Opinion ID: 215914
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Colombo Family War and the Ascensions of Persico and Cutolo

Text: Each of the five organized crime families was typically run by a boss, assisted by an underboss and a consigliere, or advisor; below that administrative trio were the family's captains, or capos, who supervised the soldiers, i.e., those who had been made members of the family by formal induction. The soldiers, in turn, managed participants in or contributors to family enterprises who were not made members and were called associates. (Trial Transcript (Tr.) 1139-42.) Crime family protocols were stringent. Members and associates of a family were not allowed to speak to members of other crime families or to higher-ranking members of their own family without a formal introduction. ( See, e.g., Tr. 1414-16.) Members involved in disputes were expected to discuss matters civilly (have a sit-down), with at least the appearance of mutual respect. ( See, e.g., id. at 1148, 1200-01, 1910.) And no family memberespecially no underboss, a member of the family's administrationcould be killed without permission from the boss. ( See, e.g., id. at 1275 (made member), 1827 (underboss), 1756 (Nobody can kill the underboss without ... exposing yourself to get killed yourself.); see also id. at 2994 (no boss could be killed without permission of the La Cosa Nostra ruling body, the Commission).) Salvatore Vitale, a member of the Bonanno Crime Family (or Bonanno Family) for some 30 years, testified that by the time he became that family's underboss he had been involved in 11 murders; in each instance he had the permission of the Bonanno Family's boss to commit the murder. ( See, e.g., id. at 2863, 2874.) Michael DiLeonardo, a former captain in the Gambino Crime Family (or Gambino Family), testified that various Mafia rules were often broken, but the rule against killing a made member without permission was broken less frequently, as the punishment would be death. ( See, e.g., id. at 1754-56; see also id. at 1744-49 (killing of the new Gambino Family underboss in 1986 was authorized by the Commission after the unauthorized killings in 1985 of Gambino boss Paul Castellano and his underboss).) In the early 1990s, the boss of the Colombo Crime Family was Persico's father, Carmine Persico, who was serving a lengthy term of imprisonment. Persico and DeRoss, who were captains, were also in prison, but for much shorter terms. Victor Orena was the family's acting boss, a position to which Persico aspired. A bloody war was sparked when someone tried to kill Orena, motivated by the fact that Persico would soon be released from prison and the belief that Orena would refuse to step down as acting boss. ( See, e.g., id. at 1271-76, 1732, 2881-85.) In the intra-family war, there were about a dozen killings ( see id. at 1278); Cutolo was a member of the faction supporting Orena ( see id. at 1276). The war ended in 1992 or 1993 because so many family members had been killed or arrested; but there remained two factions, and the Commission would not allow the Colombo Family to induct new members until the family got itself in order. ( See, e.g., id. at 1282, 1820, 2886-87.) DeRoss, Cutolo, and several others got together and decided to attempt a reconciliation, operating with Persico as their captain. ( See id. at 1282-85.) In about 1998, the Commission decided to back the Persico faction ( see id. at 2891-92); Persico became the family's acting boss, and Cutolo became the acting underboss ( see, e.g., id. at 1421). Cutolo, by all accounts, was difficult to deal with: intransigent in negotiations with other crime families and harsh with members and associates of his own crime family. ( See, e.g., Tr. 1790-91, 1288-89, 2231-37, 2277-78, 2283-89.) DiLeonardo, as a captain in the Gambino Crime Family, served as that family's liaison with the Colombo Family. ( See id. at 1729.) He was friendly with DeRoss, whose grandchildren played football on a team with DiLeonardo's son, and was even more friendly with Persico. ( See id. at 2106-07, 1797-98.) DiLeonardo testified that, in his liaison capacity, he met with Cutolo dozens of times ( see id. at 1732), and he viewed Cutolo as having aspirations to become the boss of the Colombo Family ( see, e.g., id. at 1821 (You could see him coming like a train; he had a lot of momentum behind him. He wasn't about to sit still.... He was all about Cosa Nostra, and he wanted to wear the main hat, the main.)). DiLeonardo was concerned that Cutolo might kill Persico. ( See, e.g., id. at 1822 (Cutolo was a threat to Allie; he would have killed him. I know he would have killed Allie in time.).) DiLeonardo thus