Wild Bill Larger Than "the Life," Son Says

William "Wild Bill" Cutolo (June 6, 1949 – May 26, 1999), a Brooklyn-born mafioso in the Colombo crime family, chose the wrong side in the third Colombo war.

Wild Bill, a major player for the Orena faction, was busted from Capo to Soldier as part of the peace treaty.
Wild Bill was knocked off after being
named Colombo Underboss.

The war, the last time a crime family split into two major factions and engaged in a years-long street way, began when acting boss Vic Orena decided he wanted to take over the family from jailed-for-life boss Carmine "The Snake" Persico. It's been said that none other than the Dapper Don, John Gotti himself, had whispered into Vic's ear to take it, take control of it; in addition to flattering Orena as was the Gotti style, the Gambino boss also was seeking to strengthen his hand at Commission meetings.


As for the Colombo family, today in complete disarray, boss Carmine Persico apparently had visions of setting up a Mafia dynasty by making his son, Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" Persico, the boss.

The war, which shot up the streets of New York City from 1991 to 1993, ended when Orena was sent to prison for life; the Snake prevailed.

Wild Bill, a major player for the Orena faction, was busted from Capo to Soldier as part of the peace treaty. But the general respect Cutolo generated as a gangster, as well as his popularity in the family and other crime families, made Allie Boy promote him to Underboss. In reality, the Persicos were setting Cutolo up, using the promotion and passage of six years since the end of the war to put him off guard.

In 1999, Cutolo was summoned to a meeting with the younger Persico. Cutolo was last seen en route to that meeting (ironically, Feds had been tailing Cutolo on the last day of his life, but Cutolo ditched them -- and in all fairness, the Feds had no idea their subject was about to fall off the face of the earth). In 2004, Allie Boy Persico and the family's Underboss John "Jackie" DeRoss were indicted for conspiring to murder Cutolo. Testifying against Persico were Cutolo's son plus former Gambino captain Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo, who attended the same meeting and was told Wild Bill was "gone."

On December 28, 2007, Persico and DeRoss were convicted of Cutolo's murder, and both were eventually given life imprisonment -- even without a body. In October 2008, federal agents started searching a field in East Farmingdale, New York, based on the kinds of tips they always get about "mob graveyards." This tip, however, was on the money: human remains were discovered wrapped up in a blue tarp. A forensic dentist confirmed that the body was Wild Bill Cutolo's.

Allie Boy got life for taking Wild Bill Cutolo's... 


His son, William P. Cutolo Jr. actively worked to help the FBI nab the criminals who were responsible; Cutolo Jr. and probably most of the Mafia and half the police force knew it had to be Allie Boy no matter how solid his alibi appeared (he was supposedly meeting with his attorney when Wild Bill was meeting his end). Police primarily had circumstantial evidence, since there was no body during the actual murder trial.

Here, from the blog CrimeWire Billy Cutolo Jr. talks about his father, the day he went missing, and the ensuing years:


"My name is William P. Cutolo Jr. I have also been known as Billy, Junior, and Bones. But the best one is Rat. That latter name is one I despise.

"My father was William P. Cutolo. By some he was called Wild Bill or Billy Fingers. And the latter name he despised. He was the number two guy in the Colombo crime family out of Brooklyn, New York. For those who do not know the details of such a despicable life…Mafia, Mob, organized crime…the second slot meant he was the 'Underboss' of the family. He was second in command to Carmine 'The Snake' Persico, who occupied the number one slot.

"My father was a man larger than the life. He was an extremely smart man and had the brains to be whatever in life he wanted to be. He dressed in custom made suits and hand painted ties. If you saw him on the street in the morning and did not know any better, the average person would have thought he was just some white collar guy on the way to his job in New York City. One of the reasons for his success was that he was a man of his word and the other four crime families in New York knew it. He was a guy who demanded respect and it came easy to him.

