| Liborio Bellomo | |
| Birth Name: | Liborio Salvatore Bellomo |
| Birth Date: | 8 January 1957 |
| Other Names: | Barney |
| Allegiance: | Genovese crime family |
| Occupation: | Crime boss |
| Predecessor: | Vincent Gigante |
| Children: | 4 |
Liborio Salvatore “Barney” Bellomo (born January 8, 1957) is an American mobster and boss of the Genovese crime family of New York City. Bellomo was a member of the 116th Street Crew of Saverio "Sammy Black" Santora.
Bellomo is the son of Salvatore Bellomo. He is the double cousin of Genovese associate Liborio Thomas Bellomo; their fathers are brothers and their mothers are sisters. This has led law enforcement to confuse their identities on several occasions. In 1997, Liborio Thomas Bellomo swore in an affidavit that he was guilty of federal charges instead of Bellomo.[1] Salvatore Bellomo was a soldier and close to Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno. Bellomo was initiated in 1977.
In 1990, Kenneth McCabe, then-organized crime investigator for the United States attorney's office in Manhattan, identified Bellomo as "acting boss" of the crime family following the indictment of Vincent Gigante in the "Windows Case".[2] [3] On June 11, 1996, Bellomo was indicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges, including the murders of mobster Ralph DeSimone and Antonio DiLorenzo, extortion, and labor racketeering.[4] DiLorenzo was found shot to death in the backyard of his home in West New York, New Jersey. DeSimone was found in the trunk of his car at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, shot five times.[5] Both DeSimone and DiLorenzo were murdered because the Genovese leadership thought they were government informants.[6]
Bellomo's lawyers stated that their client passed two polygraph tests in which he denied killing anyone.[7] FBI agents shaved Bellomo's head, looking for evidence that Bellomo had used lithium to beat the polygraph machines.[8]
In February 1997, prosecutors dropped the DeSimone and DiLorenzo murder charges and offered Bellomo a chance to plead guilty to extorting payoffs from a construction union and a garbage hauling company. Bellomo accepted the deal and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.[1] [9]
On July 13, 2001, the imprisoned Bellomo was indicted on money laundering charges related to the Genovese family's involvement in the waterfront rackets and control of the ILA. Bellomo was accused of hiding money stolen from the ILA's members pension fund account between 1996 and 1997.[10] Bellomo again pleaded guilty to lesser charges, pushing back his scheduled release date in 2004.
On February 23, 2006, Bellomo and over 30 Genovese family members were indicted on more racketeering charges. Bellomo was specifically charged with ordering the 1998 murder of Ralph Coppola, the acting captain of Bellomo's crew and Bellomo's good friend. On September 16, 1998, Coppola disappeared a few weeks before his sentencing on fraud charges and was never found. Government witness Peter Peluso, a former lawyer for the Genovese family, stated that he had transported a message from Bellomo in prison ordering Coppola's murder.[11] Some accounts state that Coppola was disrespectful, others say that he was stealing family profits.
According to the Bellomo indictment:
Peluso pleaded guilty to his role in the murder. However, the government had no proof that Peluso had indeed met with Bellomo. With insufficient evidence to press the murder charge against Bellomo, the government offered him a plea bargain for mail fraud in 2007. Bellomo accepted and received one additional year in prison instead of four, as his daughter Sabrina gave a tearful plea to judge Lewis A. Kaplan alongside her three brothers.[12] Due to his imprisonment, he missed her high school, college, and law school graduations.[12]
On December 1, 2008, Bellomo was released from prison.[13]