The Last Casualty: Mobster "Wild Bill" Cutolo and the Third Colombo War
In 1999, Colombo family underboss William "Wild Bill" Cutolo was set up and murdered by rivals within the crime family. In many ways, he was the final casualty of a bloody war that ended years earlier
Background
On October 6, 2008, the remains of Colombo crime family underboss William “Wild Bill” Cutolo were unearthed in a field in Farmingdale, New York. Cutolo, a well-respected gangster, was last seen on May 26, 1999, when he was scheduled to meet with acting family boss Alphonse “Allie Boy” Persico.
Although Persio and another man, powerful Colombo mobster John “Jackie” DeRoss, had already been convicted in December 2007 of ordering Cutolo’s murder, the discovery of Wild Bill’s burial site and the recovery of his remains were the final pieces of the puzzle surrounding the betrayal and murder of a mob heavyweight.
Third Colombo War
In many ways, Bill Cutolo was the final casualty of the Third Colombo War. Though open warfare ended in 1993, animosity and mistrust between the two sides lingered.
The Colombo family, which were no strangers to internal family strife, had already been through civil wars in the early 1960s and 1970s. Both of the prior conflicts had involved a rogue faction of the family led by the Gallo brothers.
The Third Colombo War erupted in 1991, when the acting street boss Victor “Vic” Orena refused to abdicate his position to Alphonse “Allie Boy” Persico, son of imprisoned family boss Carmine “Junior” Persico. Junior, who was serving life in prison, had originally selected Orena as a placeholder until Allie Boy, who was serving a prison sentence for racketeering, would be released and succeed Junior as boss of the family.
Orena, however, had no intention of resigning his position, and he secretly polled the family's captains to see how many would prefer him as boss over Allie Boy. The family’s consigliere, Carmine Sessa, got word back to Junior, who then ordered Orena’s murder.
On June 20, 1991, Orena arrived home early to his Long Island residence and noticed a car with several Colombo men inside -including Carmine Sessa- parked near his home. Orena managed to drive off, narrowly avoiding the attempted hit.
After that, Orena ordered the murders of Sessa and other Persico loyalists. As the Colombos devolved into open warfare, the split within the family caused its members to have to choose a side. While many hardliners remained loyal to the Persicos, others aligned themselves with Orena.
Among those loyal to Orena was Bill Cutolo, a charismatic and respected captain. Cutolo and his crew, which contained many enforcers and triggermen, were heavily involved in the war and are alleged to have been responsible for several of the shootings and murders that occurred.
Wild Bill
As mentioned, Cutolo and his crew were central figures in the deadly mob war, and though several sources claim there were more than a dozen attempts on his life, the Brooklyn-based gangster emerged from the war unscathed.
In December 1992, Vic Orena was convicted on racketeering charges and sent to prison for life. Shortly after that, the war ended, with Persico maintaining control of the family.
However, the war had been devastating to the Colombo family, with at least a dozen murders and more than 60 members on both sides facing arrests or indictments. Included in these arrests were Wild Bill and six members of his crew, who were arrested in early 1993 on racketeering and murder charges.
In 1994, all seven defendants were acquitted after it was learned that much of the evidence used against them had come from Greg Scarpa, a feared Colombo captain and enforcer who had fought on behalf of the Persicos.
Following Scarpa’s death, it was revealed that he had been an informant for the FBI and that his handler, Lindey DeVecchio, had fed Scarpa information about his rivals that had directly led to their deaths. These revelations were an embarrassment and a disaster for prosecutors and the government. As a result, many other defendants had their cases tossed out or their convictions overturned.
After their acquittals, Cutolo and his crew returned to the Colombo family, which was now firmly in the hands of Carmine Persico. In addition to his mob rackets, Cutolo was involved in labor unions and owned stakes in several legitimate businesses, including clubs and restaurants in New York and Florida.
