Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Nicholas Frustaci (Genovese)

 

1965

August 1965 arrest photo of Genovese Soldier Nicholas 'Nicky the Blond' Frustaci (1931-2017).

At this time Frustaci operated Nick's Poolroom at 185 Ave A in Manhattan's East Village, and was a frequent presence at the Shoreview Social Club on East 12th St. Both locations were utilized as a meeting place for high ranking members of the Bonanno and Gambino Families.

Frustaci was inducted into the Genovese Family after the books opened in the 1970s, possibly around the time of Associate Thomas Palermo's murder in Spring 1977.

By Fall 1980 he was reporting to Capodecina Dominick 'Buddy' Cappolla (1923-2020) headquartered on Mulberry St in Little Italy. Active in gambling through the 1980s and 1990s.

In June 1996 he was indicted on Federal racketeering charges, along with the Family's acting hierarchy and other members, and received a fifty-one month sentence on a guilty plea.

Around 2003 he represented the Genovese Family in a sitdown with the Bonannos concerning attempts by one of their newly inducted members, Paul 'Fat Paulie' Spina, to extort a Genovese-connected restaurant and bar owner in Queens.

He died March 2017 and was waked from the Provenzano Lanza Funeral Home in East Village.

Joseph Abate (Lucchese)

c. 1970s Joseph Abate was a Captain in the Lucchese Family. Born July 8, 1902 in Marsala comune of Trapani, Sicily to Giuseppe and Catherine...