Garbage Men

This past Friday a Lucchese crime family capo plead guilty inside a Brooklyn courtroom. That capo was Carmine Avellino, and this would end a case that started with a $100k loan back in 2010.

The case is troubling on a number of fronts for a few reasons.  I understand that shylocking, also known as loan sharking, is against the law. It’s called usury.   On the other hand is the borrower. They are not forced to get a loan from a shylock.  They gladly take the money to use for whatever they wish.  They agree to the terms and give their word that they will pay it back. It comes down to personal responsibility, but they get off by running to the FBI. Maybe in the future when they charge shylocks with usury, they should also charge the borrowers with tax evasion and make them pay back the principle as a fine.   While loansharking is illegal, the government allows these payday loan places, pawn shops and credit card companies to basically do the same thing.  

The two borrowers in this case made most of the payments on the loan, but towards the end they fell behind. So Avellino asked Michael and Daniel Capra to collect it. He instructed them to use violence or whatever means necessary to get the money.  The FBI was watching and had both video and audio recordings of the three men conspiring together.

The Capra brothers went to court in June and July, where they both plead guilty and now all three of them face up to 20 years.

Carmine Avellino’s problem is much more than the shylock charge, and it goes back to August 10, 1989.

The story begins long before the trade group Private Sanitation Industry Inc. was formed in Long Island, New York.  This is a good place to introduce Salvatore Avellino Jr., who ran the trade group which was a front for the Lucchese and Gambino family.  The families used the group to control prices and routes for carting companies on Long Island.  It brought in massive amounts of cash to both families.  Salvatore Avellino Jr. not only ran the group but also was driver to the man who put it all together, Tony “Ducks” Corallo, who was the boss of the Lucchese family.

The trade group was having a lot of problems with two men who ran a garbage hauling service on Long Island known as Kubecka Inc. Robert Kubecka and his brother in law Donald Barstow had taken over Robert’s father Jerry’s garbage hauling service when he retired.  There were over 200 private garbage hauling companies on Long Island at the time, and 180 of them belonged to the trade group.  The routes and the rates were set by the group, which was really just the Lucchese and Gambino family.

Then Kubecka refused to have anything to do with the group, so they started having problems.  Their trucks were vandalized, they were threatened and trash containers were burned.  

They decided to cooperate with the state and federal task force investigating the trade group.  They wore wires and gave intel to the investigators.  They provided enough information to take down Salvatore Avellino Jr. and 9 others.  They also were able to bug Sal Avellino’s Jaguar, where they caught Tony Ducks discussing mafia business.  Tony Ducks would get 100 years, but Sal Avellino caught a break.  Soon Vic Amuso and Gaspipe Casso were running the family and they did not like people who worked with the Feds. They called a meeting in a Canarsie Brooklyn social club.  Sal Avellino Jr, and a capo from the Bronx Bowatt Baratta showed up to meet with Amuso and Casso.  They wanted to use Bowett because he was removed from Long Island and the carting business.  Bowatt was big into heroin and had done many years for it.

They had law enforcement sources that were on the Lucchese family payroll so they knew that they could murder the two men at the Kubecka office.  The task force had left the two men completely exposed with no protection.

On August 10, 1989, Bowat was there with Carmine Avellino and they dropped off the two killers.  Rocco Vitulli and Frankie Federico made their way into the garbage services office where they encountered Donald Barstow in the hallway.  They blasted him right away and then ran into the main office.  Robert Kubecka, having heard the shots, fought the men with his bare hands.  They tore up the small office and fired a number of missed shots until they finally mortally wounded Kubecka.  The shooters took off but Kubecka was able to call 911 before he died.

Years later they would all be arrested for racketeering and the murders, but they would all plead out to lesser charges except for Federico, who was missing.  The FBI caught up with Federico in the Bronx and his DNA was at the scene, so he was giving 15 years for the murders.  The Kubecka family won a large settlement from the state but what good does that really do the family?

Carmine Avellino will keep paying for his crimes.

Bill Ferrante

I have been asked if Louis Ferrante is related to Bill “The Crusher” Ferrante.  The answer is No.

In the 1990’s I was hanging around Jerry Zimmerman, who was a close friend of both Bill Ferrante and Sonny Franzese.  Jerry was a huge man and one of the best con men that ever lived. I called him the gentle giant.  The name Sonny Franzese is thrown around by many people.  I never met him in person, only spoke to him on the phone.  Most of the people who drop his name have never laid eyes on the man.  

