Knowing Gas & Vic were not happy with him, he attended a meeting in Staten Island where he was demoted

Then on a subsequent meeting in a hotel, he convinced himself he was about to get whacked & done a runner..

Not that I blame him, he knew full well how blood thirsty the bosses were however the fact that he survived the first meeting indicates to me anyway, that he was in no imminent danger..

Put simply if Gas wanted you dead, he wanted it done yesterday! Then the 2nd meet was at a public hotel, again, if they wanted him dead surely it wasn't hard to summon Al to somewhere private late at night without witnesses around

He was then informed by the Feds his life was in danger, no shit.. He done a runner from a meet. But just because they informed him, it doesn't mean his life was in danger prior

They were gonna whack him as sure as it's gonna rain in England this week (and that's not sarcasm about your location, just an expression).

What's the difference if the threat was imminent? His getting spooked probably saved Sal Avellino's life, too. They envied that guy's money so much that they surely would have hit hit if they didn't get pinched when they did. Just for fucking spite. That's what you were dealing with back then.

And I'm not excusing D'Arco for being a rat. I read that book and it was okay. But there was plenty of bullshit in it, especially about the Bronx and Harlem factions of the family, who Al barely knew.

But he was a dead man walking. A real man of honor would have went out in a blaze of glory, and he ran to the Feds like a pussy. But make no mistake. It wasn't paranoia. They were gonna whack him sooner rather than later.

He was in trouble & no doubt would have got whacked just like anybody else who fuked up with gas & vic but I just don't think it was in that moment in time.

Like I said, if they wanted him dead he would have been dead at the first meet. Plus the bosses were already on the lam, he was used to meeting them in isolated & secretive locations. They could have easily got him the first time. & I think he's been watching way too many Godfather movies about the "gun in the toilet"

Not saying it doesn't happen, but the killers under Gas were real cowboys. If they were going to pop him, he would have got it at the first meet. Or walking to his car outside his home etc. Gas was known to send a hit team across the country just to get Tom Mix's nephew... Doesn't make sense they would need to set up several meets just to lure Al into a trap. Maybe the chin would do that since he's a crafty old fuk

But not gas.

In the middle of his book right now. Not bad.

I don't think he was over paranoid. When your dealing with Vic and gas I guess there is no over paranoia.

You're dead wrong if you think you had to fuck up with those two scumbags to end up dead. They killed more guys out of envy than anything else. Then the rat lies came out to try to bullshit the skippers. But they all knew. Especially the Bronx and Harlem guys.

They killed Mikey Salerno, an old man and stand up guy to his very core, because they wanted the dump in Pennsylvania. The guy probably would have given it to them. That's how he was. He was no threat but they killed him out of pure jealousy and spite. Then they had the audacity to call him a rat after he was gone. Fuck Anthony Casso. He was no criminal genius. He was a serial killer who was lucky to survive the '80s.


Life imitates art. Especially in that life. Can you imagine if Youtube was around back then with those moronic videos voiced over by guys who sound like Prince Harry doing a Tony Soprano impression?


Again, he was a dead man walking, so what's the difference when he ran to the Feds? And again, he's a pussy for going that route. But he was dead either way, so I don't see why getting spooked at the hotel was any different than if he waited a week.

It's funny you mention Vince, though. If Casso survived a little longer on the street, Chin would have whacked him, knocked down Amuso, and then backed the Bronx/Harlem faction of that family. You can take that to the bank

You have to understand that in the Bronx and Harlem back then, the Luccheses and Genovese families worked so closely together that they may as well have been the same family.

And it's still like that here in the Bronx. If the Brooklyn loyalists who just got out were crazy enough to take on the Bronx Luccheses, they'd be taking on the the Westside as well. You have no idea how much money they make together, particularly in construction.

I thought I read in his book that Al said he met with Crea and they we're considering taking out Vic n Gas and Crea had td juice to do it.

I wonder how things would have turned out if that had happen.

It's crazy to think that Crea was really powerful back in the late 80s .... He must be LOADED...

I don't know crap but I would guess Wealthy status like future family generations are good like the Gigantes...

He was worth millions BEFORE he got his button, and he didn't buy it either. And it's true that he's very "white collar" today. But if anyone thinks he was just a business savvy street guy who specialized in building and construction, and fell ass backwards into power, sure as shit didn't know him thirty years ago. He was tough as fucking nails. He's pushing seventy now, and he still is.

Edit: Just saw Homers' post… but none-the-less:

@PB

Little Al mentions that he briefly considered marshaling other unhappy members and power struggled against Vic and Gas.

Believe me, I KNOW how much fear those guys struck into that family... but they were on the lam. Could Al have formed a coalition of more respected skippers to take out Vic and Gas? Not saying he'd win, but would that have been a completely stupid proposition considering his options? Or was it completely unfeasable?

That is crazy...

It's wild how some of these guys are so loaded while others are so broke...

Gotta be kind of nerve racking when your making that much money ... Gotta make sure you guys are happy and eat too or they will be more likely to roll on you...

