Thomas Cacciopoli (born September 5, 1949), also known as Tommy Sneakers and Cacci, is an American member of the Gambino crime family, holding the rank of

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 ...

in the Queens,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, and Westchester faction of the family.

Days of John Gotti

After John Gotti became boss in December 1985, Cacciopoli became a

made member In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oat ...

in the crew led by Gotti's son, John "Junior" Gotti and brother

Peter Gotti Peter Arthur Gotti (October 15, 1939 – February 25, 2021) was an American mobster. He was the boss of the Gambino crime family, part of the American Mafia, and the elder brother of the former Gambino boss John Gotti. Early life Gotti was born ...

. When John Gotti went to prison in 1992 and Junior Gotti became acting boss, Cacciopoli became Junior's top protegee and bodyguard. Cacciopoli allegedly received his moniker "Tommy Twitch" because he suffered from facial

neuralgia Neuralgia (Greek ''neuron'', "nerve" + ''algos'', "pain") is pain in the distribution of one or more nerves, as in intercostal neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, and glossopharyngeal neuralgia. Classification Under the general heading of neural ...

, an uncontrollable

muscle spasm A spasm is a sudden involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ such as the bladder. A spasmodic muscle contraction may be caused by many medical conditions, including dystonia. Most commonly, it is a muscl ...

condition.

Days of Junior Gotti

During the late 1990s, Cacciopoli was indicted along with dozens of other members of the Gambino family, as the U.S. government charged Junior Gotti with conspiracy and association with known

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

members, in 1998. Following Gotti, Jr. stepping down as acting boss in 1999, and the elevation of Peter Gotti as ''acting boss'' in 2000, Cacciopoli was listed as a caporegime of the Gambino family, with a crew and illegal activities originally based in the

faction, with possible operations in

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 ...

Capo and indictments

On March 9, 2005, Cacciopoli was indicted on charges of extorting payments from construction companies in Staten Island and Long Island. Cacciopoli was indicted on four counts of breaking the

Hobbs Act The Hobbs Act, named after United States Representative Sam Hobbs ( D- AL) and codified at , is a United States federal law enacted in 1946 that provides: Section 1951 also proscribes conspiracy to commit robbery or extortion without refere ...

Extortion (HAE), which shows that Cacciopoli was possibly involved in extortion operations in

. In September 2006, before the trial start, Cacciopolio, along with most of the defendants, accepted a plea arrangement from the government. On February 8, 2008, as part of the

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. ...

investigation, Cacciopoli was again indicted on racketeering charges. The indictment stated that the defendants ran extortion rackets at the

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

track construction site in Staten Island and the Liberty View Harbor site in Jersey City, New Jersey. Government witness Joseph Vallaro testified that Cacciopoli extorted over $160,000 from Vallaro's trucking company. On February 28, 2008, the government offered a plea deal to Cacciopoli and most of the other defendants. On April 4, 2011, Cacciopoli was released from prison.U.S. CHARGES ACTING BOSS, ACTING UNDERBOSS AND TOP LEADERS OF GAMBINO CRIME FAMILY WITH RACKETEERING AND OTHER CRIMES
/ref>

References

* ttps://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2DB1F3EF934A25750C0A96F958260 New York Times: Judge Denies Gotti Request To Bar Tapes From Wiretap {{DEFAULTSORT:Cacciopoli, Thomas 1949 births People from New Jersey American gangsters of Italian descent Gambino crime family Living people

Days of John Gotti

Days of Junior Gotti

Capo and indictments

Further reading

References