Matthew Ianniello

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (b. 1920) is an Italian-American mobster and a caporegime and believed to be once the acting-boss within the Genovese crime family. Ianniello was also the owner of Little Italy's Umberto's Clam House, a popular hangout for members of the Genovese and Colombo crime families, where mobster renegade Joseph Gallo was murdered in 1972 (although Ianniello himself was not present at the restaurant that night).

Known primarily for operating midtown Manhattan's vice district, including a number of singles bars and gentleman's clubs, Ianniello was also known for his involvement in a large part of New York's pornography industry, specifically his control over adult stores and massage parlors in Times Square. Ianniello was later convicted for refusing to testify before a Manhattan grand jury investigating police corruption, fined and given a suspended sentence of one year imprisonment.

In 1985, Ianniello was arrested and charged with racketeering and skimming unreported income from his New York businesses and, with his conviction of racketeering and extortion charges the following year, was imprisoned in a federal correctional facility.