We have already discussed opinions on who is the most vile mobster and a few other categories but here's another very interesting question for you;

In the opinion of forum members who were the most successful but low-key, quiet mafiosi to operate of the Five Families?

HERE IS THE SPECIFIC CRITERIA FOR THE CHOICES:

1) The picks can ONLY be from the traditional FIVE FAMILIES (I know some would like to include outside crews but there were so many thousands to pick from NYC that I thought that was enough)

2) The choice doesn't have to be someone who was such a "sleeper" that he never even got pinched or never did a bid because if that is that case we wouldn't even be aware of true 100% sleepers (they're names would NOT be known). Only guys that haven't been revolving doors in and out of jail and were for the most part low-key and generally little known who kept more to the shadows.

3) Mafiosi who were VERY financial successful. I don't mean guys who only eeked out a living or were moderately successful. But fellows from the Five Families who were known to have made a lot of cash! and either didn't ever go to jail at all, or in the alternative only did maybe 1 prison term (and the bid they did wasn't 10-20 years inside).

4) MOST OF ALL: mafiosi and their top guys who you could look at and say "if I was gonna be a wiseguy" THATS a guy I'd wanna emulate! ..... money, assets, businesses, mostly kept his head low, didn't get shot up or repeatedly jailed, lived a long and prosperous lifestyle, etc, etc..... you get the idea right fellas?

5) He could be a guy thats still alive, or he could be a guy who passed away. Doesn't matter! But the criteria above do!!

6) IMPORTANT CRITERIA: the choices can ONLY BE FROM THE SOLDIER RANK. Not capos, consigliere, underbosses, or Bosses. Why? Because above the soldier rank I think already you're typically on front street with both the FBI, newspapers, and general public. Also because forum members always look at the top guys. Well known at the top ranks... I was curious to see who at the lower levels, the little known SOLDIERS that forum members feel were among the categories I described.

7) And lastly, each forum member can pick (4) FOUR CHOICES: the reason being that I know there are thousands of mafiosi to close from so I wanted to be generous about it....BUT I DON'T want see the Jerry Catena's, Frank Tieri's, of Tommy Gambino's because although guys like that could fit into some of these profiles, they were NOT low-profile- guy or Sleepers per se. They were "household names" and bosses well known to the public

............ONLY SOLDIERS!

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PS: I don't know if it helps, but if anybody blanks out on choices on our Buttonguys website we have over 350 profiles of various guys. Of course through the various era in NYC there were literally thousands of guys to pic from..... I'm curious to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Until I saw could only be a solider was going to put dom canterino or buckaloo ferro but I’ll go w another dom since he never took skipper rank...long time power..made millions and was a sleeper for his entire career...dom diquartro

GREAT PICK!! DOMINICK (DOM THE SAILOR) DE QUARTRO was a top player for years. Made money, kept his head VERY low. Was respected, etc etc

And I gotta say that Buckaloo would have been a great pick also. Even though he rose to capo late in life, his was essentially always a soldier. Ferro was a low key power in Harlem for years. Good choices!!

Vincent "Jimmy Blue Eyes" Alo? Was very close with Lansky in the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Made tons of money from casino ops in Florida and Cuba and became a capo later in life. Retired a free man in the 1970s - crew was taken over by Matty the Horse.

Myer lanksys rabbi Jimmy blue eyes..to me the ultimate sleeper but for purposes of this he said no skippers or bosses

Gambino soldier Joseph "Joey Cigars" Francolino is my top choice. He was Jimmy Brown's favorite soldier. A genuine tough guy who made millions upon millions through extorting the carting industry. A few years ago he sold some property downtown for a cool $20 million. He's up there with Carmine Franco and Salvatore Avellino.

Louie fats was jimmy browns favorite soldier
Joe francolino was in the Louie Vallario crew. Joey was Sammy the bulls guy
Joey was cousins with Eddie and frank lino

I didn't realize Joey Francolino had that kind of wealth.... But didn't he do a big bid over the garbage case?

francolino was married to frank lino's sister no blood

what do you mean "No blood"?

He later reported directly to Failla and even ran his garbage empire for him for a while. Never heard he was cousins with Lino.




Yes, he's ridiculously wealthy. He did about 4 or 5 years. Not that long. His son Joe Jr. ran things for him while he was away. Not sure if Jr. is made.

I thought gravano was grooming francolino to take over the garbage racket and Jimmy brown seen it coming and complained to Gotti. Gotti took jimmy browns side and told him leave it to him. Gotti went on that rant about sammy trying to take over everyone's rackets. Then when gravano writes his book he calls jimmy brown a pussy more then once and you can really tell in the book gravano was some type of envious or jealous of brown. It just comes off making sammy look like a bitter bitch. He should have just left it out but he couldn't help himself from taking shots at brown. Also read brown wanted to kill Sammy's friends and brother in law when he flipped so that might be the reason

One of the what i dont like but gotti makes brown his underboss after they blew up deccico how would it played out

Great choice. John S------- (and his sometime partner John Rosati) are both stupidly wealthy guys AND soldiers. Neither of them have ever done 1 day in jail. Success across the board... My only critique as far as either go is that neither one of them are actually mobsters. They ARE and they AREN'T in the sense that neither has ever booked a horse, schemed a street deal, shylocked in the street, picked up a gun, or actually have done anything to warrant being called REAL mafiosi.

