Dominick Montiglio
Encyclopedia
Dominick Montiglio is a former associate of the Gambino crime family
. The nephew of Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi
, who was a powerful and respected captain
in the Gambino family, Dominick became a government witness in 1983 after being arrested for extortion
and went on to testify in two Federal trials aimed towards his uncle Nino and the violent DeMeo crew headed by Gaggi's subordinate Roy DeMeo
.
Montiglio entered into the Witness Protection Program and was moved to 12 different locations, kicked out and reinstated four times. He had 21 different names in that time and testified in three federal trials. He left the Witness Protection Program over 15 years ago and returned to Brooklyn to become an artist.
, New York
. From childhood to early adolescene, he grew up in the same three-story red-brick home as his uncle Anthony Gaggi, who served as his father figure and who Montiglio would end up working for as an adult. During these early years, Montiglio was witness to a number of incidents that would cause him to realize that his uncle's occupation was different than the other adults in the household.
Dominick claims that, as early as he can remember, his uncle Nino's way of life was pressed on him. When he was in 1st grade, Dominick told his uncle that he wanted to be a cop. Nino's response was that he hated cops and no one in the Gaggi family had ever been, or would ever be, a police officer. Later, during the outbreak of the Vietnam War
, young Dominick expressed interest in becoming a soldier. Gaggi's response was that people were fools to die for anyone or anything but their family.
Years later at age 10, Dominick had been selected to become the class president. Upon telling his uncle about his newly acquired duties, which included writing down the names of troublemakers when the teacher was out of class, Nino allegedly ordered the boy to go back to his teacher and tell her that he could not accept the position. Montiglio claims his uncle told him, “No one in our family can be a rat
”.
In 1954, 7-year old Dominick was present at the house when Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) agents forced their way in and arrested Gaggi. It was the first FBI arrest for Nino, and like his final arrest by the FBI in 1984, it accused him of being part of an auto-theft ring. In the case of this first arrest however, he was acquitted of his role and served no jail time for the alleged crime. Despite this incident, Dominick claims he still had not grasped the truth about Nino's occupation.
Dominick’s relationship with his uncle continued throughout his adolescence, culminating at his confirmation ceremony in May 1957, when Anthony Gaggi became Dominick’s religious Godfather.
Shortly after, in June 1957, Gaggi's mentor in the Gambino family, Frank Scalise, was murdered in the Bronx
by an unknown assassin. The Gaggi family, including 10-year old Dominick, attended the wake, where Frank’s brother Joseph was allegedly heard swearing revenge for his brother’s murder. Joseph Scalise disappeared shortly after, and the Gaggi family found themselves at another Scalise wake. Montiglio recalls seeing his uncle Nino huddling with a group of associates for most of the duration of the wake, describing the men as a group of very "grave-looking individuals".
A couple of months later on October 25, 1957, Gambino family boss Albert Anastasia
was shot to death as he sat in a barber’s chair at a Manhattan hotel. It was the resulting publicity on both television and radio, as well as the reactions of his own family members to the murder, that Dominick Montiglio claims had finally made him realize what kind of people his uncle was involved with, as well as what kind of person Anthony Gaggi was himself. The entire Gaggi family all stayed within their house, termed “the bunker” by Montiglio, for a number of days after Anastasia’s murder in case any further violence were to occur in retaliation to Anastasia's slaying.
After the events immediately proceeding the murder of Albert Anastasia, Dominick claims his life reverted to that of a normal adolescent, absent of any further views into the lifestyle of his uncle. He got involved with typical teenage activities such as playing baseball on a Bath Beach-Bensonhurst team, and also joined a singing group dubbed "The Tuneups".
In 1959, at age 12, Dominick Santamaria became Dominick Montiglio when his mother married an Army Air Corps veteran by the name of Anthony Montiglio. After the wedding, in the summer of 1960, Dominick and his family then moved out of the Gaggi's Brooklyn home and east of Long Island
to Levittown
, which during the 1950s had become one of the first suburbs for post-World War II
families.
Despite living in Levittown, the Montiglios still kept in constant touch with the Gaggi side of the family at both family reunions as well as regular Sunday get-togethers in Brooklyn. It was at one of these family reunions that Dominick’s uncle Nino had warned him of the music industry, allegedly describing it to his nephew as a “... rotten, dirty business”.Gaggi did not agree with Dominick’s aspirations to become successful in show business through “The Four Directions”. Despite this warning, Dominick continued performing with the group, which was granted the opportunity to release a record of their own, which sold modestly.
After a drunken night where Dominick and the other Four Directions members stood outside of Carnegie Hall
and began to sing for a crowd that was leaving after a performance inside, the group was contacted by the host of a variety show. The group performed on that show and then on others, including one in Cleveland where Dominick got to meet Sonny and Cher, the couple just beginning their rise to fame. After more performances in nightclubs and theaters, "The Four Directions" sought to record a completely original song and use its expected success to gain a foothold in the business.
