Joseph D'Amico (born 1955 in

Little Italy, Manhattan Little Italy () is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, once known for its Italian American population. It is bounded on the west by Tribeca and Soho, on the south by Chinatown, on the east by the Bowery and Lower East Side, a ...

), also known as "Joey The Mook", is an American mobster who was an inducted member in 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. The family was known as the Maranzano crime family until its founder Sal ...

before he turned government informant. D'Amico was a long-time street soldier who worked under his cousin, Richard Cantarella. He later served as his acting

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Biography

D'Amico was born and raised in the Knickerbocker Village

public housing Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

tenement A tenement is a type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access. They are common on the British Isles, particularly in Scotland. In the medieval Old Town, E ...

building where his uncle Albert Embarrato,

Anthony Mirra Anthony "Tony" Mirra (July 18, 1927 – February 18, 1982) was an American mobster, Soldato, soldier and later caporegime for the Bonanno crime family. He is known for introducing FBI Special Agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone into the Bonanno ...

, cousin Richard Cantarella and fellow mobster Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero resided. He was also a cousin of Paul Cantarella and Frank Cantarella. He was a close friend of ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' Superintendent of Deliveries,

Robert Perrino Robert Francis Perrino, also known as "Bobby Perrino" (February 9, 1938 in Fordham, Bronx – May 4, 1992 in Port Richmond, Staten Island) was the superintendent of deliveries at the ''New York Post'' from the 1970s until 1992, when he was murdere ...

and Anthony Mirra. In the 1970s, he met undercover

FBI agent The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Joseph Pistone, but did not suffer the vicious aftermath as his cousin Mirra did. D'Amico is not to be confused with

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, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

acting boss Jackie D'Amico, to whom he is not related.

Murder of Anthony Mirra

In mid-1981, when Pistone was revealed as an FBI agent, "Sonny Black" Napolitano, "Lefty" Ruggiero, and Mirra were all on the firing line for initially allowing the infiltration. Mirra went into hiding.

Joseph Massino Joseph Charles Massino (January 10, 1943 – September 14, 2023) was an American mobster. He was a member of the American Mafia, Mafia and Crime boss, boss of the Bonanno crime family from 1991 until 2004, when he became the first boss of one of ...

ordered Mirra's two cousins D'Amico and Richard Cantarella, and their uncle Alfred Embarrato, to kill him. On February 18, 1982, D'Amico, lured him to a parking garage in Lower Manhattan. Embarrato and Cantarella were waiting in a getaway car. The pair went to the parking garage, climbed into Mirra's car, and drove up to a locked security gate. D'Amico later described in a testimony, "He took out his key, put it in the box, but he didn’t get a chance to turn the box... I shot him at close range several times on the side of his head."

Acting Capo and government witness

With Sal Vitale's demotion to Captain, Richard Cantarella became acting underboss in 2002. He appointed D'Amico as his acting captain. It is unknown if he held this position at the time of his conviction and ultimate cooperation.

References

*Crittle, Simon, ''The Last Godfather: The Rise and Fall of Joey Massino'' Berkley (March 7, 2006) *Pistone, Joseph D. and Woodley, Richard, '' Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia'' Random House 1990 {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Amico, Joseph 1955 births Bonanno crime family American gangsters of Italian descent Living people