Arnold Squitieri
| Arnold "Squiggy" Squitieri | |
|---|---|
| Born |
February 2, 1936 Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, U.S. |
Arnold Ezekiel "Squiggy" Squitieri (/ˈskuːˈitiɛri/; born February 2, 1936) of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey is a convicted drug dealer who served as the former acting boss and underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is also known as "Zeke", "Bozey", and "Squitty".
On August 18, 1970, Squitieri shot garment cutter Desiderio Caban five times on a street in East Harlem. Two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers heard the shots, chased Squitieri by car for six blocks, until Squitieri finally stopped. Getting out of his car, Squitieri approached the officers and told them:
"Don't worry about it, he's only shot in the arm. Let me go; the boys will take care of you."
A week later mobster Alphonse Sisca met with one of the officers and offered a $5,000 bribe to the policemen. They accepted the deal and removed Squitieri's name from the crime report for the Caban killing. Later on, after the bribery was discovered, the officers were indicted and Squitieri became a fugitive from justice. In January 1972, Squitieri surrendered to authorities.
In 1973, while awaiting trial for the Caban murder, Squitieri and his wife Marie were charged with failing to file U.S. federal income tax returns for three years. The couple had concealed $200,000 in income in bank accounts under false names. For the tax charges, Squitieri would serve four years in prison.
On March 14, 1973, Squitieri pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter in the 1970 Caban murder. Squitieri was later sentenced to eight years in state prison.
In May 1981, Squitieri was released from prison and soon began selling narcotics for the Gotti crew in New Jersey. In 1982, Squitieri was being supplied with heroin by Angelo Ruggiero and Gene Gotti. In 1986, after John Gotti replaced Paul Castellano as Gambino boss, Squitieri was inducted into the family.
...
Wikipedia