Anthony Rotondo
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Anthony "Tony" Rotondo (born 1958) is a former member and captain of the DeCavalcante crime family before eventually turning an FBI informant.
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[edit] College and Made
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Rotondo's father James "Jimmy" Rotondo was a member and captain in the New Jersey based DeCavalcante crime family, operating in the New York faction before he was gunned down on the orders of Lucchese crime family Underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso in 1988. It is estimated by US law enforcement that sometime in the mid 1980s, Rotondo, a Mafia associate with graduation from Nazareth HS and a bachelor's degree in business administration from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, New York, was inducted into the DeCavalcante crime family under reputed family boss Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi. [1]
[edit] A favor for John Gotti
After being recognized as a made man in the DeCavalcante crime family for less than 5 years by US law enforcement, the New Jersey family were reached out to by new reputed Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, in 1989, to do a favor for him; the execution of Fred Weiss, a jammed-up private sanitation magnate considered a candidate for becoming an informant. According to prosecutors Miriam Rocah, Michael McGovern and John Hillebrecht, the late Gambino crime family garbage king and reputed captain, James "Jimmy Brown" Failla, was the catalyst for Gotti’s request, and in dialouge with members of the DeCavalcante crime family. On September 5, 1989, in his home, Riggi told Rotondo; that the DeCavalcante family had to get the job done at any cost, according to an FBI report obtained by Jerry Capeci. After impressing the importance of the effort on Rotondo and selecting mobsters for the task, Riggi instructed Rotondo to tell DeCavalcante associate, Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo, to visit Riggi the following day. (This is according to a report by FBI Agent Nora Conley.) On September 11, one day after Rotondo spotted Gambino crime family mobsters on the prowl near Weiss’s Staten Island home, the DeCavalcante hitmen James "Jimmy" Gallo and Vincent Palermo moved into high gear, climbed into his car and shot Weiss repeatedly, killing him instantly. It was after this incident that Palermo was inducted into the family, but also where Rotondo now was recognized as a Captain of the DeCavalcante crime family. [2] [3]
[edit] Caporegime
While serving the family as Caporegime in the early 1990s, Rotondo was reportedly involved in extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, arson and drug trafficking activities in the Elizabeth and Newark factions of the DeCavalcante crime family. He frequently worked with reputed capos Philip "Phil" Abramo and Giuseppe "Pino" Schifilliti, the fierce Consigliere Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile, and even the reputed Acting boss Giacomo "Jake" Amari. During this time, two higly regarded family members had been disposed off by the imprisoned John Riggi; Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso, longtime Underboss, as well as the former Acting boss John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato, who is believed to have been murdered because he was homosexual. Confirmed later by Rotondo, it was indeed himself who informed Amari and Vitabile that D'Amato was 'swinging', after hearing the romour from D'Amato's girlfriend who D'Amato had just gone into an argue with. D'Amato's body was never found.
[edit] Death of Jake Amari
However, in 1997, reputed Acting boss Giacomo "Jake" Amari died of stomach cancer, which triggered a violent power-vacuum in the DeCavalcante crime family, with Elizabeth faction leader Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo and Newark faction leader Charles "Big Ears" Majuri both attempting to restructure the DeCavalcante family, however, John Riggi, serving 15 years for racketeering and extortion, used Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile to form a Ruling Panel consisting of Elizabeth faction leaders Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo and Vincent "Vinny Ocean" Palermo (no relation) and Charles "Big Ears" Majuri of the Newark faction. In this way, the Ruling Panel could continue to run the DeCavalcante crime family as normal, however, after a failed assassination-plot hatched by Majuri on Vincent Palermo, Palermo used Rotondo in organizing soldiers James "Jimmy" Gallo and Anthony Capo to murder Majuri in retaliation for his plans, however, this attempt also failed.
[edit] Arrest and turncoat
As Vincent Palermo kept ruling North Jersey with iron fists, as he organized the murder of reputed DeCavalcante crime family soldier Joseph Masella in 1998, as well as plotting to murder soldier Frank D'Amato and his strip-club manager Tom Salvata, the US law enforcement launched a massive attack on 40 members of the DeCavalcante family on December 2, 1999, arresting every family captain and charging them with labor and construction racketeering, drug trafficking, extortion, illegal gambling, loansharking, robbery, murder and conspiracy charges. This led to it that reputed soldier Anthony Capo eventually agreed to turn state's evidence first, and testify against all his former associates, however, Capo was in Rotondo's crew, and as Rotondo faced life imprisonment, he too agreed to become an informant and testify that Vincent Palermo had ordered him organize the murders of John D'Amato, Joseph Masella, Charles Majuri (although this never happen), Frank D'Amato (although this also didn't happen) and even his club manager Tom Salvati, however, Palermo himself would not go down for the death penalty, and joined Capo and Rotondo into testify against the entire DeCavalcante crime family in 2002. [4]
Anthony Rotondo is presumably participating in the Witness Protection Program.
