Carmine "The Bull" Agnello (born 1960) is a New York

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

of the

Gambino crime family The Gambino 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, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...

who ran a scrap metal recycling operation.

Criminal career

On February 5, 1994, Agnello was charged with criminal mischief for damaging a police scooter. The officer was ticketing cars parked outside of Agnello's scrapyard. Agnello came out to argue with the officer, then started his

Ford Bronco The Ford Bronco is a model line of sport utility vehicles manufactured and marketed by Ford. The first SUV model developed by the company, five generations of the Bronco were sold from the 1966 to 1996 model years. A sixth generation of the mod ...

and rammed the police vehicle, pushing it down the street. In June 1994, Agnello and several Gambino members brawled with police outside the same location, again over parking tickets, and Agnello was again arrested. On June 6, 1997, Agnello was arrested on assault charges for beating a former employee with a telephone. The victim later dropped the complaint. On January 20, 2000, Agnello was charged with

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

and

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

. Undercover

New York Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

(NYPD) officers had set up a phony scrap metal business in

Willets Point, Queens Willets Point, also known locally as the Iron Triangle, is an industrial neighborhood within Corona, in the New York City borough of Queens. Located east of Citi Field near the Flushing River, it is known for its automobile shops and junkyards ...

. Agnello then used firebombings and other illegal tactics to coerce them to sell their scrap to him at a below-market price. According to testimony, Agnello promised a cooperating witness $2000 to "buy glass bottles (and) fill them up (with gasoline) and throw them all around the truck" of a competitor. Defense documents claimed that Agnello was on medication for

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

, which led him to bad judgment. On August 16, 2001, Agnello accepted a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

in return for a reduced sentence. On October 26, 2001, Agnello was sentenced to nine years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $10 million in assets to the court. He was released from federal custody on January 16, 2008. In July 2015, Agnello was arrested in Cleveland, Ohio on charges of theft, money laundering, and conspiracy, as well as drugging his own race horses with performance-enhancing drugs. He operated a $3 million stolen car and scrap metal scam at his scrapyard in Cleveland. In 2017, he accepted a plea deal that involved a large fine, but no prison time.

Personal life

In 1979, according to

John Alite John Edward Alite (born September 30, 1962) is an American former Gambino crime family associate and a government witness who testified against the crime family and John A. "Junior" Gotti in 2008. That year, Alite pleaded guilty to racketeering ...

's 2007 court testimony, Gambino boss

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 (, ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American gangster and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambino boss ...

retaliated against Agnello for assaulting his daughter,

Victoria Gotti Victoria Gotti (born November 27, 1962) is an American writer and television personality. She is best known for being the daughter of Gambino crime family Mafia boss John Gotti. Early life Victoria Gotti was born November 27, 1962, in Brooklyn ...

. Several Gambino associates ambushed Agnello, beat him with a baseball bat, and then shot him in the buttocks. In 1984, Agnello married Victoria despite her parents' disapproval. The couple had three sons, Carmine, John, and Frank. The family lived in a mansion in

Westbury, New York The Incorporated Village of Westbury is a Village (New York), village in the North Hempstead, New York, Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. It is located a ...

, that was the location in 2004 for the reality television series, ''

Growing Up Gotti ''Growing Up Gotti'' is an American reality television series that aired on A&E. It featured the life of Victoria Gotti, daughter of Mafia boss John Gotti, and her three sons; Frank Gotti Agnello, John Gotti Agnello Jr., and Carmine Gotti Agnello. ...

''. In 2003, while Agnello was in jail, Victoria Gotti divorced him on grounds of constructive abandonment. On February 19, 2008, Agnello quietly married Danielle Vangar, the daughter of activist Mourad Topalian. Vangar met Agnello in prison when she was visiting her father. Agnello and Vangar have a son, who was born in 2009. Agnello and his second family lived in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He owned a business in Ohio that towed junk cars.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnello, Carmine 1960 births Living people Gambino crime family American gangsters of Italian descent Gangsters from New York City Criminals from Queens, New York People from Westbury, New York Gangsters from Cleveland People convicted of racketeering