Except that technically they do have that button so they are indeed "made guys". So I'm just not sure where they fall in categories ya know?

They got their "button" or in their case "zipper" by turning over lots of cash over the years from their legit deals toCarmine Persico. Almost like an "honorary" thing if that makes sense.

But all in all based upon my criteria I set, THAT was a great pick!

Think that guy john started out in the stolen car biz in the 70tys like demeo and his crew. Then he turned it legit

Patsy Conte

He did some time but he blended the streets with legit business. Was also a huge H dealer, Galante level. Gotti ordered him to restart his H pipeline because it made so much.

You are VERY correct. I knew Patsy and his family. His father was a "Zip" mafioso before him. The dad was originally in the retail meat business owning butcher shops all through Queens and Brooklyn. That's where Patsy learned the trade. They were called Conte Meats. He later expanded into a supermarket chain of course. VERY SHARP guy. Big "babania" guy too.

He basically only hung around with other zips. He fell in the 80's but previous to that many people (even wise guys) didn't know he was connected.

You are VERY correct. I knew Patsy and his family. His father was a "Zip" mafioso before him. The dad was originally in the retail meat business owning butcher shops all through Queens and Brooklyn. That's where Patsy learned the trade. They were called Conte Meats. He later expanded into a supermarket chain of course. VERY SHARP guy. Big "babania" guy too.

He basically only hung around with other zips. He fell in the 80's but previous to that many people (even wise guys) didn't know he was connected.

Patsy's father and Gambino soldier Louie DiBono's dad were both mafiosi and "compare". very close!

Wouldn't Charlie the Blade Tourine be the definition of a sleeper? In Richie the Boot's crew and never rose above the rank of soldier from what I know, but one of the biggest mobsters in South Florida, interests in Cuban and other Carribean casinos, Vegas casinos, and European casinos, interests in DC through Joe Nesline, ties to the Genovese crew in New Haven ,and operations elsewhere in the country, including something to do with the Alaskan pipeline. Made a ton of money and didn't do much if any time.

For sure he was an iconic guy.... but also extremely notorious. Everybody knew Charlie the Blade. Typically a "sleeper" is a guy who may be a star or not. Millionaire or not. But IS a mafioso who is completely unknown and unheard of (sometimes even by other mob guys). or in the alternative, maybe is a known guy to police. But by and large has mostly kept himself off the radar in his career.

And most people, police, media, even other street guys, don't truly know his value to the organization in the scheme of things.

True he was very well known, I just thought about the fact that he never rose in rank above soldier status. Most soldiers let alone captains don't have much if any influence out of the geographic area of their crew but he was big up and down the East Coast and far flung points elsewhere even internationally. He was like the Jimmy Blue Eyes of soldiers. Another guy who was like that was Jimmy Nap Napoli, a little bit more confined to just NYC and north Jersey but big boxing and the entertainment world with interests in Vegas and Reno if I remember correctly.

That is very true JC. Tourine was actually International in scope. A very illiterate guy too. Could hardly read and write. Yet he was revered by everyone he met. He was supposed to have been a real piece of work in his day, yet handled and was engaged in casino gambling, intricate stock schemes and far-flung rackets across the globe. London, The Bahamas, Vegas, Singapore, etc etc .... he REALLY got around. Lived for years on Central Park South I believe (a very ritzy locale). etc etc

He sat with bosses the way we eat breakfast in the morning.... I don't understand what his charm was. But he DEF had it!

I actually think that the Blade's son Charles Delmonico would be a great subject for an article on your site.

JC, I don't know if you've ever read my biography on Charlie the Blade Tourine. But I did an extensive piece on him, as well as biographies on whom I believe may have been his capo Angelo (Gyp) DeCarlo, and a very close aide of Tourine's named Gaetano (Tommy Nelson) D'Auria... If you like visit my site Buttonguys and clink the "Genovese" link for an A to Z list of members. Skim through all of them. I know you'll really enjoy them. I was able to glean a lot of unique background info on the lives and deeds of over 76 Genovese members. Collectively I wrote bios on over 320 varied members and top associates of the six families of NY/NJ.

One of these days I may so a bio on Jr. Right now I'm trying to focus on various Families through the U.S. and operating rackets.

Heres the direct links for Tourine, D'Auria, and DeCarlo below:

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/charles-tourine/

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/angelo-de-carlo/

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/gaetano-dauria/