In late 1986, Vic Amuso was handed control of the Lucchese Family. The previous boss Tony "Ducks" Corallo, underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro and consigliere Christy "Tick" Funari were all found guilty in the Commission Case and sentenced to long prison terms. According to Al D´Arco, Amuso lacked self confidence and was easily manipulated and controled by his second in command Anthony Casso. Amuso´s lack of self confidence and lack of leadership abilities may be why the Lucchese Family went into a period of brutality, perhaps never seen before within the five Families.

Here´s a summary of all the murders and attempted murders during Amuso´s and Casso´s reign of terror. Most of this info was found on findacase.com

- Anthony "Buddy" Luongo:

A Lucchese captain and appointed acting boss by Tony Corallo. During a meeting in Nov 1986, Amuso and Casso shot Luongo to death and took control of the Lucchese Family.

- Nicholas Guido:

Mistakenly identified as being involved with the attempted hit on Anthony Casso. Guido was shot to death outside his home Dec 25, 1986. Joey Testa was the alleged shooter.

- Carmine Varriale:

Shot to death September 3, 1987. According to turncoat Frank Gioia Jr, Varriale was killed because he had tried to revenge his brother´s murder. Varriale was killed outside a social club in Bath Beach, Brooklyn. In the fusillade of bullets fired, Mafia associate Frank Santoro was also killed. The hit team consisted of Frank Smith Sr, Frank Smilth Jr and Michael Cilone. (Not sure though if Amuso and Casso had anything to do with Varriale´s murder. But Varriale was a Lucchese associate/member at the time of his death.)

- John Otto Heidel:

A 47 year old Lucchese associate and member of the "Bypass gang". A suspected informant. Shot to death in Oct 1987 while fixing a flat tire on his car.

- Eustachio "Leo" Giammona:

Murdered in June 1988 while sitting behind the steering wheel of his car, driving along West 3rd Street in Brooklyn. Giammona was a, so called, "zip" who had recently been made into the Lucchese Family. He was a drug trafficker and related by marriage to John Gambino.

- Dominick Costa (attempted murder):

Another member of the "Bypass gang" and suspected informant. On Oct 12, 1988, he was shot through his head numerous times but survived the attack. When Carmine Sessa, a Colombo member, turned state witness he confessed to Costa´s murder attempt.

- Sorecho "Sammy the Arab" Nalo.

Describing the events leading to Nalo's murder, Chiodo (a former crew leader who had turned state wittness against Amuso) testified that Amuso assigned him to supervise the illegal gambling operation of Spyredon "Spiros" Velentzas. Velentzas told Chiodo that Nalo was encroaching on his illegal gambling activities, a portion of which benefitted the Lucchese Family, and requested the aid of the Lucchese Family in murdering Nalo. According to Chiodo, Amuso was hesitant at first because Velentzas was not formally affiliated with the Family, but after Chiodo told Amuso that Velentzas feared for his life, Amuso told Chiodo that it was "okay" to proceed with Nalo's murder. Chiodo assigned the murder to several Lucchese Family soldiers. They subsequently shot Nalo to death in his travel agency on October 25, 1988.

- Thomas "Red" Gilmore:

On or about February 6, 1989, Thomas "Red" Gilmore was shot to death. D'Arco (another Lucchese captain at the time who turned state witness) testified that in late 1988, Amuso told D'Arco that he suspected Gilmore of being an informant and that he wanted Gilmore killed. D'Arco met with Amuso periodically thereafter and, according to D'Arco, Amuso continued to press for Gilmore's murder. Eventually, the Lucchese soldier assigned to the murder reported to D'Arco that it had been accomplished, and D'Arco in turn conveyed this information to Amuso. According to the government Louis Daidone, a member of D´Arcos crew at the time, was the one who set Gilmore up.

