was indicted on federal tax evasion charges. In return for labor peace, the Yankee Plastics Company of New York gave Dellacroce 22,500 stock shares worth $112,500. He was indicted on a failure to pay federal income tax on these stocks. In March 1973, Dellacroce was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to five years in prison and fined $15,000. On October 15, 1976, Carlo Gambino died at home of natural causes. Against expectations, he had appointed Paul Castellano to succeed him over his underboss Dellacroce. Gambino appeared to believe that his crime family would benefit from Castellano's focus on white collar businesses. Dellacroce, at the time, was imprisoned for tax evasion and was unable to contest Castellano's succession. Castellano's succession was confirmed at a meeting on November 24, with Dellacroce present. Castellano arranged for Dellacroce to remain as underboss while directly running traditional Cosa Nostra activities such as extortion, robbery, and loansharking. While Dellacroce accepted Castellano's succession, the deal effectively split the Gambino family into two rival factions. In 1979, he along with Anthony Plate, were arrested for the 1974 murder of a New York City bookmaker named Charles Calise. The FBI believed Dellacroce had ordered Plate to murder Calise because he was an informant. While on trial, Plate disappeared. The case ended in a mistrial. On February 25, 1985, Dellacroce was indicted along with the leaders of the other New York Five Families as part of the Mafia Commission Trial. On March 28, 1985, Dellacroce, along with his son Armand and eight others, was indicted on federal racketeering charges regarding the activities of two crews in New York and Long Island. In June, 1985, a Doonesbury comic featuring Frank Sinatra and Dellacroce together, and saying that Dellacroce was charged with the murder of Calise resulted in many papers not running the comic strip. On July 1, 1985, Dellacroce and the other New York Mafia leaders, pleaded not guilty to a second set of racketeering charges as part of the trial. Death On December 2, 1985, Dellacroce died of cancer, aged 71, at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Queens. He was buried in Saint John's Cemetery, Queens. Posthumous After Dellacroce's death in 1985, Castellano revised his succession plan, appointing Thomas Bilotti as underboss and making plans to break up Gotti's crew. Infuriated by both this and Castellano's failure to attend Dellacroce's wake, Gotti resolved to kill his boss. When Frank DeCicco