| |
| William Bentveno | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Aliases | Billy Batts William DeVino |
| Gender | Male |
| Born | August 4, 1919 Brooklyn, New York City |
| Died | June 11, 1970 Brooklyn, New York City |
| Affiliation |  Gambino crime family
|
| Title(s) | Soldier |
William Bentveno, better known as Billy Batts (or mistakenly as William DeVino), was a soldier for the Gambino crime family from 1948 to 1970, when he was murdered by Lucchese crime family associates Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
Biography[]
Jimmy Conway finishes Billy Batts.
William Bentveno was born to a family of Sicilian descent in New York City, and became an associate of the Gambino crime family. He rose through the ranks of the Gambino Crew and became a Soldato in the family, becoming an "untouchable" made member.
In 1970, he met his ultimate fate when, at The Suite Lounge, he insulted Lucchese associate Tommy DeVito about how he used to be a shoeshine boy, so DeVito and his friend, fellow associate Jimmy Conway, beat Batts unconscious. At first, DeVito and the gang left, but DeVito savagely beat him, assisted by Conway, repeatedly hitting his head and shoving away Vito Ambrosio, his associate. They threw away his gun and finally smashed him, leaving his pounded body on the floor. Using the table blankets, they carried him into their car, believing he had died. While the Lucchese associates were having dinner at DeVito's mother's house, he woke up and tried to beat the trunk open.
The associates heard the bumps while they were on the Upstate parkway, and they drove off the road to investigate. Batts wheezed, so DeVito stabbed him seven times with a steak knife and Conway shot the body five times, and buried it. They returned six months later when news came that a condominium was being built over the burial site, and they re-buried it in another location in New York.
Billy Batts was a made member of the Gambino crew, meaning that he could not be touched until the offender had a sit-down with his boss and got the OK to kill him. Batts was killed without Carlo Gambino's permission, meaning that he would be the one who was whacked; he did not come up with a good reason or meet with the boss. This resulted in DeVito's murder in 1979, after years of conflict with the Lucchese Family, as the Gambinos annoyed everyone over the location of Batts (or his body, after they found out).