros suggestion and to avoid further conflict, Gravano moved from the Colombo family to the Gambino family and joined Salvatore Toddo Aurellos crew. [1] Neither man appealed to Gravano or DeCicco as leadership material, and they ultimately decided to support the hit on Castellano.[1]. If there was a leak, somebody had to survive and keep playing. Around this time, Gravano opened an afterhours club in Bensonhurst. Between November 30, 1989 and January 24, 1990 Gotti would spill enough of the familys secrets to finally bring the walls crashing down. He hammed it up a bit by telling him that his coffee boy was on six murders. it's really simple and you can start enjoying all the benefits! guests, and 3 60. The Commission summoned Caponigro to New York, where it sentenced him to death for his transgression. He wore sweats and gold chains, and he had tattoos, Jesus on one arm and a rose on the other. On his Our Thing podcast, he gives the details of murder after murder. Mob Fireside Chat BGs Official YouTube Channel, Joseph N. Gallo Gambino Family Consigliere, Neil Dellacroce Underboss of the Gambino Crime Family, Ippolito (Paul the Zip) Agresta Narcotics and Ziganette in Bridgeport, Thomas (Tommy the Enforcer) Altamura The Chickens Came Home to Roost, Anthony (Tony) Carubia Tony the Hoodlum, Heroin Trafficker William (Willy the Creep) Conforte, Vincent (Jimmy the Blond) Corrao The Gambinos Big Earner, Robert (DiB) DiBernardo King of Porn, Charles (Charlie Brush) Dongarra Top Gambino Assassin, Carmine (Charlie Wagon Wheels) Fatico The Czar of East New York, Daniel (Danny Wagons) Fatico An Early Mentor to John Gotti, Frank (Frankie the Wop) Gagliardi Low-Key but No Wallflower, Michael (Blackie) Galgano Gambino Family Soldier, Joseph (Joe Scootch) Indelicato Gambino Enforcer, Carmine (The Doctor) Lombardozzi Gambino Family Capo, Gennaro (Jerry) Mancuso This Hood Loved Garbage, ASicilian Blood Vendetta Amongst Mafiosi Chapter 1, The Frank Corbi Regime of Baltimore, Maryland, The Truth About Made Men and Associates. Right away Gravano started work. Salvatore (Little Toddo) Avarello died in 1998. In May 1988, Gravano and Robert Bisaccia, a New Jersey crime family soldier, murdered Francessco Oliverri for beating a Gambino family crew member to death. One night, Greg and his crew were hanging out in one of Sammys many nightclubs. Militos wife Lynda claims in her book Mafia Wife that when Louie Milito did not come home or call, she went to see Gravano at his home. [8] Failla and fellow capo Daniel Marino were two of Castellanos closest associates before his death and both men were in on Gigantes plot. Most people on both sides of the law would give a lot to have a second chance like Sammy especially those who had done so much bad but Gravano thought nothing of it and wasn't satisfied. His son, Charlie Boy, reportedly died some twenty years later, in 2018. He started driving Sammy around after his father was killed in a Brooklyn bar. Louie resented taking orders from Vallario and made it known. [4] The plans for the assassination were finalized on December 15, and the next afternoon, the conspirators met for a final time on the Lower East Side. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); He didn't mention being a businessman like Paul was putting your life on the line. Did Sammy Gravano's mentor, TODDO AURELLO, kill Tommy RAVA? Who Eventually, he was named by Gotti as underboss. John gave the contract to DiBonos captain, Pat Conte. Between November 30, 1989 and January 24, 1990 Gotti would spill enough of the family's secrets to finally bring the walls crashing down. So keep your peepers peeled, ok folks. Lived at 185 West Houston Street. After Aurellos death, the crew was controlled by Frank DeCicco, and Gravano was made the point-man in the all-powerful Teamsters Local 282 rackets, working closely with successive union bosses John Cody and Robert Sasso (both of whom would be sent to prison for labor racketeering). Gotti, enraged that Castellano chose not to attend his mentors wake, wasted little time in striking. But these guys listed below reported to Dellacroce (there may have been others but these are the ones I know about): Very accurate and informative list CNote. As told to the FBI by "NY T-7," Tommy Rava (Neil Dellacroce's mentor) was murdered by Toddo Aurello (Sammy Gravano's mentor) shortly after Carlo Gambino took over the family . Gotti's underboss and Gravano's friend Frank DeCicco was killed by a carbomb. Nicholas Scibetta, also known as "Little Nicky" (died 1978), was a Sicilian American mobster [1] who was the nephew of Joseph and John Zicarelli, the brother-in-law of mobster Sammy Gravano [2] and uncle of Gerard Gravano, who was a Gambino crime family mob associate who was later marked as an informant by fellow crime family . He also got back with the Gambino Crime Family. [2], Gravanos relief at being acquitted was tempered by news close friend, DAngelo, had been killed by a Colombo family associate celebrating his having been proposed for membership. I know Sammy was serving as Acting captain under Toddo Aurello; Sammy was big into construction rackets; Is this how he became close to Paul Castellano by being a liaison to Aurello and Castellano?? [4] Gravano was initially involved in petty crimes, as he almost always had been, such as larceny, hijacking, and armed robbery. Michael DeBatts father was a Gambino crime family mob associate and a close friend of Sammys who became indebted to loansharks and bookmakers. Her mother had just gone inside to make us some lemonade when my new friend made a startling announcement.