Joseph Vollero

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Joseph Vollaro was a Staten Island-based trucking executive and an associate of the Gambino crime family known on the street as Joe V or Joe Andrews.

Vollaro's father, Anthony Vollaro, was a Gambino bookmaker operating in New Jersey. Vollaro became an associate of the family in the 1990s and was close to Gambino soldiers Vinny "Juicy" DiModica, Sammy Pica, and Vincent "Vinny Butch" Corrao, and it was rumored Vollaro was up for induction into the family in the mid-'90s before being sent to prison on drug dealing and loan sharking charges.

Vollaro did time during the 1990s on drug charges, and then for loan sharking. While in federal prison, he shared a cell with Gambino family powerhouse Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo. Vollaro became close to Corozzo, and when released from prison he kicked money up to Nick and his brother Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo. Vollaro's company, Andrews Trucking, quickly became one of the city's leading construction truckers, hauling dirt from the city's excavation sites. Vollaro along with Gambino soldier Joseph Spinnato co-owned several Staten Island businesses which they used to produce money for the Gambinos, and to extort other business owners. Vollaro was involved with getting the Gambinos into the planned NASCAR speedway that was going to be constructed in Staten Island, and his Andrews Trucking received a lucrative hauling contract at the site. Along with Spinnato, and Gambinos Gino Cracalici, William "Big Billy" Scotto, Jerome "Jerry" Brancato and Mario "Mario Lanza" Cassarino, the group dominated the construction business in Staten Island, and received extortion payments that were ultimately split between the family's hierarchy of Jackie D'Amico, Dom Cefalu and JoJo Corozzo.

In 2004, Vollaro was caught with two kilograms of cocaine and was charged with heading a large-scale narcotics trafficking operation. Facing a lifetime prison term, the New York Attorney General's Office successfully convinced Vollaro to become a witness for the state, and he agreed to assist with surveillance for the FBI. The operation was originally going to relate solely to narcotics, but Vollaro's ascension to one of Nick Corozzo's trusted aides changed the operation's complexion. Nick Corozzo was also interested in proposing Vollaro for induction into the family as a made man or soldier. Vollaro's work resulted in a massive federal RICO indictment that snagged both Corozzo brothers, as well as family acting boss John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico and underboss Domenico Cefalu, capo Frank Cali, who is the leader of the family's Sicilian Zip faction, as well as a handful of capos and over 40 soldiers and associates.

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