He was also heavily involved in several charities. He was chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee for “Team Leukemia” and was involved in fundraising for leukemia research. He also paid for the annual holiday party at the National Children’s Leukemia Association in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Cutolo would dress up as Santa while his son, Bill Jr., would hand out gifts to children. In 1988, Cutolo was honored as the National Leukemia Association’s Man of the Year.
Cutolo, who was a Catholic, was also said to have attended mass regularly, and many members of his parish remembered him fondly. He also gained the respect of some within law enforcement who recalled that he acted with class and respect when dealing with them.
Betrayal and Murder
In early 1999, Allie Boy Persico was released from prison and assumed the role of acting boss of the family. In a gesture of peace, Cutolo was promoted to underboss of the family.
However, shortly after Allie Boy’s release, he was arrested on gun possession charges. Knowing that he would likely be returning to prison, he and his father became concerned that the charismatic and well-liked Cutolo could potentially wrest control of the family.
According to sources, on May 26, 1999, just days before his 50th birthday, Cutolo was summoned to a meeting with Allie Boy. Cutolo was dropped off at a park in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, where the meeting was set to take place. Shortly after that, he was picked up by three Colombo soldiers who told him the meeting was now going to take place in a house.
After arriving at the house, Cutolo was allegedly taken to the basement and murdered. His body was then wrapped up in a blue tarp and taken to a wooded area near an industrial park in Farmingdale.
Soon after the murder, Jackie DeRoss showed up at Cutolo’s home demanding his loanshark books as well as cash that he believed was hidden there. He was unable to find anything and warned Cutolo’s family not to discuss his disappearance with anyone.
Aftermath
In October 1999, Allie Boy Persico was hit with a new set of federal charges for racketeering, loansharking, and fraud. After completing his sentence for the weapons charges, Persico was sent to New York to face his new charges. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
In February 2002, Jackie DeRoss was convicted on a slew of charges, including racketeering-conspiracy, loansharking, extortion, embezzlement, and fraud. In 2004, while both were in prison, Persico and DeRoss were put on trial for the murder of Bill Cutolo.
The trial resulted in a hung jury, and in 2007, a second trial resulted in convictions for Persico and DeRoss for murder in aid of racketeering and witness tampering. Both men were sentenced to life in prison.
On March 7, 2019, Carmine Persico, who had been locked in federal prison since 1987, passed away at age 85.
Sources:
Scarpo, Ed. “Wild Bill, Colombo War’s Last Casualty.” Cosa Nostra News, 12 November 2012, https://www.cosanostranews.com/2012/10/wild-bills-daughters-mulled-whacking.html
Scarpo, Ed. “Members Of Colombo War Factions (1991-1993).” Cosa Nostra News, https://www.cosanostranews.com/p/members-of-colombo-war-factions-1991.html
“Colombo Organized Crime Family Acting Boss Alphonse T. Persico and Administration Member John J. Deross Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for the Murder of William “Wild Bill” Cutolo and Related Witness Tampering.” The United States Attorney’s Office, 27 February 2009, https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nye/pr/2009/2009feb27.html
Gambardello, Joseph A. & Hurtado, Patricia. “FBI Guilty: Jury finds feds fueled a mob war.” Newsday, 1 July 1995, https://www.newspapers.com/image/707261318/?match=1&terms=colombo%20family
Gambardello, Joseph A. “Colombo Family Has Bloody Past.” Newsday, 17 December 1991, https://www.newspapers.com/image/706380634/?match=1&terms=colombo%20family
Capeci, Jerry & Smith, Greg B. “Call them untouchable: Colombos rebuild on backs of 3 bigs.” Daily News, 4 September 1995, https://www.newspapers.com/image/407079776/?match=1&terms=colombo%20family
I am surprised that the mob bosses and high-ranking minions kept getting out of jail despite serious crimes: I knew the law was soft on the rich, but I didn't know it was soft on mobsters because of that.