Tricky “Little Nicky” Corozzo, a feared Gambino captain, surrendered to agents with little fanfare yesterday after eluding capture for the past four months.
The diminutive but dangerous capo walked into FBI headquarters in Manhattan yesterday at 9:45 a.m. with his attorney, Diarmuid White, authorities said.
The paunchy, 5-foot 5-inch Corozzo was nowhere to be found when the feds knocked on the door of his Long Island home during an early-morning raid in February that netted five dozen other Gambino wiseguys in a historic mob roundup.
Sources said his daughter, Bernadette Corozzo, may have called to alert her dad the feds were on their way after agents arrested her husband, Vincent Dragonetti, in the same sweep. Corozzo fled so quickly, he purportedly left his wallet behind.
Yesterday, Corozzo, 68, strolled into Brooklyn federal court looking well-rested and at ease, and dressed in the traditional Mafia uniform: a shiny nylon warm-up suit – royal blue with white stripes – and sparkling white Nike sneakers.
He pleaded not guilty to murder, racketeering, extortion and gambling charges, and was ordered held at the Metropolitan Detention Center because the prosecutor said he is an obvious flight risk. The entire proceeding lasted less than 15 minutes.
White said he’d first gotten a call from Corozzo a few weeks ago, and then another on Wednesday in which Corozzo said he wanted to face the music.
The lawyer said he and Corozzo met on a street corner two blocks from FBI headquarters yesterday morning and phoned an agent as they walked toward the building. They were met on the corner by FBI agents who took Corozzo into custody, White said.
White said Corozzo seemed “in a positive state of mind. He knew what he was doing.”
Corozzo is charged with 10 racketeering counts – including the 1996 double murder of Luchese associate Robert Arena and bystander Thomas Maranga, who was shot while sitting next to Arena.
He faces a life sentence if convicted of the crimes.
Corozzo allegedly helped John “Junior” Gotti run the crime family in recent years, and was even considered as a possibility to take over the reins.
“That brass ring was within his grasp,” said a law-enforcement source. “No one was going to stand in his way.”