The record company who had recorded their previous song was not interested however. Dominick then went to Nino to get assistance, as it was widely known at the time that there were higher-ups in the music business who were involved, in one way or another, with the Mafia. In fact, it was reported in newspapers at the time that Carlo Gambino
himself controlled a record company located in New Jersey. Despite these alleged connections, Nino refused to help Dominick, reportedly saying that the music business was not a business he wanted his nephew to be involved with.
through a friend who had joined the military. On February 14, 1966 he quit an assembly-line job at Grumman Aircraft Corporation and he immediately located a recruitment center for the Army and joined. After informing his family, and getting in another argument with his uncle Nino who allegedly told him, “Don’t fight for generals, fight for us. If you want to die, die for your family”, Dominick left New York for Vietnam
.
Montiglio became a cooperating witness for the government, records of his military involvement have been sealed and are no longer able to be accessed.
, as an "MP", at Fort Bragg
. While still serving out his enlistment, Montiglio took his first step towards organized crime when he helped his uncle Nino use dynamite
to blow up the porch of a dentist who had insulted Nino's wife.
He was honorably discharged from the Army in December 1968 and spent a short time at Dade County College in Miami before temporarily moving back to New York and working a series of jobs provided by his uncle. In December 1971 he got married and left for San Francisco with his wife. The couple settled in Berkeley
, where Dominick again dabbled in the music business with little success.
In 1972 he and his wife went to see The Godfather
, a movie that Montiglio claims changed his entire outlook on life. The couple soon moved back to New York and moved in with his uncle Nino, Dominick accepting a job working for a car service Nino was starting up. It was while working at the car service in 1973 that Dominick was first introduced to an associate of Nino's by the name of Roy DeMeo
. Weeks later Dominick accompanied Nino to the Gemini Lounge, where he was introduced to Chris Rosenberg
, one of Roy's closest associates.
By 1974, Nino closed his car service and put Dominick in charge of collecting payments from his varied assortment of loanshark customers. Nino also put Dominick in charge of collecting the weekly tributes from the DeMeo Crew, ordering that association with the crew be on a business level only.
In March 1975 Dominick showcased his willingness to murder for his uncle when he assisted Nino and Roy DeMeo with an attempted hit on Vincent Governara, a young man who had feuded with Nino over a decade earlier. Dominick planted a grenade
in Governara's car. Intending to 'put a scare' in Governara, he used a concussion grenade (as opposed to a fragmentation grenade, which are designed to kill their target); resulting in a broken leg for the victim. Montiglio's efforts cemented his bond with his uncle.
His next endeavor in the activities of the Gambino family was assisting his uncle with intimidating a witness set to testify against Paul Castellano
, a Gambino Captain who was charged with extortion. The intimidation was successful and when the trial date arrived the witness outright refused to testify, securing an acquittal for Castellano. Dominick was also a guest at several meetings over lunch held between Nino, Castellano and Carlo Gambino
, the highly respected boss of the family at the time.
Dominick was also occasionally serving as Roy DeMeo's chauffeur, a job that provided him insight into the relationship between DeMeo and Nino Gaggi, who readily accepted money from activities DeMeo was involved in that were considered off-limits to members of the Gambino family, namely drugs and taboo
pornography. In January 1976, Montiglio was introduced to DeMeo Crew member Henry Borelli and the two began meeting socially, despite Nino's warning to Dominick that he was supposed to interact with Roy and his men strictly on a business level.
Montiglio's position as liaison between Nino and the DeMeo crew provided him a unique position, allowing him access to various events that few others in the underworld were privy to such as the murder of Joseph Brocchini, who was a made man and was killed without permission, a violation of Mafia code that would mean certain death for Nino and Roy if the slaying were ever traced back to them. Montiglio claims the various instances of blatant rule breaking he witnessed with his uncle and DeMeo began to make him realize that the rules a made man
must follow were not taken as seriously as they appeared to be.
In June 1976, Vincent Governara was again targeted by Nino, Roy and Dominick. This time the hit was successful, with Governara being shot and killed by Nino and Roy as Dominick watched. He claims that although he had a firearm and was originally ordered by Nino to perform the hit, at the last minute his uncle instead decided that he and Roy would handle it. Witness testimony from those present at the Bensonhurst crime scene at the time of the shooting corroborated Montiglio's claims, as all interviewed who witnessed the shooting claimed that they did not see the youngest man fire his weapon.
As 1976 continued, Dominick found himself put in charge of more of his uncle's loanshark collections, through which he met and befriended Matthew Rega, the relative of a Genovese
mobster and associate of the DeMeo crew. Dominick also befriended Danny Grillo
, a new DeMeo crew member who was primarily involved in hijacking trucks delivering shipments to and from the John F. Kennedy International Airport
. Like Henry Borelli, Dominick began meeting with Grillo socially and their families became close friends.
