THE MOB ON LONG ISLAND
[A "DOCUMENTED" HISTORY]



I am now gonna list, (or re-list), for both Nassau and Suffolk Counties, town by town, Family by Family, crew by crew, just a very small percentage of all the "documented" organized crime figures who ran numerous rackets on L.I., from the late 1950s through the 1980s era. And that's not even including the later decades like the 1990s, the 2000s, 2010s, and beyond!

SUFFOLK COUNTY (Western & Eastern parts of the county):

Colombo associate Vincent Rocco Prisco: he operated a major multimillion-dollar-a-year policy-numbers operation in the Eastern Suffolk Towns of Riverhead, Moriches, Mastic Beach, Patchogue, as well as more westerly towns of Copiague, Brentwood, and Wyandanch. Prisco was partners with Genovese soldier Vincent (Jimmy Nap) Napoli.

Colombo associates Nunzio (Big Ned)Vetrano, and Lucchese soldier Michael (Big Mike) LaBarbara: Vetrano operated a Moriches horse farm and stables that he used as the headquarters for an Eastern Suffolk-wide loan-sharking ring. LaBarbara sometimes partnered with him on loans.

Lucchese soldier Michael LaBarbara was a notorious Long Island-based hoodlum who was arrested numerous times in Suffolk for bootlegging alcohol, shylocking, truck hijacking, and cigaret bootlegging.

Genovese Family associates Ralph and John Eboli (brothers of Family acting boss Thomas “Tommy Ryan” Eboli): Ralph was arrested with another mob member for the attempted extortion and muscling in on a Nesconset bar. John was active as a “wire-room” rigger for bookmaking rings throughout LI and Queens. He was arrested for it several times.

Bonanno capo Nicholas (Nick the Battler) DeStefano was a principal in a South Shore policy-numbers operation active from Shirley to Bayshore, along with his underling, Bonanno associate Joseph Tegano.

Bonanno Boss Gaspare DeGregorio, of Bay Shore, and later Smithtown, was the general “overseer” and guiding hand of all Suffolk and Nassau operations for LI-based members. He owned several dress factories on Suffolk’s South Shore, and also conducted his Family’s affairs from his office there.

Bonanno soldier Samuel (Hank) Perrone lived in Brentwood, and had several minions active in gambling and shylocking for him on Suffolk’s South Shore. His associate, Family soldier Stephen Genna, handled shylocking and hijacking out on LI for Perrone.

Bonanno associate Joseph Zummo was charged as a principal in an auto-theft ring operating in the city and on LI. While Zummo technically was a “car salesman” for a Suffolk dealership.

Colombo associate Vincent Carvelli was arrested with several other Colombo figures for the loanshark-extortion of a Centereach couple who borrowed loanshark money for their Suffolk business.

Colombo associate and Franzese crew member Paul (Porkchops) Flammio was arrested for extorting protection money from a Port Jefferson restaurant.

Genovese soldier/capo Benjamin (Benny the Bum) DeMartino, of Rocky Point, was investigated for attempting to expand his jukebox and vending machine rackets in Suffolk County.

Gambino soldier Frank (Big Frank) Pasqua Sr. was suspected and investigated, but never formally charged, with the arson of a Mastic beach property he owned that burned to the ground. He did it to collect the fire insurance policy on the building.

Gambino soldier Gennaro (Jerry) Mancuso, of Patchogue, was installed by the mob to head the Nassau County Cartmens Association to better control the extortion and shakedowns of over 50 LI carters and literally hundreds of businesses on LI.

Colombo associates (Carmine Persico crew members), brothers Joseph, Anthony, and Frank Carione ran Riteway Carting, of Terryville. Frank was installed by Persico and capo Andrew Russo as President of the Suffolk County Cartmens Association, to serve the same purpose as Mancuso named above. Carione was his counterpart.

Gambino Capo Carmine (Charlie Wagons) Fatico, and his underlings Frank (Frankie D) DeFelice, operated a major loanshark ring in Suffolk, around the West Islip, West Babylon, and Deer Park areas. They got busted together for this in the early 1970s.

Gambino associate Sebastian (Benny) Biondo, the nephew of former Gambino underboss Joseph (Joe Bandy) Biondo, ran a major loanshark ring in Mid and Eastern Suffolk County in conjunction with the aforementioned Colombo figures Nunzio Vetrano, and others. Biondo was later also convicted and sentenced to serve 14 years in State prison.

Lucchese soldier Daniel (Danny Cap) Capra, of Smithtown, owned and operated a Lucchese-tied dress factory in St. James.

Lucchese associate Michael (Charlie) Fiermonti, of Shinnecock Hills, was an active bookie who operated from Suffolk into Queens booking bets.

Lucchese soldier Peter (Mr. Bread) Locascio, of Copiague, operated untaxed alcohol-bootlegging rings, long after the repeal of Prohibition, with alky-stills and stash houses hidden on Suffolks South Shore.

