Vincenzo Aloi

Vincenzo "Vinny" Aloi (b. September 22, 1923) is a New York City mobster and a prominent member of the Colombo crime family.

Made man to acting boss

Vincenzo Aloi, born in Brooklyn, New York in 1923, is the son of the former Profaci "caporegime", Sebastian "Buster" Aloi, and the brother of Benedetto "Benny" Aloi, who is also very involved with the Colombo crime family. During their early youth as criminals, they would become made members of the family, and later, some of the most prominent figures in organized crime. During the 1970s, the reputed Underboss, Carmine "Junior" Persico, took over the family, as Joseph "Joe" Colombo was shot and fell into a coma in early 1971. Only problem was that Persico was going in and out of prison during that time, and Aloi was promoted as his Acting Boss before Persico officially could take over. Aloi's official rank was Caporegime of the Brooklyn faction, as two of his closest associates were his brother and fellow captain Benedetto Aloi and powerful Brooklyn faction captain and later family Acting Boss, Vittorio "Vic" Orena.

Gallo and indictment

In 1972, a former rebel of the Colombo crime family, Joseph "Crazy Joey" Gallo was released from prison after 10 years for extortion charges, while claiming war against former Boss Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci in the early 1960s. Allegedly, Persico, who was a former Gallo rival, was concerned that Gallo's releasement would trigger a new longtime war, which could threaten his current leadership as Boss. On April 7, 1972, Gallo was killed at Umberto's Clam House located on Mulberry Street in Little Italy while celebrating his 43rd birthday. Aloi and Persico were arrested days later along with Carlo Gambino, the head of the Gambino crime family, but it was never pressed charges. After the longtime Gallo threat was gone, many Colombo mobters turned or defected to other families in New York City, as Carmine "Junior" Persico was recognized as the official Boss in 1973, when Aloi demoted to his old rank of Caporegime. Aloi would then be arrested and indicted with prominent members of the Lucchese crime family for stock schemes and fraud. Aloi was sentenced to nine years in prison. His leadership as Acting boss wasn't remembered well due to the poor status of the Colombo crime family at that time. [http://www.mafianj.com/sci89/colombo.shtml]

At Allenwood Prison

Aloi was incarcerated at the Allenwood Federal Penitentiary in Pennsylvania, alongside Lucchese crime family leaders, Carmine "Mr. Gribbs" Tramunti, John "Johnny Dio" Dioguardi, Paul "Paulie" Vario, plus low level associate and later government informant Henry Hill. This would later be written and filmed in the book "Wiseguy" and "GoodFellas" in 1990, by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese. [http://www.geocities.com/OrganizedCrimeSyndicates/ColomboFamily.html]

Parole and imprisonment

Aloi was paroled in the early 1980s, returning to his crew in the Brooklyn faction of the Colombo crime family, still under the leadership of Carmine PersicoAt the same time in 1986, both Persico and current "acting boss" Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella were indicted and sentenced to 139 years in prison in the infamous Mafia Commission Trial, with most of the major leaders of the Five Families. Again was Persico behind bars, and the family needed new leadership, as Persico's cousin and Caporegime, Victor Orena stepped up as "acting boss" in 1988, but decided to take over the family permanently, as he grew his releationship with both Vincent and Benny Aloi, two of the most respected "capos" in the family, as Orena became friend with the head of the Gambino crime family, John Gotti. During the late 1980s, Aloi was arrested and indicted for racketeering charges, as he was sentenced to less than 5 years in prison. It was during that time that Persico and Orena started fighting a notorious battle against each other for the future leadership of the Colombo crime family, as more than 12 people died, and several others were hurt due to the shoot-outs in Brooklyn and the Bronx, New York. Both Vincenzo and his brother were reportedly allies to Orena during the war. Benny Aloi was at one point recognized as Orena's Consigliere.

End of Colombo Wars

The "Colombo War" was fought from both sides until the year of 1993, as Orena's most powerful Caporegime, Joseph "Joey" Scopo was the last to be shot and killed in the war. Due to lack of made men and encreased law enforcement, the remaining Orena faction gave up in early 1993, as Victor Orena himself was arrested the year before, and sentenced to life imprisonment, as Aloi was released after serving his time for racketeering in May, 1993. Despite that his crew were huge supporters to Orena, Aloi was allowed to keep his rank of Caporegime, as he was seen as one of the old and respectable members of the Colombo crime family.

Sitdown with Jersey

During the mid 1990s, then Gambino "capo", Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo became involved in a dispute with the DeCavalcante crime family of New Jersey over the induction of Manhattan residents into La Cosa Nostra, as New Jersey crime family members Louis "Louie Eggs" Consalvo and Gregory Rago, who operated a Mott Street social club and held criminal interests in New York City, should have been under the jurisdiction of one of the New York families. Aloi was brought into the sitdown to represent the Colombo crime family, as his current position was "Acting Consigliere". Also present were prominent Jersey mobsters Giacomo "Jake" Amari, the Acting Boss of the DeCavalcante crime family, and his Consigliere, Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile. The conflict was eventually resolved peacefully when it was ruled the DeCavalcante crime family could no longer 'make' members outside of New Jersey and South Philadelphia, which was another area that the DeCavalcantes had traditionally recruited from. [http://www.ganglandnews.com/column334.htm]

Alleged Consigliere

Vincenzo Aloi is recognized as a prominent member of the Colombo crime family, as both him and his brother Benedetto are alleged to be Consigliere or "Senior Advisors" to the family's administration. High-ranked members Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli, John "Sonny" Franzese and Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo are listed to be the current administration, with Carmine Persico as the official Boss behind bars, as both Vincenzo and Benedetto Aloi are alleged to be Senior Advisors to the Colombo crime family. As of December 2007, Vincenzo Aloi, at age 84, is currently residing in Florida, as law enforcement and federal prosecutors currently consider Aloi as semi-retired.

External links

*http://www.geocities.com/OrganizedCrimeSyndicates/ColomboFamily.html
*http://www.mafianj.com/sci89/colombo.shtml
*http://www.ganglandnews.com/column334.htm

Further reading

*Sifakis, Carl. "The Mafia Encyclopedia: Third Edition". Checkmark Books; 3 edition (June 30, 2005) ISBN 0816056951
*Capeci, Jerry. "The Complete Idiots Guide to the Mafia". Indianapolis, Alpha, Alpha; 2 edition (January 2005) ISBN 1592573053
*Raab, Selwyn. "Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires". New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8

References

*United States Congress. House Appropriations Committee. "Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for the Fiscal Year". 1975. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0FzXcOmJMVA9f9doFATK7MI&id=vNMqOMOEx0oC&q=%22Vincent+Aloi%22&dq=%22Vincent+Aloi%22&pgis=1]
*Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice United States Congress. House Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Courts. "Witness Protection Program: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary". 1985. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC04418970&id=Q0oxO1pxhK4C&q=%22Vincent+Aloi%22&dq=%22Vincent+Aloi%22&pgis=1]
*United States Congress. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi : Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs". 1988. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC19099088&id=DQeMhDjHx58C&q=%22Vincent+Aloi%22&dq=%22Vincent+Aloi%22&pgis=1]
*United States Congress. House Committee on Commerce. Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials. "Organized Crime on Wall Street: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials". 2000. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0160645131&id=IFQTmIfaPH4C&q=%22Vincent+Aloi%22&dq=%22Vincent+Aloi%22&pgis=1]