Joseph "Joey" Cantalupo (born 1943) was an American Mafia associate from the Colombo Crime Family and later a government informant. [1]
Cantalupo turned informant in 1972 and was a considerable asset to the FBI in prosecuting mafia trials.
He has testified in court, written a book on his activities in organized crime and also appeared in mafia related documentaries (such as Crime Inc.) as an authority on mafia life. [2]
Joseph Charles Bonanno, sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968.
The Gambino crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate 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 Mafia Commission Trial was a criminal trial before the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in New York City, United States, that lasted from February 25, 1985, until November 19, 1986. Using evidence obtained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 11 organized crime figures, including the heads of New York City's "Five Families", were indicted by United States Attorney Rudolph Giuliani under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) on charges including extortion, labor racketeering, and murder. Eight of them were convicted under RICO, and most were sentenced to 100 years in prison on January 13, 1987, the maximum possible sentence under that law.
The Five Families refer to five Italian American Mafia crime families that operate in New York City. In 1931, the five families were organized by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War.
The Colombo crime family is an Italian American Mafia crime family and is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was during Lucky Luciano's organization of the American Mafia after the Castellammarese War, following the assassinations of "Joe the Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano, that the gang run by Joseph Profaci became recognized as the Profaci crime family.
Vittorio "Little Vic" Amuso is an American mobster and the boss of the Lucchese crime family. He was described as "The Deadly Don" by Assistant United States Attorney Charles Rose. Amuso's reign is considered one of the bloodiest periods in American Mafia history during the late 1980s and early 1990s, alongside his former underboss and close protégé Anthony Casso, who turned informer against him in 1994. Since the death of Colombo crime family boss Carmine Persico in March 2019, Amuso is currently the longest-serving crime family boss of the Five Families and American Mafia, dating back to 1987. Amuso has been serving a life sentence since 1992 and is currently located at the Federal Correctional Complex, Butner, in North Carolina, on murder and racketeering charges.
The Commission is the governing body of the American Mafia, formed in 1931 by Charles "Lucky" Luciano following the Castellammarese War. The Commission replaced the title of capo di tutti i capi, held by Salvatore Maranzano before his murder, with a ruling committee that consists of the bosses of the Five Families of New York City, as well as the boss of the Chicago Outfit and, at various times, the leaders of smaller families, such as Buffalo, Philadelphia, Detroit, and others. The purpose of the Commission was to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and serve to mediate conflicts among families.
Vincent James Squillante, also known as Jimmy Jerome, was an American New York mobster who belonged to the Gambino crime family and was known as "king of the garbage collection racket". Squillante also worked as an assassin for mob boss Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia.
William Cutolo, also known as "Billy Fingers" and "Wild Bill", was an Italian-American mobster in the Colombo crime family of New York City who rose to the position of underboss and was heavily involved in labor racketeering. Cutolo played a key role in the 1991 to 1993 Colombo war.
Frank "Punchy" Illiano was a Brooklyn Captain with the Genovese crime family. During the 1960s and 1970s, he served as a top lieutenant to the Gallo brothers in their two wars with the Colombo crime family leadership.
Alan Longo also known as Baldie is an American mobster and a former caporegime in the Genovese crime family.
Kenny "Kenji" Gallo is a Japanese-Italian American gangster-turned-informant, a former director and producer of adult films, and an author.
Cantaloupe is a fruit.
Roy Lindley DeVecchio is a former U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent in charge of managing mob informants. DeVecchio worked for the FBI during the Mafia wars in New York during the 1980s and 1990s, eventually rising to head of the FBI squad responsible for surveillance of the Colombo crime family. He was also responsible for handling Gregory Scarpa, a Colombo capo who had secretly been an FBI informant since the 1960s.
Gregory Scarpa, nicknamed the Grim Reaper and also the Mad Hatter, was an American caporegime and hitman for the Colombo crime family, as well as an informant for the FBI. During the 1970s and 80s, Scarpa was the chief enforcer and veteran hitman for Colombo boss Carmine Persico. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1993 for three murders, and died on June 4, 1994.
John "Sonny" Franzese Sr. was an American mobster who was a longtime member and former underboss of the Colombo crime family.
Carmine Sessa, alias Carmine Marletta, is an Italian-American mobster and former consigliere of the Brooklyn-based Colombo crime family, and played a key role in the family from 1991 to 1993. He later became a government witness.
The Lucchese crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. Members refer to the organization as the Lucchese borgata; borgata is Mafia slang for criminal gang, which itself was derived from a Sicilian word meaning close-knit community. The members of other crime families sometimes refer to Lucchese family members as "Lukes".
Francesco "Frankie Shots" Abbatemarco was a New York captain in the Profaci-Colombo crime family, his murder is known for starting the first Colombo mafia war which was on and off for 12 years.
https://www.nytimes.com/1986/09/30/nyregion/informer-calls-persico-colombo-boss.html