Dominick Trinchera and the Three Capos Murder

Early on in his underworld career, Dominick Trinchera seems to have been affiliated with members of the Colombo Family, including their 1971-1973 era consigliere Joseph (Joe Yak) Yacovelli. He took a contempt arrest with other Colombo members during their internal civil war after he was among a gaggle of soldiers and associates subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury probe.

He later became close to members of the Bonanno clan. In later years, this is where he would make his mark, becoming an inducted soldier. Within a few years, Trinny was elevated again to the post of “capo di decina” for the Westchester area.

Dominick (Big Trin) Trinchera was born on December 20, 1936. He was raised and operated in the Bronx. He later expanded his activities into Westchester County, Manhattan, and lower Upstate New York. He and his family resided for years at 6 Glen Drive, up in Bardonia, New York.

Early on in his underworld career, Trinchera seems to have been affiliated with members of the Colombo Family, including their 1971-1973 era consigliere Joseph (Joe Yak) Yacovelli. He took a contempt arrest with other Colombo members during their internal civil war after he was among a gaggle of soldiers and associates subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury probe.

He later became close to members of the Bonanno clan. In later years, this is where he would make his mark, becoming an inducted soldier. Within a few years, Trinny was elevated again to the post of “capo di decina” for the Westchester area.

Dominick Trinchera

As far as notoriety goes, although known to law enforcement, Trinchera was, all in all, a low-key type mafioso.

Big Trin was said to be active in policy and bookmaking , extortion, and shylocking. But one of his main activities and biggest money-makers was alleged to have been narcotics trafficking. Trinchera was suspected of dealing in kilo-quantities of heroin and cocaine in partnership with Alphonse (Sonny Red) Indelicato and his brother and partner Joseph (JB). This alliance was thought to have made them a lot of money over the years. They figured into several state and federal drug investigations that didn’t end up producing indictments.

6 Glen Drive, Bardonia, New York

Another attribute of Big Trinny to the Bonanno clan was his intimidating size and disposition, which made Trinchera perfect for a strong-arm enforcer. Aside from whatever actual “work” may have needed to be performed over the years, Trinchera’s massive frame and mannerisms were generally intimidating enough to make it unnecessary to even raise their hands and “crack” a guy or otherwise physically assault someone at all.

Side Note: Later photographs of Trinchera show the sheer size and intimidating presence of the man. And yet, when he wanted to be, informants and law enforcement agreed that Trinny could be quite easy-going, talkative, and friendly at times. He was well-liked by the membership.

But what was generally well understood was that if the opposing party refused to play along and cooperate with the crew's demands, Trinchera, and others like him, would be forthcoming. And the aftermath wouldn’t be pretty.

The Three Capos Murder

Aside from his involvement in the infamous “Three Captains Murder” that has been well documented in court testimony, mob books, and celluloid over the years, not much was ever known about Trinchera. His underworld activities are largely a mystery.

What we do know is that he became affiliated with the Bonannos. He became a “made” member and later rose to a “captain” status. And by all means, he was feared and respected. So much so, that he was both consulted and brought into the conspiracy by other key members in their bid to seize power in the borgata.

In approximately April of 1981, he became one of at least three capos to band together to challenge several Brooklyn and Queens-based regimes for control of the Family. He sided with the notorious, Little Italy-based capo named Alphonse (Sonny Red) Indelicato, and a little-known Long Island-based capo named Philip (Philly Lucky) Giaccone.

Sonny Red Indelicato

The three capos felt that they should be at the helm of the Bonanno Family. Opposing capos Joe Massino, Dominick (Sonny Black) Napolitano, and their followers had set their sights on the same coveted prize for the leadership of the borgata.

After some tense back-and-forth negotiations, a “peace” conference of the entire hierarchy of the borgata was called. A May 5th meeting was set up to try and talk a compromise to keep all factions happy; a peace “pow-wow,” of sorts, Cosa Nostra style.

The rest is well-worn mob history. They were lured one evening to a Brooklyn location, a residential home, where they thought an “administration meeting” of the hierarchy was taking place.

Side Note: As an age-old formality, no participants at a mob “sitdown” or Family meeting are allowed to carry firearms. By its very nature, it is a “peace” meeting, and packing weapons is considered bad form. In fact, anyone caught with a weapon automatically loses the “table” and faces an immediate death sentence.

Once they entered the side door, they were immediately ushered down a staircase into the finished basement where a trap was set. The unsuspecting capos proceeded to say hello to their fellow administration members when all hell broke loose. Within seconds, the signal had been given; one conspiracy participant ran his fingers through his hair. That was enough to begin the end. Guns were pulled, fuck yous and punches were thrown, and almost immediately the three mafiosi became statistics.

Several mob assassins burst out from the inside of a closet door where they had been hiding and opened up with a submachine gun, a shotgun, and several pistols. The result was a complete slaughter! In a wild free-for-all all, over a dozen attending mafia members either went on the offense or the defense, scrabbled for cover or for an exit door. The knowing conspirators in the room physically fought with or joined in shooting the three unarmed and helpless capos. It was a wild melee, to say the least.

