Video: Undercover Inside the Genovese Crime Family

I just found this cool documentary on Youtube last night.

Judging by the low view count I assume many haven't seen it.

I guess it aired on HBO in 1988.

A retired cop infiltrates the New Jersey faction of the Genovese Family and captures much of it on camera. Some risky business.


Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSOcG4j1ZvI

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlIBEPhN_68

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZvAz1sCmP0

Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjApY5Vdseo

Thank you very much for posting this, Nova. It must have been uploaded on YouTube pretty recently because I have been looking for this doc for a very long time.
I remember when this was aired over here. I wanted to record it on my VCR but just minutes before it got aired, I found out that my VCR recorder was broken. So I taped the audio with help of a microphone connected to a tape recorder. That way at least I had the audio on tape!

This crew was led by Andy Gerardo, who had inherited it from notorious and extremely powerful Genovese capo Richie "the Boot" Boiardo back in appr 1980. When the Genovese bosses found out that Gerardo had let an undercover cop infiltrate the crew, Gerardo was immediately demoted to soldier.
Jimmy "Jomo" Calabrese took over the crew later on and when he died, Tommy "Pee Wee" DePhillips was made the capo of the crew.
Today, it is said, the crew is run by Silvio DeVita.

I second that emotion! Thanks for uploading this. I have always wanted to see it. Wish they would have shown some of the hidden camera footage from behind the wall in Andy G's lair, but that aside, it was awesome. The perp walk and the arraignment were both a trip. Andy Gerardo had stone cold eyes. May he rest in Peace.

No problem, it's a great documentary. Doesn't get much more realistic than that!

It's crazy to think this was aired before I was born lol.

Jesus, how old are you?

22.

Oh, I misread the top paragraph. I thought is said 1998 instead of 1988. That would have made you like 12. Sorry about that, buddy .

Same here.

Some great stuff. Haven't seen that in years. Forgot all about it.

Here's him in later years...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVo1prFHxDM&feature=related

By the way, notice the guy in the third video at 11:40 during the bust...

"They got a picture of me f*#$*ing your mother last night."

surprised by how they would talk business in front of an ex cop, I thought they never trusted cops? Didn't it occur to them that he might be taking notes about what's going on?

Gerardo died not that long ago.

Obituary

Andrew "Andy" Gerardo, 81, passed away at his home in Aventura, Fla., on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. Funeral will be at 9:30 a.m. on Friday from the LaMonica Memorial Home, 145 E. Mt. Pleasant Ave., Livingston, N.J. Mass is at 11 a.m. at St. Lucy's Church, Newark, N.J. Entombment will be in Gate of Heaven Chapel Mausoleum, East Hanover, N.J. Visitation was on Wednesday and will be on Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. Born in Newark to the late Nicholas and Josephine (nee Mauriello), Mr. Gerardo had lived between Florida and New Jersey for the past 20 years. He owned and operated several businesses, Antone Fashions, Lectricians, and TNT Contracting and Trucking Company. Mr. Gerardo is survived by his daughter, Nicole Gerardo-Benevento, and her husband, Nick, and sister, Marie Gerardo-Iannacone and her husband, Angelo. He was a dear uncle to JoAnne Polonsky, Anthony Palomba and his wife, Stephanie, Nicholas Gerardo, and Mary Agnes Rossi and her husband, Jerry, and a great-uncle of Antonio Gerardo Palomba, Peter and Kaity Rossi. He was stepfather to Steven Frankel and Michelle Savy, and dearly beloved by a special group of men who were the most loyal of friends. He was predeceased by his sisters, Rose L. Gerardo and Angie Palomba, and brothers, Carmine and Jerry Gerardo. Mr. Gerardo naturally exuded elegance and grace, evident to all who knew him. Donations in memory of Mr. Gerardo may be made to St. Gerard, c/o St. Lucy's Church, 118 Seventh Ave., Newark, N.J. 07104.


Published in Star-Ledger from January 30 to February 1, 2012

"Dearly beloved by a special group of men who were the most loyal of firends." This seems to be a reference to his mafia "family."

That's a good question and something I thought about while watching.

That's exactly what it is.

this was a great doc maybe the best. but that cop sounds so jealous of these guys. i got alot of questions its seems like non of this guys got long sentences. i bet no one got more then 5 yrs or paroled quick. he calls one guy a capo then anther .was this just one big crew. i thought bobby manna was the head of all 5 crews in jersey during the 80tys he didnt get mention. i think he did get alot of made guys but i think it was just 1 big crew and alot of there associates. i bet this capo andy who recently died, died a multi millionaire at home in jersey and this ex bitter cop probaly gets ssi check for a grand a month in kansas,who did better in life+ these mob guys could taste and smell there pasta. are there any of these guys around some looked young be cool to get a update on this big gambling case. thats a waste of time for police

Thanks for the link Nova24. I'm a new guy on here, but I am really liking how enthusiastic and informed many members of this site are, especially about getting facts straight(as much as we can considering the self serving tendencises of authors, cops, and mobsters), as well as the honest conjecture. Good to be here.
-Dan

Great links. I have never seen this before.