- Michael Pappadio:

On May 13, 1989, Michael Pappadio was bludgeoned and shot to death. D'Arco testified that he personally committed the murder with an accomplice acting on Amuso's orders. Pappadio was a member of the Lucchese crime Family responsible for monitoring the Family's interests in New York City's garment center. Amuso suspected Pappadio of "hiding shops", that is, keeping extortion income for himself and not reporting it to Amuso. According to D'Arco, when Pappadio refused to comply with Amuso's orders to stay out of the garment district and to bring in certain books and records for inspection, Amuso ordered D'Arco to kill Pappadio. D'Arco described the murder, including his efforts to dispose of the body and recounted that Amuso praised him when he reported that the murder had been carried out successfully. As corroboration, Chiodo testified to a conversation with Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, Amuso's "consigliere" and second in command. Referring to Pappadio, Casso told Chiodo, "I've got to look that guy up." Chiodo understood this to mean that Casso was planning to have Pappadio killed. During Amuso´s racketeering trial, the government also introduced Amuso's tax returns, which showed income from a garment center company called Supreme Garment Carriers, Inc., to substantiate its claim that Amuso had an interest in the garment center.

- Robert Kubecka and Donald Barstow:

Kubecka was a waste hauler who testified against Lucchese mobsters threats and restraint of trade and spoke about attempts on shaking him down. In Aug 11, 1989 Kubecka and his brother in law Donald Barstow were shot to death at Kubecka´s office where they both worked. Frankie "Pearls" Federico and Rocco Vitulli (two Lucchese members) were the ones who allegedly shot Kubecka and Barstow to death. According to Frank Gioia Jr (another turncoat) the killings had been sought by Salvatore Avellino (a captain in the Lucchese Family at the time) and had been sanctioned by Casso and Amuso.

- John Petrucelli:

On September 13, 1989, John Petrucelli, a soldier in the Lucchese Family, was shot to death. According to D'Arco, Petrucelli fell into disfavor with Amuso because he was hiding Constantine "Gus" Farace, an associate of the Bonanno crime family who was suspected of killing a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. Under increasing pressure from federal agents, Amuso instructed D'Arco to tell Petrucelli that "he should kill Gus Farace, and right away, or shoot himself." Shortly thereafter, Casso told D'Arco that Amuso was "fuming" about the Petrucelli situation, and that D'Arco should tell Michael Salerno, another Lucchese Family captain, to kill Petrucelli. Anthony Magana and Joseph Cosentino were in 1991 found guilty of this murder.

- John "Sonny" Morrissey:

Morrissey was murdered on September 17, 1989. Chiodo testified that Amuso and Casso suspected Morrissey of cooperating in the Windows case, and that they ordered Chiodo to kill Morrissey and bury his body where it would not be found. Chiodo and several Lucchese Family members shot Morrissey to death and then buried his body near a stone wall. D'Arco testified that he met with Amuso and Casso in the summer of 1990 and they discussed the Windows case. At one point Casso said to Amuso, "We got rid of Sonny." Though he did not know at that point who Sonny was, D'Arco understood this to mean that Amuso and Casso had ordered Sonny's murder. In 1991, after an attempt on Chiodo's life failed and he began cooperating with the government, Chiodo led government agents to Morrissey's body.

- Joseph LaMorte (attempted murder):

Amuso wanted to kill the Accetturos (father and son) and Joseph Lamorte (member of the Accetturo´s NJ faction due to disloyalty. But the Accetturos went into hiding and could not be found. At one point Casso, in Amuso's presence, ordered Chiodo to kidnap LaMorte and torture him until he revealed the Accetturos' whereabouts. The kidnapping plan failed, but Chiodo and several Lucchese soldiers later shot LaMorte, again acting on Casso's orders. LaMorte survived the attack. The Accetturos were never found. These NJ crew members: Thomas Ricciardi, Daniel Ricciardi, Joseph Ricciardi, Daniel Miano and Nicholas "Nicky Skins" Stefanelli were also on Amuso´s death list.

- Joseph Martinelli (attempted murder):

Martinelli was the owner of a large concrete company who made substantial payoffs to the Lucchese Family. At one point when Martinelli fell behind, Amuso and Casso told Chiodo to make sure Martinelli resumed his payments. According to Chiodo, Martinelli told him that business was slow and that he was unable to make the payments. Several months later, after Martinelli failed to heed Chiodo's requests, Chiodo met with Amuso and Casso and asked them to be patient. Casso told Chiodo, "What's the matter with you? Don't you know we want this guy clipped?" When Chiodo responded that he was not aware of that plan, Casso said, "Maybe his partner will get the message after we clip him." Thereafter, Martinelli accompanied Chiodo on a trip to Staten Island, purportedly to attend a secret meeting with Amuso who was by this time a fugitive from the Windows case. Chiodo testified that he pulled over to the side of the road, "pulled out a pistol . . . leaned into the passenger door and . . . squeezed the trigger four or five times." The gun did not fire because, as Chiodo later discovered, the magazine was not properly installed. Chiodo explained the incident to Martinelli as a joke using a realistic toy gun. Martinelli accepted the explanation.
D'Arco confirmed that Amuso and Casso had assigned Chiodo to murder Martinelli. According to D'Arco, Amuso and Casso asked D'Arco to assist Chiodo in forcing Martinelli to resume his payments. He recounted several conversations in which Casso expressed his displeasure at Chiodo's inability to carry out the hit, and castigated Chiodo for his failure. Eventually, Martinelli met with D'Arco and agreed to pay Amuso and Casso $60,000 and to use companies affiliated with the Lucchese crime Family as his concrete and steel suppliers. No further attempts were made on Martinelli's life. However, Amuso never lifted the murder contract.

