Robert DiBernardo
Encyclopedia
Robert DiBernardo, also known as "DB", (May 31, 1937 Hewlett, New York
- June 5, 1986 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
, declared legally dead
December 1992) was a caporegime
in the Gambino crime family
. He gained notoriety when he was involved in a real estate business deal with John Zaccaro
, the husband of Geraldine Anne Ferraro, a Democratic politician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives
who at the time was 1984 Vice Presidential candidate
for Walter Mondale
.
, during the last week of July, questions were circulating about Geraldine's personal finances, those of her husband real estate developer John Zaccaro, and their separately filed tax returns. (While the Mondale campaign had anticipated some questions, the drawn-out vice-presidential selection process had not fully vetted her on this aspect.) Ferraro said that she would release both their returns within a month, but maintained that she was correct not to have included her husband's financial holdings on her past annual Congressional disclosure statements. Notice of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's past investigation into Ferraro's 1978 campaign funds were exposed. On August 12, Geraldine announced that her husband, John Zaccaro would not in fact be releasing his tax return
s, on the grounds that to do so would disadvantage his real estate business and that such a disclosure was voluntary and not part of election law; she then quipped, "You people who are married to Italian men, you know what it's like." No campaign issue during the entire 1984 presidential campaign received more media attention than Ferraro's finances. The exposure would have the effect of diminishing Ferraro's rising stardom, removing whatever momentum the Mondale–Ferraro ticket gained out of the convention, and delaying the formation of a coherent message for the fall campaign. Her husband's business relationship with the notorious pornographer and organized crime figure DiBernardo ended the debate during the 1984 vice-presidential debate. On November 6, Mondale and Ferraro lost the general election in a landslide
. They received only 41 percent of the popular vote compared to Reagan and Bush's 59 percent, and in the Electoral College won only Mondale's home state of Minnesota
and the District of Columbia. Ferraro failed to carry her own congressional district, which always tended to vote Republican in presidential races. Ferraro's presence on the ticket had little measurable effect overall. Geraldine was later replaced by Democratic politician Mary Rose Oakar
.
had a sitdown with boss John Gotti
, telling him that he learned from caporegime Angelo Ruggiero
that DiBernardo was being subversive. Gravano pleaded to have DiBernardo whacked, which a reluctant Gotti okayed. June 5, 1986 DiBernardo was lured to the basement offices of Gravano's drywall company on Stillwell Avenue
in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
. Acting as if it were a regular business meeting, Gravano told Joseph Paruta
to get DiBernardo a cup of coffee. Paruta, who was known as "Gravano's Personal Luca Brasi
" got up, but instead of getting the coffee, took a .38-caliber revolver from a cabinet behind DiBernardo and shot him in the back of the head. Gravano claimed that he later learned that Ruggiero was $250,000 in debt to DiBernardo and realized Ruggiero may have fabricated the orders from Gotti or simply lied to Gotti about what DiBernardo was accused of saying in order to erase the debt and improve his own standing in the family. In any event, DiBernardo's death proved profitable for Gravano, as he took over the deceased man's control of Teamsters
Local 282, speculating to many, particularly Gotti, that Gravano fabricated the situation for his own profit.
portrays DiBernardo. In Witness to the Mob
, actor Tony Kruck portrays him simply as "Di Bernardo".
Hewlett, New York
Hewlett is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the CDP population was 6,819....
- June 5, 1986 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...
, declared legally dead
Death in absentia
Death in absentia is a legal declaration that a person is deceased in the absence of remains attributable to that person...
December 1992) was a 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 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...
. He gained notoriety when he was involved in a real estate business deal with John Zaccaro
John Zaccaro
John Anthony Zaccaro is a real estate developer and owner of P. Zaccaro & Company, which was founded by his father Philip Zaccaro in 1935. The company acts as a landlord for properties in the Little Italy, Chinatown, and East Side areas of Manhattan and in Queens. He is the widower of the late...
, the husband of Geraldine Anne Ferraro, a Democratic politician and a former member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
who at the time was 1984 Vice Presidential candidate
United States presidential election, 1984
The United States presidential election of 1984 was a contest between the incumbent President Ronald Reagan, the Republican candidate, and former Vice President Walter Mondale, the Democratic candidate. Reagan was helped by a strong economic recovery from the deep recession of 1981–1982...
for Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
.
Rise
His early life is a mystery. He ran a pornography racket for several years up to the time of his death. He was reported to be one of the biggest pornographers in the United States. He was a good earner, garnering him a lot respect.John Zaccaro and the Real Estate Scandle
Shortly after the 1984 Democratic National Convention1984 Democratic National Convention
The 1984 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select a candidate for the 1984 United States presidential election. At the convention Walter Mondale was nominated for President and Geraldine...
