Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria (born 1941), also known as "Prateek" and "the Conductor", is a New York mobster and

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 ...

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 is considered by law enforcement to be a close associate of Nicholas Corozzo and has served as his right-hand-man for almost 30 years.

Brooklyn gangster

DiMaria was born to Italian immigrants from

Moliterno Moliterno ( Lucano: ''Mulitiernu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni of Castelsaraceno, Grumento Nova, Lagonegro, Lauria, Montesano sulla Marcellana, ...

province of Potenza The Province of Potenza ( it, Provincia di Potenza; Potentino: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Potenza. Geography It has an area of and a total population of 369,538 (as of 2017). There a ...

. Before entering a life of crime, he worked as a railroad conductor for the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk Co ...

and employee of the

New York and Atlantic Railway The New York and Atlantic Railway (NY&A) is a short line railroad formed in 1997 to provide freight service over the tracks of the Long Island Rail Road, a public commuter rail agency which had decided to privatize its freight operations. An af ...

. These early jobs earned him the nickname "The Conductor". In the early 1980s, DiMaria became a captain in the

. His driver and bodyguard Thomas "Spade" Muschio, age 24 who was incarcerated in 1983 at Raiford Florida State Prison until his release in 1985. After his work release program he was put on probation until 1988. Muschio now resides in North Carolina and Toms River NJ. Muschio was an upcoming member of the Gambino Crime Family at an early age. They both operated

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 ...

and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

operations in both Queens and Brooklyn.They both became a close associate of Nicholas Corozzo. Muschio was introduced to Organized Crime by Robert (,Bobby Cabert) Bisaccia. DiMaria was part of a racketeering case in August 1986, that included boss John Gotti,

Willie Boy Johnson Wilfred "Willie Boy" Johnson (September 29, 1935 – August 29, 1988) was an American mobster and a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) informant from 1966 to 1985. He provided the FBI, who code-named him "Wahoo" because of his Native Americ ...

, (who, despite being exposed as an informant, refused to turn

state's evidence A criminal turns state's evidence by admitting guilt and testifying as a witness for the state against their associate(s) or accomplice(s), often in exchange for leniency in sentencing or immunity from prosecution.Howard Abadinsky, ''Organized C ...

)

Tony Rampino Anthony J. Rampino (c. 1939 – 20 December 2010), also known as "Tony Roach", was an American mobster who was affiliated with the Gambino crime family of New York City, and involved in truck hijacking and drug trafficking. Biography He earned t ...

, Nicholas Corozzo and

John Carneglia John "Johnny Carnegs" Carneglia (born 1945) 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. Early life Carneglia was born in 1945 in Ozone Park, Quee ...

. On March 13, 1987, they acquitted all defendants of all charges.

South Florida and New York indictments

In 1995, DiMaria, and Gambino ''capos'' Ralph Davino, Jr. and Anthony Ruggiano, Jr., together with Anthony "Tony Pep" Trentacosta, started operating in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

on behalf of Corozzo. These three ''capos'' would be called the "South Florida Crew", operating from both

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and Florida. On December 18, 1996, DiMaria was arrested at his home in

Flatlands, Brooklyn Flatlands is a neighborhood in the southeast part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The current neighborhood borders are roughly defined by the Bay Ridge Branch to the north, Avenue U to the south, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Fla ...

on loansharking and racketeering charges in Florida. While out on bail, DiMaria was indicted a month later on separate loansharking and racketeering charges in

after a three-year investigation by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI). The New York indictments were based partly on evidence gathered at the

Portobello Portobello, Porto Bello, Porto Belo, Portabello, or Portabella may refer to: Places Brazil * Porto Belo Ireland * Portobello, Dublin * Cathal Brugha Barracks, Dublin formerly ''Portobello Barracks'' New Zealand * Portobello, New Zealand, on Ot ...

Soccer Club in

Canarsie, Brooklyn Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Aven ...

. The club was a sting operation that purchased stolen

designer clothing Designer clothing is expensive luxury clothing considered to be high quality and haute couture for the general public, made by, or carrying the label of, a well-known fashion designer. Brands Designer clothing is not always created by the foun ...

, computers, and other goods from Gambino mobsters. DiMaria reportedly became friends with the FBI uncover agent who ran the sting and was seen hugging him on surveillance video. After six weeks in house arrest, DiMaria and Corozzo were sent to a federal lockup to await trials in New York and Florida. On November 3, 1997, DiMaria pleaded guilty to 15 New York charges, including racketeering, extortion and loansharking. and received a 10-year prison sentence, to be served in

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its s ...

. In January 1998, DiMaria pleaded guilty to the Florida charges.

Operation Old Bridge

Released from prison in 2005, DiMaria returned to running racketeering and loansharking operations in Queens, Brooklyn, and

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

for Corozzo and John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico. It was speculated that DiMaria might have become underboss. In February 2008, DiMaria was indicted in

Operation Old Bridge Operation Old Bridge is the code name for the February 7, 2008 arrests in Italy and the United States that targeted the Gambino crime family; among the indicted were the reputed acting bosses Jackie D'Amico, Nicholas Corozzo and Joseph Corozzo. ...

, a massive federal investigation of the Gambino family. On June 4, 2008, DiMaria pleaded guilty to racketeering and extortion-related charges. DiMaria further admitted to conspiring to extort money from contractor/trucker

Joseph Vollaro Joseph Vollaro, also known as "Joey V" and "Joe Andrews" (born 1966), is a Staten Island-based American trucking executive and Gambino crime family associate who is now a government informant and witness. Vollaro did construction work and work ...

. Vollaro, a former Mafia associate, had become an informant to avoid prosecution and recorded conversations with other mobsters over a three-year period. DiMaria was incarcerated at the

Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville The Federal Correctional Institution, Otisville (FCI Otisville) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates located near Otisville, New York. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), a division of the United ...

. He was released from prison on August 31, 2012.Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimaria, Leonard 1941 births American gangsters of Italian descent Gambino crime family Living people American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government People convicted of racketeering American extortionists People from Flatlands, Brooklyn Conductor (rail)

Brooklyn gangster

South Florida and New York indictments

Operation Old Bridge

References

Further reading

External links