He was caught several times in making money schemes that were off the record. Obviously, I didn't know that Toddo was Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello, a capo in the Gambino crime family, and my father's boss and mentor in the mob. He's related to both Jimmy Brown and Louie Fats. These hearings, held in 1983 and again in 1988, reviewed documents by the NYCPD Intelligence Unit which were given to the committee that named Salvatore Avarello as an active soldier in New Yorks Carlo Gambino Crime Family. In conversation with DeCicco, both men voiced concern that Castellano would designate his nephew, Thomas Gambino, acting boss and his driver, Thomas Bilotti, underboss in the event he was convicted and sent to prison. Louie and Sammy were both in the crew of the savvy old time captain Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello, a man who taught them how to become money making gangsters instead of just thugs. Sammy basically just tolerated Eddie as did the rest of his crew. His two buddies, however, got lucky and escaped. Informant stated that when Rava and his companion got out of their car, he was approached by Toddo and his followers with guns in their hands. He was ready to go to war if necessary with Frank DeCicco and John Gotti backing him. He was a low- key guy and there are very few photos of him floating around the internet today. From that point on, everyone called Gravano "Sammy" instead of "Salvatore" or "Sal". John Gotti promoted Sammy to Captain after the Castellano Hit. Neither man appealed to Gravano or DeCicco as leadership material, and they ultimately decided to support the hit on Castellano. During the planning of the Castellano hit, Sammy confided in Paruta more than anyone else. He had The respect and knew The Life. Nevertheless, Gravano claimed to be kicking up over $2million each year to Gotti out of his union activities alone. Garafola was involved in the high profile killing of Frank Fiala, the rich drug dealer who attempted a hostile takeover of one of Sammys nightclubs The Plaza Suite in 1982. Frank was stunned. "[13] Scibetta was dismembered and his body was never found, other than an arm. [5] Gravano described the experience thus: As that Beatles song played, I became a killer. Edward would sit him in a comfortable position and then join Carbonaro in the car outside when Gravano would shoot him. [5], Not suspecting the plot against him, Castellano invited DeCicco to a meeting on December 16, 1985, with fellow capos Thomas Gambino, James Failla, and Danny Marino at Sparks Steak House in Manhattan. I was obsessed. Instead he continued to rise in the family, becoming part of a ruling panel that was created in 1996 to help John Gotti Jr. run the family. Joe got in the backseat and shot Nicky twice in the back of the head. Louis Saccenti was a member of Toddo's original Bensonhurst crew that Sammy inherited. Which is in the province of Agrigento. The story so incensed his former mob compatriots that they forced the Gambinos to put a murder contract on him. Knowing it would be too risky to approach the other four bosses directly, the conspirators got the support of several important mobsters of their generation in the Lucchese, Colombo and Bonanno families. It was a plan that required perfect execution or Garafola and Huck could be the ones who ended up dead. Sammy became worried that DeBatt knew too much and the drugs were pushing him over the edge, making him a potential liability. Rogers even fired 10 gunshots at the fleeing suspects in an attempt to subdue them. It was Stymies balls of steel that got Sammys respect. Besides being a top notch enforcer, Louie was a big earner too. Toddos Real name was Avarello it was either changed when his father arrived from Italy to the USA at Ellis island or he changed it as an alias. Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano (born March 12, 1945) is an American former mobster who became underboss of the Gambino crime family. [77], On February 24, 2003, New Jersey state prosecutors announced Gravano's indictment for ordering the 1980 murder of NYPD detective Peter Calabro by murderer Richard Kuklinski. He knows their father is connected, but he doesn't know he's with me. [9] Gravano entered into the plumbing and drywall business with his brother-in-law, Edward Garafola. Stymie then turned into a very loyal soldier and one of Sammys most trusted crew members. [9] DeCicco argued that Gotti's boldness, intelligence, and charisma made him well-suited to be "a good boss" and he convinced Gravano to give Gotti a chance. In November 2003, Sammy and Karen were ordered to pay $805,713.41 as reimbursement for court costs and investigative expenses relating to an earlier drug ring judgment. [8] Gravano is also the brother-in-law of Gambino caporegime Eddie Garafola and Mario Garafola. But two weeks later, the charges were dismissed after Brooklyn Magistrate David Malbin cited a lack of clear evidence to support the charges. The episode told the story of ecstasy dealer "English" Shaun Attwood, who was Gravano's main competitor in the Arizona ecstasy market. But I promise I'll be there for you.". The bombing was carried out by Victor Amuso and Anthony Casso of the Lucchese family, under orders of Vincent Gigante and Lucchese boss Anthony Corallo, to avenge Castellano and Bilotti by killing their successors; Gotti also planned to visit Failla that day, but canceled, and the bomb was detonated after a soldier who rode with DeCicco was mistaken for the boss. Nobody in my crew knows anything, except Old Man Paruta. [5] After Gravano was indicted, he desperately needed money to pay his legal bills. [78] Gerard Gravano received nine years in prison in October 2002. A sitdown between the two families soon happened with Frank DeCicco doing the mediating. [3], At age 13, Gravano joined the Rampers, a prominent street gang in Bensonhurst. Less than a year later, Paruta was dying of cancer. [5], Gravano further ingratiated himself to Castellano when he interceded in a civil war that had erupted within the Philadelphia crime family. After Ravas murder in late 1957, the crew split between Neil Dellacroce and Anthony Rizzo. Now with the Gambinos, Gravano became an associate