In late 1976, Carlo Gambino died and a new boss of the Gambino family had to be elected. It was a tense situation, with two separate factions within the family each supporting their own choices. One was Aniello Dellacroce
, longtime Underboss
and highly respected member of the Family dating back to the days of Albert Anastasia. The other was Paul Castellano, the Captain who had close ties with Nino Gaggi and thus had the support of Dominick and the DeMeo Crew as well.
A sitdown, or meeting, was scheduled at Gaggi's house between the two candidates for the throne and Dominick claims that he was stationed as a sniper in an upstairs window of the house with orders to gun down the Dellacroce emissaries should the meeting lead to violence. Castellano was quickly given the position of boss however and hostilities were avoided. Additionally, Dominick's uncle Nino was promoted to Captain, heading the crew that was previously under the command of Castellano.
In 1977 he was working as an insurance agent and appraiser for an insurance firm that was secretly managed by Anthony Gaggi in New York City. As an insurance salesman and appraiser Dominick was involved in fraud. During this time he continued to associate with the DeMeo crew, although by 1977 it was not entirely on a business level. He was involved in a large brawl that took place at a catering hall that summer when Roy got in an argument with a waiter and struck him in the face for showing disrespect. Dominick was also regularly meeting with Henry Borelli and Danny Grillo for drinks at Manhattan
bars.
His close association with these crew members gave him insight into Roy and crew's activities, such as their by now infamous reputation for violence and murder. Because he was the go-between with Nino and Roy, he was also witness to Nino's aggravation at being unable to control Roy, who had been made
earlier that year for organizing an alliance between the Gambino family and the Westies
, a predominantly Irish-American gang that dominated the Hell's Kitchen
area of New York City. Nino had promised the new boss Paul Castellano, who had previously opposed the idea of inducting Roy into the crime family, that he would control Roy and put a stop to his wanton murdering and uncontrollable behavior.
Nino's efforts were ultimately ineffectual, as Roy's crew continued to kill indiscriminately, even murdering a teenage girl whose only crime was being involved romantically with a man Roy learned was going to testify against the DeMeo crew. This murder in particular reportedly enraged Nino and strained his relationship with Castellano, who already had a strong dislike of Roy and his methods.
The situation intensified when the Westie/Gambino alliance nearly fell through after yet more killing on behalf of the Westies and a DeMeo crew member threatened a conflict between the Gambino Family and the Genovese family. Dominick claims that he was usually present at the sitdowns and clandestine meetings resulting from these situations, where Roy continually escaped any real punishment due to his tremendous earning ability, which served to placate Castellano and Gaggi's anger.
By 1978 Dominick Montiglio was becoming disillusioned with his position as his uncle Nino's errand boy and was constantly refused a raise in pay for his services, which included collecting Nino's loanshark payments, his tributes from the DeMeo Crew and running Nino's food sales company when he was in Florida
for months at a time. Roy offered Dominick a role in his crew's many drug activities but Dominick claims Nino vehemently shut down that possibility immediately upon hearing about it.
Dominick did not violate Nino's order to stay away from the drug business but did begin increasingly hanging out with the DeMeo Crew. This association soon ended as the DeMeo Crew's murderous activities continued to increase even further, with Roy now openly offering his crew's services to all of the Five Families
as well as to others willing to pay.
Dominick claims that he was disgusted by the constant killing as well as by the crew's method of dismembering
the majority of their victims. He claims that one night at a bar, Joseph Testa and Anthony Senter
were taunting Henry Borelli due to his inability to stomach the dismembering that by now nearly always followed the murders. Hearing this, Dominick claims he openly voiced his disgust with the crew's methods, declaring their actions worse than any atrocity he allegedly witnessed in Vietnam. This comment, as well as an earlier conflict he had with Chris Rosenberg
, Roy's second-in-command, damaged his relationship with the crew and led to him dreading every visit to the Gemini Lounge to collect Nino's weekly payments.
By 1979, Dominick was heavily addicted to cocaine
and also suffered from a drinking problem. He was accused by an associate of stealing money from his uncle and was also openly accused of dealing in and being addicted to heroin. These accusations were brought to Paul Castellano, still the boss of the Gambino family at this time. The penalty for dealing drugs, particularly heroin, was death under Castellano's rule.
After a meeting between Paul Castellano and the accuser's father, a made member of another Mafia family, Dominick was informed by his uncle Nino that Castellano had taken his side for the time being and had not believed the claims that Dominick sold heroin. A second meeting, where Dominick and his accuser would be present, was scheduled for a day in December 1979. Dominick's uncle Nino and Roy DeMeo were going to drive him to the location.
By the time the day for the meeting arrived, Dominick's paranoia and drug/alcohol abuse had led him to believe his death had already been ordered and that his uncle and Roy were planning to kill him if he were to drive with them to the meeting. He decided to flee to California
with his wife and children, where he would stay until 1983.
