Frank Gioia, Sr.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Frank Gioia, Sr. (b. January 20, 1949) was a Lucchese crime family soldier who grew up and operated his illegal businesses in the Little Italy area of Manhattan. Gioia brought his son Frank Gioia, Jr. into the life, and at the age of 24, the younger Gioia also became a soldier [1].
While the younger Gioia was serving a seven year sentence for drug trafficking, Frank Gioia, Sr. became involved in a dispute over money with captain Frank "Frankie Bones" Papagni. Frank Gioia, Jr. learned from his mobster cousin Vincent Salanardi that Papagni planned on killing Frank Gioia, Sr., and the younger Gioia became a turncoat. As part of his cooperation agreement, both father and son Gioia would enter the Witness Protection Program, but only Gioia, Jr. would have to testify against his former cohorts.
