John D'Amato

Last updated
John D'Amato
John D'Amato.jpg
BornUnknown
DisappearedJanuary 1992
Status Missing for 31 or 32 years
DiedJanuary 1992
Cause of deathGun shots
Other names"Johnny Boy"
Occupation Mobster
Allegiance DeCavalcante crime family

John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato (died January 1992) was an American mobster and former acting boss of the DeCavalcante crime family in New Jersey from 1990 to 1992. D'Amato was a prominent made man of the DeCavalcante family and appointed head by Giovanni Riggi under the influence of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti. D'Amato was suspected of engaging in homosexual activity and assassinated in Brooklyn in January 1992.

Contents

Captain

After being promoted caporegime during the 1980s by Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi, D'Amato became heavily involved in large labor and construction racketeering operations with prominent New Jersey mobsters Giacomo "Jake" Amari and Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo. D'Amato, of the powerful Elizabeth faction of the DeCavalcante crime family, was soon cooperating with high-ranking members Charles "Big Ears" Majuri and Gaetano "Corky" Vastola in illegal gambling and loansharking operations.

Recruited by John Gotti

After longtime boss Giovanni Riggi went on to be indicted for labor racketeering and extortion charges in late 1989, Vastola stepped up as the new acting boss of the North Jersey Mafia while Riggi was on trial. It was around this time, rival Gambino crime family boss John Gotti reached out to several members of the family, in an attempt to gain full control of it. One of these mobsters was D'Amato, who reportedly conspired with Gotti and his underboss Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano into murdering Vastola; Gotti was later convicted of this conspiracy. Soon, Riggi was convicted of his charges and sentenced to 15 years in 1990, which meant that Vastola kept running the day-to-day activities. Only after Riggi's conviction, Vastola was convicted in major extortion charges and sentenced to eight years in prison. From behind bars, Riggi promoted D'Amato as acting boss of the DeCavalcante crime family.

Murder

In January 1992, Anthony Capo participated in the murder of D'Amato. Earlier in 1991, D'Amato's girlfriend, retaliating against D'Amato over an argument, told Anthony Rotondo that D'Amato was an active bisexual. She described swinging encounters that D'Amato had in Manhattan sex clubs with both women and men. Rotondo shared this information with underboss Giacomo Amari, and consigliere Stefano Vitabile. As Capo described it in court testimony in 2003,

"Nobody's going to respect us if we have a gay homosexual boss sitting down discussing La Cosa Nostra business." [1]

In addition, many family members believed that D'Amato was controlled by Gambino boss John Gotti. The three men ordered D'Amato's execution and gave the job to Capo, Vincent Palermo and James Gallo. In contravention of Cosa Nostra rules on the killing of a family boss, the plotters did not ask permission from the Mafia Commission in New York.

On the day of the attack, Capo and another man picked up D'Amato a block from his girlfriend's house in Brooklyn to drive to lunch. With D'Amato sitting in the back seat, Capo turned and shot D'Amato four times, killing him. [2] Capo and Rotundo left the body at a safe house, where other mobsters disposed of it. D'Amato's body was never recovered. Informed in prison of D'Amato's execution, Riggi appointed Amari as the new acting boss. [3] [4] [5]

Aftermath

In 2003, capos Philip "Phil" Abramo, Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti and the reputed consigliere Stefano Vitabile were charged in organizing various crimes, including the murder of D'Amato. [6] Reputed men involved in the murder conspiracy, Palermo, Capo and Rotondo would later testify about this murder against their former associates. [7] In 2006, Abramo, Schifilliti and Vitabile were sentenced to life imprisonment.

See also

Related Research Articles

The Gambino crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominated organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. The group, which went through five bosses between 1910 and 1957, is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963, when the structure of organized crime first gained public attention. The group's operations extend from New York and the eastern seaboard to California. Its illicit activities include labor and construction racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, fraud, hijacking, and fencing.

