Frederick DiNome
Encyclopedia
Frederick DiNome was a professional drag racer and a member of the DeMeo crew, headed by Gambino soldier Roy DeMeo
. He later became a government witness and testified against many Gambino crime family
members.
. His brother Richard worked for a chop shop
in Staten Island
stealing cars. DiNome followed him into organized crime and became a member of the DiMeo crew led by Roy DeMeo. Albert DeMeo described Frederick in For the Sins of My Father as, "...A husky guy about five feet, nine inches, a little shorter than my father, and every inch of him was covered in grease. He seemed to exude engine grease from his pores. Freddy had dirty blond hair, a lopsided nose, and tattoos covering both arms. His teeth were stained and crooked, and his fingernails were filthy. In his biography Albert DeMeo writes that his father had, "taken [Albert] by Freddy's house to play with Freddy's children while he and Freddy talked some business." He commented about Frederick's house, "The house was set on nearly two acres, and Freddy's backyard was like a Hot Wheels racetrack. He kept race cars and motorbikes there, and he promised that as soon as [Albert] was big enough, he'd let [him] ride on one of the bikes. He also had a basement filled to the brim with electronic equipment. Hundreds of televisions, VCRS, stereos covered his basement in stacks, still in their boxes." He was a fourth grade drop out. Roy DeMeo gave him cash to have the dental work repaired and to purchase a new wardrobe. He suffered from an undiagnosed case of dyslexia
which made him an outsider among the other children in the neighborhood. He was a close friend of fellow DeMeo crew mob associate Peter LaFroscia. He was involved in the murder of car thief and mob associate Joseph Scorney.
He was born and raised in the same neighborhood as Chris Rosenberg
, Anthony Senter
, Joseph Testa and Henry Borelli who would all later become associates in the crew of Roy DeMeo. He invested the money from his car theft operation and drag racing career and bought a gas station and an automobile body shop and repair business which he named "Broadway Freddy's Diagnostic Center". Although his car repair business was successful he was usually broke. He had borrowed money from his friend Roy DeMeo since 1971. He did not like working with fellow Gemini crew member Henry Borelli because Borelli had a laid back attitude, showed up late at his automotive center to steal cars and complained about his workload, stealing seven to ten cars a day. Car ring mob associate Abdullah Hassan later complained directly to Roy DeMeo that someone was stealing the radios from the cars before they were shipped off to Kuwait. Roy DeMeo would personally instruct and mentor Frederick in the Gemini way of human dismemberment following the murders of Khaled Daoud and Ronald Falcaro. Henry Borelli and Vito Arena who were present during the murders and assisted in the dismemberment would later state that in court they witnessed Frederick cut off Falcaro's genitalia and stick it in the mouth of his severed head.
In 1971 he was filing for divorce and fighting with his ex-wife over custody of his son and namesake, Frederick Jr. and needed $3,000 to pay off the gasoline supplier of his automotive center. He would later remarry in September 1977. Frederick associated with both the Lucchese crime family
's Clyde Brooks and Paul Vario
, but due to his reputation for being erratic and infantile, he was denied becoming a made man
. He moved to Long Island, New York and was granted full custody of his son.
DiNome's eccentricities that bothered many mobsters including owning a pet monkey that he housed at the garage named "Susie" who he trained to pump gas at his fueling station. He frequently smoked marijuana, but hid this from his friend Roy DeMeo who openly disapproved of any indulgence in illegal narcotics. He and Dominick Montiglio
acted as a chauffeur for Roy DeMeo, Anthony Gaggi
. Roy had him help out in transport truck hijackings from John F. Kennedy International Airport
. Although Freddy was never able to get his driver's license because of his dyslexia he was said to be a capable chauffeur because he never forgot where a certain address was after someone directed him to where it was. After moving to Long Island during a heated domestic dispute with a neighbor he snatched the neighbor's dog and decapitated it and then left it on the man's porch. He introduced Vito Arena into the DeMeo crew.
