Rotondo Crew (1977-2001)

Vincent 'Jimmy' Rotondo was made a captain in the DeCavalcante Family in or around 1977 and held the position until January 1988, when he was shot to death outside his residence in Bergen Beach, Brooklyn. His son Anthony Rotondo then assumed leadership over the crew until approximately April 2001, when several captains under indictment were demoted on Boss John Riggi's orders. Rotondo became a CW the following month.

Background information on known crew members:

Made Members

1.) Blackie D'Agosta: Inducted after the books opened in 1976, he was described as a close associate of Rudolph Farone and was present at the induction ceremony of Vincent Rotondo's son Anthony in June 1982. He may have died the same month.

2.) Michael 'Mickey' DePietro: Made by the early 1980s, activities included loansharking and extortion. On-scene participant in September 1989 murders of Frederick Weiss and Joseph Garofano, and active co-conspirator in related plot against DeCav Soldiers Daniel Annunziata and Gaetano Vastola. Rotondo later said of DePietro: "He had a drinking problem [and] was a loose gun. I mean, he would think nothing of going in a bar and knocking everybody out." More than once DePietro was warned by Rotondo, who kept his behavior hidden from the DeCavalcante leadership. By the early 1990s his extortion victims included the South Shore Country Club in Staten Island, an interest subsequently lost in a sitdown with the Gambino Family's Vallario crew. He later joined Anthony Rotondo in extorting The Vault in Manhattan, a scheme that was ongoing at the time of his death in 1998.

3.) Paul SanFilippo: Obscure member with the moniker Paulie Doyle after his father Paolo, an immigrant from Messina who spent several years boxing under the name. No apparent relation to the other New York SanFilippos, who were from Sciacca. Given his age (born 1923) he may have been inducted in the 1950s. Died early 1979.

4.) Louis Telese: Grew up in South Brooklyn and associated early on with the local Colombo Family membership. Like Rotondo and D'Agosta he was inducted after the books opened in 1976. Participant in 1989 Weiss/Garofano murders and in the Annunziata/Vastola plot. In mid-1998 represented by DeCav panel member Vincent Palermo in a sitdown with Genovese Captain Charles 'Chucky' Tuzzo over the extortion of a Coney Island auto business. Died 2001.

5.) Felice LaMela: Known as Phil the Undertaker, his property in Upstate New York served as a burial ground for several DeCav murder victims. In the early 1990s LaMela was taken from Rudy Farone's crew and placed under Charles Majuri; by 1997 he had been transferred again and reported to Anthony Rotondo. Last surviving made member under Rotondo at the time of the latter's demotion.

6.) Vincent 'Vinny Ocean' Palermo: Placed with Vincent Rotondo after his induction circa early 1977, promoted to Captain of a separate crew following his role as shooter in the Weiss hit.

7.) Gaetano 'Corky' Vastola: Inducted with Anthony Rotondo in June 1982 and initially put direct with the Family administration. Sam DeCavalcante stepped down as Boss around September of the same year, and by the mid-to-late 1980s Vastola was under Vincent Rotondo. When approached for assistance in setting up Frederick Weiss, Vastola refused and made threats against the Family leadership. He and Daniel Annunziata were then targeted for murder themselves and left New York. DeCavalcante emerged from retirement to intervene on their behalf and both were allowed to return safely, after which Vastola was again placed direct with the administration.

8.) Anthony Capo: Close with the Rotondo family but officially on-record with Michael DePietro. Acted as driver in the Weiss murder and was inducted the following December. Began feuding with Anthony Rotondo and around 1994 was transferred to Vincent Palermo's crew. In December 1999 became the first made member of the DeCavalcante Family to turn CW.

Associates of Interest

1.) Joseph Collina: Initially under Vincent Rotondo, he was transferred to a New Jersey crew by the early-to-mid 1980s. Possibly already a member at the time. A Soldier under Joseph Caruano by the early 1990s, he began to suspect he was being set up for a hit by Caruano and Jake Amari. During one meeting he fled the scene and informed his brother Bobby, a proposed associate, of the imagined plot. Bobby responded by vandalizing the Elizabeth coffee shop frequented by the NJ faction. As a result Joseph was shelved and his brother turned down for membership.

2.) Victor DiChiara: Through the 1990s considered a proposed associate and, by 1999, his name had been circulated and officially okayed by the Genovese and Lucchese Families (the Bonannos and Gambinos failed to show for meetings and the Colombos were sidelined at the time). The induction was canceled by the December 1999 RICO indictment and DiChiara subsequently flipped.

3.) Frank Scarabino: Known as Frankie the Beast, on-record with Michael DePietro and recruited by DePietro to act as crash car driver in the Weiss murder. Left New York in the early 1990s following a dispute with DePietro, living in California and later the Poconos. Returned to New York around the time of DePietro's death and, with Anthony Rotondo's blessing, transferred to the New Jersey crew headed by Frank Polizzi. One of several potental informants targeted for murder by New York faction leaders, he was saved by the December 1999 arrests. The following year he was indicted as well, due in large part to information provided by those who had previously sought to kill him, and he too began cooperating.

4.) Simone Esposito: Proposed associate direct with Anthony Rotondo by the late 1990s. As rumors of impending indictments strengthened in the Fall of 1999, Rotondo met with Simone and his brother Frank to discuss their future. The brothers were told that, should Rotondo be indicted or worse, they were to stay with Girolamo Palermo, the only DeCav panel member that Rotondo trusted. Should Palermo also be arrested, Simone was to go with an in-law, Bonanno Captain Joseph 'Joe Desi' DeSimone, and Frank to Gambino Captain Joseph 'Sonny' Juliano. Following the DeCav indictments in 1999-2000, Simone obtained release to the Bonanno Family and, according to information Rotondo received while incarcerated at MDC Brooklyn, was made shortly thereafter.