Dominick Trinchera
Encyclopedia
Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera (December 20, 1936 Rockland, New York
- May 5, 1981 Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
) was a Bonanno crime family
capo who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Phillip Giaccone for planning the overthrow of aspiring Bonanno boss Phillip Rastelli.
except that he was made a capo
in 1979 following the murder of boss Carmine Galante
. He never learned fully how to speak the English language, and only spoke broken English-Italian his entire life. Trinchera controlled businesses in New Jersey
, Brooklyn
and Queens
. He also owned a legitimate transport truck shipping firm which he sold in 1981, several weeks before his death, for $2.5 million.
On July 12, 1979 Trinchera, Giaccone, and Indelicato murdered Bonanno acting boss Carmine Galante
at an Italian-American restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn
along with his bodyguard
and restaurant owner. It is suspected that the heads of the other New York families arranged Galante's death; they supposedly viewed Galante's greed and ambition as a threat to all their interests. After the Galante murder, a fight for control of the family started. On one side was mobster Rastelli, on the other side were capos Trinchera, Giaconne, and Indelicato. In May 1981, Dominick Napolitano ordered mobster Donnie Brasco, who was actually undercover FBI agent Joseph Pistone, to murder Anthony (Bruno) Indelicato in Miami, Florida
. However, the contract was called off. Rastelli loyalist Dominick Napolitano wanted to kill Trinchera, Giaccone, and Indelicato at the same time so as to destroy the opposition to Rastelli.
went to a peace meeting with the Rastelli faction at the 20/20 Night Club in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
. Bonanno mobster Gerlando Sciascia
met the men at the club and escorted them to a store room where Joseph Massino and other Bonanno gunmen were waiting to ambush them. As the men entered the room, Sciasca brushed his hand through his hair, giving Massino the prearranged signal. The gunmen rushed out and told the mobsters that it was a "stickup".
As the guns were drawn, Sciascia, who had been walking arm and arm with Trinchera (a sign of mob civility), punched the massive capo. Trinchera then charged at the gunmen screaming, but took a shotgun
blast to the torso
and crumpled dead to the floor. Lino leapt over Trinchera' body, ran past Salvatore Vitale
at the front door and fled the nightclub
. The three capos were unarmed, as was the rule when attending a peace meeting.
Mobster Benjamin Ruggiero
later described the disposal of Trinchera's body;
"I couldn't move him. But Boobie could, referring to Bonanno street soldier John Cersani. According to Ruggiero, there ...were little pieces of him lying around from the shotgun (blast). Boobie got blood all over him trying to pick him up.... They cut him up and put him in green plastic garbage
bags. I never saw anything like that in my life Donnie. Big Trin, was so huge. When that shotgun
blast hit him, about fifty pounds of his stomach
just went flying."
Trinchera's body was moved out the club front door into a Ford Econoline van and driven to a lot in Lindenwood, Queens
, where Gambino crime family
mobsters John Gotti
and Gene Gotti
arranged the burial. In December 2004, after some children discovered a body in the Lindenwood lot, FBI agents excavated the property and discovered the bodies of the three capos.
The judge also read a letter by Laura Trinchera: "As for Mr. Massino, he had the opportunity to see his family grow. He took that away from us." When the verdicts were read, some Trinchera family members clapped. "I'm happy I was here to support his mandatory life sentence," said Donna Trinchera. "I think he's a disgrace."
, the Three Capos murder was changed a little. Sonny Red
, Lucky Philly and Big Trin pass by the latter's house to pick up some weapons. They go down to the basement where Big Trin switches on the light to see Sonny Black
, Lefty Guns, Boobie and another henchman armed with shotguns. Sonny Black fires a shot that hits Big Trin in the side of his stomach, Lefty Guns shoots Sonny Red in the arm, then Sonny Black, Lefty Guns and Boobie gun down Lucky Philly who dies instantly.
An injured Sonny Red is shot in the leg by the fourth henchman while Big Trin gets up and charges screaming for Sonny Black. He takes another blast but topples onto Sonny Black, crushing him under his 300 pound body. He is still alive and squirming until Lefty hews his spine with an axe while Sonny Red is ultimately shot in the head by the fourth henchman. Trinchera was portrayed in the movie by George Angelica.
