2016 - Blog 2.0 - Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org
2024-03-29T07:05:52Z
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/2016
Boat skipper convicted of smuggling £84 million cocaine cargo
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/boat-skipper-convicted-of-smuggling-84-million-cocaine-cargo
2017-03-17T10:18:46.000Z
2017-03-17T10:18:46.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/boat-skipper-convicted-of-smuggling-84-million-cocaine-cargo" target="_blank"><img width="520" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237086675,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="9237086675?profile=original" /></a>By Gangsters Inc. Editors</p>
<p>If he had made it through, it would’ve been the score of a lifetime - both for him and the organization he was working for. Instead, Yesterday, 68-year-old Michael McDermott (photo above), a boat skipper from Ireland, was convicted of trying to smuggle 939 kilograms of cocaine worth an estimated £84 million pounds into the United Kingdom. It was the single biggest cocaine seizure in the country in 2016.</p>
<p>British authorities arrested McDermott on August 18, 2016, alongside shipmates 57-year-old David Pleasants and 27-year-old Gerald Van de Kooij. The boat, “The Bianca,” had been targeted after authorities received a tip that it was shipping drugs. It was intercepted as it entered British territorial waters off the coast of Cornwall, and a joint team of NCA and Border Force officers boarded the vessel, detaining the crew, and moving on to do an extensive search of the vessel.</p>
<p>Specialist Border Force teams located bales of <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Cocaine" target="_blank">cocaine</a> hidden under bags of sand and gravel in the boat’s fish hold. There were 38 bales in total each weighing between 25 and 30 kilos. It took around two days to remove the drugs from the vessel. In total the haul weighed 939 kilos. NCA forensic experts found that the cocaine was between 60 and 70 percent pure. They estimate that if cut to street purity and sold on the streets of Great Britain it would have had a potential value of nearly £84 million.</p>
<p>Confronted with such evidence, both Pleasants and Van de Kooij pleaded guilty to drug charges, while McDermott denied the charge, claiming he knew there were drugs on board but had been forced into shipping them. He initially claimed not to know the two men he was arrested with.</p>
<p>It wasn’t McDermott’s first arrest. He had a previous conviction for <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Drugs" target="_blank">drug trafficking</a>, where he had admitted being paid to sail a boat from Spain containing cannabis.</p>
<p>Investigators were able to establish that he had purchased “The Bianca” in Whitstable, Kent, paying £17,000 in cash just weeks before his arrest, telling the seller that he planned to sail to Spain and use it for diving and chartered angling trips. The bill of sale was also signed by David Pleasants using a false name.</p>
<p>The trial heard how the boat was then taken to Ramsgate for work to be carried out on it. Pleasants was with McDermott while that happened, with the two men sleeping on the boat. Van de Kooij had flown in from the Netherlands on August 12, a few days before the trio set off on “The Bianca” from Ramsgate.</p>
<p>Navigation records show the boat sailed through the English Channel and out into the Atlantic, before turning around and heading back towards Cornwall. Investigators believe it was at this turnaround point, south of Ireland, that the Bianca took the cocaine on board from another vessel.</p>
<p>“His was a crucial link in a chain that leads from cocaine manufacturers in <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/drug-cartels" target="_blank">South America</a> to drug dealers in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/europe-overview" target="_blank">United Kingdom</a>. In stopping this consignment, we have prevented further criminality by the gangs who bring violence and exploitation to our streets,” Mark Harding, senior investigating officer from the NCA’s border investigation team, said.</p>
<p>“Michael McDermott used his specialist skills as a sailor to attempt to evade border controls. We provided solid evidence that led to his conviction and have taken out another means of transport used by organized criminals to bring drugs to Britain.”</p>
<p>All three men will be sentenced on Thursday April 6.</p>
<p><strong>Get the latest on organized crime and the Mafia at Gangsters Inc.'s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=News">news section</a>.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
Gangsters Inc. at the movies: Marauders (2016)
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-at-the-movies-marauders-2016
2016-06-02T15:36:54.000Z
2016-06-02T15:36:54.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gangsters-inc-at-the-movies-marauders-2016"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237075290,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="550" alt="9237075290?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>A crime flick starring Bruce Willis? Count us in! Due to hit theaters on July 14, Marauders tells the story of an FBI agent (played by Christopher Meloni) who is on the trail of a crew of elite bank robbers who – in true Robin Hood fashion - give the stolen loot to charity. As the agent investigates further, he discovers a trail of secrets that the owner of a bank (played by Bruce Willis) has protected.</p>
<p>Willis and Meloni are joined in this action-packed crime thriller by actors Dave Bautista and Adrian Grenier.</p>
