Joel Cacace

Joel J. Cacace Sr.
Federal Bureau of Investigation 2007 federal prison mugshot of Cacace in Florence, Colorado
Born	(1941-04-09) April 9, 1941 (age 76)
Nationality	American
Other names	Joe Waverly
Occupation	Racketeer
Criminal penalty	20 years
Spouse(s)	Diane Marie
Children	Joel Jr.
Conviction(s)	Murder

Joel J. Cacace Sr. (pronounced Ka-KA-che) also known as Joe Waverly (born April 9, 1941) is a New York City mobster and acting head of the Colombo crime family. He was convicted of murder and is currently serving a 20-year sentence in federal prison.

Cacace is close friends with Colombo capo Luca DeMatteo and former acting boss Victor Orena. Cacace was involved in extortion, illegal gambling, and the hijacking and selling of truckloads of cigarettes.

Cacace married Vita Rose Cacace and they had one child, Joel (JoJo) Cacace, Jr. JoJo was reportedly a member of the Colombo family and was allegedly involved in labor racketeering before his death from a heart attack on January 1, 2015.

On December 20, 1976, Joel Cacace Sr. was ambushed by three robbers near his florist shop in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. After being shot in the chest, Cacace wrestled a handgun from one of the robbers, and shot and killed an assailant. The remaining robbers fled the scene. The critically wounded Cacace drove to a local police station with the robber's body in the backseat.

In early 1987, imprisoned Colombo boss Carmine Persico ordered Cacace to kill federal prosecutors William Aronwald and Rudy Giuliani. Persico believed that Aronwald, who had helped prosecute Persico, had been disrespectful to the Cosa Nostra. Killing a prosecutor was normally forbidden in Cosa Nostra tradition, but Persico wanted him murdered anyway. Cacace arranged for brothers Vincent and Eddie Carnini to murder Aronwald. Cacace gave the two hit men a piece of paper with the name Aronwald on it. However, Aronwald's father, George Aronwald, was an administrative law judge and shared his son's office; the gunmen thought he was the target. On March 20, 1987, the Carinis shot and killed George Aronwald Senior in a laundromat near his home.

Furious at the Aronwald murder, the heads of the other New York "Five Families" demanded that the Colombos kill the Carnini Brothers. An enraged Cacace recruited Lucchese crime family member Carmine Variale and Bonanno crime family associate Frank Santora to eliminate the Carninis. In June 1987, both Carnini brothers were found dead in the back seats of their cars in Brooklyn. Concerned about the loyalty of his assassins, Cacace decided to murder them also. At the Carninis' funeral, Cacace allegedly pointed out Variale and Santora to a second pair of hitmen. In September 1987, Variale and Santora were murdered outside a Brooklyn social club in broad daylight. This extraordinary caution helped to temporarily conceal Cacace's involvement in the Aronwald murder.