What Happened to 'Wild Bill' Cutolo? The Colombo Captain Who Vanished
Mobsters DailyWilliam "Wild Bill" Cutolo, a powerful Colombo underboss, disappeared on May 26, 1999, after being summoned to a meeting in Brooklyn — he was murdered by rivals inside his own family, and his body was not found until October 2008, buried in Farmingdale, Long Island. His killers feared he was plotting to seize the family.
The last drive to Bay Parkway
Cutolo, a Persico loyalist from the war years who had risen to underboss, was called to meet Alphonse Persico, the boss's son and acting boss. He parked near a Bay Parkway park and was never seen alive again. His car and personal effects surfaced without him. The family politics around him mirror the Persico-era strife in the Greg Scarpa story.
Cutolo was a war hero to his faction, which bought him respect — and a target once peace came. The Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater leans into that world for the holidays — Tony in black-and-white stencil, gabagool energy, built for November and December parties.
A son flips, a body surfaces
Cutolo's son, William Jr., wore a wire for the FBI against the men he believed killed his father, producing devastating recordings. In 2008, acting on information from a cooperating witness, agents dug up Cutolo's remains in Farmingdale. Alphonse Persico was convicted in connection with the murder and sentenced to life. The case became a centrepiece of the modern prosecutions in the Commission-era case histories.
Frequently asked questions
When did Cutolo disappear? On May 26, 1999, after travelling to a meeting with Alphonse Persico in Brooklyn.
Where was his body found? Buried in Farmingdale, Long Island, where the FBI recovered it in October 2008.
Who was convicted of his murder? Alphonse Persico and others were convicted in connection with the killing; Persico received life.
Keep reading: The Five Families · Why the Mafia Fell · How Valachi Broke the Code of Silence · What Happened to Anthony 'Tony Bender' Strollo? The Genovese Captain Who Vanished
From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — real mafia history, the bosses and wars behind the fiction.
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