GangsterBB.NET


Funko Pop! Movies:
The Godfather 50th Anniversary Collectors Set -
3 Figure Set: Michael, Vito, Sonny

Who's Online Now
1 registered members (1 invisible), 719 guests, and 23 spiders.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Shout Box
Site Links
>Help Page
>More Smilies
>GBB on Facebook
>Job Saver

>Godfather Website
>Scarface Website
>Mario Puzo Website
NEW!
Active Member Birthdays
No birthdays today
Newest Members
TheGhost, Pumpkin, RussianCriminalWorld, JohnnyTheBat, Havana
10349 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
Irishman12 69,463
DE NIRO 44,965
J Geoff 31,308
Hollander 27,078
pizzaboy 23,296
SC 22,902
Turnbull 19,624
Mignon 19,066
Don Cardi 18,238
Sicilian Babe 17,300
plawrence 15,058
Forum Statistics
Forums21
Topics42,930
Posts1,073,144
Members10,349
Most Online1,100
Jun 10th, 2024
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
Paul Vario Biography #607971
07/15/11 06:28 PM
07/15/11 06:28 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 18,238
The Ravenite Social Club
Don Cardi Offline OP
Caporegime
Don Cardi  Offline OP
Caporegime

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 18,238
The Ravenite Social Club

Paul Vario was born in New York on July 10th, 1914. He first got involved with the mob during the mid 1920s, quickly developing a reputation as a ruthless leader that would take down anyone betraying him without hesitation. He was involved in a massive variety of crimes, including murder, robbery, illegal gambling, and selling stolen goods. The federal prosecutors that put him in prison said it all by calling him "one of the most violent and dangerous career criminals in the city of New York."

Paul, or "Paulie" as his friends called him, was known for his size. He was about six feet tall and weighed close to 250 pounds over the majority of his life. His appearance resembled that of a sumo wrestler, with jowls hanging below his chin, likening his appearance to that of a ferocious bulldog. He moved slowly through life because he felt that he didn't have to move quick for anyone and figured things would bend to his will, one way or another. His speaking often consisted of short grunt-like responses.

Paulie owned a flower shop at Fulton Avenue in New York as well as a number of other businesses, including an auto junkyard, and bar-restaurant, where he and his cronies liked to hang out. At the bar, men asked Paulie for help and many deals were made, even severe punishments. Paulie lived with his wife Phyllis and three sons: Paul Jr., Peter, and Lenny.

Paulie was considered to be a glutton by many who witnessed his eating habits. He would go out to fancy restaurants and consume entire meals by simply tipping back the bowl or plate and eating everything at once. Despite his eating habits, his cooking skills were well known and his pasta fagiole was renowned by many as the best in New York City.

Paulie was also well known for his paranoia. He was very careful about putting his name on things and making phone calls. He never used private telephones, only public pay phones on the street. Even his boat docked in Sheepshead Bay had no name. He didn't like to speak out loud in public about dealings, instead always whispering.

At the height of Paulie's career, he was raking in $25,000 a day in earnings from his illegal operations. He had a massive network of gambling, bookmakers, loansharks and numbers operators throughout NYC and beyond. Paul Vario was also the "owner" of the Kennedy Airport and conducted all truck hijacking operations there with his underling - James Burke.

Paulie was very good at keeping the other families from going to war with his outfit. He had a diplomatic skill that allowed him to run his businesses without too much trouble and settle differences before they erupted into war. His diplomatic skills also assisted him in union corruption operations where his crew extorted millions of dollars every year from businesses that did not want union strikes to lose them their place in the market. When things got too hot, witnesses disappeared and people with outstanding loans received "encouragement".

In 1972, Paulie was put in prison for three years after the police bugged his headquarters and gathered 54,000 photos in addition to hours and hours of film.

After his release, Paulie was very unhappy to find out that he had been passed over to replace Lucchese as the head of the crime family. Out of prison, he found that a number of his businesses had been ruined and he organized a large drug shipment worth 1.5 million dollars from Colombia. However, an informant tipped off the DEA and the entire load was seized in Queens (30 tons of narcotics), making Paulie very furious.

