Alfred (Al Walker) Embarrato: Bonanno "Family" Loyalty

Alfred (Al Walker) Embarrato was a devout Bonanno Family soldier who reveled in his mafia status even if the New York Waterfront Commission named him a "blight" on the docks where he worked. But Al Walker was also a suspected enforcer who had committed several homicides over the years, including ordering that of his nephew, the notorious Tony Mirra.

Alfred (Al Walker) Embarrato -- aka Alfredo Embarrato, Aldo Elvarado, and Alfred Scalisi -- was born on November 11, 1909, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to Salvatore and Mary Embarrato.

Embarrato grew up and always hung out on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in what is commonly referred to by local residents as the 6th Ward. This area is near Lower Manhattan’s docks and the famous Fulton Fish Market section, a notorious breeding ground for the underworld.

He was also known to frequent the Elizabeth Street section of Little Italy and the famous House of Chan Chinese Restaurant on 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan.

Alfred (Al Walker) Embarrato

He married a local girl named Constance, with whom he had three children together. They resided at 43 Market Street and later relocated to the Monroe Houses. The Monroe Houses was a nearby apartment rental complex where many other mafia members and associates also lived.

Embarrato stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed in as a middleweight at 160 pounds.He had straight black hair that turned distinctly salt-and-pepper by his 50s, brown eyes, and had several tattoos on his arms. He also wore glasses.

FBI #776059, NYCPD #B-84812

A Devout Hoodlum

His criminal record dates to 1930 and lists arrests for felonious assault and narcotics. He was convicted of narcotics trafficking charges in the 1950s and served a prison term.

A devout hoodlum, Al Walker reveled in his organized crime status as a member of the Mafia. He most often hung around and operated out of several mob social clubs along Madison Street and Market Street.

Al Walker also hung around the waterfront piers where he was employed as a “boss loader” on the docks. He was in control of shakedowns, cargo theft, and other types of waterfront rackets operated by the Bonanno crime family.

The New York Waterfront Commission named Embarrato as a "known blight" on the docks who controlled the speed and workload of fellow stevedores. In order for shipping companies arriving at the dock to unload their cargoes in a timely fashion, they had to pay Embarrato and the mob extortion fees.

Embarrato also had a reputation as a strong-arm and underworld enforcer, suspected of having committed several homicides over the years.

Several nephews of his also later joined up with the Bonanno family, including the notorious Anthony (Tony) Mirra. Three other blood relatives and nephews also later became Bonanno members including soldier Joseph (Joe Mook) D’Amico, capo Richard (Shellack-Head) Cantarella, and his son, soldier Paul Cantarella.

Years later, Embarrato was said to have passed along the order to his nephews Richie Cantarella and Joey D’Amico to murder their cousin Anthony Mirra after Tony fell from the good graces of the Bonanno hierarchy.

Embarrato reportedly numbered among his friends such underworld notables as Genovese members Frank (Cheech) Livorsi, Rosario (Saro) Mogavero, Joseph (Joe Beck) Lapi, Ottilio (Frankie the Bug) Caruso, Angelo (Little Ange) Tuminaro, and even Salvatore Luciano himself before Lucky got deported back to his native Italy.

Fellow Bonanno soldiers he was known to associate with included his three nephews, Florio (Flo) Isabella, Anthony (Tony) Lisi, Benjamin (Lefty Guns) Ruggiero, Gerald and Joseph (Junior) Chilli, and Angelo (Little Moe) Presinzano.

The Donnie Brasco Case

In the early 1980s, Embarrato was exposed as a top Bonanno hood during the famous FBI undercover case, “Donnie Brasco,” during which FBI Special Agent Joseph Pistone infiltrated the Bonanno hierarchy posing as a local hoodlum named Donnie Brasco.

By the early 1990s, Embarrato once again figured into a major criminal investigation. He was named as one of many Bonanno members who successfully infiltrated The New York Post daily newspaper terminal years earlier. Located in his 4th ward neighborhood, The New York Post maintained its printing and distribution center smack dab in the middle of Bonanno territory.

Al Walker

After an extensive undercover probe, the Manhattan District Attorney brought state racketeering indictments against a number of hoodlums and newspaper executives for having corrupted the company.

Embarrato was one of the hoodlums named in the indictments, but after much initial hoopla, most of those charged were able to plead down and avoid serving jail time. But the very fact that the Mafia had so deeply infiltrated the newspaper created a lot of unwanted publicity for him and the mob.

Alfred (Al Walker) Embarrato died on February 21, 2001. He had lived to be an old hood of 91 years old and was still living in Downtown Manhattan at the time of his death.

Until next time..."The Other Guy"

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