Turncoat Lucchese acting boss dies while in witness protection at the age of 86
Former Luchese family boss turned informant Alfonse 'Little Al' D'Arco has died at the age of 86.
D’Arco,
who became a federal Witness in 1991 and testified against powerful
figures from the city’s five Mafia families, died earlier this month due
to complications of kidney disease.
His evidence sent scores of mobsters to prison and helped unravel much of New York's Cosa Nostra.
He had testified against 'Mafia Cops' Stephen Caracappa Louie Eppolito and Genovese family boss and Vincent 'The Chin' Gigante.
Others included Colombo boss 'Little Vic' Orena, ex-Luchese bosses Vic Amuso, Anthony 'Gaspipe' Casso and Anthony Spero.
His
plea deal with federal agents also helped inspire other high-ranking
mobsters to give evidence in various trials including Salvatore 'Sammy
Bull' Gravano, a right-hand man to John Gotti.
D’Arco, who was from Brooklyn, grew up near the borough’s Navy Yard and spent time around various made men.
His
childhood was 'like being in the forest, and all the trees were the
dons and the organized crime guys,' the mobster once recalled.
The Korean War veteran came back to
Brooklyn and he subsequently teamed up with future Luchese family head
Vittorio Amuso in 1959.
He later
earned money in a variety of illegal fields which included drug-dealing,
hijacking, burglary, arson and armed robbery. He would later admit to
eight murders.
New York Daily News reported that D'Arco avoided getting involved in prostitution and pornography, which he believed were beneath him.
The 5 foot 7 inch gangster became a made man in August 1982 at a ceremony in kitchen in the Bronx.
He
became captain of his family after Luchese informant Henry Hill’s
testimony led to the conviction of D’Arco’s predecessor Paulie Vario in
1984, which was immortalized in the movie 'GoodFellas.'
But D’Arco became convinced that his mob associates were setting him up for murder.
In September, 1991, D'Arco attended a
meeting of Lucchese leaders and noticed that one of his soldiers had a
gun hidden under his shirt and was wearing a bulletproof vest.
He
believed that his life was threatened and D'Arco rushed out of the
hotel. His driver had vanished and he believed this was another
indication he was going to be killed.
FBI agents warned D'Arco that he was in danger the following day and he decided to leave the mafia.
He later offered to become a government witness and testified in a dozen trials along with various grand jury hearings.
At
that point, he was the highest-ranking member of a New York crime
family to break his blood oath and testify against the mafia.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6861471/Former-Luchese-family-boss-turned-informant-Little-Al-DArco-dies-86.html
I read his book "Mob boss" fuckin great read highly recommend it, sorry to see him go in the age of everybody whacking each other and himself possibly being whacked, after all is loyalty it was casso that f****** ruined everything, he was 1 paranoid motherfucker
ReplyDeleteAmen to that
Delete