- Anthony DiLapi:

A nephew of the former Lucchese underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro who fled New York after finding out that Amuso and Casso susoected him of being an informant. DiLapi was found in LA on Feb 4, 1990, shot to death. It is said that Al D´Arco´s son, Joseph, made his bones by this killing. Amuso and Casso were not charged with this murder, probably because Al D´Arco wanted to protect his son.

- James Bishop:

Was an official in the Painters Union, Local 37, who was suspected of cooperating in an investigation then being conducted by the New York County District Attorney's Office into corruption in the union. Bishop was murdered on May 17, 1990 but I´m not sure if Amuso and Casso were behind this murder.

- Michael Salerno:

Salerno was a member of the Bronx faction of the Lucchese Family. According to D'Arco, Amuso viewed Salerno as a rival because he thought Salerno was disappointed when he was not selected to be boss of the Lucchese organization or to participate in its administration. In May 1990, a short time before Amuso and Casso fled to avoid arrest on the original Windows indictment, Casso told D'Arco that Salerno was a "rat" and that Amuso wanted him killed. D'Arco instructed a soldier under Salerno's control to kill Salerno. Salerno was stabbed and shot to death in early June 1990. D'Arco told the jury that at a meeting with Amuso and Casso (who were then in hiding), Amuso congratulated and praised D'Arco for his role in the Salerno murder. Chiodo also testified that Amuso and Casso did not like or trust Salerno. According to Chiodo, Casso asked Chiodo to go to the Bronx and check up on Salerno because Salerno was conducting Lucchese Family business in a way that offended Amuso and Casso. Shortly before Salerno's murder, Amuso and Casso told Chiodo that he might have to "go up and take over the Bronx crew for Mike Salerno."

- Bruno Facciolo:

Later that summer on August 24, 1990, another member of the Lucchese Family, Bruno Facciolo, was stabbed and shot to death. D'Arco testified that after Amuso and Casso fled, they told him that Facciolo was a "rat" who had to be killed. D'Arco learned that another Lucchese captain was also assigned to murder Facciolo, and eventually that the murder had been carried out. Chiodo told the jury that when he asked D'Arco why Facciolo was murdered, D'Arco told him "they told me he went bad." By "they," Chiodo understood D'Arco to be referring to Amuso and Casso. Louis Daidone was later found guilty of Facciolo´s murder.

- Edward Lino:

Lino was a captain with the Gambino Family, found murdered on Nov 6, 1990 while sitting in his car on a road leading onto the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn. He was a suspected member of the hit team that killed Paul Castellano and Tommy Bilotti which may be why Lino was killed. In 2006, Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa, two police detectives nicknamed "The Mafia Cops" by the press because of handling murder assignments for Casso, were found guilty of Lino´s murder and sentenced to life in prison. (They were also found guilty in the Guido, DiLapi, Boriello and Bishop murders described on this list.)

- Al Visconti and Larry Taylor:

The following year, Lucchese Family associates Al Visconti and Larry Taylor were murdered in February and March 1991, respectively. According to D'Arco, Visconti and Taylor, in concert with Facciolo, were suspected of informing authorities in California that D'Arco's son had murdered Anthony DiLapi, and of plotting to kill several Lucchese Family members including D'Arco and his son. D'Arco also explained that Amuso thought Visconti was a disgrace to the Lucchese Family because he had a reputation of engaging in homosexual acts in prison. Amuso and Casso ordered D'Arco to arrange Visconti's and Taylor's murder, which he did. D'Arco said that when Amuso learned of Visconti's killing, he sent word indirectly to D'Arco that he was pleased that the murder was carried out so quickly.

