Frank Lastorino

Frank "Big Frank" Lastorino (April 9, 1939) is a New York City mobster and former Consigliere of the Lucchese crime family.^[1]

Lucchese hitman

Raised in Canarsie, Brooklyn, Lastorino soon joined the Lucchese crime family under Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo in extortion, loansharking and illegal gambling operations during the 1970s, and was recognized as one of the most notorious hitmen from the Brooklyn faction of the crime family. He was formally inducted into the crime family in 1987. Lastorino reportedly achieved great friendship and partnership with Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso and Vittorio "Vic" Amuso during the mid-1980s, as the family leadership was turning in another direction.

Brooklyn Captain

In 1985, the US government launched a pile of indictments toward the Five Families of New York, as Boss Anthony Corallo, Underboss Salvatore Santoro and then Consigliere Christopher Furnari of the Lucchese crime family were put in the courtroom of the infamous Mafia Commission Trial, on labor racketeering, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, money laundering, murder and conspiracy charges. All twelve defendants were found guilty, and the entire administration of the Lucchese crime family received life imprisonment due to their crimes. This led to the election of Brooklyn faction-leaders Victor Amuso and Anthony Casso as the new bosses of the Lucchese family, after the murder of Corallo's top aide, Anthony Luongo, in 1986. Due to his close relationship with both Amuso and Casso, Lastorino was rewarded with the position of Caporegime or Captain of the Brooklyn faction in the Lucchese crime family. Under Amuso's leadership, Lastorino rose to become one of the most feared and most powerful mobsters in the family.

Ruling Panel

FBI surveillance photograph of Lastorino, Baratta and Chiodo

In 1990, both Victor Amuso and Anthony Casso were named in massive indictments towards the Lucchese crime family, which included murder and conspiracy charges, and decided to flee New York City. As they were named fugitives, they used messengers to give out orders to the top members of the family, like Alphonse D'Arco, Anthony Baratta, Steven Crea and Salvatore Avellino, who were all included in the "Ruling Panel" with Lastorino to run the day-to-day activities in the early 1990s. Lastorino also established cooperation and great fear with powerful capos of the Brooklyn faction, George Zappola, Frank Gioia, Jr. and Frank "Bones" Papagni, and as Amuso and Casso sent their orders with messengers, US law enforcement estimated that these orders were unofficially carried out by these men, although it was never official. However, Lastorino used to sit at the family Ruling Panel in early 1990s.^[2]

Killing Boriello

On April 13, 1991, Gambino crime family soldier Bartholomew Boriello was shot to death outside his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn home.^[3] Boriello had been a top bodyguard for John Gotti during his heyday in the 1980s, and was also a great friend and associate before Gotti was incarcerated. Apparently, Gotti believed the murder was ordered by Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante, but in real-life, US law enforcement recognized the order coming from Anthony Casso, in retaliation for the murder of their own member Patrick Testa, in an attempt to squeeze the Gambino crime family out of control. Reportedly, the murder was carried out by the fierce Lastorino, allegedly with assistance of New York Police Department detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, who were on the payroll of the Lucchese crime family at the time. It is reported by US law enforcement that Lastorino allegedly carried out the murder only to be promoted to Consigliere.

Conspiracies

In 1993, with the final capturing of Anthony Casso and the elevation of Steven Crea as the new Underboss of the Lucchese crime family, Lastorino hatched a plot to seize the control of the family completely. Since his promotion, Crea had shifted the family's power center away from the Brooklyn faction and back to the Manhattan and Bronx factions that had been dominating the family for decades, which wasn't approved by most of the Amuso/Casso loyalists. Which is why Lastorino reportedly organized the plot to kill Crea, then gain control of the Lucchese crime family, and then go after the Gambino crime family by murdering John Gotti's son, John "Junior" Gotti and his rival Nicholas Corozzo. The situation was that after these murders, Lastorino, George Zappola, Frank Papagni and Frank Gioia, Jr. would be at the top in the Lucchese crime family.

Indictments

Toward the year of 1994, massive indictments of labor and construction racketeering, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling and murder charges were put on dozens of members of the Lucchese crime family, including Lastorino, who was charged with the murder of Bartholomew Boriello and the attempted murder conspiracies on Steven Crea, John A. Gotti and Nicholas Corozzo, as well as additional racketeering charges. Lastorino was sentenced to 20 years in prison and placed at the Fort Dix Federal Correctional Institution in Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Release from prison

Frank Lastorino was released from federal prison on December 23, 2008 after serving 14 years on racketeering, extortion and conspiracy to commit murder.^[4]

References

External links

• New York Sun: Wiseguys Breaking Mob Laws by Jerry Capeci
• The Smoking Gun: Murder of Bobby Boriello
• truTV Crime Library LUCCHESE CRIME FAMILY EPIC: DESCENT INTO DARKNESS PART III - Journey's End
• '91.htm This Week in Gangland: Lucchese Class of '91 by Jerry Capeci