<p>The film’s trailer was released yesterday and can be viewed below. Enjoy!</p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sIZ6lOV_ibk?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</p>
<p><strong>Get the latest on organized crime and the Mafia first at the Gangsters Inc. <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=News">news section</a>.</strong></p>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>
The deadly criminal conspiracy behind the Rio 2016 Olympics
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/the-deadly-criminal-conspiracy-behind-the-rio-2016-olympics
2016-08-04T13:30:00.000Z
2016-08-04T13:30:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-deadly-criminal-conspiracy-behind-the-rio-2016-olympics"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237073278,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="520" alt="9237073278?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Poverty, crime, violence, corruption, and environmental pollution dangerous to public health. Yeah, it’s pretty clear why the International Olympic Committee (IOC) chose to host the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Just in case it wasn’t, Gangsters Inc. decided to shine a light on all the dead bodies and bloody millions dumped and hidden in the Brazilian city to make way for the bright colorful Olympic logo.</p>
<p>So again, why did the IOC choose to host the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, despite all the aforementioned horrible conditions? Well, it’s probably due to the same reason <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=FIFA">FIFA</a> chose to host the 2020 World Cup, a summer event, in the scorching desert of the Middle Eastern country of Qatar: <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Money">Money</a>.</p>
<p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Brazil">Brazil</a> is easy pickings for those interested in overlooking the rule of law and making a nice sum, it’s a country in turmoil. Many of its political leaders have been accused of or linked to <a href="http://www.transparency.org/cpi2015#results-table" target="_blank">corruption</a> – most prominently in the recent Petrobras scandal in which politicians allegedly took kickbacks in exchange for awarding public contracts.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/business/international/effects-of-petrobras-scandal-leave-brazilians-lamenting-a-lost-dream.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Petrobras scandal</a> resulted in 117 indictments, including five politicians, and criminal cases against thirteen companies. According to Petrobras officials, the total amount of all bribes paid comes in at nearly $3 billion – individuals walked away with hundreds of millions.</p>
<p>Following the money, investigators ended up at Brazil’s highest elected officials. Even Brazilian <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35810578" target="_blank">President Dilma Rousseff</a> came under scrutiny as she was chairwoman of Petrobras for much of the time the kickback scheme was taking place. Though she was never charged, she is currently under impeachment and has been replaced by an Acting President.</p>
<p>The scandal also put investigators onto a more <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-rio-corruption-exclusive-idUSKCN0YG2WT" target="_blank">recent scam</a> connected to construction projects for the Rio 2016 Olympics. Five engineering firms - Odebrecht SA, OAS SA, Andrade Gutierrez SA, Queiroz Galvao SA, and Carioca Christiani Nielsen Engenharia SA - are building most of the $11 billion worth of venues and infrastructure needed for the Olympics. All five companies are under investigation for price fixing at Petrobras.</p>
<p>As the saying goes, “Greed kills more people than cancer,” and this is true not just in the underworld, but in the world of the white collar criminal as well. Over 1,200 (and counting) slave workers have died during the construction of soccer stadiums in Qatar for the world’s biggest sporting event. And for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro several hundred more people will have died to put up the squeaky clean image audiences watching at home around the world love so much.</p>
<p>In order to put up that image, and also guarantee a safe environment for visiting athletes, fans, and dignitaries, Rio de Janeiro had to deal with its slums and drug gangs. Since they already invested all their billions of dollars into stadiums and bribes, the slums would just have to remain for the time being. Nothing the politicians could do about those. By now these slum villages, known as favelas, are part of Brazil’s landmarks as much as their statue of Jesus Christ, they are the focus of box office hit motion pictures like Tropa de Elite and Fast and the Furious and blockbuster video games like Call of Duty.</p>
<p>No, forget about the favelas, it was much easier to deal with the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Gangs">drug gangs</a>, a lot cheaper especially, though it would be considerably more bloody. Like cleaners, police were sent into the slums to take down drug dealers. And when Brazilian politicians order police to take down drug dealers, they mean it in the most literal sense. </p>