After the tipoff, Paulie had James Burke organize the famous Lufthansa Heist from the Kennedy Airport, netting over eight million dollars for the crew. Paulie was obviously very happy and returned to business as usual, until his former friend, Henry Hill, eventually testified against him in court, putting Paulie away for life. Paulie was sent to Fort Worth Prison and stayed there until his death in 1988 at the age of 73.

- Various sources



Don Cardi cool

Five - ten years from now, they're gonna wish there was American Cosa Nostra. Five - ten years from now, they're gonna miss John Gotti.




Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608023
07/16/11 06:05 AM
07/16/11 06:05 AM
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 727
Northumberland England
GaryH Offline
Underboss
GaryH  Offline
Underboss
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 727
Northumberland England
$25,000 a day in the 1950's/1960's - thats a LOT of cash!

Henry Hill ratted out his former mentor but Vario had been banging Karen Hill so he (Vario) didnt deserve any loyalty from Henry.
No honour amongst the mob

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608064
07/16/11 02:04 PM
07/16/11 02:04 PM
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 498
Texas
TonyG Offline
Capo
TonyG  Offline
Capo
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 498
Texas
Gary, I have heard that Paulie was banging Karen, but never saw a source. Was it in Wiseguys?


Best way to catch the smart ones? Get an idiot working for them.
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608070
07/16/11 02:39 PM
07/16/11 02:39 PM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Sonny_Black Offline
Underboss
Sonny_Black  Offline
Underboss
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
So why this biography here? What makes him so special? We can also find this on wikipedia. Just wondering, no offense. smile


"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Sonny_Black] #608072
07/16/11 04:10 PM
07/16/11 04:10 PM
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,624
AZ
Turnbull Offline
Turnbull  Offline

Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,624
AZ
I appreciate DC posting this. Shows that Vario was much bigger than I thought.


Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu,
E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu...
E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu
Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: TonyG] #608131
07/17/11 03:58 AM
07/17/11 03:58 AM
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 727
Northumberland England
GaryH Offline
Underboss
GaryH  Offline
Underboss
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 727
Northumberland England
Originally Posted By: TonyG
Gary, I have heard that Paulie was banging Karen, but never saw a source. Was it in Wiseguys?


Wikipedia but I've also heard people mention it on mob video's on Youtube

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608135
07/17/11 04:27 AM
07/17/11 04:27 AM
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,783
Queenstown, New Zealand
NickyScarfo Offline
Underboss
NickyScarfo  Offline
Underboss
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 1,783
Queenstown, New Zealand
Goodfellas made it seem like he was the boss of the Lucchaese's yet I think there were a few guys more powerful? Certainly Corallo was boss at the time. Vario was a captain or was he higher than that?

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: NickyScarfo] #608154
07/17/11 11:11 AM
07/17/11 11:11 AM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 840
BarrettM Offline
Underboss
BarrettM  Offline
Underboss
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 840
"Paulie was the boss of everyone in the neighborhood". I think that was hinting towards a role as a capo since he's holding that territory. You're right, it was a bit confusing, but that's one of the reasons I admire Goodfellas. You don't have Henry Hill driving the real don around. They're punks running around looking to get made, and it's not an easy life where there's a justifiable reason to whack everyone out. Good tsuff, Don Cardi. Maybe we could get a biography thread? It would be helpful since sometimes people don't know how to venture past the staple books or the Northeast when researching.

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: BarrettM] #608182
07/17/11 02:25 PM
07/17/11 02:25 PM
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 727
Northumberland England
GaryH Offline
Underboss
GaryH  Offline
Underboss
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 727
Northumberland England
Vario was the top Lucchese man in the East New York/Queens border area

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608191
07/17/11 03:32 PM
07/17/11 03:32 PM
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 259
L
Lenin_and_McCarthy Offline
Capo
Lenin_and_McCarthy  Offline
L
Capo
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 259
Assuming you have the motivation to cite things besides "Various sources", you ever thought about editing Wikipedia?