of capo Salvatore "Toddo" Aurello. The Commission subsequently placed contracts on Caponigro's co-conspirators, including John "Johnny Keys" Simone, who also happened to be Bruno's cousin. Even then, I knew not to ask any questions. Rare pic of Salvatore 'Toddo' Aurello, Gambino captain 1969-1986, mentor to Sammy gravano also Sleep With The Fishes A Bronx Tale Mafia Crime Mafia Gangster Wise Guys Rage Comics Tough Guy The Godfather Bad Guy More information . On November 2, 1987, he was behind the bar at Talis with Huck Carbonaro and Cousin Eddie when Huck pulled out a gun and killed Mickey right in the bar. It was strange. Mickey was the head bouncer at the Plaza Suite, where Frank Fiala was killed. Louie was a participant on all of Sammys big hits through the years. [69] Gravano began living very openly, giving interviews to magazines, and appearing in a nationally televised interview with television journalist Diane Sawyer. [5], Fiala's murder posed one final problem for Gravano in the form of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Louie killed Sammys drug addicted brother in law Nicholas Nicky Schibetta not long after the Kaiser hit. Gravano shared a story about meeting Mickey DeBatt. Other than a robbery when he was a youth, the newspaper archives have nothing. The average age of an Aurello family member is 79. After befriending Simone through a series of meetings, Gravano, with the assistance of Milito and D'Angelo, abducted Simone from Yardley Golf Club in Yardley, Pennsylvania (part of suburban Trenton, New Jersey), and drove him to a wooded area on Staten Island. Big Lou had also gotten his start under Toddo Aurello alongside Sammy and Old Man Paruta. In 1963, a Top-Echelon FBI informant, identified only as NY-3461-C-TE, who was most probably undercover Gambino Family soldier Alfred (Freddy the Sidge) Santantonio, named dozens of local hoodlums for the FBI as actually being made members of the Mafia. The Simone contract was given to Gravano.[9]. He had been a criminal partner of Sammy since their teens and also later became a made man in the Gambino Family. I never, ever stopped a second from there on in. He felt cheated and betrayed by a lifelong friend. All rights reserved. My man of loyalty, of heart and soul, a man of honor, were gone. Be sure to include your Order ID Number to help expedite your request. Gotti chose to fill the vacancy with Joseph Armone. Little in the way of specifics were ever known about Avarellos actual underworld career. Unlike Sammy, Lou was a childhood friend of John Gotti, and may have served as an early connection between the two future mafia heavyweights. He is a guest star in the first season episode "The 112th Congress". Salvatore Aurello of Brooklyn, Kings County, New York was born on March 22, 1914. Member since Feb 2016. [4] The plans for the assassination were finalized on December 15, and the next afternoon, the conspirators met for a final time on the Lower East Side. Gotti and Gravano respond by having Rotondo killed. Like in many other cases, Sammy took the witness stand to testify against his former associate, who merely shrugged at sentencing. [19] Gotti, in turn, selected DeCicco as his underboss and elevated Gravano to capo after Toddo Aurello announced his desire to retire. After the DiB (Rober DiBernardo) hit, his smoker's cough got worse and worse. Carlo Gambino's ascension to the position of Boss was opposed by a powerful Albert Anastasia loyalist called Armand "Tommy" Rava.Rava along with Neil Dellacr. [58] Gravano confessed to 19 murders, implicating Gotti in four of them. A sit-down with Castellano was held, at which an irate Gravano accused DiBono of withholding $200,000 in payments for subcontracts and threatened to kill DiBono. As Castellano and Bilotti exited the Lincoln, they were ambushed and killed in a barrage of bullets. As far as I know, he retired and died a free man. Comments. It is suspected that Joseph suffered from Werner syndrome, a rare autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by the appearance of premature aging. He was a friend of Mickeys father Mackey who had large debts to local mobsters. He went berserk. I wish there was more info on him and if he grew up with carlo and neil and who he was close with in his time. The crew was originally led by Armand Rava. Back in 1989, he was instructed to kill Frederick Weiss by John Gotti. Rava, according to the informant, stood facing his assassins with blood spouting out of his chest and looked contemptuously at Little Toddo and his associates. He is the only known mobster who asked for a mercy killing after becoming terminally ill with lung cancer. Copyright 2019-2023, Button Guys of The New York Mafia. In February 2000, Gravano and nearly 40 other ring membersincluding his ex-wife Debra, daughter Karen and son Gerardwere arrested on federal and state drug charges. Sammy gave Paruta one day's notice to have his family away from the house on the day he was to be murdered. Nicholas Mormando became hooked on crack cocaine. In 1984, during one of Gravano's bedside visits to Paruta, he asked him to kill him. Gambino captain 1969-1986. The prognosis was that he had terminal lung cancer that had spread through the rest of his body. The informant recalled that Little Toddo was a soldier under Rava, but that there had been bad blood between them over a long time. Unlike most of Sammys other crew, Big Lou is alive and hes a free man. Originally a mobster for the Colombo crime family, and later for the Brooklyn faction of the . I was going to kill him because he was plotting to kill me. His men were also known to engage in various thefts, the fencing of stolen goods, and suspected strong-arm work over the years, mostly within Kings County (Brooklyn) and Richmond County (Staten Island). And if that ain't enough, Paruta holds out for his end of the loot. His son was also placed into his crew. Paruta said. ; Ex-Crime Underboss May Find Out Today What He Gets for Turning U.S. Paruta had gotten his start under Toddo Aurello, like Sammy. At Gotti's suggestion, the shooters wore long white trench coats and black fur Russian hats, which Gravano considered a "brilliant" idea.
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