Michael DiLeonardo
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Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo (b. 1955) was a New York mobster for the Gambino crime family and later government informant.
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[edit] Early life
DiLeonardo grew up in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York a neighborhood with a long history of mafia presence. When he was about ten years old he was bitten by a dog in the face and it left a visible scar, as a result he received the nickname "Mikey Scars". DiLeonardo's grandfather, Jimmy DiLeonardo was a soldier in what would become the Gambino crime family, but at the time was under the control of Sam DeQuillo. DiLeonardo had met Carlo Gambino several times as a young boy while Gambino was attending meetings at Jimmy DiLeonardo's home, which was located next door to young Michael's.
By the age of 21, Michael DiLeonardo had become associated with several Gambino family members and began committing crimes for the family. DiLeonardo would frequent a social club ran by Paul Castellano known as the Veterans and Friends located on 86th Street in Brooklyn. As a connected wiseguy, DiLeonardo opened his first social club sometime in the late 1970s-early 1980s located on Bay 7th and 86th Street, down the block from Castellano's club. In early 1981, DiLeonardo shut down that club and opened another on 75th Street and New Utrecht Avenue, which was frequented by soldiers Salvatore Gravano and Frank DeCicco.
[edit] Conflict with the Colombos
On July 16, 1981, Michael's 26-year old brother Robert DiLeonardo, a Colombo crime family associate, was shot to death. DiLeonardo was told by Paul Castellano to leave the situation alone for it was Colombo business and his brother belonged to that family. On December 16, 1985, Castellano was killed on orders from John Gotti, who became the family boss and named DiLeonardo's mob superior Frank DeCicco his underboss. Soon after, DiLeonardo was reporting to Gotti's Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy three to four times per week.
[edit] Labor racketeering activities
In 1987, DiLeonardo became affiliated with Teamsters Union Local 282, which was controlled by the Gambinos. DiLeonardo was made a Teamster foreman, and with that came to oversee Gambino control over Grecco Brothers concrete company in Brooklyn. On December 24, 1988, Michael DiLeonardo was inducted into the Gambino crime family along with John Gotti, Jr., in a ceremony held in Manhattan presided over by family consigliere Salvatore Gravano. In 1989, DiLeonardo was involved in setting up the murder of private sanitation business owner Fred Weiss who had been marked for death by captain James Failla and John Gotti. The hit was carried out by members of the DeCavalcante crime family of New Jersey.
During the mid-1990s until his indictment, DiLeonardo supervised loan sharking and other illegal activities from the Royal Crown Bakery & Cafe in Staten Island. DiLeonardo also received protection money from the owners of Royal Crown, who also owned several others bakeries and cafes in Brooklyn.
[edit] DiLeonardo's Rise and Fall
In late 1992, after John Gotti was convicted of murder and racketeering based on the testimony of DiLeonardo's former mob superior and close friend Salvatore Gravano, DiLeonardo was promoted to captain in the family. DiLeonardo's crew was in control of the family's construction and trucking rackets, which included receiving monthly payments from Scara-Mix concrete on Staten Island, which was owned by Paul Castellano's two sons Peter and Philip, who were associates of the family. DiLeonardo also moved his crew into Wall Street, using pump-and-dump scams to earn the Gambinos money. DiLeonardo was a close associate of John Gotti, Jr. and assisted the younger Gotti when he was promoted to acting boss of the Gambinos, and had one of his crew members, Tommy Cherubino, on occassion hide machine guns for Gotti.
[edit] Defection and government informant
In 2002, shortly before being indicted on federal racketeering charges, DiLeonardo was shelved by the new family boss Peter Gotti for hiding money from the family. Later on, DiLeonardo would be indicted alongside captain Louis "Big Lou" Vallario, soldiers Frank Fappiano, Edward Garafola, and Thomas "Huck" Carbonaro, charged with labor racketeering, extortion, loan sharking, witness tampering, and the murders of Gambino associate Frank Hydell, a nephew of captain Danny Marino, and the 1989 murder of Fred Weiss.
After failing to commit suicide, DiLeonardo decided to cooperate with the federal government and provide damaging testimony against Gambino mobsters such as Peter Gotti, Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone, Louis "Big Lou" Vallario, Frank Fappiano, Richard V. Gotti, Richard G. Gotti, Michael Yanotti, and testified at the three mistrials in which John Gotti, Jr. was charged with ordering Curtis Sliwa's abduction and assault. Finally, in October 2006, DiLeonardo testified against former Colombo crime family acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico and underboss John "Jackie" DeRoss, who were charged with the murder of former underboss William Cutolo. That trial ended in a mistrial.
