Casey Rosado
Caecus Rosado (ca.Havana, Cuba 1934-1972 OZONE Park, Queens) was an Cuban immigrant Lucchese crime family associate. He was the President of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union at John F. Kennedy Airport from 1957 to his death in 1972. He was involved in loan sharking, extortion, hijacking and labor racketeering.
Biography
Caecus Rosado was an Cuban mob associate from Havana, Cuba and a close associate of Santo Trafficante Jr. He immigrated from Cuba in 1949. He had one brother named Rosario Rosado a.k.a. "Rosey Rosado", who was a Gambino crime family mob associate and chef who worked in a Little Italy, Manhattan restaurant operated by Dominick Cataldo. The name Caecus is a Latin byname meaning "blind." His original Spanish first name was too confusing, so the mobsters started calling him "Casey". The Irish derivation of the name "Casey" stands for "alert" and "vigorous". Casey was a reputedly powerful mafioso in Batista-era Cuba. He became associated with important members of the Lucchese crime family and was put in charge of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union at JFK Airport. He was a close friend of Tommy Lucchese and Paul Vario. John Calvin had many connections with Cuban mobsters that worked in New York City like Joseph Gagliano, a distant relative of mobster Thomas Gagliano, James Griffin and Joseph Rico who all resided in Tampa, Florida. John and Francesco Manzo were involved in labor racketeering and extortion together, until his death in 1972. Through the control of the airport by Rosado and Manzo, and later another corrupt Teamster local, they offered labor peace in return for a La Cosa Nostra surtax on air freight companies and brokerages that earned high profits expediting shipments to and from the airstrip field. After Casey's death, Manzo would be convicted and incarcerated in 1983 for his racketeering activities at JFK Airport.
A sudden change of plans for Henry Hill
In 1972 Casey Rosado suggested that Jimmy Burke and Tommy DeSimone come down to Miami, Florida and help two local Tampa, Florida crime figures Luis and Raul Charbonier, two brothers, who were Haitians of French descent, collect a debt. The day before the intended trip Tommy DeSimone was arrested during a failed hijacking and wasn't able to post bail in time. So, in Tommy's place, Paul Vario suggested that Henry Hill who had been having marital problems with Karen Hill and financial stress over his night club, The Suite suggested he should take a "vacation". This seems fortunate for Tommy DeSimone who was later fined and not convicted, like Burke and his replacement Henry Hill who were sentenced to ten years for extortion.
Extorting Gaspar Ciacco
Gaspar (John) Ciacco was a Italian-American bartender owner of the (now defunct) Temple Terrace Lounge in Temple Terrace, Florida who was indebted to the Charbonier brothers for $13,000 which he had spent frivolously on racing greyhounds and bolita which ruined his possibly illicit bookmaking operation. Gaspar is portrayed in the film as "Florida Bookie" by the actor Peter Oronati. The Charbonier brothers requested Paul Vario to send down two of his men to collect the debt after Ciacco kept doding them. After having dinner at The Columbia Restaurant located at 2117 East 7th Avenue in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida Jimmy and Henry picked Gaspar up at his business The Temple Terrace Lounge in Temple Terrace, Florida and forced him into their Cadillac which had been rented under the name of the Charbonier's cousins which he had picked up for them. Henry pistol whipped Gaspar on the way over to the Char Pal Cut Rate Liquors Distributor & Lounge located at 3711 Busch Boulevard in Land O' Lakes, Florida which was owned at the time by the Charbonier brothers. Upon their arrival they whisked Ciaccio inside and beat him some more in a liquor storage room. They also threatened Cuban mob associate and convicted independent bookmaker Felix LoCicero, a recognized street soldier who worked for Santo Trafficante Sr. and later Jr., who was a close friend of Gaspar. He operated out of New York City and North Miami. Felix also was indebted to the Charbonier brothers'. Ciaccio agreed to pay the debt, but unbeknownst to the mobsters, his sister who was a typist for the Miami FBI field office as a typist. The sister portrayed as "Bookie's Sister" is played by actress Jamie De Ray. She reported the attack to her boss at the FBI. The Charboniers, Hill and Burke were arrested and convicted of extortion. This incident is portrayed in the 1990 Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas.
Casey's Untimely death
Casey was to be the star witness and testify for the defense teams of Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke. On the day that Rosado was to take the witness stand he had a coronary artery aneurysm from snorting [...] in his home, at the foot of his bed. His death ruined the defense of Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke who were given ten years for extortion in 1972.
References
- Wiseguy: Life In A Mafia Family by Nicholas Pileggi
- Gangsters and Goodfellas: Wiseguys . . . and Life on the Run By Henry Hill & Gus Russo (2005)
- The Mob: A Drive-By Historical Tour of Tampa's Notorious Wise Guys by Scott Dietche
- "HOW THE MAFIA LOOTS JFK AIRPORT MORE THAN $59 BILLION OF FREIGHT " June 22nd 1987 Fortune Magazine by Roy Rowan and Christopher Knowlton