Nicholas Corozzo

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Nicholas Corozzo

Photograph taken in 2004.
Born March 17, 1940 (age 68)
Brooklyn, New York City, USA

Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo (born March 17, 1940) is a powerful member and the current Boss of the Gambino crime family. He was a considered fugitive by the FBI [1] until his arrest after turning himself in on May 29, 2008 after almost four months on the run.

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[edit] Biography

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Corozzo is the brother of Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo, Blaise Corozzo, a made soldier in the Gambino crime family, and Blaise's twin brother Anthony Corozzo is a Gambino crime family associate. He is the uncle of Joseph Corozzo Jr, a high-profiled defense attorney and father of a daughter, Bernadette and father-in-law to Gambino crime family associate Vincent Dragonetti. He stands at 5'5 and weighs 170 pounds. Prior to his incarceration, he lived at Legion Street in Bellmore, Long Island. Nicholas Corozzo was one of the top rivals of John Gotti during the early 1980s, who despised him; it wasn't until Gotti's conviction due to the testimony provided by Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano in 1992, that Corozzo was finally promoted to Caporegime, along with Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria. Towards the mid 1990s, Corozzo's power increased, as he, DiMaria and his brother Joseph Corozzo, who held the current position of Consigliere, unofficially ran the Gambino crime family. He became a power almost immediately and earned much respect in the wounded world of La Cosa Nostra in New York. In the mid 1990s, Corozzo was tapped to succeed John Gotti as the family's new official leader.[2] Instead, Corozzo's 1996 arrest on racketeering and loansharking charges and his subsequent guilty plea, led to an eight-year prison term with DiMaria.

After his release on June 10, 2004, Corozzo was again widely expected to take the reigns of the struggling Gambino crime family. However, due to increased law enforcement, he has kept a low profile since his release, and the Gambinos were reportedly led by John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico until 2005, according to mob reporter Jerry Capeci. Corozzo is said to have retained his position as a Caporegime, despite health concerns and tight parole restrictions. In 2006, a new report stated that both Corozzo and D'Amico are the new bosses of the Gambino crime family, with Arnold "Zekey" Squitieri as the Underboss, and Corozzo's brother Joseph as the Gambino Consigliere. As of January, 2008, Corozzo still held his position as the Boss of the Gambino crime family.

In February 2008, Corozzo was named as one of the main defendants in the federal Operation Old Bridge and NY state Operation Touchback indictments. However, Corozzo was tipped off in advance by his daughter who witnessed her husband and fellow mobster being led away by the US authorities. On May 29, 2008, Corozzo finally couldn't take life on the run anymore. Corozzo, having to deal with so much pressure from the F.B.I. and an appearance on America's Most Wanted, turned himself in to authorities with his lawyer by his side. Authorities say he looked very exhausted and couldn't handle the media surrounding his disappearance. As of May 30, 2008, Corozzo is incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York. [3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.fbi.gov/wanted/alert/corozzo_n.htm
  2. ^ http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/gotti/layaway_25.html
  3. ^ http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=Corozzo&Middle=&FirstName=Nicholas&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0

[edit] Further reading

  • Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
  • Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs. 1988. [1]

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Jackie D'Amico		 Gambino Crime Family Boss
2005-present		 Succeeded by
current
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