Mob Talk: On June 15, 2010, reputed acting captain in the Genovese crime family, Anthony “Tony D.” Palumbo, who was previously charged with racketeering & extortion.
- mobtalk247
- Jun 15
- 3 min read
On June 15, 2010, reputed acting captain in the Genovese crime family, Anthony “Tony D.” Palumbo, who was previously charged with racketeering & extortion, was arraigned on another indictment that tied him to the 1992 murder of a mobster’s cousin, Palumbo was accused of conspiring to have an associate, Angelo Sangiuolo, whacked for robbing Palumbo’s gambling joints in the Bronx.
Sangiuolo, whose rubout was sanctioned by then-Genovese boss Vincent “Chin” Gigante, was later lured to his death by his 1st cousin Angelo Prisco, a Genovese captain who was sentenced to life the previous year, after triggerman John “Johnny Balls” Leto turned rat & testified against him.
The remaining suspected member of the hit team, getaway driver Paul “Doc” Gaccione, was arrested earlier that April & was charged with murder. The Manhattan federal court indictment against Palumbo, who the feds said was named head of the Genovese family’s New Jersey operations in 2006, said that he met with Leto & Gaccione, after the killing “to thank them for murdering Angelo Sangiuolo.”
In the 1980's "Tony D” was a trusted aide of Genovese capo Daniel Pagano, who represented the Genovese interests in the "Gasoline Bootlegging Rackets". Originated in 1987 by the Organizatsiya, a Russian criminal organization in Brooklyn, the scam involved fake transactions of large quantities of gasoline & diesel, which were designed to defraud the State of New York out of excise taxes, & line the pockets of the 5 families.
In late 1992 or early 1993, Pagano shot-down a proposed murder of a Russian mobster. Palumbo's business partner, Victor Zilber, asked him to arrange the murder of an employee, Russian mobster Monya Elson. When Palumbo approached Pagano for approval, Pagano immediately vetoed the hit. Pagano was afraid that killing Elson would cause major problems with the Organizatsia.
This indictment also said that in late 1992 or early 1993, Palumbo, who had been involved in a plot to shake down Russian mobsters running a gasoline-tax scam, conspired to murder Monya Elson, who worked for the Russians. The plan, which never came off, was to lure the hitman to a Bronx social club “where Palumbo would murder (him),” the indictment said. Palumbo, who was free on bond, pled not guilty to the indictment during a brief court appearance. Outside court, defense lawyer Steven Frankel called the charges more of the “same nonsense.”
Defense lawyer Steven Frankel argued that the rubout “never happened,” but prosecutor Avi Weitzman noted that Palumbo took part in a “dry run” before the plan was vetoed by reputed Genovese capo Daniel Pagano because Zilber would have had to be killed as a witness to the crime.
Weitzman said Palumbo instigated the 1992 murder of Angelo Sangiuolo, by complaining to the late mob boss “Chin” Gigante, that Sangiuolo had been ripping off Palumbo’s gambling operations in The Bronx. Gigante ordered Sangiuolo whacked by his cousin, reputed Genovese capo Angelo Prisco, who was already serving life for luring Sangiuolo to his death at the hands of 2 underlings.
After the murder, Palumbo hugged & kissed admitted triggerman “Johnny Balls” Leto, then celebrated Sangiuolo’s death by dancing, drinking & eating caviar at Zilber’s Rasputin nightclub in Brighton Beach, Weitzman said. Sangiuolo’s sister, Maria, attended the sentencing, where Palumbo received the maximum punishment, a 10-year prison sentence, rolling her eyes when Palumbo offered a brief apology to his family, his mother & “anyone else” he had hurt. “I’m very, very sorry,” Palumbo said, in a voice reminiscent of Marlon Brando’s in “The Godfather.”
Palumbo did his time & was released on September 13, 2019 from prison. In 2024, 75 year old Palumbo was identified as a member of family boss Liborio “Barney” Bellomo’s inner circle & a powerful capo with operation in New Jersey & Staten Island with significant influence on the waterfront.
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