Rockland, New York
Rockland is a town in the northern part of Sullivan County, New York, United States. At the 2000 census, the population was 3,913.- History :The town, like most of this part of New York, was part of the Hardenburgh Patent...
- May 5, 1981 Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
Dyker Heights is a residential neighborhood in the southwest corner of the Borough of Brooklyn in New York City, USA. It is sandwiched among Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Gravesend Bay. According to the Post Office, Dyker Heights is bounded to the west by Interstate 278, to the north by Bay Ridge...
) was a Bonanno crime family
Bonanno crime family
The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia ....
capo who was murdered with Alphonse Indelicato and Phillip Giaccone for planning the overthrow of aspiring Bonanno boss Phillip Rastelli.
Biography
Born in Rockland, New York, Trinchera was the son of an immigrant from Rome, Italy and an American woman from Naples, Italy. He weighed 350 pounds, Trinchera eventually was married to a woman named Donna and fathered several children, including a daughter Laura. It is unknown when Trinchera actually became a made manMade man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
except that he was made a capo
Caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
in 1979 following the murder of boss Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
. He never learned fully how to speak the English language, and only spoke broken English-Italian his entire life. Trinchera controlled businesses in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
. He also owned a legitimate transport truck shipping firm which he sold in 1981, several weeks before his death, for $2.5 million.
On July 12, 1979 Trinchera, Giaccone, and Indelicato murdered Bonanno acting boss Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante
Carmine Galante, also known as "Lilo" and "Cigar" was a mobster and acting boss of the Bonanno crime family...
at an Italian-American restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood, formerly Brooklyn's 18th Ward, is now part of Brooklyn Community Board 4...
along with his bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
and restaurant owner. It is suspected that the heads of the other New York families arranged Galante's death; they supposedly viewed Galante's greed and ambition as a threat to all their interests. After the Galante murder, a fight for control of the family started. On one side was mobster Rastelli, on the other side were capos Trinchera, Giaconne, and Indelicato. In May 1981, Dominick Napolitano ordered mobster Donnie Brasco, who was actually undercover FBI agent Joseph Pistone, to murder Anthony (Bruno) Indelicato in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
. However, the contract was called off. Rastelli loyalist Dominick Napolitano wanted to kill Trinchera, Giaccone, and Indelicato at the same time so as to destroy the opposition to Rastelli.
The three capos murder
On May 5, 1981 Trinchera, Indelicato, Giaccone, and Bonanno mobster Frank LinoFrank Lino
Frank "Curly" Lino is a Sicilian-American caporegime in the Bonanno crime family who later became an informant.-Biography:...
went to a peace meeting with the Rastelli faction at the 20/20 Night Club in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights...
. Bonanno mobster Gerlando Sciascia
Gerlando Sciascia
Gerlando Sciascia , also known as "George from Canada", was a New York mobster and a caporegime for the Bonanno crime family, also the Sixth family's Rep for New York, who was a major narcotics trafficker in Canada.-Background:...
met the men at the club and escorted them to a store room where Joseph Massino and other Bonanno gunmen were waiting to ambush them. As the men entered the room, Sciasca brushed his hand through his hair, giving Massino the prearranged signal. The gunmen rushed out and told the mobsters that it was a "stickup".
As the guns were drawn, Sciascia, who had been walking arm and arm with Trinchera (a sign of mob civility), punched the massive capo. Trinchera then charged at the gunmen screaming, but took a shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
blast to the torso
Torso
Trunk or torso is an anatomical term for the central part of the many animal bodies from which extend the neck and limbs. The trunk includes the thorax and abdomen.-Major organs:...
and crumpled dead to the floor. Lino leapt over Trinchera' body, ran past Salvatore Vitale
Salvatore Vitale
Salvatore "Good Looking Sal" Vitale was a New York City caterer and former underboss of the Bonanno crime family of La Cosa Nostra before becoming a government informant.-Biography:...
at the front door and fled the nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
. The three capos were unarmed, as was the rule when attending a peace meeting.
