Carmine Lombardozzi (February 8, 1913 – May 9, 1992) was a high-ranking member of the

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. ...

in New York. He was known as "Alberto", "The Doctor", the "King of

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

" and "The Italian

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the dev ...

". By the end of his criminal career, Lombardozzi was the biggest earner for the Gambino family.

Biography

Background

Carmine Lombardozzi was born in Brooklyn on December 8, 1913 to Camillo Lombardozzi and Annunziata Antonelli. Carmine's six brothers were John, Daniel, Paul, Cosmo, Dominick, and youngest brother Anthony (Sonny) Lombardozzi. He had three sisters, Edith, Mary, and Jenny. Lombardozzi's first wife was Mary Corrolla. After being married to Corrolla for 29 years, Lombardozzi had an affair with the young daughter of Stabato Muro, a Profaci mobster. When Muro complained to the family leadership, Lombardozzi was forced to divorce Corrolla and marry Muro. He had a stepdaughter, Renee Lombardozzi. His nephews included Daniel Marino and George Lombardozzi, both of whom eventually joined the

.Carl Sifakis, ''The Mafia Encyclopedia'', (Facts on File, 2005), p.271 Lombardozzi was six feet tall, but tended to hunch over and look shorter. He was described as having a high strung temperament, always watching for threats around him. A wealthy man, Lombardozzi owned a

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

automobile, a

yacht A yacht () is a sail- or marine propulsion, motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a ...

, and a waterfront mansion in Mill Basin, Brooklyn.

Gambino mobster

Lombardozzi, though only 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 ...

'' (captain), allegedly ran the entire Gambino

shylock Shylock () is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Merchant of Venice'' ( 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal villain. His defeat and forced conversion to Christianity form the climax ...

and stock market rackets. He was involved in

loansharking A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate ...

and

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

, and was said to have earned the Gambino crime family a lot of money during his criminal career. Considered a traditional mafiosi, Lombardozzi was described as having a "brilliant mind" for numbers. In November 1957, new

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

boss Vito Genovese called a meeting of high-ranking

Cosa Nostra The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of local protect ...

figures at the farm home of mobster Joseph Barbara in

Apalachin, New York Apalachin ( ) is a census-designated place within the Owego (town), New York, Town of Owego in Tioga County, New York, Tioga County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 1,131 in the 2010 census. The CDP is named after Apa ...

. Lombardozzi attended the meeting. According to some sources, Lombardozzi was in serious trouble with

leaders over mishandling of funds. They privately discussed murdering him, but old friend Joseph Profaci, boss of the Profaci crime family, dissuaded them. Soon after the meeting started, New York State Troopers raided the farm and arrested dozens of mobsters, including Lombardozzi. When questioned by law enforcement, Lombardozzi said he had come to Apalachin to go hunting. When asked why he didn't have any hunting equipment, Lombardozzi said he was planning to buy it there. For failing to cooperate in the investigation of the infamous Apalachin Meeting, Lombardozzi spent 14 months in prison. On November 30, 1964, Lombardozzi was sentenced to 30 days in jail for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

; Lombardozzi had repeatedly dodged questions about a jewelry scam committed by his brother. In 1963, Daniel Marino and other Gambino associates assaulted a

Federal Bureau of Investigation 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 ...

(FBI) agent at the funeral of Lombardozzi's father. Although Lombardozzi was not involved in the attack, the family leadership blamed him for his nephew's poor judgement. On August 27, 1965, Lombardozzi was arrested for assaulting a police officer. Police had tried to arrest him in a Brooklyn restaurant but Lombardozzi punched a detective in the face, starting a brawl that involved a female companion and several bystanders. On March 18, 1969, Lombardozzi was sentenced to one year in prison on contempt charges for refusing to discuss mob involvement with legitimate businesses before a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

. While serving this prison sentence, doctors were forced to remove one of Lombardozzi's kidneys due to

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. On June 12, 1970, Lombardozzi was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to cash $50,000 in stolen

brokerage A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neith ...

checks. Three months after the check-cashing trial, Lombardozzi was back in court facing two counts of attempting to defraud the U.S.

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

. The crime involved the illegal cashing of winning tickets from Yonkers Raceway in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

, and what was then Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, New York. In September 1970, Lombardozzi's co-defendant was found guilty on one of the two charges, but the jury

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

Lombardozzi on one count and declared themselves unable to reach a verdict on the other. On November 20, 1975, Lombardozzi was indicted on 17 counts of

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

based on his previous grand jury testimony about loansharking and

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

-for-hire schemes. Investigator used electronic surveillance to record Lombardozzi's conversations at a motel and diner in

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn, New York City. It is bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west; Avenue T and Kings Highway to the north; Nostrand Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue to the east; and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. ...

. On one occasion, the listening device fell from the bottom of the diner table to the floor next to Lombardozzi's feet. However, an undercover policeman went to the table and claimed he had lost his

pager A pager, also known as a beeper or bleeper, is a Wireless communication, wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays Alphanumericals, alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response p ...

. An unsuspecting Lombardozzi handed the device to the detective. On April 16, 1981, Lombardozzi was indicted on charges of failing to report his

income in his federal income tax returns. His headquarters for this racket was a

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

clubhouse in Mill Basin, Brooklyn. He used to meet with Salvatore Stagnitta Lombardozzi and his brother Cosmo were close friends of 'Mr Stan', the notorious Serbian criminal Vojislav Stanimirovic responsible for the Vizcaya heist. This connection with the rare non-Italian businessman was Lombardozzi's entry to New York's Diamond District. He was a mentor to the Serbian authority's son Pavle Stanimirović. Fruitless recording efforts by the FBI yielded much discussion of activities that weren't illegal; Lombardozzi prized his

and wine cellar, though not in that order. 'The Doctor' was considered a class act and Italian elder statesman. With friends and family he avoided the subject of crime but told tales of mafia legends like Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and his own experience at Apalachin. On April 16, 1981, Lombardozzi was indicted on charges of failing to report his loansharking income in his federal income tax returns. He was convicted and sentenced to six months in prison.

Death

On May 9, 1992, Carmine Lombardozzi died at home of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

at age 79. He is buried at St. John Cemetery in

Middle Village, Queens Middle Village is a neighborhood in the central section of the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens, New York City, bounded to the north by the Long Island Expressway, to the east by Woodhaven Boulevard, to the south by Cooper Avenue and t ...

Biography

Background

Gambino mobster

Death

References

Further reading