A few questions about this obviously high profile yet for some reason seldomly discussed figure from the 1950s.

He seems to have a lot of Luciano/Genovese influence but was part of the Luccheses. What crew was he in? Or was he a captain? I know the Luccheses had some very high profile soldiers, like Frankie Carbo.

Dio is featured in the famous Goodfellas prison scene played by the late Frank Pellegrino (FBI Chief Cubitoso on The Sopranos). Henry Hill mentions him a lot in the book as well. Was Dio under Vario at any point? What was his connection to the Vario crew out in Brooklyn when he was a Little Italy guy?

As high profile as he was, it's hard to believe Henry Hill had so much access to him. Hill mentions him frequently like he's one of the guys. Seems unbecoming of someone of his stature, who would probably view someone like Hill as nothing more than a groupie and would never say a word around him.

Also, is the Johnny Dio who was a very big out in LA's garment industry the same Johnny Dio?

On a side note, this is the greatest mobster photo I've ever seen:

[Linked Image]


"...the successful annihilation of organized crime's subculture in America would rock the 'legitimate' world's foundation, which would ultimately force fundamental social changes and redistributions of wealth and power in this country. Meyer Lansky's dream was to bond the two worlds together so that one could not survive without the other." - Dan E. Moldea