Gaetano (Paulie Helm) Capalbo

A snapshot bio on Paulie Helm Capalbo, a hoodlum who planted roots in San Francisco after fleeing the "heat" of New York.

Christened Gaetano Paolo Capalbo, during his lifetime, this hoodlum would become better known as “Paul Capalbo,” “Paul Anthony Capalbo,” and by his underworld street nickname of “Paulie Helm.”

Paulie Helm was born on March 14, 1914, in East Harlem, New York to Giuseppe and Antoinette Capalbo. He had three siblings; a brother named Frankie and two sisters named Dorothy and Rose.

He grew up and cut his hoodlum teeth for the first four decades of his life on the gritty streets of New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood.

Paulie stood a mere 5-feet 5-inches in height and weighed about 155 pounds. He had a medium build, close-cropped dark brown-grey hair, brown eyes, a ruddy olive complexion, and generally wore eyeglasses.

FBI #2340720, NYCPD #B-200313

It was thought that by his late thirties Capalbo had run into some trouble in New York, either with local police breathing down his neck or with fellow “connected” hoodlums. Because by 1955, Paulie had fled New York and relocated all the way across the country to the far west coast in California.

He was drawn to the city of San Francisco and would quickly settle in and become a fixture of that city’s criminal underworld for decades to come.

Capalbo soon met and married a local girl named Clara (nee’ Giuliano). But by 1958, Capalbo had left her for a married woman named Ruth Berry Arana with whom he was soon shacking up and living as a common-law couple. They had a residence at 476 38th Avenue in San Francisco.

He listed his employment over the years as a common laborer but, in actuality, was never actually employed at any job. Local and federal law enforcement knew “Paulie Helm” better as a prolific narcotics trafficker who was known to maintain sources of supply back in his hometown of East Harlem.

Through boyhood connections with old friends, he was suspected of having access to pure high-quality heroin and morphine which he would buy wholesale on the east coast for resale out on the west coast.

Among his known hangouts in San Francisco was the Pup Bar located at 201 Columbus Avenue. This is where he allegedly did a lot of his business.

His New York-based associates included members of the Genovese, Gambino, and Lucchese clans. He was known to affiliate and keep steady contact with such notorious narcotics traffickers as Gambino capo Rocco Mazzie, Genovese soldier Joseph (Gijo) Barra , Lucchese drug kingpin Enrico (Harry) Tantillo, and Dominick Marcone. The FBN suspected these men were among his main sources of supply.

Locally, he was known to associate with such devout San Francisco narcotics dealers and known mafia members as Salvatore (Duke) Belleci, Anthony (Tony Melo) Cosenza, Renaldo (Red) Ferreri, Alfred (Freddy) Sacco, Arcangelo (Rudy) Noio, and Vincent (Jimmy) La Sala.

Paul Capalbo was once described by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) as “a large-scale narcotics trafficker for over 25 years who is associated with and respected by the Mafia element of both NYC and California.”

Whether or not he was an “official” Mafia member himself is up for some debate. But regardless of any “official” status he may or may not have had, Capalbo was extremely active over the years and interacted with many top mafiosi on both coasts.

He had a criminal record dating back to 1933 in New York that included arrests for grand larceny, assault, and narcotics violations. He was convicted at least twice on Federal drug trafficking charges. In one case, the judge sentenced Capalbo to a 10-year term in federal prison.

In that 1958 case, the junk agents finally caught up to Capalbo and several of his buddies.

He and Dom Marcone sold a one-half kilogram to an undercover FBN Agent after Capalbo and the agent flew to New York to conduct the transaction. Several other traffickers were also nabbed in this case including Bronx-based Gambino bigwig Rocco Mazzie.

Gaetano (Paulie Helm) Capalbo

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