Daidone was central to case, but avoided testifying, indictment

By FRANK KUMMER
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN

Daniel Daidone was never a "made" mobster.

But he was a key part of the government's case linking Mayor Milton Milan to the Philadelphia-South Jersey La Cosa Nostra. Though Daidone never appeared as a witness, his voice punctuated a large portion of Milan's trial. The FBI tapped his cell phone during conversations with former mob boss Ralph Natale about Milan.

Prosecutors said Daidone was a primary mob go-between, taking payments in envelopes from Natale to Milan of between $500 and $3,000 from 1996 to 1998. Jurors agreed, convicting Milan on counts that he accepted the mob's money in exchange for access to Camden's government.

For all that, Daidone himself remains largely a mystery. The 57-year-old former Cherry Hill resident was one of the few major players in Milan's trial never called to the witness stand, though his name rang throughout. He also was one of the few to avoid indictment.

Prosecutors say they never asked Daidone to testify for fear he would merely invoke the Fifth Amendment against incriminating himself.

A known mob associate, according to a State Commission of Investigation report, Daidone managed to work with mobsters without becoming one.

However, court documents, statements by his attorney and interviews do give at least a brief glimpse into his life.

Daidone served in Vietnam as an Army administrator from 1968 to 1970. He was honorably discharged as a corporal, having volunteered twice a month to deliver documents to combat troops under fire, according to his attorney, Thomas Carroll.

He worked for Campbell Soup Co., Camden, in the early 1980s, where he was promoted to night operational manager.

Daidone first drew the attention of state and federal investigators during the 1980s as the mob penetrated Atlantic City labor.

Mob presence in Atlantic City stretched back at least as far as the 1970s, when Philadelphia-South Jersey mob boss Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo wrested control of the bartenders union with an eye toward establishing an early foothold in the casino business. Gambling was approved in 1979, giving unions enormous influence.

Through associates, Scarfo maneuvered to control what eventually came to be called Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union, according to the State Commission of Investigation. Scarfo held hidden interests in at least four bars and indirectly controlled others. Through extortion, the 15,000-member union was able to spread its influence beyond Atlantic City, the SCI report states.

At times, Ralph Natale - the most recent Philadelphia mob boss - served as both the union's chief and secretary- treasurer.

Daidone, too, was a union officer in the 1980s, earning between $50,000 and $90,000 a year as a business agent, according to court papers. Authorities later charged that he improperly used union funds for his own benefit, as well as for family and friends, according to an SCI report. But Daidone avoided conviction when a court ordered the union's takeover in 1990 and removal of key officials.

Daidone, Natale and other union leaders stepped down under an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Daidone's brother, Al, also was ousted from the same union and already had been charged with the 1980 murder of John McCullough, who was head of Roofers Local 30. Authorities believe he was killed for trying to gain influence in the restaurant union.

An appellate panel overturned Al Daidone's conviction in 1992. But he and co-defendant Raymond Martorano, 72, remained imprisoned until last year because the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered them held while prosecutors challenged the ruling. A state court ultimately ordered them released.

Meanwhile, Daniel Daidone was back on his feet after being ousted from the union. He lived in Pennsauken for a time at a family home and moved to Cherry Hill as a married man. He opened Richmond Furniture on Frankford Avenue in North Philadelphia in 1992, according to court documents, and was living with his wife in Cherry Hill.

But the business stalled as crime worsened around the neighborhood and employees were mugged. Daidone closed the doors in December 1996 and was soon divorced.

Natale and Daidone remained good friends, dining together frequently. They began discussing how Daidone would court Milan. Daidone began his relationship with Milan in 1996, when Milan was still city council president.

The mob's goal, federal prosecutors said, was to use the mayor to pry open city government for Natale-backed construction companies.

Carroll, Daidone's attorney, characterized the relationship with Milan as akin to a lobbyist and said that nothing illegal took place. If anything, Carroll said, his client was merely guilty of "aggravated schmoozing."

Shortly after Milan was elected mayor in May 1997, Daidone and Natale hatched a plan to use Trans-Aero Inc., an electrical contracting firm, to land U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development construction contracts in Camden with Milan's help, Natale testified.

But the scheme never had time to work because Milan soon was under federal investigation.

Daidone moved in with his girlfriend, Linda Atene, and worked at Linda's Place, her Atlantic City restaurant. The two married, and Daidone was last known to own and operate a jitney.

His current role in government investigations is not clear, and federal prosecutors will not comment.