The son of
Italian immigrants Lillian (née Rosso) and Anthony Bilotti, he was born on the
Staten Island borough of
New York City. As a young man, Bilotti became an associate in the crew of John "Johnny D" D'Alessio, a
caporegime in the
Gambino crime family who controlled
illegal gambling and other rackets on Staten Island. He later became a criminal associate of John's brothers Alexander "Pope" D'Alessio and Michael "Mikey D" D'Alessio. Bilotti also spent time as the chauffeur and bodyguard of Alexander "The Ox" DeBrizzi, an uncle of the D'Alessio brothers who controlled the Staten Island waterfront for the Gambino crime family. He became an integral member of the D'Alessio crew and was involved in
labor racketeering,
extortion and
loansharking. In 1969, Bilotti was arrested on Staten Island on a felony charge of possessing stolen property. He gained a reputation for violence. In one incident, Bilotti assaulted
Colombo crime family associate Robert Pate. Bilotti was a reputed
hitman for the D'Alessio crew, The quick arrest of the pair occurred as the Jamesburg area was in the midst of significant racial tension after riots at the local high school, and police from
Spotswood and
Monroe Township were on alert. Although police suspected that the duo were responsible for Parks' injuries, Bilotti and Papanier were initially charged with carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a pistol without a permit and failing to secure a permit to purchase a pistol. A
Middlesex County grand jury ultimately indicted the men only for illegal possession of concealed weapons. In 1971, John D'Alessio allegedly recruited Thomas Bilotti and his brother
Joseph to murder Thomas "Tommy Edwards" Ernst, the common-law husband of D'Alessio's daughter Theresa. Ernst was ultimately killed on April 6, 1972 when he was ambushed and shot twice by an unidentified gunman on the porch of John D'Alessio's home at 151 Jumel Street in
Great Kills, where he had been making a visit to Theresa D'Alessio. Bilotti's first wife Catherine died of cancer in her mid-30s, and he subsequently remarried to Donna, a
Brooklyn beauty parlor owner. He had a severely autistic son who had been institutionalized since childhood, and although Bilotti visited the boy regularly, he rarely spoke of him. Another Bilotti brother, Jimmy, worked for the singer
Frank Sinatra in
Las Vegas for several years during the 1970s and 1980s.
Castellano protégé Over the years, Bilotti became a close aide-de-camp and confidant of another Gambino
capo,
Paul Castellano, who reportedly saw much potential in the ambitious Bilotti and took him on as a
protégé. He served as Castellano's primary chauffeur, bodyguard and
enforcer. Bilotti was subsequently
inducted as a
"made" member of the family in October 1977, and his older brother Joseph followed suit in 1980. The company obtained more than $2 million in subcontracts on
city and
Transit Authority construction projects between 1984 and 1986 alone. Paul's son Philip Castellano was installed as president of Scara-Mix, and Bilotti served as the company's vice president, overseeing day-to-day activities on various construction projects in New York City and New Jersey in which the Gambino crime family had an interest. Daly served as Local 638's business agent until his 1987 conviction for soliciting bribes to ensure labor peace.
Conspiracy Aniello Dellacroce's death from cancer on started a chain of events that led to Castellano's murder two weeks A group of Gambino mobsters, including members of Dellacroce's faction as well as onetime Castellano loyalists, conspired to assassinate Castellano and supplant him with
John Gotti as head of the family. The main conspirators who composed the dissident faction were Gotti,
Joseph "Joe Piney" Armone,
Frank "Frankie D" DeCicco,
Robert "DB" DiBernardo and
Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano – collectively known as "the fist". Several factors contributed to the conspiracy to kill Castellano; his failure to attend Dellacroce's
wake was an insult to the Dellacroce family and his followers. Secondly, Castellano named his bodyguard Bilotti as the new underboss, a decision which caused insult to other members of the family who felt they were more deserving of the position. Castellano also hinted that he planned on breaking up Gotti's crew over rumors of drug dealing. Gravano suggested killing both Castellano and Bilotti while they were eating breakfast at a diner. However, when DeCicco tipped Gotti off that he would be having a meeting with Castellano and several other Gambino mobsters at Sparks Steak House on December 16, Gotti and the other conspirators decided to kill him then. ==Death==