Childhood and Early Criminal Career
John Dioguardi was born on April 29, 1914, on the Lower East Side of New York City and brought up on Forsyth Street in Little Italy. He had two brothers, Thomas and Frankie. His father, Giovanni B. Dioguardi, was murdered in August 1930 in what police called a mob-related execution. Dioguardi's uncle, Giacomo "Jimmy Doyle" Plumeri, was a member of the gang run by Albert Marinelli and his patron, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, head of the rapidly forming Genovese crime family. Dioguardi was introduced to organized crime at the age of 15 by his uncle. At the time, labor racketeering in the garment district was controlled by Luciano and Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano, head of the Lucchese crime family. Plumeri, John Dioguardi, and brother Tommy were working for both gangs. He also associated with hitmen and labor racketeers Louis "Lepke" Buchalter and Jacob "Gurrah" Shapiro.
With Plumeri and another gangster, Dominick Didato, Dioguardi established and ran a protection racket in New York City's garment district. He was arrested several times between 1926 and 1937, but never brought to trial. For a time in 1934, Dioguardi was executive secretary of the Allied Truckmen's Mutual Association, an employer association, and represented the employers during a strike by 1,150 Teamsters in September 1934. In March 1937, Dioguardi was arrested on charges of extortion, conspiracy, and racketeering, He pled guilty and received a three year prison term in Sing Sing.
After his release from prison, Dioguardi moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he established a dress manufacturing plant. He later sold the plant (taking a $11,200 bribe to ensure that it remained non-union before he sold it), and set up a dress wholesaler operation in New York City. Dioguardi also dabbled in stock investing, real estate, and trucking.
Dioguardi later returned to New York to live again on Forsyth Street. He married the former Anne Chrostek, and had two sons (Philip and Dominick), and a daughter (Rosemary), who passed away. Philip ("Fat Philly") later was a soldier in the Colombo crime family. Dominick becaome a soldier in the Lucchese family.
Read more about this topic: Johnny Dio
Famous quotes containing the words childhood and, childhood, early, criminal and/or career:
“Adolescence is a tough time for parent and child alike. It is a time between: between childhood and maturity, between parental protection and personal responsibility, between life stage- managed by grown-ups and life privately held.”
—Anna Quindlen (20th century)
“The landscape of the northern Sprawl woke confused memories of childhood for Case, dead grass tufting the cracks in a canted slab of freeway concrete. The train began to decelerate ten kilometers from the airport. Case watched the sun rise on the landscape of childhood, on broken slag and the rusting shells of refineries.”
—William Gibson (b. 1948)
“Foolish prater, What dost thou
So early at my window do?
Cruel bird, thou’st ta’en away
A dream out of my arms to-day;
A dream that ne’er must equall’d be
By all that waking eyes may see.
Thou this damage to repair
Nothing half so sweet and fair,
Nothing half so good, canst bring,
Tho’ men say thou bring’st the Spring.”
—Abraham Cowley (1618–1667)
“The husbands of very beautiful women belong to the criminal classes.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“I seemed intent on making it as difficult for myself as possible to pursue my “male” career goal. I not only procrastinated endlessly, submitting my medical school application at the very last minute, but continued to crave a conventional female role even as I moved ahead with my “male” pursuits.”
—Margaret S. Mahler (1897–1985)