Found this article in the archives of gangland and though it was really interesting so thought I would share. (I searched older posts on this site but couldnt find anything on it). I wonder if Gotti and Demeo worked together on anything else?? The reason for the killing is pretty hilarious.

Murder Most Fowl



Strictly business is the mob credo when it comes to dirty deeds. But some are strictly personal.

When Paul Castellano (right) learned from his daughter that her boyfriend had insulted him royally, the powerful gangster recruited a couple of tough, eager-to-please, budding mob executives to eliminate the problem, permanently.

And so, years before John Gotti and Joseph Massino rose to the top of the Gambino and Bonanno families, sources say they got together to kill the offending boyfriend, Vito Borelli. The murder is an untold chapter of Mafia history that has stayed buried for more than 25 years, along with the whereabouts of Borelli’s body.

The boyfriend’s fatal mistake? He said out loud what Castellano’s pals were afraid to: that the Gambino family big shot, a butcher by trade, looked a lot like Frank Perdue, the resourceful businessman/self-promoter with a popular brand of chickens. For those too young to remember, this wasn’t a compliment. Perdue, starring in his own TV commercials, seemed to resemble a chicken, looking plucked and slightly beaked as he famously squawked: “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.”

The tale was told for the first time by turncoat Bonanno family underboss Salvatore Vitale, whose sister is Massino’s wife. Vitale, who will be a star witness at Massino’s upcoming trial, has told the FBI that he was called on to help Massino, Gotti and


several others dispose of Borelli’s body in 1975 after they killed him at a Manhattan cookie business that was operated by Bonanno soldier Anthony Rabito.

Vitale (right) has told the feds that he took part in nine murders with his brother-in-law, including Borelli’s. But he insists he didn’t learn about Borelli’s execution until after it happened, according to court papers.

Initially, sources say, Massino had instructed Vitale to pick up a stolen van from a cohort and leave it parked outside Rabito’s store with the keys under the seat. Later, however, Massino called him and told him to bring his own car to the location because the van wouldn’t start.

When Vitale arrived, sources said, he saw Massino outside with Dominick (Sonny Black) Napolitano, Rabito, Gotti, and two wiseguys who would later play huge roles in Castellano’s assassination – Angelo Ruggiero and Frank DeCicco.

Vitale said that after he backed his car against the building, the crew placed a body wrapped in a tan drop cloth into the trunk. Ruggiero and DeCicco then


got in the car and directed him to a Queens garage.

At the garage, Vitale said, several men were waiting, including one who was holding a knife. When the body was removed from the trunk, he noticed that Borelli appeared to have been shot in the face and body, and was wearing only his underwear. Years later, Vitale told the feds, he saw a newspaper photo of Roy DeMeo, (left) the notorious mob hitman whose specialty was carving up bodies like a Perdue chicken. DeMeo, he said, was one of the men waiting in the garage.

Vitale completed his duties that night by dropping off Ruggiero and DeCicco at the late Dapper Don’s Ozone Park social club, the Bergin Hunt & Fish Club. A few days later, Vitale recalled, Massino explained that Borelli had been dating Castellano’s daughter and had insulted him in front of his daughter, saying “that Paul Castellano had looked like Frank Perdue.”

The episode had a couple of eerie echoes for Castellano. One was that, as much as Paul Castellano didn’t want to look like Frank Perdue, he didn’t mind doing business with him. A year after Borelli’s murder, Castellano rose to become boss of the family with the death of his brother in law, Carlo Gambino. The step up allowed Big Paul to spread his wings, and he soon arranged for his own company, Dial Poultry, to distribute Perdue chickens. The chicken men apparently hit it off. When Perdue had union problems at a Queens restaurant he was opening in 1981, he sought Castellano’s advice about straightening things out.

The other echo occurred in 1980, when another of his daughter’s sweethearts offended him. This time, Frank Amato had already married the boss’s daughter when Castellano had him killed. The executioner, according to FBI documents, was none other than knife man Roy Demeo, who cut up Amato’s body and disposed of the remains at sea.

Sometimes its glossed over how ruthless Castellano was, he had more people whacked than Gotti, maybe because him himself wasn't a tough guy it's forgotten, but he ordered many.

Frank Amato was the stupidiest man alive! - he beat his wife (Pauls Daughter)
I dunno what Amato thought was gonna happen!
It should have been obvious though.

As for the Vito Borelli murder, I can understand Demeo being involved given that dismemberment was his stock and trade but why involve so many other guys?
Surely for a murder the less the better?
That way its less guys to rat about what they saw if they get busted years later!
But killing a guy because he calls you Frank Perdue is a bit over the top!
Thats the mob for you!

Very Good point Gary. I think you are right. demeo was an asscoaite of Nino gaggi and Nino was a soldier in castellanos crew at this time so it would make sense for demeo to be involved. massino and sonny black really had no relationship with Paul. Paul did use gotti for hits but that was years later and also gotti was in jail in 1975 when vito was murdered

cool article!bravo

would love to know what Queens garage it was.

as much as I believe the story, why would someone be holding a knife at the garage? makes no sense to carry a knife in the open when the work would obviously be done at another location(guessing the lounge).

Yeah good point I bet Castellano ordered a lot of hits. I wonder what other hits Gotti was involved in directly. I know he was there when Mcbratney was shot, and Henry Hill claims he killed Tommy Desimone (I thnk Agro did it for him) but Im wondering who else he killed. I really dont know much about his criminial activities other than being capo or boss and ordering hits.

