Al D’Arco claims

How much weight do D’Arco’s claims have? Every time I see him in interviews he says some things that make me wonder if they are true or not. For instance, he said every time Sammy the Bull saw him he would be scared and duck him because they were plotting to kill him. He obviously has credibility in what he says because he lived it but I’m not too sure I fully believe some things that he says.

Side note: I also read somewhere that Cassio stated that gravano lied about never meeting Casso and Amuso when there is photo evidence of Gotti, gravano, casso and amuso all meeting. Wouldn’t this discredit Gravano’s whole testimony?

I've raised the same questions over the veracity of some of D'Arco's claims.

When he wasn't self-aggrandising - and remember, before he was promoted to head the old Vario crew he didn't really carve out any niches for himself - he was making some heady claims such as of his knockaround pals bitch slapping Venero Mangano without retribution.

It's been a while since I read his book but he did seem to overestimate his own importance in the grand scheme of things; you have to remember his rise in the eighties was a dramatic one. You have to question just how much he was privy to.

I'm sure everyone would agree in hindsight that giving D'Arco so much power was not one of Amuso and Casso's better moves. And it's not like he was an anomaly. They installed Joseph De Fede as acting boss not long after he flipped.

Amuso and Casso installed D'Arco as he was Casso guy. Many say D'Arco was only a force cause Casso was behind him, but then Al got big ideals and that was when the Lucchese administration decided D'Arco should go. In 70s and 80s D'Arco was a pushover and of it was not for Casso, he would have been killed along time ago. Al was an errand boy and was privy to what Casso was up to.

I wonder what would have happened if Heidel would have hit the target square in the head while enjoying his ice cream cone?

D may have been just waiting in the wings and get a smooth run of things.

al said sammy was afraid and ducking him?

Yeah bronx in his book. I call bs.casso maybe.

Yes. He says it in that documentary called manhattan mob rampage. I find it hard to believe. Based on Sammy’s reputation I don’t think he was ducking too many people if any at all. The Gambino’s were much stronger than the Luccehse’s as well.

I would think Casso would be a worthy adversary of Gotti and Gravano. All 3 were pretty tough. Casso and Gravano were calculated too, Sammy more so.

D’Arco also said that Tommy Ricciardi and his crew were scared when they came and met up with him at his restaurant. Idk how believable that is either.

Ricciardi said that Amuso and Casso sent for himself, Accetturo, and 2 others from New Jersey and then they tried to lure them to a different location but the 4 of them didn't go because they were worried they were going to get whacked.

They instead went and saw D'Arco at LaDonna Rosa restaurant.

I'm sure D'Arco exaggerated a lot to make himself sound more important but after the encounter with Amuso and Casso I'm sure he was scared going to see D'Arco. Especially when they took them in the basement and D'Arco was talking about there being rats in the family.

So Ricciardi probably was indeed 'shaking in his boots' like D'Arco said because of the whole situation they were in under Amuso and Casso and not so much that they were scared solely of D'Arco like he might have made it sound.

As for Gravano, D'Arco said they called him Sammy 'Bullshit' instead of Sammy the Bull and he said Gravano was ducking them cause he knew he was going to get whacked.

Probably all of it is about half true.

Captains really took a lot of shit during Amuso's reign. Amuso screamed at Fat Pete Chiodo in front of lots of people, humiliating him in front of everybody. There were genuine mitigating circumstances for Chiodo ratting, not just this incident; you also had the attempted hit on himself and his sister. So I'd have a bit more empathy for him than D'Arco. As much empathy as I could feel for a criminal.

D'Arco, like De Fede, used his promotion to steal family money. And D'Arco also used his newfound power to settle old grudges.

I'm sure he built quite a nest egg for himself with all the money he was pilfering that was supposed to go up the ladder.

Agreed! Also, I think Casso was going after Gotti and Gravano over the failed shooting of Casso set in motion by Angelo Ruggierio. The Genovese also wanted revenge for the Castellano killing, so the Westside reached out to the Lukes to plant the bomb to kill Gotti, which ultimately only killed Frank DeCiccio.

So Gravano was watching his back because he and Gotti had made a lot of enemies quickly. That’s the context of Sammy “ducking” D’Arco iirc.

I believe a lot of what D'Arco said in the book. Especially about his early childhood and mob apprenticeships.

But it gets strange as the book goes on. First, an older and much respected former poster on here once said that the Genovese in Little Italy hated D'Arco. Which contradicts Al's claims of being in the good graces of the downtown Genovese.

Also, the poster said that the Salerno hit was NOT going to go unpunished. So Steve Crea teaming up with D'Arco to take out Casso was probably a dubious claim, as Al was the messenger for the Salerno hit. He was also the primary participant in the Luongo hit.

