In the Mafia, your friends can be a double-edged sword. Who you know can help you rise through the ranks of the mob, sometimes faster than someone with no close relationship to Mafia leadership. At the same time, being a close associate of a godfather or some controversial mafia figure can put a target on you back as well. Such was the case for Bartholomew “Bobby” Boriello, a loyal soldier and hitman in the Gambino family. His close ties to Gambino Godfather John Gotti helped him rise through the ranks. However, in the end, his friendship with the Teflon don ultimately sealed his fate.
Early Years in Brooklyn
Bobby Boriello was born and raised in “Ground Zero” of the New York Mob, in a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood. Together with his brother Steve the Boriellos ingratiated themselves with the mob-connected street gangs prevalent across New York at that time. Boriello was over 6’3” tall and literally grew right into the role of intimidating mob enforcer. By the early 1970’s he’d been arrested a half-dozen times on a variety of charges related to his work in low level mob crews.
By the mid-1980’s, Gotti was at the helm of the Gambino Family and Bobby Boriello was a loyal soldier on John Gotti Jr’s crew. However, storm clouds were on the horizon for the Gambino Family, and they would have significant implications for Boriello. John Gotti Senior was indicted for a series of crimes and installed a panel to run Gambino Family business in his expected absence. Gotti elevated his son to the panel, and Boriello became the acting Capo of Gotti Junior’s crew.
Running a Tight Ship, and Taking a Hit
Boriello proved his mettle as a Capo. He ran his operation out of Brooklyn, with operations in various locations across the city. He also displayed his unflinching loyalty to Gotti during this time as well. On Gotti’s orders, Boriello allegedly killed a fellow Gambino Mafioso named Louis DiBono over a lucrative contracting dispute. After DiBono’s death, the contracts ultimately when to key Gotti underling Sammy “the Bull” Gravano.
Bobby Boriello was also a close confidante of the Godfather of the Gambino Family himself, John Gotti. Gotti no doubt appreciated the imposing figure that the enormous Boriello cut, and frequently used him as a bodyguard and chauffeur. However, while Boriello may have felt like he was riding high in the Gambino organization, fate was closing in fast.
Downfall and Death
In the end, it was Boriello’s close ties to John Gotti that finally did him in. Rival families presumably angered over Gotti sanctioning the death of former Gambino Family boss Paul Castellano in 1985. That hit had never sat well with rival gangsters across New York, and the heads of the Luchese and Genovese families were determined to make the brash attention-seeking Gotti pay for it. However, since Gotti’s security was considered too tough to risk a hit on, the two dons opted to go after his closest associates instead. Boriello was one of the targets chosen to get payback for Gotti’s actions.
The Gambino enemies closed in quickly. In the late winter of 1991, corrupt cops working for the mob scouted out Boriello’s Brooklyn home, to ensure he actually lived there. Weeks later, on April 13, Bobby Boriello stepped outside of his home, presumably to take his Lincoln Town Car for a drive. A gunman attacked Boriello right in his driveway, shooting him several times in the head and body. Bartholomew “Bobby” Boriello collapsed and died, and was found by a relative several hours later, lying right next to his car. He was 47 years old at the time. Law enforcement believed that Luchese capo Frank Lastorino killed Boriello, but he was never charged for the crime.
Conclusion: Boriello’s Mixed Legacy
Gotti, already in jail, was furious with the hit on his friend Bobby Boriello, and directed his organization to take action against the rival mob factions he believed sanctioned the hit. He also authorized Boriello’s brother, also a gangster, to take action against anyone involved in the slaying. However, despite Gotti’s anger, the Gambinos never really retaliated against other families in the wake of Boriello’s slaying.
Years after his death, Boriello’s in-laws would use their Brooklyn home as collateral to help secure John Gotti Junior’s bond as he awaited trail on racketeering and other charges. The role of the corrupt New York Police officers in Boriello’s death also came under scrutiny in the years following the hit. After preparing a civil case against New York City, the City ultimately settled with the Boriello family; in doing so, it paid out over $1.5 million for the NYPD’s role in the mobster’s death.
The hit on Bobby Boriello – in the driveway of his otherwise quiet middle-class neighborhood – exposed many fault lines in the mob at a critical time in the organization’s history. The murder laid bare the cutthroat nature of the late 20th Century Mafia, as well as the corruption it had spurred on in institutions like the New York City Police Department. Boriello’s death also illustrated that having friends high up in the Mafia hierarchy can be a curse as well as a blessing, and a deadly one at that.