Liborio Bellomo
Encyclopedia
Liborio Salvatore Bellomo (born January 8, 1957), known as Barney and Big Barney, is a high ranking caporegime
(captain) and street boss of the Genovese crime family
in New York City
. Bellomo is one of the fastest rising Mafia
members in the United States today, becoming a capo in his mid-twenties. Bellomo was considered Vincent Gigante
's logical successor as boss of the Genovese family until Bellomo was sent to prison in 1996. Now released from prison he is believed to have resumed his role as captain and maybe even holds a high ranking administrative position in the Genovese crime family hierarchy.
in the Genovese family. Liborio Salvatore Bellomo is the double cousin of Genovese associate Liborio Thomas Bellomo; their fathers are brothers and their mothers are sisters. This has led law enforcement to confuse their identities on several occasions. In 1997, Liborio T swore in an affidavit
that he was guilty of federal charges instead of his cousin Liborio S.
Liborio Salvatore Bellomo stands 6'0" and can speak both Italian and English. He spent a year studying business at Monsignor Scanlan High School
in the Bronx, and then a year studying mortuary science
. Unlike many mobsters of his era, Bellomo dressed in jeans and sweatshirts. Keen to avoid public attention, Bellomo only met fellow mobsters late at night in quiet locations. Bellomo is the father of three sons and one daughter. Bellomo owns a residence in Pelham Manor, New York
along with several Bronx-based businesses, including a waste hauling company.
In 1977, at age 20, Bellomo was inducted into the Genovese family in a ceremony held in an apartment above an East Harlem pizzeria. Mobster Vincent Cafaro
had sponsored Bellomo into the family, and Bellomo now joined capo Saverio Santora
's East Harlem 116th Street Crew. The crew was involved in illegal gambling activities and labor racketeering
within the New York City District Council of Carpenters. Around 1982, Santora became the family underboss and Bellomo took over the 116th Street Crew. During the late 1980s, Bellomo moved the crew from East Harlem to the Bronx, the center of the crew's most important rackets.
By the early 1990s, Bellomo had become one of the wealthiest and most feared organized crime figures in New York. He was directly involved in the family's most powerful rackets (including the waterfront, the Javits Center, and the Carpenter's Union), and was indirectly connected to powerful heroin traffickers. With fellow capo Vincent DiNapoli
, Bellomo became the preeminent racketeer in the New York City District Council of Carpenters and an extremely influential figure in the New York construction industry.
, in which consigliere Louis Manna
awarded Bellomo exclusive control over Bronx Carpenters Local 17, removing all of DeFeo's influence. Bellomo was a rising power in the family, in his mid-30's and close to the family's leaders, including Vincent Gigante
and Venero Mangano
. Bellomo was the undisputed leader of the family's East Harlem/Bronx faction.
Furthermore, Bellomo became dominant in the rackets at the Jacob K. Javits Center on the West Side of Manhattan by installing crew members in important union positions at the center, including soldier Ralph Coppola and his Genovese associate brother-in-law and Carpenters Local 257 shop steward Anthony Fiorino. Bellomo was also close to Genovese associate Attilio Bitondo
who was Local 257's Vice-President, and involved in kickbacks from NYC contractors and businesses operating at the Javits Center. Around this time Genovese boss Vincent Gigante
began mentoring Liborio Bellomo to take over as boss of the Genovese crime family.
A report by the New York State Organized Crime Task Force indicated that an alarmingly high number of the 100 carpenters that worked at the Javits Center had ties to organized crime, some of whom were made members of one of the Five Families. These carpenters made $100,000 salaries, and 60 of the 100 had criminal records. One of whom, Vincent Gigante, was the nephew of the Genovese family's Godfather. The Javits was controlled through affiliations with labor bosses Frederick Devine, Martin Forde
, Attilio Bitondo, Eugene Hanley
, Anthony Fiorino, Leonard Simon, Fabian Palomino, Carmine Fiore, and Ralph Coppola.
To maintain control, Anthony Fiorino, Bellomo's brother-in-law and the Local 257 steward in charge of the Javits, once threatened a man's life at a Local 257 meeting in 1984, telling him his kids could be hurt if he "steps on people's toes". Fiorino was also responsible for funneling tribute payments the Genovese and the Irish Westies
Mob received from contractors operating in the Javits to the labor bosses and Barney Bellomo.
(RICO) charges, including the murders of mobster Ralph DeSimone and Antonio DiLorenzo, extortion, and labor racketeering. Dilorenzo was found shot to death in the backyard of his home in West New York, New Jersey
. DeSimone was found in the trunk of his car at La Guardia Airport in Queens, shot five times. Both DeSimone and DiLorenzo were murdered because the Genovese leadership thought they were government informants.