I think if given the chance, Al would have been terminated on his very next visit to the Bronx if he hadn't run to the FBI first. Brooklyn wanted him dead. But so did Crea Im sure.

I don't feel like going back find the old posts but go back and type in "pizzaboy" in the search engine and you'll get tons of D'Arco dirt.

Pizzaboy doesn’t post on here anymore? Always seemed like a good guy. Very knowledgeable. I’ve seen him dispute some stuff D’Arco has said in the past as well.

I read both Gravano’s and Casso’s books so both are pretty interesting characters. Both are somewhat similar but Casso seemed to be a lot more impulsive when it came to ordering murders. Both made a lot of money.

Pizzaboy and me had our beefs, mainly because of my crotchety, moralist ways, but the forum was certainly a more valuable resource for having guys like him, Ivy League and Sonny Blackstein around. For that matter, where is Billy Brizzi these days? He hasn't commented in a long time.

I think gotti and sam was scared of anthony.

i think gotti and sam was scared of anthony.

Gravano was not scared of Al. Casso and Gravano went way back in the 70s and did some business together. Most notably the Florida job when both were just associates in their families. It was Casso that saved Gravano from being put on the hit list after Castellano was killed. After the failed hit on Casso, that was put through the Bergin crew, Gravano then was ducking Casso cause he knew what Casso was and could do. This is one where I dont think Gravano was involved as he was preoccupied with all the constructions, scams and big money coming in fast and worrying about the Genovese crime family.

Ricciardi summary of events is most reliable then D'Arco. New Jersey was afraid of Amuso and Casso, not Al. D'Arco claims of him and his pals slapping Mangano around did not happened, even two of his former pals and a Genovese soldier has said that the group was being unruly and disrespecting the place unaware that Mangano and a Genovese Capo was off to the side in a corner, and Mangano got up, walked over to Al, slapped him and told D'Arco to apologize to their hosts and to get lost, and he did not care who Al was with. If that person had a problem to come over and see him.

Think al should of stayed a soldier wasnt meant to be a capo you had better people in that crew. If they gave him a decent racket he wouldnt even be on the radar.

thanks, did not read sam's or al's book..not sure what al meant by sam ducking him, different families, if al walked down mulberry st. , sam would see him and hide in a store or run away..? or have a meeting and sam would say he was ill. ? very silly for al to say that.ask louie debono about made guys ducking..

Ivy was a great researcher. Pizza's knowledge of the streets was surreal. I was actually able to piece together tidbits from pizza's old posts to find creas old social club on bronx river road, cirillos old club under the 6 train, and a bunch of luchesse spots in parkchester, priscos westchester square club, etc.

I am still trying to figure out who " the guy from locust point" is. Pizza would talk about him like he was the new bronx genovese powerhouse. Its not danny pagano.

Anyway, these guys arenr coming back around i guess but they were great contributors. Alfanos girl as well. Helen wheels. Eastharlemitalian...

I remember all those guys, really good stuff.

Just out of interest has darco ever commented on Henry hill or jimmy Burke?

Eastharlemitalian was really great. Wish he was still on here. He was good to me ever since I got on here and always supported my stuff. I was surprised and saddened when he was banned. Was Alfanos girl the one with the Brittany Spears profile picture? And why aren’t any of them coming back around again?

Not sure. He was in Vario’s crew so I’m sure they had several run ins.

That says a lot about Casso. Because Gotti and Gravano never seemed to back down from anybody.

Had no idea eastharlemitalian was banned. Anyway, i didnt mean to hijack the thread...i was just thinking out loud

Looking over Manhattan Mob Rampage, D'Arco claims they ordered a hit on Gravano due to his association with Gotti, since they assumed Gotti sanctioned the hit on Casso. Strangely, I couldn't find anything about this in D'Arco's book, which makes the whole thing suspicious.

D'Arco seems to have a tough guy complex and can make some dubious claims, but I would still recommend his book. He was the acting boss of the Lucchese family so there is still plenty of great information. I'll put up with fake stories about beating guys up and lies about why he turned rat in exchange for info on all the rackets the Lucchese family was involved in




D'Arco said he helped mediate a dispute between Burke and some other hijackers over a load of Bic lighters. He got the other hijackers down to a third of the profits. But this wasn't good enough for Burke, they showed up dead not long after.

Yeah,I can't remember if Bruno Facciolo was actually talking or not. But I have read he had a loyal crew and money. Facciolo was a made member of Vario's crew too and probally more capable than D'Arco. I may be wrong but it seems some of his crew were killed because they were saying they were going after Amuso and Casso because they had Facciolo killed

I was thinking the same thing. D'Arco said that Bruno had "20 guys with him" and Bruno wasnt even a capo. They had been headquartered at the Brooklyn Terminal Market which in the 1990's was still adjacent to italian communities (Canarsie, Gerittsen Beach, Marine Park,Mill Basin). So I believe that Bruno was strong and thatmaybe Casso feared him as a newcomer and rival.

