Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa
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Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa are two former New York Police Department (NYPD) police detectives who worked on behalf of the New York Mafia, principally the Lucchese crime family, while they committed various illegal activities. In 2006, they were convicted of labor racketeering, extortion, narcotics, illegal gambling, obstruction of justice, eight counts of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, charges stemming from the 1980s and the early 1990s in New York, and in the 2000s in Las Vegas. Both were sentenced to life in federal prison.
Louis Eppolito is the son of Ralph Eppolito, a member of the Gambino crime family. His paternal uncle and cousin, James Eppolito and James Eppolito Jr., were also both made Gambino members in Capo Nino Gaggi's crew. Growing up, he became acquainted with several other mobsters. His uncle and cousin were eventually murdered by both Nino Gaggi and Gambino family soldier, Roy DeMeo, with the permission of Gambino family boss, Paul Castellano. When he applied for the NYPD in 1969, Eppolito falsely stated that he was unrelated to organized crime figures. He eventually rose to detective, a job which garnered him a number of headlines. He was first a suspect in a corruption case where he was suspected of passing New York Police Department intelligence reports on to Rosario Gambino, a distant relative of Carlo Gambino and Paul Castellano, the former leaders of the Gambino crime family, in 1983, but was cleared. Eppolito retired as a police officer in late 1990. In his book, he cites his tarnished reputation over the Rosario Gambino corruption case as a reason for leaving. Over the next decade, after meeting the actor, Joe Pesci, in a Manhattan bistro, Cafe Central, a restaurant which was frequented by celebrities, he had a minor career as an actor, with small roles in movies including Lost Highway, Predator 2 the gangster films Goodfellas and Ruby. In 1992, Eppolito wrote a book, Mafia Cop: The Story of an Honest Cop Whose Family Was the Mob, in which he spoke of his attempts to avoid being dragged into the criminal life and fight for his reputation as a result of the Rosario Gambino corruption case.
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[hide]Early lives and careers[edit]
Eppolito[edit]
| Louis Eppolito | |
|---|---|
| New York Police Department | |
| Born 1948 | |
| Nickname | Louie |
| Place of birth | New York, New York, USA |
| Service branch | United States |
| Years of service | 1969 - 1990 |
| Rank | Sworn in as an officer - 1969 Detective - 1979 |
| Awards | Eppolito's claim to be the 11th most decorated officer in NYPD was found to be false during the appeal hearing as well as his own admittance that his two Medals of Honor were in actuality only "Honorable Mentions". |
| Other work | Actor, author, convicted on corruption, racketeering, and murder charges |
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