Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo (born March 17, 1940) is an American

mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level ...

who is a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in 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. ...

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 ...

Criminal career

Nicholas Corozzo was born at 1825 Pitkin Avenue in the Brownsville neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Corozzo's first headquarters was located in a small candy store on the corner of Eastern Parkway & Atlantic Avenue in the Ocean Hill section of Brooklyn, known as "The Hill" to his crew members. He later opened a social club next to the candy store which became his new headquarters. Corozzo later moved his headquarters to the

Canarsie 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 ...

section of Brooklyn. Nicholas is the older brother of alleged reputed Gambino '' consigliere'' Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo as well as twin brothers Blaise Corozzo, a Gambino

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

, and Anthony Corozzo, who was an associate of the Gambino crime family. Anthony Corozzo is a longtime parishioner of Our Lady of Loreto Church located at the corner of Pacific Street & Sackman Street in Brownsville where he regularly attended Sunday mass. Anthony Corozzo along with his lifelong friend and Gambino crime family associate Dominick Mondelli aka Donny Mondelli, were well known for organizing neighborhood reunions and charitable events for the church for decades. Anthony died on April 17, 2020. Nicholas Corozzo is the uncle of Joseph Corozzo Jr, a high-profile New York defense attorney. Nicholas' daughter, Bernadette, is married to Gambino associate Vincent Dragonetti. Prior to Corozzo's incarceration, he lived in Bellmore, Long Island. He stands at 5′5" tall and weighs approximately 170 pounds.

Ruling panel

During the early 1980s, Nicholas Corozzo was a bitter rival of Gambino

John Gotti. When Gotti became boss of the family in 1986, he declined to promote Corozzo to captain. However, since Corozzo was such a good earner for the family, Gotti did not want to get rid of him. In turn, Corozzo professed loyalty to Gotti."Nicholas Corozzo: Gambino Capo Escapes Dragnet"
AMV Case Files Fugitives It was only after Gotti went to prison in 1992 that Corozzo was finally promoted to captain, along with Gambino soldier Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria. With Gotti in prison, Corozzo, DiMaria, and Nicholas' brother, Joseph, now the alleged ''consigliere'', formed a ruling panel that unofficially ran the Gambino family. In the mid 1990s, Corozzo was elevated to serve on the ruling panel."John Gotti - The Last Mafia Icon"
Crime Library on truTV.com In 1996, Corozzo allegedly ordered the murder of

Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) 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 New Jersey, within the nationwide c ...

associate Robert Arena. Arena had allegedly murdered Anthony Placido, a member of Corozzo's crew, and had failed to return some stolen

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

to a drug dealer. On June 26, 1996, the Gambino gunmen found Arena driving with Thomas Maranga, an Arena childhood acquaintance with no criminal connections, in the Mill Basin section of Brooklyn. After forcing Arena to stop the car, the gunmen shot and killed both men. However, until this day there is no concrete evidence that Corozzo ordered the murder of Robert Arena.

Florida arrest

In December, 1996, Corozzo was indicted in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

on 20 racketeering charges that included attempted murder,

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 ...

, and loansharking. Corozzo was accused of running a loansharking business in

Deerfield Beach, Florida Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just south of the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County line. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 86,859, making it the Broward County# ...

that charged 260% yearly interest on loans. Federal agents arrested Corozzo as he emerged from the surf at a beach in

Key Biscayne, Florida Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Located on the island of Key Biscayne, the village is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The population was 14,809 at the 2020 United States census, 20 ...

. In August 1997, Corozzo pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in Florida and was sentenced to five to ten years in prison. Later that year, Corrozo again pleaded guilty in

to racketeering and bribing a jail guard. While in federal prison, Corozzo shared a cell with Gambino associate Joseph Vollaro, who was serving a drug conviction. After his release, Vollaro started paying tribute to Corozzo's crew on a trucking company he started. However, facing another drug conviction in 2004, Vollaro agreed to become a government informant and record his conversations with Corozzo. After Corozzo's release from prison on June 10, 2004, it was expected he would again take over the Gambino crime family. However, due to increased law enforcement attention, he initially kept a low profile. The Gambinos were reportedly led by Jackie D'Amico until 2005. Corozzo kept his position as a Caporegime, despite health concerns and tight

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

restrictions. In 2006, a new report stated that Nicholas Corozzo and D'Amico were the new bosses of the Gambino family, with Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri as underboss and Joseph Corozzo as consigliere.

Indictment and imprisonment

In February 2008, Corozzo was indicted twice, one for the federal Operation Old Bridge and the other for the state Operation Touchback. The federal indictment was for the 1996 Arena and Maranga murders and other racketeering charges, with Vollaro as their main witness. The state indictment, prosecuted by Queens County District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Organized Crime and Rackets Bureau Chief Gerard A. Assistant District Attorney Benjamin J. Mantell, included the top count of enterprise corruption surrounding a Queens-based gambling ring that grossed almost $10 million over two years from

sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. Sports bettors place their wagers either legally, through a sportsbook or bookmaker (colloquially known as "bookies"), or illegally through priva ...

. Amid a roundup of 62 mobsters named in an indictment, Corozzo had fled his Long Island home. The FBI searched intensively for Corozzo and the television program '' America's Most Wanted'' did a feature on him. On May 29, 2008, after four months as a fugitive, Corozzo walked into the FBI's New York City office and surrendered. In July 2008, Corozzo pleaded guilty to the state enterprise corruption charges. On April 17, 2009, Corozzo was sentenced to 13 and a half years in federal prison for the 1996 Arena and Maranga murders. Corozzo was originally incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, a medium security facility in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...

, but was later moved to the Federal Correctional Complex, Florence, a high security facility in Florence, Colorado. As of March 2015, he was incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Institution, Loretto, a low security facility in Loretto, Pennsylvania. As of March 2018, Corozzo was imprisoned at the low security Federal Correctional Institution, Allenwood Low in Allenwood, Pennsylvania. His projected release date was March 2, 2020, but he was released early on November 29, 2019.

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