Jackie D'Amico

John 'Jackie the Nose' D'Amico (b. 1937) is a New York mobster alleged to be one of the street bosses of the Gambino crime family.

Reportedly a recognized bookmaker and lower soldier in the Gambino crime family [http://www.nysun.com/new-york/gambino-family-turns-to-jackie-nose-to-lead/24509/] since the late 1960s by federal authorities, D'Amico is not related to Bonanno crime family "sidewalk soldier" Joseph D'Amico. D'Amico became a known associate of then Queens-based captain John Gotti during the 1970s, and with the death of longtime family godfather Carlo Gambino in 1976, D'Amico began operating in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx with loansharking, illegal gambling, extortion and labor racketeering activties. But with the death of Gambino, Gambino's brother-in-law Paul Castellano had taken over the family; and at some point, D'Amico was promoted to Caporegime or Capo in the Brooklyn faction of the Gambinos. With income from loansharking, extortion and illegal gambling operations, D'Amico proved to be a feared captain in Brooklyn. D'Amico also worked as a delivery truck driver for Crystal Geyser Water Company.

On December 16, 1985, Castellano and his Underboss Thomas Bilotti were gunned down outside the Sparks Steak House on Manhattan on the orders of John Gotti, who had conspired with a handful of other family captains, including Castellano's trustee Frank DeCicco, into taking over the Gambino crime family. [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=23291] At the time, D'Amico rose from a Brooklyn captain to one of Gotti's closest associates, as Gotti became the new Boss.

However, soon Gotti was arrested, tried and convicted of various racketeering charges and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1992, and D'Amico was promoted to run the family along with Gotti's son John "Junior" Gotti and his longtime rivals and feared Queens faction-leaders Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo and Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/gotti/layaway_25.html] After federal law enforcement began focusing on the younger Gotti, Jackie D'Amico was tapped to succed Gotti as the head of the Gambino crime family. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/gotti/layaway_25.html] However, after being sentenced to eight years for loansharking and racketeering charges in the mid 1990s, the leadership fell to Corozzo and DiMaria.

In September 2001, D'Amico returned to Brooklyn and his crew and according to federal authorities, D'Amico was recognized as the current acting boss of the Gambino crime family from 2003 til 2006. However, with the release of Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo that same year, a new report stated that the family was being run by both D'Amico and Corozzo. At the time, Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri held the position as the family Underboss and Corozzo's brother Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo as the family Consigliere. On February 7, 2008, D'Amico was arrested along with more than 60 affiliates of the Gambino family after Operation Old Bridge picked up an informant named Joseph Vollero. The operation went on to terminate the drug trafficking between the Gambino crime family in New York and their Sicilian connections in Italy. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7233477.stm BBC News - 'Mafiosi' held in US and Sicily] ] While D'Amico was placed at the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, Corozzo decided to flee New York, acting on prior knowledge. [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/02/08/2008-02-08_feds_bust_gambino_bigs-1.html]

On March 14, 2008, Jackie D'Amico was released on bail from the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York. [http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=D%27Amico&Middle=&FirstName=John&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0] Following the indictments from Operation Old Bridge, D'Amico was still on trial regarding multiple counts of racketeering charges. In May, 2008, D'Amico pleaded guilty to extorting a cement company out of $100,000 along with fellow captains Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria and Francesco "Frank" Cali. On August 18, D'Amico was sentenced to two years in prison. [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2008/08/18/2008-08-18_reputed_mobster_jackie_nose_gets_2year_t.html]

References

Further reading

*Maas, Peter. "Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia". New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-06-093096-9
*Mannion, James. "101 Things You Didn't Know About The Mafia: The Lowdown on Dons, Wiseguys, Squealers and Backstabbers". Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2005. ISBN 1-59337-267-1
*Raab, Selwyn. "Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires". New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-81

External links

* [http://www.nlpc.org/view.asp?action=viewArticle&aid=1213 National Legal and Policy Center: Gotti Ally D’Amico Becomes New Gambino Boss; Denies It, Too]