Back in the days I was hanging with Jerry, I was working as a criminal also and I was known as one of the people who could get x rated movies made.  Porn was an outlet we used to launder money from other crimes.

My “work” brought me to the right place at the right time, because Jerry and Bill decided to become partners in a wholesale porn warehouse. I was on parole at the time and my parole officer was on me about getting a job.  So when I was chosen to go to Fort Lauderdale by Jerry to meet his partner Bill, I was really happy.  It was a great way for me to get out of town and out of sight.

I met Bill and we hit it off immediately. Only a select few of us were allowed to call Bill “Billy,” including Jerry Zimmerman and Sonny and Michael Franzese. I also met Billy's younger sister Gina, who was the widow of Vinny Lynch.  Vinny was a bank robber and a suspect in over a dozen murders.

I would get to the porno warehouse early everyday before Bill or Gina arrived. I answered the phones a lot and more than a few times it was Sonny calling.  He often called not only to speak to Bill but to speak to Gina also.  Sonny and Gina were close and had been since the 1970s.  I quickly discovered Sonny and Gina had a long off-and-on relationship.  Bill never bragged or spoke about his criminal activity.  If anything, he played it down.  He is 30 years older than me and had quite a record.  Bill Ferrante, also known as “The Crusher” and his partner Vinny, aka “The Butcher” (not to be confused with Vinny Lynch the bank robber) were in Michael Franzese’s innermost circle. They were the two main enforcers for Michael during the gasoline scam. Bill had gas stations all the way from Long Island down to Florida.

Bill and Vinny (The Crusher and The Butcher) were partners involved with a multi million dollar counterfeit scheme that also included stolen bearer bonds. They were so slick that the agents from the secret service tried to infiltrate them. The undercover secret service guys went along on some of their deliveries. They met with the crusher and the butcher and gave them a downpayment of $10k on some paper and when they returned they were busted.  They were both given the maximum sentence that the judge could give them.  Immediately upon their release both men resumed their roles with Michael.

Soon Michael and his whole crew were in the gas business. To this day, the gasoline scam was the largest money maker in organized crime history. For years everyone was flying high.  The pressure became too much and a player in gas business, Larry Lorizzo, decided to flip in 1986. That was all the government needed, and they started falling like dominos. They started rolling up the whole operation and nobody was safe.  Most of the Russian criminals who had worked alongside them in the gas business also plead guilty.  

Bill was soon indicted by the state of Florida.  To make it worse, he was already out on $250k bond from the feds.  While in the Dade County jail he hired Jayne Weintraub and she represented him in his state RICO trial.  

One day during the trial everyone was asked to evacuate the courthouse. They all thought it was a bomb scare. When they all came back to the courtroom there was Larry Lorizzo in the witness box.  All 500 pounds of him.  He was sitting there surrounded by marshalls, ready to testify how Bill was part of the Colombo family, a collector for Sonny, and Michael’s enforcer.  A lot of guys testified against Bill in his state RICO trial in which he was facing 30 years.  Could it be a surprise that he got convicted? Bill was off to prison, once again, to do his time.  Bill hired Stanley Neustader to represent him on his appeal. 2 ½ years later  Neustader won Bill’s appeal. The Feds could not try him because the state found him guilty.

Michael Franzese never testified against Bill. Bill found out Michael became an informer while he was in prison.  One thing I must say about Billy, he is a stand up guy.  I miss him, his sister Gina and my late friend Jerry Zimmerman. Don’t ever think for a moment that Bill is related to that other Ferrante guy on TV who claims to be a former gangster (Louis Ferrante). I never met Sonny in person, only over the phone.

Colombo Family: The Daily Grind

Last week I wrote about Joey “Caves” Compietello who gave such a valuable compelling look inside the Colombo Family. He has the classic tale of mob life that shows that the Mafia is far from dead.  The question is why in 2014 would anyone still strive to become a made guy?

Those who have reached middle management or at least stable status in the Mafia were born in the late 1960’s or the early 1970’s.  This was a time that the Mafia had a strong presence in many neighborhoods across the US.  The FBI was just starting to understand how it worked and how to use the RICO laws.

