The Disgraceful Legacy of "Fat" and "Skinny": NYPD Detectives Turned Mafia Hitmen
Lou Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa were highly decorated NYPD detectives who for years, hid a dark secret. Their involvement in several high-profile mafia murders would eventually come to light
In January 1993, after nearly three years on the run, Lucchese crime family underboss Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso was located and arrested at a home in Budd Lake, New Jersey. The wily mobster had gone on the run to escape numerous racketeering indictments.
While languishing in the Brooklyn federal courthouse, Casso made a decision that would not have seemed possible to those who knew him: He had decided to cooperate.
This was a shocking turn of events. Casso hated rats - he killed rats - and yet, he had come to the realization that this was the only thing that could prevent him from spending the rest of his days in federal prison.
When Casso got word to the agents who had arrested him in New Jersey, he made known his intention to cooperate. Just as shocked as anyone, the agents asked him to repeat himself, wanting to be certain they had heard Casso correctly.
Casso was given a proffer agreement, meaning that he would divulge all of his criminal activity, and the government would agree not to charge him for the crimes, provided he remained truthful.
As the agents listened to Casso spill his guts, one of the things that immediately got their attention was when Casso informed them that he had two NYPD detectives on his payroll, who had fed him information, given names and addresses of informants, and even kidnapped and murdered people on Casso’s orders.
Since Casso had used a middleman as the go-between for himself and the detectives, he did not know their names. Casso simply referred to them as “Fat” and “Skinny.”
“Fat” and “Skinny”
Based upon his upbringing and family, it seemed highly unusual that Lou Eppolito would become a cop. His father Ralph was a Gambino enforcer and his uncle “Jimmy the Clam” Eppolito was a powerful Gambino captain who was eventually murdered by Roy DeMeo and Nino Gaggi.
Eppolito grew up in Brooklyn under the shadow of the mafia. Whatever his reasons were, Eppolito chose not to follow his family into the mob, and instead went the opposite way, applying to join the NYPD in 1969.
Notably, when asked if he had family members involved in organized crime, Eppolito claimed he did not.
Eppolito excelled at police work and became one of the most highly decorated detectives in NYPD history. He received dozens of awards and commendations including for bravery and excellence in the line of duty. In 1977, he was made a detective.
Even with all he had accomplished, Eppolito continually felt that he was being judged by others within the department based upon his family members. An incident in 1983 would only exacerbate Eppolito’s feelings and confirm the suspicions of many.
In 1983, Eppolito was accused of passing police intelligence to a Gambino family soldier. Eppolito was suspended without pay while the investigation commenced. In 1984, he was cleared of any wrongdoing and returned to duty.
Detective Eppolito retired from the NYPD in 1990. Following his retirement, he pursued a career in acting after a chance encounter with Joe Pesci. He played bit parts in more than a dozen films, including a memorable scene in Martin Scorsese’s gangster classic “Goodfellas.”
Eppolito was described by some as loud and boisterous with a brash attitude. He often regaled those he met with stories of his days as a detective and later as an actor. In 1992, Eppolito wrote an autobiography titled: “Mafia Cop: The Story of an Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob.”
This decision would later come back to haunt him.
In many ways, Eppolito’s partner in the NYPD’s Organized Crime Unit Stephen Caracappa or “Skinny” as Casso knew him was a contrast to Eppolito. While Eppolito had once been a bodybuilder and now had a large belly, Caracappa was tall and slender. He also came across as more reserved and serious than Eppolito.
In 1992, Caracappa followed his former partner into retirement and went on to become a private investigator and later worked as a corrections officer at a women’s facility in Las Vegas.
“War with the Gambinos”
On December 16, 1985, Gambino family boss Paul Castellano and his driver were famously gunned down in front of Sparks Steakhouse in midtown Manhattan. It was an audacious hit done in front of hundreds of tourists and Christmas shoppers.
The coup was planned by John Gotti, Frank DeCicco, Sammy “The Bull” Gravano, and others. Gotti had seized power, and those who had helped him would have a seat in his administration.
This act was one of the most egregious sins in Cosa Nostra. Committing any unsanctioned murder is strictly forbidden, much less the killing of a boss. The conspirators had acted independently of the Commission, the mafia’s governing body made up of the heads of the five families.
Many in Cosa Nostra were outraged by the brazen act. In particular, the Genevese and Lucchese families were anxious to exact punishment on the men responsible for Big Paul’s murder. After several sitdowns, it was agreed that action would be taken.
The contract fell to Anthony Casso, by then a rising star in the Lucchese family. Casso stalked Gotti for weeks, however there was never an opportune time to strike. Gotti always seemed to be surrounded by the press or the cops.
Finally, in April 1986, Casso received information that Gotti would be attending a meeting in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. On April 13, the day of the meeting, Casso arrived early accompanied by a Genovese family explosives expert named Herbert Pate.
