Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce was the underboss of the Gambino family from 1965 until 1985. He was the uncle of Salvatore and Angelo Ruggiero and was the mentor of John Gotti who became boss after Dellacroce passed away.
Father O'Neil
Aniello Dellacroce was born in Little Italy's district in Manhattan. He became part of the Gambino Family under Vincent Mangano and rose to become a capo in the early 1950's under Albert Anastasia. By that time he was active in racketeering and illegal gambling. He is also said to have participated in multiple murders. Dellacroce was loyal to Anastasia but held his head down when he was murdered in 1957. Dellacroce however remained a strong force within the family which led to his elevation as underboss in 1965 after Joseph Biondo was demoted.
Dellacroce was a man who didn't attract to much attention on him. He was a religious man and reputidly once murdered a man dressed as a priest, leading to his nickname "Father O'Neil". In 1966 Dellacroce was present during a meeting in Queens together with men such as Joseph Colombo, Carlo Gambino and Carlos Marcello to discuss the distribution of Thomas Lucchese's rackets, who was dying from ill health. The police however disturbed the meeting and arrested 13 men, including Dellacroce. According to a police officer "they acted as gentlemen" and all had a large amount of money on them. The meeting was eventually dubbed "Little Apalachin".
"His eyes had no color...as if his soul was transparent", is how a news reporter once described Aniello Dellacroce.
Aniello Dellacroce
In 1976, boss Carlo Gambino was living his last days due to a long illness and appointed his cousin,
Paul Castellano, as his successor. Dellacroce however had been tipped as the new boss and was
reportedly annoyed at the late Carlo's decision. Castellano banned drug dealing in his family,
but few took any notice of this, including the ambitious John Gotti, who was close to Dellacroce. As respect ran high for Dellacroce, he refused to use any violence and accepted Castellano as his superior, ordering his men not to do anything while he was alive.
In December 2, 1985, Dellacroce passed away due to cancer. That same year he and Castellano had been indicted in the "Commission Case". His death would result in violence within the family. Dellacroce's loyalist, including John Gotti and Angelo Ruggiero, were now eager to get rid of Castellano. Only 2 weeks after Dellacroce's death, Castellano and his underboss were both murdered outside a restaurant in Manhattan by Gotti's gunmen. Castellano's refusal to visit his dying underboss or attend his funeral had reportedly enraged
Gotti and had fueled his decision to kill him. By the end of 1985 Dellacroce's pupil had taken over the Gambino family. Dellacroce's son, who was an associate of the Gambino family, died one year later due to an overdose.
Birth: March 15, 1914 - Manhattan, New York