Rise One of the relatively few thought to have become
made in the Mafia without committing a murder, DiBernardo, at that time allegiant to the
DeCavalcante crime family, bought the
softcore pornography business Star Distributors in the late 1960s, and used it to sell hardcore pornography of all types and media to adult industry businesses around
Times Square, long perceived as an insalubrious (if not outright dangerous) district where police did not enforce obscenity laws. To many, the proliferation of such businesses in the early 1970s made the area a symbol of the city's decline. By the mid-1970s, hardcore
child pornography was being openly sold in New York and other US cities, sparking outraged calls for the banning of all pornography and drawing police attention to DiBernardo. These films were imported, usually from
Denmark or the
Netherlands, and were viewed in
peep show booths. DiBernardo became associated with the
Gambino crime family through his acquaintanceship with fellow pornographer and Gambino
capo Ettore Zappi. Zappi allegedly sponsored DiBernardo for membership in the Gambino family. DiBernardo directly commissioned the production of much of the so-called
Golden Age of Porn-era hardcore films made in New York; rivals were intimidated out of business or co-opted into his network. Independents (such as the
San Francisco-based
Mitchell brothers) who were immune to pressure due to their location or other reasons had their films pirated. In his relationship with the largest US porn seller,
Reuben Sturman, it is unclear whether DiBernardo was extorting or collaborating. However, FBI
bugs caught DiBernardo telling another pornography magnate,
Michael Thevis, that "the family" was in charge of his businesses. DiBernardo and his associate Theodore "Teddy" Rothstein – the co-owner of KED Productions Inc. with DiBernardo – were among 44 people indicted as a result of an undercover FBI investigation of all major publishers and distributors of adult films and magazines throughout the United States which began in 1977. DiBernardo became the prime target of the operation following the death of Michael "Mickey Z" Zaffarano, a
Bonanno crime family capo who suffered a fatal heart attack as FBI agents served a warrant for his arrest at his Times Square adult movie theater on February 14, 1980. Bernardo and Rothstein were convicted in
Miami of conspiracy, transporting obscene materials for the purpose of sale and distribution, and three counts of using a common carrier to transport obscene materials across state lines on June 12, 1981, and each sentenced to five years in prison. A federal judge then overturned the convictions of DiBernardo and Rothstein and ordered the indictments against them dismissed on grounds that FBI agent Patrick Livingston – who posed as a dealer of adult materials in Miami and purchased allegedly obscene films and videotapes from KED Productions – may have lied to a grand jury. Livingston was arrested for shoplifting in November 1981, and there was evidence he was experiencing psychiatric problems involving an inability to distinguish between his real and undercover identities. Although ostensibly only ranking as
soldier in the Gambino crime family, he reported and paid financial tribute directly to
Paul Castellano. DiBernardo complained that he got little respect from Castellano, who despised the porn business, but that Castellano took a hefty percentage of the returns nonetheless. One of the first to support
John Gotti's plot to kill Castellano and supplant him as boss, DiBernardo was rewarded with the status of
captain, despite not heading a crew of his own.
National attention New York police routinely surveilled DiBernardo as an organized crime figure, but he only became widely known after his name emerged in publicity surrounding the
1984 Democratic candidate for
United States vice president. The
Walter Mondale campaign drew attention shortly after choosing
Geraldine Ferraro for the ticket when the personal finances of Ferraro and her husband, real estate developer John Zaccaro, were made an issue and it emerged DiBernardo rented his premises from Zaccaro's company. The issue removed early momentum the Mondale–Ferraro ticket had gained, and diverted the campaign. DiBernardo was not mentioned during the
1984 vice-presidential debate, though questions over Ferraro's separate tax filing, which were widely seen as carrying implications about her husband's business, put her on the defensive. The Mondale-Ferraro ticket, always a heavy underdog, lost the general election. In 1992, the now-deceased DiBernardo was brought-up with more effect to discredit Ferraro, seriously damaging her fortunes in a Senate primary that she had been front-runner for.
Murder and aftermath Sammy Gravano said he was told by the only Mafia member allowed to see
John Gotti in jail, his friend
Angelo Ruggiero, that Gotti wanted DiBernardo killed for being subversive. In his memoir, Gravano said he was reluctant to obey the command, failing to understand how DiBernardo—without the soldiers that would be necessary for any power play—could or would be posing a threat to Gotti's leadership. Believing Ruggiero would not have dared fabricate the instructions, Gravano decided he had to obey the boss's order. On June 5, 1986, DiBernardo was lured to the basement offices of Gravano's drywall company on
Stillwell Avenue in
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Acting as if it were a regular business meeting, Gravano told
Joseph Paruta to get DiBernardo a cup of coffee. Paruta, who "Gravano regarded as his
Luca Brasi" got up, but instead of getting the coffee, took a .380 with a silencer from a cabinet behind DiBernardo and shot him in the back of the head. Without his closely guarded knowledge, DiBernardo's pornography business interests became less profitable, although Gravano would help himself to the deceased man's control of
Teamsters Local 282, which dovetailed with Gravano's construction racket. In the 1996
HBO made-for-TV movie
Gotti, actor
Frank Vincent portrays DiBernardo as "DB". In
Witness to the Mob, actor Tony Kruck portrays him simply as "Di Bernardo". Jimmy Palumbo plays Robert DiBernardo in a season three episode of the television series
The Deuce. == References ==