Frank DeCicco

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Frank DeCicco aka Frankie D and Frankie Cheech (born November 5, 1935 in Bath Beach , Brooklyn , New York City , † April 13, 1986 in Dyker Heights , Brooklyn) was an Italian-American mobster and member of the Gambino family of the American Cosa Nostra . DeCicco was involved in the murder of the Gambino boss Paul Castellano .

Early years

DeCicco was the son of gangster Vincent "Boozy" DeCicco, who came from Benevento , Italy . This was a simple member (it .: " Soldato ") in the Gambino family and also an alcoholic , which had led to his nickname.

DeCicco grew up in Bath Beach, Brooklyn on, later lived as an adult in Staten Iceland in New York State . His brother George DeCicco was a member of the Gambino family. He also had a sister named Betty DeCicco. Frank's uncle was also a professional criminal and a capo regime in the Gambino family. Frank had two children, Vincent and Grace DeCicco. Frank's nephew was Robert DeCicco, who was also a gangster in the Gambino gang.

DeCicco had silver-gray hair that he dyed black. He ran illegal casinos in Brooklyn and Manhattan and a social club in Bensonhurst , Brooklyn.

Protegee Castellanos

Between the late 1960s and the early 1970s, he became part of the Gambino family and initially served as a "Soldato". In 1973, he stole along with the future "underboss" of the Lucchese crime family , diamond traders and truck drivers from. He did not shy away from using physical force when collecting money.

DeCicco was sponsored by Gambino boss Paul Castellano, who, like him, also came from Bath Beach. DeCicco was close friends with Gambino Capo James Failla . The crew that DeCicco was a part of were the most powerful in the Gambino family. It included the associates Joseph Watts, John Gottis Chauffeur and Bodyguard , Joseph Paruta and Vito Rizzuto Sr.

DeCicco was heavily involved in so-called laboratory racketeering ; he held a position in the International Brotherhood of Teamsters transport workers union . It was, however, a "no show job" that only served as a disguise, but was paid for by the union despite the absence ("no show").

DeCicco often attended meetings at the Castellanos House in Todt Hill on Staten Island .

Murders of Scibetta and DeMeo

In 1978, Castellano DeCicco ordered Gambino member Nicholas Scibetta to be murdered with the help of Salvatore Gravano's crew . Castellano was outraged by Scibetta's drug and alcohol consumption. He was also involved in disputes with other family members. Scibetta was the brother-in-law of his friend Sammy Gravano , yet he carried out the order together with Liborio "Louie" Milito and Joseph "Stymie" D'Angelo Sr. Scibetta was apparently the victim of a Lupara Bianca and disappeared without a trace at the end of 1978.

In 1983 Castellano DeCicco ordered Gambino-Capo Roy DeMeo to be murdered. DeMeo's crew is said to have committed up to 200 contract killings. Castellano worried that DeMeo might become a Pentito . DeCicco commissioned the Gambino soldiers Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa with the act. On January 10, 1983, they murdered DeMeo.

Murders of Castellano and Bilotti

In 1985 DeCicco and John Gotti decided to murder their own boss Paul Castellano and the new underboss, Thomas Bilotti . There had long been dissatisfaction within the Gambino family with Castellano's management style and its focus on white-collar crime ; especially since the Gotti crew did not benefit from these activities either.

In addition, the Gotti crew was intensely involved in drug trafficking, which was actually forbidden within the American Cosa Nostra and the non-observance thus in turn called the authority of Castellano into question.

Ultimately, Gotti resolved the conflict in his favor; the conspirators Gravano, Gotti, Joseph Armone and Frank Locascio lured Castellano into a trap. He was invited to Sparks Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan by DeCicco and James Failla .

On December 16, 1985, Castellano and Bilotti were murdered in front of the steakhouse. After the murder, Gotti was elected as the new boss. Gotti made DeCicco the new underboss. Gravano had asked DeCicco to become boss himself, whereupon he said to Gravano:

“John's fucking ego is too big. I could be his underboss, but he couldn't be mine. Look, he's got balls, he's got brains, he's got charisma. If we can control him to stop the gambling and all of his flamboyant bullshit, he could be a good boss. Sammy, I'll tell you what. We'll give him a shot. Let him be the boss. If it don't work within a year, me and you, we'll kill him. I'll become the boss, and you'll be my underboss, and we'll run the family right. "

“John's fucking ego is too big. I can be his underboss, but he can never be mine. See, he's got balls, he's got brains, he's got charisma. If we can get him to quit gambling and all this bullshit, he could be a good boss. Sammy, I'll tell you what. We'll try him. Let him be the boss. If it doesn't work in a year, we'll kill him. Then I'll be boss, you my underboss and we'll run the family properly. "

- Frank DeCicco

Assassination of DeCicco

The murder of Castellano angered Vincent Gigante , the boss of the Genovese family . According to internal mafia law, the murder of a mafia boss was only possible if the “Mafia Commission” had approved it. The commission was a council made up of representatives from the five New York families and the Chicago outfit . It was the "last and highest instance" of the US mafia. Gigante presided over this commission and had been an ally of Castellano. Gigante asked the Lucchese boss Victor Amuso and the underboss Anthony Casso to plan the assassination of Gotti.