Many young up and comers never went past the 9th grade and dropped out of high school.  This does not mean they are stupid by any measure.  Many are smart but were bored by school and the lure of the streets was strong.

The 1980’s was a time in Brooklyn where many of those young men started stealing cars.  Many older Mafia members owned junk yards or auto repair places.  So these young high school dropouts could earn very good money by stealing and dropping off these cars to them.  

They would be chopped and parted out or tagged.  Tagging a car means they would buy a car that had been wrecked beyond repair that the insurance company sold as totaled. Once owning this frame they would remove the VIN ( Vehicle Identification Number) then steal the exact car and install the totaled cars “tags” on the stolen car. This was a huge money maker because they could buy a wrecked car for mere hundreds and sell the tagged car for thousands of dollars.

Once many of these young expert car thieves made some cash they would find their own spots to “Chop” or disassemble stolen cars. Many parts from a car are valuable and there is no way to trace them so they can sell the parts.

Money and greed are why many were killed by those around the Mafia.  The Mafia does not pay for killing.  Those around or inside the Mafia take part in murder to advance their position.

It is one of those unpleasant byproducts of the life.

Those who ran the Chop shops kicked up money to whatever Mafia guy they were “around” or “with”.  The more money they kicked up the more status they had.  They also wanted the cash so they could just live, so anyone stealing from them was literally taking food from their mouths.

Joe Meech or Joe Miccio was working with Joey Caves and others in a Chop Shop.  Dino Calabro was not made but he was “with” Tommy “Shots” Geoli, meaning he was kicking money up to him.  Joe Meech was selling parts from chopped cars and keeping the cash for himself.

Joe Meech was picked up by a guy nicknamed “Tigger” one day to take care of some car business when they stopped to also pick up Joey Caves.  Once in the car Joey Caves pulled out his pistol and shot Joe Meech in the head.  They drove to 17th and Shore Parkway where Joey pushed Joe Meech out of the car and shot him three more times to make sure he was dead.

In the book “Mob over Miami,” the author made it seem like Carmine Gargano was murdered by those around the Bath Ave Crew or Jimmy “Frogs” Galione cocaine crew.  Carmine was murdered because he was involved with Dino Calabro in a chop shop business and he wanted more money from it.  He was lured to a chop shop off MacDonald Ave where he was shot in the head and smashed with a hammer.  They buried him under the floor of the shop but his family came there looking for him.  They moved him out to the Colombo graveyard in Farmingdale Long Island where others would be buried.  The FBI would never find his body but they found hair and other traces of him in the MacDonald Ave chop shop.

The Colombo war in the 1990’s tore the family apart and life long friends were out looking to kill each other.  The older made Colombo members used the young thugs to scout out and kill others because they were not known.  The young guys would “Sit” on targets houses or businesses so they could get their routines down.  

Joey Caves “sat” on Joe Baudanza’s home and Joe Scopo’s home.  Joe Baudanza is a Colombo Capo who was part of the ruling panel that ran the family because boss Carmine “Gimpy” Persico is away for life.  Joe is also the brother of Carmine Baudanza a Colombo soldier and the Uncle of John Baudanza a Lucchese Capo.  Joe Baudanza was inducted, made or as the Colombo’s put it “Coming to the house” in a home on Long Island. I know because my friend Joe Campy was made at the same time and place.  

John Baudanza and Little Craig Marino were drivers and bodyguards for Joe Scopo.  They must not have been good because Joe was shot in front of his house after Teddy Persico Jr came home on a prison furlough for his grandmother's funeral.  Teddy was kneeling next to her body when he gave the order to murder Scopo.  Joey Caves did not murder Scopo but he sat on his house.  Joey would be made in Brooklyn by among others Joe Baudanza and at the same time as little Craig Marino.

The Colombo’s were aware that the FBI and others were always watching or listening to them so they adopted some new tactics. A thumb across the cheek was how they referred to a made guy and a thumb across the back was their way of indicating a Capo. All the families used methods close to this, in Los Angeles they would point to the chest for a soldier, the shoulder for a Capo and the sky for Pete Milano the Boss.  

The stories and the methods are the same all over the US in the Mafia families. Chicago is the same, just not as “Cowboy” as the rest of the families.  All the the families now have a good chance of continuing on because the FBI is busy with terrorists.  

