Craig Anthony Fiato, also known as ''Anthony the Animal'' and ''Tony Rome'', was an American mobster and hitman for the Los Angeles crime family who later became an undercover informant and government witness. In the words of retired FBI undercover agent Bob Hamer, "Anthony Fiato was a major player in that whole organized crime scene" in 1980s Los Angeles. Fiato grew up in Boston to law-abiding parents. At age 17, his family moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. Under his mentor Michael "Mike Rizzi" Rizzitello, Fiato rose in rank to enforcer and street boss of Rizzi's breakaway Los Angeles crew. Fiato worked with mobsters Anthony "The Ant" Spilotro, "Handsome Johnny" Roselli, Rizzitello,

Joey Gallo Joseph Nicholas Gallo (born November 19, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, and Los Angeles Do ...

Peter Milano Peter John Milano (December 22, 1925 – April 21, 2012) was a Los Angeles-based, American mobster, and former Crime boss, boss of the Los Angeles crime family. Milano was active in organized crime from the 1950s until his death. His legitimate bu ...

, J.R. Russo, and "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno, among many others. Fiato was a feared member of the Los Angeles crime family. Consigliere

Jack LoCicero Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

sponsored Fiato's membership into the Los Angeles crime family. Fiato was a major gangster with close ties to the

Patriarca crime family The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, or The Office is an Italian-American Mafia family in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, ...

and Joseph "J.R." Russo, 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 ...

through

Aniello Dellacroce Aniello John "Neil" Dellacroce (March 15, 1914 – December 2, 1985) was an American mobster and underboss of the Gambino crime family. He rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside. Dellacroce was a mentor to ...

, and the Los Angeles crime family through his mentor Rizzitello. Turning informant after his brother Larry became an FBI informant and gave up their rackets, Fiato put away many major mob gangsters in both Los Angeles and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. After joining the witness protection program, Fiato became a tabloid celebrity thanks to his testimony at the O. J. Simpson murder case, his appearance on the Howard Stern Show, and his relationship with Denise Brown, the sister of Simpson's murdered ex-wife.''The LA Times''
/ref> Fiato also cooperated with journalist John L. Smith, who wrote his biography ''The Animal Hollywood: Anthony Fiato's Life in the Mafia''.

External links

Fiato's Twitter Page

Fiato's Blog

''The Animal in Hollywood: Anthony Fiato's Life in the Mafia''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiato, Anthony Living people People from Boston Los Angeles crime family American gangsters of Italian descent Year of birth missing (living people)