Anthony Rotondo (born July 21, 1957–March 8, 2025) was a former capo in the DeCavalcante family of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and police informant. He entered the witness protection program under the name Anthony Russo and died on March 8, 2025.

Early life

Anthony Rotondo lived with his father Vincent "Jimmy the Gent" Rotondo, and his father expressed wishes for his son to become a

criminal defense lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the Defense (legal), defense of individuals and companies charged with Criminal law, criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while other ...

. His father was a union organizer for the Brooklyn chapter of the

International Longshoremen's Association The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways; on the W ...

and

underboss Underboss () is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian Mafia, Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the Crime boss, boss. The un ...

. Vincent was gunned down in front of his Brooklyn home because mob associates thought he might make an attempt to become boss of the family in 1988. In 1973, Rotondo graduated from Nazareth Regional High School in

Canarsie, Brooklyn Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, East 108th Street, and Louisiana Avenue; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on th ...

Life in the Mafia

Rotondo became a made man in DeCavalcante crime family in 1982 and was promoted to Capo over his father's crew when the elder Rotondo was found in his car shot dead with a bottle of fish in his lap in 1988. Rotondo admitted to having played a part in three murders, those of Fred Weiss, Fat Louis LaRusso, and Joey Garafano. Fred Weiss was killed because he was an anti-crime crusader and the family wanted to be put back on the map by

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 ( , ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American '' mafioso'' and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambin ...

, Fat Louis LaRasso was killed because John D'Amato (acting boss at the time) was afraid LaRasso would try to pull off a coup, and mob associate Joey Garafano was killed because when he was assigned to drive a "crash car" during the murder of Fred Weiss (a car that was supposed to crash into any police cars coming to the scene) he stole the license plates for the car from another mobster's wife and was immediately questioned as a suspect in the murder.

Turning informant

Rotondo turned informant and testified in a federal racketeering trial that began in February 2003, about the homicides of Fred Weiss, Louis LaRusso, and Joseph Garafano.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110927135126/http://gangstersinc.tripod.com/ShoDec2804.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20090506101207/http://www.carvelli.com/noFlash/gotti-gang.html *https://web.archive.org/web/20080108145726/http://www.thelaborers.net/lexisnexis/951_f2d_1368-riggi.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Rotondo, Anthony 1957 births Living people American Mafia cooperating witnesses DeCavalcante crime family People from Canarsie, Brooklyn Federal Bureau of Investigation informants