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Lenin_and_McCarthy] #608242
07/18/11 03:04 AM
07/18/11 03:04 AM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 227
Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto
O
ONTARIO613 Offline
Made Member
ONTARIO613  Offline
O
Made Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 227
Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto
Vario was an area boss who had his own fiefdom that`s why hill says 'what the fbi never understood was he was the police department for wiseguys thousands depended on him and he saw a piece of everything'

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Sonny_Black] #608334
07/18/11 07:56 PM
07/18/11 07:56 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 18,238
The Ravenite Social Club
Don Cardi Offline OP
Caporegime
Don Cardi  Offline OP
Caporegime

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 18,238
The Ravenite Social Club
Originally Posted By: Turnbull
I appreciate DC posting this. Shows that Vario was much bigger than I thought.


Now where have I heard... or should I say.... read this before? lol wink


Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black
So why this biography here?



Why not post a bio of an infamous mobster, on a gangster board, that has a real life organized crime section?


Originally Posted By: Lenin_and_McCarthy
Assuming you have the motivation to cite things besides "Various sources", you ever thought about editing Wikipedia?


Now why would I go and edit Wikopedia? uhwhat


Perhaps if you had the motivation to do some internet research you would find that my listing of various sources is a correct one because a majority of the information found and placed on wikopedia is usually compiled from various sources....... be it from books or other internet sites.



Don Cardi cool

Five - ten years from now, they're gonna wish there was American Cosa Nostra. Five - ten years from now, they're gonna miss John Gotti.




Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608356
07/19/11 12:03 AM
07/19/11 12:03 AM
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 259
L
Lenin_and_McCarthy Offline
Capo
Lenin_and_McCarthy  Offline
L
Capo
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 259
Originally Posted By: Don Cardi
Originally Posted By: Lenin_and_McCarthy
Assuming you have the motivation to cite things besides "Various sources", you ever thought about editing Wikipedia?


Now why would I go and edit Wikopedia? uhwhat


Kindness of your heart? smile

Originally Posted By: Don Cardi
Perhaps if you had the motivation to do some internet research you would find that my listing of various sources is a correct one because a majority of the information found and placed on wikopedia is usually compiled from various sources....... be it from books or other internet sites.


If you mean you've got a list that's somewhere on the site, sorry I haven't seen it.

If that's not what you mean, I'll acknowledge yes, we do that, we just don't call them that.

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Lenin_and_McCarthy] #608365
07/19/11 02:00 AM
07/19/11 02:00 AM
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 840
BarrettM Offline
Underboss
BarrettM  Offline
Underboss
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 840
Somebody needs to do it. According to Wikipedia, Al D'arco, Jimmy Frattiano, Frank Salemme, and Angelo Lonardo are government witnesses. But each one of them was the first? I guess it changes every day of the week depending on what the editor feels like. And then there was the Charles Herbert Gotti hoax. Wikipedia could be a lost cause at this point.

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608367
07/19/11 02:07 AM
07/19/11 02:07 AM
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 259
L
Lenin_and_McCarthy Offline
Capo
Lenin_and_McCarthy  Offline
L
Capo
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 259
I tried - my account's got the same name - but I got rather discouraged when no one joined in on John Gotti.

If you go back, say, here, you can see how much I fleshed it out, but now the article's incompletion is even more obvious.

EDIT: The lead section was someone else, but I rewrote pretty much everything else

Last edited by Lenin_and_McCarthy; 07/19/11 02:19 AM.
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608370
07/19/11 03:04 AM
07/19/11 03:04 AM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,171
pittsburgh pa
P
phatmatress Offline
Underboss
phatmatress  Offline
P
Underboss
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,171
pittsburgh pa
wikipedia is a crock. anyone can write and edit on there and make up stuff!


I hate Dicknoses!!!!!!
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608401
07/19/11 10:45 AM
07/19/11 10:45 AM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Sonny_Black Offline
Underboss
Sonny_Black  Offline
Underboss
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Originally Posted By: Don Cardi
Why not post a bio of an infamous mobster, on a gangster board, that has a real life organized crime section?


