This, in my opinion, is a great article about this whole situation with Vollaro and the effects that he is having on both the mob and the lives of the everyday working class person.
Ripples from mob takedown swamp the working people The guy who wore a wire against the Gambinos is hardly a hero to his Island ex-employees Saturday, February 16, 2008
By CORMAC GORDON
STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The original shock waves have begun to settle after the big Gambino arrests on Staten Island last week.
Family bosses Jackie D'Amico and Jo Jo Corozzo are in lockdown at the federal detention center on Third Avenue in Brooklyn.
Joe Vollaro, the Pleasant Plains resident who wore a wire against the Gambinos, is somewhere known only to the people at the federal witness protection program.
And not, as some have suggested, hanging around the Tottenville mall where his wife runs Dock's Restaurant.
Nick Corozzo, the guy who introduced Vollaro to the mob is, as best anyone can tell, on the run somewhere.
In that regard, everyone involved is pretty much where he is supposed to be.
Except for the collateral damage, of course.
When the mob is involved, there is always plenty of that.
This time around, it's not some poor unfortunate caught in the crossfire on some street corner somewhere, thank goodness. And no stories have surfaced yet of cases of mistaken identity, like the one years ago in Travis when a completely innocent homeowner was gunned down in his driveway.
The people out of luck in this case do, however, include the 40 or so blue-collar workers and secretaries and office staff who came to work last Thursday morning at one of Vollaro's Travis businesses, either Andrews Trucking or Mix Master Enterprises, only to find the Chelsea Road site swarming with cops.
Those Islanders are out of a job.
And a paycheck.
The workers among them who hold union cards are back at the hiring hall looking for a shift here or there across the region.
But day work isn't the same as a steady gig, with benefits and some sense of certainty. And those who weren't union truck drivers are simply looking for another place to work.
The former workers aren't happy, obviously. Not about being out of work. And not about some of the media coverage of Vollaro, which has made him out to be a knight on a white horse taking on organized crime.
"Joe is a drug dealer and a loanshark and a gambler," one of the Islanders from Andrews Trucking said the other day in an interview. "He's a bad guy who got caught selling drugs. It's that simple. He's no hero."
Isn't that the truth.
For some reason, there are people who need to make these stories about a sinner looking for redemption. Or, and this is even more twisted, they characterize the informant as the bad guy for working against the mob.
That's just not the way it is. Ever. The list of criminals who woke up one morning, realized their past sins, and decided to turn over a new leaf and cooperate with authorities is about as long in length as the number of people who believe in Roger Clemens and the Easter bunny.
Joe Vollaro turned against the Gambinos after considering all other possibilities. He cooperated with the government reluctantly, and not without considerable fear.
We're glad he did wear a wire.
But let's not erect any statues, please.
"He's been a criminal since he was a kid," said one member of Local 282 of the Teamsters union who worked for Vollaro. "The Mafia didn't come and knock on his door. He went looking for them."
The problem with becoming partners with the mob is they don't take losses. There is no red ink in the Gambino accounting ledgers. They take theirs first. Off the top. They decide what the percentage will be. No one else has a vote.
A lot of guys who went into business with them have found that out the hard way. Maybe Vollaro is another one of them.
But however it went, because of Vollaro's choices, Island mortgage payments are going missing and college tuitions are being overlooked. Company medical coverage is gone, so doctors' appointments are being canceled.
Vollaro liked to hang around his wife's restaurant, where he looked and played the part of someone important.
Now he's in the jackpot.
"He hurt a lot of people," the driver said.
And isn't that always the way.
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The people out of luck in this case do, however, include the 40 or so blue-collar workers and secretaries and office staff who came to work last Thursday morning at one of Vollaro's Travis businesses....Those Islanders are out of a job. And a paycheck.
.......some of the media coverage of Vollaro, which has made him out to be a knight on a white horse taking on organized crime.
........"He's a bad guy who got caught selling drugs. It's that simple. He's no hero."
........there are people who need to make these stories about a sinner looking for redemption. Or, and this is even more twisted, they characterize the informant as the bad guy for working against the mob.
........That's just not the way it is. Ever......Joe Vollaro turned against the Gambinos after considering all other possibilities.
.........We're glad he did wear a wire. But let's not erect any statues, please.
.........because of Vollaro's choices, Island mortgage payments are going missing and college tuitions are being overlooked. Company medical coverage is gone, so doctors' appointments are being canceled.
.........He hurt a lot of people," And isn't that always the way. 
Well said, The writer hits the nail right on the head!
These guys have absolutely no regard for other people and the affects that they have, because of the choices they make, on other people's lives. They simply couldn't give a damn either way.
The bottom line : It's all about themselves.
