welcome back to my channel in this video we're going to take a look into the Frank Dio murder with assistance from former lucazi family underboss Anthony casso the Enigma surrounding the dramatic bombing death of Frank too John Gotti's initial underboss is finally beginning to unravel after 11 years contrary to popular belief the execution previously attributed to Vincent Gigante the genovesi boss was actually orchestrated by Herbert Pate a drug dealer connected to the genovesi crime family and a former munitions expert in the US Army according to casso who played a role in the planning and was
present when Pate planted and detonated the bomb Dio was tragically blown up outside a social club in Bensonhurst Brooklyn on April 13th 1986 now 56 years old Pate ingeniously constructed a potent bomb using C4 plastic explosive and a remote controlled toy car the plot devised by Gigante and leaders of the Luc family primarily aimed to eliminate Gotti but he narrowly escaped the attack by altering his plans to visit the veterans and Friends social club that fateful Sunday morning during this period Pate was on Parole following his 1980 conviction for tax evasion alongside Eugene mastropieri a
former New York city councilman from Queens Pate was also awaiting trial on tax and other charges related to the discovery of substantial amounts of jewelry and weaponry in multiple properties owned by him among the confiscated items were two Claymore landmines 50 hunting rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition as revealed by Gregory oconnell a former Federal prosecutor involved in the case oconnell further disclosed that loaded Firearms were found in various locations including pate's kitchen cabinet the first floor landing and a pocket of his bathrobe additionally Pate had a concealed elevator leading to a vault at
an undisclosed location where agents uncovered a stash of weapons along with the Claymore mines reported by FBI agents Richard Rudolph and John cap casso revealed that the decision to employ an unorthodox execution method namely a bomb was made to misdirect suspicion towards Sicilian Mobsters known for their use of explosives Pate who had no ties to the Gambino family and was unlikely to be recognized while surveilling his targets was deemed a perfect candidate as disclosed by casso during his conversation with the agents acquiring the explosives through a contact in Florida associated with casso Pate conducted a
trial run in Upstate New York for casso then luches Capo vitorio amuso and Robert amuso Victorio's brother according to to casso's account on the day of the bombing Anthony casso and vica muso observed from a parked vehicle as Pate casually carrying groceries dropped an object near Dio's car and while seemingly retrieving it discreetly placed a bag containing the explosives beneath the vehicle as casso described subsequently they waited for approximately an hour with Pate positioned in a car across the street and the others in a separate vehicle equipped with a police scanner anticipating de Chico's departure
from the club and his entry into the car casso recounted Pate pulled up beside Dio's car with the window rolled down and detonated the bomb when the explosion occurred pate's vehicle was struck by shattered glass and debris while the Mobsters continued their plotting to eliminate Gotti whom they held accountable for the unauthorized assassination of their mafia boss Paul Castellano Pate took on the task of refurbishing and tidying up the car as revealed by Caso the vehicle underwent a repainting and cleaning process under pate's supervision ensuring that any traces or evidence related to the bombing were
meticulously removed this step was taken to maintain their cover and avoid arousing suspicion as they pursued their plans against GTI shortly after the death of Deo Pate made a court appearance regarding his pending case however just a month later he was apprehended for violating his Parole in June of the same year Pate pleaded guilty to charges of fraud tax evasion and illegal possession of weapons he received a 12-year prison sentence and was released in November of a recent year though he could not be reached for comment regarding the events in early 1994 casso who had
started cooperating with Federal authorities provided the FBI with a detailed and comprehensive account of the de Chico murder plot while casso has never testified for federal prosecutors due to recent accusations of making false statements authorities consider his description of the events surrounding deo's killing to be credible however it is unlikely that Pate or the amuso brothers will face charges related to the murder as the federal Authority ities have limited evidence Beyond casso's version of events the strategy to divert suspicion away from the true culprits appears to have been successful as evident from a conversation between
Gotti and Salvatore Samy bul gravano aen Capo later that day Gotti expressed astonishment at the magnitude of the bombing describing the car as if it had been dowed in gasoline gravano confirmed witnessing the aftermath and shared that he had attempted to rescue Frankie Deo but it was already too late curious about the identity of the perpetrators ano asked who the [ __ ] did it Gotti however was unsure and responded I don't know who the [ __ ] knows speculating on the possibilities Grano mentioned Vincent chin jigante batti dismissed the idea stating that Gigante wouldn't
resort to bombs and would prefer to make his involvement known they suspected the involvement of a renegade faction interestingly while bombs are not commonly used in the United States they have long been a favored weapon among Sicilian gangsters in Sicily bombs are so prevalent that they are even utilized to conceal the true cause of death as highlighted by a recent case disclosed by palmo prosecutors ironically the primary suspect in this case is a sicilian mobster currently serving a 30-year sentence in a US prison for his involvement in the notorious Pizza Connection case which involved the
use of pizza parlor to disguise heroin trafficking from Italy to the United States okay that's it for now [Music]