Gotti wasn't involved in hits directly he mostly ordered hits. he was a tough guy but not a hitman. McBratney was the only one which he was involved but he wasnt the shooter. Desimone was most liely killed by agro but gotti maybe ordered it since he was acting capo at the time and agro was just a soldier. he was also involved in the murder of a gambino soldier in florida named Anthony Plate in 1979 but i've heard that willie boy and angleo killed him on gotti's orders

gotti feared demeo

^^^everybody feared demeo

When Gotti was in jail in Marion he was taped talking to Peter and Victoria about Junior's trial and how he was indicted with a bunch of lowlifes that had nothing to do with him. He compared it to Castellanos trial with Demeos crew and said Casteallo was indicted with "Demeo and a bunch of asshole kids"

One of Gotti's best lines ever came from that rant. When he asked what Junior was doing with all these "butlers and waiters."

Gotti was a good talker but its common knowledge that he was absolutely terrified of castellano and the demeo crew. In fact gene gotti was recorded telling Angelo that John wanted no part of demeo becuase he had an army of killers not asshole kids lol. also back in the late 70's and early 80's when Big paul was at his most powerful Gotti would shit his pants if he was sent for a meeting. He used to say nervously "What did i do"

Yeah, that was pretty funny .

yeah totally... asshole kids that he was scared of. haha

I missed that butlers and waiters line.. hilarious.

one the guys in Gotti Jr's indictment was called "Sigmond the Sea Monster" so Gotti Sr goes "Where do these creatures emerge from?"

and what did gotti orchestrate on big paul? whacked him out in the middle of midtown during the holiday season

I never said Gotti wasnt a killer or that he didnt have balls. I just said he wasnt totally fearless it is documented that he feared certain people. Also the hit on Big paul was a good time for gotti because paul was very vulnerable because of the heat he had on him. At that time Paul didnt have the westies or demeo crew anymore. I mean i cant lie and say gotti feared nobody since gene gotti was on tape saying his brother wanted absoluetly no part of demeo. Just trying to be honest

Gotti pretty much had to make a move at that point. Dellacroce was dead and Paul was going to at least break up his crew, if not have Gotti killed.

True, but it still takes balls to take out a boss.

I feel that if Gotti was forced to whack DeMeo (eg either do it or your gone) im sure Johnny Boy would have made an attempt on DeMeo at least. Gievn what we know about his track record.

This is what you are talking about

"By 1982, the FBI was investigating the enormous number of missing and murdered persons who were linked to DeMeo or who had last been seen entering the Gemini Lounge. It is around this time that an FBI bug in the home of Gambino family soldier Angelo Ruggiero picked up a conversation between Angelo and Gene Gotti, a brother of John Gotti.

In the conversation, it is discussed that Paul Castellano had put out a hit on DeMeo, but was having difficulty finding someone willing to do the job. Gene Gotti mentions that his brother John was wary of taking the contract, as DeMeo had an "army of killers" around him. It is also mentioned in this same secretly recorded conversation that, at that time, John had killed fewer than 10 people, while DeMeo had killed at least 38. According to mob turncoat Sammy Gravano, eventually the contract was given to Frank DeCicco, but Frank and his crew couldn't get to DeMeo either. DeCicco allegedly handed the job to Roy's own men."

dont know about that he was was pretty scared according to jerry Capeci. also vic and gas tried to kill him and actually killed frankie decicco and gotti did nothing. I wouldnt blame him of being scared of Vic and Gas they were jus ast bad as demeo

Exactly. also like i said Big paul wasn't exactly at full strength or he couldnt afford to kill gotti with all that heat he had on him. gotti just had a littl eluck and he took it

The best part of that rant came afterward when he started making up stupid nicknames (not actually in the indictment) that he felt would go along well with "sigmund the sea monster". I remember a couple of them were "Louie the one-handed leprechaun" and "Sal jumps over the fence".

please provide the capeci article on that, idk about gotti fearing vic and gas at that point he wasnt even sure it was them who attempted to kill him.

dont forget the attempted hit on casso which was orchestrated by mikey paradiso on behalf of quack quack, boriello, and lino

http://books.google.com/books?id=NYGfl0Y...hit&f=false

idk if gotti would have gotten whacked by the rank and file who loved johnny boy and despised paul.

we will never know

Well I've heard it come from his own mouth on a few documentaries. It will take me a little while but i will provide it if you think im not telling the truth dude lol. I get that you are a gotti fan and he was a tough guy but he did fear certain people simple as that

actually i am not a fan of any mobster

funny you bring up casso, cause i am very familiar with casso, gotti, massino, basciano, among others. I have his book and have am very well read up on his case.

remember casso was a perpetual liar... i saw those documentaries, i remember al darco saying sammy gravano was scared of them but they could never get gotti cause the media was around around him

"loved Johnny Boy" LOL Ok Then. I dont think they loved johnny boy gotti but i agree they werent happy with paul anymore. but remmeber sammy and probably others wanted Decicco to be the boss but Frank knew gotti was an egomaniac so they made a pact that they would give gotti a year as boss and if he sucked they would whack him. so actually decicco getting blown up was good for gotti because they probably woould have killed him anyway because he drew so much attention from the feds

They did the smart thing. Why would you attempt to whack a guy when the media is always around him. Also you answered my question sammy was scared of them so that means gotti was scared because sammy was a hitman while gotti was not