Jackie D'Amico
Encyclopedia
John "Jackie the Nose" D'Amico (born 1937) is a New York
mobster that served as street boss of the Gambino crime family
from 2005 to 2011. "Street boss" had been the family's number one position ever since official Boss Peter Gotti
started serving a life sentence in prison.
television repairman from East Village, Manhattan
. D'Amico's parents were born in the village of Vietri sul Mare
in the Campania
region of Italy
. D'Amico is not related to Bonanno crime family
soldier Joseph D'Amico
. D'Amico graduated from New Utrecht High School
in Brooklyn
.
D'Amico received the nickname "Nose" because of his "Romanesque nose
", one mob informant told the courts during his testimony. At the Gotti trial, mobster Michael DiLeonardo said, "[D'Amico] had his nose fixed, a (rhinoplasty
). He had a big, distorted nose at one time," D'Amico was said to have been upset with prosecutors for using the nickname. Former FBI Special Agent Bruce Muow said that D'Amico was "...always broke, constantly in debt, a degenerate. John Gotti loved him because... Jackie was a fellow gambler who placed all his bets for him".
Until he went to prison, D'Amico lived in an Upper East Side, Manhattan high rise apartment and frequented the Italian eatery Fresco in that neighborhood.
warehouse. He maintained the job until he was brought to trial and convicted of extortion. He started as a delivery truck driver with a base salary of $23,000 but later switched to working as a salesman on commission and his salary was raised to $71,000 a year. At the same warehouse where D'Amico had an office block, he was a co-worker of Lucchese crime family capo Matthew Madonna
who is also listed on the company payroll. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Burlingame suspected that while ostensibly on the payroll, D'Amico was given a no-show job allowing him to collect health benefits from the company, a Jaguar that was leased by the company, and to claim lawful employment. Herskowitz stated to reporter Tom Robbins
that he had known D'Amico for thirty years and considered him a good, long-time friend. Hershkowitz and D'Amico attended New Utrecht High School together, the same high school that Sammy Gravano
attended before dropping out.
. In the 1970s, D'Amico became an associate of Ozone Park, Queens
-based capo John Gotti
. In 1976, D'Amico began operating loansharking, illegal gambling, extortion
and labor racketeering activities in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. After Gambino died in 1976, his brother-in-law Paul Castellano
became the new boss. During the late 1970s, D'Amico was promoted to caporegime
in the Brooklyn faction. With income from loansharking, extortion
, and illegal gambling operations, D'Amico gained much respect within the family
On December 16, 1985, Castellano and his underboss Thomas Bilotti
were gunned down outside the Sparks Steak House
on Manhattan
. Gotti, who had orchestrated their assassination, now became the Gambino boss . D'Amico became one of Gotti's closest associates. In 1992, Gotti was convicted on racketeering charges and sentenced to life imprisonment
.
When John Gotti went to prison, he created a ruling panel, or "administration", to supervise the family. This panel included D'Amico, Gotti's son John "Junior" Gotti as acting boss, Peter Gotti
, and Joseph Arcuri. The four men would meet to discuss business at Hawaiian Moonlighters Club, the new Gambino headquarters in Little Italy
. Other accounts state that Nicholas Corozzo
, not Arcuri, was on the panel. After federal law enforcement began focusing on Junior Gotti, John Gotti allegedly designated as the new acting boss.
In 1998, D'Amico was charged with racketeering and loansharking. On January 19, 1999, he pleading guilty to a single count of operating an illegal gambling operation in Connecticut
whose profits went to Junior Gotti. On July 8, 1999, D'Amico was sentenced to 20 months in prison. With D'Amico in prison, control of the family passed to Corozzo and DiMaria.
as underboss and Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo
as consigliere
.
On February 7, 2008, D'Amico was arrested along with more than 60 affiliates of the Gambino family after Operation Old Bridge
picked up an informant named Joseph Vollero
. The operation went on to terminate the drug trafficking
between the Gambino crime family in New York and their connections in Sicily
. While D'Amico was placed at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, Corozzo became a fugitive. On March 14, 2008, D'Amico was released on bail from the Metropolitan Detention Center
(MDC) in Brooklyn, New York. Following the indictments from Operation Old Bridge
, D'Amico was still on trial regarding multiple counts of racketeering charges. In May, 2008, D'Amico pleaded guilty to extorting a cement company out of $100,000 and was sentenced on August 18, 2008 to two years in prison at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City
.
In February 2009, the imprisoned D'Amico was charged with arranging the 1989 Weiss murder and was kept in prison during his trial. D'Amico had been scheduled for release from prison on November 3, 2009. However, on August 5, 2010, D'Amico pleaded guilty to conspiring to assault Frederick Weiss with a dangerous weapon so as to prevent Weiss from cooperating against the Gambino family as a potential witness. The district attorney agreed to a lenient plea agreement because the case against D'Amico was "very, very weak". D'Amico is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City
his release date is June 15, 2012.
