DeSimone, Frank (1909-1967)

Born Pueblo, CO, July 17, 1909.

Died Los Angeles, CA, Aug. 4, 1967.

Frank DeSimone, an attorney residing in Downey, CA, became the Los Angeles Mafia boss after the 1957 death of Jack Dragna. His reign marked the beginning of a long decline for the crime family later referred to in the press as "the Mickey Mouse Mafia."

DeSimone was born in Pueblo, CO, to merchant Rosario DeSimone and his wife Rosalia. DiSimone's father was born in the farming community of Salaparuto, Sicily, far inland in the western province of Trapani. He entered the U.S. through New York in March 1905. He married Rosalia, who was an immigrant from Lucca Sicula, Sicily, in the province of Agrigento. Rosalia apparently had two children in a previous relationship in New Orleans before moving to Colorado in the mid-1900s. Frank DeSimone was the oldest of four children born to Rosario and Rosalia in Pueblo before the family's fall 1920 relocation to Downey, California, where Rosario returned to a farming life.

DeSimone interrupted his early law practice to enlist in the Army in 1942.

One of DeSimone's earliest acts as crime boss was attendance at the ill-fated 1957 Mafia convention in Apalachin, NY. Los Angeles Mafioso Simone Scozzari, with whom DeSimone is often confused, also attended that convention. Both men were included among the attendees convicted of obstructing justice by refusing to reveal the purpose of the Apalachin meeting. The convictions were later overturned.

DeSimone died of natural causes on Aug. 4, 1967, leaving the Los Angeles Family to Nicolo Licata.

In September 1973, federal investigators unearthed links between the late Frank DeSimone and the management of the United States National Bank in southern California. The New York Times noted that the bank was run by multimillionaire C. Arnholt Smith, a close personal friend of U.S. President Richard Nixon.

Related Links:

•  Crime boss listing - Mafiahistory.us

Dellacroce, Aniello (1914-1985)

Born New York, NY, March 15, 1914

Died Queens, NY, Dec. 2, 1985.

"Neal" Dellacroce, who learned his craft under Albert Anastasia, was the longtime leader of a faction within the Gambino Crime Family of New York.

Dellacroce's obituary indicated that he was born to Francesco and Antoinette Dellacroce in New York City on March 15, 1914. As a teenager in 1930, he was sentenced to two and a half years at Elmira Reformatory after a store burglary conviction. In 1937, he pleaded guilty to assault and received a sentence of four months at the workhouse.

Dellacroce later married Lucille Riccardi. He maintained two home addresses, 232 Mulberry Street in Manhattan's Little Italy and West Fingerboard Road on Staten Island.

Upon the 1957 assassination of boss Albert Anastasia, the large Brooklyn-based crime family divided into two camps. A Gambino-Castellano faction elevated Carlo Gambino to the position of boss, a move contested by a faction led by Armand Thomas Rava and Dellacroce. (Dellacroce's affection for Rava possibly influenced the naming of his son Armond, born in 1955.)

The succession dispute likely was on the agenda at the ill-fated Apalachin convention in November 1957. It eventually was resolved with Rava's disappearance in 1958 and Dellacroce's subsequent elevation to the position of underboss.

Though the Dellacroce faction seethed over Gambino's power grab and quietly plotted against the boss, there was no open conflict between Gambino and Dellacroce. Authorities believed, however, that a 1966 underworld meeting at the La Stella Restaurant in Queens, NY, was an effort to depose Gambino.

In the 1960s, Dellacroce began running his underworld ventures from the Ravenite Social Club, 247 Mulberry Street. The Ravenite Club served as the home site for the disgruntled Gambino crime family faction.

Dellacroce served prison time after a 1971 conviction for contempt of court and after a 1973 conviction for tax evasion. The tax evasion charge was related to more than $100,000 in stock he received in connection with labor racketeering on Long Island.

Upon Gambino's 1976 death, the old Anastasia faction, including a young John J. Gotti, felt Dellacroce should be elevated to Family boss. However, he quietly stepped aside for Gambino relative Paul Castellano. If there were hurt feelings, Dellacroce hardly let on. He insisted that his supporters remain loyal to Castellano.

Dellacroce was charged in the late 1970s and early 1980s with racketeering, conspiracy and tax evasion. In the mid-1980s, he was accused of being part of the Mafia's ruling Commission. He did not live long enough to be tried on those charges.

Dellacroce died of natural causes at Mary Immaculate Hospital, Queens, NY, on Dec. 2, 1985. He had been receiving treatment for cancer there under the assumed name of Timothy O'Neil. His death cleared the way for his followers to act against Castellano.

Discussed in:

• "'Willie the Tile Maker' Dara passed Mafia secrets to Feds," by Edmond Valin

Related Links:

•  Crime boss listing - Mafiahistory.us
•  New York Times: Dellacroce obituary
•  "Dellacroce's death" (Writers of Wrongs - 02 Dec 2016)

DelGaudio, Nicolo (?-1914)

Nicolo "Nick" DelGaudio and his brother Gaetano DelGaudio were influential members of the Manhattan Camorra during the 1910s. They apparently worked closely with Giosue Gallucci, the politically connected East Harlem crime boss, and with the remnants of the Morello-Lupo Mafia (Giuseppe Morello and Ignazio Lupo were locked up in Atlanta Federal Prison during the decade). About 1913, the old alliances broke down.

Nicolo resided at 2029 First Avenue in East Harlem. He owned a restaurant nearby at 2023 First Avenue. Authorities believed his restaurant was merely a front for illegal activities. In February 1913, he was suspected of involvement in an unsuccessful attempt on Gallucci's life that resulted in the death of Gallucci bodyguard Tony Capilongo. That spring, Nicolo left the country for a long trip to Italy. He returned in the fall of 1914.

On October 14, 1914, DelGaudio and his friend Tancredi Dellabado met at First Avenue and walked toward a garage where DelGaudio kept his automobile. As they passed a stable at 421 East 104th Street, a gunshot was heard. DelGaudio fell mortally wounded, and Dellabado ran off. Police later found a shotgun inside an upstairs front window over the stable. Along with it was a hat they traced to Francisco Ruggiero of 403 East 106th Street. Ruggiero was arrested.

Gaetano DelGaudio managed to remain alive for another two years. In the early morning hours of November 30, 1916, he was shot while working in his restaurant, 2031 First Avenue. He died a short time later in a hospital, after refusing to name his murderer.