Joseph Armone
Joseph Armone | |
---|---|
Mobster | |
Known for | Underboss of the Gambino crime family |
Predecessor | Frank DeCicco |
Successor | Sammy Gravano |
Spouse | Josephine DiQuarto |
Relatives | Stephen Armone (brother) |
Allegiance | Gambino crime family |
Conviction(s) | Drug trafficking (1965) Racketeering (1987) |
Criminal penalty | 15 years' imprisonment; served 10 years 15 years' imprisonment, $820,000 fine |
Joseph Armone (September 13, 1917 – February 23, 1992), also known as "Joe Piney" and "Shorty", was an American
Early life
Born on the
Criminal career
French Connection
Armone followed his brother into the Mangano family. By the time Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia took over the Mangano family in 1951, he had become one of the family's major earners. Armone was an associate of Joseph Biondo, who controlled the family's part in the French Connection heroin smuggling network.[1] In 1957, underboss Biondo allegedly picked Armone and two other family mobsters to kill Anastasia. However, before the attack could take place, Armone was arrested on a narcotics charge and sent to jail. Biondo allegedly replaced Armone with his brother Stephen and the hitmen killed Anastasia.[5] However, other accounts suggest that Profaci crime family capo Joe Gallo and his crew members were responsible for the Anastasia murder. Following Stephen Armone's death in 1960, Biondo anointed Joseph Armone as overseer of the Gambino family heroin operations.[1]
According to the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), Armone frequented De Robertis Pasticceria and Lulu's Bar at 207 Second Avenue and headed a drug ring which operated in the area of East 14th Street and First Avenue. In October 1960, a French drug smuggler and the Guatemalan ambassador to Belgium and the Netherlands were arrested by the FBN as they delivered 100 pounds of pure heroin to an associate of Armone, longshoreman Nicholas Calamaris, on Lexington Avenue. Another 100 pounds of the drug were seized during subsequent raids on stash houses throughout New York City, making it the FBN's largest heroin seizure at the time. Armone was then arrested when he told an informant to make a drug delivery to Calamaris at 116th Street. The FBN also identified other French nationals who had discussed the price of the heroin with Joe Biondo, who had financed the drug operation, at his summer home in Long Beach, Long Island. The identity of the organization's financier remained a mystery to the FBN, however, and Armone was imprisoned on drug charges when he refused to reveal the identity of Biondo.[1]
In January 1964, Armone survived an assassination attempt. He was in the Reno bar in Manhattan when a gunman shot him five times at
On October 1, 1964, Armone and 11 other mobsters were indicted in what became the French Connection case.
On June 22, 1965, Armone was convicted of the French Connection charges.[8] In July 1965, Armone was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[9]
After serving ten years in prison, Armone was released. When mobster Paul Castellano became family boss, he promoted Armone to caporegime. Mob author and journalist Jerry Capeci would cite Armone's success as an example of the American Mafia disregarding its official ban of dealing drugs.[10]
Gotti era
In 1985. Armone was recruited by capo John Gotti into a conspiracy to kill Castellano.[11] Gotti already had the support of capo Frank DeCicco and soldiers Sammy Gravano and Robert DiBernardo, but lining up the support of Armone was a critical step in the conspiracy. As a respected old-timer in the Gambino family, Armone would offer more credibility to the new regime and placate Castellano's supporters. For his part, Armone had a dim view of Castellano as a gangster and saw Gotti's coup as a final chance to rise to a leadership role in the family.[11][12]
That chance came in April 1986, when Gotti's original underboss, Frank DeCicco, was blown up by a remote-controlled bomb. Gotti then appointed Armone as his new underboss and sent him to Florida to supervise Gambino activities there.
On December 22, 1987, Armone was convicted in New York on charges of racketeering conspiracy involving extortion, bribery and illegal interstate travel to commit bribery.
On February 22, 1988, Armone was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and was fined $820,000.[17]
On September 24, 1988, in a separate case, Armone was acquitted by a directed verdict in Florida of extortion, loansharking, and racketeering in
Death
On February 23, 1992, Armone died in prison of natural causes. Armone is portrayed by Dominic Chianese in the 1996 TV film Gotti. In the 2001 television movie Boss of Bosses, he is portrayed as "Piney Armone" by actor Mark Margolis.
References
- ^ a b c d e Joe Piney: From E. 14th St. to French Connection Thomas F. Comiskey, The Village Voice (December 29, 2020) Archived December 3, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Celona, Larry; Italiano, Laura (2012-09-25). "Reputed Gambino captain indicted on $50G extortion charge". New York Post. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- ISBN 978-0-06-136385-6.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "Information, Misinformation, Disinformation...Part I". Gangsters Inc. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "Joseph Biondo". La Cosa Nostra Data Base. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "U.S. Indicts 12 in Smuggling of $20 Million in Narcotics" (PDF). New York Times. October 1, 1964. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "Ex-Bunny Sentenced for Bribe Attempt" (PDF). New York Times. January 4, 1966. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "4 Convicted and 2 Freed In Smuggling of Heroin" (PDF). New York Times. June 23, 1965. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ "363 F. 2d 385 - United States v. Armone ". Open Jurist. F2d (363): 385. 1966. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ISBN 0-02-864225-2.
- ^ a b Raab, p. 373-375
- ^ Capeci; Mustain 1996, p. 95
- ^ Buder, Leonard (December 23, 1987). "4 Convicted At Mob Trial In Brooklyn". New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ Buder, Leonard (February 10, 1988). "A 10-Year Term Given by Judge To Crime Figure". New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ Raab, p. 405-406.
- ^ a b Capeci; Mustain 1996, p. 135, 203-204
- ^ Buder, Leonard (February 23, 1988). "Mob Figure Gets 15 Years; He is Also Fined $820,000". New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- ^ Strombert, Amy (September 24, 1988). "Jury Convicts 8 Tied To Crime Family". Sun Sentinel.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-15. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
- Capeci, Jerry; Mustain, Gene (1996). Gotti: Rise and Fall. New York: Onyx. ISBN 0-451-40681-8.
- Raab, Selwyn (2005). Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires (2006 ed.). New York: Thomas Dunne Books. ISBN 978-0-312-36181-5.
Further reading
- O'Brien, Joseph F., and Kurins, Andris, Boss of Bosses: The Fall of the Godfather: The FBI and Paul Castellano, Pocket Books (1993) ISBN 0-671-71541-0