The grandson of “Big Paul” Castellano, the former kingpin of the Gambino crime family, was arrested in Staten Island for illegal waste carting, authorities said.
Paul Castellano, 39, named after his infamous mob-boss granddad, had been operating a waste removal business for the past seven years, hauling dirt and other materials from construction sites, without the required trade waste license.
He was busted on Wednesday following a lengthy investigation by the Business Integrity Commission and faces hefty fines and up to six months in the slammer if convicted on the misdemeanor charge.
Early Wednesday, an investigator saw one of Castellano’s employees loading waste onto a dump truck clearly marked with his company’s name, American Materials. The truck did not have the proper registration plates or trade waste license plates, a criminal complaint states.
“I tried to get a license. They will never give me a license,” Castellano told investigators, according the criminal court complaint.
“I didn’t want a denial on my record so I withdrew the application,” Castellano said. “I won’t do it again.”
His grandfather, also known as the “Howard Hughes of the Mob,” was gunned down in 1985 after John Gotti ordered a hit on him.
“Big Paul” will be played by actor Chazz Palminteri in the upcoming John Gotti biopic, “Gotti: in the Shadow Of My Father.”