Who Were The Castellano And Bilotti Killers?

The killing of Paul Castellano on December 15, 1985 was the most historic mafia murder ever. It was ordered by John Gotti. Sammy Gravano was put in charge of the logistics of the hit. They chose a team of eight shooters to carry out the hit. What were their roles and what became of these men after the Castellano murder?

Sammy recounts his words to the shooters “This is a do or die hit. We do it, we pull it off.. Or we die there.” This statement highlighted the mindset of Sammy and his team in 1985 during the few months of planning before the killings. He picked only the most dangerous and capable enforcers in both his and John Gotti's crew to participate.

The killers were given long trench coats and large Russian hats to help disguise them. Gravano said he didn’t know who came up with that idea but he liked it very much. They killing would take place in front of world famous Sparks Steak House in midtown Manhattan. A hit for the ages.

John Carneglia 

“Johnny Carnegs” was easily the most prominent of the eight hitmen who were there at Sparks that night. He is by all accounts the one who put the bullets into Big Paul Castellano. Some reports even have him going over to the other side of the car and putting a few extra shots into Tommy Bilotti as he lay on the pavement. 

John Gotti knew exactly who to go to when the time to kill Paul arrived. Carneglia was a part of his crew. He was a ruthless mafia hitman who had done plenty of work for Gotti over the years. Carneglia is suspected of participation in a minimum of six different murders. He was one of the hitmen involved in killing John Favara, the neighbor who accidentally killed Gotti’s son in 1980. 

Carneglia was a codependent of Gotti in a murder and racketeering trial in 1987 that famously resulted in an acquittal. He then went on trial with John’s brother Gene for heroin trafficking later that year. That trial ended up in a hung jury. When they were back on trial in 1989, Carneglia and Gene Gotti were both convicted and given 50 year sentences. 

He fancies himself a La Cosa Nostra purist and brags often about how he could’ve cooperated but didn’t. He spent almost three decades in prison before being released on June 11, 2018. He’s now in his mid 70s and it remains to be seen if he is still an active member of the Gambino Family or not. His name certainly carries a lot of weight on the streets. 

Vinny Artuso 

The other shooter assigned to kill Paul was Vincent “Vinny” Artuso. His job didn't go as smoothly as Carneglia though. Vinny was reportedly very nervous before the hit took place. A witness recalled a man matching his description complaining that “they were supposed to be here by now”. 

Then when Castellano and Bilotti did show up, disaster struck for Vinny. His gun jammed. This would be a source of shame and regret for Artuso. Word also went around the Gambino Family that Vinny got cold feet that night. Perhaps that rumor might be unfair, but it was still a very bad night for Artuso. 

Vinny would somehow survive the defection of Sammy Gravano and stay a fixture in the Gambino Family in the 1990s. He would eventually get past the Castellano debacle and be promoted to captain. He did multiple stretches in prison since the 1990s, the most recent for being involved in a multimillion dollar real estate scam. 

Artuso had been out of prison since 2016. Over the years, he became known as “Little Vinny Dirtbag”. For the last couple decades, he mainly operated in South Florida instead of New York. He passed away of natural causes in 2021. 

Eddie Lino 

Eddie Lino was a close friend of John Gotti and a made man in the Gambino Family. His job at Sparks was to take out Tommy Bilotti while Carneglia and Artuso simultaneously killed Big Paul. When Bilotti exited the car, Lino was immediately on him with gunshots, leaving him lying dead on the cold pavement. 

Maybe as a result of the successful hit on Bilotti, Lino was promoted by John Gotti to captain in 1986. Eddie’s clout in the family grew significantly after the Castellano/Bilotti hit. When Gotii finally decided to kill informant Willie Boy Johnson, Eddie Lino was one of the men enlisted to get the job done. Lino hired infamous Bonanno hitman Tommy “Karate” Pitera, who did the job. 

Word got around all over the New York underworld about Lino being a rising star in the family. This proved to be his undoing. Some of the other bosses were looking to avenge the unsanctioned hit on Big Paul. Genovese boss Vincent “The Chin” Gigante wanted Gotti dead, along with Lucchese boss Vic Amuso and underboss Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso.

With the FBI watching Gotti’s every move, he was a near impossible target at the time. They blew up his underboss Frank DeCicco but wanted more. Casso hired the infamous mafia cops Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caraccappa to kill Eddie Lino. They pulled an unsuspecting Lino over on November 6, 1990 and shot him to death right on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn.

Sal Scala 

Salvatore “Fat Sal” Scala was the other shooter of Tommy Bilotti. Scala was Lino’s brother in law, he was married to Eddie’s sister. After the murders, all the weapons were given to Scala who disposed of them, never to be found. Fat Sal benefited greatly from the murders and continued to rise in the Gambino Family over the next several years.

Scala would survive the downfall of Gotti and defection of Sammy Gravano in 1992. The loss of the Gambino Family hierarchy made Scala a more important member. By 1999, he was promoted to the position of captain and ran a very powerful crew. He never was charged for his role in the killings.

