Gaetano Vastola (gangster)

Gaetano "Corky" Vastola (born May 20, 1928) is a New Jersey mobster who became an underboss for the DeCavalcante crime family in New Jersey.

In 1946, Vastola was arrested for burglary in New York City. He was convicted and received a suspended sentence and probation because he was a youthful offender.

In his early years, Vastola was a concert promoter for singers Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin, and a golf partner with actor/singer Sammy Davis Jr. A part owner of Roulette Records, Vastola was the listed songwriter on several doo-wop hits from the 1950s and 1960s, including The Valentines song "Lily Maebelle", The Cleftones song "You Baby You", and The Wrens song "Hey Girl." During this period, Vastola also engaged in the counterfeiting of music records, netting him a $500,000 profit. In 1960, Vastola was convicted of trademark offenses and received a one-year suspended sentence. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also fined Vastola $215 for not reporting his illegal income.

In 1965 Vastola was arrested for a burglary and larceny. In 1969, Vastola and mobster Daniel Annunziata had demanded a $20,000 extortion payment from the operators of an illegal dice game in Trevose, Pennsylvania. The operators appealed the demand to DeCavalcante boss Sam DeCavalcante, who allegedly reduced the demand to $12,000 plus a negotiating fee of $3,800. In March 1972, Vastola was convicted of extorting the dice game operators and was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Vastola's conviction was later overturned. By 1980, Vastola had become a caporegime for the family, leading a crew of mobsters in Union County, New Jersey. Vastola had a close working relationship with Jimmy Rotondo, head of the New York Wing of the family, based predominantly in Brooklyn (until the latter's death).

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