Bellomo's lawyers stated that their client had taken and passed two polygraph
tests in which he denied killing anyone. FBI
agents shaved Bellomo's head, looking for evidence that Bellomo had used drugs to beat the polygraph machines.
In February 1997, prosecutors dropped the DeSimone and DiLorenzo murder charges and offered Bellomo a chance to plead guilty to extorting payoffs from a construction union and a garbage hauling company. Bellomo accepted the deal and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
On February 23, 2006, Bellomo and over 30 Genovese family members were indicted on more racketeering charges. Bellomo was specifically charged with ordering the 1998 murder of Ralph Coppola, the acting captain of Bellomo's crew and Bellomo's good friend. On September 16, 1998, Coppola disappeared a few weeks before his sentencing on fraud charges and was never found. Government witness Peter Peluso, a former lawyer for the Genovese family, stated that he had transported a message from Bellomo in prison ordering Coppola's murder. Some accounts state that Coppola was disrespectful, others say that he was stealing family profits.
According to the Bellomo indictment:
Peluso pleaded guilty to his role in the murder. However, the government had no proof that Peluso had indeed met with Bellomo. With insufficient evidence to press the murder charge against Bellomo, the government offered him a plea bargain for mail fraud. Bellomo accepted and received one additional year in prison. His daughter Sabrina, is credited with helping get her father a light sentence with a tearful plea to judge Lewis A. Kaplan
. Due to her father's 12 year imprisonment, he had missed her high school, college, and law school graduations.
Caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
(captain) and street boss of the Genovese crime family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese 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 Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Bellomo is one of the fastest rising Mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
members in the United States today, becoming a capo in his mid-twenties. Bellomo was considered Vincent Gigante
Vincent Gigante
Vincent Gigante was a short lived professional light heavyweight boxer who was known as "The Chin" Gigante. He fought 25 matches and lost four, boxing 121 rounds. On February 19, 1945, he fought Pete Petrello in Madison Square Garden and won by a knock out in the second round. During his successful...
's logical successor as boss of the Genovese family until Bellomo was sent to prison in 1996. Now released from prison he is believed to have resumed his role as captain and maybe even holds a high ranking administrative position in the Genovese crime family hierarchy.
Made Man and 116th Street Crew
Bellomo is the son of Salvatore Bellomo, an alleged made manMade 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 Genovese family. Liborio Salvatore Bellomo is the double cousin of Genovese associate Liborio Thomas Bellomo; their fathers are brothers and their mothers are sisters. This has led law enforcement to confuse their identities on several occasions. In 1997, Liborio T swore in an affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
that he was guilty of federal charges instead of his cousin Liborio S.
Liborio Salvatore Bellomo stands 6'0" and can speak both Italian and English. He spent a year studying business at Monsignor Scanlan High School
Monsignor Scanlan High School
Monsignor Scanlan High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York.-Background:...
in the Bronx, and then a year studying mortuary science
Mortuary science
Mortuary science is the study of dead bodies through mortuary work. The term is most often applied to a college curriculum in the United States that prepares a student for a career as a mortician or funeral director. Many also study embalming to supplement their mortuary science studies. Some...
. Unlike many mobsters of his era, Bellomo dressed in jeans and sweatshirts. Keen to avoid public attention, Bellomo only met fellow mobsters late at night in quiet locations. Bellomo is the father of three sons and one daughter. Bellomo owns a residence in Pelham Manor, New York
Pelham Manor, New York
Pelham Manor is a village located in Westchester County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the village had a total population of 5,486. It is located in the town of Pelham.- Demographics :...
along with several Bronx-based businesses, including a waste hauling company.
In 1977, at age 20, Bellomo was inducted into the Genovese family in a ceremony held in an apartment above an East Harlem pizzeria. Mobster Vincent Cafaro
Vincent Cafaro
Vincent "Fish" Cafaro was a mobster and protegee of Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, a top lieutenant in the Genovese crime family until becoming a government informant and witness.-Labor racketeer:...
had sponsored Bellomo into the family, and Bellomo now joined capo Saverio Santora
Saverio Santora
Saverio Santora , also known as "Sammy Black", was a New York mobster with the Genovese crime family who briefly served as family underboss....