The law caught up to Scala in May 2001. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison for his part in the extortion of adult video stores in Long Island. After serving his time, he got caught in another Adult Entertainment extortion. He got 6 years in prison for this charge. The feds waited until his first sentence was done before charging him again to maximize his time behind bars.

Fat Sal was later diagnosed with liver cancer. He complained of terrible treatment in prison. Prison doctors had missed his initial cancer diagnosis which delayed his cancer treatment. Scala asked for a compassionate release but it was denied. He died in a prison hospital on December 30, 2008.  

Secondary shooters

Anthony Rampino 

Anthony Rampino was known as “Tony the Roach’, possibly for gangly appearance which some said resembled a roach. Roach was also a heroin addict, making him an odd choice to participate in such an important piece of mafia business. But he was a longtime friend of John Gotti, who decided to include him in the killings. 

Rampino posted up across the street from Sparks on the night of the shootings. His role was to be a backup shooter, and to kill anybody who may try to interfere with what the primary shooters were doing. Because the murders went off as planned, Tony the Roach never had to fire any bullets at Sparks that night. 

Tony the Roach went on trial with Gotti and Carneglia in 1987on RICO charges. This was the same trial where Sammy Gravano had the jury rigged, so they were all acquitted. Rampino’s addiction got worse after the murders, and he was caught dealing heroin to an undercover agent. He offered to make a deal to testify against Gotti.

The feds were hesitant to release Rampino and the deal fell apart. It might have been for the best because Gotti knew immediately of Roach’s arrest. Gotti would know that he shouldn’t be released and he would have been killed. Rampino got 25 years in prison. He died of natural causes on December 4, 2010.

Angelo Ruggiero 

Of all the hitmen there that night, Angelo “Quack Quack” Ruggiero was the closest to John Gotti. He was basically a secondary backup shooter. A lot would’ve had to go wrong for Ruggiero to have gotten involved that night. He never fired any bullets or got close to the scene of the crime. He was posted up about a block away ready if needed. 

The rest of Ruggiero’s story is pretty well known. It was his tapped phone conversations that caused the problem between Gotti and Castellano to become a do or die situation. After the hit, he continued to spread his treachery. It was Angelo who convinced Gotti to have Robert DiBernardo killed, for “talking subversive”. 

Quack Quack also was the mastermind of the failed hit on Gaspipe Casso. This was the incident that caused Jimmy Hydell to be mercilessly tortured by Casso for days before Casso killed him. Ruggiero wanted Casso dead because he heard Casso had labeled him a rat. Gotti may or may not have known of the plot,Sammy Gravano suggested that he did. 

Gotti had a soft spot for Angelo but these incidents showed him that Quack Quack was more trouble than he was worth. He exiled his longtime friend from the Gambino Family. Angelo would be diagnosed with cancer and pass away on December 4, 1989. He was only 49 years old. Gotti never visited him in the hospital. 

Joe Watts 

Like Angelo, Watts was a secondary backup shooter in case things went awry. He never had to use his gun that night. Joe “The German” Watts was well rewarded for his efforts though. He was given the loansharking book of Tommy Bilotti, which made him millions of dollars. Joe started out under Frankie DeCicco and was very close to Castellano before betraying him.

After the murders, Sammy Gravano and a few others crashed at Watt’s apartment, per Sammy’s podcast. Sammy recounted how Watts advised him to sleep in a bedroom that had a red velvet colored, heart shaped bed with mirrors on the ceiling. Sammy and the others refused to sleep in the bed and Watts was always ribbed about the bedroom from that point on. 

Watts wanted to kill Tommy Bilotti’s brother Joey as well. Gravano refused the request and put Joey on his crew. Watts would become the point man for the relationship between the Gambinos and the Westies. He would not become a made man because his father was not Italian but Watts may have been the most respected associate of the family.

He beat a murder charge in 1987 even though there was strong evidence and witnesses. Famous mob writer Jerry Capeci ran a story that Watts was reported to be an FBI informant for over a year. Sammy Gravano backed up Capeci’s story. In 2011, he was convicted of an old murder conspiracy charge from the Gotti days. He’s up for parole in 2022. 

Dominick Pizonia 

“Skinny Dom” was another backup that night who didn’t fire a bullet, not that he would’ve minded. His participation earned him a solid place in the family. He became the manager of the Bergin Hunt & Fish Club. In 1988, he would be called on to do another hit, this time as the trigger man. He allegedly killed and disposed of Frank Boccia.

That same year, Pizzonia was rewarded by being inducted into the Gambino Family. In 1992, he did yet another piece of work for the family. This time he was accused of murdering Thomas and Rosemary Uva, the husband and wife who were robbing mafia social clubs. He was later charged with the murders but acquitted. 

Pizzonia was promoted to captain in 1999. He was replacing Peter Gotti, who had been named boss. Then in 2007, he was convicted on a conspiracy charge and given 15 years. He was released in November 2019 and is almost 80 years old now.