Frank Lino - Biography

Biography

Lino was born in a house on West Eight Street. The marriage of his mobster father Robert A. Lino, Sr. and his mother was arranged by Genovese crime family patriarch and founder Vito Genovese during the 1930s. Frank attended Lafayette High School but dropped out in tenth grade. His father died in 1989, according to what Michael DiLeonardo said during testimony against John A. Gotti. Almost every male member of his family was involved in La Cosa Nostra.

After dropping out of high school in the 1950s he joined a violent street gang called the "Avenue U Boys". As a member of the "Avenue U Boys" was involved in robberies. Lino first became associated with the La Cosa Nostra at the age of seventeen, and operated the local floating card games controlled by a Genovese crime family made soldier. He was a close business associate of Rosario Gangi.

He is the cousin of Gambino crime family capo Edward Lino and brother of Gambino LCN capo Robert A. Lino, Jr. He is the father of successful New York City Wall Street stockbroker Michael, and father of Joseph, who became a made member of the Bonanno family. He is cousin-in-law to Grace Ann Scala-Lino, the sister of Gambino crime family capo Salvatore Scala and father of Colombo crime family mob associate Robert X. Grace Ann Lino was a customer of Michael (Mikey Bear) Aiello. Frank was enraged over the incident and arranged for his murder, for which he arranged to witness, but was later botched.

He is the father of two sons, one Joseph Lino born c. 1961 who became a made member of the Bonanno family and Michael Lino. He is a son-in-law to Genovese crime family mob associates Francis Consalvo and Carmine Consalvo and distant uncle to Louis Consalvo. He is a first cousin of Bonanno family capo Robert Lino, Sr. and a paternal uncle of Bonanno crime family capo Robert A. Lino, Jr. He is the godfather to Michael Lino and Frank Coppa, Jr., the sons of former Bonanno family capo and childhood friend Frank Coppa. He is a cousin-in-law to Gambino crime family capo Salvatore Scala. He is a close friend of the New York Mets pitcher John Franco and an avid baseball fan.

Frank had dark brown hair, and a round face with a ruddy complexion and later a bald head that "looked like a dirty tennis ball". He had a toothy smile and droopy eyes that were set too close together. Frank was a no-show school bus driver for the Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Union and employed by a mob-owned bus company Atlantic Express Transportation Corporation in located at 7 North Street in Port Richmond, Staten Island which is still in operation.

He became a made man of the Bonanno crime family on October 30, 1977, on Elizabeth Street in Little Italy, Manhattan at his capo Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato's apartment. It was his 40th birthday. As he grew older Frank became more and more obese. He gained a tremendous amount of weight and began to suffer from high blood pressure. During his 40-year career in organized crime he was under the Genovese family in 1956, switched to the Colombo crime family in 1962 and switched to the Gambino family in 1969 before in 1977 his friend Frank Coppa helped him join the Bonanno crime family.