A guy with a nice nest egg for his family is a lot more likely to stand tall then a guy barly getting by thats for sure

It could have worked. The Lucchese power was in Harlem forever up until that point. And the Bronx faction was loaded for bear with shooters back then, too. Not to mention the crew that they had in Mount Vernon. And those Lucchese crews were all under the Harlem flag. But most people don't even know that the Luccheses had a crew in Mount Vernon (which, by the way, was one of the most violent bunch of guys I can ever recall).

That being said, Bowat was the wildcard, and a traitor to his own neighborhood, so that would have made things difficult. But look at Stevie today, and look at Bowat.

For that matter, people can believe the Capeci story that Vic is still in power. It doesn't even irritate me anymore. Who would you rather be?

Vic, Gas, and the people who lined up with them all got exactly what they deserved.

These 2 guys are extremely fascinating.The funny thing about it was Casso was a pycho but he came up and was nutered by powerful gangsters and Vic was a Gallo crew member so he was probably much more hardened and experianced on the street.

The thing i want to know is in vic and gas mind they started killing the succesfull guys in their family eventually the only guys that would of been left would of been killers and knock around guys just like when they wanted to whack the entire jersey crew they went into hiding and they lost all their rackets.So basicly they would of turned it into a street gang.Did they not see this.Also how crazy is it that 2 former Gallo crew members became bosses during the same era.Amuso and Persico

That's true tiger. Makes you think what would of happened with crazy joe if he didn't get his at umbertos

Not excusing Vic and Gas behaviour coz they were totally crazy , but a lot of the guys they killed or planned to kill while they were on the run had a lot to do with backbiting by guys trying to get rivals killed , I bet Vic and Gas were fed a lot of bullshit while on the run

They would have shot him a week later at Vincent's instead .

How do you think it would of gone down.Would chin have gotten in the ear of some of the Bronx Luchese Skippers and backed them or do you think he would of sent out his own guys so he could have total control of a situation like that and leave no room for error because its such a big thing?Also do you think it would of been a public hit like castelano or more of a sitdown and then gaspipe disapears and noone knows what happend to him.Its interesting that you think Vic wouldnt of gotten whacked too because ive always thought Vic was just as much of a pychopath monster as much as gaspipe was.It also would of created problems with the Brooklyn faction because they were suppoters of vic and gas and now they would of had to follow the bronx factions after having free reighn during vic and gases blood spurge

Lol

Personally I dont know why D'Arco never pursued Crea's offer to take them out.

There was obviously little love for the two in the bronx and Barratta wouldnt have been a problem.

With the Westside standing behind them I wouldve thought it Al's obvious next move.


But who knows, maybe he was just tired of the life.

I would say the reason he didn't pursue Creas offer is because he knew he would probably be next, its not like their was any love for D'arco in the Harlem faction

I dont think there's any basis to assume Crea wouldve hit D'Arco.


As we can see its more Crea's style to shelve than make disappear (IF he had a beef with Al which there is no eveidence to support he did).


Though thats only speculation as Vic's really in charge

I can tell you none of those guys liked Al, Al would have had to be ok with going back to Brooklyn and being a captain there with no influence over the rest of the family, and the whole shelve thing is a more modern answer back then many people disappeared

Can I ask where you get this from?

Its common knowledge, and also common sense why would any of the Harlem faction like anyone responsible with killing their leader then taking over the family they have been running forever

What?

Who said D'Arco wouldve taken over?

Youre speculating on nothing so there's no point arguing.

That's exactly right. First of all, Stevie has never been in on a coup like that. He's too fucking honorable. But he was like a fucking son to Mikey Salerno, and would have taken pleasure in taking out Casso. And if anything, he would have been grateful to D'Arco.

Re shelving them: Spot on again: Leaving those Brooklyn guys alive and broke is a much worse punishment than killing them. They're home a year now. I'm still waiting for the bloodbath that the Brooklyn fanboys were predicting.

The power is where it is. And it ain't going anywhere because everybody's eating. And never, EVER underestimate the bond between the current Westside and Lucchese administrations.

Yeah, six guys from Brooklyn are gonna take them on. Thelma and Louise would have a better shot.

So what would have been in it for AL helping over throw them to get shelved, and i don't know if i even believe Crea would have approached him about it because like i said there was zero love between them and you don't go into a plot like that with someone you don't trust who came up on the enemy side

I never said Al would have gotten shelved. I said if anything Stevie would have been grateful.

But Sonny made another fair point. He may have just grown tired of the life.

or he was just a sleezebag out for only himself, and i know for a fact there was alot of hatred from the Bronx guys towards him maybe not Stevie , but the rest of them definitely did, to them he was the same as casso and amuso

And you edited your post, so I'm replying again.

Stevie was like a fucking son to Mikey Salerno. D'Arco was just following orders. And so was the guy from Mount Vernon (who was fucking brokenhearted by that whole thing by the way, forget that nonsense that Capeci wrote in the book).

That kind of resentment makes strange bedfellows. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

At the end of the day he was a rat. And I'm not defending his decision. But please don't tell me about the hatred that the Bronx crew had for Casso and Amuso. I've written about that hatred ad nauseam here over the years. Because of Buddy Longo, Mikey Salerno, et al. Those guys were all in it together. Fuck Amuso and Casso.

Sick pricks ! Good thread Tony. Glad to see you posting PB .....