25 Facts About Alphonse D'Arco

Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco was an American mobster who became the acting boss of the Lucchese crime family in New York City.

Alphonse D'Arco was the first boss, acting or otherwise, of a New York crime family to become a government witness.

In 1951, during the Korean War, Alphonse D'Arco served two years as a volunteer in the US Army.

One of his sons, Joseph Alphonse D'Arco, became a member of the Lucchese family.

Alphonse D'Arco finally received his "button", on August 23,1982, just a month after his 50th birthday.

Alphonse D'Arco became involved in bookmaking, loansharking, occasional drug deals and other criminal activities.

In 1983, Alphonse D'Arco was convicted of heroin trafficking and was sentenced to four years in prison.

In 1990, Amuso selected Alphonse D'Arco to organize a "Lucchese construction panel".

Soon Alphonse D'Arco would collect tribute from the Lucchese crews for Amuso and Casso.

On one Christmas, Alphonse D'Arco put together a $100,000 holiday gift for the two leaders from all the capos.

Alphonse D'Arco would meet with them twice in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and several times at safe houses in Brooklyn.

In early 1991, Amuso became falsely convinced that Lucchese capo Peter "Fat Pete" Chiodo had become a government witness and ordered Alphonse D'Arco to kill him.

Amuso then ordered Alphonse D'Arco to bring in a bomb expert from Philadelphia in order to blow up Gambino boss John Gotti.

Alphonse D'Arco knew that Amuso and Casso blamed him for the failed attack on Chiodo, and believed they were waiting to kill him.

In July 1991, in a Staten Island meeting, Amuso and Casso replaced Alphonse D'Arco as acting boss with a four-man panel of capos.

Alphonse D'Arco was named to this panel, but it was obvious that Amuso and Casso no longer trusted him.

On September 18,1991, Alphonse D'Arco attended a meeting of Lucchese leaders in Manhattan's Kimberly Hotel.

Alphonse D'Arco noticed DeSantis had a gun hidden under his shirt, in the small of his back.

Alphonse D'Arco knew this was a classic setup for a hit; the next person to go into the bathroom was likely to come out shooting.

Alphonse D'Arco fled the city along with his wife, son, and several other close relatives.

On Saturday night, Alphonse D'Arco traveled to the FBI office in New Rochelle, New York and offered to become a government witness.

When federal prosecutors finally met with Alphonse D'Arco, they found him hiding in the bathroom of his hotel room.

Alphonse D'Arco's testimony helped convict Amuso, acting Colombo crime family boss Victor "Little Vic" Orena, Bonanno crime family consigliere Anthony Spero, Genovese crime family consigliere James Ida and Genovese boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante.

Alphonse D'Arco testified at the trial of Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, the two corrupt NYPD detectives who provided Casso with information.

Alphonse D'Arco died in March 2019 from complications related to kidney disease.