Castellammare del Golfo discussion

[Antiliar]

Jimmy, which Gaspare Mag. became the boss? Was it this one? http://mafia.wikia.com/wiki/Gaspare_Magaddino

Do we know who the earlier bosses were?

[jimmyb]

Yes, same guy. Salvatore Lupo has him born 1908, which sounds right. No birth dates listed in my FBI and FBN files on him. Thought I saw something in my Italian Parliamentary reports, but I'd have to look. Lupo seems like he would know though.

Gaspare was the son of Giuseppe Magaddino. I write about the Giuseppe the elder in my book. He was hated rival of the Buccellatos. Bill Bonanno provides great information on this in "Bound by Honor."

So Gaspare was Stefano Magaddino's (Buffalo) first cousin. Gaspare's brother Peter Magaddino was Bonanno's top guy in Tuscon.

Btw: there is an "image" of Gaspare Magaddino floating on the web that is incorrect. I'm not sure who that is. https://www.google.it/search?q=Gaspare+ ... dQqbViompM:

Maybe it's Stefano's brother, also named Gaspare?

Here's another curve ball: This book claims Gaspare Magaddino was hired to kill Castro!!! https://books.google.com/books?id=9nc7x ... re&f=false

The authors say he was from Detroit, so pretty sure this is bullshit. But I wonder where the authors heard this.

[jimmyb]

In terms of the earlier bosses, I'm not sure if we'll ever know positively, but I've argued on Black Hand and RD that Felice Buccellato was the boss in the 1910s/early 1920s, and that Bonanno overstated the importance of his father in the CDG cosca.

Don Felice was killed in 1921, so I'm not sure who took over at that point. Melchiorre Allegra described Francesco Buccellato as a boss, but the Buccellatos were on the losing side of the blood feud, so I'm assuming one of the elder Magaddino brothers took over (either Stefano or Giuseppe).

Just as a side note: Francesco Buccellato was one of the few Buccellato mafiosi from his generation to survive the blood feud (his three brothers and several first cousins were killed---see my book). He fled Sicily and settled in Tunisia in early 20s. I know from cousins that his family eventually returned to Sicily and live there today.

Anyhow, seems like the mafia in CDG was less conspicuous during the Fascist years so it's difficult to say who was in charge at the time. Either way, Liborio Munna emerged as the boss in the post war years. Dolci described him as a "white-collar" mafioso.

[Antiliar]

Thanks Jimmy. Wonder if there are any old Sicilian papers that flesh out what happened in this feud that crossed from CDG to New York, Buffalo, New Jersey and Detroit. Hopefully they'll go online one of these days.

As for the Frank Sturgis book, it be worth it to contact Jim Hunt, the author who's a nephew of Sturgis. Some of the reviews point out chronological errors, so I'm wondering if the authors confused names from FBI files. You'd think that two attorneys would be a bit more detail oriented.

[felice]

yes, Gaspare Magaddino, born in 1908, son of Giuseppe. Murdered in NY in 1970, he was the family boss.
His son Giuseppe was murdered in 1998, he was married to Diego Plaia's daughter

[Lupara]

yes, Gaspare Magaddino, born in 1908, son of Giuseppe. Murdered in NY in 1970, he was the family boss.

Reason for the murder?

[Antiliar]

yes, Gaspare Magaddino, born in 1908, son of Giuseppe. Murdered in NY in 1970, he was the family boss.

Reason for the murder?

This article will tell you everything that's known about him: http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/b ... -magaddino

[Lupara]

yes, Gaspare Magaddino, born in 1908, son of Giuseppe. Murdered in NY in 1970, he was the family boss.

Reason for the murder?

This article will tell you everything that's known about him: http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/b ... -magaddino

Thanks!

[jimmyb]

yes, Gaspare Magaddino, born in 1908, son of Giuseppe. Murdered in NY in 1970, he was the family boss.

Reason for the murder?

Great question. Gaspare Magaddino (the CDG boss) sided with his brother Peter and Joe Bonanno during the Bananas War. For example, Gaspare was the likely shooter in the Cypress Garden Restaurant massacre. (*Btw, just as a side note, it's interesting to see the change in status when Sicilian bosses hide out in the US---Gaspare was a capomafia, yet in NY he's employed as a trigger-man. Similar situation w/Toto Minore. While in the States he was nearly broke, running pizza joints for the Gambinos).

Anyhow, one theory is the Gaspare Magaddino murder was retaliation for the Cypress Garden hit. I have some doubts though. First of all, the Banana War was over by the pt. So I don't think Stefano Magaddino had the resources or the inclination to hit his cousin. My alt theory is Gaspare's murder had Sicilian connections. We know the Buccellatos sent shooters to NY to help JB. Some of those trigger men were still around after the Banana War. Remember the question from the Departed movie: "Cui bono?" I don't think it's a coincidence that Nino Buccellato solidified his position in power once Gaspare was eliminated.

[jimmyb]

Thanks Jimmy. Wonder if there are any old Sicilian papers that flesh out what happened in this feud that crossed from CDG to New York, Buffalo, New Jersey and Detroit. Hopefully they'll go online one of these days.

