Manhattan Mafia Guide (25 page)

C
UOMO
C
HEESE
C
ORP

215 Mulberry Street, between Spring and Prince Streets

This former retailer of fine imported goods was a widely popular fixture in Little Italy for decades. It was also said to be a popular location for Peter DeFao to hold clandestine mob meetings in the 1980s. Presently, it is the site of a lingerie boutique.

D
A
N
ICO
R
ESTAURANT

164 Mulberry Street, between Grand and Broome Streets

A local favorite to this day, Da Nico Ristorante was an alleged late 1990s headquarters of Bonnano crime family boss Richie “Shellackhead” Cantarella, the nephew of Alfred Embarrato and alleged murderer of Anthony Mirra.

D
E
R
OBERTIS
P
ASTICCERIA

176 First Avenue, between East Tenth and East Eleventh Streets

This century-old neighborhood treasure possesses a long and storied mob history. It was a favorite haunt of teenage Charlie Luciano, who lived around the corner on East Tenth Street, and the base of both Genovese and Gambino members for several decades.

By the 1950s, Gambino capo (and future underboss) Joseph “Piney” Armone allegedly based his operations out of the café. The FBI originally listed Armone as a Bonanno member, but I believe that has since been updated.

De Robertis was also a regular haunt of several Genovese crew members who grew up in the neighborhood: Anthony “Figgy” Ficcarota, Nicholas “Nicky the Blond” Frustaci and Enrico “Red Hot” Gentile. Ficcarota was once arrested for attempted murder of stool pigeon Vinny “the Cat” Siciliano, but he beat the rap. Frustaci was sponsored into the crew by good friend Victor Tramaglino. In 1997, he was convicted, along with Genovese consigliere Jimmy Ida, for conspiracy to murder and racketeering.

Gentile was behind the home invasion of a prominent New York family and pleaded guilty on July 20, 1966, to first-degree robbery, first-degree grand larceny, two counts of second-degree assault, felonious possession of a pistol and jumping bail. He was sentenced to fifteen to twenty years on the robbery indictment alone and sent to Attica State Prison (second floor, E Block), where he was shot in the leg during the infamous riot of 1971. Inside sources claim Gentile was the leader of the white inmate population at the time of the uprising.

After enduring a lifetime in gangland and surviving deadly, headline-making riots, Gentile succumbed to a heart attack in 2003 while getting on his motorcyle—in front of De Robertis Café.

By the early 1990s, De Robertis was placed under FBI surveillance to track the goings-on of John “Handsome Jack” Giordano, a Gambino capo who was allegedly responsible for some of John Gotti’s biggest rackets. Giordano inherited his uncle Joseph Armone’s East Village crew in the 1980s and continued its operations from a small office in the back of the café.

The feds picked up phone conversations pertaining to everything from bookmaking, loan-sharking and gambling to illicit activities at the San Gennaro Festival. That was peanuts compared to the $300 million sports-betting ring, of which Giordano was the center. Superbowls, NBA playoffs—you name it. It was a high-end, sophisticated operation that earned Giordano several criminal indictments in 1991.

Giordano tried convincing the court that he was employed as a wrangler at a dude ranch. Judge Raymond Harrington stated, “If you thought I’d believe that, you must think I’m another part of a horse’s anatomy,”
¹²⁸
before sentencing him to four to twelve years behind bars.

De Robertis Café, once one of the neighborhood’s best-kept secrets, is today a family-run (mob-free) tourist destination. However, most people visit for some of the best pastries in the city—and have no idea of its secret history.

F
RETTA
’
S
M
EAT
M
ARKET

116 Mott Street, Corner of Hester Street

According to undercover detective Joseph Pistone, aka Donnie Brasco, a Bananno crew held high-stakes card games above this former neighborhood staple, which closed in the 1990s. The address has since been occupied by Chinese retail merchants.

G
ATSBY
’
S

20 East Forty-first Street, between Madison and Fifth Avenues

A favorite high-end restaurant of Frank Costello, this was where the “retired” mob kingpin was seen holding meetings with Charles Tourine in 1970, possibly advising the family he once ruled after the death of its boss, Vito Genovese. Today, the address hosts a Japanese restaurant known for its authentic shaved-ice cocktails.

G
OLD
K
EY
C
LUB

28 West Fifty-sixth Street

Owned by Anthony Strollo (according to Joe Valachi) and operated by Vincent Mauro (according to authorities), the Gold Key Club, opened in 1950, was New York City’s premier, high-society, after-hours bottle club—until the city had it shut down in 1956.

The über-swanky (and über-expensive) hot spot attracted only the most prominent clientele. According to the FBI files on Frank Sinatra, the Gold Key Club was the place the superstar entertainer frequented when in New York City. In fact, Mauro and Anthony Strollo threw an elaborate going-away party here for the singer in the winter of 1955, just before he embarked on a tour of Australia.

There were four types of memberships offered by the semiexclusive speakeasy, from free for celebrities, mobsters and important businessmen to “Super-Special Sucker” memberships, which cost said suckers sixty dollars per year just to enter the place. At its height, the club boasted thirty-five hundred members.

