Matthew Ianniello
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Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (b. 1920) is an American mobster and a caporegime and as of 2007 believed to have been the acting-boss of the Genovese crime family (McShane 2007). Ianniello was also the owner of Little Italy's Umberto's Clam House, a popular hangout for members of the Genovese and Colombo crime families, where mobster renegade Joseph Gallo was murdered in 1972 (although Ianniello himself was not present at the restaurant that night).
Known primarily for operating midtown Manhattan's vice district, including a number of singles bars and gentleman's clubs, Ianniello was also known for his involvement in a large part of New York's pornography industry, specifically his control over adult stores and massage parlors in Times Square. Ianniello was later convicted for refusing to testify before a Manhattan grand jury investigating police corruption, fined and given a suspended sentence of one year imprisonment.
In 1985, Ianniello was arrested and charged with racketeering and skimming unreported income from his New York businesses. He was convicted of the skimming charge that year and three years later was convicted of the racketeering charge, earning a 13 year sentence (McShane 2007).
In 1995, at the age of 75, he was released from jail. When Gigante admitted to feigning dementia to escape his own conviction, he entered a guilty plea and began serving a jail sentence. "The Horse" was asked to step up to "The Seat," which he accepted (McShane 2007).
Within three years he was deeply involved in the Local 1181, a bus drivers union. Through the union, Ianiello forced a medical center to pay $100,000 to renew their lease and then make regular cash payments in order to keep it. Between 2001 and 2005 a protection fee placed on various Connecticut garbage businesses earned "The Horse" more than $800,000.
At 86 years old, faced with mounting legal difficulties, The Horse is on his last ride to jail. In 2006 he plead guilty to a pair of racketeering charges (McShane 2007).
[edit] References
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
- McShane, Larry. "Matty "The Horse" on His Last Ride", AP, Wii News Channel, 2007-03-04. Retrieved on March 4, 2007.
[edit] Further reading
- Diapoulos, Peter and Steven Linakis. The Sixth Family. 1976. ISBN 0-525-20492-X
[edit] External links
- Federal Bureau of Investigation New York Division Press Release - U.S. Indicts Numerous Genovese Family Members and Associates, Including an Aacting Boss of the Family
- CNN.com - Reputed Genovese family members indicted by Marissa Muller
- WashingtonPost.com - Reputed Mob Figure, Trash Hauler Arrested by Matt Apuzzo
- NCTimes.com - Authorities crack down on New York's Genovese crime family, with 20 arrests by Tom Hays
- United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Matthew Ianneillo, Benjamin Cohen, Paul Gelb, Alfred Ianniello, Carl Moskowitz, Morton Walker, Chester Cohen, Bernard Kurtz, and Sol Golman, Defendant-Appellants - UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
