Angelo DeCarlo
Angelo DeCarlo | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 2, 1902 |
| Died | October 20, 1973 (aged 71) |
| Resting place | Gate of Heaven Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Gyp DeCarlo |
| Occupation | Mobster |
| Known for | Loansharking for the Genovese crime family |
Angelo "Gyp" DeCarlo (September 2, 1902 – October 20, 1973) was a member of the
The subject of a two-year federal undercover operation, DeCarlo's conviction revealed widespread corruption of New Jersey public officials and tied singer Frank Sinatra to organized crime.
Early years
DeCarlo was born in
Based in New Jersey, DeCarlo rose to the position of
Mob career
Wiretapping
Between 1961 and 1963, federal agents began
Saperstein death
In September 1968, DeCarlo and his men brutalized Louis Saperstein, who owed DeCarlo $400,000. Government witness and former mob associate Gerald Zelmanowitz described an intense beating of Saperstein in DeCarlo's office due to a $5,000 monthly interest payment. Zelmanowitz said Saperstein was lying on the floor, looking purple, his tongue hanging out, and he was covered in blood and spit. On November 26, 1968, Saperstein died of arsenic poisoning. That same day, the FBI received a letter from Saperstein that detailed his problems with DeCarlo.[2] In March 1970, DeCarlo was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.[3]
Presidential pardon
After DeCarlo served 18 months in prison, President
In December 1972, DeCarlo was released from prison. He died, from cancer, in
In popular culture
DeCarlo is portrayed by actor Christopher Walken in the 2014 film Jersey Boys about Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons. The writers of Jersey Boys, Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, claimed to have been called by relatives of DeCarlo insisting he was "shown in a favorable, respectful way."[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b Murray Ison (October 21, 1973). "Decarlo Of Mafia Dead Of Cancer. Impropriety Denied. Mobster Chieftain Was 71. Got Clemency From Nixon". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
Angelo DeCarlo, a one-time powerful Mafia leader who was granted executive clemency by President Nixon last Christmas because he was suffering from terminal cancer, died yesterday at his home in Mountainside, N. J. He was 71 years old. ...
- ^ "A Tale of Two Tapes" Archived September 5, 2006, at the Wayback Machine The Mafia in New Jersey
- ^ "Frank Sinatra and the Mob" Archived 2014-01-16 at the Wayback Machine Crime Magazine
- ^ "Release of Mafia Boss by Nixon Upsets and Puzzles Justice Aides", Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1973, p. I-5
- ^ The Mob's President: Richard Nixon's Secret Ties to the Mafia by Don Fulsom
- ^ "Decarlo Burial Held In Morning. Only Family Is at Service in Effort to Avoid Publicity". The New York Times. October 24, 1973. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
The burial of a reputed Mafia leader. Angelo DeCarlo, scheduled for this afternoon, was held this morning instead because 'the family just didn't want any more publicity.' ...
- ^ Adcock, Joe (December 6, 2007). "Broadway musical 'Jersey Boys' strikes a popular nostalgic chord". Seattle P.I. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
Further reading
- Koenig, Rhoda (March 6, 2008). "Mob music: How the creators of the Jersey Boys got a call from the Mafia". The Independent. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
- Clarke, Thurston and Tigue, John J. Jr. Dirty Money: Swiss Banks, the Mafia, Money Laundering, and White Collar Crime. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975. ISBN 978-0-671-21965-9
- Kwitny, Jonathan. Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace. New York: W.W. Norton, 1979. ISBN 978-0-393-01188-3
- Volz, Joseph and Peter Bridge. The Mafia Talks. Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett, 1969.
- Zeiger, Henry A. The Jersey Mob. New York: New American Library, 1975.
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 978-0-313-30653-2
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8160-5694-1
- Bureau of Narcotics, U.S. Treasury Department, "Mafia: the Government's Secret File on Organized Crime, HarperCollins Publishers 2007 ISBN 0-06-136385-5