If D'Arco is correct, Bruno had a bigger crew than the Bath Ave Bonannos or the Colombo farm team on 20th Ave in Bensonhurst during that era.

No it was nice to think about some of the old posters. And don’t take my word for it but I believe that’s what I was told.

like most of us i also miss pizzaboy's posts.. i've def gone back and searched for posts of his whenever i find a new topic of interest just in case he dropped gems on it in the past..

so with that said i'm inclined to believe PB about d'arco not being totally honest, he didn't strike me as a bullshitter and it only makes sense that d'arco would try to play himself up in his own autobiography. i simply don't believe that al's buddy put his hands on benny eggs and nothing happened because they also say the guy grew up in that life, so he knew there would be consequences for that. makes me take a lot of what al says with a grain of salt, but at the same time the book is good for all it's smaller details on little italy at the time..

If this has been brought up in the past I apologize, what's the status of the Vario crew now? is it active or extinct? Its one of the more interesting crews I believe.

Ya know Al, I'm gonna buy a house and invite 10 guys and have a drink and then we're gonna kill them all !! Lol

The crew is still active. Sal C and Johnny B are acting capos of the crew since the big bust of the Lucchese administration.

Revis_Island, are you talking about Gotti and them going through back channels to get unofficial approval to hit Castellano? This is when all the bosses were caught up in the Commission case, and they went to the strongest candidates who will likely take over their own families. They did not approach Gigante of the Genovese, only the Colombos, Lucchese and Gotti said that Joe Massino in the Bonanno family was behind him. Salvatore Gravano and Frank DeCicco went to Casso to get approval, but Anthony said he did not care what they did. Casso was being cagey according to Gravano, and both him and Frank decided to tell Gotti that they got tactic approval from the Lucchese family, which was smart on Casso part which helped him give deniability. The only thing I can think of is you might he confusing John Gotti meeting with Amuso and Casso. Gotti and the Lucchese administration did not meet until the three families came together in Manhattan to discuss making new members, Persico making Orena acting boss of the Colombo family, admitting both the Bonanno and Colombo families back on the commission, which only the Colombo family was given their seat again, and to cool off the Genovese family from making attempts on Gottis life which was the man reason that Commission meeting was called for. Up till that time Gotti never met with the 19th Hole crew, with the exception of an old soldier who I can not think of who went way back with Dellacroce through the Rava crew.

Yeah Flushing, I am pretty sure you are right about Casso fearing Facciolo and his crew. That they could or would make a move.Again,I don't remember if he was actually talking.But D'Arco talked how strong Facciolo was.And Henry Hill also spoke about him being a power.He probally should have been the capo had Casso not had him in his sights.

I never heard of Facciolo. Casso was really afraid of him and his crew? Casso was killing everybody lol

I do not believe Casso was afraid of him why would he be?

He needs blood, Casso had plenty of shooters and he simply disposed of him.

He was the uncle of o e if the mob wives.

I don't think Casso feared anyone just perceived threats and if someone was a perceived threat they were exterminated.

Casso had the family behind him he could have taken out anyone he choose to and he did.

I mean he tried to whack the whole N.J. CREW.

Caso did not fear any one:

He tried to kill Gotti, he killed Decicco, he killed Lino, he killed Boriello, he killed Roy Demeo amount others....

Fucken wild a pure Predator and the other mass killers in the life they mingled when crossed paths or had anything in common business or otherwise.

I guess when you are like that you must think others are constantly looking at you and I am sure they feel more comfortable In each other’s company a kind of sick respect.

They would often cross family lines and socialize together even having family mingle . I know Carmine and Casso did it all together from business to family functions even vacations.

Did Bruno Facciolo actually rat or did Casso make that up just to kill him?

D’Arco didn’t seem to believe that he was a rat.

Bruno was not a rat. Someone in his crew of associates was an informant, but Caracappa and Eppolito mistakenly said that Facciolo was an informant. I am pretty sure this was one of the killing the detectives did for the Lucchese. I know some say Salvatore Visconti was the informant, but Salvatore did not become an informant until after his brother Albert was killed a year after Bruno.

In fairness to Amuso and Casso, isn't it in D'Arco, Accetturo and Ricciardi's best interests to put forth claims that guys like Facciola weren't rats?

I mean it legitimises their decisions to rat by saying stuff like this.

Portray Amuso and Casso as batshit insane and make it look like they had no decision but to rat, as opposed to them just wanting to save their bacon and avoid prison themselves.