career in 1967. His racing pseudonym was "'Broadway Freddy' DeName." He raced almost exclusively on the East Coast
, at Madison Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, New Jersey
, Atco Raceway
, Atco, New Jersey
, New York National Speedway on Long Island
, New York, Lebanon Valley Speedway near West Lebanon, New York, New England Dragway near Epping, New Hampshire
, Maryland International Raceway at Budds Creek, Maryland
, and at Richmond International Raceway
in Henrico County, Virginia
. He raced some in Southern California
during the winter of 1968 or '69, notably at Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington (Long Beach). After he sold his fuel dragster
, DiNome switched to Funny Car
with a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
that ran at most twelve to fifteen races a season. After his Camaro, DiNome raced a 1972 Ford Mustang
, a Chevrolet Monza
and a 1976 Buick Skyhawk
that he called "Saturday Night Fever", the name taken from the movie starring John Travolta
. Frederick never won a major race. He competed once or twice at the NHRA Summernationals, the UHRA (United Hot Rod Association) Summer Nationals, the New England Funny Car
Nationals at New England Dragway and some of the Don Garlits' PRO (Professional Racers Organization) races of the mid-1970s. Except for the UHRA shows at New York National and the Epping race he never qualified for any of those races.
In 1976, his busiest season, he raced ten times: his first race was at the Cars Magazine event at Atco where he lost to Roy Harris driving Gus Wunsch's "Brutus" Mustang II. His last race was at the Lakeland International Raceway, now the USA International Raceway in Lakeland, Florida
for the Don Garlits
PRO race, where he did not qualify for entry with an 8.10-seconds run. His best run of the season was a 6.91, but at that time he had Harlon Thompson behind the wheel. Thompson drove two rounds before losing to Gary Burgin. He stayed on as an owner in 1977, with Thompson as the main driver.
In 1978, Thompson competed in just three events. In his first race in 1978 at an eight-car show at Englishtown, New Jersey, he ran a 6.69 which made him a runner-up to Jimmy King in the King & Marshall Chevrolet Monza
. Roy DeMeo, his cousin Joseph Guglielmo and Albert DeMeo attended his races.
After a near fatal car crash during one of his races, his drag racing career floundered before he finally gave it up for good to pursue a career in organized crime. Roy DeMeo, who was at the near fatal race in the stands, said about the horrifying incident, "I went to watch Freddy once and he crashed. He climbs out of the car and he's on fire. He looks like an astronaut who has crash landed. The firemen are hosing him down, but he looks up at me in the stands and begins to smile and wave like some kids were squirting him by the pool. Don't tell me Freddy is crazy. I know he is fucking nuts."
Roy DeMeo
Roy Albert DeMeo was a soldier in the Gambino crime family. He is infamous for heading the DeMeo crew, a gang suspected by the FBI of murdering at least 70 people between 1973 and 1983. The vast majority were disposed of so thoroughly that they were never found...
. He later became a government witness and testified against many 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...
members.
Biography
Frederick was one of three brothers born to Italian-American emigrants in Canarsie, BrooklynCanarsie, Brooklyn
Canarsie is a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City, United States. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18....
. His brother Richard worked for a chop shop
Chop shop
In motor vehicle theft, a chop shop is a location or business which disassembles stolen automobiles for the purpose of selling them as parts. It may also be used to refer to a location or business that is involved with the selling of stolen or fraudulent goods in general, an example of the latter...
in Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
stealing cars. DiNome followed him into organized crime and became a member of the DiMeo crew led by Roy DeMeo. Albert DeMeo described Frederick in For the Sins of My Father as, "...A husky guy about five feet, nine inches, a little shorter than my father, and every inch of him was covered in grease. He seemed to exude engine grease from his pores. Freddy had dirty blond hair, a lopsided nose, and tattoos covering both arms. His teeth were stained and crooked, and his fingernails were filthy. In his biography Albert DeMeo writes that his father had, "taken [Albert] by Freddy's house to play with Freddy's children while he and Freddy talked some business." He commented about Frederick's house, "The house was set on nearly two acres, and Freddy's backyard was like a Hot Wheels racetrack. He kept race cars and motorbikes there, and he promised that as soon as [Albert] was big enough, he'd let [him] ride on one of the bikes. He also had a basement filled to the brim with electronic equipment. Hundreds of televisions, VCRS, stereos covered his basement in stacks, still in their boxes." He was a fourth grade drop out. Roy DeMeo gave him cash to have the dental work repaired and to purchase a new wardrobe. He suffered from an undiagnosed case of dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
which made him an outsider among the other children in the neighborhood. He was a close friend of fellow DeMeo crew mob associate Peter LaFroscia. He was involved in the murder of car thief and mob associate Joseph Scorney.
