In July 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced his intention to nominate DiCarlo as Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics Matters.
He spent much of his time in office trying to persuade foreign leaders to supplant fields of opium poppies with other crops.
On May 25, 1984, President Ronald Reagan nominated DiCarlo to replace Judge Bernard Newman of the United States Court of International Trade.
President George H. W. Bush designated DiCarlo to serve as Chief Judge in 1991, a position he held until October 31, 1996, at which time he assumed senior status.
DiCarlo died on April 27, 1999, after suffering a heart attack while exercising in the gym at the James L. Watson Court of International Trade Building.