Rise To Power
By the late 1960s, D'Amico was a bookmaker and soldier in the Gambino family, then ruled by boss Carlo Gambino. In the 1970s, D'Amico became an associate of Ozone Park, Queens-based capo John Gotti. In 1976, D'Amico began operating loansharking, illegal gambling, extortion and labor racketeering activities in Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. After Gambino died in 1976, his brother-in-law Paul Castellano became the new boss. During the late 1970s, D'Amico was promoted to caporegime in the Brooklyn faction. With income from loansharking, extortion, and illegal gambling operations, D'Amico gained much respect within the family
On December 16, 1985, Castellano and his underboss Thomas Bilotti were gunned down outside the Sparks Steak House on Manhattan. Gotti, who had orchestrated their assassination, now became the Gambino boss . D'Amico became one of Gotti's closest associates. In 1992, Gotti was convicted on racketeering charges and sentenced to life imprisonment.
When John Gotti went to prison, he created a ruling panel, or "administration", to supervise the family. This panel included D'Amico, Gotti's son John "Junior" Gotti as acting boss, Peter Gotti, and Joseph Arcuri. The four men would meet to discuss business at Hawaiian Moonlighters Club, the new Gambino headquarters in Little Italy. Other accounts state that Nicholas Corozzo, not Arcuri, was on the panel. After federal law enforcement began focusing on Junior Gotti, John Gotti allegedly designated as the new acting boss.
In 1998, D'Amico was charged with racketeering and loansharking. On January 19, 1999, he pleading guilty to a single count of operating an illegal gambling operation in Connecticut whose profits went to Junior Gotti. On July 8, 1999, D'Amico was sentenced to 20 months in prison. With D'Amico in prison, control of the family passed to Corozzo and DiMaria.
Read more about this topic: Jackie D'Amico
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