Career
In May 1985, Garafola was charged with tax evasion for failing to report income from a New York discotheque that he owned with Gravano. Garafola and Gravano were also suspects to the murder of Frank Fiala outside of the same discotheque, although they were not convicted. On March 2, 2000, Garafola was charged with racketeering in a classic "Pump and dump" stock fraud and money laundering scheme that made him $41 million over a three-year period.
Slapped with a 43 count indictment and several RICO"s Garafola was prepared to do life in prison.
Garafola"s son Mario, a reputed Gambino soldier and key player, was also charged and convicted in the plot. As of April 2012, Mario Garafola has been released from Federal Communication Commission Allenwood.
Gotti reportedly told Peter, then acting boss, to have Thomas "Huck" Carbonara and Garafola kill Gravano. Carbonara and Garafola reportedly made several trips to Arizona, where the media had revealed Gravano was hiding, to set up a hit.
Gravano"s arrest on drug charges in 2000 ended this venture.
On May 22, 2003, Garafola was indicted in New York for plotting to murder Gravano. On September 6, 2007, Garafola was sentenced to life in prison. In 2015, Garafola was denied compassionate release.
A law enforcement source said Edward Garafola has not been “put on the shelf,” or retired by the Gambinos, and he could theoretically give orders to mob associates if he came home.
As of June 2015, Garafola is imprisoned at the Rochester Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Minnesota.
