The Suite

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The Suite was a middle-class detached two-story nightclub on Queens Boulevard, on the border of Queens, New York near Forest Hills, Queens owned by Henry Hill and Paul Vario from 1966 to 1972. It had a reputation as a somewhat 'rough' nightclub and when mobster Henry Hill owned it, it was a hangout for the Vario Crew and Gambino crime family members. The walls of the nightclub was decorated with cherubs and had naugahyde banquettes. It had half a terazzo floor in the basement and a huge barbecue in the backyard. The nighclub also came with a small elevated stage where Parnell Edwards would entertain the customers with rock and roll or blues music on his acoustic guitar. On the upper floor was a closed off bachelor's apartment where Tommy DeSimone lived and began his trists with his mistress "Theressa Ferrara". The way the nightclub's floor plan was set up, it was perfect for conducting "mob executions" by having the atmosphere dimly lit with sconces on the wall and a back door leading out to an enclosed parking lot where they were able to load corpses without arousing any suspicion. The Four Tops performed there once or twice before they became famous.

1 Henry Hill and the Nightclub Business
2 Shady Clientele and Patronage at The Suite
3 The Kidnapping of Frank Manzo
4 The murder of Emmanuel "Manny" Gambino
5 The Closure of The Suite
6 External sources

[edit] Henry Hill and the Nightclub Business

Little is known about the history of the bar prior to Henry Hill purchasing it in 1966, other than that the previous owner was a horse jockey named Joseph Rossano who had a gambling problem had fallen deep in debt to some "connected wiseguys" that were associates of the Colombo crime family, but did not have any real power. Henry Hill with the backing of Paul Vario muscled in on the wiseguys leaving them cut, high and dry with the owner's gambling debts and took over, leaving the jockey's name on the lease. Paul Vario wanted the place to be a semi-straight joint and told the crew, Tommy DeSimone, Angelo John Sepe and Jimmy Burke to not socialize at or enter the night club. The order did not last long and they started to use the nightclub as a headquarters for hijacking and other scams, but in the long run it did not replaced Jimmy Burke's notorious Robert's Lounge. His wife Karen helped write up to different books, one for the IRS and then the "real books" for Paul Vario. Henry Hill had six bartenders employed at the restaurant, in three-man shifts, but soon fired them all after they were caught skimming from the cash register. Right across the street Henry Hill set up his mistress "Linda" in an apartment. Henry hired a Chinese chef to work the kitchen who hardly spoke any English and would have him specially deliver meals to his nearby mistress Linda's apartment. Jimmy Burke would rig up pails of water, and when someone walked in the door, he'd dump the buckets on their heads. Paul Vario sometimes would cook in the kitchen and stink the place up with his heavy doses of garlic. Henry Hill moved away from The Suite shortly before his arrest for extortion in 1972, from Island Park to Queens after the Nassau District Attorney raided Paul Vario's "Presto Pizzeria" in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn and arrested Hill's associate, Raymond Montemurro in the union-official sting operation. Soon after Montemurro's arrest, Karen spotted FBI agents taking survelliance photographs of her and their daughters outside The Suite.

