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[136] Anthony Casso planned Pappadio's murder ordering brothers Carmine Avellino to bring Pappadio to Crown Bagels, a bakery on Rockaway Boulevard in the South Ozone Park, Queens. [276] According to Frankos's story, Hoffa was lured by his close friend Chuckie O'Brien to a house owned by Detroit mobster Anthony Giacolone. The Lucchese crime family is an organized crime family based out of New York that is a part of the Mafia or Cosa Nostra. [161] Migliore as a capo represented the family's interest in Northberry Concrete, a Brooklyn-based contractor and member of the New York City's Concrete club. [255] In the morning of April 5, 1956, Telvi attacked Victor Riesel as he was leaving Lindy's, a Broadway restaurant, throwing sulfuric acid onto his face, leaving him permanently blind. [299] In 1983, Suppa attended a sitdown along with Anthony Accetturo, Michael Taccetta, Thomas Ricciardi and Philadelphia crime family mobsters Jackie "the Nose" DiNorscio and Joseph Alonzo over DiNorscio joining the Lucchese family. [233] On September 6, 2000, Truscello was indicted, along with acting boss Steven Crea, capo Joseph Tangorra, soldiers Joseph Datello, Philip DeSimone, Arthur Zambardi, Anthony Pezzullo, and Joseph Truncale, on labor racketeering, extortion, and bid-rigging charges. In 1972, Coco, his brother-in-law James Michael Falco, and Louis "Louis Nash" Nakaladski were indicted in Miami on extortion and loansharking charges. [202] On December 5, 1921, Vincenzo Rao became a naturalized United States citizen in New York City.[202]. [3] When Delasco died in the late 1960s, Accetturo took over his rackets.[73]. [154] In 1995, Manzo was charged with racketeering for extorting $2 million in payoffs from cement company owner John Quadrozzi over a 13-year period, between 1978 and 1991. [257] On March 7, 2019, Anthony Pandrella a Gambino family associate was indicted for murdering Zito. Real Gangster. [203] He became partners in Five Boro Hoisting Company, United Lathing Company, Westchester Lathing Corporation and Ace Lathing Company operating from the Bronx and Westchester. [188] In August 1988, Perna was acquitted in the 21-month trial along with the other twenty members of the New Jersey faction. Past member(s) Joseph Abate. [93], On June 12, 1986, one of Balagula's rivals, Russian-American gangster Vladimir Reznikov, entered Balagula's nightclub in Brighton Beach. [39] He stayed in Florida and was under government surveillance. Furnari put Amuso and Casso in charge of a large bookmaking operation and debt collecting operation. Corrections? Subscribe to About The Mafia 's weekly newsletter to get the latest organized crime news . [58] Cutaia worked as a loan shark and as a chauffeur for capo Paul Vario. [124] He worked with his brother Carmine LoCascio, John Ormento, brothers Joseph and Peter DiPalermo, Rocco Mazzie, James Picarelli and Sammy Kass in many criminal rackets.[124]. His younger brother Ralph V. Perna is also a member in the New Jersey faction. On December 2, 1992, Testa was murdered, shot in the back of the head nine times. [71], Anthony "Ham" Delasco (sometimes spelled Dolasco) was a former boxer and capo in New Jersey. [231], Dominic "Crazy Dom" Truscello (April 29, 1934 July 2018) was the capo of the "Prince Street Crew". A former stripper was sentenced to life in prison Friday afternoon after pleading guilty this month to gunning down Paradise Valley millionaire Rick Chance in 2002 during a robbery. Santoro went into hiding and allegedly spent time in Europe before returning to Oyster Bay, New York. [80][81] In 2005, the FBI revealed that DiSimone and Lucchese soldier Daniel Latella had meetings in doctors' offices with Gambino family capo Greg DePalma. However, Chiodo did not ask Lucchese official boss Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and official underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso for permission to take a plea. [166] Former Lucchese mobster Alphonse D'Arco revealed that Vic Amuso was chosen as the new family boss and Migliore served as consigliere before being replaced by Anthony Casso when Migliore went to prison. [162] He also held a salesman position with "Port Dock and Stone", one of the main suppliers of trap rock to the two companies that controlled the production of concrete in New York City. In 1967, family boss Thomas Lucchese died of a brain tumor, leaving the family to be run by an interim boss, Carmine "Mr. Gribbs" Tramunti. After Reznikov left the nightclub, Balagula suffered a massive heart attack. mobster who planned to whack witness gets 