, during the last week of July, questions were circulating about Geraldine's personal finances, those of her husband real estate developer John Zaccaro, and their separately filed tax returns. (While the Mondale campaign had anticipated some questions, the drawn-out vice-presidential selection process had not fully vetted her on this aspect.) Ferraro said that she would release both their returns within a month, but maintained that she was correct not to have included her husband's financial holdings on her past annual Congressional disclosure statements. Notice of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's past investigation into Ferraro's 1978 campaign funds were exposed. On August 12, Geraldine announced that her husband, John Zaccaro would not in fact be releasing his tax return
Tax return
A tax return is a tax form that can be filed with a government body to declare liability for taxation in various countries:* Tax return * Tax return * Tax return * Tax return...
s, on the grounds that to do so would disadvantage his real estate business and that such a disclosure was voluntary and not part of election law; she then quipped, "You people who are married to Italian men, you know what it's like." No campaign issue during the entire 1984 presidential campaign received more media attention than Ferraro's finances. The exposure would have the effect of diminishing Ferraro's rising stardom, removing whatever momentum the Mondale–Ferraro ticket gained out of the convention, and delaying the formation of a coherent message for the fall campaign. Her husband's business relationship with the notorious pornographer and organized crime figure DiBernardo ended the debate during the 1984 vice-presidential debate. On November 6, Mondale and Ferraro lost the general election in a landslide
Landslide victory
In politics, a landslide victory is the victory of a candidate or political party by an overwhelming margin in an election...
. They received only 41 percent of the popular vote compared to Reagan and Bush's 59 percent, and in the Electoral College won only Mondale's home state of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and the District of Columbia. Ferraro failed to carry her own congressional district, which always tended to vote Republican in presidential races. Ferraro's presence on the ticket had little measurable effect overall. Geraldine was later replaced by Democratic politician Mary Rose Oakar
Mary Rose Oakar
Mary Rose Oakar is an American Democratic politician and former member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio, the first Democratic woman elected to the United States Congress from that state....
.
Assassination
Gambino underboss Sammy GravanoSammy 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...
had a sitdown with boss 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...
, telling him that he learned from caporegime Angelo Ruggiero
Angelo Ruggiero
Angelo Salvatore Ruggiero Sr. pronounced was a caporegime of the Gambino crime family and close friend of John Gotti.-Mob family roots:...
that DiBernardo was being subversive. Gravano pleaded to have DiBernardo whacked, which a reluctant Gotti okayed. June 5, 1986 DiBernardo was lured to the basement offices of Gravano's drywall company on Stillwell Avenue
Stillwell Avenue
Stillwell Avenue is a major north/south thoroughfare in southern Brooklyn and the central section of Coney Island. It is 2.4 miles long and begins at a dead end on Coney Island. Traffic is two way. The road goes north, leaving Coney Island, ending at Bay Parkway, where the road continues as the...
in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...
. Acting as if it were a regular business meeting, Gravano told Joseph Paruta
Joseph Paruta
Joseph Paruta, also known as "Old Man" and "Sammy Gravano's Personal Luca Brasi" was a mobster in the Gambino crime family and considered a "key member" of Sammy Gravano's Bensonhurst, Brooklyn crew. He is the only known mobster who asked for a mercy killing after becoming terminally ill with lung...
to get DiBernardo a cup of coffee. Paruta, who was known as "Gravano's Personal Luca Brasi
Luca Brasi
Luca Brasi is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as its 1972 film adaptation .-In the novel and film:In The Godfather, Luca Brasi is one of Don Vito Corleone's personal enforcers...
" got up, but instead of getting the coffee, took a .38-caliber revolver from a cabinet behind DiBernardo and shot him in the back of the head. Gravano claimed that he later learned that Ruggiero was $250,000 in debt to DiBernardo and realized Ruggiero may have fabricated the orders from Gotti or simply lied to Gotti about what DiBernardo was accused of saying in order to erase the debt and improve his own standing in the family. In any event, DiBernardo's death proved profitable for Gravano, as he took over the deceased man's control of Teamsters
Teamsters
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
Local 282, speculating to many, particularly Gotti, that Gravano fabricated the situation for his own profit.
Popular culture
In the 1996 HBO original movie Gotti made for television, actor Frank VincentFrank Vincent
Frank Vincent is an American actor, musician, author and entrepreneur. He is a favorite performer of director Martin Scorsese, having played important roles in three of Scorsese's most acclaimed films: Raging Bull , Goodfellas and Casino . He often plays a gangster and works both in features and...
portrays DiBernardo. In Witness to the Mob
Witness to the Mob
Witness to the Mob is a made for TV film which premiered on May 10, 1998.-Plot:Film follows the rise of Sammy Gravano in ranks of NY Cosa Nostra, his turning to government witness in legal trials of John Gotti and his life in Witness protection program....
, actor Tony Kruck portrays him simply as "Di Bernardo".
External references
- Goombatah: The Improbable Rise and Fall of John Gotti and His Gang by John Cummings and Ernest Volkman
- Underboss: Sammy The Bull Gravano's Story of Life in The Mafia by Peter MaasPeter MaasPeter Maas was an American journalist and author. He was born in New York City and attended Duke University. Maas had Dutch and Irish heritage....
- Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family by John H. Davis
- Boss of Bosses: The FBI and Paul Castellano by Joseph F. O'Brien and Andris Kurins
- "Ferraro's Husband Is Said To Have Met Mob Figure" The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
September 12, 1992 by Ralph Blumenthal