While away in California, his uncle Nino falsely claimed to his associates that Dominick had robbed him of a large sum of money and then fled, presumably out of embarrassment for his nephew's actions. Dominick bought an expensive house in an upscale California neighborhood and supported himself and his family through drug deals and at times serving as a bodyguard and enforcer for other drug dealers. He was arrested after a botched armed robbery attempt but was released after his wife provided him with an alibi
.
Dominick was arrested on the scene by officers working with a combined Federal and State Task Force that had been investigating his uncle Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi and Roy DeMeo's crew since 1981. Facing a minimum of 20 years imprisonment for his extortion arrest and additional crimes he had been accused of by associates of the DeMeo crew that had already become cooperating witnesses for the government, including the man whose accusations of drug dealing had originally led to Dominick fleeing New York, he became a cooperator as well in hopes of drastically reducing his sentence.
Dominick provided a great deal of information to the Task Force, including details of his uncle paying tribute to Gambino Boss Paul Castellano
with portions of the earnings given to him by Roy DeMeo
. He also provided the Task Force with information on a number of murders committed by Roy DeMeo
and his followers. This gave the authorities evidence linking Castellano to the DeMeo Crew enterprise. The Gaggi Task Force was subsequently upgraded to the Castellano Task Force. By early 1984 the indictment was ready and the 24 members or associates of the Gambino family and DeMeo Crew, including the reigning boss Paul Castellano
and his uncle Nino, were arrested.
Dominick testified in both of the trials against the DeMeo Crew, and it was reportedly his sole testimony that compelled jurors to find his uncle Nino Gaggi guilty in the first of the two. Gaggi was sentenced to five years after the first trial but died early on in the second, in April 1988. His testimony helped lead to the guilty verdicts of every single defendant in the second trial.
After the trials were over he was sentenced for his crime and given five years probation instead of time in prison due to his cooperation with the government. Shortly after the 1989 conclusion of the DeMeo Crew trials, he worked with crime reporters and authors Jerry Capeci
and Gene Mustain on their book Murder Machine, which focused primarily on the reign of the DeMeo Crew.
In the years following the publishing of Murder Machine, Dominick Montiglio appeared on television documentaries on organized crime, including National Geographic's Inside The Mafia series that premiered in 2005. On the program, he spoke of his uncle Nino and the DeMeo Crew as well as his experience testifying in the trials against them. He has also appeared on documentaries on the Discovery Channel and in interviews with various websites and news programs.
with us".
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...
. The nephew of Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi
Anthony Gaggi
Anthony "Antonino" "Nino" Frank Gaggi was a captain in the New York Gambino crime family who supervised the infamous DeMeo crew, headed by Roy DeMeo. It is estimated that the DeMeo crew murdered between 75 and 200 people....
, who was a powerful and respected captain
Caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
in the Gambino family, Dominick became a government witness in 1983 after being arrested for extortion
Extortion
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...
and went on to testify in two Federal trials aimed towards his uncle Nino and the violent DeMeo crew headed by Gaggi's subordinate Roy DeMeo
Roy DeMeo
Roy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
.
Montiglio entered into the Witness Protection Program and was moved to 12 different locations, kicked out and reinstated four times. He had 21 different names in that time and testified in three federal trials. He left the Witness Protection Program over 15 years ago and returned to Brooklyn to become an artist.
Early life
He was born Dominick Angelo Santamaria in 1947 BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. From childhood to early adolescene, he grew up in the same three-story red-brick home as his uncle Anthony Gaggi, who served as his father figure and who Montiglio would end up working for as an adult. During these early years, Montiglio was witness to a number of incidents that would cause him to realize that his uncle's occupation was different than the other adults in the household.
Dominick claims that, as early as he can remember, his uncle Nino's way of life was pressed on him. When he was in 1st grade, Dominick told his uncle that he wanted to be a cop. Nino's response was that he hated cops and no one in the Gaggi family had ever been, or would ever be, a police officer. Later, during the outbreak of the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, young Dominick expressed interest in becoming a soldier. Gaggi's response was that people were fools to die for anyone or anything but their family.
Years later at age 10, Dominick had been selected to become the class president. Upon telling his uncle about his newly acquired duties, which included writing down the names of troublemakers when the teacher was out of class, Nino allegedly ordered the boy to go back to his teacher and tell her that he could not accept the position. Montiglio claims his uncle told him, “No one in our family can be a rat
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
”.
In 1954, 7-year old Dominick was present at the house when Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) agents forced their way in and arrested Gaggi. It was the first FBI arrest for Nino, and like his final arrest by the FBI in 1984, it accused him of being part of an auto-theft ring. In the case of this first arrest however, he was acquitted of his role and served no jail time for the alleged crime. Despite this incident, Dominick claims he still had not grasped the truth about Nino's occupation.
Dominick’s relationship with his uncle continued throughout his adolescence, culminating at his confirmation ceremony in May 1957, when Anthony Gaggi became Dominick’s religious Godfather.
