He was a Mobster's Mobster

Colombo capo Gregory Scarpa Sr. was a mobster's mobster: a smart, tough money-earning brawler ready to kill in the service of his mob family.

"I love the smell of gunpowder," Scarpa told his crew members once after he wounded one of his mob rivals during the recent Colombo family war.

Operating from his Bensonhurst headquarters -- the Wimpy Boys Social Club -- Scarpa reputedly made millions lending money to loansharks, directing airport truck hijackings and even selling illegal arms to Mideast dealers. His son, Gregory Jr., proudly followed his father's footsteps, becoming a Colombo soldier and earning a 20-year narcotics trafficking sentence.

But for more than 30 years, sources say, Scarpa Sr. led a double life as a top-echelon FBI informer who gave up secrets about every family crime boss from the first -- the late Joseph Profaci -- to the current one, imprisoned boss Carmine (Junior) Persico.

And when he died this month of AIDS -- acquired from a tainted blood transfusion from a trusted crew member -- his former mob cohorts ignored his wake.