- "Fat" Pete Chiodo (murder attempt):

According to Chiodo, by late 1989 his relationship with Amuso and Casso deteriorated because they were dissatisfied with his progress on several murder contracts. In addition, Amuso and Casso were upset at Chiodo's decision to plead guilty to the Windows and certain unrelated charges without first getting their permission. D'Arco testified that Amuso and Casso came to suspect Chiodo of cooperating with the government, and ordered D'Arco to kill Chiodo. D'Arco, in turn, assigned the murder to several Lucchese Family soldiers and on May 8, 1991 two shooters ambushed Chiodo at a gas station in Staten Island where he was working on a car. Amazingly, Chiodo survived the attack and became a government witness soon thereafter.

- Bobby Boriello:

Was a member and an acting captain with the Gambino Family. On May 13, 1991 Boriello was murdered. Possibly on Amuso´s and Casso´s orders.

- Anthony Fava:

Anthony Fava was the architect who designed Anthony Casso´s house located in the upper middle class area of Mill Basin in Brooklyn. Fava did work on the 19th Hole, the Bay Ridge bar/hangout of Casso and Amuso, and La Donna Rosa, an eatery on Cleveland Place owned by D'Arco's son, Joseph. Al D'Arco told the FBI that Casso ordered Fava's execution during a phone conversation in 1991. D'Arco said Casso "needed Fava killed" because the architect knew about "illegal deals relative to Casso's home." On Sept. 20, 1991 Fava's body was found in a stolen car in Bensonhurst. He had been stabbed, shot and stripped to his boxer shorts, with his body wrapped in a plastic sheet.

- Patricia Capozzalo (sister of "Fat" Pete Chiodo), (murder attempt):

After been shot 12 times but survived, Chiodo turned state witness against his former Mafia associates. Richard Pagliarulo, a member of Chiodo´s crew had assigned the shooters and replaced Chiodo as crew leader after the murder attempt. Subsequently, Pagliarulo and an associate warned Chiodo through his attorney that Chiodo's wife would be killed if he cooperated with the government's investigation. They also advised Chiodo's father to warn Chiodo that his whole family would be assassinated if he cooperated. Chiodo nevertheless decided to cooperate with the government. While most of his family was relocated under the Federal Witness Protection Program, his sister Patricia Capozzalo declined to join them.
On March 10, 1992, as Patricia Capozzalo returned home from driving her children to school, Michael Spinelli blocked her car with his van while Dino Basciano walked to the driver's side of Capozzalo's car and fired two shots through the window. One bullet lodged in her neck and another ricocheted off her back. At St. Vincent's Medical Center at Richmond, the bullet in her neck was dislodged and she received three sutures for a minor wound behind her ear. She survived the attack.

- Anthony Cuozzo:

After the conviction of Anthony Calagna Sr, President of Teamsters Local 295 of extortion and conspiracy to extortion, Anthony Cuozzo (a Lucchese member) became Vice President. Cuozzo was Chairman of the Anthony Calagna Defense Fund Committee. He was murdered in January of 1992. In September 1993, Michael Perna pleaded guilty to multiple murder conspiracies, including this one.

- Neil Migliore (murder attempt):

Migliore was shot and critically wounded on April 4, 1992 by a gunman who fired a shotgun through the window of a crowded Long Island restaurant where the victim was celebrating a 4-year-old girl's birthday party. Migliore was hit in the head and in his chest. Despite his wounds, Migliore survived. Paolo LoDuca, a so called "zip" and a Lucchese mobster who was extradited to Italy in 1997 to serve a prison term for cocaine smuggling, was a suspect in the Migliore hit.

- Pasquale "Patty" Testa:

The brother of Joey Testa and a made guy with the Luccheses. Murdered in 1992 for unknown reasons.

///Additional info and corrections is welcomed.

Al D´Arco´s book is coming out later this year. I´m sure most of the info found in this post will be covered and elaborated in the book. It should be an interesting read.

Great post Hairy there's some events i was unaware of here. For the murders that you dont mention the killers, is it not known who committed them? It's crazy that Al committed a murder a year before he became acting boss. The only ones you've not mentioned that i know of are Frank Decicco and Eddie Lino, but i'm guessing you were only talking about Luchesse members?