Fair enough. We could make a sticky topic of mobster's biography's. But the reason I wondered is that the internet is already full with biography's on mobsters. And there are far more interesting ones than Paul Vario to start writing a biography on.


"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Sonny_Black] #608405
07/19/11 10:54 AM
07/19/11 10:54 AM
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
pizzaboy Offline
The Fuckin Doctor
pizzaboy  Offline
The Fuckin Doctor

Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 23,296
Throggs Neck
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black
And there are far more interesting ones than Paul Vario to start writing a biography on.

That's a subjective opinion, Sonny. If you grew up in Brooklyn, like DC, you'd probably find Vario to be a very interesting character. I know that as a Bronx guy, I'm always a bit more interested in reading about other Bronx guys than, say, guys in Philly or Boston. And if there were a mob crew in the Netherlands, you would certainly be more interested in them than in American mobsters smile.


"I got news for you. If it wasn't for the toilet, there would be no books." --- George Costanza.
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: pizzaboy] #608410
07/19/11 11:08 AM
07/19/11 11:08 AM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Sonny_Black Offline
Underboss
Sonny_Black  Offline
Underboss
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
And if there were a mob crew in the Netherlands, you would certainly be more interested in them than in American mobsters smile.


It's interesting you mention this as I am in fact far more interested in American mobsters than Dutch criminals. Compared with American mafiosi, Dutch criminals are small potatoes and petty thieves.

But I understand you're point. wink


"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608426
07/19/11 12:59 PM
07/19/11 12:59 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,171
pittsburgh pa
P
phatmatress Offline
Underboss
phatmatress  Offline
P
Underboss
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,171
pittsburgh pa
i find paul vario interesting!


I hate Dicknoses!!!!!!
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Sonny_Black] #608601
07/20/11 10:35 PM
07/20/11 10:35 PM
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 18,238
The Ravenite Social Club
Don Cardi Offline OP
Caporegime
Don Cardi  Offline OP
Caporegime

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 18,238
The Ravenite Social Club
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black

I am in fact far more interested in American mobsters than Dutch criminals.


So where does that leave you with Dutch Shultz? lol wink



Don Cardi cool

Five - ten years from now, they're gonna wish there was American Cosa Nostra. Five - ten years from now, they're gonna miss John Gotti.




Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608602
07/20/11 11:57 PM
07/20/11 11:57 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 227
Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto
O
ONTARIO613 Offline
Made Member
ONTARIO613  Offline
O
Made Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 227
Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto
shuliz was a ohe of a kind OC powerhouse he was independent

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608605
07/21/11 12:15 AM
07/21/11 12:15 AM
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 22,902
New York
SC Offline
Consigliere
SC  Offline
Consigliere

Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 22,902
New York
Originally Posted By: Don Cardi
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black

I am in fact far more interested in American mobsters than Dutch criminals.

So where does that leave you with Dutch Shultz?


Originally Posted By: ONTARIO613
shuliz was a ohe of a kind OC powerhouse he was independent


ONTARIO, I'm not sure, but I THINK Don Cardi's reply was a joke. shhh


.
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: SC] #608612
07/21/11 01:58 AM
07/21/11 01:58 AM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 227
Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto
O
ONTARIO613 Offline
Made Member
ONTARIO613  Offline
O
Made Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 227
Montreal-Ottawa-Toronto
i missed that

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #608621
07/21/11 10:56 AM
07/21/11 10:56 AM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Sonny_Black Offline
Underboss
Sonny_Black  Offline
Underboss
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Originally Posted By: Don Cardi
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black

I am in fact far more interested in American mobsters than Dutch criminals.


So where does that leave you with Dutch Shultz? lol wink


I'm only interested in Arthur Flegenheimer. wink


"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Sonny_Black] #608710
07/21/11 11:22 PM
07/21/11 11:22 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 119
Why youse being so nosy?
P
Palomita20 Offline
Made Member
Palomita20  Offline
P
Made Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 119
Why youse being so nosy?
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black
Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
And if there were a mob crew in the Netherlands, you would certainly be more interested in them than in American mobsters smile.


