Vincent Cafaro | |
|---|---|
 Cafaro with Anthony Salerno, February 1985 | |
| Born | August 27, 1933 |
| Other names | The Fish |
| Occupation | Mafia Soldier |
| Allegiance | Genovese crime family |
Vincent Cafaro (born August 27, 1933) is a former Italian-American mobster who was a soldier in the Genovese crime family under the tutelage of acting boss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, until becoming a government confidential informant and cooperating witness in 1986.
Cafaro was born in the small town of Gambugliano near Vicenza, Italy, but grew up in the East Harlem section of New York. In 1974, Cafaro became a made man, or full member, in the Genovese family and was assigned to Salerno's crew, based out of the Palma Boys Social Club in East Harlem.
From 1974 to 1986, Cafaro was influential in the N.Y.C. District Council of Carpenters rackets. Cafaro received payoff money from fellow East Harlem native and Genovese captain Vincent DiNapoli. DiNapoli's top associate, Teddy Maritas, was President of the District Council. Cafaro's representative in the Carpenters Union was Onofrio "Frankie Zip" Acramone. Cafaro would have Acramone set up meetings with other union officers to gain further influence in the union. Cafaro and Acramone worked with DiNapoli's representatives Attilio Bitondo, Anthony Fiorino, and Gambino crime family representative Carmine Fiore on labor rackets during the construction of the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.
DiNapoli eventually went to prison for labor racketeering; Maritas disappeared after being indicted. While DiNapoli was in prison, he learned that Cafaro was gaining influence in the District Council. Worried about his turf, DiNapoli took the problem to boss Salerno. Salerno sided with DiNapoli and forced Cafaro to return the union rackets to DiNapoli.
On March 21, 1986, Cafaro and 14 other mobsters were indicted on federal racketeering charges involving concrete supply companies. [1] In September 1986, while in jail awaiting trial, Cafaro contacted the government about becoming a government informant and witness. In October 1986, the government released Cafaro on bail. From October 1986 to March 1987, Cafaro attended family meetings wearing a recording device. On March 20, 1987, the government revealed in court that Cafaro was now working for them. [2] [3] Cafaro's son Thomas was indicted at the same case, and the government offered him a plea agreement also. However, Thomas decided to plead guilty and go to prison to assure the Genovese family that he was still loyal.
Cafaro later testified about the Genovese family involvement in large scale labor racketeering; their control over the New York District Council of Carpenters; and the family's organizational structure. Cafaro also exposed the Genovese family's control over the New York Coliseum and the Javits Center. He also described how Salerno, after suffering a stroke, became a figurehead for new boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante. This maneuver helped deflect law enforcement scrutiny of Gigante's affairs. [4] When Salerno was eventually convicted and sentenced to 100 years in prison in the Commission case, the real family boss, Gigante, was still free.
In October 1987, Cafaro told prosecutors that he was breaking his cooperation deal because of fear for his immediate family. On February 20, 1988, Cafaro refused to answer some questions in court during a drug trial for Liborio Bellomo and three other defendants. [5] In 1989 and 1990, Cafaro testified against Gambino boss John Gotti and then disappeared into the federal Witness Protection Program.
Vincent Louis Gigante, also known as "Chin", was an American mobster who was boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City from 1981 to 2005. Gigante started out as a professional boxer who fought in 25 matches between 1944 and 1947. He then started working as a Mafia enforcer for what was then the Luciano crime family, forerunner of the Genovese family. Gigante was one of five brothers. Three of them, Mario, Pasquale, and Ralph, followed him into the Mafia. Only one brother, Louis, stayed out of the crime family, instead becoming a Catholic priest. Gigante was the shooter in the failed assassination of longtime Luciano boss Frank Costello in 1957. In 1959, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking, and after sharing a prison cell with Costello's rival, Vito Genovese, Gigante became a caporegime overseeing his own crew of Genovese soldiers and associates based in Greenwich Village.
The Genovese crime family, also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American Mafia. The Genovese family has generally maintained a varying degree of influence over many of the smaller mob families outside New York, including ties with the Philadelphia, Cleveland, Patriarca, and Buffalo crime families.
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Peter DeFeo, also known as "Philie Aquilino", was a New York mobster who became a caporegime with the Genovese crime family.
Vincent DiNapoli was a caporegime in the Genovese crime family, involved in labor racketeering. DiNapoli is best known for creating a cartel in the 1970s that controlled the price of drywall in New York City.
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Louis DiNapoli is a New York City mobster and soldier in the Genovese crime family. DiNapoli grew up in the East Harlem section of Manhattan and became a made member of the Genovese family in the early 1980s, joining the 116th Street Crew, which was headed by his older brother Vincent DiNapoli. The crew was heavily involved in labor racketeering in the N.Y.C. District Council of Carpenters, and used its influence to extort money from New York construction companies and contractors.
Rosario "Ross" Gangi is a New York City mobster and former captain in the Genovese crime family who became involved in labor Racketeering and white collar crime.
Mario "The Shadow" Gigante was an American mobster in New York City who served as a caporegime for the Genovese crime family. He was the elder brother of late family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante.
Attilio Bitondo, also known as "Tillio", was a New York City labor leader and an associate in the Genovese crime family in the crew of powerful Manhattan captain Vincent DiNapoli.
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Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was an American mobster who served as underboss and front boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City from 1981 until his conviction in 1986.
