James “Jimmy Boy” Dellaratta a former acting capo in the Gambino crime family was sentenced to probation for hijacking a load of counterfeit cigarettes back in 2010 worth approx $1 million dollars. A prison term of 18 months was recommended for the crime but the 73 year old mobster got a nice break from the feds because of his poor health. Jimmy Boy got an even bigger break when Gambino leaders decided not to exact punishment for the defection of Nicholas “Nicky Skins” Stefanelli a member of his old crew.
“James Dellaratta and Blaise Corozzo back in 2005“
In 2012 the New York mafia learned that Stefanelli had agreed to wear a wire for the feds after being nabbed in a drug dealing case. He was a member of the crew supervised by acting capo Dellaratta at the time and secretly recorded conversations with fellow mobsters including Jimmy Boy among others in various mob families in five states for almost 2 years. Nicky Skins ended up committing suicide after being told his undercover work was ending and he was to be prepped to testify against wiseguys in Philadelphia.
Dellaratta’s close ties to powerful Gambino family captains Leonard DiMaria and Nicholas “Little Nick” Corozzo along with the fact that Stefanelli killed himself before testifying helped him avoid any major recrimination for the defection. In the end the Nicky Skins tapes have only led to one relatively minor case against Dellaratta and some mafia associates.
