Anthony Arillotta is a former made member of the Genovese crime family who ran its Springfield, Massachusetts crew before flipping in 2010 and becoming one of the most consequential government witnesses in New England mob history. His cooperation put the Genovese family’s acting boss and two associates in prison for life, solved two 2003 murders, and, by law enforcement’s own account, crippled the mafia in western Massachusetts.1MassLive. Arillotta Enters Ranks of Prolific Mob Witnesses He served roughly seven and a half years in federal prison, returned to Springfield, and has since co-authored a memoir about his life inside the family.
Who He Was in the Genovese Family
For decades the Genovese family ran a satellite operation in Springfield built on sports gambling, loan sharking, drug dealing, and extortion. Arillotta later estimated the sports book alone brought in around a million dollars a week.2NEPM. New Podcast Explores Rise and Fall of the Springfield Crew The crew shook down local businesses, including the Mardi Gras strip club, and ran truck heists as Arillotta moved up the ladder.
He was formally inducted on August 11, 2003, at a ceremony in a Bronx apartment presided over by acting boss Arthur “Artie” Nigro and Pasquale “Scop” DeLuca.3New York Post. Mafia Makes New Members Remove Clothes for Initiation The man who had proposed him for membership was Adolfo “Big Al” Bruno, the Springfield captain. Within months, Arillotta helped kill him.
The 2003 Murders
Adolfo Bruno was shot to death on November 23, 2003, outside the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Society in Springfield.4MassLive. Anthony Arillotta Topic Page Federal prosecutors said Nigro ordered the killing to protect his and Arillotta’s positions in the family and to keep Bruno from talking to law enforcement.5FBI. Genovese Organized Crime Family Members Charged The shooter was Frankie A. Roche, who later admitted firing six or seven rounds into Bruno for a $10,000 fee.6MassLive. Frankie Roche Topic Page
Days before the Bruno hit, Arillotta’s own brother-in-law, Gary Westerman, was shot and beaten to death by a group of four men who suspected he was talking to police. Westerman’s body was buried in a wooded lot in Agawam and stayed there almost seven years.7MassLive. Murder Victim Gary Westerman Both killings were pieces of the same consolidation of the Springfield crew under Nigro and Arillotta.
Federal Arrest and the Decision to Cooperate
On February 17, 2010, a 13-count federal indictment was unsealed in Manhattan charging Arillotta and Nigro with murder in aid of racketeering, murder to obstruct justice, racketeering conspiracy, and multiple extortion counts. The murder charges carried mandatory life, with the death penalty on the table.5FBI. Genovese Organized Crime Family Members Charged Arillotta, 41, was arrested in Springfield the same day, alongside Genovese member Steve Alfisi and three gambling associates.
He flipped almost immediately.8MassLive. Emilio Fusco Trial Topic Page He pleaded guilty to charges that included murder, drug trafficking, extortion, and the attempted murder of Frank Dadabo, a union figure shot nine times on a Bronx street on May 19, 2003, on Nigro’s orders. Dadabo survived.9U.S. Department of Justice. Nigro et al. Sentencing In June 2010, Arillotta walked FBI agents to Westerman’s burial site in Agawam, and the recovery of the remains cemented his value as a cooperator.10HuffPost. Bingy Talks, FBI Digs Up Body By July, prosecutors charged Arillotta and four others in connection with the Westerman killing.11Cafe. Let’s Kill Gary Tonight
What His Testimony Produced
Arillotta was the government’s star witness at the Manhattan trial of Arthur Nigro and brothers Fotios “Freddy” Geas and Ty Geas. On April 1, 2011, after a three-week trial, the jury convicted all three in about four hours on charges that included the Bruno murder, the Dadabo attempt, racketeering, and extortion of local business owners.12FBI. Former Acting Boss of Genovese Family and Two Associates Convicted Reporters covering the case described Arillotta as the “most damning witness” against the Geas brothers, who had once seen him as their route to real money and standing in the family.13MassLive. Fotios Freddy Geas Topic Page
On September 12, 2011, U.S. District Judge P. Kevin Castel sentenced Nigro and the Geas brothers to life. Nigro was also ordered to forfeit $234,000.14FBI. Former Genovese Family Acting Boss Sentenced to Life
In April 2012, Arillotta went back on the stand against Emilio Fusco, a Genovese member accused of taking part in both 2003 murders. Fusco had fled to Italy and stalled his trial for years. Prosecutors said he supplied the gun and tipped the shooter to Bruno’s location.15MassLive. Mafia Turncoat Anthony Arillotta Testifies Over four days, Arillotta detailed their joint extortion, drug, and betting activity and told jurors the two had “toasted Gary Westerman’s murder over cognacs” after the killing.8MassLive. Emilio Fusco Trial Topic Page The defense called him a “gun-slinging, double-crossing opportunist” and “a government witness and habitual liar looking to deflect a life sentence of his own.”
The jury acquitted Fusco of the murder charges. Judge Castel nonetheless found by a preponderance of the evidence that Fusco had participated in both killings and sentenced him to 25 years on racketeering and extortion.16Internet Archive. United States v. Arthur Nigro, et al., Court Document The Second Circuit later rejected Fusco’s appeal, including his challenge to the use of acquitted conduct at sentencing.17MassLive. Convicted Mobster Emilio Fusco Loses Appeal
Arillotta’s Sentence and Return to Springfield
In exchange for cooperating, Arillotta received a sentence dramatically shorter than the life terms handed to the men he testified against. He served roughly seven and a half to eight years in federal prison and was released around early 2017.18Western Mass News. Mob Boss Turned Author He opted out of the federal Witness Security Program and returned to Springfield in May 2017, staying with family in the area.19MassLive. Anthony Arillotta Returns to Springfield
The Whitey Bulger Postscript
One consequence of the case Arillotta helped build played out years later inside a federal prison. On October 30, 2018, Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger was beaten to death at USP Hazelton in West Virginia less than a day after arriving. Fotios “Freddy” Geas, already serving his life sentence for the Bruno murder, was named as a primary suspect.20CBS News. Whitey Bulger Dead, Mafia Hit Man Fotios Freddy Geas Reportedly Suspect Bulger had been a longtime FBI informant, and a private investigator who knew Geas told reporters, “Freddy hated rats.” In 2024, Geas pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, drawing 25 more years, consecutive to his life sentence; the more serious murder charges were dismissed.21The Guardian. Whitey Bulger Prison Killing Sentence
Memoir and Public Appearances
In September 2024, Arillotta released a memoir, South End Syndicate: How I Took Over the Genovese Springfield Crew, co-written with former Springfield police officer Joseph Bradley and published by Hamilcar Publications. The 220-page book covers his rise through the crew, the murders, and his turn as a government witness.22Kirkus Reviews. South End Syndicate Kirkus Reviews called it “colorful if unedifying.” He promoted the book at events including a signing at Barnes and Noble in Holyoke.23MassLive. Former Springfield Gangster Anthony Arillotta Turns Novelist
He has also appeared at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, including a May 2025 event billed as “Crime Boss Confessions: Springfield and the Anthony Arillotta Story.”24The Mob Museum. Mob Museum Announces Organized Crime Programs In October 2025, he was a guest on season three of the museum’s podcast, Inside the Life.25Nevada Business. The Mob Museum Announces Season Three of Inside the Life