Colombo soldier Michael (Midge) Belvedere, of West Babylon, was said by the IRS to have hidden, untaxed, ownerships in no less than three Suffolk County bars and restaurants.

Colombo associate (and Franzese crew members) Anthony (The Frog) Frangipani, of East Setauket, ran loansharking and nightly card games from several mob-social clubs he operated Centereach and Deer Park, with his partner, Colombo associate, Felice (Philly Cigars) Vizzari.

Colombo associates, and brothers, Vincent and Angelo (Fat Angelo) Garofalo, were major garbage racketeers who terrorized competing carters in Suffolk County for decades. Sugared gas tanks, truck arsons, smashed windshields, beatings given to drivers, slashed tires, etc. Angelo was also active in truck hijackings on LI and police connected him to the burglary of a St. James garment factory (he was arrested for both), and the arson of a hairdresser shop in Suffolk.

Colombo soldier Vincent (Peg-Leg Jimmy) Giordano, of Copiague, was a major Brooklyn loanshark for the Family who migrated out to the fertile territory of Long Island. Soon he was operating a large six-man loanshark operation based in Suffolk, headquartered out of an Elwood storefront, and a Sayville Pork Store. He was later busted for usury several times on LI in highly publicized arrests.

Colombo associate (Franzese crew member) Albert Maione, of West Slip. He was a major bookmaker who, along with his partner Sonny Franzese and others, ran a major gambling ring all along Suffolks South Shore, from at least the Sayville area, all the way west into Elmont in Nassau County.

Colombo associate, and Gallo Gang stalwart, Salvatore (Sonny Pep) Pepitone, of Lake Grove, was said by the Rackets Squad and IRS to hold a hidden ownership in a Suffolk bar.

Genovese associate Andrew Biondo, of Melville, was the “master controller” of capo “Jimmy Nap” Napoli’s vast numbers operation. Napoli appointed Biondo to house the “numbers bank” in a nondescript house in nearby Melville which was later busted by police.


NASSAU COUNTY:

I could go on and on listing literally hundreds of other mobsters, who BOTH lived and ran rackets in both counties. But I’m getting bored already with this little game. But in closing, let me just list a few more names and rackets, very specific to Elmont, since a few of you continue to insist on being stubborn, just for stubborn sake.

Colombo associate, and Sonny Franzese minion, Nicholas (Nicky Iron-Shoes) Botta, of Elmont. Arguably one of the biggest bookmakers and gamblers in Nassau during the 1950s thru 1970s era. He was partnered with the aforementioned Albert Maione, Lawrence Messina (of Baldwin), and Lawrence (Larry Baccala) Abbandando, in a major bookmaking operation they ran in the Elmont/Franklin Square area for many years. Each of them was arrested in Nassau for gambling many times.

Gambino soldier Anthony (Tony Pep) Trentacosta, of Franklin Square. For years he operated a major private mob-social club on Meecham Avenue, in Elmont, that offered nightly card and dice games. It also served as Trentacosta’s headquarters and major conduit for other crews to interact with the Gambinos.

Colombo capo/acting boss Joseph (Little Joey) Brancato, and his associate, Joseph (Joe V) Vescio. These two men were arrested for operating a massive loansharking ring out of the JV Meat Store, in Elmont. Nassau authorities said the shop was the headquarters of a million-dollar-a-year Mafia usury operation.

Bonanno soldier Anthony (Anthony Elmont) Mannone. Police say he ran nightly high-stakes card games, gambling, and loansharking from the basement of his Elmont cigar store. He was actually nicknamed “Anthony Elmont” for a reason. He operated from that neighborhood! The FBI later nabbed him.

There were literally a dozen bars, restaurants, and mob social clubs all along Hempstead Turnpike in the Elmont/Franklin Square area, directly across the street from the Belmont Racetrack, where bookies, shylocks, gamblers, hijackers, and other fellas of the bent-nose set hung out nightly to enjoy one another’s company and to conduct mob business near the track.
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Each of these people, and the activities I listed, which took place between the late 1950s to 1980s, are well-documented by numerous law enforcement arrests and public sources (Newsday, NYDaily News, etc). And this virtual "laundry list" of mobsters and mob activity is but a smidgeon, a mere skimming of the surface, of the thousands (yes, thousands) of mob arrests and mob activities that have taken place on L.I. since at least the late 1950s! The list I just compiled for the forum probably only represents about 10% of all the other well "documented" data in my 5-part series, The L.I. Mob.

And if anybody here, anybody at all, still wants to be pigheaded about it, they're more than welcome to click in and read the entire expose. (But fellas, it'll cost you the price of admission, which is $48 annually, because it's behind our paywall). We are a "pay site."
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Hope everybody has a nice day!

Sincerely yours..."The Other Guy"
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