Stephen Oddo: The Undertaker

Stephen Oddo became the wealthy owner of the Oddo & Stephens Funeral Homes of Brooklyn and Queens. He’d been a licensed, practicing undertaker since he was in his early 20s, having gone to mortician school.

Stephen Oddo was born in 1910 at 1601 Liberty Avenue in the East New York section of Brooklyn. His parents would later move several blocks away to 2601 Pitkin Avenue where he grew up as a buddy and boyhood friend of future mafioso Paul Vario and many other future Italian hoodlums.

As Oddo grew up and became a very successful businessman, he relocated out to an exclusive section in the oceanfront community of Atlantic Beach, where he built a beautiful all-brick million dollar residence backing the Atlantic Beach canal.

Stephen Oddo

He and Vario would remain lifelong friends and close associates.

He became the wealthy owner of the Oddo & Stephens Funeral Homes of Brooklyn and Queens. He’d been a licensed, practicing undertaker since he was in his early 20s, having gone to mortician school.

By the late-1950’s law enforcement authorities had identified Oddo as a Vario aide, and by the early-1960s, they considered him as a publicly-named Lucchese “associate” in Paul Vario’s crew.

In 1936 and well into 1937, Oddo figured prominently into a highly-publicized trial charging Vario and Anthony Romano with the assault and alleged rape of a young woman and the assault of her girlfriend in the Ozone Park section of Queens.

Stephen Oddo was arrested in 1937 and charged along with four other boyhood friends of attempting to unfairly influence the trial by allegedly intimidating the victim and her friend to drop all the charges against the two accused assailants.

They were all charged with various felony charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, bribery, and subornation of perjury. The judge set a very high bail of $25,000 for Oddo and his buddies nd co-defendants who included Leonard Vario (Paulie’s brother who also became a Lucchese member in later years,) James Zummo, and Benny Israel. They were all released on bond.

Within a year Israel died so he was out of the case. The other four would later plead guilty, “copping out” to three-year prison terms each that the sentencing judge later suspended. Paul Vario and Anthony Romano would each receive a 10-20 year jail term that they served in Sing Sing Prison in Upstate Ossining, New York.

By 1968, Oddo had again been subpoenaed for his testimony. This time before a Nassau County Rackets grand jury to testify as to whether he had allowed a luxury boat he owned, “The Infinity" while docked at the Long Beach marina, to be taken out and driven by Capodecina Paul Vario and several hoodlum associates around the Long Island Sound while they discussed mob business.

Oddo also allegedly allowed Vario to conduct his illegal gambling business from the boat. Law enforcement agents had spotted these events while having Vario under surveillance and were actively probing him and all his wide-ranging activities and associates.

Oddo was subsequently also ordered to testify before an empaneled federal grand jury probing Vario and the Lucchese mob as well.

Oddo had only that one 1937 arrest and conviction for conspiracy and had never been jailed. No dod was available.

Until next time..."The Other Guy"

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Stephen Oddo: The Undertaker

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