- Venero Mangano
Venero Frank "Benny Eggs" Mangano (
September 7 ,1921 ) is a high ranking member of theGenovese crime family . The nickname "Benny Eggs" came from his mother running an egg farm. Venero is related toVincent Mangano (1888-1951) who was leader of the futureGambino crime family ,Philip Mangano ,Vincent Mangano ,Lawrence Mangano and Anthony Mangano. Venero was listed as acaporegime twice by theNew Jersey Attorney General 's Division of Gaming Enforcement on its 1987 exclusion order. However, Venero is said to be theUnderboss byJerry Capeci He was released from prison onNovember 2 ,2006 after serving a 15 year sentence forextortion .Business Interests
Venero Mangano was for several years an independent
wholesaler and the head of a surplus stock distribution company; one of his prominent customers wasCalvin Klein . During this time, Venero even became friends with Klein's business partner,Barry K. Schwartz .In World War II, Venero flew as a
tail gunner for theUS Army Air Corps . He completed 33 bombing missions, was wounded once, and received two decorations including a Distinguished Flying Cross.In later years, Venero joined a crew in
Greenwich Village that would later belong to Vincent "The Chin" Gigante. Venero oversaw his businesses out of asocial club at 101 Thompson Street. These operations included an immensely profitable monopoly on window replacement in theNew York City metropolitan area .Convictions prior to 1991
As a member of the Genovese crime family, Mangano had a notable criminal record;
*October 7 ,1946 -Bookmaking - $50 fine
*May 15 ,1947 - Bookmaking - $200 fine
*October 8 ,1950 - Bookmaking - $200 fine and 60 days imprisonment
*February 21 ,1961 - Bookmaking - $250 fine and 90 days imprisonment
*August 6 ,1981 - Civil Contempt for refusing to testify once granted immunity - incarcerated fromAugust 18 ,1981 toApril 22 ,1982 .1991 Windows Case
From 1978 to 1990, four of the five crime families of New York formed a
cartel of window replacement companies. Each family assigned one or more men to control their share in the cartel. (…"as shown below")
*Colombo crime family - Benedetto "Benny" Aloi
*Gambino crime family -Peter Gotti
*Genovese crime family - Venero Mangano andPeter Savino (associate)
*Lucchese crime family - Vittorio Amuso,Anthony Casso andPeter Chiodo The
cartel eventually controlled over $150 million in contracts from theNew York City Housing Authority (NYCHA ). The cartel monopolized the industry through Local 580, a Lucchese family-controlled local of the Iron Workers Union. Through the union, the cartel could solicit bribes, extort payoffs and enforce its monopoly. The cartel worked their controlled industry by charging a tax of approximately $1.00 to $2.00 for almost every window replacement, public and private, sold inNew York City .Busted
By 1990, law enforcement had crushed the window replacement cartel. It started in 1988, when prosecutors persuaded cartel member Savino to become an informant and wear a wire. It was Savino's information over a two-year period that led to the indictments.
The sweep of indictments was wide. In 1990,
Peter Gotti was tried and acquitted; Venero, Aloi, andColombo crime family soldierDennis DeLucia were convicted. Sentencing guidelines should have seen Venero and Aloi get three-year sentences, but both men received more than 15 years each (Mangano - 188 months, Aloi - 200 months).Nearly all the members of the Local 580 were indicted on charges ranging from
bid rigging toextortion . Gigante was indicted but found mentally unfit to stand trial; he was later convicted in 1997. Amuso and Casso went into hiding, appointingAlphonse D'Arco as acting boss of the Lucchese family onJanuary 9 ,1991 . In 1992,Amuso was captured and later convicted in a superseding indictment that included the "Windows Case" charges. In 1993,Casso was captured , took aplea bargain , and started cooperation with authorities himself. Chiodo pleaded guilty after an assassination attempt and admitted killing potential witness John Morrissey, a business agent for Local 580.After the Windows Case
In 1997, while still in prison, Venero was called to testify against boss Gigante. He refused to testify, saying, "What do you want to do, shoot me?". Venero has tried several times to get a new sentencing or hearing, but to no avail. Some people believed that he was being ignored by the federal courts and left to deteriorate in prison.
On
November 2 ,2006 , Venero was released from prison. The future was uncertain for Mangano and he was fortunate to have lived out his sentence. Upon Venero's release, it was speculated that he would become the boss of the Genovese family, but there is no evidence that happened.Gangland News'
Jerry Capeci says that Venero is going blind, has suffered twoheart attacks , and has undergone three heart operations since 1993. However, the history of the Genovese family suggests that Venero's ill health, whilst documented as serious, is likely being exaggerated by Venero to deter further government investigation and downplay his involvement in the family.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, 2001. ISBN 0-8147-4247-5
*Raab, Selwyn. "Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires". New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8External links
* [http://www.nj.gov/lps/ge/exclusion/mangano_v.htm New Jersey - Division of Gaming Enforcement: Exclusion List record for Venero Mangano]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE1DE1E3CF93AA25753C1A967958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fW%2fWindows 1991 New York Times article on the 'Windows Case']
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE5DB1438F93BA15750C0A965958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fSubjects%2fW%2fWindows 1993 New York Times article on the 'Windows Case']
* [http://www.nysun.com/article/40123 NY Sun.com; Rough Prison Treatment for a Fragile Benny Eggs] by Jerry Capeci
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