![]() ![]() In his relationship with the largest US porn seller, Reuben Sturman, it is unclear whether DiBernardo was extorting or collaborating. ![]() 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. Zappi allegedly sponsored DiBernardo for membership in the Gambino family.ĭiBernardo 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. ĭiBernardo became associated with the Gambino crime family through his acquaintanceship with fellow pornographer and Gambino capo Ettore Zappi. These films were imported, usually from Denmark or the Netherlands, and were viewed in peep show booths. 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. To many, the proliferation of such businesses in the early 1970s made the area a symbol of the city's decline. One of the relatively few thought to have become made in the Mafia without a murder to his name, DiBernardo, at that time allegiant to the DeCavalcante crime family, bought the softcore business Star Distributors in the late 1960s, and used it to sell hardcore of all types and media to adult industry businesses around Times Square, long perceived as an insalubrious (if not actually dangerous) district where police did not prevent flouting of obscenity and other laws. According to some accounts, Angelo Ruggiero engineered an order from Gotti to kill DiBernardo because he had once told Ruggiero that he was not smart enough to be underboss. All of these traits made him vulnerable to others within Gotti's organization.ĭiBernardo, who had been the target of a federal investigation into child pornography, was awaiting sentencing when he was murdered by Sammy Gravano. ![]() DiBernardo was seen as a phenomenal money maker, secretive, and a lone operator (unlike most Mafia members of his status, he did not retain a crew to back him up). Whether DiBernardo's relationship with Sturman and others was based on outright extortion or mutual advantage was never established. He became immensely influential in the US pornography business, and an associate of Reuben Sturman. In any event, he was a relatively capable businessman who did not have any personal reputation for involvement in violence, but his Mafia links deterred potential competitors and warded off other criminals. During the 1984 US presidential election, publicity about DiBernardo having rented business premises from the husband of Geraldine Ferraro embroiled her in damaging media innuendo about organized crime.īy some accounts, DiBernardo was the most dominant figure behind the US adult industry in his era. ![]() Robert " DiB" DiBernardo (May 31, 1937, in Hewlett, New York – June 5, 1986) was a Caporegime in the Gambino crime family, who was reputed to control much of the commercial pornography in the US. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. ![]()
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