Augustus Sclafani, d. 1986, also known as "Big Gus", was a New York mobster who was a mob associate 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 ...

. Sclafani is not to be confused with the younger Augustus "Gus Boy" Sclafani, another Gambino family member. During the 1970s, Sclafani and Mildred Russo, his mother-in-law, used her position as a court clerk in the

Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse The Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse is a courthouse at 500 Pearl Street (Manhattan), Pearl Street, along Foley Square, in the Civic Center, Manhattan, Civic Center neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The 27-story co ...

for the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a United States district court, federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York (state), New York ...

to leak confidential information on the Gambino family to Paul Castellano. In 1987, both Russo and Sclafani were indicted for racketeering and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Sclafini had already been declared as a fugitive from justice, although law enforcement believed that Sclafani was dead. According to mob witness Sammy Gravano, while Paul Castellano was boss of the Gambino family, Sclafani accused Gambino mobster Frank DeCicco of being a mob informant. DeCicco successfully defended himself from this charge and told Gravano that he would murder Sclafani after Castellano was out of power. In 1986, Gambino hitman

Joseph Watts Joseph Watts (born 1942) also known as "The German" is an associate of the Gambino crime family. He was a close confidant of former boss John Gotti and participated in the infamous 1985 assassination of Paul "Big Paul" Castellano. Watts was not a ...

shot and stabbed Sclafani to death in a club in Little Italy, Manhattan on orders from new Gambino boss

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 ...

. After Castellano's murder, DeCicco told Gravano that "Gus is gone."

External links

The Smoking Gun.com: Murder of Augustus Sclafani
By LEONARD BUDER
Real Deal Forum: New York Times Former Gotti Henchman Faces New Charges on Release
by ALAN FEUER Year of birth missing Year of death missing Gambino crime family People murdered by the Gambino crime family Murdered American gangsters of Italian descent Deaths by firearm in Manhattan People murdered in New York City Male murder victims Deaths by stabbing in the United States {{Crime-org-stub