Aniello Migliore passed away on September 11th at the age of 85 according to reports.
The veteran mobster was a longtime member and leader in the Lucchese crime family. Migliore’s time in the New York Mafia dates all the way back to the 1950s when he was recruited by former capo Joseph Laratro. His name sort of burst on the scene when it was attached to reports of the historic 1957 Cosa Nostra summit in Apalachin although he wasn’t actually in attendance. He would rise through the ranks of the NY Mafia family eventually becoming a capo before holding several positions in the families administration. In his early years, he was tied to bookmaking and illegal gambling and proved to be a solid moneymaker for the mafia.
Aniello “Neil” Migliore
But the Queens-based mobster really made a name for himself when it came to labor racketeering one of the mobs more lucrative rackets. He had become a trusted ally of fellow mobster Anthony Corallo. In the late 1960s, Corallo would take the reigns as the new Lucchese family boss and Migliore quickly became one of his top capos. The duo would help make the Lucchese’s the dominant force within the NY Mafia when it came to controlling of construction union-locals.
Using the families control over unions he was able to build and control semi-legitimate construction businesses which made millions. He would then marry into the Albicocco family which owned a major construction firm giving the Lucchese’s further reach into several major LI construction companies. But things hit a snag in the mid-1980s for both Corallo and Migliore.
In February of 1985, Corallo was arrested by the FBI and charged in the infamous Mafia Commission case. He would be convicted in 1986 and sentenced to 100 years behind bars. In March of 1986, Aniello was indicted for labor racketeering charged with extortion and bid-rigging. The feds claimed he was a key figure in what became known as the concrete club. Multiple mafia families including the Lucchese’s had taken control over the bidding process for the supplying of concrete to high rise building projects in New York.
In 1988 Migliore was convicted and was also sentenced to several years behind bars. But his conviction would eventually be overturned in 1991 and he was released from prison. While this was a huge break things on the streets had changed and the family was now under the control of Vittorio Amuso and Anthony Casso. The paranoid and bloodthirsty duo had turned the Lucchese family inside out and things were extremely unstable.
By 1992 an imprisoned Amuso feared the families powerful Bronx faction were plotting to take back control. He felt he had to prove he was still in control and ordered a hit on one of the Bronx’s most powerful capos Aniello Migliore. On April 3, 1992, a gunman in a passing car shot Migliore through a restaurant window during a birthday party. Migliore was injured but would luckily survive the brazen attack.
After several indictments and a restructuring of the Lucchese Family, the internal beef would eventually die down. In the years after the attack, Aniello kept a low profile and avoided any further conflicts. His name would resurface in the early 2000s when he was part of a new Lucchese family ruling panel. He served on the three man panel with fellow mobsters Joseph DiNapoli and Matthew Madonna.
The ruling panel was believed to have remained in place for several years dispanding some time around 2012. It’s unclear as to the exact role the aging wiseguy played within the family of late. But he remained a respected and highly regarded member of the family until his death. During his career in organized crime, Aniello Migliore would become one of the cities richest mobsters.
