Alfred "Al Walker" Embarrato (November 12, 1909 – February 21, 2001), also known as "''Alfred Scalisi''" a.k.a." ''Aldo Elvorado''", was a New York mobster who became a
caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a '' made member'' of an Italian crime family who he ...
of the
Bonanno crime family
The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as ...
and a powerful labor figure at
The New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
distribution plant.
Newspaperman
Born on the
Lower East Side, Manhattan
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally an im ...
to first generation immigrants Salvatore Embarrato and Mary from
Leonforte
Leonforte (''Liunforti'' in sicilian) is an Italian ''comune'' with a population of 14,046 in the Province of Enna, Sicily. The town is situated 22 km from Enna, in the centre of the Erean Mountains at 600 metres a.s.l.
History
The ancie ...
, Italy Embarrato lived at
Knickerbocker Village
Knickerbocker Village Limited is a housing development situated between the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge, in the Two Bridges section of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City. Although the location was generally considered to f ...
, on Monroe St. He was married to a woman named Constance and father of three children. One of Embrrato's neighbors was his nephew,
Anthony Mirra, who became a widely feared soldier in the Bonanno family. Embarrato was employed at the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' from the 1960s to 1990s as a general foreman for the paper's distribution plant. When real estate owner
Peter Kalikow bought the ''Post'' in 1988, his managers noted that Embarrato did no visible work and naively tried to fire him. When word of Embrrato's firing spread, the other Post foremen quickly agreed to take a salary cut so that Embarrato could keep his job. In 1990, District Attorney
Robert Morgenthau
Robert Morris Morgenthau ( ; July 31, 1919July 21, 2019) was an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County (the borough of Manhattan), having previously served as United States Attorn ...
began an extensive investigation of mob control at the New York newspapers, including the Post. Three years later, Embarrato was indicted on charges related to this investigation.
Family dissension
In the late 1970s,
Philip Rastelli
Philip "Rusty" Rastelli (January 31, 1918 – June 24, 1991) was an American mobster and former crime boss, boss of the Bonanno crime family, he spent all but three years of his reign in prison.
Biography
Rastelli was born and raised in Maspeth, Q ...
became the boss of the Bonanno family, causing a major split in the membership.
Philip Giaccone
Philip Giaccone (July 12, 1932 – May 5, 1981), also known as "Philly Lucky", was an American mobster in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Al Indelicato for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.
...
,
Dominick Trinchera
Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera (December 20, 1936 – May 5, 1981) was an American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Philip Giaccone for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.
Earl ...
and
Alphonse Indelicato opposed Rastelli and began plotting his downfall. However, Rastelli heard about the plot and instead arranged an ambush for the three conspirators. On May 5, 1981, the day of the ambush, Rastelli loyalist
Dominick Napolitano
Dominick Napolitano (June 16, 1930 – August 17, 1981), also known as Sonny Black, was an American Mafia caporegime in the Bonanno crime family. He is known for unwittingly allowing FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone to become an associate in his ...
asked Embarrato to come down to
The Motion Lounge
The Motion Lounge was a nightclub located at 420 Graham Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This was a hangout for the Bonanno crime family under Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano. It was one of the central locations in FBI agent Joseph D. Piston ...
for a "sitdown". At the meeting, Napolitano placed two of his sidewalk soldiers next to Embarrato. The mobsters then waited until Napolitano received confirmation that Giaccone, Trichera, and Indelicato were dead. Later describing the meeting to
Joseph D. Pistone
Joseph Dominick Pistone (born September 17, 1939), is an American former FBI agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family, and to a lesser ...
, posing as mobster Donnie Brasco, Napolitano said, "When
eAlfred heard that, he turned ash white. He thought we were going to hit him too. But I just reamed at him about Tony, told him Tony was no good; and that he
lfredbetter recognize that and act right himself." Embarrato agreed.
Donnie Brasco
In mid-1981, when Pistone was revealed as an FBI agent, "Sonny Black" Napolitano, "Lefty" Ruggiero, and Mirra were all on the firing line for initially allowing the infiltration. Mirra, Embarrato's nephew, went into hiding.
Joseph Massino
Joseph Charles Massino (born January 10, 1943) is an American former mobster. He was a member of the Mafia and boss of the Bonanno crime family from 1991 until 2004, when he became the first boss of one of the Five Families in New York City to tu ...
ordered Embarrato and Mirra's two cousins
Joseph D'Amico and
Richard Cantarella, to find and kill him. On February 18, 1982, D'Amico, lured him to a parking garage in Lower Manhattan. Embarrato and Cantarella were waiting in a getaway car. The pair went to the parking garage, climbed into Mirra's car, and drove up to a locked security gate. D'Amico would later describe in a testimony, "He took out his key, put it in the box, but he didn’t get a chance to turn the box... I shot him at close range several times on the side of his head."
In 1988, Embarrato was indicted along with other Bonanno leaders in a
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
RICO was en ...
case.
Death
On February 21, 2001, Alfred Embarrato died of natural causes.
Notes
References
Further reading
*Raab, Selwyn. ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005.
*Pistone, Joseph D. and Woodley, Richard, ''
Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia'' Random House 1990
*United States Congress. ''Organized Crime''. U.S. G.P.O., 1988
255 pages
*Mafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime
External links
United States of America vs. Embarratoby Tom Robbins
{{DEFAULTSORT:Embarrato, Alfred
1909 births
2001 deaths
American gangsters of Italian descent
Bonanno crime family