Nicholas Mormando
Encyclopedia
Nicholas Mormando, also known as "Nicky Cowboy" (October 28, 1938, Schenectady, New York
- January 1986 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
) was a Gambino crime family
mob associate who was involved in the murder of Frank Fiala and member of Sammy Gravano
's Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
crew.
in Milan, Italy. Upon arriving to New York City their surname was changed to "Mormando". Unlike Sammy Gravano, Gerard Pappa
, Ralph Ronga, James Emma and other notorious budding mobsters, Nicholas was born in Schenectady, New York
. He was a close childhood friend of fellow Gambino crime family
mob associate Michael DeBatt
who was only two years older than himself. He was considered a "key man" in Sammy Gravano's crew with Joseph (Stymie) D'Angelo, Liborio (Louie) Milito, Joseph Paruta
, Thomas (Huck) Carbonero. Unlike crew members Joseph D'Angelo Sr., Liborio Milito, Joseph Paruta
and ]]Michael DeBatt]], Gravano does not mention having a close relationship with him or Mormando's relatives. Sammy Gravano later said, "For one week he (himself) would be flush with cash, but two weeks later he would be broke. He never saved any money. He shopped for clothes, picked up tabs at restaurants and night clubs, handed out huge tips and dined on champagne and filet mignon at the Copacabana." Sammy later said of himself, Michael and his young aspring mob associates, "Fucking kids, all dressed up like jerk-offs, running around, doing a little gambling, doing a little this and that "and then broke again and it's "macaroni and ricotta at home or spaghetti, past e olio, with the oil and garlic." By 1984 he had become exiled from the Gambino crime family and "put on the shelf" being excluded from all criminal activities with the crime family.
He was involved in burglaries of local commercial franchises, fencing stolen goods, armed robbery and car theft.
, it could not go down that Mormando could be eligible to become a "made man
" in the Gambino crime family for his involvement.
He was never indicted or convicted for being accessory to the murder of James Faila. After the murder of Faila, Castellano was angry. He had Mormando, DeBatt and the others stay up at his New Jersey
farm to lie low. After hearing the news that Castellano might order their executions over the unsanctioned murder, when given the chance by Sammy to leave, Mormando said, "Sammy, we'll load up. We're ready." He earned the nickame "Cowboy
" because he was known to perform criminal acts on his own without knowledge of Sammy Gravano or the Gambino crime family which was against the regulations.
and cocaine
. It is suspected by Sammy Gravano that he also got his friend Michael DeBatt hooked on the potent narcotic. Sammy later said about Nicholas,:"He became like a renegade. He went berserk. He didn't want to be in the crew no more. He was going to start his own little gang. I couldn't take a chance on him running around. He knew too much. So I got permission from John (John Gotti
) to kill him. We finally got Nicky to come by Tali's, and he went with Huck (Thomas Carbonaro) to pick up Old Man (Joseph Paruta
), who was still alive then. Joe got in the backseat and shot Nicky twice in the back of the head". Sammy Gravano and his brother-in-law Edward Garofalo) were trailing in a car behind them. While both cars were driving on West 9th Street, near Bay Parkway Mormando's corpse was thrown out of the car into a vacant lot. It was found the next day."
The murder of Nicholas Mormando remained unsolved until Sammy Gravano agreed to testify against John Gotti at his racketeering trial.
had over the murder of his friend and if he attended his Nicholas's funeral. Michael continued to serve in the crew of Sammy Gravano after Mormando's murder. It is also unknown if Michael associated his friend's killing with Gravano or thought of it as a drug transaction gone bad. His childhood friend and criminal associate Michael DeBatt was later murdered on the orders of Sammy Gravano, three years later in 1987. Unlike the time when he would order the murder of DeBatt, Sammy Gravano shows no remorse in ordering the execution of Mormando.
, Maas' literary agency I.C.M., the publisher of the autobiography, Harper Collins, and 20th Century Fox
that was allegedly preparing a film adaptation of the book. In the complaint it stated that the plaintiffs were seeking, ""monetary and punitive damages from all defendants for their intentional failure to comply with New York's Son of Sam Law
... and their deliberate scheme to circumvent same." Previously during the spring of 1997, the State Crime Victims Board and State Attorney General
Dennis Vacco launched a similar lawsuit against Sammy Gravano and many of the same co-defendants during their criminal trial.
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
- January 1986 Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...
) was a Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino 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 group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
mob associate who was involved in the murder of Frank Fiala and member of Sammy Gravano
Sammy Gravano
Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano is a former underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is known as the man who helped bring down John Gotti, the family's boss, by agreeing to become a Federal Bureau of Investigation informant and turn state's evidence.Originally a mobster for the Colombo crime...
's Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...
crew.
