Thomas Gioeli
Thomas Salvatore Gioeli, (pronounced Jee-OH-lee), also known as "Tommy Shots", (born 1952) is a high-ranking member of the Colombo crime family who has allegedly served as a hitman for the family.
Rise in the Colombo family
In the mid-1980's, Gioeli was imprisoned for robbery, his first incarceration. After his release, Gioeli became a made member, or full member, of the Colombo family. In the late 1980's, Gioeli started working for capo Vittorio "Vic" Orena, lead of the Colombo Brooklyn faction and one of the family's top earners. As of 2008 he suffers from diabetes and wears orthopedic shoes. In prison he sleeps on a special 'egg shell mattress.'
Gioeli has a wife Maureen and owns a home in Farmingdale, New York.[1]
Colombo wars and tough guy
During the late 1980s, Persico appointed Orena to be his acting boss. By 1990 Orena, with the encouragement of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti, felt strong enough to challenge Persico for total control. In response, Persico tried to have Orena assassinated in 1991. This triggered an internal conflict in the Colombo family between the Persico and Orena factions.
Bloody shootouts between the two factions in 1991 resulted in murders of prominent Persico supporters Gregory Scarpa Sr. and Hank Smurra. Many Colombo crime family members switched sides to the Persico faction to avoid being killed. Gioeli was one of those who switched sides, and became attached to Persico's top lieutenant and protege, Gregory Scarpa Sr., in 1991. Orena supporter, William "Wild Bill" Cutolo became one of the most notorious murderers in the Colombo War, as the war reached its height in 1992.
On June 12, 1991, Gioeli, capo Dino Calabro. and soldier Joseph "Joey Caves" Competiello allegedly murdered Frank Marasa, an Orena loyalist, outside Marasa's home in Brooklyn. Marasa was allegedly murdered because of his involvement in the murder of another Colombo associate.[2]
Fall of Orena and victory
On March 25, 1992, Gioeli and Colombo capo Dino Calabro allegedly murdered John Minerva and Micheal Imbergamo as they sat in a parked car on Long Island. Minerva was murdered because he was a Colombo soldier who belonged to the Orena faction. Imbergamo was a friend of Minerva's who was not involved in organized crime.[2]
On March 27, 1992, Gioeli and several Persico loyalists were ambushed, and became involved in a high-speed car chase. Gioeli was wounded in the shoulder and stomach, earning him the nickname "Tommy Shots" and a reputation for toughness.
In 1992, Orena was arrested and indicted on racketeering and murder charges. In 1993, one of Orena's last remaining allies, Joseph Scopo, was killed and Orena was sentenced to life in prison. The Persico faction now claimed victory and Persico's son, Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" Persico took effective control of the family.
Family business
In the late 1990s, Persico and John "Jackie" DeRoss promoted Gioeli to Caporegime.
In August 1995, Gioeli allegedly murdered Colombo associate Richard Greaves in Colombo soldier Dino Saracino's basement apartment. The Colombo leadership ordered Greaves' murder because they thought he might become a government witness. Gioeli allegedly buried Greaves' body in an industrial park on Long Island.
In May 1999, Gioeli and Colombo soldier Vincent DiMartino allegedly murdered William Cutolo, the Colombo underboss, in Saracino's apartment. Since the end of the Colombo war, Cutolo had been challenging Alphonse Persico for control of the Colombo family, prompting Persico to order Cutolo's murder. Gioeli allegedly buried Cutolo in the same location where he allegedly buried Greaves four years earlier.[3]
After the 2004 conviction of acting boss Joel "Joe Waverly" Cacace, Gioeli was promoted to "Street boss", with his protege Paul "Paulie Guns" Bevacqua as acting capo. Gioeli's position includes meetings with Carmine Persico, as he is bringing messages back and forth from Persico and some of the highest ranking members of the Colombo crime family, like Vincent and Benny Aloi, John "Sonny" Franzese and John DeRoss.
Indictments
On June 4, 2008, Gioeli was indicted for robbery, extortion, the 1991 Marassa murder, and the 1992 Minerva/Imbergamo murders.[2] The robbery indictment involved a 1991 fur shop robbery in which Gioeli allegedly posed as a customer.[4] On December 16, 2008, Gioeli was indicted on the 1995 Greaves murder and the 1999 Cutolo murder. [5] Although Persico was convicted in 2007 of ordering Cutolo's murder, prosecutors had lacked sufficient evidence to indict Gioeli. However, by 2008, both Calabro and Competiello were now government witnesses planning to testify against Gioeli.
On February 9, 2010, Gioeli was briefly hospitalized after suffering a minor stroke. Already diagnosed with diabetes and cardiac problems, Gioli had unsuccessfully petitioned the court on February 8th to be released from jail due to his medical problems.[6]
In July 2010, Gioeli was charged in a new federal indictment with participating in the 1997 murder of off-duty NYPD cop Ralph Dols in Brooklyn. Gioeli, 57, passed on the order from then-consigliere Joel (Joe Waverly) Cacace to underlings to gun down the cop because he had married Cacace's ex-wife, the feds say. That brings to six the number of gangland slayings Gioeli is tied to - three of which he could face the death penalty for, including Dols' murder. Sources said Gioeli's role in the cop killing was confirmed by capo Dino (Big Dino) Calabro, who agreed to become a government snitch earlier this year. Gioeli has pleaded not guilty to the new charges.[7]+
As of September 2010, Gioeli is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn awaiting trial.[8]
References
- ^ "Colombo family turncoat's wife Andrea Calabro helps feds with info on mob boss Tommy Shots Gioeli" BY John Marzulli New York DAILY NEWS April 8th 2010
- ^ a b c COLOMBO ORGANIZED CRIME FAMILY ACTING BOSS, UNDERBOSS, AND TEN OTHER MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES INDICTED" Department of Justice press release June 4, 2008
- ^ "Colombo Mobsters Sentenced To Life For Cutolo Murder" Friends of Ours
- ^ "Nine Are Arrested in Sweeping Organized Crime Crackdown" New York Times June 5, 2008
- ^ "11 Years After Officer’s Slaying, Reputed Mob Figures Are Indicted" By MICHAEL WILSON and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM New York Times December 18, 2008
- ^ "Diabetic mob boss Thomas (Tommy Shots) Gioeli suffers stroke" BY John Marzulli New York Daily News February 9th 2010
- ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/the_mob/2010/07/15/2010-07-15_copkill_charge_for_mob_boss.html
- ^ Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator