1. Robert "DiB" DiBernardo was an American caporegime in the Gambino crime family, who was reputed to control much of the commercial pornography in the US.
15 Facts About Robert DiBernardo
1. 2.
Robert DiBernardo was a relatively capable businessman who did not have a reputation for involvement in violence, but his Mafia links deterred potential competitors and warded off other criminals.
3.
Robert DiBernardo became immensely influential in the US pornography business, and an associate of Reuben Sturman.
4.
Robert DiBernardo was seen as a phenomenal money maker, secretive, and a lone operator.
5.
Robert DiBernardo, who had been the target of a federal investigation into child pornography, was murdered by members of Sammy Gravano's crew, on orders from John Gotti, as punishment for subversive behavior.
6.
Robert DiBernardo became associated with the Gambino crime family through his acquaintanceship with fellow pornographer and Gambino capo Ettore Zappi.
7.
Robert DiBernardo directly commissioned the production of much of the so-called Golden Age of Porn-era hardcore films made in New York; rivals were intimidated out of business or co-opted into his network.
8.
However, FBI bugs caught Robert DiBernardo telling another pornography magnate, Michael Thevis, that "the family" was in charge of his businesses.
9.
Robert DiBernardo complained that he got little respect from Castellano, who despised the porn business, but that Castellano took a hefty percentage of the returns nonetheless.
10.
One of the first to support John Gotti's plot to kill Castellano and supplant him as boss, Robert DiBernardo was rewarded with the status of captain, despite not heading a crew of his own.
11.
The Walter Mondale campaign drew attention shortly after choosing Geraldine Ferraro for the ticket when the personal finances of Ferraro and her husband, real estate developer John Zaccaro, were made an issue and it emerged Robert DiBernardo rented his premises from Zaccaro's company.
12.
Robert DiBernardo was not mentioned during the 1984 vice-presidential debate, though questions over Ferraro's separate tax filing, which were widely seen as carrying implications about her husband's business, put her on the defensive.
13.
In 1992, the now-deceased Robert DiBernardo was brought-up with more effect to discredit Ferraro, seriously damaging her fortunes in a Senate primary that she had been front-runner for.
14.
Sammy Gravano said he was told by the only Mafia member allowed to see John Gotti in jail, his friend Angelo Ruggiero, that Gotti wanted Robert DiBernardo killed for being subversive.
15.
On June 5,1986, Robert DiBernardo was lured to the basement offices of Gravano's drywall company on Stillwell Avenue in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.