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what has become known as the Little Apalachin conference.
    With the party secluded in a private basement dining room and the meeting underway, police burst through the door and arrested all thirteen guests as material witnesses to several Queens County murders and organized crime rackets. It was the most successful roundup of mobsters since the 1957 Apalachin incident, in which sixty were arrested fleeing from an upstate farmhouse. Detectives said that the purpose of the raid was to “keep track of how the men relate to each other in importance within the underworld hierarchy.” 21

    La Stella Restaurant’s “Little Apalachin” seating arrangement, September 22, 1966: Carlos Marcella (New Orleans boss), Joseph Marcello (Carlos’s brother), Santo Trafficante Jr. (Tampa boss), Thomas Eboli (Genovese acting boss), Aniello Dellacroce (Gambino underboss), Mike Miranda (Genovese consigliere), Joseph Colombo (Colombo boss), Joseph Nicholas Gallo Jr. (Gambino capo, future consigliere), Carlo Gambino (Gambino boss), Dominick Alongi (Genovese capo, future acting underboss), Anthony Corolla (New Orleans, future boss), Frank Gagliano (New Orleans, future underboss) and Anthony Carillo (Genovese soldier). Federal Bureau of Investigations, NARA Record Number 124-10371-10179 .
    A hearing was held for twelve of the thirteen on December 19, 1966 (minus Gambino, who was excused due to poor health). The defense team made headlines when they accused Queens district attorney Nat N. Hentel of conducting a publicity stunt in order to further his career. One lawyer stated, “Barnum and Bailey couldn’t have dreamed up a bigger three-ring circus.” 22 Despite not being charged with a crime, the mobsters were held on $100,000 bail; most paid that within thirty-two hours and went free.
    On November 25, 1966, local police raided the Ravenite Social Club on Mulberry Street and arrested Dellcroce, Joe N. Gallo, Paul Castellano and eight others who were out on bail. All charges were dismissed within a few hours by a night court judge because the arresting officers could not provide evidence that the group was gathered for the purpose of engaging in illegal activities.
    On November 30, seven of the La Stella arrestees were called to testify before a grand jury, but they offered nothing but their names and addresses. In a show of defiance, the mobsters and their lawyers actually went to La Stella for lunch during the hearings, and the press followed. The resulting story and accompanying photos made the newspapers, and it became a public embarrassment for the prosecutors. As District Attorney Hentel became desperate for the case not to collapse, full immunity was offered to all thirteen mobsters in exchange for testimony; again, all balked at the proposition.
    On May 18, 1967, Dellacroce, Miranda, Carillo and Gallo were rearrested and charged with contempt of court. All four men pleaded not guilty the next morning and were released on $5,000 bail. Eboli, Alongi and Colombo were also named in the indictment, but Eboli did not turn himself in until January 4, 1969.
    Despite the media circus, the case lost steam and eventually fizzled out.
    Evading serious prison time throughout his life, seventy-one-year-old Dellacroce was eventually indicted on March 28, 1985, under federal racketeering (RICO) charges, as part of an investigation that sent the top dozen New York Mafia leaders (and dozens more) to prison. However, Dellacroce would die of lung cancer eight months later, before being sentenced.
    One reliable insider told me a story of how Dellacroce and Peter DeFeo were longtime rivals, and on one occasion in Las Vegas, the pair got physical and had to be separated. Stories like this are not documented and unfortunately cannot be proven.
    D’E RCOLE , J OSEPH
428 East 116 th Street, Apartment 18
Alias: Joe Z, Josey, Joe Morelli, Josie Romano, Joe the Book
Born: November 16, 1911, New York City
Died: May 1976
Association: Gambino crime family
    According