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...
mobster that served as street boss of the 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...
from 2005 to 2011. "Street boss" had been the family's number one position ever since official Boss Peter Gotti
Peter Gotti
Peter Gotti, also known as "One Eyed Pete", "Petey Boy", "One Eye" , is a New York mobster who is the former boss of the Gambino crime family and the older brother of deceased Gambino boss John Gotti.-Background:...
started serving a life sentence in prison.
Early life
D'Amico stands 5'11" (1.80 m) and was the son of a second generation Italian AmericanItalian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
television repairman from East Village, Manhattan
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
. D'Amico's parents were born in the village of Vietri sul Mare
Vietri sul Mare
Vietri sul Mare is a town and comune in the province of Salerno, in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is a popular tourist destination because it is a convenient place to start the Amalfi Coast drive.-Geography:...
in the Campania
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
region of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. D'Amico is not related to Bonanno crime family
Bonanno crime family
The Bonanno 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 ....
soldier Joseph D'Amico
Joseph D'Amico
Joseph D'Amico , also known as "Joey Moak" was a made man in the Bonanno crime family who later turned informant...
. D'Amico graduated from New Utrecht High School
New Utrecht High School
New Utrecht High School is a coeducational public high school in Brooklyn, New York City, serving 3,114 pupils. It is part of New York City Region 7....
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
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...
.
D'Amico received the nickname "Nose" because of his "Romanesque nose
Roman Nose
Roman Nose, a.k.a. Hook Nose , was a Native American of the Northern Cheyenne, and possibly the greatest and most influential warrior during the Plains Indian War of the 1860s...
", one mob informant told the courts during his testimony. At the Gotti trial, mobster Michael DiLeonardo said, "[D'Amico] had his nose fixed, a (rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty
Rhinoplasty , also nose job, is a plastic surgery procedure for correcting and reconstructing the form, restoring the functions, and aesthetically enhancing the nose, by resolving nasal trauma , congenital defect, respiratory impediment, and a failed primary rhinoplasty...
). He had a big, distorted nose at one time," D'Amico was said to have been upset with prosecutors for using the nickname. Former FBI Special Agent Bruce Muow said that D'Amico was "...always broke, constantly in debt, a degenerate. John Gotti loved him because... Jackie was a fellow gambler who placed all his bets for him".
Until he went to prison, D'Amico lived in an Upper East Side, Manhattan high rise apartment and frequented the Italian eatery Fresco in that neighborhood.
Association with Big Geyser, Inc.
He is an old friend of Irving "Hal" Hershkowitz, the founder and president of the non-alcoholic beverage corporation Big Geyser, Incorporated, He worked in their Maspeth, QueensMaspeth, Queens
Maspeth is a small community in the borough of Queens in New York City. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside and Sunnyside to the north, Long Island City to the northwest, Greenpoint to the west, East Williamsburg to the southwest, Fresh Pond and Ridgewood to the south, and...
warehouse. He maintained the job until he was brought to trial and convicted of extortion. He started as a delivery truck driver with a base salary of $23,000 but later switched to working as a salesman on commission and his salary was raised to $71,000 a year. At the same warehouse where D'Amico had an office block, he was a co-worker of Lucchese crime family capo Matthew Madonna
Matthew Madonna
Matthew Madonna is a caporegime with the Lucchese crime family who was heavily involved in narcotics trafficking and bribery of government officials.-Narcotics trafficking:...
who is also listed on the company payroll. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Burlingame suspected that while ostensibly on the payroll, D'Amico was given a no-show job allowing him to collect health benefits from the company, a Jaguar that was leased by the company, and to claim lawful employment. Herskowitz stated to reporter Tom Robbins
Tom Robbins
Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins Thomas Eugene "Tom" Robbins (born July 22, 1936 is an American author. His best-selling novels are serio-comic, often wildly poetic stories with a strong social and philosophical undercurrent, an irreverent bent, and scenes extrapolated from...
that he had known D'Amico for thirty years and considered him a good, long-time friend. Hershkowitz and D'Amico attended New Utrecht High School together, the same high school that Sammy Gravano
Sammy Gravano
Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano is a former underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is known as the man who helped bring down John Gotti, the family's boss, by agreeing to become a Federal Bureau of Investigation informant and turn state's evidence.Originally a mobster for the Colombo crime...
attended before dropping out.
Rise to power
By the late 1960s, D'Amico was a bookmaker and soldier in the Gambino family, then ruled by boss Carlo GambinoCarlo 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...
. In the 1970s, D'Amico became an associate of Ozone Park, Queens
Ozone Park, Queens
Ozone Park is a working class neighborhood located in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens bordering Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and City Line, Brooklyn....
-based capo John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
. In 1976, D'Amico began operating loansharking, illegal gambling, 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 labor racketeering activities in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. After Gambino died in 1976, his brother-in-law 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...
became the new boss. During the late 1970s, D'Amico was promoted to caporegime
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 Brooklyn faction. With income from loansharking, 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 illegal gambling operations, D'Amico gained much respect within the family
On December 16, 1985, Castellano and his underboss Thomas Bilotti
Thomas Bilotti
Thomas Bilotti was a New York mobster and then Underboss for the reputed Boss of the Gambino crime family, Paul Castellano.-Early years:...
were gunned down outside the Sparks Steak House
Sparks Steak House
The Sparks Steak House is a restaurant located at 210 East 46th Street between Second & Third Avenues in Midtown Manhattan.-History:The restaurant was founded by brothers Pat and Mike Cetta in 1966...
on 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...
