Arnold Squitieri

Infobox Person
name=Arnold "Squiggy" Squitieri

thumb|right|200px
caption=Arnold "Squiggy" Squitieri in (2005)
birth_date=birth date|1936|2|2|mf=y
birth_place=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S.
death_date=
death_place=

Arnold "Squiggy" Squitieri (b. February 2, 1936) of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey is a convicted drug dealer and alleged acting boss and official Underboss of the Gambino crime family. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE1DE173EF935A15754C0A96E948260 " 2 Mob Drug Dealers Convicted"] , "The New York Times", July 26, 1988. Accessed May 27, 2008. "Mr. Squitieri and Mr. Sisca, both from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., were described by Federal authorities as close associates of John Gotti, whom the authorities identified as the leader of the Gambino family."] He is also known as Zeke, Bozey, and Sylvester. [US Department of Justice, 2005]

Biography

In the book Contract Killer, Donald Frankos says:

:"Squitieri was an immaculate dresser who wore pounds of jewelry, had a passing resemblance in his younger years to actor Warren Beatty, and was nicknamed "The Gimp" because of a club foot. He was a full-fledged heroin addict in the mid-1950s who simply stopped using and starting drug trafficking. He was a childhood friend of Alphonse Sisca. Arnold sold to the African-American population of Harlem and knew every important dealer in the city including Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes and became very wealthy. He and Sisca were in charge of John Gotti's drug operation.

:They were supplied heroin from Victor Cotroni of the Bonanno crime family that was shipped down from Montreal, Canada, Sicily, Syria, Afghanistan and Turkey. Arnold also earned the reputation of being a generous provider to Mafioso associates, giving many released convicts fresh out of prison a half kilo of heroin to "get on your feet". He behaved like a real-life Santa Claus. He would always carry a thick wad of $100 bills and hand them out to down-and-out strangers he encountered on the streets of New York City.

:The police ultimately estimated his personal wealth at $10 million, although they suspect it was more. Upon his arrests, which were fairly frequent, he would pay his bail bond with cash: his wife would simply help herself to one of his many safety deposit boxes and withdraw the money needed. He was a regular companion at the Aqueduct Racetrack but was a compulsive gambler with a horrible wager record. He and Gotti's daily losses at the track usually exceeded $30,000. On weekdays, when the track betting handle was smaller, Arnold's wages alone could make a certain racehorse the favorite and often influence the public into betting the loser by following the "smart" money wager that appeared on the tote board."

Murder charge

On August 18, 1970 Squitieri shot garment cutter Desiderio Caban five times on a street in Manhattan. A New York Police Department (NYPD) officer heard the shots, chased Squitieri by car for six blocks, and finally arrested him. Later that day, someone allegedly offered $5,000 to the arresting officer and two other cops. The cops took the bribe, released Squitieri, and took his name off the crime report for the Caban killing. Later on, after the bribery was discovered, the officers were indicted and Squitieri went into hiding.

In January, 1972, Squitieri surrendered to authorities and went to jail. In 1973, while awaiting trial for the Caban murder, Squitieri and his wife Marie were charged with failing to file U.S. federal income tax returns for three years. The couple had concealed $200,000 in income in bank accounts under false names. For the tax charges, Squitieri would serve four years in prison. In the Caban murder case, Squitieri pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter. With the tax and murder charges, Squitieri received six years total in state prison. [GANGSTERS INCORPORATED - ARNOLD SQUITIERI]

After prison release

In May 1981, Squitieri was released from prison and soon began selling narcotics for the Gotti crew in New Jersey. In 1982, Squitieri was being supplied with heroin by Angelo Ruggiero and Gene Gotti. In 1986, after John Gotti replaced Paul Castellano as Gambino boss, Squitieri was inducted into the family.

In 1988, Squitieri was convicted in Camden, New Jersey of conspiring to distribute heroin and was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. On March 13, 1999, he was released from prison. Within a short time, Squitieri was promoted to capo (captain) of his own crew. By 2002, authorities listed him as Underboss to Peter Gotti.

One problem that Squitieri had to deal with in the late 1990's was the challenge of ethnic Albanian gangs to the New York Five Families. One particular threat was an organization called The Corporation, run by mobster Alex Rudaj. At one point, Squitieri arranged a meeting with Rudaj at a gas station in New Jersey. When the Corporation mobsters arrived, 30 armed Gambino men came out to confront them. At that point, one Corporation mobster held a gun to Squitieri's head and another pointed a gun at a gas pump. The Gambino men put down their guns. [ [http://johnsville.blogspot.com/2004/12/gangs-of-new-york-rudaj-vs-gambinos.html The Johnsville News Gangs of New York Rudaj vs_ Gambinos] - Johnsville News, December 14, 2004]

While on parole, Squitieri received a flat panel television as a gift from another mobster. One evening Squitieri was watching an episode of the TV series "The Sopranos" in which a mobster is watching his own stolen flat-screen set and is arrested by his parole officer. Immediately after this episode, Squitieri gave away his stolen television.

Return to prison

On March 9, 2005, Squitieri was arrested on charges of extorting money from construction companies in Westchester County, New York, Mineola, New York, and New Jersey. On June 15th, a tearful Squitieri pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal gambling operation and to tax evasion. [Son of former Acting Gambino Crime Boss Pleads Guilty to Illegal Gambling, Press Release June 15, 2005] On June 28, 2006 Squitieri was sentenced to just over seven years in prison.

As of October 2008, Squitieri is still incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center Devens in Massachusetts. His projected release date is November 12, 2011.

ee also

*Mafia
*Gambino
*John Gotti

Notes

References

* Contract Killer: The Explosive Story of the Mafia's Most Notorious Hit Man Donald "Tony the Greek" Frankos by William Hoffman and Lake Headley

External links

* [http://newyork.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/organizedcrime072806.htm July 28 2006 Dept. of Justice Press Release]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/21/nyregion/21mob.html?scp=1&sq=Arnold+Squitieri&st=nyt New York Times:Guilty Plea Is New Blow to the Once-Feared Gambinos] by JULIA PRESTON
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/03/nyregion/03albanian.html?scp=3&sq=Arnold+Squitieri&st=nyt New York Times: Beating Them at Their Own Game] by KAREEM FAHIM
* [http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp Federal Bureau of Prisons Locator Website]