Ernest Varacalli
Ernest Varacalli, "Junior" | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 23, 1943 Italian American |
Ernest Varacalli (born March 23, 1944), or "Junior", is a New York
mobster who belongs to the Genovese crime family, one of the five New York crime families
. Varacalli has used as many as nine different aliases during his criminal career.
Car theft ring
In May 2001, the
air bags from specific cars, based on orders from auto parts shops around the city.[2] Some of those cars were "stolen" with the consent of their owners who wanted to get out of lease payments. Varacalli's crew was responsible for the theft of about 600 auto airbags.[3]
In 2002, Varacalli was sentenced to 10 years in prison and received a $1 million fine. [4] He was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Otisville, New York. On December 21, 2009 Varacalli was released from prison.[5]
Mob wife
Camille Colucci, Varacalli's third wife, was also accused of falsifying business documents in connection with the stolen car ring. She pleaded guilty and was fined $400,000.
During the 1970s, Colucci became the center of a messy Mafia "
"Sammy the Bull" Gravano, Spero's uncle, Thomas "Shorty" Spero², arranged for him to kill Camille's husband. Gravano told the FBI this was his first hit. "I shot him twice in the head," Gravano said, "Then three more times when his body was dumped out of the car on Rockaway Parkway, (a street in Canarsie, Brooklyn
)." Once Colucci became a widow, she married the younger Spero.
References
- ^ New York Times: Big Car-Theft Empire Broken Up, Police Say. May 18, 2001
- ^ The New York Daily News: Hearts, Flowers, Bullets. Dec. 6, 1994
- ^ Marzulli, John (May 18, 2001). "CHOP SHOP CRACKDOWN ALLEGED CAPO NETTED IN SWEEP". New York Daily News. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- ^ "N.Y. Man Sentenced for Running Auto Chop Shop". Insurance Journal. December 20, 2002. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
- ^ "ERNEST VARACALLI". Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
External links
- US Department of Justice Press Release: Giovanelli Super Indictment
- New York Times: Big Car-Theft Empire Broken Up, Police Say
- Order List--January 23, 2006
- Insurance Journal: N.Y. Man Sentenced for Running Auto Chop Shop