Shortly after, in June 1957, Gaggi's mentor in the Gambino family, Frank Scalise, was murdered in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
by an unknown assassin. The Gaggi family, including 10-year old Dominick, attended the wake, where Frank’s brother Joseph was allegedly heard swearing revenge for his brother’s murder. Joseph Scalise disappeared shortly after, and the Gaggi family found themselves at another Scalise wake. Montiglio recalls seeing his uncle Nino huddling with a group of associates for most of the duration of the wake, describing the men as a group of very "grave-looking individuals".
A couple of months later on October 25, 1957, Gambino family boss Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
was shot to death as he sat in a barber’s chair at a Manhattan hotel. It was the resulting publicity on both television and radio, as well as the reactions of his own family members to the murder, that Dominick Montiglio claims had finally made him realize what kind of people his uncle was involved with, as well as what kind of person Anthony Gaggi was himself. The entire Gaggi family all stayed within their house, termed “the bunker” by Montiglio, for a number of days after Anastasia’s murder in case any further violence were to occur in retaliation to Anastasia's slaying.
After the events immediately proceeding the murder of Albert Anastasia, Dominick claims his life reverted to that of a normal adolescent, absent of any further views into the lifestyle of his uncle. He got involved with typical teenage activities such as playing baseball on a Bath Beach-Bensonhurst team, and also joined a singing group dubbed "The Tuneups".
In 1959, at age 12, Dominick Santamaria became Dominick Montiglio when his mother married an Army Air Corps veteran by the name of Anthony Montiglio. After the wedding, in the summer of 1960, Dominick and his family then moved out of the Gaggi's Brooklyn home and east of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
to Levittown
Levittown, New York
Levittown is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is midway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881....
, which during the 1950s had become one of the first suburbs for post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
families.
Teenage years and the music business
Once living in Levittown, and free of his uncle Nino's constant influence, Dominick's life became like that of an average American teenager of the period. He took on a variety of jobs, including delivering newspapers and working in a fast-food restaurant and also played football at the school he attended. He also became a brother to both a younger brother and sister. His primary focus however was on music, specifically a vocal group he joined when he was 14 that called themselves “The Four Directions”. The group met with limited success, performing in nightclubs around Long Island and opening for local acts.Despite living in Levittown, the Montiglios still kept in constant touch with the Gaggi side of the family at both family reunions as well as regular Sunday get-togethers in Brooklyn. It was at one of these family reunions that Dominick’s uncle Nino had warned him of the music industry, allegedly describing it to his nephew as a “... rotten, dirty business”.Gaggi did not agree with Dominick’s aspirations to become successful in show business through “The Four Directions”. Despite this warning, Dominick continued performing with the group, which was granted the opportunity to release a record of their own, which sold modestly.
After a drunken night where Dominick and the other Four Directions members stood outside of Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
and began to sing for a crowd that was leaving after a performance inside, the group was contacted by the host of a variety show. The group performed on that show and then on others, including one in Cleveland where Dominick got to meet Sonny and Cher, the couple just beginning their rise to fame. After more performances in nightclubs and theaters, "The Four Directions" sought to record a completely original song and use its expected success to gain a foothold in the business.
The record company who had recorded their previous song was not interested however. Dominick then went to Nino to get assistance, as it was widely known at the time that there were higher-ups in the music business who were involved, in one way or another, with the Mafia. In fact, it was reported in newspapers at the time that Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino
"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
himself controlled a record company located in New Jersey. Despite these alleged connections, Nino refused to help Dominick, reportedly saying that the music business was not a business he wanted his nephew to be involved with.
Vietnam
It was at this time that Dominick Montiglio heard about the Green BeretsUnited States Army Special Forces
The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and...
through a friend who had joined the military. On February 14, 1966 he quit an assembly-line job at Grumman Aircraft Corporation and he immediately located a recruitment center for the Army and joined. After informing his family, and getting in another argument with his uncle Nino who allegedly told him, “Don’t fight for generals, fight for us. If you want to die, die for your family”, Dominick left New York for Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Montiglio became a cooperating witness for the government, records of his military involvement have been sealed and are no longer able to be accessed.
Post-Vietnam organized crime career
Dominick claims he left Vietnam in 1968 and was shortly thereafter informed by an Army physician that he would be unable to continue parachuting due to a knee injury allegedly suffered in combat. Montiglio decided to leave the Army after learning of this and served out the rest of his enlistment period assigned to the Military PoliceMilitary police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
, as an "MP", at Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
. While still serving out his enlistment, Montiglio took his first step towards organized crime when he helped his uncle Nino use dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
to blow up the porch of a dentist who had insulted Nino's wife.
He was honorably discharged from the Army in December 1968 and spent a short time at Dade County College in Miami before temporarily moving back to New York and working a series of jobs provided by his uncle. In December 1971 he got married and left for San Francisco with his wife. The couple settled in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, where Dominick again dabbled in the music business with little success.
