From the gangsterinc site, for what ever people think it's worth:



Herbie Sperling was indicted by a Grand Jury for the murder of Vincent Papa, but was acquitted for lack of evidence. The leader of the trio that attacked Vincent, a man known to the inmates as ‘Tattoo,’ was however convicted, and a further life sentence was added to the years he was already serving. He and another black inmate were sentenced to life for the killing of Papa on 26th October, 1979.



Since it says "Tattoo and "another Black inmate" that would indicate Tattoo was also Black. GangsterInc is a good site, but if anyone has anything showing this to be inaccurate, please do so.