In November 1997, Casso, who was a government informant at the time, said that Genovese Family Associate Herbert Pate had been charged with the murder of Gotti. In addition, Casso wrote in his biography that he had warned DeCicco before the attempt to do something against Castellano

“The plotters reportedly used a bomb to divert suspicion toward Sicilian hoods, who often use explosives. Godfather, who had no links to the Gambino family, was unlikely to be recognized by mobsters while staking out DeCicco. "

“The backers wanted to use a bomb to cast suspicion on Sicilians, who often used bombs. Godfather, who had no connection to the Gambino clan, was not suspected by the Gambino men while spying on DeCicco. "

- Anthony Casso

On April 13, 1986, Pate drove to the Veterans & Friends Social Club in Dyker Heights , Brooklyn, where he suspected Gotti and DeCicco. He unobtrusively planted a bomb on DeCicco's cars.

DeCicco got into the car a short time later, and the Lucchese soldier Frank “Frankie Hearts” Bellino was standing next to the car. Godfather, mistaking Bellino for Gotti and detonating the bomb, which immediately killed DeCicco. Bellino lost numerous toes but survived.

“I saw Frankie DeCicco laying on the ground beside the car. With the fire, it could blow up again. I tried to pull him away. I grabbed a leg, but he ain't coming with it. The leg is off. One of his arms is off. I got my hand under him and my hand went right through his body to his stomach. There's no ass. His ass, his balls, everything, is blown completely off. […] I was wearing a white shirt. I looked at my shirt, amazed. There wasn't a drop of blood on it. The force of the blast, the concussion, blew most of the fluids out of Frankie's body. He had no blood left in him, nothing, not an ounce. "

“I saw Frankie DeCicco lying on the ground next to his car. Because of the fire, a second explosion could have followed. I tried to pull it away. I grabbed a leg but couldn't pull it away, the leg was off. One arm was off. I put my hand under his body and the hand went straight into his stomach. There was no ass, no balls, everything was completely blown away. [...] I was wearing a white T-shirt. I looked at my shirt and was amazed. There wasn't a drop of blood on it. The force of the explosion had thrown the fluids out of Frankie's body, there was no more blood in him, nothing, not an ounce. "

- Sammy Gravano

After death

Drug Enforcement Administration agent Edward Magnuson testified that an informant told him that Gotti was very angry and had spoken of a new gang war. Gotti appointed Capo Joseph Armone as the new underboss. The Diocese of Brooklyn refused to give Mass to DeCicco . DeCicco was buried in the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp , New York.

Cultural reception

literature

Peter Maas: Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia . Harper Paperbacks, New York, NY 1997, ISBN 0-06-109664-4 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ William K. Rashbaum: Now on the FBI's shortlist: Two Men, Long Out of Sight . In: New York Times , June 22, 2002. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  2. ↑ Stephanie Cohen: LAST OF THE GOTTI GANG . In: New York Post , January 31, 2007. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  3. ↑ Alan Fire: Bensonhurst Journal; In Brooklyn, a Quiet Avenue With Dirty Laundry . In: New York Times , New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  4. ↑ Murray Weiss: MOB HIT & MISS IN BROOKLYN . In: New York Post , June 6, 2007. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  5. ↑ Michael Daly: The New Godfather: The Rise of John Gotti . In: New York Magazine , June 23, 1986. Retrieved December 7, 2011. 
  6. ↑ Anthony Bruno: The Gambino Crime Family: Manhattan vs. Brooklyn . In: TruTV Crime Library . Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  7. ↑ a b c Peter Maas; P. 314; 334-335, 382
  8. ↑ Jerry Capeci: SECRET'S UP IN SLAY OF GOTTI CONFIDANT . In: New York Daily News , November 12, 1997. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  9. ^ Anthony Bruno: The Gambino Crime Family: The Last Don . In: TruTV Crime Library . Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  10. ↑ Peter Kerr: DIOCESE PROHIBITS MASS AT MOB FIGURE'S BURIAL . In: New York Times , April 17, 1986. Retrieved December 6, 2011. 
  11. ^ Frank DeCicco Frank DeCicco . In: Find A Grave . Retrieved December 6, 2011.
personal data
SURNAME DeCicco, Frank
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cheech, Frankie; Frankie D (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American criminal and mafioso
DATE OF BIRTH November 5, 1935
PLACE OF BIRTH Bath Beach , Brooklyn , New York City
DATE OF DEATH April 13, 1986
Place of death Dyker Heights , Brooklyn, New York City