Charlie Brody DiPalermo – “Birds Of A Feather”

Charlie Brody DiPalermo was the younger brother of notorious narcotics trafficker Joe Beck DiPalermo , and although his brother may have led the brood, Charlie was right there with him, side by side, in nearly every scheme and racket !

Charles (Charlie Brody) DiPalermo - aka Charlie Beck - was born in 1925 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. He and his brother Joe Beck both lived their entire lives in the same apartment buildings at 246 and later 260 Elizabeth Street.

Charlie Brody is one of five brothers, at least four of whom were all “born hoodlums” and all inducted members of the Gagliano/Lucchese Family. They served in the downtown regime of the Family known as the Prince Street Crew of which Joe Beck was the capo di decina.

At 5-feet 8-inches tall and a narrow 140 pounds, Charlie Brody was the tallest of the DiPalermo brothers.

The bird-faced DiPalermo, with brown eyes and black hair, most often frequented Little Italy establishments including the Reno Bar at 168 Elizabeth Street, a few doors down from his apartment, and Joy's Restaurant, off the corner of 28 Spring Street.

Charlie Brody operated primarily in the downtown New York section of the city in the 4th and 6th wards. As a young man, he also made trips to Florida and Montreal as required to facilitate their narcotics network.

Strictly Hoodlums

Di Palermo's criminal record dates back to 1945 for burglary, perjury, burglary tools, federal alcohol tax law violations, unlawful entry, forgery, conspiracy (twice), and federal narcotics law violations (twice.)

FBI # 4532585, NYPD # B-239114

At one time he owned a pizzeria up in the Bronx at 301 E. 170th St. called College Pizza. It was a misnomer for him because he and his brothers were never interested or held ownership in any legitimate business ventures!

They were strictly hoodlums, through and through!

As the kid brother of Joe Beck, Charlie Brody rubbed shoulders with virtually most major mafiosi of his day including Vito Genovese, Natale Evola , Carmine Galante, Joe Bonanno, Vincent Potenza , Mike Sabella, Florio Isabella, the Cotroni brothers of Montreal, and others.

Mike Sabella

DiPalermo operated alternately from a candy store, and later from private clubs at 21 and 46 Prince St., all of which were only a few doors down from “Ray’s” Pizza of 27 Prince Street.

Family soldier Ralph Cuomo owned Ray's which was one of the most famous pizza parlors in New York City.

His First Love

With his older brothers Petey Beck, Tony Beck, Joe Beck, and later his son-in-law and family soldier John (Johnny Brody) Sorrentino and Ralph (Raffie) Cuomo (also believed related by marriage,) the “Beck Brothers” operated a large-scale narcotics network on-and-off for decades.

Charlie Brody was also active in virtually all types of rackets, including gambling, shylocking, extortion, alcohol bootlegging, counterfeiting, robberies, and thefts.

But heroin and other drugs were his first love; his “stock in trade” so to speak. The name DiPalermo is synonymous with narcotics! They were among the most voracious narcotics merchants and “dealers of death” in the entire country all their lives!

And although brother Joe may have led the brood, Charlie was right there with him, side by side, in nearly every scheme and racket!

Side Note: I cannot stress that enough. The DiPalermos were “dyed in the wool” hoodlums from birth and no crime or racket was off the table for them.

Joe Beck DiPalermo

Bootlegging, Counterfeiting, and the Big Case

In the 1940s, Charlie Brody was involved with his brother Joe and many others in a complex alcohol bootlegging network. Although years after the repeal of prohibition in 1931, bootlegging was still a moneymaker because of the heavy taxes levied on the liquor industry.

He was one of dozens indicted for federal alcohol tax violations.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Charlie Brody was again involved with his brothers Joe and Petey in a large counterfeiting operation involving traveler's checks.

In 1959, Charlie and Joe Beck were among a slew of top mafiosi caught in one of the largest and most well-publicized narcotics trials of the day. Vito Genovese, Carmine Galante, Natale Evola, Andimo Pappadio , and others, were among the many defendants.

They were all were convicted with Charlie DiPalermo receiving a 12-year sentence.

In 1986, he was among 38 people arrested one morning for operating a massive “retail” narcotics ring in the “Alphabet City” area in Lower Manhattan.

It was, at the time, among the most drug-infested areas of the city.

DEA officials said the ring supplied almost all the heroin sold in those areas and a third of all heroin sales in the entire New York City metropolitan area.

The arrests were a result of a 2.5-year undercover operation tracing street sales of over “$2,000,000,000 dollars” annually to a handful of Mafia leaders.

Operation Pressure Point

Named “Operation Pressure Point,” the investigation started in 1984 and proved the “street dealers” were not independent drug dealers but part of a large, organized Mafia-backed network.

There were nine “subnetworks” that provided enough heroin to supply 90,000 to 100,000 addicts a year or one-sixth of the heroin sold in the United States.

The ring reputedly sold 1,000 kilograms of heroin per year with daily street sales averaging between $30,000 and $100,000.

Prosecutors believed they took down the network from “top to bottom.” This network included what investigators called the "main wholesalers" and heads of the ring - Charlie and Joe Beck DiPalermo.

Gus Sperling, the son of the notorious drug merchant Herbie Sperling as well as Johnny Brody Sorrentino, and Gaetano Recupero also were implicated in this operation.

The End of the Line

Even after serving multiple, lengthy prison terms in his lifetime, Charlie was said to have stayed active till nearly the very end.

After 60-plus years of toiling in the most heartless and vicious of underworld rackets known to mankind (the heroin trade) and creating legions of zombie-like addicts and innumerable human misery, Mr. Charlie Brody DiPalermo passed away in 2009.

Charlie, in concert with his brothers, had left an indelible black mark across the city of New York for decades to come!

Charlie Brody DiPalermo – “Birds Of A Feather”

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Charlie Brody DiPalermo – “Birds Of A Feather”

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L.I. Mob: Mob Sharks Migrate to Long Island

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