A bomb was placed under Frank DeCicco’s car. The bomb was operated by a handheld remote. As DeCicco and another man exited the club and headed towards Frank’s car, Casso and Pate prepared themselves.
As DeCicco and the man who they believed to be John Gotti entered DeCicco’s car, the bomb detonated, killing DeCicco instantly, and severely wounding his companion who turned out to be a Gambino soldier who somewhat resembled Gotti.
Unbeknownst to Casso and Pate, Gotti had canceled his meeting earlier that day. Although they had missed their primary target, DeCicco was their number two target as he was a very powerful and well-respected gangster and had been promoted to Gambino family underboss.
The decision to use a car bomb was a matter of misdirection. Since the American mafia rarely ever used bombs because of the collateral damage involved, the Sicilian mafia has no such apprehensions, and therefore Casso chose this method to keep the Gambinos off his scent.
Payback
Despite his best efforts to cover his tracks, word of Casso’s involvement in the murder of Frank DeCicco reached John Gotti. Prior to all of this, Casso and Gotti had been friendly and socialized on occasion. However, that meant little in the treacherous world of Cosa Nostra.
Plans were made, and a hit team was contracted to kill Casso. For weeks, the team tried unsuccessfully to locate and kill Casso. Finally, on the evening of September 14, 1986, they learned that Casso would be meeting with a Gambino associate to discuss business in the parking lot of a restaurant called The Golden Ox.
As Casso waited, suddenly a dark car pulled right up parallel to his, and the car’s occupants suddenly began unloading bullets into Casso’s car.
Casso was hit but managed to roll under the passenger seat and exit the car. As he ran zig-zagging through the parking lot, the gunmen fired after him, hitting him several more times.
A bloodied and frantic Casso then ran into the Golden Ox restaurant startling both patrons and staff. He made his way to the restaurant’s lower level near the exit and waited until it was safe to leave.
When he was questioned by police about the shooting, Casso told them that he had been a victim of a robbery, and as much as he would like to help them, he just never got a good look at their faces.
Abduction of Jimmy Heydell
Casso was determined to find out who was responsible for his shooting and why. Before long, word on the street reached Casso that one of the men responsible for his shooting was a low-level thug named Jimmy Heydell.
Casso planned to thoroughly interrogate Hydell to find out what he knew. But first, he had to find him. Casso decided to use “Fat” and “Skinny” to find Hydell and deliver him to Casso.
Casso sent word through his middleman, Burt Kaplan, that he wanted Hydell located. At first Eppolito and Caracappa offered to kill Hydell themselves. Casso though, had other plans. He wanted Hydell brought to him alive.
Eppolito and Caracappa drove the streets searching for Hydell. They drove by his mother’s house as well as his known haunts. Eventually, the two detectives located Hydell in a Brooklyn laundromat. They showed him their badges and ordered Hydell to come with them.
Hydell was handcuffed and placed in the back of their unmarked car. Instead of taking him to the police station, the two detectives drove Hydell to a garage. They told him to get out of the car and ordered him to get into the trunk.
Hydell knew he was in big trouble.
Eppolito and Caracappa then drove the car to a Toys R Us parking lot in Mill Basin, Brooklyn, where Anthony Casso was eagerly waiting. The detectives then handed over the car to Casso, with Hydell still in the trunk.
Interrogation
Casso then drove the car to a stash house he had in Mill Basin. Over the course of nearly two days, Hydell was subjected to brutal torture and beatings at the hands of Casso as he demanded to know who had paid him and who else was involved.
Hydell told Casso that a Gambino captain named Angelo “Quack Quack” Ruggiero had hired Hydell to kill Casso. He also gave Casso the names of the other men involved in his shooting.
Once Casso was thoroughly satisfied with the information Hydell provided, he finally put him out of his misery by shooting him to death. Hydell’s body was then picked up by Lucchese associates and disposed of.
Revenge
After Hydell’s murder, Casso continued his campaign of revenge. First he murdered “Fat Vinny” the Gambino member he had met with on the night of his shooting. Casso believed that Vinny had set him up and lured him into the trap.
Casso then turned once again to Eppolito and Caracappa to help him locate another man who was involved in Casso’s shooting. Casso had learned from Hydell that one of the men involved was named Nicky Guido.
Casso had the detectives run his name to find his address. However, Caracappa would make a grave error. He located the address of Guido, however, it was not the right man.
Tragically, on Christmas Day 1986, an innocent man named Nicky Guido was gunned down outside of his Brooklyn home while showing his uncle his new car. Guido had nothing to do with organized crime and simply had the misfortune of sharing the same name as one of the men who attempted to kill Anthony Casso.
Because of the information gained directly through Caracappa, an innocent man had been murdered outside his home in front of his family on Christmas Day.
Eddie Lino Hit
Eppolito and Caracappa were already on Casso’s payroll for $4,000 a month. But now, he was going to offer them $75,000 to do a special hit for him.
Casso was still intent on exacting revenge on Gotti and the Gambinos. If he couldn’t get to Gotti directly, then he would go after those around him.
