Attilio Bitondo
Encyclopedia
Attilio Bitondo also known as "Tillio", was a New York City labor leader and an associate in the Genovese crime family
in the crew of powerful Manhattan
captain Vincent DiNapoli
.
As Vice-President of Carpenters Union
Local 257, Bitondo had jurisdiction over construction on the East Side of Manhattan. Bitondo and Local President Eugene Hanley
systematically extorted New York City drywall
contractors for the Genovese family. The two union leaders also engaged in bid rigging and bribery.
In the mid-1980s, Judge Stephen Crane authorized the New York State Organized Crime Task Force to wiretap the Local 257 Office telephones located at 157 East 25th Street in Manhattan.
The resulting intercepted telephone calls would be used as evidence against Bitondo, Hanley and other union and organized crime figures, and also demonstrated the grip the men had over the City's construction industry. In on telephone call, contractor Mario Marsillo indicated to Bitondo and Hanley that he was using non-union workers on an East Side job because he had "given a cup of coffee" to Local 608 official John O'Connor, however, the East Side was Bitondo's jurisdiction, and the Genovese crime family was not happy. Marsillo asked to "have a cup of coffee" — apparently a euphemism for a bribe — with Bitondo, but Bitondo refused, saying "This here we shoulda done two months ago had a cup of coffee." After Bitondo and Hanley discussed with Marsillo the picketing at his site because of his failure to sign the union agreement, Marsillo said "I tried to reach, reach out ", Hanley replied "You reached out to the wrong people Mario." Ultimately, Mario smartened up and paid the Local 257 bosses.
. They were accused of taking more than $100,000 from Manhattan contractors wanting to avert labor problems. One of the cooperating contractors testified that Bitondo approached him at a construction site with another man and threatened to throw him off the roof of the building if he didn't comply with his extortion demands. The affected projects included the World Financial Center
at Battery Park City, Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport
, the Equitable Life Assurance Building, and exhibits at the Whitney Museum of American Art
. The Manhattan District Attorney
Robert Morgenthau stated that the indictments documented only about 10 percent of the payoffs that 17 cooperating contractors said they made; corroborative evidence could not be obtained to support all the allegations.
The indictment came from information provided by Gambino crime family
associate turned informant, Dominick LoFaro
. LoFaro wore a wire during meetings with Bitondo at the Queens
social club of Gambino captain Ralph Mosca
. LoFaro also wore a wire while sitting in during extortion meetings attended by Bitondo and another Local 257 officer and Gambino soldier, Carmine Fiore. LoFaro testified that the Local 257 officers laundered
, or disguised, illegal payments by making numerous deposits of $6,000 each at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company branch. Also providing evidence was Genovese family turncoat Vincent "Fish" Cafaro
, who knew Bitondo as a close underling of Vinny DiNapoli and a labor racket partner of Liborio "Barney" Bellomo
, and explained that each month Bitondo would deliver an evelope to the Genovese higher-ups in East Harlem.
In 1990, Bitondo was convicted of Enterprise Corruption charges and sentenced to 1½ to 4½ years in prison. Despite being incarcerated, Bitondo's influence remained, because he appointed organized crime figures like Anthony Fiorino, Ralph Coppola, and Anthony Simon to important labor posts, ensuring that the Genovese crime family would continue to reap profits from extortion and labor racketeering.
Bitondo and Hanley were convicted of racketeering charges. They received a short prison term and were banned from union business.
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
in the crew of powerful Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
captain Vincent DiNapoli
Vincent DiNapoli
Vincent DiNapoli is a New York mobster and captain in the Genovese crime family, involved in labor racketeering. DiNapoli is best known for creating a cartel in the 1970s that controlled the price of drywall in New York City.-Early years:...
.
As Vice-President of Carpenters Union
United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America is one of the largest building trades union in the United States. One of the unions that formed the American Federation of Labor in 1886, it left the AFL-CIO in 2001.-Early years:...
Local 257, Bitondo had jurisdiction over construction on the East Side of Manhattan. Bitondo and Local President Eugene Hanley
Eugene Hanley
Eugene Hanley was a New York City labor leader, as well as an associate of the Genovese crime family. Hanley took over as President of Local 257 of the New York City District Council of Carpenters for his father-in-law, a Genovese mobster named Will Graziano...
systematically extorted New York City drywall
Drywall
Drywall, also known as plasterboard, wallboard or gypsum board is a panel made of gypsum plaster pressed between two thick sheets of paper...
contractors for the Genovese family. The two union leaders also engaged in bid rigging and bribery.
In the mid-1980s, Judge Stephen Crane authorized the New York State Organized Crime Task Force to wiretap the Local 257 Office telephones located at 157 East 25th Street in Manhattan.
