Richard Bilello

Richard Bilello a.k.a. "Richie" (born c.a. 1930 Brownsville, Brooklyn- October 28, 1974 Dannemora, New York, was an Italian-American Lucchese crime family mob associate and informant who served under the capo Paul Vario. He is related to Lawrence "Larry" Bilello.

Biography

Richard Bilello is described by his murderer, Donald Frankos as a "real nasty sun of a bitch" and states in his biography "Contract Killer: The Explosive Story of the Mafia's Most Notorious Hit Man" that he was proud of murdering him. He was a burly 250-pound sadist who suffered from Sadistic personality disorder. Richard was the successful proprietor of "The Presto Pizzeria" a cavernous dimly lit diner in East New York, Brooklyn which was owned by Lucchese crime family capo Paul Vario before he was sentenced to life in prison for the murder. The Presto Pizzeria was where his biological father Lawrence "Larry" Bilello worked in the 1950's to 1960's as a pastry chef apprentice. Richard had grabbed a young man who had double parked in front of The Presto Pizzeria. Richard took the kid off the street and forced him into the diner where he forced the youth to perform Oral Sex on him.

Richard asked, "Who's your God"?"

"You are" the trembling youngster replied.

Richard replied, "Right" and shot the kneeling youth in the head. When he was incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility during the riots, rather than join the fellow prison inmates in the Attica Prison riots who were trying to improve prison conditions, Richard forced one of the correctional officers held hostage to perform oral sex on him. Following the riots Richard was the first convict convicted for crimes during the rebellion. In 1974 he raped a fellow inmate at the Clinton Correctional Facility. He was a long time associate of the Lucchese crime family and knew many of the family's secrets, which he informed the United States Department of Justice and FBI about. In October 1974 word reached Joe Sullivan and Donald Frankos about Richard proclaiming to the prison population that fellow inmate Jeremy Rosenberg, one of the heroes of the Attica Prison riots was an informant while he was incarcerated in the Clinton Correctional Facility. Rosenberg was considered one of the heroes of the rebellion, had nearly been murdered there, and for more than a decade had consistently been a champion of inmate rights. Rosenberg was a close friend of the gangsters Frankos and Sullivan.

Richard Bilello's payback

On October 28, 1974 Donald Frankos saw Richard sitting on a bench outside his prison counsellor's office across front the prison print shop. Donald came out of the print shop and sat down beside Richard. Under the pretense of making peace Donald gave him a cup of coffee. As Richard held the cup of coffee in one hand he offered Donald a Pall Mall with the other. Donald replied, "Yes, thank you" and plunged a knife deep into Richard's chest. He shrieked, "No! No! Please, God!" Donald stabbed him again twice more in the chest and once in the throat. He keeled over his chair and tumbled to the floor where Donald left him in a pool of blood.

Donald is implicated

Unfortunately before Donald could get back inside the print shop an inmate walking up the stairs located down the hall spotted him. An Irish mobster in the print shop cleaned up the knife and threw it out a window so there would be no way to trace the weapon to Donald and returned to their work stations. Moments later a guard turned around and had Donald help load the dying Richard into a stretcher. Bilello was still conscious as Donald and the corrections officer carried him to the elevator. Richard who was still conscious, gurgled, choking on his own blood, "I want to see my lawyer. I'm going to sue this fucking prison." The guard asked, "Who did this to you?" Richard answered "Tony", which was the alias of Frankos, "Tony The Greek". Bilello then passed out. They put Frankos is solitary confinement and locked down the entire prison. Ignoring pleas made over the public address system in the prison not one inmate was willing to donate a drop of blood to help save Richard. He died in the prison hospital five hours after being stabbed by Donald. The FBI immediately knew that Frankos had performed the killing and offered him immunity for Richard's murder if he in turn informed on Jeremy Rosenberg. Frankos declined.

The Richard Billelo Murder Trial

The state was determined to prosecute Frankos, although he later heard a Clinton County, New York district attorney that whoever murdered Richard that "a statue should be erected". Paul Vario was so delighted after hearing of Richard's murder that he put $500 on record for Donald to receive in prison from associates. Vario also helped arranged for the powerful attorney Gino Gallina to represent Frankos for the Bilello murder. In the end Frankos decied to plea bargain for Richard's murder. The state had threatened to ask for the maximum sentence, believing they could prove the killing was premeditated (which it was). In exchange for six and a half to thirteen year sentenced Frankos pled guilty in February 1975 to Richard's murder. Jeremy Rosenberg felt guilty about Donald being sentenced to more prison time when Donald had murdered Richard on behalf of him.

References

* "Contract Killer: The Explosive Story of the Mafia's Most Notorious Hit Man Donald "Tony The Greek" Frankos" by William Hoffman and Lake Headley

* "Wiseguy: Life In A Mafia Family" By Nicholas Pileggi