Alfred "Al Walker" Embarrato (November 12, 1909 – February 21, 2001), also known as "''Alfred Scalisi''" a.k.a." ''Aldo Elvorado''", was an American mobster who became a
caporegime
A ''caporegime'' or ''capodecina'', usually shortened to ''capo'' or informally referred to as "captain", "skipper" or "lieutenant", is a leadership position in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia). A ''capo'' is a "made m ...
of 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 ...
and a powerful labor figure at
The 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. ...
distribution plant.
Newspaperman
Born on the
Lower East Side, Manhattan
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal Street (Manhattan), Canal to Houston Str ...
to first generation immigrants Salvatore Embarrato and Mary from
Adrano
Adrano (; Adernò until 1929; ), ancient '' Adranon'', is a town and in the Metropolitan City of Catania on the east coast of Sicily.
It is situated around northwest of Catania, which was also the capital of the province to which Adrano belo ...
, Italy Embarrato lived at
Knickerbocker Village
Knickerbocker Village Limited is a housing development in Manhattan, New York City. It is situated between the Manhattan Bridge and Brooklyn Bridge, in the Two Bridges section of the Lower East Side. Although the location was generally conside ...
, on Monroe St. He was married to a woman named Constance and father of three children. One of Embarrato's neighbors was his nephew,
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 ...
, who became a widely feared soldier in the Bonanno family. Embarrato was employed at the ''
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. ...
'' from the 1960s to 1990s as a general foreman for the paper's distribution plant. When real estate owner
Peter Kalikow
Peter Stephen Kalikow (born December 1, 1942) is president of H. J. Kalikow & Company, LLC, a New York City-based real estate firm. He is a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), former commissioner of the Port Auth ...
bought the ''Post'' in 1988, his managers noted that Embarrato did no visible work and naively tried to fire him. When word of Embrrato's firing spread, the other Post foremen quickly agreed to take a salary cut so that Embarrato could keep his job. In 1990, District Attorney
Robert Morgenthau
Robert Morris Morgenthau ( ; July 31, 1919July 21, 2019) was an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County (the borough of Manhattan), having previously served as United States Attorn ...
began an extensive investigation of mob control at the New York newspapers, including the Post. Three years later, Embarrato was indicted on charges related to this investigation.
Family dissension
In the late 1970s,
Philip Rastelli
Philip "Rusty" Rastelli (January 31, 1918 – June 24, 1991) was an American mobster and former boss of the Bonanno crime family in New York. He spent all but three years of his reign in prison.
Biography
Rastelli was born and raised in Maspeth, ...
became the boss of the Bonanno family, causing a major split in the membership.
Philip Giaccone
Philip Giaccone (July 12, 1932 – May 5, 1981), also known as "Philly Lucky", was an American mobster and caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Al Indelicato for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss P ...
,
Dominick Trinchera
Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera (December 20, 1936 – May 5, 1981) was an American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Philip Giaccone for planning to overthrow Bonanno boss Philip Rastelli.
Early ...
and
Alphonse Indelicato
Alphonse "Al" Indelicato (February 25, 1931 – May 5, 1981), also known as Sonny Red, was an American mobster and caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who was murdered with Dominick Trinchera and Philip Giaccone for planning to overthrow Bon ...
opposed Rastelli and began plotting his downfall. However, Rastelli heard about the plot and instead arranged an ambush for the three conspirators. On May 5, 1981, the day of the ambush, Rastelli loyalist
Dominick Napolitano
Dominick Napolitano (June 16, 1930 – August 17, 1981), also known as Sonny Black, was an American Mafia caporegime in the Bonanno crime family. He is known for unwittingly allowing FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone to become an associate in his c ...
asked Embarrato to come down to
The Motion Lounge
The Motion Lounge was a nightclub located at 420 Graham Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This was a hangout for the Bonanno crime family under caporegime Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano. It was one of the central locations in FBI agent Joseph ...
for a "sitdown". At the meeting, Napolitano placed two of his sidewalk soldiers next to Embarrato. The mobsters then waited until Napolitano received confirmation that Giaccone, Trichera, and Indelicato were dead. Later describing the meeting to
Joseph D. Pistone
Joseph Dominick Pistone (born September 17, 1939) is an American former FBI special agent who worked undercover as Donnie Brasco between September 1976 and July 1981, as part of an infiltration primarily into the Bonanno crime family under the ...
, posing as mobster Donnie Brasco, Napolitano said, "When
eAlfred heard that, he turned ash white. He thought we were going to hit him too. But I just reamed at him about Tony, told him Tony was no good; and that he
lfredbetter recognize that and act right himself." Embarrato agreed.
Donnie Brasco
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, Embarrato's nephew, 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 Embarrato and Mirra's two cousins
Joseph D'Amico
Joseph D'Amico (born 1955 in Little Italy, Manhattan), also known as "Joey The Mook", is an American mobster who was an inducted member in the Bonanno crime family before he turned government informant. D'Amico was a long-time street soldier who ...
and
Richard Cantarella
Richard Cantarella (born December 19, 1944), also known as Shellackhead, was an American mobster who became a captain for the New York City-based Bonanno crime family and later a government witness.
Biography
Cantarella was born to Italian parent ...
, 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 would later describe 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."
In 1988, Embarrato was indicted along with other Bonanno leaders 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 e ...
case.
Death
On February 21, 2001, Alfred Embarrato died of natural causes at the age of 91.
Notes
References
Further reading
*Raab, Selwyn. ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005.
*Pistone, Joseph D. and Woodley, Richard, ''
Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia'' Random House 1990
*United States Congress. ''Organized Crime''. U.S. G.P.O., 1988
255 pages
55 may refer to:
*55 (number)
*55 BC
* AD 55
*1955
*2055
Science
*Caesium, by the element's atomic number
Astronomy
*Messier object M55, a magnitude 7.0 globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius
*The New General Catalogue object NGC 55, ...
*Mafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime
External links
United States of America vs. Embarrato by Tom Robbins
*
ttps://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GJPC-TBKAlfred Embarrato FamilySearch Genealogy Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Embarrato, Alfred
1909 births
2001 deaths
American gangsters of Italian descent
Bonanno crime family
People from the Lower East Side