Jackie D'Amico
John "Jackie" D'Amico (July 11, 1936 – December 27, 2023) was an American
Early life
His parents were born in the village of Vietri sul Mare in the Campania region of Italy. D'Amico is not related to Bonanno crime family soldier Joseph D'Amico.
D'Amico received the nickname "Nose" because of his "
D'Amico was an old friend of Irving "Hal" Hershkowitz, the founder and president of the non-alcoholic beverage corporation Big Geyser, Incorporated,[1] He worked in their Maspeth, Queens warehouse.[1] He maintained the job until he was brought to trial and convicted of extortion. He started as a delivery truck driver with a base salary of $23,000 but later switched to working as a salesman on commission and his salary was raised to $71,000 a year.[1] At the same warehouse where D'Amico had an office block, he was a co-worker of Lucchese crime family capo Matthew Madonna who is also listed on the company payroll.[1] Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Burlingame suspected that while ostensibly on the payroll, D'Amico was given a no-show job allowing him to collect health benefits from the company, a Jaguar that was leased by the company, and to claim lawful employment.[1] Herskowitz stated to reporter Tom Robbins that he had known D'Amico for thirty years and considered him a good, long-time friend. Hershkowitz and D'Amico attended New Utrecht High School together, the same high school that Sammy Gravano attended before dropping out.[1]
Rise to power
By the late 1960s, D'Amico was a bookmaker and soldier in the Gambino family, then ruled by boss
On December 16, 1985, Castellano and his underboss Thomas Bilotti were gunned down outside the Sparks Steak House in Manhattan. Gotti, who had orchestrated their assassination, now became the Gambino boss. D'Amico became one of Gotti's closest associates. In 1992, Gotti was convicted on racketeering charges and sentenced to life imprisonment.
When John Gotti went to prison, he created a ruling panel, or "administration", to supervise the family. This panel included D'Amico, Gotti's son John "Junior" Gotti as acting boss, Peter Gotti, and Joseph Arcuri. The four men would meet to discuss business at Hawaiian Moonlighters Club, the new Gambino headquarters in Little Italy.[3] Other accounts state that Nicholas Corozzo, not Arcuri, was on the panel.[4] After federal law enforcement began focusing on Junior Gotti, John Gotti allegedly designated him as the new acting boss.[4]
In 1998, D'Amico was charged with racketeering and loansharking. On January 19, 1999, he pleading guilty to a single count of operating an illegal gambling operation in Connecticut whose profits went to Junior Gotti.[5] On July 8, 1999, D'Amico was sentenced to 20 months in prison.[6]
Release from prison
In September 2001, D'Amico was released from prison. According to federal authorities, D'Amico became the Gambino acting boss in 2003. However, with the 2006 release of Nicholas Corozzo, a report stated that both D'Amico and Corozzo were running the family, with Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri as underboss and Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo as consigliere.
On February 7, 2008, D'Amico was arrested along with more than 60 affiliates of the Gambino family after
D'Amico had been scheduled for release from prison on November 3, 2009. However, in February 2009, the imprisoned D'Amico was charged with arranging the 1989 Weiss murder
D'Amico died on December 27, 2023, at the age of 87.[14]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "A Slice of Mafia With Your Sparkling Water?", Village Voice, May 27, 2008
- ^ Gambino Family Turns to Jackie Nose to Lead a Turnaround Archived 2011-10-28 at the Wayback Machine JERRY CAPECI New York Sun December 15, 2005
- ^ "From Prison, Gotti Reportedly Keeps Control of Mafia Group" New York Times November 13, 1993.
- ^ a b "Mob Bosses Gotti" TruTV Crime Library
- ^ "In Shift, U.S. Reaches Deal For Plea by 3 In Gotti Case" By SELWYN RAAB New York Times January 12, 1999
- ^ "Reputed Gotti Loyalist Sentenced to 20 Months for Gambling" New York Times. July 8, 1999
- ^ "'Mafiosi' held in US and Sicily" BBC News 7 February 2008
- ^ Marzulli, John (February 8, 2008). "Feds bust Gambino bigs". New York Daily News. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator". Archived from the original on 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-04-21.
- ^ "Reputed mobster Jackie Nose gets 2-year term". New York Daily News. April 18, 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ "Can't Keep Nose Clean" New York Post February 12, 2009
- ^ Golding, Bruce (August 5, 2010). "Reputed Gambino boss John "Jackie the Nose" cuts three-year plea bargain". New York Post.
- ^ "Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator". Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2010-10-18.
- ^ Burnstein, Scott. "Death Of A New York Don: Gambino Mob's "Jackie Nose" D'Amico Gone At 87, Helped Groom Gambino Sicilians For Boss Duties". The Gangster Report. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
Further reading
- Horowitz, Carl (2 January 2006). "Gotti Ally D'Amico Becomes New Gambino Boss; Denies It, Too". National Legal and Policy Center. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- Maas, Peter. Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-06-093096-9.
- Mannion, James. 101 Things You Didn't Know About The Mafia: The Lowdown on Dons, Wiseguys, Squealers and Backstabbers. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2005. ISBN 1-59337-267-1.
- Marzulli, John (26 December 2005). "Dapper Don's Don Juan Pal Is New Boss of the Family. Exclusive: Troubled Mafia Clan Has Put Smooth Talker in Charge, Says Former G-Man". Daily News. New York. Retrieved 27 March 2012.
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8.