<p>“Police in the state of Rio de Janeiro have killed more than 8,000 people in the past decade, including at least 645 people in 2015,” <a href="https://www.hrw.org/" target="_blank">Human Rights Watch</a> reported. “One fifth of all homicides in the city of Rio last year were police killings.”</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237073859,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="650" alt="9237073859?profile=original" /></a>While the number of officially recorded killings by police decreased after a peak of more than 1,300 in 2007 to around 400 in 2013, the number has since risen, reaching 645 in 2015 and 322 from January to May 2016, according to the latest data available.</p>
<p>“Violent crime is a very real problem in Rio, but executing suspected criminals is not the answer,” said Maria Laura Canineu, Brazil director at Human Rights Watch. “These unlawful killings turn communities against the police and undermine security for all.”</p>
<p>The officers responsible for unlawful killings and cover-ups are rarely brought to justice. Civil police investigations have been woefully inadequate, <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/07/14/kickbacks-and-killings-brazilian-cop-tells-his-story" target="_blank">Human Rights Watch</a> found. The responsibility ultimately lies with Rio de Janeiro’s Attorney General’s Office, which has legal authority to oversee the work of the police investigators, as well as to carry out its own investigations, Human Rights Watch said.</p>
<p><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uI9AiscRDvU?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</p>
<p>“By failing to investigate killings by police, the authorities are not only denying justice to victims’ families, they are also doing a great disservice to the Rio police force itself,” Canineu said. “As long as there’s no accountability, there will continue to be officers who commit extrajudicial executions, making the job of policing Rio more difficult and dangerous for all the rest.”</p>
<p>Indeed, corruption starts and ends at the top. As soon as a leader decides to end it and subsequently lets his underlings suffer the consequences if they continue on with the bribery, corruption will surely disappear from the political ranks and all the rungs beneath.</p>
<p>For now, let us all get blinded by yet another successful sporting event organized on the dead bodies of thousands. Who cares about the billions in bribes that leak away to those with blood on their hands? Who cares athletes will row their way to an Olympic medal through raw sewage?</p>
<p>Just close your eyes and hold your breath. It’s what is needed to ignore, once more, the results of systemic corruption. So we can do it all again the next time. Enjoy!</p>
<p><strong>Get the latest on organized crime and the Mafia at Gangsters Inc.'s <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=News">news section</a>.</strong></p>
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Gotti movie starring John Travolta begins shooting in March
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/gotti-movie-starring-john-travolta-begins-shooting-feb-2016
2015-12-03T09:00:00.000Z
2015-12-03T09:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gotti-movie-starring-john-travolta-begins-shooting-feb-2016"><img width="520" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237053689,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237053689?profile=original" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>It’s official: The new Gotti movie Shadow of My Father will begin filming in March of 2016. Director Kevin Connolly shared a photo of the script on social media and the official Twitter page of the film posted the release date along with it.</p>
<p>Shadow of My Father is based on <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/exclusive-excerpt-of-john-gotti-junior-s-new-book">the book of the same title</a> by John A. Gotti, the Dapper Don’s son, who followed in his father’s footsteps as one of the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino family</a>’s leading members. Gotti Junior has quit the Mafia and after having beaten prosecutors at four trials is now enjoying life as a free man.</p>
<p><strong>Read an exclusive book excerpt of Shadow of My Father <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/exclusive-excerpt-of-john-gotti-junior-s-new-book">here</a>.</strong></p>
<p>Gotti Junior and his relatives have done their utmost best to make this movie as realistic as possible. They have given the film crew full access to their homes and archives so they can make the portrayal of Gotti Sr. true to real life. Actor John Travolta will take on the lead role of John Gotti and has spent countless hours at the home of Gotti’s widow learning about how Gotti talked, moved, and behaved.</p>
<p>Gotti Junior’s sister Angel recently <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gotti-family-takes-film-director-on-mafia-tour-through-city">talked to Gangsters Inc.</a> about the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gotti-family-takes-film-director-on-mafia-tour-through-city">tour</a> through the Teflon Don’s old neighborhood the Gottis took director Kevin Connolly on. “They took [Connolly] to my mom's house and 101st Ave in Ozone Park, [where the Bergin Hunt and Fish Club, Gotti’s headquarters used to be,]” she said.</p>
<p>The Gotti family is looking forward to the movie very much. “I think Kevin will do a great job,” she tells me. “I heard a few of his ideas and they sound great.”</p>
<p>As far as <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gotti-junior-about-his-father-the-mafia-john-travolta">Travolta’s portrayal</a> of her father, she is resolute: “Travolta will nail it!” <a href="https://twitter.com/AngelGotti5" target="_blank">Angel</a> says. “I have no doubts about that.”</p>
