Thomas Agro - Relations With Joseph Ianuzzi

Relations With Joseph Ianuzzi

It was in Florida that Agro selected mobster Joseph Iannuzzi to act as his representative. Iannuzzi enjoyed the attention and respect he received when Agro was in Florida. The two mobsters frequented all the top nightspots and track betting. It was while at the greyhound racing tracks that Agro coined Iannuzzi's nickname "Joe Dogs". Iannuzzi was given free rein to operate on behalf of Agro and the Gambino crime family. Iannuzzi operated bookmaking and loansharking while engaging in the occasional robbery and burglary. When Agro's sponsor, Joe N. Gallo, visited Florida, Iannuzzi would look after him.

In 1980, the Agro/Iannuzzi relationship began to fizzle. Agro had previously lent Ianuzzi a sizeable amount of money to be used to facilitate a loanshark book. Ianuzzi was supposed to pay Agro several percentage basis points (commonly referred to as points) a week. Ianuzzi would then lend offer loans to fellow criminals and gamblers at several additional points. The difference, called the 'spread', would be Iannuzzi's profit. Ianuzzi would hold several weeks or months worth of interest (or vig, in Mafia vernacular), delivering it to Agro whenever he visited New York. At other times, Agro would visit Iannuzzi in Florida to collect the interest. Agro had plans to invest the illegal interest into legitimate businesses. However, Ianuzzi soon fell several months behind in delivering the money of Agro. Later in 1980, while visiting New York, Ianuzzi deliberately snubbed Agro.

On January 19, 1981, the enraged Agro found Ianuzzi at the Don Ritz Pizzeria on Singer Island, Florida and severely beat him with a baseball bat. After surviving this attack, Ianuzzi decided to start working as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Since Ianuzzi had been assaulted with a bat, the FBI agents appropriately dubbed the case Operation Home Run. Ianuzzi now paid Agro the delinquent money (with funds supplied by the FBI) and Agro welcomed him back to the family. Ianuzzi now wore a hidden listening device whenever he met with Agro and other Florida mobsters operating. In one tape, Agro told Iannuzzi that he had survived the January attack only because the pizzeria owner's wife entered the room. On one occasion, Agro confessed to the murders of Lucchese associates Anthony DeSimone and Thomas DeSimone. However, Ianuzzi was not recording at that moment, so Agro was never convicted of these murders.