The influence of Simone R. DeCavalcante, who was recently
sentenced to fifteen years in federal prison for extortion, was
brought out during questioning of Ralph Nadel, a partner in the
A & P Spotless Cleaning Company. Nadel and his partner Isadore
Ungarten, were the two "unidentified men" mentioned in an FBI
memoradum covering a recorded conversation that took place in
DeCavalcante's office July 8, 1965. The episode also involved
Leonard, who earlier had testified that he did not know
DeCavalcante. Counsel for the Commission elaborated:
Q. I am showing you, if I might, Mr. Nadel, Page
K 225 o f Volume VIII, which purports to be a memorandum,
an FBI memorandum, covering Samuel
Rizzo DeCavalcante and covering a meeting taking
place on July the 8th, 1965. Now, I have showed you
all these before, have I not?
Q. And in that particular report of the FBI there
is described two basically unknown men from the
A & P Spotless Window Cleaning Company that met
with Mr. DeCavalcante on that date?
Q. And can you now tell us who those formerly two
unidentified men were?
Q. Well, were you and your partner, Mr. Ungarten,
in a meeting with Mr. DeCavalcante?
Q. We have gone through this log before and this is
what transpired?
Q. So that, again, when they're describing the two
men from A & P Spotless that went to see Mr.
DeCavalcante, those two men were you and your
partner?
Q. All right. Fine. And this particular report on
K225 is a log of what transpired at that particular
meeting, is that correct?
Q. And you have gone through that, basically, and
now recall what went on during that meeting?
Q. Fine. Now, just leading up to that meeting,
Mr. Nadel, I wonder, sir, if I can first of all ask you,
how did you first meet Sam DeCavalcante?
Q. This was Mr. DeCavalcante's office in Kenilworth?
Q. His plumbing business?
Q. How did you happen to receive a call, sir, if you
know, to do that cleaning job? * * * * *
Q. So did you go over and estimate the job, that is
estimate how much it would cost to clean up Mr.
DeCavalcante 's office?
Q. And how much was it going to cost?
Q. Did you tell that to Mr. DeCavalcante?
Q. All right. Did you then have a conversation
with Mr. DeCavalcante about the cleaning?
Q. All right. Will you tell us what, if any, names
he mentioned to you during the course of this conversation?
Q. Did he mention the name Timmy Murphy?
Q. And did he mention the name Al Palumbo?
Q. That's P-A-L-U-M-B-O?
Q. Now, Timmy Murphy you now know is connected
netted with Local 97, is that correct?
Q. With whom is Mr. Caprio connected?
Q. That's again in your field of endeavor?
Q. How about Mr. Palumbo?
A. He is connected with Mr. Caprio.
Q. In Local 389?
Q. Indicentally (sic), are those two unions, namely Local
97 and Local 389, the two unions that you do business
with in the A & P Spotless?
Q. All right. So Mr. DeCavalcante mentioned that
he knew these men?
Q. What, if anything, did he mention that he might
be able to do for you, or how, did he say?
Q. All right. Did he ask you to do anything about
the price of the cleaning?
Q. Did you reduce the price?
Q. You reduced it from $65 to what?
Q. And then did you undertake to clean his office?
Q. How long were you cleaning his office?
Q. All right. Now, Mr. Nadel, let me ask you this:
Did there come a time when you had reason to remember
Sam DeCavalcante's mentioning of the fact
that if you needed a favor you can see him?
Q. Incidentally, do you know a man named Sam
"Red" Leonard?
Q. All right. Back around this time - I'm talking
about around May-April, 1965 were you having
some difficulty with Sam Leonard?
Q. All right. Will you, first of all, explain how
this whole thing came up between you and Leonard?
Q. So, in effect, as far as you know Sam Leonard
had reason to believe you had taken a job from him?
Q. And as far as you thought did you think he
was mad at you for that?
Q. Now, what happened with respect to some of
your jobs that revived this whole thing?
Q. And then was your partner with you on that first
occasion?
Q. Your partner was with you that first time?
Q. And that's the meeting that's been described in
the exhibit I just showed you?
Q. Fine. I f we can get to that, you and your partner
went to see Mr. DeCavalcante at his office back on
about July the 8th, 1965?
Q. And just going through the report, sir, you complained
to Mr. DeCavalcante that you were losing
clients to Sam "Red" Leonard, or at least you
thought you were, and Leonard was using Timmy
Murphy's name as far as you knew?
Q. Further, it goes on to say you mentioned to
DeCavalcante that Leonard, at least you thought, had
taken four Food Fair store clients from you, is that
correct?
Q. You mentioned that these stores, one was in
Irvington, one was in Belleville and two were in
Newark?
Q. And, further from this report, then, DeCavalcante
told you that he would try and get these clients
back for you?
Q. All right. Then DeCavalcante further stated,
did he not, that he could obtain, or that it was a possibility
he might be able to get some Shop-Rite stores
for you as clients in New Brunswick, New Jersey?
Q. And in Sayreville, New Jersey?
Q. And then, again, did he also at this meeting tell
one of you to get Sam "Red" Leonard on the telephone?
Q. And did one of you look up his phone number?
Q. Do you remember which one it was?
Q. Just concluding, did DeCavalcante then tell you
that you could use his name to protect your business
and to gain new clients but that you were not to abuse
people while you used his name?
Q. And did he further tell you that he could protect
you, and would protect you, as long as you did right
but he would be the first one to come after you if you
didn't?BR>
A. Yes.
Q. And finally, did he tell you that he would meet
with Thomas Pecora, also known as Timmy Murphy,
and tell him not to interfere with A & P Spotless any
more?
Q. He told you that?
Q. So that the FBI reports, then, dated July 14,
1965, which I in effect just read to you, that's fully
accurate?
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