An 81-year-old Gambino soldier on the verge of heading to prison killed himself in his Brooklyn kitchen, officials said Saturday.
Anthony (Todo) Anastasio pumped two bullets into his heart Friday morning, just days before he was due to start a 2-1/2-year term in federal prison on convictions for racketeering, extortion and arson.
Anastasio, whose uncle was the legendary Murder Inc. boss Albert Anastasia, was supposed to surrender to authorities May 10, officials said.
"It was a sudden death and his family is in mourning," said Anastasio's lawyer Paul Bergman, declining further comment.
The mobster's wife found him sprawled in the kitchen of their Dyker Heights home at 7 a.m. Friday, officials said.
A .22-caliber handgun, two shell casings and a suicide note written by Anastasio were found, police said.
Investigators believe Anastasio killed himself rather than face jail, sources said.
Anastasio was convicted in October after prosecutors played a recording of the mobster bragging about the Gambino family's illicit grip on the city's waterfront. He was found guilty of extorting a trucking company, a bakery in Brooklyn and ordering the near-fatal torching of a Dunkin' Donuts.
The aged gangster could have been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison but a Brooklyn judge gave him the significantly shorter sentence after reading letters from his family, friends and golf partners.
He was slated to be sent to a prison only a few hours' drive from his 82nd St. home so his family could visit.
Investigators said the mobster was in good health and not battling any serious illnesses that might have prompted a suicide.

http://fivefamiliesnyc.blogspot.com/2010/05/old-gambino-soldier-anthony-anastasio.html

There's really not alot of these guys, is there? That is, mobsters that top themselves. It's seems pretty unusual amonsgt this sort. Todo Anastasio had the pedigree & the history, but it would seem at 81 he'd had enough.

So who are some of the others? There's Frank Nitti of course, the only definite one & the first & most obvious one most will think of; but i do know there's more.
In his classic "Idiots Guide...", Capeci mentions one Joseph Piranio as a Dallas boss who, at 79, murdered his wife of over 50 years & then killed himself in 1956. Also, he references a Colombo soldier, one Anthony "Tony the Gawk" Augello who apparently killed himself rather then turn up to a meeting he was called to after being indicted for drug crimes.

There was also the father/son incident with Giovanni Liggamari & his son Pietro, fellow mobsters who it would seem chose to end their lives together, hanging themselves face to face. At least, thats what the official version is, despite expert opinion being that such simultaneous suicides were unheard of.

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/06/nyregi...?pagewanted=all

The Italian language stretches the verb basically into "Suicide-ed" which leads to interesting speculation. An interesting example is the Sicilian doctor who was found dead after treating a fugitive Bernardo Provenzano. He supposedly died of an overdose; he was found woith toxins in his system, a syringe in his hand, and interestingly, trackmarks on his dominantt arm. Still, it was ruled a suicide & still is.
Roberto Calvi, hanged under Blackfriars Bridge in London in connection to the P2/Vatican scandal of the late '70s early '80s.

Ive linked to the site before, but here is a page of the ShoNuff Mob Study on the suicide rates amonsgt American mobsters. Unsuprisingly, it concedes that "verifiable cases of official "suicide" are rare":
http://gangstersinc.tripod.com/ShoMay3105.html

Im almost positive that the buzzing hive of insight & knowldege that is the GangsterBB postership will have expanded knowledge on such a subject, perhaps to save a fellow scholar some research time...?
Infact some of this sounds familiar, & i wonder if we have been over it in an older thread? I will check that out.

From what I know aside from Nitti and Piranio (didn't know Augello) there was Girolamo "Momo" Adamo (1956) from the LA Family, Frank "the Cheeseman" Cucchiari (1976) Underboss of the New England Family and Steve Raffa (2000) of the Trafficante Family.

Ah yes. Very interesting. Thanking you SeanK

"Uncle" Steve Raffa, a Miami Capo for the Trafficante Family since the 80's, he's an interesting one. Scott Deitch cites him as being on close terms with both boss Tampa Vincent LoScalzo & alleged Genovese associate from Jersey turned Trafficante button, John Mamone.
It would seem he (Raffa) was at the top of his game with his crew, raking in million's with a massive pyramid scheme along with the usual gambling & loanshark rackets.
In 2000 come some 20 arrests & the crew is sent reeling. Lucky for them they all finagle bail, though some, including Raffa, are put under house arrest. Weeks later Raffa hangs himself with an electrical cord, found by his wife with a suicide note written in Italian. Did the possibilty of jail time frighten Raffa that bad?
http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_108.html

Because whats very interesting is that Steve Raffa is linked to certain figures peripheral to the Pizza Connection Trials.
LoScalzo apparently attended the marriage of Pietro Ligamarri, son of Giovanni, the mobster refenced in the post above. Giovanni & Pietro, of course, ended up hanging by their necks side by side in their home. Creepy.

The Deitch article goes on to mention another case where Raffa's partner Mamone allegedly met with an incarcerated associate in bad graces & gave him the options of either killing himself or waiting to be killed by Mamone. The associate promptly committed suicide.

Mamone, who also worked with Doc Gaccione, the Genovese hanger on recently named in the Angelo Sanguilo murder, went on to become a snitch, as this article relates:
http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Mamone_John_481420305.aspx

Poor Momo Adamo though...now i remember that story. Thats a grubby little affair there, isn't it? The following line is taken from DIELAND, the link is below. It pretty much sums up the squalid allegation. If it's true, DeSimone truly was a scumbag amongst scumbags, but there is of course the possiblity that the whole lurid affair is an over-exaggeration. Still...blech.

From DIELAND: http://members.fortunecity.com/sosdie/mob/family/la/la.htm LA Page, Entry for Girolamo "Momo" Adamo.
"Served as the underboss to Jack Dragna and Frank Desimone. Adamo was forced to watch as Desimone raped his wife after Frank"who had less experience and stature in the family than Adamo"took over the family after the death of Jack Dragna in 1957. Shortly after the attack a broken Adamo shot and seriously wounded his wife and took his own life. His wife recovered and later married Frank Bompensiro."

And its Frank Bompensiero who she marries, of all people. Its another example of how relatively tight-knit & closed these circles were/are.