. Gotti, who had orchestrated their assassination, now became the Gambino boss . D'Amico became one of Gotti's closest associates. In 1992, Gotti was convicted on racketeering charges and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
.
When John Gotti went to prison, he created a ruling panel, or "administration", to supervise the family. This panel included D'Amico, Gotti's son John "Junior" Gotti as acting boss, Peter Gotti
Peter Gotti
Peter Gotti, also known as "One Eyed Pete", "Petey Boy", "One Eye" , is a New York mobster who is the former boss of the Gambino crime family and the older brother of deceased Gambino boss John Gotti.-Background:...
, and Joseph Arcuri. The four men would meet to discuss business at Hawaiian Moonlighters Club, the new Gambino headquarters in Little Italy
Little Italy
Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood.-Canada:*Little Italy, Edmonton, in Alberta*Little Italy, Montreal, in Quebec...
. Other accounts state that Nicholas Corozzo
Nicholas Corozzo
Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo is a New York mobster who is the reputed acting boss of the Gambino crime family.-Biography:...
, not Arcuri, was on the panel. After federal law enforcement began focusing on Junior Gotti, John Gotti allegedly designated as the new acting boss.
In 1998, D'Amico was charged with racketeering and loansharking. On January 19, 1999, he pleading guilty to a single count of operating an illegal gambling operation in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
whose profits went to Junior Gotti. On July 8, 1999, D'Amico was sentenced to 20 months in prison. With D'Amico in prison, control of the family passed to Corozzo and DiMaria.
Release from prison
In September 2001, D'Amico was released from prison. According to federal authorities, D'Amico became the Gambino acting boss in 2003. However, with the 2006 release of Nicholas Corozzo, a new report stated that both D'Amico and Corozzo were running the family, with Arnold "Zeke" SquitieriArnold Squitieri
Arnold "Squiggy" Ezekiel Squitieri of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey is a convicted drug dealer and former acting boss and current Underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is also known as "Zeke", "Bozey", and "Squitty".-Murder charge:...
as underboss and Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo
Joseph Corozzo
Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo, Sr. , is a New York mobster who is the reputed Consigliere of the Gambino crime family.-Background:...
as consigliere
Consigliere
Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
.
On February 7, 2008, D'Amico was arrested along with more than 60 affiliates of the Gambino family after Operation Old Bridge
Operation Old Bridge
Operation Old Bridge is the code name for the February 7, 2008 arrests in Italy and the United States that targeted the Gambino crime family. Among the indicted were the reputed acting bosses Jackie D'Amico, Nicholas Corozzo and Consigliere Joseph Corozzo of the Gambino crime family...
picked up an informant named Joseph Vollero
Joseph Vollero
Joseph Vollaro, also known as "Joey V" and "Joe Andrews" , is a Staten Island-based American trucking executive and Gambino crime family associate who is now a government informant and witness....
. The operation went on to terminate the drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
between the Gambino crime family in New York and their connections in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. While D'Amico was placed at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, Corozzo became a fugitive. On March 14, 2008, D'Amico was released on bail from the Metropolitan Detention Center
Metropolitan Detention Center
"Metropolitan Detention Centers" are federal detention facilities operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and located throughout the United States...
(MDC) in Brooklyn, New York. Following the indictments from Operation Old Bridge
Operation Old Bridge
Operation Old Bridge is the code name for the February 7, 2008 arrests in Italy and the United States that targeted the Gambino crime family. Among the indicted were the reputed acting bosses Jackie D'Amico, Nicholas Corozzo and Consigliere Joseph Corozzo of the Gambino crime family...
, D'Amico was still on trial regarding multiple counts of racketeering charges. In May, 2008, D'Amico pleaded guilty to extorting a cement company out of $100,000 and was sentenced on August 18, 2008 to two years in prison at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City
Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City
The Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City is a Federal Bureau of Prisons remand center in downtown Manhattan in New York City, located on Park Row behind the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse at Foley Square....
.
In February 2009, the imprisoned D'Amico was charged with arranging the 1989 Weiss murder and was kept in prison during his trial. D'Amico had been scheduled for release from prison on November 3, 2009. However, on August 5, 2010, D'Amico pleaded guilty to conspiring to assault Frederick Weiss with a dangerous weapon so as to prevent Weiss from cooperating against the Gambino family as a potential witness. The district attorney agreed to a lenient plea agreement because the case against D'Amico was "very, very weak". D'Amico is currently incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City
Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City
The Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York City is a Federal Bureau of Prisons remand center in downtown Manhattan in New York City, located on Park Row behind the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse at Foley Square....
his release date is June 15, 2012.
Further reading
- Maas, Peter. Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-06-093096-9
- Mannion, James. 101 Things You Didn't Know About The Mafia: The Lowdown on Dons, Wiseguys, Squealers and Backstabbers. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2005. ISBN 1-59337-267-1
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-81
- New York Daily News December 26, 2005 by John Marzulli