He was born and raised in the same neighborhood as Chris Rosenberg
Chris Rosenberg
Harvey "Chris" Rosenberg was a Jewish-American member of the DeMeo crew run by Gambino crime family soldier Roy DeMeo. The gang is suspected of between 75–200 murders in the mid 1970s to the early 1980s...
, Anthony Senter
Anthony Senter
Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa, better known the Gemini twins are two mobsters in the Lucchese crime family. Senter and Testa are former members of the DeMeo crew in the Gambino crime family...
, Joseph Testa and Henry Borelli who would all later become associates in the crew of Roy DeMeo. He invested the money from his car theft operation and drag racing career and bought a gas station and an automobile body shop and repair business which he named "Broadway Freddy's Diagnostic Center". Although his car repair business was successful he was usually broke. He had borrowed money from his friend Roy DeMeo since 1971. He did not like working with fellow Gemini crew member Henry Borelli because Borelli had a laid back attitude, showed up late at his automotive center to steal cars and complained about his workload, stealing seven to ten cars a day. Car ring mob associate Abdullah Hassan later complained directly to Roy DeMeo that someone was stealing the radios from the cars before they were shipped off to Kuwait. Roy DeMeo would personally instruct and mentor Frederick in the Gemini way of human dismemberment following the murders of Khaled Daoud and Ronald Falcaro. Henry Borelli and Vito Arena who were present during the murders and assisted in the dismemberment would later state that in court they witnessed Frederick cut off Falcaro's genitalia and stick it in the mouth of his severed head.
In 1971 he was filing for divorce and fighting with his ex-wife over custody of his son and namesake, Frederick Jr. and needed $3,000 to pay off the gasoline supplier of his automotive center. He would later remarry in September 1977. Frederick associated with both the Lucchese crime family
Lucchese crime family
The Lucchese 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 family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
's Clyde Brooks and Paul Vario
Paul Vario
Paul Vario was a caporegime of a crew in the Lucchese crime family. In the 1970s Vario held the position of consigliere in the family but later resigned. In 1980, longtime associate Henry Hill became a government witness and testified against Vario and members of his crew...
, but due to his reputation for being erratic and infantile, he was denied becoming a made man
Made 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...
. He moved to Long Island, New York and was granted full custody of his son.
DiNome's eccentricities that bothered many mobsters including owning a pet monkey that he housed at the garage named "Susie" who he trained to pump gas at his fueling station. He frequently smoked marijuana, but hid this from his friend Roy DeMeo who openly disapproved of any indulgence in illegal narcotics. He and Dominick Montiglio
Dominick Montiglio
Dominick Montiglio is a former associate of the Gambino crime family. The nephew of Anthony 'Nino' Gaggi, who was a powerful and respected captain in the Gambino family, Dominick became a government witness in 1983 after being arrested for extortion and went on to testify in two Federal trials...
acted as a chauffeur for Roy DeMeo, Anthony Gaggi
Anthony Gaggi
Anthony "Antonino" "Nino" Frank Gaggi was a captain in the New York Gambino crime family who supervised the infamous DeMeo crew, headed by Roy DeMeo. It is estimated that the DeMeo crew murdered between 75 and 200 people....
. Roy had him help out in transport truck hijackings from John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
. Although Freddy was never able to get his driver's license because of his dyslexia he was said to be a capable chauffeur because he never forgot where a certain address was after someone directed him to where it was. After moving to Long Island during a heated domestic dispute with a neighbor he snatched the neighbor's dog and decapitated it and then left it on the man's porch. He introduced Vito Arena into the DeMeo crew.
Professional drag racing career
Freddy began his professional drag racingDrag racing
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete two at a time to be the first to cross a set finish line, from a standing start, in a straight line, over a measured distance, most commonly a ¼-mile straight track....
career in 1967. His racing pseudonym was "'Broadway Freddy' DeName." He raced almost exclusively on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, at Madison Township Raceway Park, Englishtown, New Jersey
Englishtown, New Jersey
Englishtown is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,847....
, Atco Raceway
Atco Raceway
Atco Raceway is a 1/4 mile drag strip located in Atco, New Jersey. Opened in 1960, it is the oldest drag strip in New Jersey. The track is also sanctioned by the NHRA, the largest sanctioning body in drag racing. Atco Raceway held over 265 events last year making it one of the busiest tracks in...