In 1972 he and his wife went to see The Godfather
The Godfather
The Godfather is a 1972 American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the 1969 novel by Mario Puzo. With a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola and an uncredited Robert Towne, the film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard...
, a movie that Montiglio claims changed his entire outlook on life. The couple soon moved back to New York and moved in with his uncle Nino, Dominick accepting a job working for a car service Nino was starting up. It was while working at the car service in 1973 that Dominick was first introduced to an associate of Nino's by the name of Roy DeMeo
Roy DeMeo
Roy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
. Weeks later Dominick accompanied Nino to the Gemini Lounge, where he was introduced to Chris Rosenberg
Chris Rosenberg
Harvey "Chris" Rosenberg was a Jewish-American member of the DeMeo crew run by Gambino crime family soldier Roy DeMeo. The gang is suspected of between 75–200 murders in the mid 1970s to the early 1980s...
, one of Roy's closest associates.
By 1974, Nino closed his car service and put Dominick in charge of collecting payments from his varied assortment of loanshark customers. Nino also put Dominick in charge of collecting the weekly tributes from the DeMeo Crew, ordering that association with the crew be on a business level only.
In March 1975 Dominick showcased his willingness to murder for his uncle when he assisted Nino and Roy DeMeo with an attempted hit on Vincent Governara, a young man who had feuded with Nino over a decade earlier. Dominick planted a grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
in Governara's car. Intending to 'put a scare' in Governara, he used a concussion grenade (as opposed to a fragmentation grenade, which are designed to kill their target); resulting in a broken leg for the victim. Montiglio's efforts cemented his bond with his uncle.
His next endeavor in the activities of the Gambino family was assisting his uncle with intimidating a witness set to testify against Paul Castellano
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
, a Gambino Captain who was charged with extortion. The intimidation was successful and when the trial date arrived the witness outright refused to testify, securing an acquittal for Castellano. Dominick was also a guest at several meetings over lunch held between Nino, Castellano and Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino
"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
, the highly respected boss of the family at the time.
Dominick was also occasionally serving as Roy DeMeo's chauffeur, a job that provided him insight into the relationship between DeMeo and Nino Gaggi, who readily accepted money from activities DeMeo was involved in that were considered off-limits to members of the Gambino family, namely drugs and taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
pornography. In January 1976, Montiglio was introduced to DeMeo Crew member Henry Borelli and the two began meeting socially, despite Nino's warning to Dominick that he was supposed to interact with Roy and his men strictly on a business level.
Montiglio's position as liaison between Nino and the DeMeo crew provided him a unique position, allowing him access to various events that few others in the underworld were privy to such as the murder of Joseph Brocchini, who was a made man and was killed without permission, a violation of Mafia code that would mean certain death for Nino and Roy if the slaying were ever traced back to them. Montiglio claims the various instances of blatant rule breaking he witnessed with his uncle and DeMeo began to make him realize that the rules a made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
must follow were not taken as seriously as they appeared to be.
In June 1976, Vincent Governara was again targeted by Nino, Roy and Dominick. This time the hit was successful, with Governara being shot and killed by Nino and Roy as Dominick watched. He claims that although he had a firearm and was originally ordered by Nino to perform the hit, at the last minute his uncle instead decided that he and Roy would handle it. Witness testimony from those present at the Bensonhurst crime scene at the time of the shooting corroborated Montiglio's claims, as all interviewed who witnessed the shooting claimed that they did not see the youngest man fire his weapon.
As 1976 continued, Dominick found himself put in charge of more of his uncle's loanshark collections, through which he met and befriended Matthew Rega, the relative of a Genovese
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...
mobster and associate of the DeMeo crew. Dominick also befriended Danny Grillo
Edward Grillo
Edward "Danny" Grillo was a member of a Gambino crime family crew headed by soldier Roy DeMeo. After falling deeply into debt to DeMeo and other loansharks, Grillo was murdered by his own associates in the DeMeo Crew....
, a new DeMeo crew member who was primarily involved in hijacking trucks delivering shipments to and from the John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
. Like Henry Borelli, Dominick began meeting with Grillo socially and their families became close friends.
In late 1976, Carlo Gambino died and a new boss of the Gambino family had to be elected. It was a tense situation, with two separate factions within the family each supporting their own choices. One was Aniello Dellacroce
Aniello Dellacroce
Aniello John "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce , also known as "Father O'Neil" and "The Tall Guy", was an Italian-American gangster and underboss of the Gambino crime family. A capo of his own crew for many years he rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside.-Early...
, longtime Underboss
Underboss
Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
and highly respected member of the Family dating back to the days of Albert Anastasia. The other was Paul Castellano, the Captain who had close ties with Nino Gaggi and thus had the support of Dominick and the DeMeo Crew as well.
