Anthony DiLapi also known as "Blue Eyes over the Bridges" (February 9, 1936 - February 4, 1990) was a Teamsters

Teamsters

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....

 union leader in New York City's Garment District

Garment District, Manhattan

The Garment District, also known as the Garment Center, the Fashion District, or the Fashion Center, is a neighborhood located in the Manhattan borough of New York City. The dense concentration of fashion-related uses give the neighborhood, which is generally considered to span between Fifth Avenue...

 and a soldier in the Lucchese crime family

Lucchese crime family

The Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...

.

Garment District Boss

Anthony DiLapi was an instrumental cog in family boss Anthony Corallo

Anthony Corallo

Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo was a New York City mobster and boss of the Lucchese crime family.-Early life:...

's illegal control of the New York City garment district. DiLapi worked with Thomas Gambino

Thomas Gambino

Thomas "Tommy" Gambino is a New York mobster and a longtime Caporegime of the Gambino crime family who successfully controlled lucrative trucking rackets in the New York City Garment District.-Early life:...

, the son of Carlo Gambino

Carlo Gambino

"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...

 and son-in-law of Thomas Lucchese. DiLapi was one of organized crime's biggest earners and most respected racketeers on Seventh Avenue

Seventh Avenue (Manhattan)

Seventh Avenue, known as Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard north of Central Park, is a thoroughfare on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is southbound below Central Park and a two-way street north of the park....

 in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. DiLapi also ran a bookmaking business and owned part of vending machine company in Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

.

In May 1980, DiLapi was convicted of conspiracy and obstruction of justice for squelching a union's organizing drive at a garment district trucking company. DiLapi received two consecutive sentences of five years each for the conspiracy count and the obstruction count.

Exile and Murder

Upon DiLapi's release from prison, new underboss Anthony Casso

Anthony Casso

Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso is a former New York City mobster who served as underboss and acting boss of the Lucchese crime family until he was arrested in 1993, becoming a cooperating witness for the Federal Government...

 summoned DiLapi to a meeting. DiLapi was afraid to attend this meeting; he knew that Casso and boss Vittorio Amuso distrusted anyone from the family's more powerful Bronx wing. Instead, DiLapi fled to Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 and a life outside organized crime.

In response, Casso used two New York Police Department (NYPD) detectives on his payroll, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, to track down DiLapi in California. The two detectives called police stations and law enforcement agencies throughout the state and finally located DiLapi in Los Angeles. Casso and Lucchese captain Alphonse D'Arco

Alphonse D'Arco

Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco , also known as "The Professor", is a New York mobster who became the acting boss of Lucchese crime family. He was the first boss, acting or otherwise, of a New York crime family to become a government witness....

 organized a hit team to kill DiLapi. D'Arco offered the murder contract to his son, Joseph D'Arco, so that he could qualify ("make his bones") to become a made man

Made man

A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...

 in the Lucchese family.

On February 4, 1990, Joseph D'Arco and a crew of hitmen shot Anthony DiLapi to death in the underground garage for his apartment building in Hollywood, California. DiLapi was shot four times in the face and four times to the body.

On April 6, 2006, Eppolito and Caracappa were convicted of murder for their role in eight mob killings, including that of Anthony DiLapi.