14 years in prison", "On Pleasant Avenue, a Mobbed-Up History Is Hard to Live Down", "Strip club owner who ratted out mobsters won't go into hiding", "FBI Picture Takedown at Rao's Tied to 1990 Brooklyn Murder Authorities are closing in on a Colombo family capo for a 1990 murder. [180] In 1999, Pagliarulo died in prison of a heart attack. No associates of the family were ever convicted for any role they may have played in the crime. [123] Lastorino died in 2022 at age 83. Chiodo realized that the government's case was so solid that he would likely die in prison if convicted. Furnari reigned as one of New York's top Mafia bosses throughout the early 1980s until his 1985 racketeering indictment. Arrests A Mafia Boss In New Jersey", "Reputed Lucchese mobster found dead in Jaguar trunk", "With the Boss Behind Bars, a Borough Battle Brews", "Canary to Sing on Feds' Case vs. Jr. as Valuable as Sammy Bull", "FEDS BUST L.I. Loria, along with his longtime partner Vincent Papa and his crew, are known as "The Men who Stole The French Connection". House. Amuso then named DeFede his acting boss to replace Alphonse D'Arco with a weaker and more controllable man at the top, after Amuso began to suspect D'Arco of being a government witness against him. In 1964, Furnari became a caporegime. [196] As boss Pinzolo was unfamiliar with the members of the family and the East Harlem area. Decided April 2, 1976)", "Head of Crime Family Slain in L.I. His father George Argiri Frango left his home town of Kardamyla on Chios, Greece in 1905 as a crewman on a ship. [296] In March 2006, Salanardi was sentenced to 11 years and three months in prison. [115], In 1996, Tortorello was arrested and charged with the murder and robbery of a Manhattan designer; he later took a plea deal and was sentenced to ten years in prison. [249], An associate of DiCarlo from Canarsie, Scott Cafaro, was also murdered by the DeMeo crew in February or March 1979 when the crew was hired by a rape victim's father to kill Cafaro, who had been acquitted of the rape in court. Furnari controlled New York District Council 9, which represented 6,000 workers who painted and decorated hotels, bridges, and subway stations in New York. Gunman gets life in Rick Chance murder - eastvalleytribune.com [43] Coco later stepped down as acting boss and Carmine Tramunti became the new boss. Originally these were intended to document business signage and make sure signs were in compliance with city code. [12] He died on December 3, 1977. In the aftermath, mob boss Salvatore Lucania, who is better known by the Americanized alias Charles (Lucky) Luciano, founded the Commission, a criminal board of directors composed of bosses from the Five Families plus the heads of other crime factions throughout the country, including Chicagos Al Capone. In 1973, with Tramunti's imprisonment, Corallo finally became the official Lucchese boss. Lucchese then promoted Santoro to capo of the family's powerful Bronx faction. She's a Chicago girl at heart, but she still misses living in a place with farms. [201], Vincenzo "Vincent" John Rao (June 21, 1898 Palermo, Sicily September 25, 1988),[202] also known as Vincent or Vinny, was a former Consigliere in the family. In 1993, Casso was also captured; however, in 1994 he struck a deal with the government to testify against Furnari and other family leaders. [220], In March 1951, Santoro was indicted on charges of conspiracy to import opium from Mexico and convert it into heroin. In his early days, he operated a hot dog vendor truck in Coney Island, Brooklyn, running numbers rackets on the side. [108] On August 24, 1990, Frank Lastorino, Louie Daidone and Richard Pagliarulo murdered Bruno Facciola. [131][133] In the Brooklyn home Luongo met with Vic Amuso, Anthony Casso, Bobby Amuso and Dom Carbucci, until Bobby Amuso excused himself and returned killing Luongo by shooting him three times in the head. Tramunti served as acting boss, even after Corallo was released from prison in 1970. He was sentenced to death on the murder counts. [48] Coco later resigned and continued to operate in New York and Florida. DeFede provided details concerning the Garment District rackets and the protection rackets in Howard Beach, Queens. [143] On August 14, 1968, Mancuso was indicted on narcotics charges; convicted on March 26, 1969 and sentenced to 1 year in prison. They originated in the early 1920's and beside the Castellammarese War, maintained a low profile under reign of mafia bosses Tommy . [119] In June 1995, Lastorino took a plea deal and was sentenced to 18 years in prison. [74] On February 4, 1990, D'Arco shot DiLapi to death in his Hollywood, California apartment building's underground garage. [295] He began cooperating with the government, and continued to collect money from a loanshark debt and was dropped from the witness protection program. [68], Paul "Paulie Ham" Correale (April 25, 1911 died 1962) was a capo in the Lucchese family. Capeci, Jerry. Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari, Sr. (April 30, 1924 May 28, 2018) was a former consigliere until his 1986 racketeering conviction. This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 10:02. He was born in Leonia, New Jersey to Antonio and Teresa Bargio. During the 1980s, Perna was a member of Michael Taccetta's inner circle and controlled operations from the Hole in the Wall, a luncheonette in Newark's Down Neck section. [303], This article is about past and inactive members who have been killed, died or became informants of the, List of past Lucchese crime family mobsters, "Graziano Breaks A Sports Scandal". [51] He was released from prison on May 24, 2002. Eventually, Vittorio (Little Vic) Amuso took over as boss, and Anthony (Gaspipe) Casso became underboss. On April 8, 1987, Manzo was banned from New Jersey casinos due to his history of involvement with organized crime. John Junior. The Five Families emerged at the end of the Castellammarese War, a Mafia power struggle in the early 1930s named for the Sicilian hometown of many of the participants. In 1953, Coco was arrested in Florida for murdering a Miami car-wash operator in a dispute over a bill. He controlled gambling operations along with Aniello Migliore. [289] During Pennisi's testimony, he revealed that the Lucchese family operates with a total of seven crews two in The Bronx, two on Long Island, one in Manhattan, one in New Jersey and one in Brooklyn/Staten Island. [88] Furnari was indicted as a result of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe that used undercover surveillance and bugging techniques against the mob leaders. [110] In September 1991, during a Staten Island meeting, Vic Amuso and Anthony Casso replaced Alphonse D'Arco as acting boss and created a four-man ruling panel that consisted of Lastorino, Alphonse D'Arco, Anthony Baratta, and Salvatore Avellino. [44][47] By the late 1980s, Coco was considered a semi-retired mobster living in Florida. Luchese Crime Family - The New York Times Suppa was a soldier in the Lucchese family's New Jersey faction operating in Florida as Anthony Accetturo's right-hand man. On March 10, 1992, Lucchese associate Michael Spinelli shot Patricia Capozallo, Chiodo's sister, while she was driving in Bensonhurst. The charges also involved the execution of Bonanno crime family de facto boss Carmine Galante in 1979, allegedly on the orders of the Commission because they saw Galante as a potential rival who planned to take over all organized crime operations in the New York area. In 1994, Amuso was convicted of federal racketeering and murder charges and sent to prison for life. The Five Families refers to five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian American Mafia formed in 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War.. Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs in New York City into the Maranzano, Profaci, Mangano, Luciano, and Gagliano families, which are now known as the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese . That was enough to convince Amuso that DeFede had been skimming profits; Amuso reportedly decided to have him murdered. New York (State). The Lucchese powerbase was traditionally in Manhattan and the Bronx, the family's birthplace; the family's first three bosses, Gaetano "Tom" Reina, Tommaso "Tommy" Gagliano, and Thomas Lucchese, were all from this area. Born and raised in Corona, Queens, he was arrested as a 17-year-old along with four other youths for carrying out a series of burglaries that robbed eight businesses in north Queens of $26,000 during a week-long spree in 1950. [115] In 1993, Gioia Jr., along with George Zappola and Frank Papagni, plotted to have Steven Crea killed. [74] The two detectives found him in Reseda, California. In early 1986, while Furnari was awaiting the Commission trial, the Lucchese family uncovered a new, potentially lucrative racket. [67] He died on August 14, 2018. Casso intended to blame the murder on the Gambino family in a plot to kill John A. [298], Frank "Goo Goo" Suppa is a former soldier who is currently in witness protection. At the time, police detectives believed that he was killed because of suspicions that he was skimming profits for himself without permission from his