It's interesting you mention this as I am in fact far more interested in American mobsters than Dutch criminals. Compared with American mafiosi, Dutch criminals are small potatoes and petty thieves.

But I understand you're point. wink


On that front, even though this guy isn't Dutch, there was a German guy named Stefan Hentschel who was internet famous for a time. Supposedly he was a gangster at one time and was a pro boxer. I remember him from the video where he pimpslapped some guy but most of the articles about him are in German. Wonder if you might know something about him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOutXmdRQNs

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Palomita20] #608722
07/22/11 09:14 AM
07/22/11 09:14 AM
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Sonny_Black Offline
Underboss
Sonny_Black  Offline
Underboss
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,568
Originally Posted By: Palomita20
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black
Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
And if there were a mob crew in the Netherlands, you would certainly be more interested in them than in American mobsters smile.


It's interesting you mention this as I am in fact far more interested in American mobsters than Dutch criminals. Compared with American mafiosi, Dutch criminals are small potatoes and petty thieves.

But I understand you're point. wink


On that front, even though this guy isn't Dutch, there was a German guy named Stefan Hentschel who was internet famous for a time. Supposedly he was a gangster at one time and was a pro boxer. I remember him from the video where he pimpslapped some guy but most of the articles about him are in German. Wonder if you might know something about him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOutXmdRQNs


Not at all. So called German gangsters are the last thing I'm interested in. lol

Okay, there's a German wikipedia article on him and I've translated it with Google.

http://translate.google.nl/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FStefan_Hentschel

Last edited by Sonny_Black; 07/22/11 09:23 AM.

"It was between the brothers Kay -- I had nothing to do with it."
Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Sonny_Black] #608780
07/22/11 07:12 PM
07/22/11 07:12 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 119
Why youse being so nosy?
P
Palomita20 Offline
Made Member
Palomita20  Offline
P
Made Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 119
Why youse being so nosy?
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black
Originally Posted By: Palomita20
Originally Posted By: Sonny_Black
Originally Posted By: pizzaboy
And if there were a mob crew in the Netherlands, you would certainly be more interested in them than in American mobsters smile.


It's interesting you mention this as I am in fact far more interested in American mobsters than Dutch criminals. Compared with American mafiosi, Dutch criminals are small potatoes and petty thieves.

But I understand you're point. wink


On that front, even though this guy isn't Dutch, there was a German guy named Stefan Hentschel who was internet famous for a time. Supposedly he was a gangster at one time and was a pro boxer. I remember him from the video where he pimpslapped some guy but most of the articles about him are in German. Wonder if you might know something about him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOutXmdRQNs


Not at all. So called German gangsters are the last thing I'm interested in. lol

Okay, there's a German wikipedia article on him and I've translated it with Google.

http://translate.google.nl/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=nl&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FStefan_Hentschel


Thanks for the translation. The guy was definitely a character. I'm not surprised you're not into German gangsters as I didn't even know they existed before I heard of this guy.

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: GaryH] #609126
07/26/11 02:21 PM
07/26/11 02:21 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 23
S
Smokes420 Offline
Wiseguy
Smokes420  Offline
S
Wiseguy
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 23
Originally Posted By: GaryH
$25,000 a day in the 1950's/1960's - thats a LOT of cash!

Henry Hill ratted out his former mentor but Vario had been banging Karen Hill so he (Vario) didnt deserve any loyalty from Henry.
No honour amongst the mob


Fuck yea thats a lot of cash...

Paulie should have been Boss he was very powerful a true old school gangster...

Re: Paul Vario Biography [Re: Don Cardi] #732738
08/08/13 12:44 PM
08/08/13 12:44 PM
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 259
Quiet_Doms Offline
Capo
Quiet_Doms  Offline
Capo
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 259
I've read on this website that at one point Big Paulie served as "underboss". Is there any truth to this?

http://z7.invisionfree.com/americangangland1/ar/

Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Don Cardi, J Geoff, SC, Turnbull 

Powered by UBB.threads™