Paul Vario

Paul Vario (July 10, 1914 – May 3, 1988) was an American mobster and made man in the Lucchese crime family.

Vario was a caporegime and had his own crew of mobsters in Brooklyn, New York.

Paul Vario was born on July 10, 1914, in New York City.

He grew up in South Brooklyn's Old Mill section.

In 1925, at age 11, Vario was sentenced to seven months in juvenile detention for truancy.

Vario and his first wife, Vita, had three sons, Peter, Paul Jr., and Leonard.

He later divorced Vita and married Phyllis.

Vario allegedly had a very violent temper.

One night Vario took his wife, Phyllis, out to dinner.

While they were sitting at the table, the maître d'hôtel accidentally poured wine on Phyllis' dress, then tried to dry it with a dirty rag.

An enraged Vario hit the maitre d'hôtel twice.

Later that night, Vario sent two carloads of men armed with baseball bats and pipes to assault the waiters after the restaurant had closed.

In 1937, Vario along with Anthony Romano were identified by a sixteen-year-old girl from Howard Beach who said Vario and Romano sexually assaulted her, both men were later convicted of rape and sentenced to ten years in prison.

Vario was paroled twice during his prison term but was sent back to prison for violating parole, after being arrested again and charged with burglary and dealing stolen property.

He was released from prison in 1962.

After Vario was released from prison he became a member of the Lucchese crime family.

He conducted most of his criminal business from an old German bar known as Geffken's on Flatlands Avenue and a Junkyard on Avenue D in Canarsie.

Vario's junkyard in Canarsie, Brooklyn is where he reportedly oversaw criminal operations that included hijackings, loansharking, bookmaking and fencing stolen property.

He was quickly promoted to the caporegime rank controlling his own crew in the family.

His associates were reputed to have been involved in criminal dealings at John F. Kennedy Airport, extorting money from shippers and airlines in exchange for labor peace.

Vario's notable crew associates included Thomas DeSimone and Henry Hill.

Vario continued expanding in 1965, mobster Jake Columbo died, and Vario quickly took control of his illegal gambling operations in the Cedarhurst and Inwood sections of Long Island.

In late 1965, Long Island officials arrested Vario along with eight others and charged them with controlling a gambling ring.

Vario was charged in February 1966, by Brooklyn federal courts with not providing a federal gambling stamp.

In June 1966, Nassau County officials arrested Vario and seventeen others and charged them with running a bookmaking operation.

Vario was also involved in legitimate businesses that included a flower shop, a bar, a restaurant and a taxi stand.

One of his businesses Vario's Bargain Auto Parts Inc. located at 5702 Aveune D, is where Vario conducted illegal business with his associates.

At his height, Vario was earning an estimated $25,000 a day for all these illegal rackets.

According to Hill, Vario once told him that he had stashed $1 million in a single vault.

During this period, Vario also served as an unofficial consigliere to Lucchese boss Carmine Tramunti.

In 1970, Vario was cited for contempt of court and was sent to the Nassau County Correctional Facility on Long Island for seven months.

In 1971, the Geffken family sold the Geffken's bar and property to Paul Vario's friend Peter Abinanti for $40,000.

On April 7, 1972, law enforcement placed an electronic listening device inside Vario's trailer at the junkyard and started gathering evidence against him.

In addition, a police detective wearing a listening device started visiting the trailer.

On July 20, 1973, Paul Vario’s son, Leonard Vario, died of severe burns at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn.

The cause of his injuries was never discovered.

At his funeral, two television cameramen and a police detective were beaten by the mourners.

Following the testimony of Henry Hill, Vario was convicted in 1984, of fraud, and sentenced to four years in prison, followed by a conviction for extortion in 1985, and an additional sentence of 10 years in prison.

He died on May 3, 1988, of respiratory failure in prison.

He was portrayed as Paul Cicero by Paul Sorvino in the Martin Scorsese film Goodfellas.