Non of the mobsters recieved any significant jail time. If memory serves me right, Andy Gerardo was either sentenced to three years or released after three years on parole. Jomo Calabrese was out after two years on parole.

It´s kinda funny, but Gerardo was sentenced to jail in 1969 for failing to pay taxes on 1,1 million dollars his gruop had earned from running an illegal lottery game. How did he get caught? Well, a special agent Germano, from of the Internal Revenue Service, conducted an undercover operation and posed as a bettor several times. He observed the workings of the operation which eventually led to raids. During these raids, agents seized gambling paraphernalia in the form of betting slips and betting records.

I don´t know where the "Manna ruled the NJ faction for the Genoveses" originates from. Unless the Genoveses had a similiar power set up like the Gambinos (Castellano-Dellacroce), (and no proper source indicate this), I´m not too keen to accept this as a fact. Having a consigliere run big parts of a crime Family certainly undermines the boss´s authority. It´s the boss´s job to appoint captains, whether the crews are based in NY, NJ or elsewhere.
Pmac, as I stated before, Gerardo was the group leader of this crew. He was the captain. The crew was huge and the numbers was a result of Richie Boiardo´s powerful leadership. The crew was passed on to Gerardo and it is said that the crew is run by Silvio DeVita today.

If anybody finds this interesting, here´s a list of the made guys (to my knowledge) who were part of Gerardo´s crew back in mid 1980s. Their year of death in parantheses:

- William "Si" Rega (1986)
- Albert Barrasso (1988)
- Luigi DiBenedetto (?)
- Peter Silvio Cavanna (1995)
- Vincent "Jimmy; Jomo" Calabrese (1994)
- Tony "Ambrose" D´Ambrosio (?)
- Emilio "the Count" Delio (1998) (possibly a member of the crew)
- Ernest Lazzara (2001)
- Tony "Cheese" Marchitto (1997)
- Angelo Sica (2009)
- Ralph Vicaro (1989)
- Anthony DeVingo (1989)
- Michael Cordella (?)
- Salvatore Cetrulo (?)
- Tommy "Pee Wee" DePhillips (1997)
- Michael DelGuercio (?)
- Silvio DeVita (possibly a member of the crew)
- Nino Maccioli (2011)
- Mario Mauriello (?)
- Joe "Z" Zarra (1998)

I did like how Frank "Grimey" Grimes was the reporter and producer of the show. (Simpsons ref).

They did seem pretty dumb though. Why would you let an ex cop into the middle of your business? Had they read / watched the Godfather too many times?

But thanks for linking it. Interesting even if it lowered my already low opinion of these sort of people.

Hahaha!! That belongs in the quotes thread. Does anyone know which guy said it?

I´m pretty sure that the big guy who is covering his face right when he passes the camera is the one who says it. His last name is Esposito, but don´t know his first name.

Tommy Pee Wee´s line is kinda funny as well.
"Pee Wee...?"
"What? Forgetaboutit..go find a job!"

i read somewhere back when bruno got killed in philly bobby manna was the conduit to the genovese boss chin or who ever was in 1980. whenever testa or scarfo called new york it was threw manna when scarfo made big moves it was threw manna to set up meetings it even sounded like manna told scarfo your the boss most of this came from when leonetti fliped. i dont know if true but somewhere its written all the jersey crews answerd to manna then he'd take it to the boss makes it easy if 1 guy from there goes to manhattan. when that cop at the beginning tells the story of getting pistolwhipd and losing the sense of smell and taste that sucks but it made me laugh alittle cause he gets bitterly pissed. in 2003 lawyers were still going to see manna in prison so the guy still has pull an he's in fort dix. its it that buster ardito memo.

Yeah, Manna was sort of the go-between. He and Scarfo had become friends while in prison. And, as consigliere, he was the highest ranking member in New Jersey at the time.

Ivy, you just took the words out of my mouth...

just got around to watching this today and it was great! seems like lots of activity in newark back then as well as today. would it be a fair assesment to say that newark has more oc activity than any other city in nj? i cant think of another off the top of my head besides maybe atlantic city, although i think newark still has more diversified activities going on with more families involved to one degree or another.

I'd probably say Newark and Elizabeth are the two biggest with the ports and unions in those areas. Atlantic City would probably be 3rd.