page_title: Anthony Casso
section_title: Fugitive boss
hierarchical_section_title: Anthony Casso / Fugitive boss
caption_attribution_description: English: FBI surveillance photograph of the Lucchese crime family members Anthony Casso and Al D'Arco
context_page_description: Anthony Salvatore Casso, nicknamed Gaspipe, is an American mobster and former underboss of the Lucchese crime family. During his career in organized crime, Casso was regarded as a "homicidal maniac" in the Italian-American Mafia as he admitted to the government responsibility for 36 murders but most likely committed many more. Former Lucchese captain and government witness Anthony Accetturo once said of Casso, "all he wanted to do is kill, kill, get what you can, even if you didn't earn it." In interviews and on the witness stand, Casso has confessed involvement in the murders of Frank DeCicco, Roy DeMeo, and Vladimir Reznikov. Casso has also admitted to several attempts to murder Gambino family boss John Gotti.
  Following his arrest in 1993, Casso became one of the highest-ranking members of the Mafia to turn informer. In 1998, however, the US government rescinded Casso's plea agreement and dropped him from the witness protection program. Later that year, a federal judge sentenced him to 455 years in prison.
context_section_description: On July 29, 1991, due to a tipoff from an unidentified Lucchese insider, Amuso was arrested and Casso was secured the de facto boss of the family. It has been speculated that Casso himself was the source for the leak, as only a few people were privy to Amuso's location. This theory is contradicted, however, by Carlo, who states that Casso had no desire to be boss of the Lucchese family and attempted to arrange for Amuso's escape from federal custody after his arrest. To the disappointment of Casso and the Lucchese capos, Amuso refused to leave prison out of fear for his life. As a result, the Lucchese capos asked Casso to take over as acting boss. Casso reluctantly accepted.
  While evading authorities for over three years, Casso maintained control over the Lucchese family. In the process, he ordered eleven mob slayings, as well engineering a murder plot against Gotti with Genovese leader Vincent "the Chin" Gigante. Casso and Gigante were deeply disgusted by Gotti's murder of Castellano without the sanction of the Commission. All attempts on Gotti's life were stymied, however, by the constant presence of news reporters around the Gambino boss.
  In early 1991, Amuso and Casso ordered the murder of capo Peter Chiodo, a fellow Windows Case defendant who had pleaded guilty without the family's approval. Chiodo barely survived an assassination attempt and subsequently agreed to turn state's evidence. In September that year, acting boss Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco, convinced Casso had marked him for death following his failure to kill Chiodo, also surrendered and agreed to testify. Both of these defections opened the door for new murder indictments against Amuso and Casso. In another incident in 1993, Casso used Brooklyn faction-leaders George Zappola and Frank "Bones" Papagni, as well as Lucchese consigliere Frank "Big Frank" Lastorino, to kill former underboss and Bronx faction leader Stephen "Wonderboy" Crea. However, due to the massive indictments at the time, all members of the plot, including Casso, were eventually incarcerated on various charges. Casso was arrested at a mistress's home in Mount Olive, New Jersey, on January 19, 1993.
caption: FBI surveillance photograph of Casso and Al D'Arco
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