William "Billy" Leotardo (5 September 1960 - October 2004) was an enforcer in his brother Phil Leotardo's crew of the Lupertazzi crime family. He was killed by Tony Blundetto during the Lupertazzi civil war of 2004.
Biography[]
William Leotardo was born in New York City, New York, the dim-witted younger brother of Phil Leotardo. Leotardo's family name was changed from "Leonardo" to "Leotardo" at Ellis Island upon immigrating to the United States from Sicily. Billy would follow his older brother into the Lupertazzi crime family and become a soldier in his crew, selling printer toner cartridges out of the back of a truck that he ordered for the Esplanade construction site offices. Following Carmine Lupertazzi's death in 2004, a power struggle ensued, and the Leotardo brothers supported Johnny Sacrimoni in his attempt to seize power. Leotardo was involved in the murders of Lorraine Calluzzo, Jason Evanina, and Angelo Garepe, weakening Lupertazzi's faction.
Death[]
Leotardo after being shot
Angelo Garepe's close friend Tony Blundetto, a soldier in the DiMeo crime family, decided to murder the Leotardo brothers to avenge his friend's death. One night, as the Leotardo brothers left a bar in New York City, Blundetto shot at them several times with a handgun as he walked towards them. Billy was instantly killed from his fatal wounds to the face, neck and chest, while Phil was wounded in leg; Blundetto succeeded in escaping in his car. Billy Leotardo's death would create bad blood between Phil Leotardo and Blundetto's DiMeo crime family that would only be resolved with Blundetto's execution by his own cousin Tony Soprano, and, eventually, Leotardo's murder in 2007.