The club endured a handful of raids in the early 1950s and an October 1952 face slashing of actor/singer Billy Daniels, at the hands of Vincent Mauro. Despite the negative publicity, business thrived until a final raid on February 10, 1956.

At 4:45 a.m., police entered the Gold Key Club and apprehended seventeen staff members for questioning, including Vincent Mauro. Anthony Strollo was picked up a few blocks away in his car, and sixty patrons were handed subpoenas to appear in court.

On May 21, 1957, the club, and Vincent Mauro, pleaded guilty to storing liquor with the intent to sell without a license, and the short-lived but legendary venue was closed for good.

H
AWAIIAN
M
OONLIGHTERS
S
OCIAL
C
LUB

141 Mulberry, between Hester and Grand Streets

Formally known as the Andrea Doria Social Club, this was a longtime Gambino crime family headquarters run by Joseph “Butch” Corrao. In 1993, two low-level ex-cons named Thomas and Rosemarie Uva decided to rob the patrons of this address armed with a machine gun. Despite being warned by customers, the couple got away with this act, not once, but twice, before Mafia justice ended the wannabe Bonnie and Clyde’s adventure. On Christmas Eve 1993, the pair was found murdered in their car on 103
^rd
Avenue and 91
^st
Street. Today, a touristy Italian-style restaurant occupies the address.

141 Mulberry Street today.
Courtesy of Shirley Dluginski
.

H
IPPOPOTAMUS

405 East Sixty-second Street, between First and York Avenues

This once world-famous 1970s and ’80s dance club was a regular haunt for partying mobsters to rub elbows with a mixed clientele of hip celebrities (like Mick Jagger) and up-and-coming “club kids” (like Steve Ruben of Studio 54 fame). The Hippopotamus opened at its original location (154 East Fifty-fourth Street) about 1970 and was owned by French nightlife pioneer Olivier Coquelin, who was already famous for New York City hot spots Le Club, Ondine and the Cheetah. A May 1970
New York Magazine
advertises the Hippopotamus as “a new pleasure palace with Poonah bar, Mantra garden, dancing, dining, drinking, divans, psychedelia.”

Joe Pistone was officially introduced to a Colombo crime family member here, in January 1977, and gangster turned informer Henry Hill said in his book,
A Goodfella’s Guide to New York
, “If I stepped in there in its early ’80s reign I would have been killed in ten minutes tops.”

Currently, this is the site of an eleven-story apartment complex.

H
OLIDAY
B
AR

116 Madison Street, between Market and Catherine Streets

This was a regular haunt for Benjamin “Lefty Guns” Ruggiero and Anthony Mirra, who owned the Bus Stop Luncheonette across the street. Joe Pistone described it as “the only place he [Ruggiero] could really let his hair down” and as “a place so dingy, [he] would only drink beer or club soda out of a bottle” during his undercover investigation in the 1970s. A Chinese wholesaler has occupied the space for several years.

116 Madison Street today.
Courtesy of Sachiko Akama
.

H
OLIDAY
I
NN
B
AR
& R
ESTAURANT

55 Madison Street, Corner of Olive Street

This mid-century mob hangout (no relation to the Holiday Bar at 116 Madison, which came later) was a popular meeting place for Bonnano mobsters and was co-owned by Gaetano Lisi. Currently, it is the site of a pharmacy.

H
OUSE OF
C
HAN

800 Seventh Avenue, between West Fifty-second and West Fifty-third Streets

This was a 1950s and ’60s haunt for celebrities, the after-theater crowd, tourists and gangsters like Carlo Gambino, Angelo Bruno and Joe Colombo. Today, the address hosts a supper club and event rental space.

J
AY
’
S
B
AR

49 East Houston Street, between Mott and Mulberry Streets

This was yet another 1950s dive bar under Gaetano Lisi’s control, frequented by members of the Bonanno organization. This building was recently demolished.

J
ILLY
’
S

256 West Fifty-second Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue

Jilly’s was said to have been popular with gangsters, entertainers and politicians (like Vice President Spiro Agnew). Today, it is the site of an upscale Russian restaurant and vodka bar.

J
OHN
’
S
R
ESTAURANT

302 East Eleventh Street, between First and Second Avenues

This century-old neighborhood favorite was a hot spot for local mobsters early in the twentieth century and the site of Umberto Rocco Valenti’s murder in 1922, allegedly at the hands of a young Charlie Luciano (though no one was ever convicted of the crime). It was in retaliation for the failed hit on Giuseppe Masseria just days earlier at 82 Second Avenue.

Carlo Tresca, a good friend of the original owner, lived above the restaurant, and it was the last place he dined on the evening of his murder. (See Tresca, Carlo, “Ganglant Hits” chapter.)

John’s later became a favorite eatery for celebrities like John Lennon. Madonna worked there as a waitress before becoming a star, and it has played backdrop to several movies and television shows, including
The Sopranos
.

Today, crowds flock to John’s for century-old atmosphere and some of the most authentic Italian cooking left in the city. What are you waiting for? Tell Nick I sent you.

J
OY
’
S
R
ESTAURANT

28 Spring Street, Corner of Mott Street

This former restaurant on the corner of Mott Street was a favorite 1950s hangout of one-third of the fearsome Beck Brothers—Charlie DiPalermo. It is now the site of a retail market.