boss. Origins. Joseph "Little Joe" DeFede (1934 July 15, 2012) was a former New York City mobster and acting boss of the Lucchese crime family who eventually turned informant. [74] He also worked with Thomas Gambino, the son of Carlo Gambino and son-in-law of Thomas Lucchese, in extorting businesses in the Garment District. [192] Michael J. Perna died on October 28, 2020. [190] On August 13, 1993, Perna convicted in the first trial. In 1976, Brocchini was involved in a dispute with Roy DeMeo, a Gambino family associate at the time, with Brocchini giving DeMeo a black eye. [254] In 1956, Telvi was ordered by Dio to throw acid on New York journalist Victor Riesel for making radio and television broadcasts about labor union corruption. Organized crime: 25 years after Valachi. [258], Peter "Fat Pete" Chiodo (19512016), was a former caporegime in the Lucchese family before becoming a government witness. [241][242] Urgitano was raised between Pleasant Avenue and 114th Street, keeping his father's nickname "Cheesecake" and eventually became a made member in the Lucchese family. Pleading not guilty to the charges, Furnari was released on $1.75 million bail pending trial.[89]. [84] Salvatore DiSimone died in October 2017. Philip Carlo, "Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss," 2008, page 152. Eugenio Giannini a former soldier who became an informant to the Bureau of Narcotics. Zito had a criminal record and had been arrested in the past for loan sharking. [200] In 1922, Rannelli was arrested for a shooting several bystanders on August 8, after another gunman attempted to shoot Joe Masseria. As US law enforcement undertook a concerted effort to crush organized crime activities in New York City during the mid-1980s, they put eleven top members of the Five Families, including the entire leadership of the Lucchese crime family, Corallo, Santoro and consigliere Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari, on trial, called the Mafia Commission Trial or the Commission Case. At that time the Lucchese family reportedly consisted of about 110 members, and the Mafia Commission trial, as it came to be known, resulted in the conviction of Corallo, his underboss, and the third in command of the Lucchese family, which left the family bereft of leaders and set in motion a chaotic period unlike any other in the familys prior history. Some have argued that Furnari wasn't on the Commission then and had no connection with the Galante hit. Goldstock, Ronald. Once there, Hoffa was shot and killed by Coonan and Frankos using suppressed .22 pistols. Furnari immediately sponsored Amuso and Casso for family membership and then made them overseers of the "Bypass Gang", a highly successful burglary ring. - Francis Capaldi, white male. [300] In 1993, Suppa was indicted along with others on charges that they conspired to distribute up to 1,650 pounds of cocaine in the United States. It occurred in a time of heightened tension between some older Mafia membersmany of whom had immigrated to the United States and clung to the customs of Italy or, more specifically, Sicilyand the younger generation, who mostly grew up in the U.S. and were more willing to embrace American customs and business opportunities. Mafia Family Leadership Charts | About The Mafia A small-time associate of an unidentified Lucchese family caporegime in Brooklyn, DiCarlo was also named as a gay pimp in "The Rothstein Files", documents on the sex industry in Manhattan compiled by former New York City Police Department (NYPD) vice squad detective Jim Rothstein in the 1970s. in English from Southeast Missouri State University and an M.A. [130], Anthony "Buddy" Luongo was a former capo in the Harlem-Bronx faction. [206] When asked by investigators why he was at the meeting, Rao said he went there for the luncheon buffet and did not speak to anyone else because he was not "introduced". Following the unsuccessful assassination attempt, Lucchese mobsters delivered a blunt threat to Chiodo's lawyer that they would kill Chiodo's wife if he testified, a violation of a longstanding Mafia rule against harming women. [138] In 1965, Pappadio was sentenced to two years in prison for refusing to answer questions before a Federal grand jury in Manhattan about meeting with Tommy Lucchese. [3] He moved to Margate, New Jersey and served as a liaison between families in New Jersey until 1989 when he retired from Mafia affairs. Izaak Silber soon joined in the bingo operation. Both Upper and Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx supported a large group of Palermo-bred and Palermo-oriented mafiosi. Domenico (Danny) Cutaia,suffering from Alzheimer's, given lighter sentence", "BOP: Federal Bureau of Prisons Web Site", Danny Cutaia Memorials Colonial Funeral Home SI, "A Detective Story Alleging Hit Men in Blue: Details of Hollywood Killing Helped Indict 2 Former NYPD Cops Long Suspected of Mob Ties", "Wife blames Pirro for murder case against DiSimone", "The mob murder at Rao's that was sparked by a song", "Mobbed up: Lower Hudson Valley's historical ties to La Cosa Nostra", "Big Mike DeSantis Makes A Big Time Move To The Top Of The Charts", "Supreme court of State of New York County of Westchester v Dominick Capelli", "Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos", L.I. Frank "Big Frank" Lastorino (April 9, 1939 November 2022)[105] was a soldier, former capo and consigliere of the Lucchese family. This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 16:43. [159] The next day on November 15, 1957, Migliore was in a car accident while driving through Binghamton, New York leading to more suspicion that he was supposed to attend the Apalachin Meeting. On November 19, 1986, Santoro and the other defendants were convicted on all counts. The Luccheses and three other New York families had participated in a window replacement scheme that stole millions of dollars from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). On November 12, 1953, Coco was sentenced to life in prison. In 1955, Accardi was arrested on a federal narcotics charge in Newark, New Jersey. Furnari was imprisoned in the Allenwood Medium Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. In early 1990, Vic Amuso and Anthony Casso ordered D'Arco to kill Anthony DiLapi, a soldier who was in hiding. Brocchini, who was known as an enforcer, later became involved primarily in loansharking and gambling. [255], Vincent Zito (December 18, 1940 October 26, 2018)[256] was a former associate to the Lucchese family. [234] The indictment charged Truscello with extorting "Commercial Brick", a construction company. [18] Gambino associate Dominick Montiglio would later reveal the events surrounding Brocchini's murder after becoming a government witness in 1983. In the early 1920s, Russo was inducted into the Newark family of Gaspare D'Amico, and during his time under this family, he attended the 1928 Cleveland Mafia meeting at the Hotel Statler as an official member. His father Tommy Urgitano, received the nickname "Cheesecake", while walking in Pleasant Avenue he called up to a girl looking out a window and asked her for money to buy a cheesecake. Fear City: New York vs The Mafia tells the story of how the FBI managed to arrest the leaders of the "Five Families," the Mafia bosses who controlled organized crime in NYC. In 1980, Furnari was promoted to consigliere in the Lucchese family. [79] On December 22, 2003, a soldier in his crew Albert J. Circelli Jr. was shot and killed inside Rao's, an Italian restaurant located in Harlem by mafia associate Louis "Louie Lump Lump" Barone. 0. By collecting gasoline taxes from customers and then not paying them to the government, Balagula was making very large profits. He learned the truth about the August 15, 1930, murder of Giuseppe Morello, the gunmen were Sebastiano Domingo and another unidentified man. Lucchese soldier Joseph Testa confronted Reznikov and fatally shot him. Furnari persuaded Corallo that either Amuso or Casso should become the new boss. [259][262] Doctors credited Chiodo's massive girth for saving his life; none of the slugs penetrated a vital organ or artery. [208] At the same time the longtime boss Thomas Lucchese had become ill and Rao was thought of as a suitable successor. Mob Wives. On November 19, 1986, Furnari was convicted on all counts, including the Galante murder. Mob Bust: 7 Westchester Lucchese Mobsters Indicted, Feds Say [62][57] In 2002, Cutaia was indicted on loan sharking charges; he pled guilty and was sentenced to two years and three years of supervised probation upon his release. [117] It was later revealed by government informant Frank Gioia Jr. that Lastorino was ordered by Anthony Casso to murder Patrick Testa on December 2, 1992. [15] Weeks later, on May 20, 1976, Brocchini was shot five times in the head in the office of his used car dealership in Woodside, Queens, where he conducted his day-to-day operations, by Roy DeMeo and Henry Borelli. [124] LoCascio would frequent Oldtimers Bar on 184th Street in Corona Queens. [131] In 1986, Luongo tried to take over the Lucchese family after boss Anthony Corallo was imprisoned during the Commission case. FBI surveillance recorded Corallo conducting business with Furnari and