Frank Gioia, Sr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article does not cite any references or sources. (November 2007) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Frank Gioia, Sr. (b. January 20, 1949) was a Lucchese crime family soldier who grew up and operated his illegal businesses in the Little Italy area of Manhattan. Frank Sr. brought his son, Frank Gioia, Jr. into the mob life. At the age of 24, the younger Gioia became a soldier [1].

While Frank Jr. was serving a seven year sentence for drug trafficking, Frank Sr. became involved in a money dispute with captain Frank "Frankie Bones" Papagni. Frank Jr. then learned from his mobster cousin, Vincent Salanardi, that Papagni planned on killing his father. At that point, Frank Jr. became a turncoat. As part of Frank Jr.'s cooperation agreement, both Gioias entered the Witness Protection Program. However, only Frank Jr. was required to testify against his crime family.