All of these guys didn't want to send money up the chain like you're supposed to do. Guys like Accetturo and Ricciardi wanted all the benefits of having the Lucchese family behind them while acting with autonomy themselves.

Some of D'Arco's claims are just outlandish. Casso crying to him when he told him he was going on the run. Casso's "Whack Jersey" directive. Casso telling him he wanted to invite dozens of mobsters to his home under the guise of having a meal so he could whack all of them at the same time. D'Arco's paranoia over being whacked at the Kimberly Hotel. Amuso being afraid to look him in the eye. It's not for the reasons you think, Al. It's because you're a rat and you make him sick. What, you think you're tougher than Greg Scarpa Jr.? Amuso took him on.

D'Arco acted like he was a big shot in prison. And then someone, I think it was Sal Miciotta, came out and said that he used to bully younger prisoners who weren't connected.

The man also raised a dope fiend for a son and had him screwing up hits left, right and center.

You always have to take whatever any rat says with a grain of salt. Every rat, from Joe Valachi to Sammy Gravano, became a rat for one of two reasons. Either he was afraid of being killed or he couldn't do his time. None of these rats turned for any other reason than self preservation. D'Arco had no problem with Casso's and Amuso's murderous rampage when it benefited him. It was only when they turned on him and he felt that he was in danger that he suddenly developed a conscience. Same with Leonetti, he had no problem with Scarfo's blood lust and lunacy when he was riding his coat tails to the under boss position. It was only when he faced doing some serious time that he suddenly began to think that his uncle was a bad guy. Gravano had no problem killing Castellano and his own business partners when he got the power with John Gotti, He only started to think that Gotti was a bad guy when he was staring a long sentence in the face. While what Casso and Amuso did with the attack on his sister was over the line, Fat Pete had no problem with those guys and he had no problem bullying and killing people himself until he and his family had the tables turned on them.

That's why as much as they were deplorable humans in their own right, you have to respect guys like Scarfo, Gotti, and Sonny Black who took what was coming to them, either dying in jail or getting killed, as a consequence of the life that they led. These rats all did the same things that those guys did and enjoyed the benefits of mob life when times were good but then weren't strong enough to accept the consequences of the way that they chose to live their lives. Having made a very self interested choice in saving themselves, it follows that what they right or what they say will be framed to justify their actions and demonize the others who were down in the dirt with them.

Good posts JC and Moe. ..and to be fair, he was crying in that 60 minutes interview as well. I think Casso was just so far gone, so whacked out mentally from the mafia cult that nothing surprises me. Maybe Al was lying or exaggerating, but it’s not like Casso was a model of mental and emotional stability in the first place to where people would say to Al,.. “Nah, Gaspipe would never do that”. It’s more like, “That sounds about right”.

I think the Salerno hit severed the Brooklyn faction from the rest of the Luchesse and ultimately the Genovese. And even after the highly unpopular Salerno hit, why would Chin want to keep Casso alive after also usng him for the Decicco bombing? Chin had his own guys, and the NY families rarely use bombs as a means of aggression. That was always a midwest thing. Between Mike Salerno and DeCicco he was running out of friends.

Anyway, Salerno ran white plains road all the way from parkchester up to yonkers and mount vernon. His former crew is the modern upper echelon of the Lucheses. Hooks, DiFiore, Migliore, Crea - all came up under Salerno. And the Prince Street crew hated Casso as well.

Even though Casso had a huge cache of henchmen in Canarsie and southern Brooklyn, he had cornered himself - literally- into a small corner of the borough. He had three crews - canarsie, 19th hole and mcdonald avenue versus everyone else. And he even killed Bruno Facciola, who would likely have been a great ally.

His actions speak of increasing paranoia.

The guy was definitely FRENCH TOAST at the time of the interview.
However, he did get FUCT, by the FEDS,

Did he deserve it ?from a KARMA perspective absolutely.

He over estimated his worth and though that if he could serve the feds really DIRTY DIRT they would eat it up.
Like the MAFIA COPS...

He did not realize that he had no JOHN GOTTI to give them like Gravano did.

He couldn't understand that.

The same thing with Scarpa Jr.
He gave them the WTC bomber and got nothing in return.

Because the info he had was mainly a FED and feds had no interest in taking down a Fed and all his cases along with it.

So they shipped both of them off the SUPER-MAX

The guy that I think got fucked the most all time was Frankie LOC, they had ZERO evidence on him the guy said two words on those tapes and got LIFE.

Even in his 60 minute interview he seemed like a pretty intimidating figure. Definitely straight out of central casting. Casso might have been one of the most feared mobsters ever based on the way people talk about him. Dellacroce, Gravano, Greg Scarpa, Galante and I’m sure many other names are up there too. And what about Carmine Lombardozzi? I’m not including him on that list but what role did he play in the stock market rackets exactly?