other family leaders. [20] In 2002, Cataldo was indicted on illegal gambling charges and for the October 7, 1981 murder of William Kennedy. At a meeting in Furnari's home, Furnari, Amuso and Casso all agreed that Amuso should succeed Corallo as boss. [113][114], In October 1991, Lastorino, along with Anthony Baratta, Salvatore Avellino, Richard Pagliarulo, Anthony Tortorello, George Conte, Thomas Anzellotto and Frank Papagni inducted (made) Thomas D'Ambrosia, Joseph Tortorello Jr., Frank Gioia Jr., Gregory Cappello and Jody Calabrese into the crime family during a ceremony that was held in a Howard Beach, Queens home. Petrilli met Joseph Valachi in Sing Sing prison in Ossining, New York. List of past Lucchese crime family mobsters - Wikiwand In 1989, Chiodo became a caporegime in charge of funneling payoffs from Local 580 of the Ironworkers' Union to the Lucchese leadership. [145] He served as a union delegate in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, controlled Local 295 and owned two trucking companies: LVF Air Cargo, Inc., and LVF Airport Service Inc. at JFK Airport. Gagliano had been the underboss (second in command) of the crime family led by Gaetano (Tommy) Reina, a casualty of the Castellammarese War, murdered by Vito Genovese, who would go on to control another of the families. In 1958 he was arrested and tried for narcotics charges. [128], Joseph "Joe Brown" Lucchese was a capo and brother to Tommy Lucchese, the boss of the Lucchese crime family. The Gambino Crime Family - Button Guys of The New York Mafia The 19th Hole, Furnari's social club, was the hub of criminal activity in Bensonhurst. This, of course, was the beginning of serious trouble. Suspecting that DeFede was hiding money from the family, Amuso replaced him as acting boss with Steven Crea, head of the family's powerful Bronx faction. [109] Lastorino arranged to bring Facciola to a Brooklyn garage, where Lastorino stabbed Facciola and Pagliarulo shot him six times in the face and chest. [177][178] Migliore, who served as underboss in the past to Anthony Corallo, was considered the biggest influence on the ruling committee. Page 7", "Body Found and 2d Is Sought As Convicted Mobsters Talk", "26 Indicted on Charge of Running Organized-Crime Group in Jersey", "F.B.I. 'Fear City' on Netflix: What Happened to the Leaders of the - Newsweek Joseph "Joe" Abate (July 8, 1902 1994) was a capo in the family's New Jersey faction. [11] Accardi later moved to Toronto, Canada, to oversee this operation. Both Thomas and his brother Daniel were associated with the Lucchese family's New Jersey faction before becoming government informants. [65] In October 2012, Cutaia was sentenced to one year in prison for loan sharking. The Lucchese family is deemed the smallest of the five crime families with 100 members but is not the weakest. [106] After becoming a government witness, Gioia Jr. had testified against 60 defendants. We'll take care of the rest. Furnari operated his crew in Bensonhurst at the 19th Hole, a nondescript bar and mob social club. [254] On July 28, 1956, Telvi was found dead on Mulberry Street with a bullet in his head. [22] Caravaggio was overseeing operations in Northern Jersey, especially in Morris County. Lucchese Crime Family - History of New York City - Seton Hall University [288] In October 2018, Pennisi started cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Lucchese family controlled the trucking industry (which it sometimes used to manipulate other businesses by limiting their shipping options) and the garment industry in New York, often in association with Carlo Gambino. Lt. Col. Bob Jeffrey was taken as a . Bishop and Arnold would pick up cash payments from the contractors, who charged a 10 to 15 percent tax on all major commercial painting jobs, and passed the payments to Furnari. Amuso continued to lead the family into the 21st century, making him one of the longest-serving family leaders, with several men filling in as acting boss on the outside. [219], When Santoro was released from prison in 1978 he took over as underboss, continuing to oversee the powerful Bronx faction of the family. Cataldo grew up in Newark, New Jersey with his cousins Michael and Martin Taccetta. Papa's infamous theft became famous after the movie French Connection II. Carlo Gambino. Reportedly one of the most profitable of the Five Families, the Lucchese family controlled trade organizations, unions, and Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy International Airport) in Queens, where in 1978 it perpetrated the Lufthansa heist, then the largest cash theft on American soil.