warned Persico, Bill has boss mentality; Persico understood what that meant. ( Id. ) Joseph Campanella was a Colombo soldier who had grown up with Cutolo and socialized with Cutolo and Cutolo's three adult children. ( See Tr. 1262-63.) When Campanella became a made member of the Colombo Family, Cutolo was his captain ( see id. at 1275); during the Colombo Family war, Campanella was one of Cutolo's bodyguards ( see id. at 1277); and during a 13-month period when Cutolo was in jail, Campanella ran Cutolo's crew of soldiers and associates ( see id. at 1283); but once Cutolo became the Colombo underboss, Cutolo became distant ( id. at 1288). There was also controversy over Campanella's owing Cutolo some $300,000, which Cutolo had advanced several years earlier for loansharking activity. ( See id. at 1288, 1346.) In early 1999, Campanella bought himself a Mercedes automobile; DeRoss told Campanella that Cutolo was annoyed that Campanella would be spending substantial sums on himself, rather than repaying any of his debt to Cutolo, and that Cutolo was threatening to break the windows in Campanella's car. Campanella told DeRoss he was very, very offended by Cutolo's threat. ( Id. at 1288-89.) In mid-April 1999, Campanella and DeRoss were to attend an unrelated sit-down and were discussing what they would say. Campanella testified that during their preparations for that meeting Jack DeRoss asked me how I feel about killing Wild Bill, and [h]e was serious. ( Id. at 1291-92.) DeRoss never joked with Campanella about killing anyone. ( See id. at 1629.) Campanella declined; he testified that he was upset with Cutolo but did not want to kill him. ( See id. at 1292.) Giovanni Floridia (aka John the Barber) testified that he became associated with the Colombo Family in the mid-1990s when he began loansharking with money loaned to him by Tommy and Richie Cappa, who were Colombo associates. ( See Tr. 2226-30.) Floridia had not yet met Cutolo, and he first incurred Cutolo's wrath in 1997 when he told one of his borrowers, as he had been instructed to do by Richie Cappa, that the borrowed money had come from Cutolo. ( See id. at 2231-32.) Cutolo was enragedapparently because his name was being used and he was not receiving paymentsand threatened to split Floridia's head open if Floridia used Cutolo's name again. ( See id. at 2232.) Thereafter, Cutolo summoned Floridia and asked how much money he had out on the street; although the amount was approximately $300,000, Floridia responded, again as directed by Richie Cappa, that the amount was $80,000-$100,000; Cutolo instructed Floridia to come to Cutolo's club on Wednesday nights, as did others working for Cutolo, and make payments directly. ( Id. at 2233-35; 2294-95.) Thereafter, Floridia was on record with Cutolo ( id. at 2296), i.e., officially a member of Cutolo's crew. By the spring of 1999, Cutolo discovered that Floridia had lied about how much money he had loaned out. Cutolo summoned Floridia to a meeting and berated him. Cutolo essentially confiscated $50,000 that Floridia was expecting to receive from a robbery in which he had recently participated and tax[ed] him an additional $25,000 for having lied about how much money he had on the street. ( Id. at 2280-84.) When Floridia failed to pay the $25,000, Cutolo had Floridia assaulted. ( See id. at 2286-87.) Floridia, furious, complained about Cutolo to his friend John Cerbone (aka Johnny Brains (Tr. 2238)), a Colombo associate, and to Colombo soldier Vincent (Chickie) DeMartino ( see id. at 2287-88). Cerbone had introduced Floridia to DeMartino and told him that DeMartino was a killer in the family. ( Id. at 2276.) Floridia testified that DeMartino, after hearing his complaints about Cutolo, said Listen, don't worry about it. This guy is not going to be around much longer. I'm going to call Jackie i.e., DeRossand I want you to tell him exactly what happened. And you're going to meet him and tell him exactly what happened. ( Id. at 2288.) Floridia understood [t]his guy, who was not going to be around much longer, to mean Cutolo. ( Id. at 2289.) Thereafter, Cerbone told Floridia where and when to meet DeRoss. ( See id. at 2289-90.) At that meeting, DeRoss told Floridia to continue with what he was doing and to [s]tick with Chickie. ( Id. at 2291.) DeRoss said, Don't worry about it. Things are going to change. ( Id. ) Floridia's understanding of DeRoss's statementespecially in light of DeMartino's earlier statement that Cutolo would not be around much longerwas that they were going to whack Billy. ( Id. ) Floridia testified that DeRoss's demeanor was serious. ( See id. at 2292.) Some two weeks later, on May 26, 1999, Cutolo disappeared. ( See id. )