Arnold Squitieri

American mobster (1936–2022)

Arnold Ezekiel "Squiggy" Squitieri (February 2, 1936 – January 27, 2022) was an American former acting boss and underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is also known as "Zeke", "Bozey", and "Squitty".

On August 18, 1970, Squitieri shot garment cutter Desiderio Caban five times on a street in East Harlem. Two New York Police Department (NYPD) officers heard the shots, chased Squitieri by car for six blocks, until Squitieri finally stopped. Getting out of his car, Squitieri approached the officers and told them:

<blockquote>Don't worry about it, he's only shot in the arm. Let me go; the boys will take care of you. In January 1972, Squitieri surrendered to authorities. In 1973, while awaiting trial for the Caban murder, Squitieri and his wife Marie were charged with failing to file U. S. federal income tax returns for three years. The couple had concealed $200,000 in income in bank accounts under false names. For the tax charges, Squitieri would serve four years in prison. On March 14, 1973, Squitieri pleaded guilty to first degree manslaughter in the 1970 Caban murder. Squitieri was later sentenced to eight years in state prison.

In May 1981, Squitieri was released from prison and soon began selling narcotics for the Gotti crew in New Jersey. In 1982, Squitieri was being supplied with heroin by Angelo Ruggiero and Gene Gotti. In 1986, after John Gotti replaced Paul Castellano as Gambino boss, Squitieri was inducted into the family. In 1988, Squitieri was convicted in Camden, New Jersey of conspiring to distribute heroin and was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison. In 1999, boss John Gotti promoted Squitieri to underboss. and purchased his own.

During the early and mid 2000s Squitieri had to contend with ethnic Albanian gangs’ involvement with the gambling rackets in Queens. One particular threat was with the Rudaj Organization (or "The Corporation"), run by mobster Alex Rudaj. At first, Gregory DePalma was able to solve minor disputes, but the Corporation became less cooperative over time. In September 2005, Squitieri arranged a meeting with Rudaj at a gas station in New Jersey. When the Corporation mobsters arrived, 20 armed Gambino men confronted them. FBI undercover agent known as Jack Falcone stated in his book that Squitieri told the Corporation mobsters, "You took what you took and that's it or there's gonna be a problem." Rudaj eventually listened to advice and stopped interfering with Gambino operations. On June 15, a tearful Squitieri pleaded guilty to conducting an illegal gambling operation and to tax evasion. On June 28, 2006 Squitieri was sentenced to just over seven years in federal prison. Squitieri was incarcerated at the Devens Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Massachusetts. He was released on December 7, 2012. Squitieri died on January 27, 2022, aged 85.