Biography
Nicholas Mormando was the son of Italian-American emigrants from MorimondoMorimondo
Morimondo is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 20 km southwest of Milan.-External links:*...
in Milan, Italy. Upon arriving to New York City their surname was changed to "Mormando". Unlike Sammy Gravano, Gerard Pappa
Gerard Pappa
Gerard Pappa , also known as "Gerry" and "Papa Bear" , was a former Colombo crime family associate and eventually a Genovese crime family soldier and known hitman, who was widely feared for his violent tendencies, which directly attributed to his own murder in 1980.-Biography:Gerard was 36 when he...
, Ralph Ronga, James Emma and other notorious budding mobsters, Nicholas was born in Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
. He was a close childhood friend of fellow Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino 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 group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
mob associate Michael DeBatt
Michael DeBatt
Michael "Mickey" DeBatt was a reputed Gambino crime family mob associate who was involved in the gangland slaying of drug trafficker Frank Fiala.-Biography:...
who was only two years older than himself. He was considered a "key man" in Sammy Gravano's crew with Joseph (Stymie) D'Angelo, Liborio (Louie) Milito, Joseph Paruta
Joseph Paruta
Joseph Paruta, also known as "Old Man" and "Sammy Gravano's Personal Luca Brasi" was a mobster in the Gambino crime family and considered a "key member" of Sammy Gravano's Bensonhurst, Brooklyn crew. He is the only known mobster who asked for a mercy killing after becoming terminally ill with lung...
, Thomas (Huck) Carbonero. Unlike crew members Joseph D'Angelo Sr., Liborio Milito, Joseph Paruta
Joseph Paruta
Joseph Paruta, also known as "Old Man" and "Sammy Gravano's Personal Luca Brasi" was a mobster in the Gambino crime family and considered a "key member" of Sammy Gravano's Bensonhurst, Brooklyn crew. He is the only known mobster who asked for a mercy killing after becoming terminally ill with lung...
and ]]Michael DeBatt]], Gravano does not mention having a close relationship with him or Mormando's relatives. Sammy Gravano later said, "For one week he (himself) would be flush with cash, but two weeks later he would be broke. He never saved any money. He shopped for clothes, picked up tabs at restaurants and night clubs, handed out huge tips and dined on champagne and filet mignon at the Copacabana." Sammy later said of himself, Michael and his young aspring mob associates, "Fucking kids, all dressed up like jerk-offs, running around, doing a little gambling, doing a little this and that "and then broke again and it's "macaroni and ricotta at home or spaghetti, past e olio, with the oil and garlic." By 1984 he had become exiled from the Gambino crime family and "put on the shelf" being excluded from all criminal activities with the crime family.
Shootout with the Gallos
He took an oath with the other Rampers, "... be together forever. Fuck the world. Fuck everybody, even the mob" and was said by Gravano to be full of "piss and vinegar." Later on, this would change but that was the attitude they held at that point in their lives. In the early 1960s, during the Profaci-Gallo civil war in the Colombo crime family had an encounter with Gerard, Sammy Gravano, James Emma, Joe Vitale., Tommy Snake and Lenny the Mole including a bunch of other gang members. They were hanging around in a bar at 79th Street and Utrecht Avenue. In the bar were several Gallo loyalists. They were a lot older than the Rampers and had an outstanding argument with associate James Emma. They were heavily armed so Nicholas and the others loaded up with firearms and headed back to the bar. Sammy later recounted the brutal gun battle in his autobiography,- "It was a long bar. They were at one end of the bar and we were at the other end. It seemed like one of them went for a gun. We went for guns. There were a ton of shots thrown back and forth. It was like a cowboy movie. Totally unbelievable. Glass breaking, women screaming, things falling on the floor. One of the Gallo guys got hit, like eleven times. He staggers out of the bar and falls in the street. And lived, believe it or not. Another guy in the bar, an innocent bystander got hit in the foot. He went on his own to a doctor and never said nothing. The Gallo guy at the hospital don't say nothing, either."
He was involved in burglaries of local commercial franchises, fencing stolen goods, armed robbery and car theft.
The Frank Fiala murder
Gravano stationed Nicholas in a car parked around the corner from the Plaza Suite. He had a shotgun. If anyone in the group that normally accompanied Fiala drew a gun, he was to start shooting. His friend Michael DeBatt was positioned by his usual post as bouncer by the front door of the night club. After Frank Faila was murdered and pandemonium erupted out front of The Plaza Suite, Sammy had a getaway car stationed up the street. Down at the corner Nicholas had his shotgun ready but Fiala's people were in total shock. They did nothing. After the shooting, Nicholas and the other trigger men assembled at Joseph (Stymie) D'Angelo's bar, Doc's. Gravano congratulated Mormando, his friend DeBatt and the others on a "beautiful piece of work." Since this was not a sanctioned murder by their boss Paul CastellanoPaul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
, it could not go down that Mormando could be eligible 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 Gambino crime family for his involvement.
