Jackie D'Amico - Association With Big Geyser, Inc.

Association With Big Geyser, Inc.

He is an old friend of Irving "Hal" Hershkowitz, the founder and president of the non-alcoholic beverage corporation Big Geyser, Incorporated, He worked in their Maspeth, Queens warehouse. He maintained the job until he was brought to trial and convicted of extortion. He started as a delivery truck driver with a base salary of $23,000 but later switched to working as a salesman on commission and his salary was raised to $71,000 a year. At the same warehouse where D'Amico had an office block, he was a co-worker of Lucchese crime family capo Matthew Madonna who is also listed on the company payroll. Assistant U.S. Attorney Roger Burlingame suspected that while ostensibly on the payroll, D'Amico was given a no-show job allowing him to collect health benefits from the company, a Jaguar that was leased by the company, and to claim lawful employment. Herskowitz stated to reporter Tom Robbins that he had known D'Amico for thirty years and considered him a good, long-time friend. Hershkowitz and D'Amico attended New Utrecht High School together, the same high school that Sammy Gravano attended before dropping out.