Peter Chiodo

Infobox Person
name=Peter Chiodo

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caption= FBI surveillance photo of Peter Chiodo
birth_date= 1940
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death_date=
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Peter "Fat Pete" Chiodo (born 1940) was a capo in the Lucchese crime family who later became a government witness.

In 1991, Chiodo was charged with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). At this point, he decided to plea guilty in return for a lighter sentence. Uncertain of Chiodo's loyalty and angry at his guilty plea, Lucchese crime family leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso decided to kill him. On May 8, 1991 three shooters shot Chiodo 12 times, but failed to kill him. He is the nephew of Lucchese crime family mobster Frank Signorino and brother to Patricia Chiodo.

Following this assassination attempt, Chiodo decided to become a government witness. Amuso and Casso then had Chiodo's uncle killed in an unsuccessful effort to dissuade him. Chiodo provided valuable evidence that helped convict both Amuso and Casso as well as many other gangsters. He had to flown around in a special plane while a witness because of his weight. [http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/2007/09/11/2007-09-11_peter_big_pete_chiodo_sentenced_17_years-2.html?ref=rss] .Chiodo is currently in the Witness Protection Program. He was sentenced in September 2007 on racketeering charges but will serve no prison time due to his agreement to testify.

ources

*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