Matthew Ianniello
| Matthew Ianniello | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 18, 1920 Little Italy, Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 15, 2012 (aged 92) Old Westbury, New York, U.S. |
Matthew Joseph "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (June 18, 1920 – August 15, 2012) was a New York mobster with the Genovese crime family who was once the acting boss of the Genovese Crime Family. During the 1960s and 1970s, Ianniello controlled the lucrative adult entertainment business that was then centered in the Times Square section of Manhattan.
Matthew Ianniello was born in 1920 in Little Italy, Manhattan. He grew up in the Italian neighborhoods of New York.
Ianniello was married to Beatrice May and the couple had four children.
Ianiello allegedly got his nickname "Matty The Horse" in a youth baseball game. Ianiello was a gifted player with a hard swing. During one game, the opposing pitcher threw a hard pitch into the face of the batter. A fight erupted in which Ianiello knocked down the pitcher, who was older and taller than him. After this episode, someone remarked about Ianiello: "That boy is as strong as a horse."
In 1940, Ianniello started working for his uncle as a waiter in a restaurant in the Brooklyn dockyards. In 1942 or 1943, Ianniello enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in World War II. In 1945 Ianiello returned home as a decorated war veteran, having received a Purple Heart and a bronze star. He went back to work at his uncle's restaurant and by 1949 became partners with his uncle in a second restaurant, Matty's Towncrest Restaurant.
In 1951, Ianniello was arrested on charges of possessing heroin, but the charges were dropped.
In 1960, Ianniello became partners with Edward L. DeCurtis, a longtime associate, in running private afterhours drinking clubs for gay men. Ianniello would eventually own a string of clubs and nightclubs for both gay and straight men, including the Gilded Grape and the Hay Market.
In the 1960s, Ianniello joined the Genovese crime family, then run by imprisoned boss Vito Genovese. Ianniello's sponsor was mobster and future acting boss Frank Tieri.
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