Paul Vario's junkyard

This is the former site of Paul Vario's headquarters.

It is located at 5702 Avenue D in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

For decades, a junkyard at this lot served as a hangout for the Vario Crew, a powerful faction of the Lucchese organized crime family.

Vario was a highly respected and feared capo who operated several fronts, including a cabstand and a floral shop. He also associated with a lounge called Geffken's Bar, which functioned as a hub for his crew's activities.

The lot on Avenue D was protected by a 14-foot-high steel fence with barbed wire. Two "savagely trained" German Shepherds also patrolled the yard.

Inside, Vario had a blue-gray 40x15 foot trailer that served as his office.

On the night of April 7th, 1972, undercover detectives from the NYPD managed to sneak inside the compound. To deal with the German Shepherds, they wore protective padded clothing and brought tranquilizer-laced meat.

Once the dogs were asleep, they placed a "Microsync‐25 transmitter" in an opening in the ceiling of Vario's trailer.

For the next six months, a surveillance team listened as the capo spoke about a wide range of illegal activities.

The operation ended in October 1972 after investigators decided they had enough evidence to raid the junkyard and indict Vario and his associates.

On the day of the raid, Brooklyn District Attorney Eugene Gold made the following announcement at a press conference:

"This morning, at 4 o' clock, 1,200 policemen assembled at twelve different locations, with the purpose of serving subpoenas on 677 organized crime figures. Included in that group were the top of the organized crime people, throughout the city of New York, Rockland, Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk County, in addition to other members of organized crime. We broke their summit headquarters by having a bug placed where they met, last April, which has been functioning since that time. The bug was located in a trailer. A junkyard automobile lot located on Avenue D in Brooklyn. The trailer was 40x15 feet. It was ringed by a 14 foot fence with barbed wire at the top, guarded by two vicious German Shepherds, as well as an individual who watched it through the night."

Following the raid, Vario faced charges of tampering with a witness, insurance fraud, bribery, and hijacking. In April 1973, he was sentenced to six years in prison for tax evasion.

He relocated to Miami, Florida, after being released on parole in 1975.

Three years later, while still in Florida, he gave his crew permission to take part in the Lufthansa heist at JFK airport. The robbery was a success, as they made off with $5.85 million in cash and jewelry.

The 1980 arrest of an associate named Henry Hill on federal narcotics charges marked the beginning of the crew's downfall. Faced with a long prison sentence and the increasing likelihood that he would be murdered by his crew, Hill chose to become an informant for the FBI.

His testimony provided a detailed account of the crew's operations and led directly to the convictions of Vario and another associate named Jimmy Burke.

Vario was convicted of racketeering and died of respiratory failure in federal prison in 1988.

Today, the junkyard is gone. The lot is now occupied by other commercial businesses.