John "Johnny Carnegs" Carneglia (born 1945) is an American
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 ...
in 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 ...
. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 1989 for racketeering and drug trafficking charges.
Early life
Carneglia was born in 1945 in
Ozone Park, Queens
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 ...
. For years, John Carneglia was heavily involved in large scale drug distribution networks with Gambino mobster
Gene Gotti
Eugene Gotti (born 1946) is an American mobster in the Gambino crime family. He was sentenced to 50 years in prison in 1989 for racketeering and drug trafficking charges; he was released in 2018.
Early life
Gotti was born in the Bronx, New York, ...
, the brother of John Gotti, and Gambino capo
Angelo Ruggiero
Angelo "Quack Quack" Ruggiero Sr. (; July 29, 1940 – December 4, 1989) was a member of the Gambino crime family and a friend of John Gotti's. Once Gotti became leader of the family he made Ruggiero a caporegime. Although he showed little orga ...
.
John and Charles Carneglia owned a
junkyard in the
East New York
East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough lin ...
section of Brooklyn that was reportedly used for
narcotics trafficking
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
, disassembling of stolen cars, and burying mob murder victims. John would allegedly remove jewelry from corpses prior to dissolving them in acid and then hang the baubles as trophies from the basement rafters.
During the 1970s, John unofficially adopted Kevin McMahon, a 12-year-old boy he discovered sleeping in his pool house. John served as a surrogate father to McMahon until John's imprisonment in 1989. After that, Charles supervised McMahon's activities as a Gambino associate. In 2009, McMahon became a government witness and testified against Charles.
Murders
Law enforcement believes that Carneglia either directly or indirectly participated in the murders of
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 the A ...
capos
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
Alphonse "Al" Indelicato (February 25, 1931 – May 5, 1981), also known as Sonny Red, was a powerful American caporegime in New York City's Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone for planning to overth ...
; 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 ...
; and Gotti neighbor
John Favara
John Favara (March 4, 1929 – disappeared July 28, 1980, later declared dead in 1983) was the backyard neighbor of Gambino crime family captain and later boss John Gotti, in Howard Beach, New York, United States, who disappeared on July 28, ...
.
In 1980, John Carneglia allegedly participated in the Favara murder. While driving in the
Howard Beach
Howard Beach is a neighborhood in the southwestern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bordered to the north by the Belt Parkway and Conduit Avenue in Ozone Park, to the south by Jamaica Bay in Broad Channel, to the east by 1 ...
neighborhood, Favara accidentally hit and killed Gotti's 12-year-old son Frank Gotti as he was riding a
minibike
A minibike is a two-wheeled, motorized, off-highway recreational vehicle popularized in the 1960s and 1970s, but available continuously from a wide variety of manufacturers since 1959. Their off-highway nature and (in many countries) typically enti ...
. Carneglia and other Gambino mobsters allegedly abducted Favara from outside of his place of work in
New Hyde Park, New York
New Hyde Park is a village (New York), village in the Towns of Hempstead, New York, Hempstead and North Hempstead, New York, North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. ...
, murdered him, and placed his body in a barrel full of acid at the junkyard.
Favara's remains remain undiscovered.
In 1981, Carneglia allegedly disposed of the bodies of Giaccone, Trinchera, and Indelicato. The three capos had been plotting against imprisoned Bonanno boss
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 ...
. As a favor to Rastelli, Castellano allowed Rastelli associates to ambush the men in a Gambino social club, and then give the three bodies to Carneglia for disposal. Carneglia allegedly buried the corpses in a vacant lot close to his house in Queens. In 2004, children playing in the lot discovered one of the bodies.
In 1985, John Carneglia allegedly participated with other gunmen in the Castellano and Bilotti murders. The two Gambino leaders were ambushed as they exited a car outside
Sparks, a
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
steak house. A witness stated that he saw Carneglia shooting Bilotti as he lay on the ground. Allegedly, Carneglia was the gunman who actually shot Castellano in the head. Carneglia's boss, John Gotti, had ordered Castellano's assassination so that Gotti could take over the Gambino leadership. No charges were ever filed against Carneglia.
Conviction and prison
In early 1987, Carneglia and Gotti went to trial on federal charges of
loansharking
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.
Description
Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
,
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 ...
, murder, and armed hijackings. On March 13, 1987, all the defendants, including Carneglia, were acquitted on all charges.
Later in 1987, Carneglia and John Gotti's brother Gene, went to trial on the 1983 federal charges of
narcotics trafficking
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
,
obstruction of justice
Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...
,
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 operating a continuing criminal narcotics enterprise. In January 1988, the judge declared a
mistrial
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...
on this second case due to government charges of
jury tampering
Jury tampering is the crime of unduly attempting to influence the composition and/or decisions of a jury during the course of a trial. The means by which this crime could be perpetrated can include attempting to discredit potential jurors to ensur ...
. On July 27, 1988, in a retrial, the judge again declared a mistrial because jurors failed to reach a verdict. On May 23, 1989, in his third trial on the 1983 charges, Carneglia was convicted of running a heroin distribution ring. On July 7, 1989, Carneglia was sentenced to 50 years in prison and fined $75,000, the same penalty given to Gene Gotti.
He was released on June 11, 2018.
References
Further reading
*Raab, Selwyn. ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires''. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005.
External links
Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carneglia, John
1945 births
Living people
American gangsters of Italian descent
American prisoners and detainees
American drug traffickers
American people convicted of drug offenses
Gambino crime family
Mafia hitmen
People convicted of racketeering
Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government
People from Ozone Park, Queens