John "Porky" Zancocchio (born November 27, 1957) is an American mobster and former

Consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a ...

with the

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 ...

who is a loanshark and a

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...

Biography

Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, Zancocchio started working under Bonanno

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 he ...

Dominick Napolitano in the early 1970s. After Napolitano's killing as a result of the Donnie Brasco scandal, Zancocchio worked for capo

Anthony Graziano Anthony A. Graziano (November 12, 1940 – May 25, 2019) was an American mobster and consigliere in the Bonanno crime family. Bonanno crime family Captain In 1990, Graziano pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion. He had failed to pay $100,000 t ...

. During the 1980s, Zancocchio married Graziano's daughter Lana, making him brother-in-law to Bonanno mobsters Christian Ludwigsen and Hector Pagan. Over time, Zancocchio built a major bookmaking operation that grossed $280 million a year at its high point. His operation served many influential and wealthy gamblers, including

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

. Zancocchio also opened a Brooklyn

pizzeria A pizzeria is a restaurant focusing on pizza. As well as pizza, dishes at pizzerias can include kebab, salads and pasta. Many pizzerias offer take-away, where the customer orders their food either in advance or at the restaurant and then t ...

called "Mama Rosa's", which he leased to his mother. However, Zancocchio's financial dealings with the restaurant resulted in his first prosecution for income tax evasion. Zancocchio pleaded guilty and was fined $100,000 and sentenced to one year in prison. His mother Rose was also indicted at this time. In 2002, Zancocchio and Lana were charged with income tax evasion for the years 1995 to 2000. The two pleaded guilty and Zancocchio received 71 months in prison and a $300,000 fine. Lana faced a 16-month sentence, but her attorney negotiated a house arrest deal so that she could take care of their three young children. Lana told an author writing a book on mob women that,

... after the split with her husband, she was forced to admit the possibility that John married her only to get closer to her father. 'I have to face it that I was used, that he really didn't love me. In plain English, if that's how he feels, fuck him.'

Zancocchio served his sentence at the Devens Federal Medical Center in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

and was released from prison on August 29, 2008.Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator
/ref> In February 2018, he went back to prison. He was held at the

Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York The Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York (MCC New York) is a United States federal administrative detention facility in the Civic Center of Lower Manhattan, New York City, located on Park Row behind the Thurgood Marshall United State ...

on racketeering charges. Zancocchio was released from prison on July 31, 2018, and was acquitted of racketeering and conspiracy charges on March 13, 2019. At the time, he was a resident of Staten Island."The Bonanno Family: After Claiming Ethnic Profiling, 2 Accused of Being Mobsters Are Acquitted"
''The New York Times'', March 13, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zancocchio, John 1957 births Living people American gangsters of Italian descent Bonanno crime family American people convicted of tax crimes People from Brooklyn