Vario Crew

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (May 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Vario Crew

Founded	1950s
Founder	Lucchese crime family
Named after	Paul Vario
Founding location	Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States
Years active	1950s–present
Territory	Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island and Staten Island
Ethnicity	Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates
Activities	Racketeering, bookmaking, loan-sharking, extortion, gambling, burglary, cargo theft, conspiracy, counterfeit consumer goods, murder, smuggling, fencing, hotel robbery, hijacking and jewelry heists
Allies	Gambino, Genovese, Bonanno and Colombo crime families
Rivals	Various gangs

The Vario Crew, also known as the Canarsie Crew, is a group of Italian-American mobsters within the Lucchese crime family that controls organized crime activities within the New York metropolitan area but has been predominantly based from Brooklyn neighborhoods of Canarsie and Flatlands. In the past the crew was controlled by capo Paul Vario from the early 1950s into the early 1980s, when Vario, Jimmy Burke, and a number of other associates were imprisoned, primarily due to the testimony of another long-term associate, Henry Hill.

Hill's life in the Vario crew was the subject of Nicholas Pileggi's book Wiseguy and Martin Scorsese's crime film adapted from that book, Goodfellas (1990), starring Ray Liotta as Hill.

Today the crew is still active, but less influential than before, and is currently led by Patrick “Patty Red” Dellorusso.

History[]

Paul Vario's power[]

Paul Vario received money from members of his crew and local criminals. Vario's crew was involved in hijacking cargo shipments from JFK Airport in Queens, NY; they also ran several loansharking and bookmaking operations in Brooklyn.

James Burke, a close ally of Vario's, ran a crew of hijackers that would pay off truck drivers and then unload the goods at a warehouse Vario controlled. Another ally of Vario's was John Dioguardi, a Lucchese family capo who controlled labor unions in New York City. In the 1970s, when Vario and Burke were imprisoned, the majority of Vario's bookmaking operations were taken over by his Russian Jewish associate, Martin Krugman.

Henry Hill's drug organization[]

Two of Vario's crew members, Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke, began dealing in amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, and marijuana. Hill ran his criminal enterprise with his wife Karen, William Arico, Anthony and Rocco Perla, Robin Cooperman, and Judith Wicks. In early 1979, Burke and Hill began selling heroin.

After Robert "Bobby" Germaine Jr., the son of Henry Hill's drug partner, became an informant, Hill was monitored. In 1980, Hill was arrested for drug dealing and looking at several life-sentences. He accepted the option to become an informant.

Hill's testimony led to 50 convictions. In 1980, on Burke's orders, Angelo Sepe shot and killed Bobby Germaine, Jr. in Kew Gardens, Queens.

Burke was given 20 years for fixing sporting events and a life sentence when the authorities convicted him for murdering scam-artist Richard Eaton. Vario was given a 12½-year sentence during the KENRAC trial.

Robert's Lounge Crew[]

The Robert's Lounge Crew was a semi-independent group of criminals working under the Vario Crew, led by Jimmy Burke, and based in Burke's bar, Robert's Lounge. They were active from 1957 to 1979.

The Robert's Lounge crew comprised numerous members, some described as inept, whose specialties included armed robbery, hijacking, and murder. Although an independent outfit, they were closely associated with the Lucchese Family through which Burke had a longtime friendship and working relationship with Vario.^[1]

Historical leadership[]

Caporegimes[]

• 1930s–1950s – Salvatore "Don Turiddo" Curiale
• 1950s–1988 – Paul Vario — in 1984 he was sentenced to 12+1⁄2 years in prison; he died on May 3, 1988
  • Acting 1970–1988 – Vito "Tuddy" Vario — Vario's younger brother
• 1988–1991 – Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco — served as Street Boss from May 1990 to January 1991; then served as Acting Boss from January 1991 to July 1991 when he was demoted; he became a government witness on September 21, 1991^[2]
  • Acting 1990–1991 – Louis Daidone — promoted to official capo.
• 1991–1992 – Louis "Louie Bagels" Daidone — imprisoned on May 1, 1992.
• 1992–2017 – Domenico "Danny" Cutaia — released from prison on October 5, 2013^[3] died August 14, 2018
  • Acting 2008 – Michael "Mikey Bones" Corcione — arrested in 2008
  • Acting 2010 – Carlo Profeta — arrested in 2010
• 2017–present – Patrick “Patty Red” Dellorusso