"My father had survived numerous attempts on his life throughout his many years on the streets. And he lived through a gangland civil war between two factions of the Colombo family in which over a dozen men were killed and numerous others went to jail with lengthy prison terms. He almost seemed invincible.

"But that all changed on May twenty-sixth, 1999. On the fateful day he was called to a high level meeting with the boss of the family and the number three guy in the chain of command, the consigliere. He never returned.

"On that day, I and a close friend of my father's and me were doing our usual Wednesday routine of haircuts, manicures and then off to our social club in Brooklyn. When my father never arrived there I immediately started asking who may have seen him. I received nothing but, 'No Bill, we haven’t seen him.'

"I tried to think of a legitimate reason for him to not be around. Maybe he was with someone and he couldn’t get back to me. Or, if he was at a high level meeting [where only high ranking members of organized crime were present] all beepers and cell phones had to be checked at the door so to speak. The reason being anything that could be considered a listening device had to be out of the room. Even so, whenever I paged him and added a 'nine eleven' after the phone number he knew it was an emergency and always got back to me within minutes. But not that day.

"As the night grew on as I sat and played cards with friends, an unusual question was whispered in my ear.' Have you spoken to your Pop today?' That’s when it really hit me. That's when I knew he wasn’t coming back. I bided my time the rest of that night and showed little reaction. But the next morning I set things into action that allowed me to be alive today to tell the story.

"I knew that my father had good rapport with the other families. I did my homework and by the morning after I knew who was responsible for my father's disappearance and murder, but I didn’t know exactly why they wanted him dead. My father and thirteen others had been charged with multiple crimes after the so-called Colombo war. They were locked up for thirteen months before being acquitted on all charges. All was said to have been forgiven within the family after he was released from jail. But I found out that wasn't true. And that’s what provided the motive and set the wheels in motion leading to my father's murder.

"My dad called a spade a spade. If he thought a guy was a rat, including a boss, he didn’t bite his tongue about it, he said it like it was. Being outspoken doesn't set well with some people. And the powers that be were afraid of his power and his strong support. He was a true tough guy, and whatever he touched turned to gold. He was the true meaning of an 'earner' in the life. And that in itself can get you killed. Jealousy and envy have led to a lot of deaths in the world of organized crime.

"As the next couple of days passed all his crew came to me one at a time to express their sympathy for my loss. Not too long after, just days in fact, a guy who was supposed to be father’s best friend came to my mother’s home in Staten Island and asked her where my father kept his financial ledgers and his stash of money. He even tapped on walls and floors thinking the money was hidden behind or under them. He came up empty. I have to say it was bitter sweet moment seeing the look on his face when I told him there was no ledger or money. It was priceless.

"He didn't know it, but my mother had been told by my father years earlier that if anything ever happened to him she was to give them [his criminal associates] nothing. That’s exactly what we did… gave them nothing. It was a victory, but it didn't bring my father home or his killers to justice.

"I love my family. But let's face it, when it came to my father's disappearance, what were they gonna do about it? They were scared. They didn’t know what to do. None of them did. They were all in shock. They weren’t in the streets every day like me. I wanted to save them. I wanted to be the one that brought my father home. Home to have a proper burial like he and our family deserved. But most of all for him. I mean dogs, cats and even birds all get buried by their loved ones. Granted they're pets, but I hope you get my point. I knew I was the only person in a position to do anything. My knowledge of the players and how the game is played gave me the means to catch the girls [a derogatory reference regarding the manhood of the killers] responsible for my father’s death. So I vowed I would not rest until he was found.

"Literally two days later I received a visit at my father’s home from two law enforcement officials. I wasn't under any obligation to report my father's disappearance to the FBI or the police, so I ignored them at first. They left business cards from both the FBI and the NYPD.