As for the Frank Sturgis book, it be worth it to contact Jim Hunt, the author who's a nephew of Sturgis. Some of the reviews point out chronological errors, so I'm wondering if the authors confused names from FBI files. You'd think that two attorneys would be a bit more detail oriented.

Great question about "old Sicilian papers." I hope so. Among other things, I've always wanted to know about the conditions of surrender. Most the Buccellatos were killed during the feud, but a few significant members survived. For example, we know Francesco Buccellato fled to Tunisia, but don Felice's brother Giuseppe and Filippo Buccellato (Joe Buccellato's father) were still around. And Felice's son Cola Buccellato was old enough to take revenge. So under what conditions did the Buccellato agree to lay down their arms? Or was it an unconditional surrender? I asked the family elders here and in the Sicily, but I don't think anyone has any insight into this question any longer.

Salvatore Lupo turned up some great documents on CDG from Fascist police files in the Rome Archives. I hope one day to take a look myself. That's probably our best hope in terms of finding additional documentation about the blood feud.

[Antiliar]

Newspaperarchive has some Italian and Tunisian newspapers from the 1940s. Maybe there's something that can help: https://newspaperarchive.com/world-newspapers/

Found this at the Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/newspapers/?fa=loca ... o&all=true

https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18024792? ... d=21150768

https://web.archive.org/web/20030828180 ... lett_e.htm

http://www.infoprint.ch/infoprint/Itali ... tions.html

[jimmyb]

Looking over "Challenging the Mafia Mystique" by Rino Coluccello, anyhow he mentions that capomafia Liborio Munna was Bernardo Mattarella's godfather. The political-criminal nexus in CDG is something I would like to focus on in terms of future research.

[B.]

Reviving this great thread because of some reading I was doing recently...

The wife of somewhat recent CDG family leader Gioacchino Calabro is a Fiordilino and she was described as helping him run the family while he was in prison. Though not as well-known as names like Bonventre, Buccellato, Magaddino, Evola, Domingo, Asaro etc., the Fiordilinos and their relatives look to be a major "missing link" between Castellammare and New York, especially in the post-1950s period. Giovanni Fiordilino is somewhat known because he was a captain in the post-Joe Bonanno era and later returned to Sicily, with his relatives Francesco Navarra and Santo Giordano being high-ranking Castellammarese Bonanno members in his wake. CC and Antiliar's Informer article ID'd some early Navarras from CDG who were linked with the earliest incarnation of the Bonanno family, so this group could be related to them.

Santo Giordano's uncle Gaspare "Nino" Bonventre had a niece with the surname Fiordilino and this Gaspare Bonventre may have been been the older man "FNU Bonventre" referred to as a participant in the three captains murder as well as the same Gaspare Bonventre identified as a CDG member who traveled between the US and Sicily. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe at least one or two other Fiordilinos have been mentioned by JimmyB in the past as CDG members in recent decades. So along with these names being intertwined and interrelated, they appear to be among some of the most enduring and prominent names in the Castellammarese mafia circle on both sides of the ocean. I'd be curious if there are other Giordanos ID'd as members/associates in CDG.

The "Mysterious Bonventres" topic I made a while back connects to this discussion, too:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=2793

[Frank]

Reviving this great thread because of some reading I was doing recently...

The wife of somewhat recent CDG family leader Gioacchino Calabro is a Fiordilino and she was described as helping him run the family while he was in prison. Though not as well-known as names like Bonventre, Buccellato, Magaddino, Evola, Domingo, Asaro etc., the Fiordilinos and their relatives look to be a major "missing link" between Castellammare and New York, especially in the post-1950s period. Giovanni Fiordilino is somewhat known because he was a captain in the post-Joe Bonanno era and later returned to Sicily, with his relatives Francesco Navarra and Santo Giordano being high-ranking Castellammarese Bonanno members in his wake. CC and Antiliar's Informer article ID'd some early Navarras from CDG who were linked with the earliest incarnation of the Bonanno family, so this group could be related to them.

Santo Giordano's uncle Gaspare "Nino" Bonventre had a niece with the surname Fiordilino and this Gaspare Bonventre may have been been the older man "FNU Bonventre" referred to as a participant in the three captains murder as well as the same Gaspare Bonventre identified as a CDG member who traveled between the US and Sicily. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe at least one or two other Fiordilinos have been mentioned by JimmyB in the past as CDG members in recent decades. So along with these names being intertwined and interrelated, they appear to be among some of the most enduring and prominent names in the Castellammarese mafia circle on both sides of the ocean. I'd be curious if there are other Giordanos ID'd as members/associates in CDG.

The "Mysterious Bonventres" topic I made a while back connects to this discussion, too:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=2793

I find rereading both these threads interesting. Didn't some of the Buccellotos become Bonanno member?

[DPG]

Tbh I can read anything B. posts even if I'm not interested in the subject matter. IMO he is truly one of a kind(same goes with CC, Rick, HK and the Gov)