Wednesday, January 8, 2014
"Punchy" Illiano, Part of Gallo Crew, Died Yesterday

Punchy Illiano.
(From Gangster BB)
Frank "Punchy" Illiano (born 1928), a Brooklyn capo with the Genovese crime family, died yesterday. Cosa Nostra News has learned this directly from a personal friend of the old gangster. No additional details are available right now, but we are working the story.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Illiano served as a top lieutenant to the Gallo brothers in their two wars with family boss Profaci, first, and then Carmine Persico.

Punchy acquired his nickname from his earlier years, when he was a boxer. Many other members of the Genovese clan spent time in the ring, in fact, including former boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, Quiet Dom Cirillo and Little Augie Pisano.

Illiano was quickly seen as management material. After Joe Gallo met his demise, and Punchy and the Gallo brothers were without a family, they wandered into the Genovese borgata.

During the mid-1970s, the Genovese crime family welcomed Illiano, Albert Gallo and other Gallo outcasts into its ranks. The Gallo crew had previously enjoyed a good relationship with Genovese leaders such as Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo, Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello and Vincent "The Chin" Gigante. Illiano and Albert "Kid Blast" Gallo became made men and Illiano a capo.



In the late 1990s, the imprisoned Gigante appointed Illiano as a street boss. As of 2010, Illiano was still operating a crew with Albert Gallo in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn. The crew runs gambling and loan sharking operations in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island.

Illiano began his criminal career as a member of the Gallo crew in the Profaci crime family, later known as the Colombo family. His initial capo was "Crazy Joey" Gallo, who would become infamous for his feuding with Cosa Nostra bosses; Punchy remained loyal to Joe and his brothers.

Some believe that Illiano was among the hit men who killed Albert Anastasia in 1957 -- the same year the disastrous Apalachin Conference took place, in part to address the Anastasia hit.
The First Colombo War started in February 1961, when the Gallos kidnapped several family leaders to force boss Joseph Profaci to distribute profits more fairly. Profaci agreed to a settlement to gain his loyalists' release, then later in 1962 tried to murder Larry Gallo at a meeting in a bar.

In 1965, Iliano and 14 other crew members pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in regard to the gang war and were sentenced to six months in prison.

The Second Colombo War began after the 1971 shooting of boss Joseph Colombo; many mobsters suspected the man behind the hit was ol' Joey Gallo. In 1972, gunmen assassinated Joe Gallo at a Manhattan restaurant. Illiano and Albert Gallo sought to avenge the murder, importing a hitter that very same year -- only the shooter bungled the hit..

A peace agreement was eventually made between the Colombo factions. As part of the agreement, Illiano and Albert Gallo joined the Genovese family with the remnants of their crew.