<p><strong>Follow Gangsters Inc. on <a href="http://twitter.com/GangstersIncWeb" target="_blank">Twitter</a> and <a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</strong></p>
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World Series 2016 winners Chicago Cubs, meet your most notorious fan: Mafia boss Alphonse Capone
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/world-series-2016-winners-chicago-cubs-meet-your-most-notorious-f
2016-11-03T10:13:02.000Z
2016-11-03T10:13:02.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9875466085?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>The Chicago Cubs did it! They’ve become World Series champions again after a 108-year drought – the longest in baseball - defeating the Cleveland Indians in Game 7 in Cleveland. One notorious fan would’ve been extremely happy with the win, if he had been alive today that is. Who? Alphonse “Scarface” Capone.</p>
<p>Major League Baseball is a huge sport, attracting millions of television viewers and packing stadiums full with fans. The Chicago Cubs are no different. Despite not having won a World Series since 1908, its loyal supporters still showed up every season.</p>
<p>Even on September 9th 1931, at Comiskey park, when the Cubs played its city rivals, the Chicago White Sox. At that point, the team had been without a World Series win for 23 years. A pretty long time. Still, fans came to see their favorite athletes.</p>
<p>The most infamous figure sitting front row that day, was none other than <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-chicago-outfit-overview">Chicago</a> crime boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone">Al Capone</a>. (<strong>See photo above.</strong>) According to the <a href="http://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id134.htm" target="_blank">Al Capone Museum</a> website, “It was a game to raise funds for charity. The Cubs won 3-0.”</p>
<p>On the photo, you can see Al Capone with his son Albert Francis Capone getting an autograph from Cubs player Charles Leo “Gabby” Hartnett. This photo caused him quite some trouble after it was published in newspapers throughout the country. Higher-ups instructed him not to have his picture taken with Capone ever again. “Gabby” wasn’t impressed and replied, via telegram, writing: “OK, but if you don't want me to have my picture taken with <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blog/list?tag=Capone">Al Capone</a>, you tell him.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9875475060,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="375" alt="9875475060?profile=RESIZE_400x" /></a>Above Capone and son on the right side, you can see his bodyguard Fred Pacelli also known as Frank “Cowboy” Di Giovanni. Another bodyguard-hitman also seated just outside this photo, sitting on the right of Pacelli, was Vincent Gibaldi better known as “Machine Gun” Jack McGurn. Next to Capone’s son is Illinois legislator Roland V. Libonati, a World War I veteran and good friend of Capone.</p>
<p>It’s a photo filled with historic stories about a long-gone gangland era.</p>
<p>After their first win in 108 years, current Chicago Cubs team president Theo Epstein brought up the club’s history, paying respect to everyone involved with the team. “Our fans just deserve it so much, and all the former Cubs, everyone, this is for so many people -- (the late) Ernie Banks, (the late) Ron Santo, Billy Williams. ... We're bringing the trophy home to you guys. It's been a century in the making.”</p>
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Profile: Lucchese family capo “Fat Pete” Chiodo
https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-family-capo-fat-pete-chiodo
2016-03-28T12:00:00.000Z
2016-03-28T12:00:00.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
https://gangstersinc.org/members/GangstersInc
<div><p><a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-family-capo-fat-pete-chiodo"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237059100,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237059100?profile=original" width="144" /></a>By David Amoruso</p>
<p>Never was a nickname more appropriate than the one of Lucchese crime family captain Peter Chiodo. They called him Fat Pete. Why? Well, his weight ranged from 400 to 500 pounds. Like I said, appropriate.</p>
<p>“Fat Pete” Chiodo was the quintessential street smart mobster. He was capable of violence, as one had to be in the Mafia, but he also saw the lighter side of “the life,” approaching it with a sense of humor.</p>
<p>Like the time he was asked in court if he had threatened a “kid” on behalf of a friend who had discovered that this kid was a thief.</p>
<p>Chiodo denied the accusation, saying “I just told him he was out. I know he was stealing money and… I might have growled at him as I told him that, but for the most part, I simply said, ‘You're out.’”</p>
<p>He was then asked: “You're physically bigger than this kid, I would imagine, right?”</p>
<p>“There are not too many people I'm not physically bigger than,” Chiodo said with a smile while he rubbed his hand over his huge belly.</p>
<p>And just like Paulie in Goodfellas, Chiodo didn’t have to move for anybody.</p>
<p>That is why other gangsters would often come to him, or the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese family</a> in general, for help in settling disputes. When Greek and Russian mobsters argued over a shopping center, Chiodo and the Luccheses helped out and interceded in a civil suit about the issue. Chiodo even stood in front of a judge to smooth things over.</p>
