Vincenzo Aloi (born September 22, 1933) is an American mobster involved in stock fraud who briefly served as the acting boss of the

Colombo crime family The Colombo crime family (, ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was during ...

. Vincenzo was also a figure in the Third Colombo War alongside his brother Benny.

Made man to acting boss

Vincenzo Aloi is the son of the former Profaci ''caporegime'', Sebastian "Buster" Aloi. He is the brother of mobster Benedetto "Benny" Aloi, a former underboss of the family. Vincent Aloi is the godson of

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. ...

patriarch, Carlo Gambino. No other details of his early life are available. On November 19, 1970, Aloi was indicted on stock fraud charges involving the illegal takeover of an investment firm 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 ...

. However, on December 23, 1971, Aloi was acquitted on all charges. On June 28, 1971, boss Joseph Colombo was shot at an Italian American Anti-Defamation League rally in Manhattan. Colombo survived, but in a vegetative state. Carmine Persico and his family essentially took control of the family after the Colombo shooting. However, unlike Colombo, Persico preferred to hide behind

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

bosses. At this point, Persico designated either Aloi or mobster Joseph Yacovelli as the front boss for the Colombo family. In 1972, after giving his men permission to kill

Joey Gallo Joseph Nicholas Gallo (born November 19, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder and infielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, New York ...

in a Manhattan restaurant, Yacovelli fled New York out of fear of reprisals from the Gallo crew. Later in 1973, Aloi definitely became acting boss because Persico had been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on hijacking charges. On June 26, 1973, Aloi was convicted 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 ...

in state court. Prosecutors had charged that Aloi lied to 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 ...

when he claimed to have not visited a Colombo family

safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is a dwelling place or building whose unassuming appearance makes it an inconspicuous location where one can hide out, take shelter, or conduct clandestine activities. Historical usage It may also refer to ...

Nyack, New York Nyack () is a Village (New York), village primarily located in the Town (New York), town of Orangetown, New York, Orangetown in Rockland County, New York, United States. Incorporated in 1872, a small western section of the village lies in Clarkst ...

, before the murder of Joe Gallo. He was later sentenced to seven years in state prison. However, after numerous court appeals, Aloi's perjury conviction was overturned in federal court. On December 22, 1973, Aloi was convicted for stock fraud involving an automobile leasing company. On February 5, 1974, Aloi was sentenced to nine years in federal prison. Aloi was incarcerated at the Allenwood Federal Penitentiary in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. Now that Aloi was also in prison, Persico demoted him from acting boss back to capo.

Senior family member

In the early 1980s, Aloi was paroled from prison, returning to his crew in the Brooklyn faction of the Colombo crime family. In 1991, Aloi sided with Colombo underboss Victor Orena in his bloody rebellion against the imprisoned Persico. However, there is no evidence that Aloi had a direct role in the conflict, and Persico allowed him to remain as caporegime when the Third Colombo War ended in 1993. Later in the decade, Persico appointed Aloi and his brother Benedetto as acting

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...

s. During the mid-1990s,

capo Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo became involved in a dispute over the

DeCavalcante crime family The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey crime family or the North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian American Mafia crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York and ...

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 ...

inducting

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

residents. A meeting was called to resolve the problem and Aloi attended it as the Colombo representative. It was decided in the meeting that the DeCavalcante crime family could no longer induct associates outside of New Jersey and South

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. As of December 2008, Vincenzo Aloi was residing in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and is today assumed to be in retirement.

References

Notes Sources *United States Congress. House Appropriations Committee. ''Departments of State, Justice, and Commerce, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations for the Fiscal Year''. 1975

*Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice United States Congress. House Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Courts. ''Witness Protection Program: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary''. 1985

*United States Congress. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi : Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs''. 1988

*United States Congress. House Committee on Commerce. Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials. ''Organized Crime on Wall Street: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Finance and Hazardous Materials''. 2000

Further reading *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia: Third Edition''. Checkmark Books; 3 edition (June 30, 2005) *Capeci, Jerry. ''The Complete Idiots Guide to the Mafia''. Indianapolis, Alpha, Alpha; 2 edition (January 2005) *Raab, Selwyn. ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires''. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Aloi, Vincenzo 1933 births Living people American gangsters of Italian descent Colombo crime family Gangsters from New York City Acting bosses of the Five Families Consiglieri American people convicted of fraud