Arnold Squitieri
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| Arnold Squitieri | |
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 Arnold Squitieri in (2005)
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| Born | February 2, 1936 Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA |
Arnold Squitieri (b. February 2, 1936) of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey is a convicted drug dealer and alleged acting boss and official underboss of the Gambino organized crime family. He is also known as “Zeke,” “Bozey,” and “Sylvester”.[1]
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[edit] Career
On August 18, 1970 Squitieri shot garment cutter Desiderio Caban five times at First Ave. and 117th street. A cop heard the shots and arrived at the crime scene and, after a six block car chase, Squitieri was captured and arrested. Later that day, allegedly $5000 was offered to the arresting officer and two other cops, who took the bribe and released Squitieri, omitting his name from reports on the Caban killing. Later the officers were indicted and Squitieri went in hiding. In January 1972 he surrendered to authorities. In 1973, while awaiting trial for the Caban murder, Squitieri and his wife Marie were charged with failing to file federal tax returns for three years on $200,000 in income they concealed in bank accounts under false names. For the tax charges, Squitieri served four years in prison. In the Caban murder case he pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter and the sentence he received ran concurrent with the tax sentence, totalling to six years served in a state prison.[2]
[edit] Post 1981 Prison Release
In May of 1981 Squitieri was released from prison, and soon after began selling narcotics for the Gotti crew in New Jersey. In 1982 he would meet Gambino mobsters, including Angelo Ruggiero, from whom he purchased heroin. He also sold heroin supplied by Gene Gotti. In 1986 after John Gotti replaced Paul Castellano as boss of the Gambino Crime Family, Squitieri was inducted into the Gambino Family. In 1988, Squitieri was charged with conspiring to distribute heroin and was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. On March 13, 1999, Squitieri was released from prison. Within a short time he was promoted to capo (captain) of the Gambino family. By 2002, authorities listed him as Underboss. Squtieri and alleged Capos Gregory DePalma, Alphonse Sisca, Thomas Cacciopoli, and John Capra (Lucchese crime family Capo) were arrested on March 9, 2005 in connection with the charges in an indictment captioned United States v. Arnold Squitieri, et al., 05 Cr. 228. Squitieri pleaded guilty on June 15, 2005 before U.S. District Judge Dennis M. Cavanaugh to conducting an illegal gambling operation and attempting to evade taxes from his 2001 U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald D. Wigler.[3]
[edit] Notes
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