A sitdown, or meeting, was scheduled at Gaggi's house between the two candidates for the throne and Dominick claims that he was stationed as a sniper in an upstairs window of the house with orders to gun down the Dellacroce emissaries should the meeting lead to violence. Castellano was quickly given the position of boss however and hostilities were avoided. Additionally, Dominick's uncle Nino was promoted to Captain, heading the crew that was previously under the command of Castellano.
In 1977 he was working as an insurance agent and appraiser for an insurance firm that was secretly managed by Anthony Gaggi in New York City. As an insurance salesman and appraiser Dominick was involved in fraud. During this time he continued to associate with the DeMeo crew, although by 1977 it was not entirely on a business level. He was involved in a large brawl that took place at a catering hall that summer when Roy got in an argument with a waiter and struck him in the face for showing disrespect. Dominick was also regularly meeting with Henry Borelli and Danny Grillo for drinks at 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...
bars.
His close association with these crew members gave him insight into Roy and crew's activities, such as their by now infamous reputation for violence and murder. Because he was the go-between with Nino and Roy, he was also witness to Nino's aggravation at being unable to control Roy, who had been made
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
earlier that year for organizing an alliance between the Gambino family and the Westies
Westies
The Westies are a predominantly Irish American organized crime association operating from the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan's West Side in New York City. According to crime author T. J...
, a predominantly Irish-American gang that dominated the Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton and Midtown West, is a neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City between 34th Street and 59th Street, from 8th Avenue to the Hudson River....
area of New York City. Nino had promised the new boss Paul Castellano, who had previously opposed the idea of inducting Roy into the crime family, that he would control Roy and put a stop to his wanton murdering and uncontrollable behavior.
Nino's efforts were ultimately ineffectual, as Roy's crew continued to kill indiscriminately, even murdering a teenage girl whose only crime was being involved romantically with a man Roy learned was going to testify against the DeMeo crew. This murder in particular reportedly enraged Nino and strained his relationship with Castellano, who already had a strong dislike of Roy and his methods.
The situation intensified when the Westie/Gambino alliance nearly fell through after yet more killing on behalf of the Westies and a DeMeo crew member threatened a conflict between the Gambino Family and the Genovese family. Dominick claims that he was usually present at the sitdowns and clandestine meetings resulting from these situations, where Roy continually escaped any real punishment due to his tremendous earning ability, which served to placate Castellano and Gaggi's anger.
By 1978 Dominick Montiglio was becoming disillusioned with his position as his uncle Nino's errand boy and was constantly refused a raise in pay for his services, which included collecting Nino's loanshark payments, his tributes from the DeMeo Crew and running Nino's food sales company when he was in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
for months at a time. Roy offered Dominick a role in his crew's many drug activities but Dominick claims Nino vehemently shut down that possibility immediately upon hearing about it.
Dominick did not violate Nino's order to stay away from the drug business but did begin increasingly hanging out with the DeMeo Crew. This association soon ended as the DeMeo Crew's murderous activities continued to increase even further, with Roy now openly offering his crew's services to all of the Five Families
Five Families
The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
as well as to others willing to pay.
Dominick claims that he was disgusted by the constant killing as well as by the crew's method of dismembering
Dismemberment
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. It may be practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism...
the majority of their victims. He claims that one night at a bar, Joseph Testa and Anthony Senter
Anthony Senter
Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa, better known the Gemini twins are two mobsters in the Lucchese crime family. Senter and Testa are former members of the DeMeo crew in the Gambino crime family...
were taunting Henry Borelli due to his inability to stomach the dismembering that by now nearly always followed the murders. Hearing this, Dominick claims he openly voiced his disgust with the crew's methods, declaring their actions worse than any atrocity he allegedly witnessed in Vietnam. This comment, as well as an earlier conflict he had with Chris Rosenberg
Chris Rosenberg
Harvey "Chris" Rosenberg was a Jewish-American member of the DeMeo crew run by Gambino crime family soldier Roy DeMeo. The gang is suspected of between 75–200 murders in the mid 1970s to the early 1980s...
, Roy's second-in-command, damaged his relationship with the crew and led to him dreading every visit to the Gemini Lounge to collect Nino's weekly payments.
By 1979, Dominick was heavily addicted to cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and also suffered from a drinking problem. He was accused by an associate of stealing money from his uncle and was also openly accused of dealing in and being addicted to heroin. These accusations were brought to Paul Castellano, still the boss of the Gambino family at this time. The penalty for dealing drugs, particularly heroin, was death under Castellano's rule.
After a meeting between Paul Castellano and the accuser's father, a made member of another Mafia family, Dominick was informed by his uncle Nino that Castellano had taken his side for the time being and had not believed the claims that Dominick sold heroin. A second meeting, where Dominick and his accuser would be present, was scheduled for a day in December 1979. Dominick's uncle Nino and Roy DeMeo were going to drive him to the location.
By the time the day for the meeting arrived, Dominick's paranoia and drug/alcohol abuse had led him to believe his death had already been ordered and that his uncle and Roy were planning to kill him if he were to drive with them to the meeting. He decided to flee to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with his wife and children, where he would stay until 1983.