The resulting intercepted telephone calls would be used as evidence against Bitondo, Hanley and other union and organized crime figures, and also demonstrated the grip the men had over the City's construction industry. In on telephone call, contractor Mario Marsillo indicated to Bitondo and Hanley that he was using non-union workers on an East Side job because he had "given a cup of coffee" to Local 608 official John O'Connor, however, the East Side was Bitondo's jurisdiction, and the Genovese crime family was not happy. Marsillo asked to "have a cup of coffee" — apparently a euphemism for a bribe — with Bitondo, but Bitondo refused, saying "This here we shoulda done two months ago had a cup of coffee." After Bitondo and Hanley discussed with Marsillo the picketing at his site because of his failure to sign the union agreement, Marsillo said "I tried to reach, reach out ", Hanley replied "You reached out to the wrong people Mario." Ultimately, Mario smartened up and paid the Local 257 bosses.
Mob Corruption Crackdown
On October 13, 1987, Bitondo and four other Carpenters Union leaders, were indicted for extortionExtortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
. They were accused of taking more than $100,000 from Manhattan contractors wanting to avert labor problems. One of the cooperating contractors testified that Bitondo approached him at a construction site with another man and threatened to throw him off the roof of the building if he didn't comply with his extortion demands. The affected projects included the World Financial Center
World Financial Center
The World Financial Center is a complex of buildings across West Street from the World Trade Center site in Lower Manhattan in New York City, overlooking the Hudson River. This complex is home to offices of companies including Merrill Lynch, RBC Capital Markets, Nomura Group, the Wall Street...
at Battery Park City, Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport
South Street Seaport
The South Street Seaport is a historic area in the New York City borough of Manhattan, located where Fulton Street meets the East River, and adjacent to the Financial District. The Seaport is a designated historic district, distinct from the neighboring Financial District...
, the Equitable Life Assurance Building, and exhibits at the Whitney Museum of American Art
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, often referred to simply as "the Whitney", is an art museum with a focus on 20th- and 21st-century American art. Located at 945 Madison Avenue at 75th Street in New York City, the Whitney's permanent collection contains more than 18,000 works in a wide variety of...
. The Manhattan District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
Robert Morgenthau stated that the indictments documented only about 10 percent of the payoffs that 17 cooperating contractors said they made; corroborative evidence could not be obtained to support all the allegations.
The indictment came from information provided by Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
associate turned informant, Dominick LoFaro
Dominick LoFaro
Dominick "Big Dom" LoFaro was a soldier in the New York Gambino crime family who later became an important government undercover informant...
. LoFaro wore a wire during meetings with Bitondo at the Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
social club of Gambino captain Ralph Mosca
Ralph Mosca
Ralph "Ralphie Bones" Mosca, also known as Funzie, was a Queens/Bronx-based Gambino crime family caporegime. Mosca's crew was involved in labor racketeering, specifically through the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, loan...
. LoFaro also wore a wire while sitting in during extortion meetings attended by Bitondo and another Local 257 officer and Gambino soldier, Carmine Fiore. LoFaro testified that the Local 257 officers laundered
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, or disguised, illegal payments by making numerous deposits of $6,000 each at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company branch. Also providing evidence was Genovese family turncoat Vincent "Fish" Cafaro
Vincent Cafaro
Vincent "Fish" Cafaro was a mobster and protegee of Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, a top lieutenant in the Genovese crime family until becoming a government informant and witness.-Labor racketeer:...
, who knew Bitondo as a close underling of Vinny DiNapoli and a labor racket partner of Liborio "Barney" Bellomo
Liborio Bellomo
Liborio Salvatore Bellomo , known as Barney and Big Barney, is a high ranking caporegime and street boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City. Bellomo is one of the fastest rising Mafia members in the United States today, becoming a capo in his mid-twenties...
, and explained that each month Bitondo would deliver an evelope to the Genovese higher-ups in East Harlem.
In 1990, Bitondo was convicted of Enterprise Corruption charges and sentenced to 1½ to 4½ years in prison. Despite being incarcerated, Bitondo's influence remained, because he appointed organized crime figures like Anthony Fiorino, Ralph Coppola, and Anthony Simon to important labor posts, ensuring that the Genovese crime family would continue to reap profits from extortion and labor racketeering.
Bitondo and Hanley were convicted of racketeering charges. They received a short prison term and were banned from union business.
Further reading
- Cafaro, Vincent. (Vincent "Fish" Cafaro - lieutenant to Fat Tony Salerno). "Declaration of Vincent Cafaro". Available at http://www.thelaborers.net/carpenters/background/carfaro/Carfaro_declaration-1990-8-28_Dir/Carfaro_declaration-1990-8-28_Page1.htm (discussing being introduced to Attilio Bitondo, a member of the Vincent DiNapoli crew).
- Conboy, Kenneth. "Souther District of New York, Second Interim Report of the Investigations and Review Officer". Re: U.S.A. v. District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, et al. Available at http://www.thelaborers.net/carpenters/exhibits-htm/ex_5_second_unterim_report_excerpts.pdf.
- Goldstock, Ronald, Martin Marcus and II Thacher. Corruption and Racketeering in the New York City Construction Industry: Final Report of the New York State Organized Crime Task Force. New York: NYU Press, 1990. ISBN 0-8147-3034-5
- Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime. New York: NYU Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8147-4247-5
- Jacobs, James B., Christopher Panarella and Jay Worthington. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0