"But after a while I reached out to a detective and an agent I knew. I'd been in the company of the detective before, even though we were on opposite sides. I'd also gotten to know the agent over the years and he was a straight shooter. They knew my father was missing and presumed he was dead. They offered their condolences and warned me about the possible repercussions if I took vengeance on my own. After that they asked me, 'Do you want to know what happened to your father? Would you like to aid in the investigation?'

"Up until then my only friend was a silent one. It was a friend without a conscience. It held fifteen in a clip and one in the chamber. And I wanted the blood of the men who killed my father so bad. I wanted their families to feel the pain of losing a father, a grandfather and a husband like we had to endure. For me, killing those responsible would have been easy. Refraining from killing them would be much harder. But I forced myself to think. My father had warned me that if you kill one, two come at you. You put two down and four are coming, and so on. I knew he was right. And I had a wife and a son of my own to worry about. So I decided to break the cycle. To save spilling their blood and hit them another way.

"And so I did. In the next few seconds my whole life changed. I became a member of the guys in the white hats and was no longer an outlaw in black. Now my anger was channeled and fueled with fire. I hit them and hit them hard. For almost two years I secretly aided in the investigation. I caused havoc amongst the hierarchy of the Colombo family. The men I knew were responsible for my father sent for me on numerous occasions and I ignored them. When they sent two morons to threaten me if I didn’t go where they wanted to take me I introduced them to my silent friend and his sixteen buddies. They quickly left saying only, 'Okay, Billy. We brought you the message.' I told them not to come back unless they thought they could carry me out. That if they were really my friends they wouldn't have come with the message they did.

"At that point I had no time in my schedule for mutts like them. I considered myself a man's man as I'd been taught by my father. At one time nobody had more respect for the life than I did. But that went away with my father. Now my only loyalty was to him and the promise I'd made to him."

“Each time I went out to get information for the investigation it was a rush and the cockier I got. I was daring them to do something to me. But it never came. Call it what you will, but I say my father was looking down on me and kept me safe. He had fed me the paranoia that still lives in me today. He always told me, 'Paranoia is good. It keeps you sharp.' It worked for me. My mind remained keen and I stayed alive.

"Right to this day some people are still mad at me for not going out with guns blazing. That doesn't bother me though. I'd do it all over again if I had to. My only regret is that I couldn't tell my family what I was doing. I wanted to, but I was warned that it wouldn't be a good idea. So I had to keep them in the dark.

"I delivered for the law too. Even without finding his body, after eight years the government charged and convicted two men for my father's murder. So my cooperation and a few years in Witness Protection paid off.

"And then in early October of two thousand eight…nine years after he went missing…I was out eating at Emeril’s restaurant when the news came across the AP wire. It was not yet confirmed, but the authorities were pretty sure they had found the location of my father's remains. I rushed out to get to a computer to monitor the news sites. I had mixed emotions. Was it really going to be over after all those years?

"It was. An examination confirmed that the remains were his. Many times I had given up on God and law enforcement bringing that closure. Because one of the men convicted for the murder was an avid sailor I figured they might have dumped his body at sea. So my confidence in anybody ever finding him was slim to none.

"My father's burial site was on Long Island in a small town called Farmingdale. The morons that killed him were too lazy to get rid of the body. They buried him fifteen minutes from the private home of the family's new street boss. He was wrapped neatly in a tarp with a single gunshot wound to the back of his head. The scars on his right arm and dental records confirmed that the corpse was indeed my father. My family was relieved at that moment and they were able to move on. But I was not. I still am not the same person I was before my father's murder and I never will be.

"The difference between me and other people involved in my father’s life is that I finished what I started. I had the means to an end. I never had to actually take the stand against his killers. However, I did get to sit in the court room about fifteen feet from two of them. I sneered at them and they wouldn’t look at me. There wasn’t even a jury present and they were afraid to look at me. I remember saying to them before the judge came in and only the lawyers were present, 'What’s the matter, you ain't got nothin’ to say? You two bastards don’t even have the balls to look me in the eye?'

