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| 1962 |
Born March 15, 1925 in Brooklyn to Salvatore (Ship Caulker; 34y) and Adelina Salemi (29y). Father from Procida comune of Naples, Campania. Mother from Sortino comune of Syracuse, Sicily.
At the time of Dominico's birth the family resided at 104 Butler St in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
Served in the Marines during WWII.
On July 21, 1946 arrested by the NYPD's 60th Squad in Brooklyn for an attempted house burglary.
The following day he was picked up in a similar case from the 70th Squad.
Convicted on a final charge of burglary 3rd degree, County Judge Marasco sentenced Esposito in October 1946 to a term at Elmira Reformatory.
By 1958 Esposito was possibly a formally inducted member of the Colombo Family.
His South Brooklyn upbringing, coupled with his parents' Neapolitan / Sicilian origins, suggests a link to the crew of Harry Fontana, Salvatore Musacchio or possibly Nick Sorrentino.
By 1962 Esposito resided at 1488 East 91st St in the Canarsie neighborhood.
That November he was arrested by the NYPD's 61st Squad on charges of assault and robbery and conspiracy. On January 23, 1963 Supreme Court Judge Barshay threw out the case.
Esposito moved to Norfolk, Virginia with wife Marie Gloria Falco and their children. (Falco's father was also from Naples.)
By 1976 they resided at 7431 Spartan Ave in Norfolk, where Dominick operated the Maritime Services Incorporated ship cleaning business. He also ran a bail bond business in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
On January 30, 1976 FBI CI reported: "[CI] stated [redacted] Angelo Bertolotti, well known racketeer from Brooklyn and Hollywood, Florida. [Redacted] [Dominick] Esposito is a 'made' guy in the Colombo La Cosa Nostra Family. [CI] stated Esposito lives in Norfolk [and] operates a ship cleaning and loading business in Norfolk. He stated that Esposito also operates a bail bonding business in Ft Lauderdale, FL. [CI] stated Esposito is originally from Brooklyn, and used to hang around the Mulberry Street area of Manhattan." The FBI subsequently designated Esposito the subject of an anti-racketeering investigation.
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| J. Capotorto (Source: Fort Lauderdale News) |
By that time his associates included strong-arm James 'Big Jim' Capotorto.
On April 2, 1976, at approximately 10:00 PM, Capotorto was shot to death inside the residence of Pat Truglia in Fort Lauderdale. Robert 'Bobby Dee' Dominici and Bruce Wayne Neeld were also killed.
The trio had visited Truglia's residence to collect a debt. When Truglia claimed he was unable to pay, the men began assaulting his wife and were then shot. (Although he claimed self defense, Truglia was charged with three counts of murder and ultimately acquitted at trial.)
On April 19, 1976 FBI reported: "On 2/3/76 information was received [indicating] Dominico Esposito is a 'made' guy in the Colombo LCN Family. Esposito is reportedly a close associate of Angelo Bertolotti of Brooklyn."
On May 28, 1976 the FBI's Norfolk Field Office reported: "...[CI] has indicated Esposito's business [Maritime Services Inc.] appears to be legitimate; however, no business activity has been observed and he is unknown on the docks and therefore this business could be merely a front."
On July 27, 1976 FBI Norfolk reported: "...[CI] asked Esposito if [Robert] Dominici or [James] Capotorto had been scheduled to be 'made'. [Redacted] Dominici was 'only a worker' for Sammy Zahalaran (ph) and Capotorto a worker for Esposito...He stated the only guy that was made however, was a 65 year old guy in Brooklyn and added 'How much money can you expect to earn with a guy like that. He has five years at the most'. He added, however, this individual is a' good earner'." (Sammy Zahalaran refers to Colombo Associate Samuel 'Sammy the Syrian' Zahralban [1929-2006], an active Gallo war participant who was wounded in a Colombo ordered shooting in September 1980.)
Despite his identification as an LCN member, Esposito has yet to turn up in additional reports and his name is not included in Federal lists of Colombo membership.
On April 13, 1981 indicted by the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia on five counts of income tax evasion, four counts of assisting in the preparation of fraudulent corporate tax returns and one count violation of the Taft-Hartley Act. The Associated Press reported: "...Esposito is accused of trying to evade more than $16,000 in taxes for 1974-78 by failing to report income totaling over $69,000."
On March 7, 1991 released from Federal prison.
Around late 2003 moved from Norfolk to Tampa, where he died on March 15 of the following year.
On March 18-19, 2004 wake held at Stowers Chapel in Brandon, Florida. Buried in Hillsboro Memorial Cemetery, also in Brandon.
