Michael DeSantis has quite a story with the Lucchese Family, the longtime staunch Amuso loyalist has been waiting since 1989 for the current position he is in.
DeSantis made his money from an auto body shop in Brooklyn that he owned and his interests in waste carting firms but he wasn’t renowned for his ability to make money, it was for his quality as a shooter.

On December 7, 1988, DeSantis and Richard Pagliarulo shot Angelo Sigona to death in a car in Brooklyn.Angelo Sigona dated the daughter of Casso’s neighbor. The neighbor approached Casso to ask Casso to kill Sigona because his daughter did not want to date Sigona any longer, and because Sigona continued to harass her

DeSantis was the one who buried John Sonny Morrissey on September 17, 1989, which led him to becoming a Made Man in November of 1989.

On September 18, 1991, DeSantis along with capos Anthony Baratta and Frank Lastorino and soldier Frankie Frederico conspired to kill Alphonse D'Arco in the Kimberly Hotel in Manhattan but failed.
DeSantis walked into the Kimberly hotel wearing a bulletproof vest and a gun in his waistband, D'Arco spotted the gun, while DeSantis went to hide the gun in the bathroom, D'Arco made his escape and defected to become a government witness.

In November 1989, DeSantis was inducted into the crime family along with Richie Pagliarulo, Frank Federico and two others the ceremony conducted by boss Vic Amuso, underboss Anthony Casso, capos Al D'Arco, Sal Avellino, Peter Chiodo, Bobby Amuso, Frank Lastorino and Anthony Baratta.

DeSantis was arrested on December 22, 1992, charged with 2 murders and with being part of five failed mob hits for Amuso.DeSantis served 18 years in prison for the 2 murders, he was released on June 28th,2010.7 years later DeSantis became the Acting Boss after sending a letter to imprisoned for life boss Vic Amuso with the message “There are guys out here loyal to you who want to bring the family back to Brooklyn“
This post was taken from Reddit “Little_Al1991” that is me, I first posted this on Reddit and thought it would be useful to post on here.

Wow and from this I learned about a Casso murder I never heard of, Angelo Sigona. This goes to show that the mob's most prolific killers probably killed many more people on top of the ones they admitted to.

Casso admitted to 36 murders but it’s highly likely that he committed more than that.

Yes I've heard of most of his hits but don't know all of them.

I always had trouble believing that story. i don't see why the Lucchese would try to kill D'Arco in a Manhattan Hotel while they would have plenty of opportunities to hit him quietly.

To me that story didn't make sense and I think D'Arco was paranoid in that case.

If I remember correctly, Al D’Arco claims that other stuff was happening to him that was tainting his reputation on the street like for example he was close with Genovese Family Consigliere, James Ida but suddenly Ida didn’t want to be with him anymore.What took place at the hotel was the last straw for him.The way Lastorino and DeSantis were behaving was odd according to Al D’Arco.

It seems like killing a guy in a mi-town hotel is petty damn hard to do with the noise, blood and body. Maybe they had it in for him but I doubt it was that night

Maybe the plan was to lure him somewhere else from there, like the parking deck, and/or into a car or something.

It did not make sense at all, on another site it was said that they one of the people at the meeting was abusive and disrespectful to him in the hotel, and he left angry and went to the feds soon after as a way to get back. How reliable that account is can be tough, but it makes a lot more sense than his story of guns and bulletproof vests, and of killing him right there in a hotel with cameras filming anyone who comes and goes.

He admitted in his book he had contact with tan FBI agent before the hotel meeting, but was not planning to rat. Yeah, right!!! I think he was never respected by most members. I base that on his trying so hard to get made, and his getting put down as nothing more than an ice cream salesman when his name came up as a candidate.

Jace neither Pete Chiodo wanted to rat but Casso&Amuso tried to kill his sister! If the loyalilty means the death nobody would accept the prize.
If you watch the other examples of mobsters who turned informants during the 1980s the mist partvwould keep his mouths shout but the paranoid bosses ordered their death even if there was no proofs to whack them.

Its interesting that the street boss is a man who the only merits was to be a loyal killer in the 1980s and made 18 years with his mouth shout.

Al D'arco was an average mobster and for sure deserved his button,he wasnt respected because was seen like the loyal puppet of Casso&Amuso.

Al D’Arco was somebody in that life, yes it’s true that he struggled for a while but eventually he became made then Vic bumped him up into a Capo then eventually into the Acting Boss though that is only because Al was the guy who would follow Vic’s orders the exact way he wanted.Vic wanted someone that he could control and that person was Al D’Arco.

Vic wants people who are loyal to him in the Acting Boss position and Michael DeSantis is definitely loyal.John Pennisi also called him an earner in one of his videos but I’m interested in seeing if DeSantis has reinstated a Brooklyn crew into the Lucchese Family.Pennisi said that DeSantis has discussed it but it didn’t happen when John Pennisi was still in the life
The reason Vic and Gas originally wanted to kill Peter Chiodo was because he pled guilty to racketeering in the Windows Case which kind of screwed up the legal tactic that Vic and Gas has for beating the trial.He pled guilty to charges which involved his boss Amuso which required him to ask for Vic Amuso’s permission to plead guilty but he did not do that so it was seen as betrayal.

