A. Dellacroce Dies; Reputed Mafia Chief

Aniello Dellacroce, who police say was the under-boss of the Gambino organized crime family, has died at the age of 71.

Dellacroce died late Monday at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens, where he had checked in as “Timothy O’Neill.”

His attorney, Barry Slitnick, said Dellacroce had been suffering from cancer and heart disease.

Federal and local investigators have identified Dellacroce as the No. 2 man in the largest of New York’s five Mafia families, the Gambino family--named for Carlo Gambino, who died in 1976. The Gambino chieftain reportedly is Paul Castellano, who presides over what may be the largest crime organization in the nation.

Nine Godfathers

Dellacroce and Castellano were among nine alleged Mafia godfathers indicted in February on racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with alleged membership in “the Commission,” a board of directors of the five New York families. The Commission supposedly settles disputes and determines relationships in New York’s underworld.

Law enforcement officials said Dellacroce’s long, violent and profitable career in organized crime dated to the 1950s, when he was associated with Albert Anastasia and his casino interests in pre-Castro Cuba.

Dellacroce was scheduled to go on trial in federal court in Manhattan in March. He also was to be tried on a separate charge of tax evasion.

Additionally, Dellacroce faced charges in federal court in Brooklyn of supervising Gambino family gangs responsible for murder, loan-sharking and hijacking.