The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey Mafia or North Jersey crime family, is an Italian-American Mafia organized crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and various other North Jersey cities and the surrounding areas in North Jersey. It is part of the nationwide criminal network known as the American Mafia. It operates on the opposite side of the Hudson River from the Five Families of New York. It maintains strong relations with many of them, as well as with the Philadelphia crime family and the Patriarca crime family of New England. The Decavalcantes are considered by some to be the "Sixth Family".

Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo is a former Italian-American mobster who rose to position of caporegime in the Gambino crime family. In the early 2000s DiLeonardo turned government witness and decided to cooperate with the FBI and managed to convict over 80 mobsters. DiLeonardo testified a record 15 times, more than any other "made" Mafia member to date.

Philip Abramo, also known as "The King of Wall Street" and "Lou Metzer", is a caporegime in the New Jersey DeCavalcante crime family who was allegedly involved in security fraud and murder. He is the capo of the DeCavalcante family's crew in Miami, Florida, United States.

Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo is an Italian American former mobster who was de facto boss of the New Jersey DeCavalcante crime family before becoming a government witness in 1999. Fictional mob boss Tony Soprano, the protagonist of the HBO series The Sopranos, is said to be based upon Palermo. He also owned a strip-club called Wiggles, which was the inspiration behind the show's Bada Bing! strip-club.

Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo was an Italian-born American mobster and longtime underboss of the DeCavalcante crime family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, under the imprisoned boss Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi.

Francesco "Frank" Guarraci was an Italian-born American mobster. He was a prominent member and reputed acting boss of the DeCavalcante crime family.

Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti is a former prominent member of the DeCavalcante crime family since the 1980s, heavily involved in labor racketeering and extortion activities.

Gioacchino "Jake" Amari was an Italian-American mobster who served as acting underboss and later acting boss of the DeCavalcante crime family of New Jersey.

Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso was an American mobster and the longtime official underboss of the DeCavalcante crime family.

Anthony "Tony" Capo was an American hitman in the DeCavalcante crime family who later became a government witness and entered the Witness Protection Program. His aliases included Marshall Beach, Mathew Beach and Wade Beach.

Francesco "Frank" Polizzi was a New Jersey mobster and captain in the DeCavalcante crime family.

Louis "Louie Eggs" Consalvo is a New Jersey mobster and reputed soldier and acting captain in the DeCavalcante crime family.

Frank "Franky the Beast" Scarabino is a New York City mobster and former soldier in the North Jersey-based DeCavalcante crime family,

Gaetano "Corky" Vastola is a New Jersey mobster who became a captain in the DeCavalcante crime family in New Jersey.

Anthony Rotondo is a former capo in the DeCavalcante family of New Jersey and police informant.

Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi was an American mobster and member of the DeCavalcante crime family since the 1940s, before the family had acquired its name. Riggi was the leader of the "Elizabeth crew" in the family when he was a Caporegime. He had been the acting boss during the 1970s and became the official boss around 1982. Riggi was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Devens, Massachusetts, on extortion and labor racketeering convictions. He was released on November 27, 2012.

References

  1. "Telling Court He's Gay, Mob Informer Crosses Line" By ALAN FEUER New York Times October 20, 2009
  2. "Hit man's confessions Mob turncoat tells court of his blood-soaked life" by Greg B. Smith, New York Daily News, July 26, 2002
  3. Mob Boss 'Hit' Over Gay Encounters by Jaime Holguin CBS News February 11, 2009
  4. "Mobster Killed For Being Gay" BY GREG B. SMITH New York Daily News June 15, 2001
  5. WISEGUY GETS LIFE FOR HIT ON GAY MOB BOSS Archived February 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine by Thomas Zambito. New York Daily News, June 13, 2006
  6. Eligon, John (2008-09-04). "Racketeering Convictions Rejected for 3 in Mob Case". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  7. "Mob Story". nj.com. May 9, 2003. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011.