Mobster Benjamin Ruggiero
Benjamin Ruggiero
Benjamin Ruggiero, also known as "Lefty," "Lefty Guns," "Lefty Two Guns" , was a soldier in the Bonanno crime family. He is well known for his friendship and mentorship of FBI undercover agent Joseph "Donnie Brasco" Pistone. Ruggiero was an old school Cosa Nostra mobster who knew how Mafia...
later described the disposal of Trinchera's body;
"I couldn't move him. But Boobie could, referring to Bonanno street soldier John Cersani. According to Ruggiero, there ...were little pieces of him lying around from the shotgun (blast). Boobie got blood all over him trying to pick him up.... They cut him up and put him in green plastic garbage
Waste
Waste is unwanted or useless materials. In biology, waste is any of the many unwanted substances or toxins that are expelled from living organisms, metabolic waste; such as urea, sweat or feces. Litter is waste which has been disposed of improperly...
bags. I never saw anything like that in my life Donnie. Big Trin, was so huge. When that shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
blast hit him, about fifty pounds of his stomach
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
just went flying."
Trinchera's body was moved out the club front door into a Ford Econoline van and driven to a lot in Lindenwood, Queens
Lindenwood, Queens
Lindenwood is a section of Howard Beach, Queens, New York. This middle class area was developed in the 1950s and 1960s and sits on landfilled land...
, where Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
mobsters John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
and Gene Gotti
Gene Gotti
Eugene Gotti is a New York mobster with the Gambino crime family who was a major drug trafficker.-Background:Born to John and Fannie Gotti, Gene has four brothers: deceased Gambino boss John Gotti, Peter Gotti, capo Richard V. Gotti, and soldier Vincent Gotti...
arranged the burial. In December 2004, after some children discovered a body in the Lindenwood lot, FBI agents excavated the property and discovered the bodies of the three capos.
Aftermath
In June, 2005, Massino pleaded guilty in the Trinchera murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Before pronouncing the sentence, Judge Garaufis made these remarks:
"The activities, ritualRitualA ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
s and personalities of the world of organized crime have been deeply romanticized in the popular mediaMass mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
over the past 30 years. However, this trial, like so many trials before it, has portrayed the true nature of organized crime."
The judge also read a letter by Laura Trinchera: "As for Mr. Massino, he had the opportunity to see his family grow. He took that away from us." When the verdicts were read, some Trinchera family members clapped. "I'm happy I was here to support his mandatory life sentence," said Donna Trinchera. "I think he's a disgrace."
Popular culture
In the film Donnie BrascoDonnie Brasco (film)
Donnie Brasco is a 1997 crime drama film directed by Mike Newell, starring Al Pacino, Johnny Depp and Michael Madsen. It is loosely based on the real-life events of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family, one of the Mafia's Five Families based in New York City...
, the Three Capos murder was changed a little. Sonny Red
Sonny Red
Sonny Red was an American alto saxophonist associated with the hard bop idiom among other styles...
, Lucky Philly and Big Trin pass by the latter's house to pick up some weapons. They go down to the basement where Big Trin switches on the light to see Sonny Black
Sonny Black
Sonny Black is a leading acoustic guitarist based in the UK, who plays blues, rags and original compositions usually fingerstyle or slide. "Sonny Black" is a pseudonym adopted when he began the first "Sonny Black's Blues Band"...
, Lefty Guns, Boobie and another henchman armed with shotguns. Sonny Black fires a shot that hits Big Trin in the side of his stomach, Lefty Guns shoots Sonny Red in the arm, then Sonny Black, Lefty Guns and Boobie gun down Lucky Philly who dies instantly.
An injured Sonny Red is shot in the leg by the fourth henchman while Big Trin gets up and charges screaming for Sonny Black. He takes another blast but topples onto Sonny Black, crushing him under his 300 pound body. He is still alive and squirming until Lefty hews his spine with an axe while Sonny Red is ultimately shot in the head by the fourth henchman. Trinchera was portrayed in the movie by George Angelica.