While away in California, his uncle Nino falsely claimed to his associates that Dominick had robbed him of a large sum of money and then fled, presumably out of embarrassment for his nephew's actions. Dominick bought an expensive house in an upscale California neighborhood and supported himself and his family through drug deals and at times serving as a bodyguard and enforcer for other drug dealers. He was arrested after a botched armed robbery attempt but was released after his wife provided him with an alibi
Alibi
Alibi is a 1929 American crime film directed by Roland West. The screenplay was written by West and C. Gardner Sullivan, who adapted the 1927 Broadway stage play, Nightstick, written by Elaine Sterne Carrington, J.C...
.
Arrest and cooperation
By 1983, Dominick's continuous scheming to pay his rent led to him agreeing to fly back to New York City for a drug deal with an old associate. After arriving and being informed by the associate that the drug deal had fallen through, he attempted to collect on an old loan he was owed. He had his associate meet with the man who owed the money and told the associate to use Roy DeMeo's name to scare the man into paying, not knowing that Roy had been murdered in January of that year. The extortion victim immediately went to the police and offered to wear a wire, then met with Dominick to pay some of his loan back.Dominick was arrested on the scene by officers working with a combined Federal and State Task Force that had been investigating his uncle Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi and Roy DeMeo's crew since 1981. Facing a minimum of 20 years imprisonment for his extortion arrest and additional crimes he had been accused of by associates of the DeMeo crew that had already become cooperating witnesses for the government, including the man whose accusations of drug dealing had originally led to Dominick fleeing New York, he became a cooperator as well in hopes of drastically reducing his sentence.
Dominick provided a great deal of information to the Task Force, including details of his uncle paying tribute to Gambino Boss Paul Castellano
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
with portions of the earnings given to him by Roy DeMeo
Roy DeMeo
Roy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
. He also provided the Task Force with information on a number of murders committed by Roy DeMeo
Roy DeMeo
Roy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
and his followers. This gave the authorities evidence linking Castellano to the DeMeo Crew enterprise. The Gaggi Task Force was subsequently upgraded to the Castellano Task Force. By early 1984 the indictment was ready and the 24 members or associates of the Gambino family and DeMeo Crew, including the reigning boss Paul Castellano
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
and his uncle Nino, were arrested.
Dominick testified in both of the trials against the DeMeo Crew, and it was reportedly his sole testimony that compelled jurors to find his uncle Nino Gaggi guilty in the first of the two. Gaggi was sentenced to five years after the first trial but died early on in the second, in April 1988. His testimony helped lead to the guilty verdicts of every single defendant in the second trial.
After the trials were over he was sentenced for his crime and given five years probation instead of time in prison due to his cooperation with the government. Shortly after the 1989 conclusion of the DeMeo Crew trials, he worked with crime reporters and authors Jerry Capeci
Jerry Capeci
Gerald "Jerry" Capeci is an American journalist and author who specializes in coverage of the Five Mafia crime families of New York City. Capeci has been described by news organizations, such as CNN and BBC, as an expert on the American Mafia.-Gang Land:Capeci writes a column called Gang Land...
and Gene Mustain on their book Murder Machine, which focused primarily on the reign of the DeMeo Crew.
Return
Montiglio entered into the Witness Protection Program and was moved to 12 different locations, kicked off and reinstated four times. He had 21 different names in that time and testified in three federal trials. One of those trials was the longest in US history where he was on the stand for 13 days. He had to confess to his own crimes leading one homicide detective to say; "This guy was a one man crime wave!" He left the Witness Protection Program over 15 years ago and returned to Brooklyn to become an artist.In the years following the publishing of Murder Machine, Dominick Montiglio appeared on television documentaries on organized crime, including National Geographic's Inside The Mafia series that premiered in 2005. On the program, he spoke of his uncle Nino and the DeMeo Crew as well as his experience testifying in the trials against them. He has also appeared on documentaries on the Discovery Channel and in interviews with various websites and news programs.
Recurring dream
In the program Mafia aired on Channel 5 in the UK in early 2006 Montiglio spoke of a recurring dream in which he left Gaggi's house and from underneath his Cadillac emerged the members of the DeMeo crew and Roy says, "Hey Dominick, come to hellHell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
with us".
Further reading
- Burkett, B.G. and Whitley, Glenna, Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed Of Its Heroes and Its History; Verrity Press Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-9667036-0-X.
- Capeci, JerryJerry CapeciGerald "Jerry" Capeci is an American journalist and author who specializes in coverage of the Five Mafia crime families of New York City. Capeci has been described by news organizations, such as CNN and BBC, as an expert on the American Mafia.-Gang Land:Capeci writes a column called Gang Land...
and Mustain, Gene, Murder Machine: A True Story of Murder, Madness, and the Mafia; Onyx Books, 1993. ISBN 0-451-40387-8.