Dennis Griffin - Surviving the Mob: A Street Soldiers Life Inside the Gambino Crime Family

Surviving
the Mob

A Street Soldiers Life Inside the Gambino Crime Family

Dennis N. Griffin

and Andrew DiDonato

Huntington Press

Las Vegas Nevada

Surviving the Mob

A Street Soldiers Life Inside
the Gambino Crime Family

Published by

Huntington Press

3665 Procyon St.

Las Vegas, NV 89103

Phone (702) 252-0655

e-mail:

Copyright 2010, Dennis Griffin, Andrew DiDonato

ISBN: 978-1-935396-27-7

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010934074

$14.95us

Cover Photos: Brooklyn Bridge & Lower Manhattan skyline Mario Savoia/Dreamstime.com; Blood Paper ctvvele/Dreamstime.com

Photo Insert Pages: Background, Vintage Postcard Mikle15/Dreams-times.com; Courtesy of Andrew DiDonato, pgs. 1, 2, 3, 9, 10 top, and 12; Courtesy of Billy Cutolo, Jr., pg. 4 top; Internet photos, pgs. 4 bottom, 5 top, 6 bottom, 7 bottom, and 8 top; Courtesy of NYPD, pgs. 5 bottom, 7 top, 8 bottom, 10 bottom, and 11; Courtesy of New York Daily News, pgs. 6 top

Production & Design: Laurie Cabot

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the copyright owner.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the three most important people in my life. To my wife Lupe, whose love, kindness, and support have made me into a better person in so many ways. And to my daughter Mia, who has brought me happiness beyond anything I could ever have dreamed of.

And especially to my son Andrew, whom I love and miss more than words can say. The choices I made early in my life didnt allow me to be there for him as I should have been. I will regret those decisions for the rest of my life. My greatest hope is that through the pages of this book, he will find the long-awaited answers to his questions and come to know who I really am.

Andrew DiDonato

Acknowledgments

The information in this book was derived from a variety of sources, but primarily from Andrew DiDonato himself. However, many other resources provided valuable information to this project, including the New York Post, New York Times, New York Daily News, Jerry Capecis Gang Land News, Mafia Today, Mafia News Today, and the websites of the FBI and the United States Department of Justice.

I also want to extend my special thanks to William Cutolo Jr. for his contribution to the discussion of the murder of his father, William Wild Bill Cutolo.

Several other people deserve mention, but due to their unique situations or for other reasons, they desire to stay in the background. Respecting their wishes, they will remain nameless, but not unappreciated.

Denny Griffin

Contents

Prologue

In the summer of 2009, I received an email from a lady who said she had a friendan erstwhile mobsterwho had a story to tell. She said if I was interested to give her a call. I did.

During my conversation with the woman, I was told that her friend was a former associatea street soldierof the Gambino crime family out of New York City. In 1997 he flipped and became a government witness. He testified at several high-profile Mob trials, including John Gotti Juniors.

Although he voluntarily left the federal Witness Protection Program, he was still an active witness, who would more than likely have to testify in pending cases. Therefore, his security was an issue. She would only identify him as Andrew. If I wanted to speak with him by phone, she would arrange it. After contemplating her offer for a couple of days, I asked her to put me in touch with him.

Over the next several days, I communicated with Andrew by phone and email. I learned that his last name was DiDonato. He was born in New York City in 1965 into a Mob-connected family. He had been involved in organized crime since he was a teen. His extensive criminal history included everything from illegal gambling to burglary, armed robbery, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. He had served several years in state and federal prisons.

Andrew explained that he had reached out to me because of my previous Mob biography, Cullotta. Trust was a major issue with him, and he felt I had proved myselfmade my bones, if you willby co-authoring that book with the onetime Chicago Outfit-connected Frank Cullotta.

Andrew said his goal was to tell the story of life as an associate of an organized-crime family from a street soldiers perspective. He wanted to show it isnt the glamorous lifestyle many people think it is, and that when youre a criminal your actions hurt a lot of people, physically, emotionally, and financially.

I was intrigued by the project, but there was one very important issue that needed to be put to rest before I committed to helping Andrew with his book. I told him that I wouldnt get involved unless I was sure he would be totally candid and that the book would be factually accurate.

He said we both desired the same things: candor and accuracy. Much of the information he planned to disclose had been verified by law enforcement as part of his deal with the government. Events were also documented in newspaper articles and public records. He would only hold back any information that could impact future legal action against former colleagues in which he may have to testify. Andrews answer satisfied me that we were on the same page and he began providing me with documents, articles, photos, and sites where I could find information.

Andrew and I finally met in person in December 2009. In January 2010 we began writing Surviving the Mob.

In these pages youll read extensively about the Gambino crime family. The organization has had many notable bosses over the years, including Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, and John Gotti. However, here, the primary focus is on the capo of Andrews crew, Nicholas Nicky Corozzo.

Nicky Corozzo was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 17, 1940. He was one of John Gottis chief rivals within the family in the 1980s and rose in power after Gottis incarceration in 1992. In 2005, Nicky was recognized by law enforcement as the boss of the Gambinos. So although he may lack the name recognition of some of his predecessors, Nicky Corozzo was a force to be reckoned with in New York organized crime.

After youve read this book, youll have a much better understanding of how an organized-crime crew functions. Youll know what types of crimes they commit to make their money and how the proceeds are distributed. Youll learn about Mob politics and myths, that loyalty goes from the bottom up, but not necessarily from the top down. Youll experience Andrews life on the run from the law, while also being under a death sentence from his former colleagues. And youll get a taste of what its like to do prison time and to be a government witness.

Denny Griffin

Las Vegas, January 2010

Introduction

My name is Andrew DiDonato. I was born on November 21, 1965, in Queens, New York. I was raised in Brooklyn in a house between two Mafia social clubs. I grew up under the watchful eyes of the neighborhood wiseguys.

My great-uncle Pasquale Paddy Mac Macchiarole was a capo in the Genovese family. When I was 12, Paddy was murdered in a Mob hit. Two months later, his son John was also killed gangland-style. I suppose that being exposed to that kind of violence at such a young age could or should have discouraged me from wanting to live the Mafia life. But it didnt. Maybe it was my destiny to become a criminal.

In 1979 at the age of 14, I started down that road. I began by stealing radios, tires, and wheels from cars with other neighborhood kidssome of whom later became affiliated with the same Gambino crew I did.