These guys were the worst of the worst. Evil and psychotic. thanks for this hairy

The murderers I mention are the ones who were pointed out by D´Arco and Chiodo and who were later found guilty of those. And the murders and murder attempts described all took place after Amuso´s take over (late 1986). Yes, you are right about Lino. Will include him on the list. Thanks!

No problem. You'd think all of the murderers would be known by now considering the high profile informants like Casso and D'arco. I'm looking forward to Al's book mainly because i personally think he's one of the most reliable informants and also it's written by Capeci.

Does anyone know how many murders were committed under Gigante?

testa was used by caso to get the family mad at the gambino's.what a screwball..patty was a great guy

lou giamona..on that list

i believe a rich russian with the gas biz.. markowitz spelling

^^not the rich russian, the dumb street punk who tried to shake him down after word spread he was juiced Casso and the Lucchese Family, and soon got involved with all five families as their biggest money maker since prohibition. Vladimir Reznikov was the guy shaking down Marat Balaga the russian with the gas connection. Joey Testa shot him dead face to face with Senter driving getaway. Casso's words, "after that, Marat never had anymore problems with any Russians."

You´re welcome Joe.



That´s right. If not limited within the time frame of late 1986 (when Amuso took over) and 1992, I would have put Reznikov on the list. (Reznikov was murdered in the summer of 1986.)

If anybody is interested in reading Michael Franzese´s and Anthony Casso´s testemony in front of a Senate Subcommittee investigating Russian crime, click on this link

http://books.google.se/books?id=-ruFVsNL...sso&f=false

Franzese´s testimony starts at page 36 and is followed by Casso´s testimony.

Thanks for the link Hairy. I wasn't aware either of those testimonies were available online.

The list gets longer. I´ve added the murders of Robert Kubecka and Donald Barstow. And also the John Petrucelli murder.

The guy who was doing work at Casso's house is one you missed. I can't remember the guys name, but I think he was tortured too. There were rumours he was screwing around with Casso's wife.

Anthony Fava was the guys name. There was also the belief that Amuso and Casso had Pete Chiodo's uncle killed, but I think it was someone else who done did it.

Who was the guy in Florida that casso buried alive.I think it was a father and son or something

Whats crazy is the size of the list and there's names missing, more than a few too. so many murders

Yes you are right guys. Will add Anthony Fava to the list.



I think his name was Frank Signorino. But I don´t think he was killed. Can´t find anything confirming this. Will add him to the list if I find info on it.



Sorry but I don´t know anything about that. Will add them if coming across info on that.

Thanks guys for your help!

I recognize that name sammy ''the arab'' nalo because i just watched an episode of ''masterminds'' on youtube last week and he was on it...was a good episode if anybody's interested !!

Masterminds The Hotel Pierre Heist Season 1, Episode 8

amuso put he hit out on neil old guy when they pulled up on a bike and shot him a couple times at a kids bday party.

thanks for this! Interesting watch.



Pmac, do you have more info on this killing? Name, date?

Neil miglore
Thought he was gonna make a move on the family with them on the lam

Neil barley wanted to
Be a capo much less the boss
Fucking ridiculous
Amuso and casso had no training when it came to coda nostra
They only knew how to kill

Thanks guys. I have added Migliore to the list.

from wikipedia. don't know how reliable:

Im sure gotti heard it was casso taking some of his guys out.y didn't he do something?

So basically Vic Amuso was a big pussy that stumbled into the role of boss and let Anthony Casso, a psychopath, control the family? It's too bad Casso didn't get mob justice along the lines of William "Action" Jackson in Chicago. Dying in prison is the easy way out for that piece of shit.

I wouldn't say pussy. I'd say Amuso just wasn't boss material. Not too much in the brains department.

Well, the first paragraph you quoted is a Wiki passage based on an article published in the NY Times April 5, 1992. The author cited police sources.

If you read Migliore´s wiki page you´ll find that the second passage you quoted has no source, which is understandable. To my knowledge, although Paolo LoDuca was said to have been a suspect in the Migliore murder attempt, Migliore´s murder attempt has never been cleared up.

And I agree with you. I wouldn´t say Amuso was a big pussy but a guy with low self esteem and bad leader abilities. Those kind of guys are often the most dangerous.

These two were the gangsters i was most interested in.. Good post

They also whacked some cuban mobster who tried to muscle in on their turf. I forgot the name but remember reading about it 25 years ago