Jace I usually don't agree with you but you might have a point, perhaps D'Arco ratted to get back at disrespectful superiors and not because they were going to whack him in a hotel room. In the Mafia you can't simply whack a piece of shit boss for treating you like shit you either sit there and take it or run to the feds. Or whack your boss and get whacked yourself. What a life. But I always say that our everyday lives aren't much better we put up with the same shit at work etc only thing missing is the murder factor.

D’arco ratted because he was stealing money while Casso and Amuso were on the run. They knew he was and was confronted about it which he denied. He may of been the one to reveal where Vic was. I think that is why he ratted because he had the money and knew he would be killed over it.

I have read that on this forum that he was stealing but that’s it only from here.I don’t see why he would be stealing because as a Capo his profits rose dramatically for the obvious reasons but as the Acting Boss I’m sure they only got higher and higher plus robbing from Vic Amuso is a guaranteed death sentence.If he was skimming maybe Al would have been taken out much earlier and they wouldn’t have tarnished his reputation before that

True. One thing about D'arco and his tales, he said in his book that every time he saw Amuso Amuso was afraid of him, and could not make eye contact. D'Arco also said that when Casso and Amuso were on the run and met him at a hotel, they both pretty much cowered in his presence. D'Arco and Capeci were almost as bad in that book as Alite and George Anastasia in their book. I was very disappointed with both authors, especially Anastasa who did great books in the past on Philadelphia.

I remember reading in the 80's queens heavy metal band anthrax formed and didnt have equipment to play live. So one of the members, i believe guitarist scott ian's father was a lawyer and decided to help buy equipment for the band. So the father went to Al D'arco and borrowed 50g's and bought the band what it needed to play live shows. The band began playing clubs all over new york then and got noticed by a record company, got a record deal and the rest is history. Al D'arco, making dreams come true.

Meet the New Boss: Profile of Lucchese Mafia family leader Michael “Big Mike” DeSantis https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/b...ia-family-boss-michael-big-mike-desantis

Anthrax was up and running in the early 1980's when D'arco was still in prison, and I think him lending $50,000 to a bunch of spiring musicians is a bit tough to believe. Him or his family probably put that story out there, I think D'arco was in prison till 1983. Plus that much money back then is too much to believe, coming from him,

I don’t think it was 50k but the details should be in his book

He said the 80s, not necessarily the early 80s. It's not that hard for me to believe.

Jace : so they knew the truth and because he joined FBI they twisted history … what fucks !

They formed and took off in the early 80's when he was in prison, by 1982 they were so big they had millions of dollars and were doing concerts, plus were starting to have members leave and new ones join---a million to them was nothing. What is funny is I googled al D'Arco that group, the only thing that came up was an old post from that looks like this site, claiming he gave them 80 thousand. It is an internet started story, and is fake.

Thats where i read about anthrax and d'arco on an old post on this site. According to the old post it was dan spitz not scott ian. Dan from spitz was kicked out or left the band as i recall. Anyway, i start dating this girl from lindenhursr and adventually moved in with her but it didnt work out. She had no real family, her family was her best friend growing up's family. One day i go to the friends mothers house with my girl. The mothers complaining on an on about this free loader who lives on there couch and sleeps all day. I go to the dowm stairs to take a peak at the house guest and its dan spitz formally of anthrax. I was shocked, my brother loved anthrax and i can remember there videos and the lawrence taylor jersey dan spitz would always wear. Point is its hard times when your not in anthrax anymore and al d'arco isnt alive to give out juice loans.

One thing that impressed me about D'Arco was his knowledge of all things Mafia. He could tell you things you wouldn't think he would know, he even mapped out the current Cosa Nostra structures in Sicily and their ties to America at the time. You have to wonder about the encounters that these rats have in the underworld that they don't even tell you about. They spill a lot of beans, but not all of the beans. I also liked how D'Arco didn't have a large ego like so many other rats, he didn't feel the need to go around doing interviews, going on Larry King and starting a YouTube channel. He was actually quite humble compared to other rats in my opinion. A pretty reserved man.

Al D'Arco pulled off that hit of Sammy Gravano in that Coney Island restaurant he would have changed Mafia history.

I agree. If the Lucchese Family contracted Mikey DeSantis to hit Al DArco in the Hotel he would have walked through the door with a gun equipped with a silencer and put 2 in his head right then. No need to walk in with a gun and bulletproof vest, go hide the gun in the bathroom, go back and talk shop for 30 minutes, etc. Makes no sense. DArco was just paranoid as fuck by then

Nothing impressed me about DArco. Made his 50s in the Vario crew. Tapped as Capo because he was weak and easy to control. Elevated when the bosses went on the lam for the same reason.

100% DD. In fact, 1,000,000%.

Al D'Arco was a lot of things, but he was no braggart, and he was pretty much on the mark. And he payed "astute" attention coming up in the life. He was a student so to speak, of all things mafia. He would have never flipped if it hadn't been for those two homicidal maniacs