Phil Giaccone

A few seconds later, when the sound of deafening gunshots finally ceased and the gunpowder and smoke had cleared, Trinchera, Indelicato, and Giaccone lay dead. A massacre might be a better word to describe the scene. Blood and internal body parts were spattered all across the room. Brain matter, torn flesh, and internal organs made for a gruesome scene.

One eyewitness in the basement that night, a capo named Frankie (Curly) Lino, later turned informant and testified that once Trinny realized that it was a setup, and what was even happening at that moment, he tried rushing one of the gunmen in an attempt to overtake him. But his killer held a pump-action 12 gauge, sawed-off shotgun. As Trinchera rushed his assailant, the fellow let loose with a cartridge of buckshot at nearly point-blank range that literally blew Trinny’s entire abdomen across the room. He never stood a chance; neither did his two compatriots.

With this triple-murder, capo Joe (Fat Joey) Massino from Howard Beach, Queens, would rise to become boss of the “Banana bunch.”

Side Note: Any other members of the dissident faction quickly fell in line. It allowed Massino to successfully rule for years until successive FBI and IRS investigations of multiple members of his inner circle led to their arrest for various crimes. In a seemingly domino effect, one after another soon turned informant. It led to Massino himself being charged as the lead defendant in several RICO cases. And murder was prominently featured on the prosecutor's menu for him. The “Three Capos Murder" conspiracy became the linchpin of the case against him.

It also explained his sudden rise to power. So, what did the fearless “official Representante” of the Bonanno Family do? Tough guy Joseph Massino made a secret deal with federal prosecutors to become the biggest, fattest rat of all! The first-ever, sitting boss of an American mafia Family to become a police informant. So much for Omerta, the famous age-old “code of silence.” That quickly went out the window!

Time to Clean Up

Getting back to the task at hand, a Bonanno clean-up crew consisting of several soldiers and key associates was called in to wrap up and dispose of the bodies, clean up the murder scene, and try to get rid of any other evidence of a crime.

After a long intense investigation, in time, the FBI was directed to an abandoned site in South Queens where they found the remains of Sonny Red. The decomposing body had been wrapped in tarps and placed in a shallow grave that had half risen to the surface amidst a garbage dump, but there was no sign of Trinchera or Giaccone. Police dogs and forensics were unable to detect any sign of him, leading authorities to determine that their bodies were disposed of another way.

It wasn't until October 19, 2004 that investigators would discover both Trinchera and Giaccone's remains. It seems that in a different portion of that same abandoned marshland, children playing in the dump stumbled over a decomposing limb or torso.

In happier times at Joe Bono's 1980 wedding.

Using backhoes and other heavy equipment, it took authorities over a week of digging to unearth the bones of what was later determined to be the remains of the two capos. They found a Citibank card in the name of Dominick Trinchera, an expensive Piaget watch previously owned by Giaccone, and other personal effects of the two mafiosi. Forensics later determined it was indeed them.

In 2005, Massino, by then a government witness, pleaded guilty to several murders, including those of Giaccone, Trinchera, and Indelicato. He received two life sentences in prison, and he was facing the death sentence for another unrelated killing he had approved.

Before pronouncing the sentence, Judge Garaufis allowed victim impact statements to be read in open court. One was a letter from Trinchera's daughter Laura which read, "As for Mr. Massino, he had the opportunity to see his family grow. He took that away from us."

When the verdicts were read, several Trinchera family members clapped. "I'm happy I was here to support his mandatory life sentence," Trinny's wife Donna told newspapers. "I think he's a disgrace.”

But all that bullshit courtroom hoopla, pomp, ceremony, and formality was largely a show for the media and the public. Massino had been debriefed by FBI agents, revealing his extensive knowledge of the Bonanno membership and the various crimes his men had committed, had testified for prosecutors, and even wore a “wire” while behind bars to set up his successor, Vincent (Vinny Gorgeous) Basciano, for the murder of a lowly associate named Randy Pizzolo. It was more than enough to buy Massino his freedom.

Trinchera under surveillance.

Joseph Massino was quickly set free and relocated by the U.S. Marshals Service to an unknown part of the country to start his life anew under the Witness Protection Program (WITSEC.)

Although his formerly devoted wife and daughters publicly stated that they didn’t agree with his decision to “turn” rat and made it a point to publicly denounce him, within months, they too disappeared, along with their money, vast real estate, and other assets. One can only imagine that they joined Massino in his new life “on the lam” from Cosa Nostra’s desired retribution.

As for Dominick Trinchera, he was killed on May 5, 1981, cutting short what had promised to be a bright mafia career. The overly ambitious, up-and-coming gangster was only 44 years old.

This has been just another sordid tale of life in the New York underworld.

Until next time...”The Other Guy!”

Dominick Trinchera and the Three Capos Murder

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You May Also Enjoy

Girolamo (Jerry) Asaro: Veteran Bonanno Family Soldier

Michael (Mike Bruno) Consolo: Bonanno Family “Money Man”

Murad (Mickey Coco) Nersissian

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