Matthew Ianniello
Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (June 18, 1920 - ) is an New York mobster with the Genovese crime family mobster who specialized in vice operations.
Ianniello served in World War II and was decorated for his service. After returning to the United States, Ianniello was denied a license to own a restaurant due to criminal ties. Ianniello had trouble finding work and allegedly joined the Genovese crime family for that reason. Ianniello later became the owner of Umberto's Clam House in the Little Italy section of Manhattan, a popular hangout for the Genovese and Colombo crime family mobsters. On April 4, 1972, Colombo mobster Joe Gallo was famously murdered at Umberto's. Ianiello was present that night but was in the kitchen and ducked down when shots were fired and therefore he was unscathed. However it is unclear if a hit would have been allowed to go down in his restaurant without his permission. Ianniello was known primarily for operating singles bars and adult entertainment clubs in Manhattan's vice district. Ianniello was later convicted for refusing to testify before a Manhattan grand jury investigating police corruption, fined and given a one year suspended sentence.
In 1985, Ianniello was convicted for racketeering and skimming unreported income from Umbertos and his other businesses and received six years in prison. In 1988, Ianello was convicted on another racketeering charge. In 1995, Ianniello was released from prison. When Genovese boss Vincent Gigante went to prison, Ianniello became acting boss. By 1998, Ianiello was deeply involved in Teamsters Union 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 Ianniello more than $800,000.
In 2006 Ianniello plead guilty to a pair of racketeering charges (McShane 2007). He was sentenced on May 9, 2007 to 24 months in federal prison, to run concurrent with racketeering charges from New York in 2005. His son, Matty Jr. is the boss in training, holding all family assets under his name. (McShane 2007). As of June 2008, Ianniello is imprisoned at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Butner, North Carolina. His projected release date is April 3, 2009.
At some time when Ianniello was in prison, he allegedly saved the life of a prison guard who had fallen unconscious. Ianniello reportedly protected the guard from attack by other inmates.
References
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
- McShane, Larry (2007-03-04). "Matty "The Horse" on His Last Ride". AP, Wii News Channel.
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Further reading
- Diapoulos, Peter and Steven Linakis. The Sixth Family. 1976. ISBN 0-525-20492-X
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
- History of Gay Bars in New York City: Genovese Control of Some Gay Bars in New York City
- Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator Website
- Ianniello Is Sentenced In Racketeering Trial