Paolo LiCastri
Encyclopedia
Paolo LiCastri was a made man
, or "Man of Honor" who worked under Carlo Gambino
and Carmine Galante
.
with a “throwaway passport” and his own cunning. LiCastri was all but illiterate and had no money when he first arrived to the U.S. He settled in an apartment on Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn
where he worked as an apprentice pizza maker at La Dolce Vita, a pizza parlor in Bushwick. He later worked under John, Rosario and Giuseppe Gambino in the heroin trafficking business. LiCastri was born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily and a Man of Honor in the Palermo Mafia who was a soldier of Enzo Napoli and Carmine Galante
. He was a regular habituate of Bonanno crime family
consigliere
Nicholas Marangello
's Toyland Social Club in Little Italy, Manhattan
.
would later tell Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) Agent Joseph Pistone that LiCastri and the other Sicilians were secretive and clannish in nature. Paolo would joke to the members of Robert's Lounge
that he was in the air conditioner repair business because he "put holes in people". He later worked for Cesare Bonventre
and Baldassare Amato in 1976. Paolo avoided police detection and prosecution in part because so many illegal aliens were employed at the pizza parlors. He was unidentifiable in the U.S., having no fingerprints or Social Security
number.
After arriving in the U.S. he became an associate with the Gambino crime family. In exchange for the Gambino crime family’s blessing involving the Lufthansa Heist
, Jimmy Burke was to turn over $200,000 or 10% of the estimated $2 million. An additional clause was that the Burke gang would be supplemented with Gambino Family member Paolo LiCastri, who served as an "enforcer of the mob’s interest." He was brought in by Carmine Galante (later Phillip Rastelli) and Carlo Gambino, who were collaborating on setting Paolo and other "zips" in pizza-parlor businesses in the East and Midwest and leaving them there until the bosses needed him to do something. After the Lufthansa heist Paolo took the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
home. He was being used as a heroin courier and hitman. The heroin smuggling operation would later be exposed in the 1987 Pizza Connection Trial
. Paolo LiCastri was suspected of being hired to execute Joe Manri and Robert McMahon for $50,000, and was killed by Jimmy Burke.
in Montreal or the Royal Motel in Lachine, Quebec
. After Paolo checked in he waited for Paolo Gambino or Giuseppe Gambino who collected another $500 and either brother, took LiCastri over the Canadian–U.S. border.
.
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...
, or "Man of Honor" who worked under 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...
and Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
.
Biography
Paolo LiCastri, named after St. Paul the Apostle, was smuggled into the country by Carlo Gambino's cousin, Paolo. LiCastri snuck into New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with a “throwaway passport” and his own cunning. LiCastri was all but illiterate and had no money when he first arrived to the U.S. He settled in an apartment on Knickerbocker Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood, formerly Brooklyn's 18th Ward, is now part of Brooklyn Community Board 4...
where he worked as an apprentice pizza maker at La Dolce Vita, a pizza parlor in Bushwick. He later worked under John, Rosario and Giuseppe Gambino in the heroin trafficking business. LiCastri was born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily and a Man of Honor in the Palermo Mafia who was a soldier of Enzo Napoli and Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
. He was a regular habituate of 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 ....
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...
Nicholas Marangello
Nicholas Marangello
Nicholas Marangello , also known as "Nicky Glasses", "Nicky Cigars", "Nicky the Butler" and "Little Nicky", was the underboss of the Bonanno crime family under Phillip Rastelli, the father-in-law of Robert Perrino and grandfather of Nicola Langora.-Biography:Marangello was born on the Lower East...
's Toyland Social Club in Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian stores and restaurants.-Historical area:...
.
Activities in America
He moved into an apartment in Bushwick located on Knickerbocker Avenue, a territory run by capo Salvatore Catalano. When LiCastri was not out committing criminal activities for Carmine Galante or Salvatore Catalano he worked at Catalano’s pizzeria on 18th Avenue. He would be with fellow Sicilian illegal immigrants sifting flour, kneading dough, hauling cartons and swabbing floors, opening the pizzeria early in the morning and closing late at night. As the occasion arose, Paolo worked as an armed burglar, a contract killer and a prodigious heroin courier. When smuggling heroin LiCastri would use roundabout routes on his delivery runs, making furtive entrances and exits while transporting the heroin in cardboard boxes or paper bags. He changed passports regularly and was an obscure figure that blended in anonymously with the community. He was skillful in subterfuge and martially disciplined. A Bonanno crime family soldier Anthony MirraAnthony Mirra
Anthony "Tony" Mirra was an Italian-American mobster and soldier for the Bonanno crime family...
