Peter DeFeo

Peter DeFeo (March 4, 1902 – April 6, 1993), also known as "Philie Aquilino", was a New York mobster who became a caporegime with the Genovese crime family.

DeFeo's early days downtown

Growing up in New York's Little Italy, DeFeo became a soldier in the Genovese crime family under boss Vito Genovese. DeFeo rose within the ranks as a close associate of Genovese, as well as Genovese's closest allies Michele "Mike" Miranda, Carmine "Little Eli" Zeccardi, Anthony LaRocca and Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo. When DeFeo was inducted into the family, he was placed in the Miranda crew, which had operations in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. DeFeo was part of a group of family members and associates who supported the violent and ruthless Vito Genovese over the family's Godfather Frank Costello; included in this group were Mike Miranda, Gerardo "Jerry" Catena, Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola, Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo, Joseph "Socks" Lanza, the Eboli brothers Tommy and Patty, Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo, and a young but rising Vincent "the Chin" Gigante.

Promotion to caporegime of Genovese Little Italy Crew

The Genovese crime family's two main power bases were located in the West Village (Greenwich Village) and East Harlem (later shifting to the Bronx). The family's bosses were from these two factions dating back to its earliest days, including Frank Costello (East Harlem), Vito Genovese (Greenwich Village), Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo (Greenwich Village), and Vincent Gigante (Greenwich Village). Family bosses Benny Lombardo and Vincent Gigante used front bosses, to keep law enforcement pressure away from them, and these front bosses included Tommy Eboli, Frank Tieri, and Fat Tony Salerno.

DeFeo later served under Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, who became acting boss with Genovese in prison. DeFeo was a member of Patty Ryan Eboli's crew, and would eventually become the crew's captain. DeFeo operated most of his businesses from the Alto Knights Social Club in Little Italy. However, he also conducted business from other social clubs and the Cuomo Cheese Corporation in Little Italy. DeFeo's top button-men were Alexander "Black Alex" Morelli and the Lorenzo "Larry Chappie" Brescio. DeFeo was one of the main bosses of the Lower East Side Italian lottery, and controlled bookmaking in the area.

Carpenters' union rackets and extortion activities

DeFeo's crew was involved in the N.Y.C. District Council of Carpenters during the 1970s. Mobster Vincent Cafaro testified that DeFeo's interests in the Carpenters Union were represented by Alex "Black Alex" Morelli and associate Marcello Svedese, a union official with Local 17. DeFeo's crew was also involved in extorting money from construction and construction-related trucking companies. As an example, DeFeo was receiving between $8,000 to $10,000 per year from P. Chimento Trucking during the 1980s. DeFeo also received payments from Ross Trucking, and controlled Pier 13 in Manhattan, which was known as "the Banana Pier".

Later years

In 1974, DeFeo was again in the news after the Amityville Horror murders in Amityville, New York. Defeo's grandnephew, Ronald DeFeo, Jr., had murdered his father, mother, two brothers and two sisters in their suburban house. There were reports that the police originally considered Peter DeFeo as a suspect.

In 1981, DeFeo's influence within the family began to wane as Vincent Gigante and the West Side faction took control of the Genovese family. Captains Liborio Bellomo and Vincent DiNapoli whittled away most of DeFeo's influence.

In 1987, DeFeo and Bellomo got into a dispute over control over Carpenters Local 17 in the Bronx. To settle the dispute, consigliere Louis Manna gave the local to Bellomo. With his influence in the family eroded, DeFeo retired. In April 1993, DeFeo died of natural causes at age 91.

Further reading

• Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime. New York: NYU Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8147-4247-5
• Osuna, Ric. The Night The Defeos Died: Reinvestigating the Amityville Murders. Nevada: Noble Kai Media, 2003. ISBN 1-59109-586-7
• United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. Investigation of Improper Activities in the Labor Or Management Field. 1959. [1]
• United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Waterfront Investigation: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. 1953. [2]

References

• Bureau of Narcotics, U.S. Treasury Department, "Mafia: the Government's Secret File on Organized Crime, HarperCollins Publishers 2007 ISBN 0-06-136385-5
• Social Security Death Index