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| c. 1960 |
Emanuele 'Manny Butch' LoPorto was a member of the Gambino Family.
Born February 28, 1920 in Brooklyn to Nunzio and Rosaria 'Sera' Dominicolo.
Father and mother were born in the Sicilian province of Ragusa, hailing from the towns of Vittoria (Scoglitti frazione) and Scicli respectively.
Through the next two decades the LoPortos resided at various addresses on Union St in the area of Carroll Gardens and Cobble Hill in South Brooklyn.
By Summer 1941 Manny listed employment with Jarka Corporation headquartered at 15-17 Whitehall St in Lower Manhattan. His father worked for Marra Bros at Pier A on the Brooklyn waterfront.
In April 1950 he resided at 108 Clinton St in Brooklyn Heights and listed occupation as machine operator.
By 1958 LoPorto was a made member of the Gambino Family and active on the docks.
On August 17, 1961 he and seven others were subpoenaed to testify before the Brooklyn Waterfront Commission. Those called in addition to LoPorto included Gambino Soldiers Battista 'Tito' Balsamo (1902-1969), Frank Gagliardi (1905-1982) and Salvatore 'Toddo Mack' Trapani (1913-1975).
LoPorto was then residing at 224 DeGraw St in Cobble Hill and served as a delegate for International Longshoreman's Association Local 1814.
He and fellow union delegates Balsamo and Gagliardi cited the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify. Trapani and four others chose to resign from their positions rather than answer questions.
At the time Balsamo and LoPorto were believed to be reporting to Capodecina Joseph 'Gus' Colozzo (1905-1971).
Colozzo, heavily influential in affairs on the waterfront, was noted by FBI member source Alfred Santantonio as having thirty to thirty-five made members under him by early 1963.
Members of Colozzo's crew included Battista Balsamo, Dominick 'Mimi' Lagana (1903-1977), Manny LoPorto and Domenico 'Joe Pitts' Petito (1904-1971).
On September 22, 1968 the FBI's Gambino source confirmed LoPorto's status as a Family Soldier. He had previously been carried as a suspected member.
By 1970 LoPorto resided at 89 First Place in Carroll Gardens and listed employment with Oceanic Trucking headquartered at 71 Otsego St in Red Hook. An informant later reported: "[Joseph] Colozzo is also believed to be behind LoPorto's interest in [Oceanic]...Dock bosses in Brooklyn are being pressured by 'Court Street' to give special service to [the company]."
In early February 1971 FBI CI reported: "One of the Maglioccos, believed to be Ambrose, whom [CI] refers to as 'The Iron Horse' died last week at the age of 82 and was waked at the Prospero Funeral Home in Brooklyn. Joe Colombo, Joe Colozzo and Manuel LoPorto, [redacted] all attended the wake last Sunday night and, later on, in a back room, became embroiled in an argument of some kind. Apparently [Redacted] was not in agreement with Colombo and told him so - Joe Colozzo was heard to say something to the effect that he was a sick man and didn't care what they did." (Ambrose Magliocco, former Colombo Capodecina, died in 1982.)
Colozzo died late that November while in Italy. One year later the FBI reported that his 'place has been taken' by former crew member Dominick Lagana.
The extent of LoPorto's involvement in the Gambino Family post-1971 isn't known.
He died May 27, 1995 and was waked at Raccuglia & Son Funeral Home on Court St.