He was never indicted or convicted for being accessory to the murder of James Faila. After the murder of Faila, Castellano was angry. He had Mormando, DeBatt and the others stay up at his New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
farm to lie low. After hearing the news that Castellano might order their executions over the unsanctioned murder, when given the chance by Sammy to leave, Mormando said, "Sammy, we'll load up. We're ready." He earned the nickame "Cowboy
Cowboy
A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
" because he was known to perform criminal acts on his own without knowledge of Sammy Gravano or the Gambino crime family which was against the regulations.
A Renegade
In retribution for being exiled due to his insubordination, Mormando started a crew of small time armed robbers, truck hijackers, burglars and drug dealers of his own. It is unknown how successful his leadership skills were and if the gang actually formed. It is thought that Nicholas was planning to battle it out with Sammy Gravano and other members of the Gambino crime family that he felt had slighted him. It is thought that after the death of Mormando, the gang dissipated and fell apart without another leader to replace him. It is unknown if his childhood friend Michael DeBatt, who was also heavily addicted to drugs was being persuaded to join Mormando's team of criminals. This worried Sammy Gravano, Frank DeCicco, Carmine Fatico and Salvatore Aurello whose criminal territory was starting to be threatened by Mormando.Drug addiction and falling out with Gravano
Nicholas Mormando became hooked on crack cocaineCrack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
and cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
. It is suspected by Sammy Gravano that he also got his friend Michael DeBatt hooked on the potent narcotic. Sammy later said about Nicholas,:"He became like a renegade. He went berserk. He didn't want to be in the crew no more. He was going to start his own little gang. I couldn't take a chance on him running around. He knew too much. So I got permission from John (John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
) to kill him. We finally got Nicky to come by Tali's, and he went with Huck (Thomas Carbonaro) to pick up Old Man (Joseph Paruta
Joseph Paruta
Joseph Paruta, also known as "Old Man" and "Sammy Gravano's Personal Luca Brasi" was a mobster in the Gambino crime family and considered a "key member" of Sammy Gravano's Bensonhurst, Brooklyn crew. He is the only known mobster who asked for a mercy killing after becoming terminally ill with lung...
), who was still alive then. Joe got in the backseat and shot Nicky twice in the back of the head". Sammy Gravano and his brother-in-law Edward Garofalo) were trailing in a car behind them. While both cars were driving on West 9th Street, near Bay Parkway Mormando's corpse was thrown out of the car into a vacant lot. It was found the next day."
The murder of Nicholas Mormando remained unsolved until Sammy Gravano agreed to testify against John Gotti at his racketeering trial.
Personal toll on Michael DeBatt
It is unknown if Michael DeBattMichael DeBatt
Michael "Mickey" DeBatt was a reputed Gambino crime family mob associate who was involved in the gangland slaying of drug trafficker Frank Fiala.-Biography:...
had over the murder of his friend and if he attended his Nicholas's funeral. Michael continued to serve in the crew of Sammy Gravano after Mormando's murder. It is also unknown if Michael associated his friend's killing with Gravano or thought of it as a drug transaction gone bad. His childhood friend and criminal associate Michael DeBatt was later murdered on the orders of Sammy Gravano, three years later in 1987. Unlike the time when he would order the murder of DeBatt, Sammy Gravano shows no remorse in ordering the execution of Mormando.
Wrongful death suit
In November 1998, a wrongful death suit was filed by the surviving relatives of Nicholas, Michael DeBatt and Joseph Colucci. According to court documents Sammy Gravano admitted to playing a direct or indirect role in their murders in the plea agreement that he made with the government when agreeing to become a stool pigeon. Along with Gravano, Mormando's family and the others filed suites against the author of his autobiography Peter MaasPeter Maas
Peter Maas was an American journalist and author. He was born in New York City and attended Duke University. Maas had Dutch and Irish heritage....
, Maas' literary agency I.C.M., the publisher of the autobiography, Harper Collins, and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
that was allegedly preparing a film adaptation of the book. In the complaint it stated that the plaintiffs were seeking, ""monetary and punitive damages from all defendants for their intentional failure to comply with New York's Son of Sam Law
Son of Sam law
A Son of Sam Law is any American law designed to keep criminals from profiting from the publicity of their crimes, often by selling their stories to publishers. However, this is not in the same manner of asset forfeiture, which is intended to seize assets acquired directly as a result of criminal...
... and their deliberate scheme to circumvent same." Previously during the spring of 1997, the State Crime Victims Board and State Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
Dennis Vacco launched a similar lawsuit against Sammy Gravano and many of the same co-defendants during their criminal trial.