Current members and associates[]

Members

• Patrick “Patty Red” Dellorusso (Capo)
• Salvatore Cutaia (Soldier)
• John Baudanza (Soldier)
• Michael "Mikey Bones" Corcione (Soldier)
• Carlo Profeta (Soldier)

Associates

• Joseph Cutaia (Associate)
• Steven Lapella (Associate)
• Victor Sperber (Associate)
• Louis Colello (Associate)
• John Rodopolous (Associate)

Past members and associates[]

These are past members and associates who have retired, been murdered, or died other ways.

Soldiers

• Frank Manzo (Soldier)
• Vito "Tuddy" Vario (Soldier)
• Peter "Rugsy" Vario (Soldier)
• Peter "Jocko" Vario (Soldier)
• Salvatore "Babe" Vario (Soldier)
• Thomas Vario (Soldier)
• Peter "Pete the Killer" Abinati (Soldier)
• Leonard Vario Jr. (Soldier)
• Joseph D'Arco (Soldier)
• Bruno Facciolo (Soldier)
• Rosario Sacco (Soldier)
• Luigi Sacco (Soldier)
• Alfonso Curiale (Soldier)
• Paolo Danna (Soldier)
• Ray Argentina (Soldier)
• Joseph Chiavo (Soldier)
• Louis "Lou Bagels" Daidone (Acting Capo)

Associates

• Clyde Brooks (associate, died in 1994)^{[citation needed]}
• Angelo 'Sonny Bamboo' McConnach (associate, died in 1996)
• Joseph Abinati (associate)
• Thomas "Tommy Red" Gilmore (associate, Murdered on February 6, 1989)
• Frank James Burke (associate, murdered on May 18, 1987)^[4]
• Jimmy Burke (associate, died on April 13, 1996)^[4]
• Louis Cafora (associate disappeared in March 1979)^[4]
• Thomas DeSimone (associate, murdered on January 14, 1979)^[4]
• Richard Eaton (associate, murdered on July 18, 1979)^[4]
• Henry Hill (associate, became a witness in 1980, died on June 12, 2012)^[5]
• Martin Krugman (associate, disappeared on January 6, 1979)^[4]
• Angelo Sepe (associate, murdered on July 18, 1984)^[4]
• Louis Werner (associate, convicted on May 16, 1979)^[4]

Former headquarters and hangouts[]

The crew operates throughout the New York City; these are some of its former headquarters and hangouts.

• Bargain Auto Junkyard^{[citation needed]}
• Euclid Taxi Cab Company in Brownsville, Brooklyn^{[citation needed]}
• Geffkens Bar – a bar owned by Paul Vario
• Kew Motor Inn^{[citation needed]}
• Robert's Lounge – the former headquarters of Jimmy Burke's crew, located on Lefferts Boulevard and Rockaway Boulevard in South Ozone Park, Queens^[6][7]
• The Bamboo Lounge – former hangout, located on Rockaway Parkway and Avenue N in Canarsie, Brooklyn^[8][9][10]
• The Lefferts Bar –^[10]
• The Suite – a former hangout owned by Henry Hill, located on Queens Boulevard near Forest Hills, Queens^[10][11]

Government informants and witnesses[]

• Richard Bilello – associate, murdered on October 28, 1974^{[citation needed]}
• Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco – became a witness on September 21, 1991
• Theresa Ferrara – became a government informant, disappeared on February 10, 1979^[4]
• Peter Gruenwald – associate, became a witness in 1978,^[4] died in 1979
• Henry Hill – associate, became a witness in 1980, died on June 12, 2012^[5]

In popular culture[]

• Goodfellas (1990), directed by Martin Scorsese, is based on the Vario Crew and the life story of crew associate Henry Hill (portrayed by Ray Liotta)

References[]

Notes

Sources

• Nicholas Pileggi, Wiseguy: Life In A Mafia Family (1986)
• Greg and Gina Hill. On the Run: A Mafia Childhood
• May, Allan. The Lufthansa Heist Revisited. TruTv.com