John D'Amato

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John D'Amato
Mobster
AllegianceDeCavalcante crime family

John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato (died January 1992) was an American

homosexual
activity.

Criminal career

D'Amato was a veteran gangster with a criminal record beginning in 1963, when he was arrested on gambling charges. D'Amato was convicted of burglary in 1971, and forgery in 1984. He was married to Theresa D'Amato.[1]

After being promoted to

loansharking
operations.

After longtime boss Giovanni Riggi was

The Helmsley Palace hotel on April 21, 1990.[1]

Riggi was convicted of his charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1990, which meant that Vastola kept running the day-to-day activities of the family. After Riggi's conviction, Vastola was convicted of major extortion charges and sentenced to eight years in prison. From behind bars, Riggi promoted D'Amato to acting boss of the DeCavalcante family.[1]

Murder

In 1991, D'Amato's girlfriend, Kelly, retaliating against him over an argument, told

Mafia Commission in New York.[5]

D'Amato was targeted for death shortly after returning to New York from Florida, where he had been "

on the lam".[5] On the day of the attack, an afternoon in early 1992, Capo and Victor DiChiara picked up D'Amato in DiChiara's white Lincoln a block from his girlfriend's house in Brooklyn to drive to lunch. With D'Amato sitting in the back seat, Capo turned and shot D'Amato twice. When D'Amato groaned: "Oh, no", Capo shot him twice more, killing him.[1][6] Capo and DiChiara then drove D'Amato's body to the home of DeCavalcante capo Rudy "Tootsie" Ferrone in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, where Ferrone and Vinny Palermo were waiting. D'Amato's pockets were searched, uncovering $8,000 in cash and the card of an FBI agent, before he was wrapped in a plastic tarp. His body was then loaded into a black Cadillac owned by Ferrone, and driven upstate by Ferrone and Palermo to a farm owned by DeCavalcante soldier Philip "The Undertaker" LaMella in Newburgh, New York where it was disposed of.[7] D'Amato's body was never recovered.[1][8]

Informed in prison of D'Amato's execution, Riggi appointed Amari as the new acting boss of the family.[8][9] Shortly after the murder of D'Amato, his brother Frank was released from prison. Those responsible for D'Amato's murder decided that it was prudent to kill Frank D'Amato before he took revenge. The Decavalcante family administration voted to authorize Capo to kill Frank D'Amato, and Vitabile later told Capo to kill Frank at the first opportunity. The planned murder of Frank D'Amato never took place, however.[3]

Aftermath

In 2003, capos Philip "Phil" Abramo, Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti and the reputed consigliere Stefano Vitabile were charged in organizing various crimes, including the murder of D'Amato.[10] Reputed men involved in the murder conspiracy, Palermo, Capo and Rotondo would later testify about this murder against their former associates.[11] In 2006, Abramo, Schifilliti and Vitabile were sentenced to life imprisonment.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Mobster Killed For Being Gay Greg B. Smith, New York Daily News (June 15, 2001) Archived September 3, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ 4 Indicted in Plot To Kill Informer The New York Times (July 15, 1992) Archived November 13, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ a b United States of America v. Anthony Mannarino, Giuseppe Schifilliti, Philip Abramo, Louis Consalvo, and Stefano Vitabile FindLaw (September 4, 2008) Archived June 13, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Telling Court He's Gay, Mob Informer Crosses Line" By ALAN FEUER New York Times October 20, 2009
  5. ^ a b Sleeps With the Swishes John Lehmann, New York Post (May 1, 2003) Archived April 19, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Hit man's confessions Mob turncoat tells court of his blood-soaked life" by Greg B. Smith, New York Daily News, July 26, 2002
  7. ^ Reliving a Gory Greg B. Smith, New York Daily News (May 13, 2003) Archived April 19, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b Mob Boss 'Hit' Over Gay Encounters by Jaime Holguin CBS News February 11, 2009
  9. ^ WISEGUY GETS LIFE FOR HIT ON GAY MOB BOSS Archived February 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine by Thomas Zambito. New York Daily News, June 13, 2006
  10. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  11. ^ "Mob Story". nj.com. May 9, 2003. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011.
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