Michael DiLeonardo
Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo (b. 1955) is a New York mobster who formerly belonged to the Gambino crime family and is now a government informant.
Early life
DiLeonardo grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, a neighborhood with long history of organized crime. When he was about ten years old, he was bitten by a dog, leaving a scar on his face. This scar resulted in the nickname "Mikey Scars". DiLeonardo's grandfather, Jimmy DiLeonardo was a soldier in the precursor to the Gambino family under Sam DeQuillo. As a young boy, Michael had met family boss Carlo Gambino several times at his grandfather's house when Gambino was there for meetings.
By age 21, DiLeonardo became associated with several Gambino family members and started working for the family. He would frequent the Veterans and Friends social club in Brooklyn run by future boss Paul Castellano. After becoming a family associate in the late 1970s to early 1980s , DiLeonardo opened his first social club not far from Veterans and Friends. In early 1981, he shut down his club and opened another on 75th Street and New Utrecht Avenue in Brooklyn. Club customers included Gambino soldiers Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano and Frank DeCicco.
Conflict with the Colombos
On July 16, 1981, DiLeonardo's 26-year old brother Robert DiLeonardo, a Colombo crime family associate, was shot to death. Castellano, then Gambino boss, told DiLeonardo to leave the situation alone because it was Colombo business. On December 16, 1985, Castellano was killed on orders from John Gotti, who became the family boss and named DiLeonardo's mob superior Frank DeCicco his underboss. Soon after, DiLeonardo was reporting to Gotti's Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy, Manhattan three to four times per week.
Labor racketeering activities
In 1987, DiLeonardo became affiliated with New York Teamsters Union Local 282, which was controlled by the Gambinos. DiLeonardo was made a Teamster foreman and was soon overseeing Gambino control over the Grecco Brothers Concrete Company in Brooklyn. On December 24, 1988, Michael DiLeonardo was inducted into the Gambino crime family along with John Gotti, Jr., in a ceremony held in Manhattan and presided over by Gravano, now consigliere. In 1989, DiLeonardo became involved in setting up the murder of private sanitation business owner Fred Weiss. Weiss had been marked for death by Gotti, Gambino captain James Failla, and John Riggi of the DeCavalcante crime family in New Jersey. DeCavalcante hitmen shot and killed Weiss outside his apartment building in the New Springville section of Staten Island, New York.
During the mid-1990s, DiLeonardo supervised loan sharking and other illegal activities from the Royal Crown Bakery and Cafe in Staten Island. DiLeonardo also received protection money from the owners of Royal Crown, who owned several bakeries and cafes in Brooklyn.
DiLeonardo's Rise and Fall
In late 1992, Gotti was convicted of murder and racketeering based on Gravano's testimony. In the shakeup that followed, DiLeonardo was promoted to captain. DiLeonardo's crew was given control of the family's construction and trucking rackets. This included receiving monthly payments from Scara-Mix Concrete Company on Staten Island, which was owned by Peter Castellano and Philip Castellano, sons of the deceased family boss. DiLeonardo also moved his crew into Wall Street, using pump-and-dump stock scams to earn the Gambinos money. DiLeonardo became a close associate of Gotti, Jr. and assisted him when he was promoted to acting boss. On one occasion, a member of DiLeonardo's crew, Tommy Cherubino, hid some submachine guns for Gotti Jr.
Defection and government informant
After the turn of the century, things turned sour for DiLeonardo. In 2002, the new family boss, Peter Gotti, reduced DiLeonardo's power for allegedly hiding money from the family. Later in 2002, DiLeonardo was with captain Louis "Big Lou" Vallario, soldiers Frank Fappiano, Edward Garafola, and Thomas "Huck" Carbonaro on labor racketeering, extortion, loan sharking, witness tampering, and the murders of Gambino associate Frank Hydell and Fred Weiss. At this point, DiLeonardo made an unsuccessful suicide attempt.
Finally, DiLeonardo decided to cooperate with the federal government. He provided damaging testimony against Peter Gotti, Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone, Louis "Big Lou" Vallario, Frank Fappiano, Richard V. Gotti, Richard G. Gotti, and Michael Yanotti. and testified at the three mistrials in which John Gotti, Jr. was charged with ordering Curtis Sliwa's abduction and assault. Finally, in October 2006, DiLeonardo testified against former Colombo crime family acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico and underboss John "Jackie" DeRoss, who were charged with the murder of former underboss William Cutolo. That trial ended in a mistrial.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
