Matthew Madonna (November 2, 1935) is a member of the
Lucchese crime family
The Lucchese 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, in the United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon know ...
who served as acting boss before being imprisoned in 2017.
Narcotics trafficking
In 1959, while serving a sentence at the
Green Haven Correctional Facility in
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York (state), New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upsta ...
, Madonna became acquainted with
Nicky Barnes, a young drug dealer from
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
. After their release from prison, Madonna started supplying large quantities of
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...
to Barnes. Madonna would drop off a car with a trunk full of heroin at 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 ...
parking lot. Barnes would pick up the heroin later and exchange it for cash. A few days later, Madonna would return to pick up the car with the cash. Madonna and Barnes continued this arrangement until 1975, when Madonna was arrested for drug trafficking.
On December 21, 1976, Madonna was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.
In December 1981, while still in prison, Madonna received a summons to testify before a
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a p ...
about narcotics activity in the New York area. In two appearances before the grand jury, Madonna refused to testify, even after being granted immunity from
self-incrimination
In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of exposing oneself generally, by making a statement, "to an accusation or charge of crime; to involve oneself or another ersonin a criminal prosecution or the danger thereof". (Self-incriminati ...
. The judge finally held Madonna in
contempt of court
Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...
. Madonna received an extra 528 days added to his sentence.
Release and promotion
In 1995, after serving 20 years in prison, Madonna was released from
Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. Around 1998, Madonna was inducted into the Lucchese crime family as a reward for his silence and to assist his return to earning money for the family.
["What’s Left of the Mob"](_blank)
By Jerry Capeci New York Magazine May 21, 2005 Shortly thereafter, Madonna became a capo. Madonna was sent to prison again, but released on September 22, 2003.
After the convictions of family leaders
Steven Crea
Steven L. "Stevie" Crea (born July 18, 1947) is an American mobster and former underboss of the Lucchese crime family. In August 2020, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and racketeering.
Lucchese crime family
Rise to power
Crea ...
,
Louis Daidone
Current members Ray Argentina
Ray Argentina is a soldier in the Brooklyn faction. His younger brother Peter Argentina is an associate in the family. In 1992, Argentina along with Louis Daidone, Alan Taglianetti and Robert Molinelli were found gui ...
, Dominic Truscello and the cooperation of former acting boss
Joseph DeFede
Past member(s)
Joseph Abate
Joseph "Joe" Abate (July 8, 1902 – 1994) was a capo in the family's New Jersey faction. In the 1920s, Abate served as an enforcer for Al Capone in Chicago before settling in New Jersey.Raab, p.1-3 In June 1976, Aba ...
, the Luccheses established a three-man ruling panel to govern the family. Madonna, along with
Aniello Migliore and
Joseph DiNapoli headed the panel.
Acting boss
On December 18, 2007, New Jersey law enforcement arrested Madonna and 32 other members and associates of the Lucchese family. In a year-long investigation titled
"Operation Heat", law enforcement agencies uncovered a $2.2 billion
illegal gambling, money laundering and racketeering ring. The scheme involved collecting bets from gamblers on
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
,
greyhound races and the lottery. The mob collected bets over the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
and by phone from a location in
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, with help from Joseph Mancino, a senior member 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 th ...
. Along with Madonna ruling panel member
Joseph DiNapoli, top
New Jersey Faction capos Ralph V. Perna and
Nicodemo Scarfo, Jr. were indicted in May 2010. Madonna was released on bail pending trial.
In 2008, ''
The Village Voice
''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...
'' reported that Madonna was an employee of Big Geyser, Inc., New York's largest distributor of health beverages. It was speculated that this was a
no-show job
A no-show job is a paid position that ostensibly requires the holder to perform duties, but for which no work, or even attendance, is actually expected. The awarding of no-show jobs is a form of political or corporate corruption.
A no-work job is ...
for Madonna.
After the ruling panel was disbanded in 2009, Matthew Madonna took over as acting boss and Joseph DiNapoli became the new consigliere. In late 2009, the parole restrictions expired on longtime underboss Steven Crea and he was able rejoin the family's leadership again.
On October 1, 2009 Madonna was indicted along with
Joseph DiNapoli and 27 others in a large racketeering scheme. The indictment stated that Madonna was a key player in a vast operation that grossed approximately $400 million from
illegal gambling,
loansharking, gun trafficking 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, ...
.
A second part of the indictment charged that Madonna and other Lucchese mobsters ran a bribery scheme among New York City
building inspectors.
On June 28, 2010, Madonna and the other defendants pleaded not guilty to all charges. Madonna was granted bail while the trial was delayed. In 2013, Madonna along with John Castellucci performed a secret initiation ceremony for John Pennisi in a basement of a Staten Island home.
On June 17, 2015, Madonna agreed to plead guilty to the
2007 racketeering indictment, and was sentenced to five years in prison on September 30.
Before his release date, Madonna and 18 others were charged on May 31, 2017, with a wide range of racketeering activities, including ordering the November 15, 2013 murder of
East Harlem Purple Gang
The East Harlem Purple Gang was a gang or organized crime group consisting of Italian-American hit-men and heroin dealers who were semi-independent from the Italian-American Mafia and, according to federal prosecutors, dominated heroin distrib ...
leader Michael Meldish.
During the May 2019, testimony of government witness John Pennisi, it was revealed that in 2017, imprisoned-for-life boss
Vic Amuso
Vittorio "Little Vic" Amuso (born November 4, 1934) is an American mobster and the boss of the Lucchese crime family. He was described as "The Deadly Don" by Assistant United States Attorney Charles Rose. Amuso's reign is considered one of the b ...
sent a letter to underboss Steven Crea which stated that
Michael DeSantis would take over as acting boss replacing Bronx-based Madonna.
If Amuso's orders where not followed he approved of murdering a number of Bronx faction members.
DeSantis took over as acting boss after Madonna and Crea both stepped down and agreed to Amuso's orders.
On November 15, 2019, Madonna, Crea,
Christopher Londonio and Terrence Caldwell were convicted in
White Plains federal court of executing the murder of Michael Meldish. On July 27, 2020, Madonna was sentenced to
life in prison for the Meldish murder, along with Londonio and Caldwell.
References
Sources
*United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control. ''Summary of Testimony and Findings and Conclusions Resulting from Hearings in New York on Drug Law Enforcement''. 1977
(pg. 59)*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Illicit Traffic in Weapons and Drugs Across the United States-Mexican Border: Hearing Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations''. 1977.
*Justice, Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations United States. Congress. House. Committee on appropriations. Subcommittee on Departments of State. ''Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations For Fiscal Year''. 1979.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madonna, Matthew
1935 births
Living people
American gangsters of Italian descent
Acting bosses of the Five Families
Lucchese crime family
People from Selden, New York
American people convicted of drug offenses
American people convicted of murder
Gangsters sentenced to life imprisonment
American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
People convicted of racketeering