Dominick Montiglio (born Dominick Anthony Santamaria; July 17, 1947 – June 27, 2021) was an American soldier, mobster and associate 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. ...

who eventually became a government witness. In later years he became an artist and podcaster, through which he chronicled his life story. He has also appeared in and been featured on various television shows related to the

American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to ...

Early life

Montiglio was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Anthony Santamaria and Marie Gaggi, both of Sicilian origin. When his father became estranged, he was raised by his uncle Nino Gaggi. His mother remarried to Anthony Montiglio, and Dominick took his surname. He was also a cousin of Frank Scalice.

Military service

In 1967, Montiglio served in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

as a sniper who reportedly killed dozens of men (unconfirmed).

Gambino crime family and informant

Upon his return from Vietnam, he started working for the Gambino family in drugs, extortion and murder, reportedly earning $250,000 per week at his peak in the Roy DeMeo crew. In 1983, Montiglio was arrested for racketeering, and the Gambinos, fearing he would talk, reportedly took out a $1 million contract on his life; Montiglio decided to

collaborate Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. The ...

with the

FBI 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 ...

. He testified against the family and Gaggi in various trials, and reportedly helped send 56 mobsters to prison. He later changed his identity and entered the witness protection program, where he and his family stayed for the next decade as they moved between various locations in Wyoming, Alabama and Colorado; they withdrew from the program in 1993 when they could no longer cope with the constant moving.

Later years and death

In his later life, Montiglio devoted himself to art. He also appeared in the 1994 documentary film '' Loyalty & Betrayal: The Story of the American Mob''. On June 27, 2021, Montiglio died at the age 73 in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

, and is buried at Santa Fe National Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montiglio, Dominick 1947 births 2021 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent DeMeo Crew Gambino crime family Criminals from Brooklyn People from Levittown, New York People who entered the United States Federal Witness Protection Program Federal Bureau of Investigation informants American military personnel of the Vietnam War