The target he chose was a feared Gambino captain named Eddie Lino. Lino was a violent and capable killer and, therefore, a valuable asset to Gotti.
Casso once again met Eppolito and Caracappa in the Toys R Us parking lot, where Casso provided them with an unmarked police model vehicle and two handguns.
The detectives stalked Lino and finally made their move in the fall of 1990. They followed Lino’s car onto the Belt Parkway, and as they pulled up alongside him, they motioned for him to pull over.
Lino did as he was instructed, and pulled off onto the service road. Caracappa got out of the car and approached Lino, as Lino was searching for his paperwork, Carcappa shot him multiple times, killing him.
This hit was a case of Casso flexing his muscles. He had crooked FBI agents on his payroll as well as Nassau and Suffolk county detectives. However, his two NYPD detectives were his most valuable assets.
Not only were they willing to give Casso any police intelligence he requested, but they also provided him with the names and addresses of confidential informants, and members of his own crime family who were secretly cooperating.
In addition to all of that, they had demonstrated that they were perfectly willing to get their hands bloody and murder people on Casso’s orders.
On the Run
1990, the year Eddie Lino was murdered was a significant year. It was the year that Lou Eppolito retired from the NYPD. It was also the year Anthony Casso went on the run to avoid numerous racketeering indictments.
In January of 1993, Casso was located and captured while hiding out in a house in Budd Lake, New Jersey. Not long after his arrest, while locked up in the Brooklyn Federal Building, Casso made the shocking decision to cooperate.
Casso knew that his knowledge of the “Mafia Cops” as they would come to be known, would greatly interest prosecutors and could potentially be his ace in the hole. Casso agreed to throw the two detectives under the bus to try and save himself.
However, after many hours and days of debriefing, the U.S. Attorney’s and other law enforcement agencies agreed that Casso was too unreliable and would not come across as truthful to a jury.
The government rescinded its offer to Casso, and he would end up serving the rest of his life in federal prison, passing away in 2020.
Justice Finally Served
Though law enforcement was now aware of Eppolito and Caracappa based on Casso’s information, there would not be any serious investigation into the pair until a decade later. Prosecutors were more concerned with mafia-related headlines than rooting out potentially dirty cops.
By then, both Eppolito and Caracappa had retired to Las Vegas and were neighbors. In 1992, Eppolito wrote his book “Mafia Cop: The Story of an Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob”
Eppolito appeared on the Sally Jessy Raphael Show while promoting the book. It just so happened that Jimmy Heydell’s mother was watching the show that day and recognized Eppolito as one of the detectives who had been by her house looking for her son Jimmy.
She quickly rushed out and bought a copy of the book where she saw a picture of both Eppolito and Caracappa sitting at a desk. She immediately recognized Caracappa as the other detective she had seen at her home.
She then relayed this information to an NYPD detective named Tommy Dades. After listening to her story, Dades began to investigate the case, and what he found disturbed him.
Dades then reached out to some colleagues that he trusted and the investigation began in earnest.
Investigators helped put the pieces together, but ultimately the case was won on the testimony of Burt Kaplan.
Kaplan, an old-school mobster was one of the last people the feds expected to cooperate.
Kaplan had been the liaison between Casso and the detectives, and he was able to fill in the blanks and provide dates and locations for crimes that were later corroborated. Kapplan’s accounts were vetted and verified, and his cooperation ultimately sunk the “Mafia Cops.”
Eppolito and Caracappa were hit with a litany of charges including eight murders.
In 2009, Eppolito and Caracappa were found guilty and each received a life sentence plus additional time. They each received hefty fines.
The city of New York ended up paying out more than $18 million dollars to the families of Eppolito and Caracappa’s victims.
In 2017, Stephen Caracappa died in federal prison in North Carolina. In 2019, Lou Eppolito died in federal prison in Tucson, Arizona.
Legacy
Over the years, the NYPD has had its fair share of scandals, from Frank Serpico exposing corruption in the 1970s, to NYPD officers robbing drug dealers. Yet the legacy of Lou Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa remains the most egregious betrayal of the badge and public trust.
For years, they acted with impunity, murdering at the behest of a violent mobster. Ironically, they would have likely gotten away with their crimes had Eppolito not felt the need to write his book and thumb his nose at the family members of the men he and his partner killed.
Sources:
Carlo, Philip. “Gaspipe: Confessions of a Mafia Boss.” Harper, 2009, https://www.amazon.com/Gaspipe-Confessions-Mafia-Philip-Carlo/dp/0061429856
Smith, Greg B. “Mob Cops: The Shocking Rise and Fall of New York’s “Mafia Cops.” Berkley, 2006, https://www.amazon.com/Mob-Cops-Shocking-Yorks-Mafia/dp/1721343156
“The Mafia Cops doing mob hits part # 2.” Youtube, Uploaded by Police off the Cuff, 23 March 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xYUduBmOsI