William Cutolo

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NYPD mugshot of William Cutolo
NYPD mugshot of William Cutolo

William Cutolo (June 6, 1949 – c. May 26, 1999), aka "Billy Fingers" and "Wild Bill", was a Brooklyn-born mafioso in the New York based Colombo crime family who was a hitman for a renegade faction within the crime family. He was later promoted to underboss by Colombo family boss, Carmine Persico.

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[edit] Labor racketeer

Cutolo rose up the ranks of the Colombo family and during the late-1980s under acting boss Victor Orena. Cutolo was originally a soldier in captain Pasquale Amato's crew. Cutolo soon became one of the family's more powerful leaders, both because of his money-making acumen, and the crew of "hitters" he commanded. In 1990, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters expelled Cutolo from the union. However, the resourceful Cutolo formed Local 400 of the Industrial & Production Workers Union. Cutolo was surprisingly beloved by the union rank and file, although it was suspected that he had engaged in looting the union's treasury and using the union's name to receive money from companies seeking to avoid union organizers. Cutolo was also involved in extorting money from companies such as Embassy Terrace and Gallo Wine. In addition, Cutolo controlled several restaurants and nightclubs.

[edit] Persico-Orena War

In 1991, Orena sought to depose longtime family boss, Carmine Persico. Persico wanted to see Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" Persico, soon to be released from prison, as the family boss. While Orena had the backing of the majority of the family, the Persico faction would win the war. The Persico victory was reportedly helped by a corrupt Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who provided information to Persico captain Gregory Scarpa Sr.). Later in 1991, Orena was ambushed and nearly killed outside his Long Island, New York home by a group of Persico hitmen. In response, Orena tried to kill Scarpa. On November 18, 1991, Scarpa was ambushed by a team of Orena hitmen while driving with his daughter and granddaughter. Scarpa was able to speed away from the shooters, who jumped out of their cars and fired shots at Scarpa and family on a Brooklyn street. Five days later, Cutolo dispatched another hit team that gunned down Orena loyalist Henry "Hank the Bank" Smurra outside a Brooklyn doughnut shop. Investigators later concluded that Cutolo was personally responsible for three of the 12 murders committed during this gang war. In one incident, Cutolo was driving away from a Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn social club when he spotted Persico loyalist (former Orena loyalist) Joel Cacace. The two men traded shots on a busy Brooklyn street, but neither was wounded.

The Colombo family war ended in 1993 after family associate John Pappa killed Orena captain Joseph Scopo, one of the City's most powerful labor racketeers. The war resulted in lengthy prison sentences for Orena and Cutolo's mentor Pasquale Amato. Amazingly, in 1994, Cutolo, his favorite shooter Joseph Campanella, and the rest of the Cutolo crew, were acquitted of charges related to the war. At the end of the war, the victorious Persico faction demoted Cutolo to the rank of soldier. Cutolo had taken the wrong side in this conflict. In addition, Cutolo had called Carmine Persico "a rat" for admitting the existence of La Cosa Nostra in his own defense at the Mafia Commission trial. However, after Allie Boy Persico's release from prison, he unexpectedly promoted Cutolo to underboss.

[edit] Disappearance

In May 1999, Cutolo was summoned to a meeting with the younger Persico. However, after the meeting, Cutolo disappeared. In 2004, Allie Boy Persico and the family's Underboss John "Jackie" DeRoss were indicted for conspiring to murder Cutolo. Testifying against Persico was Cutolo's son, Billy Jr., and former Gambino captain Michael DiLeonardo. DiLeonardo had arrived at the planned meeting with Cutolo, only to be told by Persico and DeRoss that Cutolo was gone. The body of William Cutolo has never been recovered. On December 28, 2007, Persico and DeRoss were convicted of Cutolo's murder, as they are awaiting their sentence, which could be life imprisonment.

[edit] Further reading

  • Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
  • Fitch, Robert. Solidarity For Sale: How Corruption Destroyed the Labor Movement and Undermined America's Promise. New York: PublicAffairs, 2006. ISBN 1-891620-72-X
  • 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
  • Willis, Clint, ed. Mob: Stories of Death and Betrayal from Organized Crime. New York: Thunder's Mouth Press, 2001. ISBN 1-56025-324-X

[edit] External links