's East Harlem 116th Street Crew. The crew was involved in illegal gambling activities and labor racketeering
Racket (crime)
A racket is an illegal business, usually run as part of organized crime. Engaging in a racket is called racketeering.Several forms of racket exist. The best-known is the protection racket, in which criminals demand money from businesses in exchange for the service of "protection" against crimes...
within the New York City District Council of Carpenters. Around 1982, Santora became the family underboss and Bellomo took over the 116th Street Crew. During the late 1980s, Bellomo moved the crew from East Harlem to the Bronx, the center of the crew's most important rackets.
By the early 1990s, Bellomo had become one of the wealthiest and most feared organized crime figures in New York. He was directly involved in the family's most powerful rackets (including the waterfront, the Javits Center, and the Carpenter's Union), and was indirectly connected to powerful heroin traffickers. With fellow capo Vincent DiNapoli
Vincent DiNapoli
Vincent DiNapoli is a New York mobster and captain in the Genovese crime family, involved in labor racketeering. DiNapoli is best known for creating a cartel in the 1970s that controlled the price of drywall in New York City.-Early years:...
, Bellomo became the preeminent racketeer in the New York City District Council of Carpenters and an extremely influential figure in the New York construction industry.
Carpenters union racketeer and the Jacob K. Javits Center
Bellomo demonstrated his power during disputes with rivals from other families, as well as those within the Genovese crime family. In or about 1987, Bellomo won a jurisdictional dispute against Genovese Little Italy captain Peter DeFeoPeter DeFeo
Peter DeFeo , also known as "Philie Aquilino", was a New York mobster who became a caporegime with the Genovese crime family.-Rise to power:...
, in which consigliere Louis Manna
Louis Manna
Louis Anthony "Bobby" Manna , is a New Jersey mobster and former consigliere of the Genovese crime family.-Genovese family:...
awarded Bellomo exclusive control over Bronx Carpenters Local 17, removing all of DeFeo's influence. Bellomo was a rising power in the family, in his mid-30's and close to the family's leaders, including Vincent Gigante
Vincent Gigante
Vincent Gigante was a short lived professional light heavyweight boxer who was known as "The Chin" Gigante. He fought 25 matches and lost four, boxing 121 rounds. On February 19, 1945, he fought Pete Petrello in Madison Square Garden and won by a knock out in the second round. During his successful...
and Venero Mangano
Venero Mangano
Venero Frank "Benny Eggs" Mangano is the Underboss of the Genovese crime family. Since boss Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo was imprisoned in 2007, Mangano has been the family's senior leader outside prison. The nickname "Benny Eggs" came from his mother running an egg farm...
. Bellomo was the undisputed leader of the family's East Harlem/Bronx faction.
Furthermore, Bellomo became dominant in the rackets at the Jacob K. Javits Center on the West Side of Manhattan by installing crew members in important union positions at the center, including soldier Ralph Coppola and his Genovese associate brother-in-law and Carpenters Local 257 shop steward Anthony Fiorino. Bellomo was also close to Genovese associate Attilio Bitondo
Attilio Bitondo
Attilio Bitondo , also known as "Tillio", was a New York City labor leader and an associate in the Genovese crime family in the crew of powerful Manhattan captain Vincent DiNapoli....
who was Local 257's Vice-President, and involved in kickbacks from NYC contractors and businesses operating at the Javits Center. Around this time Genovese boss Vincent Gigante
Vincent Gigante
Vincent Gigante was a short lived professional light heavyweight boxer who was known as "The Chin" Gigante. He fought 25 matches and lost four, boxing 121 rounds. On February 19, 1945, he fought Pete Petrello in Madison Square Garden and won by a knock out in the second round. During his successful...
began mentoring Liborio Bellomo to take over as boss of the Genovese crime family.
A report by the New York State Organized Crime Task Force indicated that an alarmingly high number of the 100 carpenters that worked at the Javits Center had ties to organized crime, some of whom were made members of one of the Five Families. These carpenters made $100,000 salaries, and 60 of the 100 had criminal records. One of whom, Vincent Gigante, was the nephew of the Genovese family's Godfather. The Javits was controlled through affiliations with labor bosses Frederick Devine, Martin Forde
Martin Forde
Martin Forde is a retired labor union activist.-Early life and career:Martin Forde lives in Queens NY and East Durham NY. Martin is the father of Mike Forde. Martin Forde was born in County Mayo, Ireland and emigrated to the United States in 1952...
, Attilio Bitondo, Eugene Hanley
Eugene Hanley
Eugene Hanley was a New York City labor leader, as well as an associate of the Genovese crime family. Hanley took over as President of Local 257 of the New York City District Council of Carpenters for his father-in-law, a Genovese mobster named Will Graziano...
