Frank DeCicco

Frank DeCicco (November 5, 1935 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn - April 13, 1986 Dyker Heights, Brooklyn) was a New York mobster and labor racketeer belonging to the Gambino crime family who eventually plotted the murder of boss Paul Castellano. He served as underboss of the Gambino crime family from December 17, 1985 to April 13, 1985 when he was murdered.

Biography

Frank DeCicco is the son of a Gambino crime family associate only identified as Boozy DeCicco from Benevento, Campania, Italy. Boozy DeCicco earned his peculiar nickname because of his reputation as being an alcoholic. Frank has one brother named George and is a paternal grandfather to a grandson identified only as "George". Frank is a paternal uncle to Gambino crime family capo Robert DeCicco born on July 27, 1950 and Gambino crime family mob associate Louis DeCicco March 9, 1946 and distant uncle of wrongfully convicted rapist Scott Fappiano. He had one sister named Marie who would later marry capo Frank Fappiano and his brother George DeCicco Jr. who would later marry Gail Lombardozzi, relative of Gambino crime family capo Carmine Lombardozzi. He is also an in-law to Gambino crime family capo turned turncoat Michael DiLeonardo and Colombo crime family capo Robert DiLeonardo and Gambino crime family capo Michael Ricci. He is also a distant relative of Gambino crime family mob associate Joseph "Joey Boy" Orlando born on March 19, 1949. Frank DeCicco joined the Gambino crime family and became a "soldier" sometime in the late 1970s-early 1980s and was very close to then boss Paul Castellano. Frank lived in Richmond Hill, New York. He drove a Buick Electra. Under ordinary circumstances, John Gotti would not have paid much attention to DeCicco, who had never demonstrated the potential for criminal greatness, but he had one resounding asset to his credit: he was from Bath Beach, Brooklyn. This unremarkable fact of consequence, for that made DeCicco part of what was known as the "Bath Beach Mafia" within the larger Mafia; Castellano and other bosss from Bath Beach tended to bestow favor upon those similarly blessed to have been born in that Brooklyn waterfront community. DeCicco became a protege of Castellano's, and he was elevated to am executive post in the mafia-dominated cement workers' union. In the union, he functioned as a bagman for payoffs from the rigging of construction projects to Castellano. But with Castellano aging and Dellacroce near death, his future was becoming uncertain and he would not have a supporter.

Labor racketeering

DeCicco became heavily involved in labor racketeering at Teamsters Union Local 282. This local had jurisdiction over the entire concrete pouring industry could shut down the city's construction industry at will. DeCicco installed many Gambino members into the Local, including Salvatore Gravano ("Sammy the Bull"), Michael DiLeonardo, Louis Vallario ("Big Louie"), Frank Fappiano, and Liborio Milito. DeCicco was responsible for delivering payoffs from union bosses such as John Cody and Robert Sasso to the Gambino administration. DeCicco and would often attend meetings at Castellano's Todt Hill, Staten Island mansion, known to family members as the "White House". DeCicco was allegedly close to Castellano at this time.

Conspirator

Even though DeCicco could quite possibly have been looking at a future spot in the Gambino ruling administration as a result of the commission case, he would eventually turn against Castellano and plot his death along with John Gotti, Joseph Armone, Gravano, and Frank Locascio. On December 16, 1985, Castellano and his newly appointed underboss Thomas Bilotti were shot to death while exiting their Lincoln Town Car outside of Sparks Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan. DeCicco had arranged the meeting at the restaurant, setting up his boss and underboss for the assassination. Soon after Castellano's death, Gotti became the new family boss; he rewarded DeCicco by making him his underboss. DeCicco was now in charge of all of the "white collar" rackets that once belonged to the Castellano faction of the family. This caused tension between Gotti and his friend Angelo Ruggiero.

Victim

On April 13, 1986, while approaching his car after leaving a meeting at the Veterans & Friends Social Club on 86th St. in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Frank DeCicco was killed by a car bomb explosion. Lucchese crime family soldier Frank "Frankie Hearts" Bellino, who was with DeCicco, lost several toes. However, the intended target, John Gotti, was not there. Turncoats and informants would later reveal that the order for the hit came from Genovese crime family boss Vincent Gigante, who did not like Gotti or approve of him killing Castellano without approval from the Commission, and conspired his murder with Lucchese crime family leaders Victor Amuso ("Vic") and Anthony Casso ("Gaspipe"). Sammy Gravano would later say in his biography, "Frankie Hearts [Bellino] goes flying backwards. The blast blew his shoes off. And his toes. I go flying across the street. And there's Frankie Hearts with the blood shooting out of his feet. I saw Frankie DeCicco laying on the ground beside the car. With the fire, it could blow up again. I tried to pull him away. I grabbed a leg, but he ain't coming with it. The leg is off. One of his arms is off. I got my hand under him and my hand went right through his body to his stomach. There's no ass. His ass, his balls, everything, is blown completely off. I was wearing a white shirt. I looked at my shirt, amazed. There wasn't a drop of blood on it. The force of the blast, the concussion, blew most of the fluids out of Frankie's body. He had no blood left in him, nothing, not an ounce."

After death

Supervising agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Edward Magnuson testified that a confidential informant had told him that Gotti was, "very angry relative to the murder of Frank DeCicco, and when he was out on bail, or when the trial was over, there was going to be a war, and John would take his revenge."

After the murder of Frank DeCicco, John Gotti was concerned about Thomas Gambino. His concern was related to the political manuevering aimed at Gotti that took place shortly before Castellano's death. Gotti had heard reports that Castellano intended to name Thomas Gambino as his chosen successor, and fretted even after Castellano's death that Gambino would attempt to make some kind of move. But Gambino told Gotti he had no such ambition, and when he appeared with Gotti at the funeral of DeCicco, the political signal was very clear: Gotti and Gambino had made some kind of arrangement. At the same time, Gotti determined that Carlo Gambino's three other sons would not place any obstacles in his way.

In November 1997, Jerry Capeci of the "New York Daily News" reported that Casso, now a government witness, had revealed that Herbert "Blue Eyes" Pate, a drug dealer and Genovese family associate, detonated the bomb. Casso told authorities, "The plotters reportedly used a bomb to divert suspicion toward Sicilian hoods, who often use explosives. Pate, who had no links to the Gambino family and was unlikely to be recognized by mobsters while staking out DeCicco."

Unfortunately for the plotters, Gotti had changed his routine and Pate had mistook Bellino who had an uncanny physical resemblance Gotti. Five days after the murder, Pate was in court on a tax evasion charge. He was later sentenced to 12 years in prison and released in November 1996.

In popular culture

In the made for television HBO autobiographical movie "Gotti", Frank is portrayed by actor Robert Miranda.

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=23291 Frank DeCicco] at Find-A-Grave
*http://www.nypost.com/seven/10072006/news/regionalnews/dna_miracle_clue_springs_man_wrongly_jailed_for_83_horror_rape_regionalnews_alex_ginsberg_________and_marsha_kranes.htm?page=0