"When court was over the judge thanked me for all my work and dedication. And most importantly for not falling through the cracks of society. On my way out of the courtroom I made sure I waved to them.

"Today I am active in the wars against organized crime and domestic violence. And I try to help solve cold cases whenever I can. I think that's important because if we all walked around with our heads in the sand nobody's disappearance would ever get solved. I love being an activist in this crazy world. I love to know that I can and do make a difference. I instill that idea in my children and I am greatly rewarded for that each day when I open my eyes and put both feet on the floor. I know that's what my father would have wanted. I still miss him so. And I speak with him daily in my thoughts and prayers.

"Looking back on it I know I could have hurt a lot of other guys, but I didn’t. Many of my father's crew and associates loved him and I knew who they were. Anybody that got caught in the crosshairs of my cooperation with the law has only himself to blame. If they want to know why they're in jail they only have to look in the mirror. I was taught at a young age that any moron can hurt someone. But it takes a man to extend his hand and help that person back up. And that’s the way I see myself today.

"Closure is a very fickle word. It has different meanings to other families and individuals. It doesn’t bring a loved one back. But it puts your heart and mind at ease knowing that the person you cared so much for has been laid to rest. Knowing my father's murderers will die in prison helps too. It doesn't take away the hurt though. I wish I could say it did for me, but that would be a lie. The pain will always be there.

"I do have to say after all the years we went without knowing for sure where he was, I now take nothing for granted. I stop and smell the roses and appreciate human life for all that it is. I am happy with the choices I made then. I was not in any legal trouble and I wasn't facing jail time. I did what I did because I was tired of the life and it was the right thing to do. I want to be remembered for that.

"Today I'm the boss of a family. It's a family that consists of my wife and children. And they don't call me capo or the don. In my family they call me Dad


Comments

  1. William P Cutolo Jr. was nothing less of a half a Sissy , not for his cooperating with the Federal Government, but the way he conducted himself, when his Thug Father was alive. He along with his Thug friend, terrorized and demanded protection money from businesses of honest working people on 11th Ave for years...You should suffer in life the way you and your thug Father made other people suffer, you Douche Bag Punk.

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  2. he's a man's man lol man's rat.now go hiding you rat.cheese eater

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  3. Hey BALLZ, still c u have a case of the jealousies..after 11yrs and u STILL aint ova it yet? Damn bitch, after all this time, u STILL havent found him yet and kicked his ass? Telephone tuffguyz is what we used to call girls like u....lol..... I'd figure he still waitin on u..i talk to him on a daily, and we laugh and enjoy our freedom. Just the other day, while working on his book, we were saying how nice it is to be free...and how happy we are that Stubbie and allygirl are gonna DIE in jail. Even tedward and andy mushada russo are done...which leaves that 1/2 fag michael and "pizza face" DANNY the Dope r left..Left for WHAT?..The persicos are truly NUTHIN but COFFEEBOYZ..as it is stated in court docs. PERSICOS reign is OVER thanks to Jr. He started that whole house of cards from the get. His cooperation DISMANTLED the Persicos. He had an agenda, n that agends he accomplished..and i guess thios is what leads u to RANT... :)He didnt even hurt anybody else, this is WHY and HOW I know who ur as does Jr. I still live in Brooklyn and have my ear to the ground for him, and keep him up to date with letting him know who and what MUTTS r still out there. So, if i was u i would b cautious of you write...neva no whos reading this column......Too bad too sad that you r the mutt urself, y, because u have NO life and he gets to enjoy his as each day passes. Again he could of killed them EASILY. I know because I was with him at the time. He drove away instead of being selfish and dragging his wife and son through that POS life, flush his son's life down the sewer because of a few assholes that killed his father when little Billy was only two? U continue t o show what a USELESS embarrassment of a life that God makes u suffer thru each day BUCKY....haha.. Atleast he didnt lick their asses like Castellanos kids and many many other sons that punk out and fall in line and b used as MUTTS like urself to do favors for scumbags like Geioli thinking ur moving up the chain.... i still ask u WHY didnt u play the tuff guy role with him when he was around? BECAUSE ur still a BITCH 11yrs lata....lol...THATS Y... sayin you knew him when you used to get abused to throw his name around, especially when his dad was in jail. He held court better than most of the supposed wiseguys of his dads era ever did. Mutts like u had to answer to him and thats y ur pissed off? I'll be sure to get him the message that ur still jockin him. I wouldnt b surprised if this a WOMAN...u sound jilted lol..take care of yourself and try to get a job..that may help

