Tom Kapatos

Born in New Jersey on January 1, 1915 to Greek-American emigrants from Karpathos, his last name "Kapatos" is derived from the island.[1] Kapatos, who was also as Thomas Russo, later lived in Fort Lee and West New York.[2]

Kapatos was sentenced to twenty-years-to-life in prison on November 29, 1938 after being convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Albert "The Monkey" DiLlulio. DiLlulio was shot dead in Manhattan on October 6, 1937, and Kapatos was arrested in possession of two handguns – a .38 Smith & Wesson and .32 caliber – shortly after the shooting.[1] Kapatos, employed as a shoreman, claimed to have unwittingly picked up the guns after finding them on a stoop as he made his way to the elevated train after finishing work. Discovering DiLlulio's body nearby, he became frightened that he might be framed as the killer and started running away from the scene. Years after his conviction, Kapatos learned that there had been a witness, Michael Danise, who had seen two individuals fleeing from the scene of DiLlulio's shooting immediately after the shots were fired, and that Danise had stated that Kapatos was not one of these two individuals. Danise had also said that after the two persons fled the scene, he had then seen Kapatos walk upon the scene of the crime. This statement by Danise was consistent with Kapatos’ version of events. The existence of Danise had never been disclosed to the defense by the prosecution. Kapatos' attorney filed a habeas corpus petition on his behalf based on this new information. In July 1962, judge Edmund L. Palmieti granted the writ of habeas corpus on the basis that the state had prejudiced his case in failing to disclose the existence of the witness, thus depriving him of the due process of law at his trial in 1938. Having served twenty-three years in prison, Kapatos was released in August 1962 after the charges against him were dismissed.[3]

In October 1966, Kapatos was convicted of the robbery of an interstate shipment of jewelry which took place on November 8, 1963. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.[4] While imprisoned at Atlanta, Georgia in December 1968, Kapatos was indicted for another heist – the theft of $513,509 from an armored bank truck in Paterson, New Jersey on December 21, 1964 – along with four others.[5][2] He was convicted of conspiracy and transporting a stolen automobile in interstate commerce, and was sentenced to consecutive five-year terms on each count.[6]

Following his release from prison, Kapatos became a chief lieutenant to the Hell's Kitchen gangster Mickey Spillane.[1] A conflict arose between Spillane's gang and the Genovese crime family over control of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The Center was being built in Spillane's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, and he refused to allow any involvement by the Mafia. On the afternoon of January 27, 1977, Kapatos was gunned down on West 34th Street by a hired assassin in the employ of Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno; he had been one of many who had been killed in a six-month killing spree to secretly eliminate Spillane's associates.[7]

• English, T.J. The Westies: Inside the Hell's Kitchen Irish Mob. St Martin's Paperbacks, 1991; ISBN 0-312-92429-1