, Anthony Fiorino, Leonard Simon, Fabian Palomino, Carmine Fiore, and Ralph Coppola.
To maintain control, Anthony Fiorino, Bellomo's brother-in-law and the Local 257 steward in charge of the Javits, once threatened a man's life at a Local 257 meeting in 1984, telling him his kids could be hurt if he "steps on people's toes". Fiorino was also responsible for funneling tribute payments the Genovese and the Irish Westies
Westies
The Westies are a predominantly Irish American organized crime association operating from the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan's West Side in New York City. According to crime author T. J...
Mob received from contractors operating in the Javits to the labor bosses and Barney Bellomo.
Acting boss and indictment
In 1990, after Gigante's indictment in the Windows Case, Bellomo was appointed acting boss of the Genovese family. On June 11, 1996, Bellomo was indicted on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations ActRacketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly referred to as the RICO Act or simply RICO, is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization...
(RICO) charges, including the murders of mobster Ralph DeSimone and Antonio DiLorenzo, extortion, and labor racketeering. Dilorenzo was found shot to death in the backyard of his home in West New York, New Jersey
West New York, New Jersey
West New York is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, situated upon the New Jersey Palisades. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 49,708.-Geography:...
. DeSimone was found in the trunk of his car at La Guardia Airport in Queens, shot five times. Both DeSimone and DiLorenzo were murdered because the Genovese leadership thought they were government informants.
Bellomo's lawyers stated that their client had taken and passed two polygraph
Polygraph
A polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
tests in which he denied killing anyone. FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agents shaved Bellomo's head, looking for evidence that Bellomo had used drugs to beat the polygraph machines.
In February 1997, prosecutors dropped the DeSimone and DiLorenzo murder charges and offered Bellomo a chance to plead guilty to extorting payoffs from a construction union and a garbage hauling company. Bellomo accepted the deal and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Prison and more indictments
On July 13, 2001, the imprisoned Bellomo was indicted on money laundering charges related to the Genovese family's involvement in the waterfront rackets and control of the ILA. Bellomo was accused of hiding money stolen from the ILA's members pension fund account between 1996 and 1997. Bellomo again pleaded guilty to lesser charges, pushing back his scheduled release date in 2004.On February 23, 2006, Bellomo and over 30 Genovese family members were indicted on more racketeering charges. Bellomo was specifically charged with ordering the 1998 murder of Ralph Coppola, the acting captain of Bellomo's crew and Bellomo's good friend. On September 16, 1998, Coppola disappeared a few weeks before his sentencing on fraud charges and was never found. Government witness Peter Peluso, a former lawyer for the Genovese family, stated that he had transported a message from Bellomo in prison ordering Coppola's murder. Some accounts state that Coppola was disrespectful, others say that he was stealing family profits.
According to the Bellomo indictment:
Peluso pleaded guilty to his role in the murder. However, the government had no proof that Peluso had indeed met with Bellomo. With insufficient evidence to press the murder charge against Bellomo, the government offered him a plea bargain for mail fraud. Bellomo accepted and received one additional year in prison. His daughter Sabrina, is credited with helping get her father a light sentence with a tearful plea to judge Lewis A. Kaplan
Lewis A. Kaplan
Lewis A. Kaplan is a United States District Judge for the Southern District of New York. He took senior status on February 1, 2011....
. Due to her father's 12 year imprisonment, he had missed her high school, college, and law school graduations.
Release from prison and personal life
On December 1, 2008, Bellomo was released from prison after serving 12 years. Bellomo is now believed to be serving as street boss for the Genovese family. His exact role in the family is yet to be revealed.Further reading
- Butler, Gregory A. Disunited Brotherhoods: Race, Racketeering and the Fall of the New York Construction Unions. Lincoln: iUniverse, 2006. ISBN 0-595-39143-5
- 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, 1999. ISBN 0-8147-4247-5
- Milhorn, H. Thomas. Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers. Boca Raton, Florida: Universal Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1-58112-489-9
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
- Theoharis, Athan G.Athan TheoharisAthan George Theoharis is an American historian, professor of history emeritus at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As well as his extensive teaching career, he is noteworthy as an expert on the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, and U.S...
(ed.) The FBI: A Comprehensive Reference Guide. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1999. ISBN 0-89774-991-X - United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, 1988.
External links
- "19 Indicted in Blow to Genovese Mob",New York Times, June 12, 1996
- "Barney, Mob Suspect, Says He's the Wrong Barney" New York Times, October 19, 1998
- United States of America vs. Liborio Bellomo, United States District Court Southern District of New York, 2006-2-23
- thelaborers.net