The information they got from men like Joey Caves, Joey Massino, Sammy Gravano, Andrew DiDonato, Mikey Scars, Philip Leonetti, Al D’Arco and so many more is priceless and provides a glimpse into a secret criminal world that few on the outside can understand.

Hollywood will keep churning out their mindless gangster flicks with stars who carry a new pistol with designer gloves on their hands. Most of these will fall short of the life but all you have to do is look at the trials of the real deal.

Joey Caves should get a sentence like Sammy Gravano or any of the others that came before.  He has helped team USA in the fight against Organized Crime.

Poor Tommy Shots

This week was quiet in the world of the Mafia because the Feds did not take down anyone new. There was a little cleaning up of old trash in the name of Thomas Gioeli Aka Tommy Shots, Tommy Machine or Bitch Tits. Tommy has his own blog so maybe he has a family member writing for him, as he is locked up. On the blog you can read about his plight and all his physical woes. He complains that the FBI and the United States Attorney conspires to take down Italians for decades old crimes while bankers steal billions from innocent citizens. The problem with this story is that a banker or CEO is not a part of an Organized Crime Family and is not as violent as the Colombo Family. Bankers do not engage in murder as a way to settle business disputes. The Government charged Tommy Shots in a superseding indictment on 6-19-08 with a number of racketeering charges, including murders, robberies and running the Colombo Family on a day-to-day basis.

The sole purpose of the Colombo Family is to enrich its members from the proceeds of criminal acts with the bulk of the proceeds going to the leadership. This is funny because Tommy Shots claims he was so broke, that his defense was paid for by the taxpayers. Tommy Shots conspired with others to rob a place on the Jericho Turnpike named "Furs by Mina." He then conspired with others to murder Frank Marasa aka "Chestnut" on June 12 1991. Tommy gave the order to murder Marasa because it was said he was involved in the murder of a Colombo Associate. On the night of June 12th Tommy Shots ordered a relative of his named Thomas McLaughlin to drive Dino Calabro and Richie Greaves to Bensonhurt, Brooklyn. They waited until they spotted Marasa in front of his home. Calabro and Greaves exited the car and opened fire on Marasa, killing him. McLaughlin then dropped off Greaves and took Calabro to the Cropsey Diner to meet with Tommy Shots. Tommy Shots was later convicted for this conspiracy.

The Colombo War was in full swing when Tommy Shots was given the order to kill Orena faction loyalist John Minerva by the Persico faction leaders. Minerva was a Colombo soldier but was now marked for death. On the night of March 25th, 1992, Minerva was with a friend named Michael Imbergamo for a night out. They were parked in front of the Broadway Cafe in North Massapequa Long Island when a gunman opened fire on them, killing them both instantly. Michael Imbergamo was killed simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  That is the way the Mafia works.

They would like you to think that they only kill each other, but the truth is that they kill anyone they wish. A lot of the murders are over petty matters. The bosses never follow "The Rules" they only apply them to those who fall out of their favor.

I have written before about Tommy Shots going after Joseph Peraino Sr. and his son Joseph Peraino Jr. in Gravesend Brooklyn. The two men were walking down the street when two men started firing on them. They both ran up a stoop to a door and began beating on it, the occupant was a former nun who was known as Sister Mary Adelaide. She walked towards the door asking what was going on when she was hit by a pellet from a shotgun blast and killed. Joseph Jr. was killed and Joseph Sr. would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. This was all over the profit of the porn film Deep Throat because the Colombo family Bosses aka the Persicos felt they were not getting their due.

Tommy Shots has spent the last six years locked up in Federal Detention because he was refused bail as a danger to the community. He had a stroke and his diabetes is bad, but as the past has shown, these guys don't let a little sickness stop them from their life of crime. It certainly does not stop them when they can reap the rewards of being in the administration of the family. 

Even though he has spent six years locked up, he was given another 224 months by the judge in the case because the Judge felt the Government had proved by a preponderance of evidence that Tommy Shots was a Colombo Mobster. He was ordered to pay $360,000 in restitution, $150,000 going to Furs by Mina, but it will never come because until Tommy Shots is released he must only pay $25.00 a month and then after release 10% of his income to the court. He will have 3 years of supervised release with rules that he may not associate with anyone in Organized Crime. 

 
Lets hope that Tommy Shots lives a long life in whatever Federal Medical Center he is placed. This is one criminal that I don't mind paying to keep locked up with the best medical care.