Anthony Baratta

Anthony "Bowat" Baratta (born 1939) is a New York mobster and a prominent member of the Lucchese crime family.

Made in the Bronx

Anthony Baratta is the son of Gambino crime family capo Peter Baratta. During the late 1970s or early 1980s, Baratta is to have been made into the Lucchese crime family under the rule of powerful Underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro, in the family's Bronx faction. Baratta had reportedly been involved in the narcotics activities with Matthew "Matt" Madonna, an operation that eventually supplied heroin to infamous druglord Leroy "Nicky" Barnes, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan, New York. Baratta, who was in his 40s, would soon be involved in loansharking, extortion, racketeering and drug trafficking activities.

Captain

As US law enforcement decided to crush most of the organized crime activities in New York City during the mid 1980s, they put 11 top members of all the Five Families on a trial, called the Mafia Commission Trial, including the entire administration of the Lucchese crime family, as Boss Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo, Underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro and powerful Consigliere Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari were all indicted on labor racketeering, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, drug trafficking and murder charges. This led Corallo to choose Anthony "Buddy" Luongo to run the family's day-to-day activities, but Luongo was murdered only months after getting the new title, allegedly by Brooklyn faction leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso who seized the complete control of the Lucchese crime family in late 1986. Amuso established Casso as Underboss and Mariano Macaluso as Consigliere. This led to the promotion of Anthony Baratta to the rank of Caporegime or Captain in the Bronx faction of the Lucchese crime family [ [http://www.ipsn.org/characters/patriarca/Lucchese%20Class%20of%20'91.htm Lucchese Class of '91] ] .

Ruling panel

Toward the year of 1990, the notorious Lucchese crime family leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso went on to eliminate anyone who might be considered rivals or potential informants. But as massive indictments of labor racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking, illegal gambling and murder were brought up against the two bosses, both went into hiding, leaving the family with the newly promoted Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco as the family Acting Boss, however, due to a plot of assassinating D'Arco organized by Amuso and Casso, he fled his home and eventually turned state's evidence. It was around this time that Baratta, along with prominent capos Steven "Wonderboy" Crea, Domenico "Danny" Cutaia, Salvatore "Sal" Avellino and then-current Consigliere Frank "Big Frank" Lastorino were promoted to run the family's day-to-day activities through the "Ruling Panel". Baratta would eventually align himself with Crea and Aniello "Neil" Migliore of the Bronx faction in the labor and construction racketeering operations that earned something between $300,000 and $500,000 every year. When Amuso was captured in 1991 and sentenced to life imprisonment, Amuso would promote Crea to new family Underboss and Baratta would be his top aide, as well as another captain named Joseph "Little Joe" DeFede of the Queens faction would step up as Amuso's Acting Boss. Baratta and the other capos continued on the "Ruling Panel" in the early 1990s. [ [http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/family_epics/lucchese3/7.html LUCCHESE CRIME FAMILY EPIC: DESCENT INTO DARKNESS PART III - Act of Evil] at CrimeLibrary.com]

Conspiracies

In early 1993, it became clear that Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, still on the run, was calling most of the shots in the Lucchese crime family as he used Frank Lastorino, the family Consigliere, to run the family for him along with Brooklyn faction leaders Frank "Bones" Papagni, George "Georgie Neck" Zappola and Frank Gioia, Jr.. As US law enforcement decided to put pressure on the Lucchese crime family during the early 1990s, they picked up conversation, through the use of electronic surveillance, which allegedly took place between Casso and Lastorino, who together hatched a plot to kill Steven Crea and his allies and take over the family completely. They were also conspiring to kill Baratta, Joseph "Little Joe" DeFede and even the rival head of the Gambino crime family John "Junior" Gotti, son of the imprisoned boss John Gotti. But none of the plots were actually carried out, as the US prosecutors came up with an indictment that slashed almost every top family member, including Baratta, who was charged with operating construction and union racketeering as well as extorting some laborer unions and achieve great influence. In late 1993, Baratta was sentenced to 15 years [ [http://www.nysun.com/article/17004 New York Sun article] ]

Prison

In September 1996, Baratta achieved great friendship and partnership with another incarcerated mobster from New Jersey while imprisoned the federal prison in Otisville, New York, and began an operation that included supplying heroin from an outside source, however, this turned out to be a sting organized by the DEA and Baratta was once again put on trial. Baratta pleaded guilty to the charges, as well as conspiracy to sell narcotics. Baratta was originally due out of prison in 2005, but because of the narcotics charges, Baratta's sentence was added with another 8 years in prison [ [http://www.ganglandnews.com/column109.htm Too Old To Learn] at Gangland News] [ [http://www.geocities.com/americanmafioso_lucchese/caporegime.html http://www.geocities.com/americanmafioso_lucchese/caporegime.html AMERICAN MAFIOSO - Lucchese Family Capo Regime] on GeoCities] .

As of February, 2008, Baratta who is at the age of 69, is serving his time at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Pennsylvania. His projected release-date is September 25, 2012. [ [http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=Baratta&Middle=&FirstName=Anthony&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0] Federal Bureau of Prisons search]

References

External links

* [http://www.ganglandnews.com/lucchese.htm Gangland News.com The Lucchese Crime Family: The First Century]
* [http://www.ganglandnews.com/column66.htm#bowat This Week in Gangland: Sonny's Home Again - For Now] by Jerry Capeci
* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/family_epics/lucchese3/1.html truTV Crime Library LUCCHESE CRIME FAMILY EPIC: DESCENT INTO DARKNESS PART III: Act Of Evil] by Thomas L. Jones
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DA163DF930A35753C1A967958260 New York Times: Mob Boss Said to Have Fled Over Botched Assassination] by SELWYN RAAB