Frank DeCicco

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Frank DeCicco (1935 - April 13, 1986) was a New York mobster and labor racketeer belonging to the Gambino crime family who eventually plotted the murder of boss Paul Castellano.

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[edit] Labor Racketeer

Frank DeCicco is the brother of Gambino crime family captain George DeCicco and the uncle of Gambino crime family mob associate Robert DeCicco July 27, 1950 an in-law to Gambino crime family capo Michael DiLeonardo and Robert DiLeonardo. He is also a distant relative of Gambino crime family mobster Joseph Orlando. Frank DeCicco joined the Gambino crime family and became a "soldier" sometime in the late 1970s-early 1980s and was very close to then boss Paul Castellano. DeCicco became heavily involved in labor racketeering at Teamsters Union Local 282. This local had jurisdiction over the entire concrete pouring industry could shut down the city's construction industry at will. DeCicco installed many Gambino members into the Local, including Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, Michael DiLeonardo, Louis "Big Louie" Vallario, Frank Fappiano, and Liborio Milito. DeCicco was responsible for delivering payoffs from union bosses such as John Cody and Robert Sasso to the Gambino administration. DeCicco and would often attend meetings at Castellano's Todt Hill, Staten Island mansion, known to family members as the "White House". DeCicco was allegedly close to Castellano at this time.

[edit] Conspirator

Even though DeCicco could quite possibly have been looking at a future spot in the Gambino ruling administration as a result of the commission case, he would eventually turn against Castellano and plot his death along with John Gotti, Joseph Armone, Gravano, and Frank Locascio. On December 16, 1985, Castellano and his newly appointed underboss Thomas Bilotti were shot to death while exiting their Lincoln Town Car outside of Sparks Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan. DeCicco had arranged the meeting at the restaurant, setting up his boss and underboss for the assassination. Soon after Castellano's death, Gotti became the new family boss; he rewarded DeCicco by making him his underboss. DeCicco was now in charge of all of the "white collar" rackets that once belonged to the Castellano faction of the family.

[edit] Victim

On April 13, 1986, while approaching his car after leaving a meeting at the Veterans & Friends Social Club on 86th St. in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Frank DeCicco was killed by a car bomb explosion. Lucchese crime family soldier Frank "Frankie Hearts" Bellino, who was with DeCicco, lost several toes. However, the intended target, John Gotti, was not there. Turncoats and informants would later reveal that the order for the hit came from Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante, who did not like Gotti or approve of him killing Castellano without approval from the Commission, and conspired his murder with Lucchese crime family leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso.

In November 1997, Jerry Capeci of the New York Daily News reported that Casso, now a government witness, had revealed that Herbert "Blue Eyes" Pate, a drug dealer and Genovese Family associate, detonated the bomb. Casso told authorities, "The plotters reportedly used a bomb to divert suspicion toward Sicilian hoods, who often use explosives. Pate, who had no links to the Gambino family and was unlikely to be recognized by mobsters while staking out DeCicco."

Unfortunately for the plotters, Gotti had changed his routine and Pate has mistook Bellino for Gotti. Five days after the murder Pate was in court on a tax evasion charge. He was later sentenced to 12 years in prison and released in November 1996.

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