Sometime in the late 1970s, Barbato became the personal bodyguard and chauffeur for Genovese crime family underboss and Brooklyn faction leader Venero "Benny Eggs" Mangano.

U.S. law enforcement charged him with operating criminal activities in the Brooklyn section as well as associating with then-current family acting boss Dominick "Quiet Dom" Cirillo and fellow captains Lawrence "Little Larry" Dentico and Anthony "Tico" Antico.

[1][2][3] The indictment alleged that Barbato was included in a panel since the late 1990s of powerful family capos on how to corrupt labor and construction unions in New York and New Jersey through bribery and extorting their locals in order to achieve influence with companies operating in those areas.

The men, prosecutors said, continued the family's involvement 'in crimes designed to enrich its members,' including extortion, loan sharking and fraud.

[5]The New York Daily News reported that Barbato and the others were "allegedly members of the Westside Crew, a ruling panel that runs the crime family in the absence of imprisoned Genovese boss Vincent (Chin) Gigante.