Paul Vario

Paul Frank "Paulie" Vario
Mug shot of Paul Vario
Born	(1914-07-09)July 9, 1914 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	May 3, 1988(1988-05-03) (aged 73) Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Worth Tarrant County, Texas
Nationality	American
Known for	Lucchese crime family

Paul Frank "Paulie" Vario (July 9, 1914 – May 3, 1988) was a caporegime, a made man in the American Mafia.

He was portrayed as Paul Cicero in the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas.

Paul Vario was born in New York City, where he later became a member of the Lucchese Crime Family. In 1925, at age eleven, Vario was sentenced to seven months in juvenile detention for truancy.

Nicknamed "Paulie," Vario stood six foot three and weighed 250 pounds. He was deceptively strong despite his girth. He had an aura of menace and would intimidate underlings and enemies just by his sheer size. During his adult years, Vario was arrested for loan-sharking, burglary, tax evasion, bribery, bookmaking, contempt of court and assault.

Vario allegedly had a very violent temper. One night Vario took his wife, Phyllis, out to dinner. While they were sitting at the table, the maitre d' accidentally poured wine on Phyllis' dress, then tried to dry it with a dirty rag. An enraged Vario hit the maitre d' twice and chased him to the kitchen. The maitre d' and several waiters with knives and heavy pans blocked the door. Later that evening, Vario sent two carloads of men armed with baseball bats and pipes to assault the waiters after the restaurant closed.

Vario's associate Henry Hill claimed that Vario severely beat a female bar server at her apartment with a baseball bat. The woman had allegedly informed Phyllis that she and Vario were having an affair.

In the early 1970s, Vario was "membership director" for Colombo crime family boss Joe Colombo's Italian-American Civil Rights League. However, he rescinded his membership and withdrew all support when it became apparent that the relentless accusations Colombo was making against the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. government and anti-Italian discrimination were attracting attention, which could easily divert from Colombo and his supporters' politics and into their criminal behavior.