, Atco, New Jersey
Atco, New Jersey
Atco is an unincorporated area in Waterford Township in Camden County, New Jersey, United States, in the Philadelphia-Camden metropolitan area, located 16 miles southeast of Camden. The town is at the western edge of Wharton State Forest and the Pine Barrens. Atco is the home of the Atco Raceway,...
, New York National Speedway on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York, Lebanon Valley Speedway near West Lebanon, New York, New England Dragway near Epping, New Hampshire
Epping, New Hampshire
Epping is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,411 at the 2010 census. Epping includes the area known as Camp Hedding....
, Maryland International Raceway at Budds Creek, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, and at Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond International Raceway is a 3/4-mile , D-shaped, asphalt race track located just outside Richmond, Virginia in Henrico County. It hosts the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and Nationwide Series...
in Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He raced some in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
during the winter of 1968 or '69, notably at Lions Drag Strip in Wilmington (Long Beach). After he sold his fuel dragster
Dragster
Dragster may refer to*Dragster, a rock band of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal era.*Dragster, a video game released in 1980.*Dragster, a term referring to a custom-built vehicle used in drag racing....
, DiNome switched to Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
with a 1970 Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Camaro
The Chevrolet Camaro is an automobile manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand, classified as a pony car and some versions also as a muscle car. It went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed as a competing model to the Ford Mustang...
that ran at most twelve to fifteen races a season. After his Camaro, DiNome raced a 1972 Ford Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
, a Chevrolet Monza
Chevrolet Monza
The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1975–1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width and 140 CID inline-4 engine...
and a 1976 Buick Skyhawk
Buick Skyhawk
The Buick Skyhawk are automobiles produced by the Buick division of General Motors in two generations for the 1975 through 1989 model years. 1975 through 1980 models, all 2-door hatchbacks, were built on the subcompact, rear-wheel drive H-body platform...
that he called "Saturday Night Fever", the name taken from the movie starring John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
. Frederick never won a major race. He competed once or twice at the NHRA Summernationals, the UHRA (United Hot Rod Association) Summer Nationals, the New England Funny Car
Funny Car
Funny Car is a drag racing car class. In the United States, other "professional" classes are Top Fuel, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle. Funny cars have forward-mounted engines and carbon fiber automotive bodies over the chassis, giving them an appearance vaguely approximating manufacturers'...
Nationals at New England Dragway and some of the Don Garlits' PRO (Professional Racers Organization) races of the mid-1970s. Except for the UHRA shows at New York National and the Epping race he never qualified for any of those races.
In 1976, his busiest season, he raced ten times: his first race was at the Cars Magazine event at Atco where he lost to Roy Harris driving Gus Wunsch's "Brutus" Mustang II. His last race was at the Lakeland International Raceway, now the USA International Raceway in Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
for the Don Garlits
Don Garlits
Donald Glenn "Don" Garlits is considered the father of drag racing. He is known as "Big Daddy" to drag racing fans around the world. Always a pioneer in the field of drag-racing, he, with the help of T.C...
PRO race, where he did not qualify for entry with an 8.10-seconds run. His best run of the season was a 6.91, but at that time he had Harlon Thompson behind the wheel. Thompson drove two rounds before losing to Gary Burgin. He stayed on as an owner in 1977, with Thompson as the main driver.
In 1978, Thompson competed in just three events. In his first race in 1978 at an eight-car show at Englishtown, New Jersey, he ran a 6.69 which made him a runner-up to Jimmy King in the King & Marshall Chevrolet Monza
Chevrolet Monza
The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact, four-passenger automobile produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1975–1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width and 140 CID inline-4 engine...
. Roy DeMeo, his cousin Joseph Guglielmo and Albert DeMeo attended his races.
After a near fatal car crash during one of his races, his drag racing career floundered before he finally gave it up for good to pursue a career in organized crime. Roy DeMeo, who was at the near fatal race in the stands, said about the horrifying incident, "I went to watch Freddy once and he crashed. He climbs out of the car and he's on fire. He looks like an astronaut who has crash landed. The firemen are hosing him down, but he looks up at me in the stands and begins to smile and wave like some kids were squirting him by the pool. Don't tell me Freddy is crazy. I know he is fucking nuts."
Further reading
- For the Sins of My Father: A Mafia Killer, His Son and the Legacy of a Mob Life by Albert DeMeo
- Murder Machine by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci
External links
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9A0DE7DA1538F93AA25751C0A960948260
- http://www.dragracingonline.com/special/freddy_1.html "The Slow Burning Out Of 'Broadway Freddy'"