Peter DeFeo (actor)
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Peter DeFeo (March 4, 1902 – April 6, 1993), also known as "Philie Aquilino", was a New York 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 ...
with the
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 ...
.


Rise to power

He was born to Giovanni "John" DeFeo and Maria Giovanna "Jennie" Coluzzi, one of 10 children. Growing up in New York's
Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...
neighborhood, DeFeo joined the
Luciano crime family The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American Ma ...
under boss
Frank Costello Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. Born in Italy, he moved with his family to the United States as a child. As a youth he joined N ...
. When DeFeo became a
made man In the Sicilian and American Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. In order to become eligible to be "made", an associate must fulfill several requirements, such as being Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by ...
, he entered a crew belonging to mobster Mike Miranda that operated in
Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...
and
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 ...
. DeFeo soon aligned himself with capo
Vito Genovese Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American ''American Mafia, mafioso'' and the leader of the Genovese crime family in New York City. A childhood friend and criminal associate of Lucky Luciano, Genovese ...
, who would depose Costello as boss in the late 1950s. When Genovese went to prison in 1959, DeFeo served under acting boss Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli. DeFeo was a member of Patty Ryan Eboli's crew, and would eventually become the crew's captain. DeFeo operated most of his businesses from the Alto Knights Social Club in Little Italy. However, he also conducted business from other social clubs and the Cuomo Cheese Corporation in Little Italy. DeFeo's top button men were Alexander "Black Alex" Morelli and Lorenzo "Larry Chappie" Brescio. DeFeo was one of the main bosses of the Lower East Side Italian lottery, and controlled bookmaking in the area.


Carpenters' union rackets and extortion activities

DeFeo's crew was involved in the N.Y.C. District Council of Carpenters during the 1970s. Mobster
Vincent Cafaro Vincent Cafaro (born August 27, 1933) is a former Italian-American mobster who was a soldier in the Genovese crime family under the tutelage of acting boss Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, until becoming a government confidential informant and coope ...
testified that DeFeo's interests in the Carpenters Union were represented by Morelli and Genovese associate Marcello Svedese, a union official with Local 17.Declaration of Vincent Cafaro
8-28-1990. Laborers for Justice 1997-2006.
DeFeo's crew also extorted money from construction and construction-related trucking companies. As an example, DeFeo was receiving between $8,000 to $10,000 per year from P.Chimento Trucking during the 1980s. DeFeo also received payments from Ross Trucking, and controlled Pier 13 in Manhattan, which was known as "the Banana Pier".


Later years

In 1974, DeFeo came into the news after the
Ronald DeFeo Jr. Ronald Joseph DeFeo Jr. (September 26, 1951 – March 12, 2021) was an American mass murderer who was tried and convicted for the 1974 killings of his father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters in Amityville, New York. He was found guilty ...
murders in
Amityville, New York Amityville () is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village, village in the Babylon (town), New York, Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island, in New York ...
 ⁠ ⁠—  as it so happened, Ronald DeFeo, who had murdered his father, mother, two brothers and two sisters in their suburban home, was Peter DeFeo's grandnephew. DeFeo's influence within the family began to wane when Greenwich Village-based mobster
Vincent Gigante Vincent Louis Gigante ( , ; March 29, 1928 – December 19, 2005), also known as "Chin", was an American mobster who was boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City from 1981 to 2005. Gigante started out as a professional boxer who fo ...
became the family's boss in 1981, succeeding Phillip "Benny Squint" Lombardo. DeFeo's crew was based in Little Italy, and the Genovese family's historic power bases were the Greenwich Village and East Harlem factions. East Harlem/Bronx-based capos
Liborio Bellomo Liborio Salvatore “Barney” Bellomo (born January 8, 1957) is an American mobster and boss of the Genovese crime family of New York City. Bellomo was a member of the 116th Street Crew of Saverio "Sammy Black" Santora. Early life Bellomo ...
and Vincent DiNapoli whittled away much of DeFeo's power, especially in the family's construction and labor rackets, which at the time were the family's biggest moneymakers. In 1987, DeFeo and Bellomo got into a dispute over control over Carpenters Local 17 in the Bronx. To settle the dispute, consigliere
Louis Manna Louis Anthony "Bobby" Manna (born December 2, 1929) is an American mobster who served as consigliere of the Genovese crime family under the regime of Vincent Gigante, Vincent “Chin” Gigante, operating primarily out of Genovese crime family Ne ...
gave the local to Bellomo. Soon after the dispute with Bellomo, DeFeo retired from the family. On April 6, 1993, DeFeo died of natural causes at the age of 91.


Further reading

* Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. ''Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime''. New York: NYU Press, 1999. * Osuna, Ric. ''The Night The Defeos Died: Reinvestigating the Amityville Murders''. Nevada: Noble Kai Media, 2003. * United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. ''Investigation of Improper Activities in the Labor Or Management Field''. 1959

* United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. ''Waterfront Investigation: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce''. 1953


References

* Bureau of Narcotics, U.S. Treasury Department, "Mafia: the Government's Secret File on Organized Crime, HarperCollins Publishers 2007 * 1910 United States Federal Census * Social Security Death Index {{DEFAULTSORT:Defeo, Peter 1902 births American gangsters of Italian descent Genovese crime family 1993 deaths