would later tell 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) Agent Joseph Pistone that LiCastri and the other Sicilians were secretive and clannish in nature. Paolo would joke to the members of Robert's Lounge
Robert's Lounge
Robert's Lounge was a saloon that was owned by Lucchese crime family associate James 'Jimmy the Gent' Burke. Robert's Lounge was located at 114-45 Lefferts Boulevard in South Ozone Park, Queens, near the John F. Kennedy International Airport Air Cargo Center...
that he was in the air conditioner repair business because he "put holes in people". He later worked for Cesare Bonventre
Cesare Bonventre
Cesare "The Tall Guy" Bonventre was a Sicilian mobster and caporegime for the New York Bonanno crime family.-Early life:...
and Baldassare Amato in 1976. Paolo avoided police detection and prosecution in part because so many illegal aliens were employed at the pizza parlors. He was unidentifiable in the U.S., having no fingerprints or Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
number.
After arriving in the U.S. he became an associate with the Gambino crime family. In exchange for the Gambino crime family’s blessing involving the Lufthansa Heist
Lufthansa heist
The Lufthansa heist was a robbery at John F. Kennedy International Airport on December 11, 1978. An estimated $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewels were stolen, at the time making it the largest cash robbery ever committed on American soil...
, Jimmy Burke was to turn over $200,000 or 10% of the estimated $2 million. An additional clause was that the Burke gang would be supplemented with Gambino Family member Paolo LiCastri, who served as an "enforcer of the mob’s interest." He was brought in by Carmine Galante (later Phillip Rastelli) and Carlo Gambino, who were collaborating on setting Paolo and other "zips" in pizza-parlor businesses in the East and Midwest and leaving them there until the bosses needed him to do something. After the Lufthansa heist Paolo took the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
The Myrtle Avenue Line, also called the Myrtle Avenue Elevated, is a fully elevated line of the New York City Subway as part of the BMT division. The extant line is the final remnant of one of the original Brooklyn elevated railroads...
home. He was being used as a heroin courier and hitman. The heroin smuggling operation would later be exposed in the 1987 Pizza Connection Trial
Pizza Connection Trial
The Pizza Connection Trial was one of the longest criminal jury trials on record in the district of Manhattan. It took place between October 24, 1985 and March 2, 1987-Scope of the trial:...
. Paolo LiCastri was suspected of being hired to execute Joe Manri and Robert McMahon for $50,000, and was killed by Jimmy Burke.
Deportation and return to United States
After a murder conviction in 1975 he was deported, but during the fall of that year he was smuggled back in. After he was deported in 1976, that October he was brought back into the country through an organized international ring headed by Giuseppe, Paolo and Rosario Gambino. A certain travel agent in Sicily collected $500, sold LiCastri an airline ticket to Montreal, Quebec and was given a business card for the Laurentian HotelLaurentian Hotel
The Laurentian Hotel was a 1000-room hotel on Dorchester Street, now René Lévesque Boulevard, in Montreal. The hotel was built in 1948 and demolished in 1978...
in Montreal or the Royal Motel in Lachine, Quebec
Lachine, Quebec
Lachine was a city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is now a borough within the city of Montreal.-History:...
. After Paolo checked in he waited for Paolo Gambino or Giuseppe Gambino who collected another $500 and either brother, took LiCastri over the Canadian–U.S. border.
Death
LiCastri was a suspect in the Lufthansa Heist. On June 13, 1979, his bullet-riddled shirtless and shoeless corpse was discovered on a smoldering trash heap in a deserted Flatlands lot known to locals as "The Pit" and described as a place "where you dump things". His body was so burned and badly decomposed that forensic scientists could not tell the body's age, race, or even sex. He was later identified by dental recordsDental Records
Dental Records is a small, independent record label, based in Ipswich, UK.-Releases:*DRCD0501 The Ballistics - Allow Me To Demonstrate*DRCD0601 Singled Out - Hardcore Seanography*DRCD0602 The Ballistics - The Spirit Of Kelso Cochrane...
.
In popular culture
- In the 2001 television movie The Big HeistThe Big HeistThe Big Heist is an American television movie which aired in 2001, on the A&E Television Networks.The film portrays the events of the 1978 Lufthansa Heist. The events and characters depicted in the film were also the subject of the much more well-known 1990 film Goodfellas, directed by Martin...
the "Paolo Falcone" character, portrayed by actor Joe Maruzzo, is based on LiCastri.