Vincent DiNapoli (June 21, 1937 – November 16, 2005) was a

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

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American M ...

, involved in labor racketeering. DiNapoli is best known for creating a

cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...

in the 1970s that controlled the price of

drywall Drywall (also called plasterboard, dry lining, wallboard, sheet rock, gypsum board, buster board, custard board, and gypsum panel) is a panel made of calcium sulfate dihydrate (gypsum), with or without additives, typically extruded between thic ...

in New York City.

Early years

Growing up in the East Harlem section of

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 ...

during the 1950s, DiNapoli was originally associated with 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 known as ...

. He later switched to the Genovese crime family and became an associate of soldier Vincent "Fish" Cafaro, front boss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno's top lieutenant. DiNapoli's older brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

is a member of the

, formerly serving as ''consigliere.'' His younger brother

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

allegedly is a soldier in DiNapoli's crew. In the late 1970s, Cafaro sponsored DiNapoli for family membership in the family and he was placed in Saverio Santora's 116th Street crew. By the early 1980s, DiNapoli had become New York's most powerful labor racketeer, earning himself and the Genovese family bosses millions of dollars from

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, ...

, shakedown,

bid rigging Bid rigging is a fraudulent scheme in procurement auctions resulting in non-competitive bids and can be performed by corrupt officials, by firms in an orchestrated act of collusion, or between officials and firms. This form of collusion is illegal ...

, and controlling companies.

Union boss

DiNapoli dominated the New York City District Council of Carpenters through his ally Teddy Maritas. In 1981, DiNapoli, his brother Louis, and Maritas, were indicted on labor racketeering and

charges in a

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

indictment. DiNapoli allegedly became worried that Maritas might cooperate with law enforcement. In 1982, Maritas disappeared before the trial was scheduled to start. After Cafaro became a government witness, he claimed that DiNapoli murdered Maritas. Later in 1982, DiNapoli pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sent to prison for five years. While in prison, his union rackets were managed by his brother Louis and

Louis Moscatiello Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

. DiNapoli later became close to the next District Council President, Paschal McGuinness, and the two men continued to enforce a mob tax on all

construction in New York. In 1978, DiNapoli established the Operative

Plasterer A plasterer is a tradesman or tradesperson who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. The process of creating plasterwork, called plastering, has been ...

s and Cement Masons International Association Local 530 and designated Mosciatello as business manager. DiNapoli also controlled Carpenters Local 257 through his associates Attilio Bitondo and Eugene Hanley. DiNapoli used their positions to extort contractors operating on the East Side of Manhattan. DiNapoli would again be convicted and sentenced to prison; his interests in the District Council would be absorbed by a close associate,

Liborio Bellomo Liborio Salvatore Bellomo (born January 8, 1957) is an American mobster and boss of the Genovese crime family. He served in the 116th Street Crew of Saverio "Sammy Black" Santora and was initiated in 1977. His father was a soldier and close to ...

. DiNapoli did not hesitate to use fear to keep the rackets in check. DiNapoli was suspected of ordering the slaying of

Danny Evangelista Danny is a masculine given name. It is related to the male name Daniel. It may refer to: People * Danny Altmann, British immunologist * Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, director, producer, and writer *Danny Baker (born 1957), English journal ...

, a dissident union leader from Local 385; Evangelista was shot to death while sitting at his desk in the Local. DiNapoli also allegedly gave the order to firebomb the home of another Local 385 member, Shaun Toner, who criticized various union officials.

Business Holdings

DiNapoli secretly owned interests in a dozen construction companies, real estate properties, and housing developments. DiNapoli and Tony Salerno were the key figures representing the Genovese family in the concrete industry. Along with close associate Edward "Biff" Halloran, the men grossed millions of dollars, enough for ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' magazine to place both Salerno and DiNapoli on the list of the Top 10 Richest Mobsters in the nation. DiNapoli secretly owned Cambridge Drywall and Inner-City Drywall, which became one of the biggest developers in

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 ...

and the South Bronx, and received $32 million in city contracts in 1988 alone. In the early 1980s, DiNapoli became enraged when he lost out on a contractor who made a deal with Gambino boss

Paul Castellano Constantino Paul Castellano (; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985), was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family. Castellano was killed in an unsanctioned hit on December 16, 1985. Early life Cast ...

; the contractor, Frederick DeMatteis became one of Long Island's biggest developers. A conversation between members of the Concrete Club indicated that Castellano prevailed and kept DeMatteis as his partner: :Tony Salerno: "Metro is Paul's, right?" Neil Migliore: "Metro's Paul's." Christopher Furnari: "It's Paul." DiNapoli had no choice but to accept the ruling from his superiors. DiNapoli, Salerno, and mob associate Nicholas Auletta also owned the old Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New York. DiNapoli owned "Il Boschetto", a

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

restaurant. During his time in prison, actor

Burt Young Gerald Tommaso DeLouise (born April 30, 1940), known professionally as Burt Young, is an American actor, author and painter. He played Rocky Balboa's brother-in-law and best friend Paulie Pennino in the '' Rocky'' film series. He was nominated f ...

operated the restaurant. In 1992, investigators learned that DiNapoli and Lucchese capo Steven Crea co-owned a valuable housing development in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...

Prison

In March 1986, DiNapoli and other Genovese family members were indicted for labor racketeering, construction bid-rigging, extortion, illegal gambling, and murder conspiracies. The indictment alleged that DiNapoli and his associates had cost real estate developers millions of dollars due to mob control of the concrete companies and subsequent bid rigging. While awaiting trial, Cafaro struck a deal with federal prosecutors and became a government witness. In 1988, DiNapoli was convicted and sentenced to prison. On June 28, 1991, an

Appeals Court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

in New York reversed the convictions of DiNapoli and the other mobsters and ordered a new trial. Di Napoli died on November 16, 2005 at the age of 68.http://death-records.mooseroots.com/d/n/Vincent-Dinapoli

References

External links