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  4. Wow, I didn't realize how much of illiteracy is associated with Mobsters. Having read the rant by the above post on March 2, 2011 10:26 AM, is easy to see why these Morons associated with the Mob are the reason why the Mafia is collapsing. The writer of that post must have not exceeded the 3d grade, Sad................. Young Man ( or Old ) you need to spend some time in a Community College ( It's for FREE, of course) and take some English--Grammar class and stay off the computer, so that the temptation of writing a sentence is not of an embarrassment to you and your Family.

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  5. I too mourn the death of the English language, and maybe I will start a blog about it one day. But, bottom line, this blog is about organized crime. All I ask for is clarity, so we can understand what posters are writing!

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  6. None of you know how much Billy senior
    gave to charity organizations and was even respected
    By law enforcement
    I also believe he had remorse and guilt for the murders he committed
    And if he asked forgiveness for those sins they were removed
    From his record by the Boss of all Bosses God the father
    And his son Jesus Christ
    you see you can be forgiven for any sin no
    Matter what it was
    Their is no sin that is unpardonable
    none not even murder
    So all you wiseguys can be forgiven and have a new start
    With you're new Boss Jesus Christ
    Join his Family

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  7. That is a fact about forgiveness
    if you ask Jesus Christ to forgive you he will
    Just ask
    I am talking to you A.P.
    You can do this

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  8. I bet you wouldn't say that to Joey Campanellas
    Face
    What's you're. Name
    I think I know. Who you are

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  9. wild bill was a gangster and didnt try to hide who he was.his son was a punk and attempts to be something he never was or could be.joe camp had every reason to do what he did given the position he was put in by AP and company.wild bills son would sell his soul for a dollar

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  10. Many of you don't know Joe Campanellas
    Soul or anything about him up close and personal you only
    Know what you read in articles and
    posts.I know this man and I know how much
    He tries to do the right thing
    He is a stand up Guy for GOD

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  11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  13. fellas,
    what happened to SECRET society?

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  14. What a bunch of spewing lil girls you sound like. Am I the ONLY one that will post my name? As far as I can see, I am the only one. You jealous people can write what you want, but have NO balls to confront me. ANY DAY ANY TIME and we can hash out these rants. I do not get why you illiterates do not get that I was NOT going to let them win AGAIN. They thought they won the battle, and they did. This begs me to ask you "illiterates", who won the WAR? I guess taht would be ME. NOW, I am not bragging because i lost my father, so WHAT did I win you ask. My FREEDOM. My FAMILY"S freedom, and they DID NOT get away with it. You guys and I will dryly say, "gals" are mad because you feel you are STUCK. You are NOT stuck, just LAZY and would rather try to soil a man who is NOT here to talk for himself, and quite frankly WE ALL KNOW you would NOT have the balls to say it to my father or my face. EVERYBODY out there has their opportunities. My father is gone, but I am NOT. So if you really want to hear me out just let me know and I guarantee you, you will be shitting your pants. i literally LAUGH at these comments because we both know you are sitting in your mother's basement in your underwear THINKING you are hidden. My friends, TRUST me, you are NOT hidden. I choose to answer these comments because its down time for me.. I ENJOY and get to LOVE MY family each and every day. Now if that doesn't blow your mind then IDK what will

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