[edit] Shady Clientele and Patronage at The Suite

It was a popular hangout for Gambino crime family, Lucchese crime family soldiers and associates. Mobsters such as Jimmy Burke, Frank James Burke, (who first drank at the club with his father underage), Joe Gallo and his brother Albert Gallo, Frank Illiano, Paul Principe, Frank Russo (of no relation to Joey), Ronald "Stone" Pearlman, Dominick "Little Dom" Cataldo, Benjamin Ruggiero, Salvatore Reale, Thomas "T.A." Agro, Louis Esposito, Joe "Joe Dogs" Ianuzzi, Nicholas "Jiggs" Forlano, Gerald Aliciano, Paul Vario, Tommy DeSimone and his mobster brothers Robert DeSimone and Anthony DeSimone,Karen Hill (the wife of Henry), Tommy Lucchese, Martin Krugman, John Gotti, Stanley Diamond, Anthony Stabile and Thomas Stabile, Andrew Ruggiero, Fransesco "Frankie the Wop Manzo, Freddy "No Nose" (an ex-prize fighter who had a severely crushed nose), Edward "Eddie" Finelli, Peter "The Killer" Abbandante, Michael "Mickey" Frazese, Nicholas "Nicky" Blanda, Robert "Skinny Bobby" Amelia, Robert "Bobby Anthony" Amelia, (of no relation to Skinny Bobby), Vincent Asaro, Raymond Montemurro and Monte Montemurro, John Mazzolla, Peter Gruenwald, Bobby "The Dentist," (so named because he always knocked teeth out every time he punched someone), ex-NYPD officer Lawrence "Larry" Bilello, ex-NYPD officer James Santos Clyde Brooks, Daniel Rizzo, Alex Corcione and Michael Corcione, Bruno Facciolo, Angelo Ruggiero]],Frank Abbandando Jr., sportsbook manager Milton Winkler, Parnell Edwards, Angelo John Sepe, Angelo "Crazy Sal" Polisi, Ronald "Foxy" Jerothe, John Gotti, Joe Manri, Robert McMahon, Tommy DeSimone (who would drink the then "bootleg" Crown Royal from Canada), Richard Eaton, Vincenzo Aloi, hair dresser and cocaine dealer Theressa Ferrara, Manny Gambino, Henry Hill's long-time mistress "Linda" would also come by from "Bridal Land" where she worked and have lunch there when she was on her lunch break from Bridal Land, a mob-owned operation managed by Vincenzo Aloi who would also stop by. It was also a frequent hangout for prostitutes. Parnell Edwards would sometimes be hired by Henry to perform on the small stage inside the dinner club.

[edit] The Kidnapping of Frank Manzo

In 1972 Fransesco "Frankie the Wop Manzo was drinking at Henry Hill's night club The Suite. He was grabbed by Thomas Genovese, a distant relative of Genovese crime family founding don Vito Genovese, Irish-American mob associate James McBratney, Edward "Crazy Eddie" Maloney, Warren "Chief" Schurman and Richard "Richie" Chaisson. The gang contacted the Gambino crime family and demanded $100,000 for Frank's safe return. The ransom was paid and Frank was returned unscathed.

[edit] The murder of Emmanuel "Manny" Gambino

Carlo Gambino's nephew Emmanuel "Manny" Gambino was kidnapped by Thomas Genovese, a distant relative of Vito Genovese, James McBratney, "Crazy" Eddie Maloney, Warren "Chief" Schurman and Richie Chaisson on December 28, 1972. The gang believed they could get $100,000 for each kidnapping. They had previously kidnapped a Gambino crime family capo Francesco Manzo. For Manny Gambino the kidnappers asked for $200,000 but Gambino claimed he could only come up with $50,000. Manny's car was located at the Newark Airport. His corpse was found to be stiff from rigor mortis before buried in a sitting position in a New Jersey dump near the Earle Naval Ammunition Depo. A Robert Senter was arrested and charged for his murder. Robert was a gambler and had fallen in debt with Manny Gambino. On June 1st 1973, he pled guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Jim McBratney, who played a large role in the killing of Manny Gambino was shot three times at close range by Galione, after over powering John Gotti and Angelo Ruggiero, on the night of May 22, 1973, at Snoope's Bar & Grill.

[edit] The Closure of The Suite

As Henry Hill's ten year prison sentence in 1972 for extortion neared, he "busted" out the joint, as mobsters refer to it. He ran up excessive bills with the tax creditors and sold off all the liqour and fixtures to other bar owners, even after the IRS had padlocked the front doors. Then, on the night before the dinner club was to be brought it up for public auction, the IRS agents found that all the silverware, glassware, furniture and electrical appliance and ashtray had disappeared.