Frank Lastorino

Frank Lastorino

Frank "Big Frank" Lastorino (b. 1940) is a New York mobster and former Consigliere of the Lucchese crime family.

[edit] Lucchese hitman

Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Lastorino soon joined the Lucchese crime family under Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo in extortion, loansharking and illegal gambling operations during the 1970s, and was recognized as one of the most notorious hitmen from the Brooklyn faction of the crime family. Lastorino reportedly achieved great friendship and partnership with Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso and Vittorio "Vic" Amuso during the mid 1980s, as the family leadership was turning in another direction.

In 1985, the US government launched a pile of indictments toward the Five Families of New York, as Boss Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo, Underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro and then Consigliere Christopher "Christie Tick" Furnari of the Lucchese crime family were put in the courtroom of the infamous Mafia Commission Trial, on labor racketeering, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling, money laundering, murder and conspiracy charges. All twelve defendants were found guilty, and the entire administration of the Lucchese crime family received life imprisonment due to their crimes. This led to the election of Brooklyn faction-leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso as the new bosses of the Lucchese family, after the murder of Corallo's top aide, Anthony Luongo, in 1986. Due to his close relationship with both Amuso and Casso, Lastorino was rewarded with the position of Caporegime or Captain of the Brooklyn faction in the Lucchese crime family. Under Amuso's leadership, Lastorino rose to become one of the most feared and most powerful mobsters in the family.

In 1990, both Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso were named in massive indictments towards the Lucchese crime family, which included murder and conspiracy charges, and decided to flee New York City. As they were named fugitives, they used messengers to give out orders to the top members of the family, like Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco, Anthony "Bowat" Baratta, Steven "Wonderboy" Crea and Salvatore "Sal" Avellino, who were all included in the Ruling Panel with Lastorino to run the day-to-day activities in the early 1990s. Lastorino also established cooperation and great fear with powerful capos of the Brooklyn faction, George "Georgie Neck" Zappola, Frank Gioia, Jr. and Frank "Bones" Papagni, and as Amuso and Casso sent their orders with messengers, US law enforcement estimated that these orders were unofficially carried out by these men, although it was never official. However, Lastorino used to sit at the family Ruling Panel in early 1990s.

On April 13, 1991, Gambino crime family soldier Bartholomew "Bobby" Boriello was shot to death outside his Bensonhurst, Brooklyn home. Boriello had been a top bodyguard for John Gotti during his heyday in the 1980s, and was also a great friend and associate before Gotti was incarcerated. Apparently, Gotti believed the murder was ordered by Genovese crime family boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, but in real-life, US law enforcement recognized the order coming from Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, in retaliation for the murder of their own member Patrick Testa, in an attempt to squeeze the Gambino crime family out of control. Reportedly, the murder was carried out by the fierce Lastorino, allegedly with assistance of NYPD detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, who were on the payroll of the Lucchese crime family at the time. It is reported by US law enforcement that Lastorino allegedly carried out the murder only to be promoted to Consigliere.

In 1993, with the final capturing of Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso and the evaluation of Steven "Wonderboy" Crea as the new Underboss of the Lucchese crime family, Lastorino hatched a plot to seize the control of the family completely. Since his promotion, Crea had shifted the family's power center away from the Brooklyn faction and back to the Manhattan and Bronx factions that had been dominating the family for decades, which wasn't approved by most of the Amuso/Casso loyalists. Which is why Lastorino reportedly organized the plot to kill Crea, then gain control of the Lucchese crime family, and then go after the Gambino crime family by murdering John Gotti's son, John "Junior" Gotti and his rival Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo. The situation was that after these murders, Lastorino, George "Georgie Neck" Zappola, Frank "Bones" Papagni and Frank Gioia, Jr. would be at the top in the Lucchese crime family.

Toward the year of 1994, massive indictments of labor racketeering, extortion, loansharking, illegal gambling and murder charges were put on dozens of members of the Lucchese crime family, including Lastorino, who was charged with the murder of Bartholomew "Bobby" Boriello and the attempted murder conspiracies on Steven "Wonderboy" Crea, John "Junior" Gotti and Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo, as well as extortion, loansharking and illegal gambling charges. Lastorino was sentenced to 20 years in prison. As of April, 2008, Frank Lastorino is serving his time at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Lexington, Kentucky. His projected release-date is December 23, 2008. [1]