Lucchese crime family Brooklyn faction explained

Lucchese Family Brooklyn Faction
Founded:1930s
Founder:Lucchese crime family
Founding Location:Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Years Active:1930s–present
Territory:Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Staten Island
Ethnicity:Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates
Activities:Racketeering, bookmaking, loansharking, extortion, gambling, burglary, cargo theft, conspiracy, counterfeit consumer goods, murder, smuggling, fencing, union corruption, hotel robbery, hijacking and jewelry heists
Allies:Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno and Colombo crime families
Rivals:Various gangs

The Lucchese crime family's Brooklyn faction is a group of Italian-American mobsters within the Lucchese crime family that control organized crime activities in the New York metropolitan area but are predominantly based out of Brooklyn and Staten Island. The Brooklyn faction was created after two separate crews in the Lucchese family were merged together. The merger occurred during the early 2000s, when the Lucchese family administration decided that Vario Crew Caporegime Domenico "Danny" Cutaia would also take control of the 19th Hole Crew. The Lucchese family administration saw the 19th Hole crew without leadership because it had been crippled by numerous indictments and informants during 1990s, leaving many members imprisoned. After the merger of the two crews, the Lucchese Borgata referred to this crew as the Brooklyn faction.

Before the merger the Vario Crew, sometimes known as the Canarsie Crew, had predominantly been based out of Brooklyn neighborhoods of Canarsie and Flatlands. The crew was controlled by Caporegime Paul Vario during the early 1960s into the early 1980s, when Vario, Jimmy Burke, and a number of other associates were imprisoned, primarily due to the testimony of another long-term associate, Henry Hill. The life story of Hill's time with the Vario crew was the subject of Nicholas Pileggi's book Wiseguy and Martin Scorsese's crime film adapted from that book, Goodfellas (1990), starring Ray Liotta as Hill. After Vario's imprisonment, Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco became the new caporegime of the crew. During the early 1990s, D'Arco worked closely with family boss Vic Amuso and Underboss Anthony Casso, following their orders having numerous murders committed. In 1991, D'Arco became the family's acting boss when Amuso and Casso went into hiding, but D'Arco eventually feared for his life and became a government witness. The crew was then taken over by Domenico "Danny" Cutaia, who was able to bring back some stability. Cutaia would continue to control the crew until he stepped down for health concerns in late the 2000s.

The 19th Hole Crew, sometimes called Bensonhurst Crew, was based out of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn before it was merged into the Brooklyn faction. In the past, the crew was controlled by Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari and then by his protege Vic Amuso. In 1986, Vic Amuso became the new boss of the family and promoted his close ally Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso to Caporegime of the crew. Under Casso's leadership the Bensonhurst crew would be responsible for 100 murders making it the most violent and bloodiest reigns in Lucchese family history. In 1993, Casso was imprisoned, and he became one of the highest-ranking members of the Mafia to turn informant. After Casso's defection much of the crew's leadership was imprisoned and eventually the crew was merged with the Vario Crew creating the Brooklyn faction.

History of the Vario Crew

Don Turrido Curiale

The earliest known leader of the Lucchese family's Brooklyn crew was Salvatore "Don Turrido" Curiale, an immigrant from Agrigento, Sicily.[1] Curiale was an original Brooklyn mobster before the Commission was created and would later join the Lucchese crime family.[1] In the 1960s, Curiale stepped down as Caporegime, and proposed his closest ally Joseph Schiavo to be made the new caporegime of the crew, but Schiavo refused and suggested his protege Paul Vario be promoted instead. Schiavo continued controlling garment businesses with Curiale and Tommy Lucchese, while serving as an elder advisor to Paul Vario.[1]

Paul Vario's power

In 1962, Paul Vario was released from prison and became a made man in the Lucchese family, and then he quickly was promoted to the caporegime of the Brooklyn crew.[2] Vario operated from an old German bar known as Geffken's on Flatlands Avenue and a Junkyard on Avenue D in Canarsie, Brooklyn.[2] He became a powerful mobster receiving millions of dollars from the members of his crew and local criminals. Vario's junkyard in Canarsie is where he oversaw most of the crew's criminal operations that included hijackings, loansharking, bookmaking and fencing stolen property.[2] His crew was heavily involved in hijacking cargo shipments, extorting shippers and airlines in exchange for labor peace from John F. Kennedy Airport in Queens, NY.[2] [3] Vario also controlled several loansharking and bookmaking operations in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island.

One of Vario's associates was James "Jimmy" Burke, an Irish gangster who ran his own crew, of hijackers that would pay off truck drivers and then unload the goods at a warehouse Vario controlled. Burke led his semi-independent Robert's Lounge Crew, from his bar Robert's Lounge. The Robert's Lounge crew was composed of numerous people who were involved in armed robbery, hijacking, and murder. Although Burke's crew was an independent, many members were associates of Lucchese family through Burke's and Vario's longtime friendship.[4] Burke's crew included wiseguy's Thomas DeSimone and Henry Hill.

