Danny Cutaia

I have written a lot about John Baudanza and people always want to know more.

John married a girl named Danielle Cutaia who had a father who was a Capo in the Luchese family.

Dominico "Danny" Cutaia

Domenico Cutaia aka Danny had come up in the Luchese family under the legendary Capo Paul Vario who will forever be known as Paulie from Goodfellas.  Paul Vario was a real gangster who had a vast criminal empire that even brought him to California where he had his hands in a porn business and a card club.  Danny was his trusty driver and served him well. So Paul did right by him and he was made into the family.  I’ve spoken to a few guys and they have no idea how or why he was made.  He was made and later he was made a Capo and he even served on the panel that ran the family.  Danny was a bookmaker and he had some scams, cash on the street, shylock but what did he do?   This was a question I asked some guys from Brooklyn and they had no idea.  They said either he was really good and had it going on or he was doing nothing.   Danny liked to drink and he used to be at  Turquoise in Bayridge getting his drink on while John Baudanza kissed his ass.   To be fair to Danny he had guys who brought in cash like Robert Arena, John Baudanza and his son Sal who was a bookmaker.  He was also close to some very rich legitimate guys.

One night I went out with John Baudanza, his buddy Nicky, Dayton, Belladonna and Keith (Eddie Garafolo's cousin). We were in the city and we hit a few clubs and while at one John had a little problem, so Nicky and I took the guy down.  We left the club and headed to the Westin Times Square where we had two rooms.  Nicky and John were so drunk they had no idea how to get there, so I drove us all there.  It was John and Dayton, Belladonna and me, Nicky was just there for the ride.  When we got there John made me check the room to make sure it was okay. Then they started drinking in Dayton’s room and John was trying to get rid of Nicky. I left to chill with Belladonna next door.  This was at about 3am on a weeknight.  I started getting calls about 5:30am from George Fenelli, Craig Marino and then Eddie Garafolo asking where John was and to get him home.   John's wife was calling everyone and at this time Danny was doing a short stretch for a gambling beef so his wife was living at John's home.  I finally went next door and pounded on Dayton’s door but I got nothing.  I was called again by Eddie and this time I kept pounding on the door until Dayton opened it.  John was passed out but I told her that he had to get home.  She woke him and I went downstairs to get him some hair gel so we could put him in a town car.  I caught a lot of shit from the Colombo's for John's mess, but I just laughed it off.

Dominico "Danny" Cutaia 

A month later John was holding Court at his place Plush in Bayridge on a Wednesday night.  He had his whole crew there and even his father Carmine came by the place.  Dayton was the only female present and I was surprised that the now free Danny was also there!  John was no longer bringing in the big bucks from his Pump and Dump stuff or the Phone company scam.  He had a party store and they were trying to get a new weed business going.

Steve "Wonder Boy" Crea

Danny had come along way from being  Paul Vario's driver.   After Paul passed away Little Al D'Arco took over the crew and he became Danny's boss.  Little Al had done time for Heroin dealing but now he was a huge shylock with over a million dollars on the street.  He was a rising star in the family because his friend Vic Ammuso had stepped up as the boss of the Lucchese Family.  The Commission Case had taken out the top leadership in all the New York Families.  They lost not only their leaders but the brains behind the incredible run of the Mafia in America.  Little Al was soon dealing with the Unions and Danny was learning first hand how to deal with them. Steve Crea was the main guy in the family that worked the construction trade and this brought in the most cash.  Vic Amusso and Gaspipe Casso were soon on the run and Little Al was now the acting boss, so he appointed Danny to help run the families construction panel.  He also had Danny take over a Brooklyn crew and now Danny was a Capo. He was always jealous of Brooklyn Gambino Capo Nicky Corrozo because Nicky was a stone cold gangster.   The family went through some really bad times with Vic and Gas soon Danny was the main guy who gave orders from Vic to the rest of the family. I guess this was Danny's stroke of luck.

Things do not look good for Danny.  He is finishing up his sentence in a Federal Medical Facility where he has suffered a stroke, advanced MS and Alzheimer's but we all know about Mobsters and their health problems. I suspect this one is for real, it is all the years of hard drinking and hard living catching up to him.  He will be free in October of this year.

Dominico "Danny" Cutaia

John Baudanza better hope he lives long enough to set him up in something good.

FBI Surveillance Photo