<p>Years later, he was asked whether he had told the judge he was a legitimate businessman, Chiodo replied: “I could have. I probably did. I mean, I surely didn't tell him that I was a captain in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese family</a>. What I do remember is that when it was all said and done, I had the judge convinced to give us the time we needed. We told him that we would make the repairs within a certain amount of time. We did and everybody was happy.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.facebook.com/GangstersInc" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9237059491,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9237059491?profile=original" width="210" /></a>As is evidenced by Chiodo’s lines, he has a witty comeback. One he perfected in the early 1980s when he owned the Home Bar on Manhattan's Upper East Side.</p>
<p>The Home Bar was a small, quiet, neighborhood watering hole. Chiodo (right) bought it as a place to call home. “I had a place to hang out,” he said. “The bartender took a salary, he was happy. I had a place to hang out in, drink for free. I was happy with that.”</p>
<p>The intimate atmosphere attracted a special kind of clientele. The Beatles star John Lennon liked coming by for a drink before he was murdered in 1980, Chiodo said. “In fact, in one of his album covers, he's wearing a T-shirt from the Home Bar,” he added.</p>
<p>Near the bar, there was the Comic Strip, where standup comedians practiced their routine. After they finished, they’d visit Chiodo’s joint for a relaxing drink. Guys like Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, and Sam Kennison all were frequent guests.</p>
<p>“Eddie's my friend, and I loved him,” Chiodo said. Adding, “Eddie knew my reputation and who I was, though I never involved him in any way in any of that stuff. I think the reason Eddie and I became such good friends is because I didn't want anything from him. I didn't want to be in show business, I didn't want a job, I didn't want his money, and he kind of appreciated that. He told me once, ‘Petey, you the only guy that ever picks up a check for lunch around me. I'm the one always paying all the time.’”</p>
<p>Several years later, in 1987, he expanded his circle of friends when he became a made guy in the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-crime-family">Lucchese crime family</a>. Unfortunately for Chiodo, not everyone there was as fond of him as Eddie Murphy was.</p>
<p>By the late 1980s and early 1990s, power in the mob family had shifted to boss Vic Amuso and underboss Anthony Casso. The ruthless duo established their presence with intimidation and violence.</p>
<p>Always paranoid that someone might flip and turn government witness, Amuso and Casso <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/the-lucchese-new-jersey">began whacking anyone</a> they deemed at risk of becoming a rat. In 1991 Chiodo had come under their deadly suspicion.</p>
<p>On May 8 of that year, Chiodo was at a Staten Island gas station getting his Cadillac checked when all of a sudden he heard a popping sound and saw something impact the cement floor. It was a hit! Chiodo immediately pulled out his gun and began firing shots at his two assailants.</p>
<p>One of the two hitmen was Joseph D’Arco, the son of Lucchese acting boss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-acting-boss-alphonse">Alphonse D’Arco</a>, who was eager to please and impress his mob father with his involvement in this high-profile hit. D’Arco’s shots kept coming at Chiodo as he was hit by a total of 12 bullets. Lying on the ground, a bleeding heap of 500-pound flesh, Chiodo waited for the final shot as D’Arco came closer.</p>
<p>Then, nothing.</p>
<p>D’Arco’s gun jammed and the two hitmen fled the crime scene thinking they had done enough to send the mob capo to the other world. But Chiodo was a lot more resilient than one would expect from looking at his obese frame. He survived.</p>
<p>Two months later he became the highest ranking New York mobster to become a turncoat. He would lose that distinction to <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-acting-boss-alphonse">the father</a> of the man who tried to kill him and <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-crime-family-overview">Gambino family</a> underboss <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/gambino-underboss-salvatore">Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano</a> several months later.</p>
<p>If he thought his decision to become a turncoat would end the violence against him and his family, he was wrong. In an unprecedented move, Amuso and Casso ordered a hit on Chiodo’s sister, an innocent civilian and the first female relative to be targeted for death by the <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/organized-crime-in">American Mafia</a>. Lucchese <a href="http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/profile-lucchese-family-soldier-michael-baldy-mike-spinelli">gangsters stalked her</a> for a month before shooting her after she arrived home from dropping her kids off at school on March 10, 1992. She too survived, but the tone was set.</p>
<p>It only motivated Chiodo more to do his former partners-in-crime some serious damage in court. And he succeeded, his testimony meant the end for two bosses, two underbosses, and 18 other wiseguys, who were sentenced to long prison terms. Including Vic Amuso, the man who ordered the hit on his sister, and is now spending the rest of his life in prison.</p>
<p>After testifying, Chiodo disappeared into the Witness Protection Program. He remained there, hidden and anonymous, somewhere in America, until his death of natural causes in January of 2016. He was 65.</p>
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