Angelo "Gyp" DeCarlo (September 2, 1902 – October 20, 1973) was a member of theNew York CityGenovese crime family who dominatedloansharking operations inNew Jersey during the 1960s.^[1]

The subject of a two-year federal undercover operation, DeCarlo's conviction revealed widespread corruption of New Jersey public officials and tied singerFrank Sinatra to organized crime.

DeCarlo was born inHoboken, New Jersey on September 2, 1902 to Giuseppe DeCarlo and Annatonia Pantoliano, both immigrants fromMonte San Giacomo,Salerno,Campania. He represented Genovese family business interests in theNew Jersey underworld; he was an associate ofAbner "Longey" Zwillman andGerardo Catena. DeCarlo was an excellent cook; his specialty was friedpasta withanchovies. His wife died mysteriously after giving birth. He reportedly later married a woman named Frances Ryan and had two children. His arrest record includedincome tax evasion,breaking and entering,counterfeiting,robbery, and liquor law violations. DeCarlo owned the La Martinique Tavern inMountainside, New Jersey

Based in New Jersey, DeCarlo rose to the position ofcaporegime, or captain, of a crew. He achieved this promotion by gaining control over theloansharking, or "juice" racket,illegal gambling, and murder for hire. DeCarlo also systematically eliminated his rival mobsters during the late 1950s.^{[citation needed]}

Between 1961 and 1963, federal agents beganwire tapping conversations between DeCarlo and his mob associates. These wire taps revealed corruption among law enforcement, prominent businessmen and state officials includingNewark MayorHugh Addonizio and influentialHudson County politicianJohn J. Kenny. Both Addonizio's and Kenny's political careers ended after the wire transcripts were published. The transcripts also mentioned Sinatra. On one tape, DeCarlo discussed methods for committing murder; he described a so-called "humane" hit in which he shot a victim through the heart. According to DeCarlo, it was a painless way to die.^{[citation needed]}

In September 1968, DeCarlo and his men brutalized Louis Saperstein, who owed DeCarlo $400,000. Government witness and former mob associateGerald Zelmanowitz described an intense beating of Saperstein in DeCarlo's office due to a $5,000 monthly interest payment. Zelmanowitz said Saperstein was lying on the floor, looking purple, his tongue hanging out, and he was covered in blood and spit. On November 26, 1968, Saperstein died ofarsenic poisoning. That same day, the FBI received a letter from Saperstein that detailed his problems with DeCarlo.^[2] In March 1970, DeCarlo was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.^[3]

After DeCarlo served 18 months in prison, PresidentRichard Nixoncommuted his sentence to time served (two years of a 12-year sentence), ostensibly due to his poor health.^[4] DeCarlo himself claimed to be dying of cancer (which turned out 10 months later to be true). Disregarding the usual protocol,U.S. Attorney GeneralRichard Kleindienst approved the pardon request and sent it toWhite House CounselJohn Dean. Dean then delivered the request directly to Nixon. It was rumored that Vice PresidentSpiro Agnew, a personal friend of Frank Sinatra, persuaded Nixon to approve the request.^[5] SpecialWatergate ProsecutorArchibald Cox later investigated the DeCarlo pardon, but found no evidence of corruption.

In December 1972, DeCarlo was released from prison. He died, from cancer, inMountainside, New Jersey, on October 20, 1973.^[1] This was five days before a deadline to pay a $20,000 fine from his 1970 conviction. He was buried inGate of Heaven Cemetery inHawthorne, New York. The funeral was scheduled for the afternoon but was held in the morning because "the family just didn't want any more publicity."^[6]

DeCarlo is portrayed by actorChristopher Walken in the 2014 filmJersey Boys aboutFrankie Valli andthe Four Seasons. The writers ofJersey Boys,Marshall Brickman andRick Elice, claimed to have been called by relatives of DeCarlo insisting he be "shown in a favorable, respectful way."^[7]

• List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States

• Koenig, Rhoda (March 6, 2008)."Mob music: How the creators of the Jersey Boys got a call from the Mafia".The Independent. RetrievedMay 1, 2015.
• Clarke, Thurston and Tigue, John J. Jr.Dirty Money: Swiss Banks, the Mafia, Money Laundering, and White Collar Crime. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1975.ISBN 978-0-671-21965-9
• Kwitny, Jonathan.Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace. New York: W.W. Norton, 1979.ISBN 978-0-393-01188-3
• Volz, Joseph and Peter Bridge.The Mafia Talks. Greenwich, Connecticut: Fawcett, 1969.
• Zeiger, Henry A.The Jersey Mob. New York: New American Library, 1975.
• Kelly, Robert J.Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000.ISBN 978-0-313-30653-2
• Sifakis, Carl.The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005.ISBN 978-0-8160-5694-1
• Bureau of Narcotics, U.S. Treasury Department, "Mafia: the Government's Secret File on Organized Crime, HarperCollins Publishers 2007ISBN 0-06-136385-5

• 1902 births
• 1973 deaths
• American gangsters of Italian descent
• Genovese crime family
• Recipients of American presidential clemency
• People from Hoboken, New Jersey
• Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York)

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