Vario also maintained a close alliance with Lucchese caporegime John Dioguardi, who controlled labor unions in New York City. In the 1970s, when Vario and Burke were imprisoned, the majority of Vario's bookmaking operations were taken over by his Russian Jewish associate, Martin Krugman.

In the late 1970s, two of Vario's associates Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke, began dealing in amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. Hill ran his drug organization with his wife Karen, William Arico, Anthony and Rocco Perla, Robin Cooperman, and Judith Wicks. In early 1979, Burke and Hill began selling heroin. After Robert "Bobby" Germaine Jr., the son of Henry Hill's drug partner, became an informant, Hill was monitored. In 1980, Hill was arrested for drug dealing and looking at several life-sentences. He accepted the option to become an informant. Hill's testimony led to 50 convictions. In 1980, on Burke's orders, Angelo Sepe shot and killed Bobby Germaine, Jr. in Kew Gardens, Queens.

Burke was given 20 years for fixing sporting events and a life sentence when the authorities convicted him for murdering scam-artist Richard Eaton. Vario was given a 12½-year sentence during the KENRAC trial.

D'Arco with Amuso and Casso

After Vario's imprisonment, Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco was promoted and became the new caporegime of the crew. D'Arco worked closely with family boss Vic Amuso and Underboss Anthony Casso. He followed their orders having numerous murders committed and D'Arco eventually feared for his life and became a government witness, later testifying against Amuso and Casso.

Historical leadership

Caporegimes of the Vario crew (merged)

Caporegimes of the 19th Hole crew (merged)

Caporegimes of the McDonald Ave crew (merged)

Caporegimes of the Brooklyn faction

In early 2000, the Vario-Cutaia Crew caporegime Domenico Cutaia was given the members of 19th Hole crew creating the Brooklyn faction.

Caporegimes of the Brooklyn-Long Island Crew

Current members and associates

Members of the Brooklyn faction
Members of the Brooklyn-Long Island Crew
Imprisoned members of the Brooklyn faction
Associates of the Brooklyn faction

Past members and associates

These are past members and associates who have retired, transferred to another crew, been murdered, or died other ways.

Soldiers of Vario crew
Associates of the Vario crew

Former headquarters and hangouts

The crew operates throughout the New York City; The latest headquarters maintained under capo "Big John" Castellucci was the Cigar Vault Emporium in Staten Island. Some of its former headquarters and hangouts are:

Government informants and witnesses

In popular culture

References

Notes

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Book: Capeci, Tom Robbins . Jerry . Mob Boss The Life of Little Al D'Arco, the Man Who Brought Down the Mafia . October 2013 . St. Martin's Publishing Group . 9781250037435 . 16 April 2023.
  2. Book: DeStefano . Anthony M. . The Big Heist The Real Story of the Lufthansa Heist, the Mafia, and Murder . 2018 . Pinnacle Books . 9780786040834 . 21 April 2024.
  3. News: Uhlig . Mark A. . 1988-05-05 . Paul Vario, 73; Called a Leader Of Crime Group . en-US . The New York Times . 2024-04-21 . 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: Robert's Lounge Crew. TruTV.
  5. Web site: Declaration of Alphonse D'Arco in Mason Tenders RICO Suit . Thelaborers.org . October 5, 1994 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070928015354/http://www.thelaborers.net/newspapers/DARCO.html . September 28, 2007 .
  6. Web site: Inmate Locator: Domenico Cutaia . Bureau of Prisons . 2010-12-02 . 2011-06-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110629164536/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Domenico%20&Middle=&LastName=Cutaia&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=58&y=2 . dead .
  7. Web site: May, Allan. The Lufthansa Heist Revisited: Cast of Characters. TruTv.com. 20. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120428115333/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/gang/heist/20.html. 2012-04-28.
  8. Web site: Henry Hill, Inspiration For "Goodfellas", Dead At 69 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120615212856/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1687260/henry-hill-dead.jhtml. dead. June 15, 2012. MTV . June 13, 2012.
  9. Book: Hill, Henry . Schreckengost, Bryon . A Goodfella's Guide to New York: Your Personal Tour Through the Mob's Notorious Haunts. 28 April 2010. 90 and 135. 9780307556462.
  10. Book: Pileggi, Nicholas. Wiseguy: Life In a Mafia Family. September 1990. 104, 145. 9780671723224.
  11. Book: Hill, Henry . Schreckengost, Bryon . A Goodfella's Guide to New York: Your Personal Tour Through the Mob's Notorious Haunts. 28 April 2010. 77. 9780307556462.
  12. Book: Pileggi, Nicholas. Wiseguy: Life In a Mafia Family. September 1990. 102–103. 9780671723224.
  13. Book: Postiglione, Louis M.. Did I Win Or Did I Lose?: 77 Years of Wisdom. 22 January 2010. 68. 9781449061258.
  14. Book: Pileggi, Nicholas. Wiseguy: Life In a Mafia Family. September 1990. 120, 122. 9780671723224.

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