Dominick "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia (born November 19, 1941) is a New York mobster and captain with 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 was a hitman and loanshark. Pizzonia allegedly participated in several high-profile murders.
Early life and rise
Born in the
Ozone Park
Ozone Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens, New York, United States. It is next to the Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, a popular spot for Thoroughbred racing and home to the Resorts Wor ...
section of
Queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, Pizzonia began working for the Gambino family as a crew member for then
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 head ...
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 ...
. He was called "Skinny Dom" to distinguish himself from Gambino mobster Dominick "Fat Dom" Borghese.
On December 16, 1985, Pizzonia participated in the assassinations of Gambino boss
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985.
Early life
Cast ...
and underboss
Thomas Bilotti
Thomas "Tommy" Bilotti (March 23, 1940 – December 16, 1985) was an American mobster with the Gambino crime family who served as underboss for two weeks. It was this promotion that helped trigger the 1985 assassination of Gambino boss Paul Caste ...
outside a Manhattan steakhouse. After Castellano's murder, Gotti took over as family boss.
In June 1988, Pizzonia allegedly murdered mobster
Frank Boccia at the family's request. The Gambinos ordered Boccia's murder because he had punched his mother-in-law, the wife of imprisoned mobster
Anthony Ruggiano. Pizzonia and Gambino associate Alfred Congiglio lured Boccia to a social club, killed him, took his body on a boat, and dumped the body into the ocean off New York City. Boccia's body was never recovered.
On December 24, 1988, as a reward for the Castellano and Boccia murders, the Gambinos allowed Pizzonia to become a
made man
In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oat ...
, or full member, in the family.
In 1992, Pizzonia participated in the murder of Thomas Uva and his wife Rosemarie. Previously that year, the Uvas had robbed several social clubs belonging to the Gambino,
Bonanno, and
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
crime families. Pizzonia was especially enraged by the Uvas because they twice robbed Gotti's
Bergin Hunt and Fish Club in Ozone Park, which Pizzonia managed.
On December 24, 1992, Pizzonia and mobster
Ronnie Trucchio Ronald Joseph Trucchio (born 1951), also known as "Ronnie One Arm" is a New York mobster who rose to the position of caporegime in the Gambino crime family.
Biography
Trucchio was born in Ocean Hill, Brooklyn and raised in Ozone Park, Queens. As a ...
located the Uvas. The couple was sitting in their car at a traffic light in Ozone Park when Pizzonia and Trucchio shot and killed both of them.
In 1995, Pizzonia became the head of a Gambino
bookmaking
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds.
History
The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795.
Range of events
Bookm ...
operation and later replaced
Peter Gotti
Peter Arthur Gotti (October 15, 1939 – February 25, 2021) was an American mobster. He was the boss of the Gambino crime family, part of the American Mafia, and the elder brother of the former Gambino boss John Gotti.
Early life
Gotti was born ...
as capo.
Conviction
On September 22, 2005, Pizzonia and Trucchio were indicted in the 1988 Boccia murder and the 1992 Uva murders.
In May 2007, a federal jury convicted Pizzonia on a
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 ...
charge of conspiracy to commit the Uva murders. He was acquitted on all three murder counts. Because Pizzonia had already pleaded guilty to an
illegal gambling
Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, c ...
charge before the trial, the one single act of conspiracy was enough to convict him on the entire count. On September 5, 2007, Pizzonia was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison.
In November 2016, Pizzonia was serving his sentence at the Butner
Federal Correctional Institution
The Federal Bureau of Prisons classifies prisons into seven categories:
* United States penitentiaries
* Federal correctional institutions
* Private correctional institutions
* Federal prison camps
* Administrative facilities
* Federal correctio ...
(FCI) in
Butner, North Carolina
Butner is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,397 as of the 2020 census. Butner was managed by the state of North Carolina from 1947 through 2007.
History
A bill passed by the North Carolina General ...
. He was assigned federal inmate number 60254-053. Pizzonia was 78 years old when he was released on 15 November 2019. His scheduled release date had been 28 February 2020.
Dominick Pizzonia (Skinny Dom) was portrayed by
Joseph R. Gannascoli in the 2014 crime drama
Rob the Mob
''Rob the Mob'' is a 2014 American romantic crime film directed by Raymond De Felitta and written by Jonathan Fernandez. The film stars Michael Pitt, Nina Arianda, Andy García, Ray Romano, Aida Turturro, Frank Whaley, Michael Rispoli and Joseph ...
.
External links
Department Of Justice: GAMBINO FAMILY CAPTAIN DOMINICK PIZZONIA CHARGED WITH RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY, INCLUDING THE “BONNIE AND CLYDE” DOUBLE MURDER
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pizzonia, Dominick
1941 births
American gangsters of Italian descent
People from Queens, New York
Gambino crime family
Living people