Eddie "Eddie The Chink" Garafola pronounced /dʒəˈniːn ɡəˈrɒfəloʊ (born 1939) is a Gambino crime family associate who was involved in the construction industry. Garafola was the brother-in-law of former underboss and informant Sammy "The Bull" Gravano.
Garafola was once described by the New York Post as "A larger-than-life figure in the construction industry for more than 20 years".[1] In May 1985, Garafola was charged with tax evasion for failing to report income from a New York discotheque that he owned with Gravano.[2] In August 1987, Garafola was indicted for attempting to bribe officials in Bergen, New Jersey to allow the illegal dumping of construction debris from New York.[3] On March 2, 2000, Garafola was charged with racketeering in a classic "Pump and dump" stock fraud and money laundering scheme that allegedly cost investors $41 million over a three-year period. Garafola was specifically charged with trying to extort $100,000 from a stockbroker.[4]
Gravano later claimed that Garafola, in a jailhouse visit, suggested both of them cooperate with the government:
"It's my whining brother-in-law Eddie, a whining motherf**ker all my life, who puts the idea in my head. He's caused me nothing but trouble with his devious ways, always looking for the angle. A couple of guys in my crew wanted to whack him. You can't trust him, they said. But he's got a big edge with me. His wife is my sister and I ain't ever going to hurt her, even though he's treating her like shit."[5]
In September 1996, Peter Gotti visited his brother, Gambino boss John Gotti, in prison. Gotti reportedly told Peter, then acting boss, to have Thomas Carbonara and Garafola kill Gravano. Carbonara and Garafola reportedly made several trips to Arizona, where the media had revealed Gravano was hiding, to set up a hit. However, Gravano's arrest on drug charges in 2000 ended this venture.[6] On May 22, 2003, Garafola was indicted in New York for plotting to murder Gravano.[7]
In 2004, Garafola pleaded guilty to the murder of his cousin, Edward Garofalo (Garofalo, not Garafola). Garafola was ordered to kill his cousin because the family suspected him of becoming a government witness. On September 6, 2007, Garafola was sentenced to 30 in prison.[8]
As of June 2010, Garafola is imprisoned at the Allenwood Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Eastern Pennsylvania. His projected release date is November 16, 2028.[9]
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