Michael DiLeonardo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo (b. 1955) is a New York mobster who formerly belonged to the Gambino crime family and is now a government informant.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
DiLeonardo grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, a neighborhood with long history of organized crime. He lived in Bensonhurst for forty-three years before moving to Staten Island where he lived from March of 1998 to June 2002. He is the brother of Colombo crime family mobster Robert DiLeonardo and James, who is an estranged law abiding citizen who currently lives in Alaska. His mother was a seamstress and his father was a professional gambler who frequented the horse tracks. His mother died in 2003 of natural causes. His brother Robert who pursued a life in organized crime along with Michael was killed in a gangland execution on July 16th, 1981. Robert attended New Utrecht High School and graduated in 1973. He later enrolled in college where he stayed for eighteen months but did not graduate. He was formally inducted into the Gambino crime family on December 24, 1988 in the sam ceremony as John Gotti Jr. He was first made a crew member who worked under Lilo Garafola, a powerful capo who served under Paul Castellano and later Jackie D'Amico after John Gotti rose to power.
Michael was a friend of John Gotti Jr. for twenty years until he became an informant. When he was about ten years old, he was mauled by a dog, leaving a scar on his face. This scar resulted in the nickname "Mikey Scars". DiLeonardo's grandfather, Giacomo DiLeonardo was a soldier in the precursor to the Gambino family under Salvatore D'Aquila. As a young boy, Michael had met family boss Carlo Gambino several times at his paternal grandfather's house when Gambino was there for meetings. He was married to a woman named Antoinette Mari Ricci who was a cousin of Gambino crime family underbossFrank DeCicco and brother-in-law to Gambino crime family mobster Michael Ricci, not to be mistaken as a relative of Genovese crime family capo Lawrence Ricci. He is also the brother-in-law to Gambino crime family capo Frank Fappiano. He is the father of one son named Michael DiLeonardo, Jr. born June 18th, 1986 with Antoinette Ricci. Michael Jr. was a student at the College of Staten Island. He was a close friend of John Gotti Jr. and was chosen to baptize his second son. He was a huge fan of the Stanley Kubrick film Clockwork Orange.
In 1980 he opened up a social club in Brooklyn located at Bay 7th Street and 86th Street which was located down the block from Paul Castellano's Veteran's and Friends' Social Club. He operated his bookmaking and loansharking operations out of the business. He was successful with the business adventure and became a partner in a produce market with Peter Castellano, cousin to Paul and mobster Sorbroni. In the 1980's he was listed officially as being employed as a shop foreman for a Local 282 trucking firm and a truck driver for the Greco Bros Concrete Corportaion located at 87-13 Rockaway Boulevard in Ozone Park, Queens which was partners with the Gambino crime family.
By age 21, DiLeonardo became associated with several Gambino family members and started working for the family. He had been socializing with associates of the Gambino crime family since the 1960's. They would give him their spare change for running errands for them. He considered mob capo Paul Zaccaria as his mob mentor leading to his life of organized crime. He would frequent the Veterans and Friends social club in Brooklyn run by future boss Paul Castellano. After becoming a family associate in the late 1970s to early 1980s , DiLeonardo opened his first social club not far from Veterans and Friends. In early 1981, he shut down his club and opened another on 75th Street and New Utrecht Avenue in Brooklyn. Club customers included Gambino soldiers Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano and Frank DeCicco.
[edit] Conflict with the Colombos
On July 16, 1981, DiLeonardo's 26-year old brother Robert DiLeonardo, a Colombo crime family associate, was shot to death. Castellano, then Gambino boss, told DiLeonardo to leave the situation alone because it was Colombo business. On December 16, 1985, Castellano was killed on orders from John Gotti, who became the family boss and named DiLeonardo's mob superior Frank DeCicco his underboss. Soon after, DiLeonardo was reporting to Gotti's Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy, Manhattan three to four times per week.
[edit] Labor racketeering activities
In 1987, DiLeonardo became affiliated with New York Teamsters Union Local 282, which was controlled by the Gambinos. DiLeonardo was made a Teamster foreman and was soon overseeing Gambino control over the Grecco Brothers Concrete Company in Brooklyn. On December 24, 1988, Michael DiLeonardo was inducted into the Gambino crime family along with John Gotti, Jr., in a ceremony held in Manhattan and presided over by Gravano, now consigliere. In 1989, DiLeonardo became involved in setting up the murder of private sanitation business owner Fred Weiss. Weiss had been marked for death by Gotti, Gambino captain James Failla, and John Riggi of the DeCavalcante crime family in New Jersey. DeCavalcante hitmen shot and killed Weiss outside his apartment building in the New Springville section of Staten Island, New York.
During the mid-1990s, DiLeonardo supervised loan sharking and other illegal activities from the Royal Crown Bakery and Cafe in Staten Island. DiLeonardo also received protection money from the owners of Royal Crown, who owned several bakeries and cafes in Brooklyn.
In addition, DiLeonardo made a claim to Staten Island thug turned Miami club king Chris Paciello, and in 1996 met with Colombo crime family acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico regarding who had the proper claim to Paciello (who had also been used by Colombo capo William "Wild Bill" Cutolo). The dispute was settled, and DiLeonardo sat Paciello down at a Brooklyn bakery and told him he had to choose where he wanted to be. Paciello chose the Colombos.
[edit] DiLeonardo's Rise and Fall
In late 1992, Gotti was convicted of murder and racketeering based on Gravano's testimony. In the shakeup that followed, DiLeonardo was promoted to captain. DiLeonardo's crew was given control of the family's construction and trucking rackets. This included receiving monthly payments from Scara-Mix Concrete Company on Staten Island, which was owned by Peter Castellano and Philip Castellano, sons of the deceased family boss. DiLeonardo also moved his crew into Wall Street, using pump-and-dump stock scams to earn the Gambinos money. DiLeonardo became a close associate of Gotti, Jr. and assisted him when he was promoted to acting boss. On one occasion, a member of DiLeonardo's crew, Tommy Cherubino, hid some submachine guns for Gotti Jr.
[edit] Defection and government informant
After the turn of the century, things turned sour for DiLeonardo. In 2002, the new family boss, Peter Gotti, reduced DiLeonardo's power for allegedly hiding money from the family. Later in 2002, DiLeonardo was indicted on labor racketeering, extortion, loan sharking, witness tampering, and the murders of Gambino associate Frank Hydell and Fred Weiss. At this point, DiLeonardo made an unsuccessful suicide attempt.
Finally, DiLeonardo decided to cooperate with the federal government. He provided damaging testimony against Peter Gotti, Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone, Louis "Big Lou" Vallario, Frank Fappiano, Richard V. Gotti, Richard G. Gotti, and Michael Yanotti. and testified at the three mistrials in which John Gotti, Jr. was charged with ordering the abduction and assault of radio commentator Curtis Sliwa's abduction. Finally, in October 2006, DiLeonardo testified against former Colombo crime family acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico and underboss John "Jackie" DeRoss, who were charged with the murder of former underboss William Cutolo. That trial ended in a mistrial.
DiLeonardo is presumably participating in a Witness Protection Program.
