Surviving the Mob - Dennis Griffin [32]
“My loyalty was to Mike and helping him was the right thing to do. It cost me big, though. I went from making up to eight thousand a week, split between me and two associates, to making nothing. Those things happened. I know that I put a lot of pressure on my friends at times too. I asked them to do things that probably hurt them financially. But that’s the way it was.
“Eventually, Teddy and Nicky had their sit-down and everything was squashed. But you don’t just come back from being shot and forget about it. Robert didn’t; he held a grudge. We’d see each other from time to time. When we did, we’d talk. But I was always aware of my surroundings and knew that I’d never be able to get careless around Robert or his friends.”
In an interesting coincidence, two other men were shot and killed the same night Mike Yannotti shot Robert. Their names were Eddie and Vincent Carini. The Carini brothers were also associated with the Colombos. They were notorious killers and hung around with the equally dangerous Frank Smith. Andrew explains the story behind their murders.
“In 1986 Carmine Persico was convicted on federal racketeering charges and sentenced to life plus thirty-nine years in prison. The following March he sent word to his crew that he wanted a federal prosecutor named William Aronwald killed. The order to set up the hit went to Joel Cacace, who was also known as Joe Waverly. Cacace assigned the Carini brothers and Frank Smith to handle it.
“Supposedly, Cacace wrote the name Aronwald on a slip of paper and gave it to the Carinis and Smith. But they made a mistake and killed the guy’s father instead. He was an administrative law judge who handled parking tickets. He had nothing to do with prosecuting organized crime. As punishment for botching the hit, Cacace had the Carini brothers murdered three months later. They were found dead in separate cars on a block in Sheepshead Bay the same night Mike Yannotti did Robert. It was a bad night for the Colombos.”
For unknown reasons, Frank Smith didn’t make Cacace’s hit list. But apparently fearing for his life and having fallen out of favor with the Colombos, Smith later became a government witness. Andrew believes he knows exactly why the killer turned on his colleagues.
“Frank did a lot of work [shootings] for the Colombos. He was loyal to them and even took a fifteen-year sentence for a crime he didn’t commit to protect somebody else. He served every day of it and kept his mouth shut. His thanks was that while he was away, his crew gave his family no support. When he asked them for help, they ignored him. And when he asked to be released from the Colombos to join a Lucchese family crew, they said no. Eventually, Frank learned the same lessons I did: that in organized crime, the bosses demand loyalty and respect from the bottom up. It’s a one-way street; it doesn’t come from the top down. They expect the street guys to take it on the chin for the team. But when a soldier needs their support, it’s not there. The bosses of today treat their people like shit and then they can’t understand it when somebody flips. I’ve got news for them. What goes around comes around.”
As for Joel Cacace, on August 13, 2004, he pleaded guilty to racketeering charges. He admitted his role in the Aronwald murder and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
ANOTHER ROBERT
Not all of Andrew’s pals were criminals. Gilbert was one of his closest legitimate friends. In the late summer Gilbert was having problems with Robert Arena, a member of the Domenico “Danny” Cutaia crew of the Lucchese family. Gilbert had been summoned to meet with Arena. Fearing he might be in danger, he asked Andrew to accompany him.
Andrew knew Arena from the neighborhood. He was a couple