Peter 'Pete Barry' Palmieri was a member of the Gambino Family.
Born July 22, 1911 in Manhattan to Giuseppe and Maria Di Lallo. Father believed from Monteleone di Puglia comune of Foggia, Puglia. Mother from Petrella Tifernina comune of Campobasso, Molise. The family resided at 79 Elizabeth St in Little Italy, Manhattan.
Peter's father, a street cleaner working for the city, died in 1926. The family then moved to an address on Lorimer St in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Peter obtained employment as a shipping clerk.
By 1940 he resided in the household of in-law Raymond Collura at 6906 16th Ave in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
That October he married Winifred Caroline Beran in Manhattan. Witnesses were Eugene and Eleanor Alfonso. It was the bride's second marriage; she had been granted a divorce from one Joseph Iaconetti only the previous day.
The couple was already living together at 503 East 83rd St in the Yorkville neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Within a week they moved to 1545 68th St in Bensonhurst. Peter was employed as a factory worker with Crown Novelty Works at 43-47 West 24th St near Chelsea, Manhattan.
By 1943 the Palmieris moved to 1569 70th St in Bensonhurst.
On January 11 of that year Peter was arrested by the NYPD's 2nd Division in Manhattan for violating the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law. The following month he was convicted and sentenced to sixty days imprisonment and a $200 fine.
His next known arrest occurred August 1950 in Brooklyn, a policy charge that netted another fine.
Another Brooklyn policy arrest in June 1953 resulted in a suspended sentence.
By 1957 Palmieri was a made member of the Gambino Family in the crew headed by Joseph Franco.
Franco headed a large crew with a couple of dozen made members active mostly in Brooklyn and on Elizabeth St in Little Italy. Notable members included Vincent 'Jimmy the Blond' Corrao, Joseph Gennaro, Carmine Lombardozzi and the crew's former Capodecina, Antonino Indelicato.
Franco died in November 1957, just a few days before the nationwide Apalachin meeting was held in Upstate New York. Carmine Lombardozzi, who had to miss Franco's wake due to the meeting, took over the crew.
In January 1961 Palmieri was arrested in Brooklyn for receiving stolen property. Two weeks later the case was dismissed in Felony Court.
On January 7, 1963 FBI CI Alfred Santantonio, a Gambino Soldier, identified Carmine Lombardozzi as a Captain with approximately forty men underneath him, including Peter Palmieri.
Late the following year Lombardozzi was demoted and replaced by Joseph Gennaro.
By 1965 members of the Gennaro crew included William Amendolace, Edward 'Chris' Amplo, Hugo Bassi, Frank 'Frankie Brown' Bongiorno, Dominick Castore, John 'Johnny Pesce' Chiarello, Ettore 'Eto' Colao, Vincent Corrao, Louis DeFilippo, Ignatius 'Iggy' DeBella, Paul 'Slasher' DiBella, Leonardo Grillo, Louis Guiga, Antonino Indelicato, Pasquale 'Patty' Lauro, the Lombardozzi brothers Carmine, John and Paul, Accursio 'Swifty' Marinelli, Onofrio Modica, Philip Modica, Sabato 'Sammy Mitz' Muro, Peter 'Pete Barry' Palmieri, Santo 'Lloyd' Patti, Philip 'Bib' Perfetti, Ugo Rossi, Nicholas Resitano, Michael 'Scandi' Scandifi and Peter Tortorello.
Possible crew members included Joseph 'Oxie' Marino; member sources place him in both the Gennaro and Traina crews around this time, although he is confirmed to be reporting to Traina by the end of the decade.
By June 1965 Palmieri was one of five partners in a blackjack game held on New Utrecht Ave in Brooklyn. Information on this game was provided to the FBI by CI Gregory Scarpa and passed on to the NYPD, who raided the location on June 10. Three of Palmieri's partners, Gambino Soldier Dominick Castore and Colombo Soldiers Benjamin LoCicero and Dominick 'Mimi' Scialo, were among seventeen charged with consorting and disorderly conduct. Shortly after the raid Palmieri and fellow Gennaro crew member John 'Johnny Pesce' Chiarello arrived but were not held. The charges were dismissed the following day.
In mid-April 1966 the FBI's member source in the Gambino Family provided an extensive rundown on Joseph Gennaro and his crew. He identified Peter Palmieri as a Soldier under Gennaro and described him as a runner in a small numbers operation who frequented Three J's Bar at 69th St and New Utrecht Ave. Palmieri was also noted to be a daily presence at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, typically bringing no more than $40 with him each visit.
The same member source reported on a Gambino Family meeting held February 27, 1967 in the basement of Gennaro crew member Leonardo Grillo's residence in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Chaired by newly appointed Acting Boss Paul Castellano, various announcements were made, including the decision to split up Gennaro's regime for being 'too big'. Gennaro retained the majority of the crew's Lower Manhattan membership. Newly appointed Capodecina James 'Jimmy Brown' Failla was given most of the Brooklyn members, including Peter Palmieri.
On November 26, 1967 Palmieri was among thirty-eight arrested following an NYPD raid on the Mawanda Social and Athletic Club located at 7022 15th Ave in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. At least nine made members were present in addition to Palmieri, including fellow Failla crew members Hugo Bassi, Dominick Castore and Pasquale 'Patty' Lauro. All were accused of loitering with intent to gamble.
Three months later Palmieri was picked up in another gambling raid, this time on the Marksmen Social Club at 198 Ave S in Gravesend. Castore and Lauro were also present, along with nine others that included Colombo Acting Capodecina Dominick Scialo, Gambino Associate Frank DeCicco and Colombo Associate Frank Lino. The loitering with intent charges were dismissed the following day.
In early December 1971 Castore and Palmieri both attended the wake for Failla crew member Hugo Bassi held in Borough Park.
On January 23, 1974 Palmieri was part of a large group charged with promoting gambling and possessing gambling devices following yet another Brooklyn raid, this time on a crap game held in the basement of 6320 Ave N in Mill Basin.
The following year Palmieri was noted as holding interest in a dice game held in a loft at Utica and Church Aves in East Flatbush.
Aside from the gambling arrests, Palmieri's name only turns up in available files from the 1970s when informants note his frequent presence as a small-time bettor at Aqueduct. He was living in Staten Island by the time of his death in July 1982.
Edit1: Added information re 1975 gambling activity.
