Daniel (Danny) Kapilow

Danny Kapilow started as a Bronx prizefighter, transitioned into labor racketeering, and left a mark as one of the most notorious union power players in New York. With ties to legendary mob guys, countless scams, and a knack for staying under the radar, his life was anything but ordinary.

Daniel (Danny) Kapilow was born and bred in the Bronx on March 16, 1921. Danny would stay as a Bronx resident for years to come. By the mid-1960s, he had relocated over the Whitestone Bridge to Queens. He moved to 162-01 Powell Cove’s Boulevard in Beechhurst, an upscale neighborhood overlooking the bay near Whitestone.

Back in his youth, he took to boxing. Fighting as a welterweight, he became a well-known prizefighter and tough-hitting southpaw. He stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and compiled an enviable record of 60 wins and only seven losses from 1941 through 1948.

Danny Kapilow in his boxing years.

Before and also after his stellar boxing career, Danny had taken to the streets as a hoodlum. Once he retired from the ring, he gravitated to the labor movement. He was to become a major power in several labor unions, both as a union official and devout labor racketeer.

Kapilow became affiliated with the Teamsters Union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union (AFL-CIO), and several other independent “catch-all” unions that had been created for no other purpose than to embezzle monies and bilk the rank-and-file membership.

Kapilow's Beechhurst home.

Later, Senate testimony deduced that Danny controlled no less than four NYC-based electrical workers locals, Locals # 1430, #2066, and #1922 among them. He and Jack McCarthy, another notorious labor hoodlum, were trustees of the Tri-Union Welfare Fund in 1959.

That same year, and for ten years thereafter, $46,000 was embezzled through the union to lease a residence that was bought by McCarthy and then leased back to the union, which paid exorbitant rents to McCarthy’s mother.

These were a few examples of their blatant racketeering activities not to mention the many other unions they had sway over.

Kapilow often worked in tandem with McCarthy. They held multiple union charters to create “paper locals,” which were, in essence, nothing more than “sham” phony locals, often with no actual union membership that was utilized to “shakedown” employers for extortion payoffs.

They both came under investigation during the famed McClellan Senate Hearings that probed underworld infiltration of the American labor movement.

Appearing before the Senate.

Danny was also known to have dabbled in the strong-arm and loanshark rackets through the years. Senate testimony was produced that showed Kapilow repeatedly lent out money that brought a 10% profit over one month. Essentially, an average interest rate of 2.5% weekly or 130% annually -shylock rates by anybody’s standards.

He counted several notorious mob figures among his close friends as associates, including the following:

• John (Jack) McCarthy -- A Great Neck, Long Island-based union official and devout labor racketeer. He ran so many scams, labor union-related frauds, and embezzlement schemes against various memberships that his exploits proceeded him. Skimmed monies from union fiduciary funds that went to sham dental and medical plans, fraudulent insurance plans, padded expense accounts, etc. All these activities padded the pockets of McCarthy and his mafia benefactor, Johnny Dio.

After being expelled from his union positions, McCarthy opened up a “labor consulting agency,” allowing him to continue unabated with his union scams.

• John (Johnny Dio) Dioguardi -- One of the most prolific labor racketeers in the nation. Dio was a top Lucchese Family capo who controlled numerous Teamsters Locals through various frontmen he installed as union officers. He was often partnered with his buddy and fellow Lucchese member, future boss Anthony (Tony Ducks) Corallo .

• Harry (Little Gangy) Davidoff -- A Brownsville, Brooklyn hoodlum who would later become the president and secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local # 851 and controlled the air-freight industry at JFK International Airpor t in Queens for the mafia with an iron-fisted rule. He had two hoodlum brothers, one of whom fought under the ring name of Bummy Davis, who also became good friends of Kapilow.

• Barney Kotler -- Another notorious 1950s-era Jewish hood from Brownsville who was alleged to be allied to elements of Murder Inc. Barney was a well-known shylock and bookmaker who operated for decades in partnership with the Italian factions of the underworld.

As stated above, Danny Kapilow was exposed to tremendous law enforcement exposure during several 1950s-1960s public hearings and probes into the labor and management field.

Danny Kapilow

He repeatedly pled the Fifth Amendment after being subpoenaed to testify about his activities and mob associates as it related to offering “sweetheart contracts” and labor “peace” in return for under-the-table payments. Although put in the hot seat on more than one occasion, I believe Danny came away largely unscathed from these criminal investigations.

By the 1970s, he was visiting Miami Beach in South Florida more and more. And by the 1990s, he had retired entirely and relocated down to Florida permanently.

Danny Kapilow passed away on February 26, 2010, at the ripe old age of 88.

Until next time...”The Other Guy!”

Daniel (Danny) Kapilow

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You May Also Enjoy

Thomas (Red) DiMaio: Lucchese Family Hoodlum

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