Visiting Pittsburgh 1963

[FriendofHenry]

Not done. Work in progress.

B - Sebastian John La Rocca
U - Frank Amato
...

Are you saying that Henry Zottola was not a member?

No idea. He was born in 1936 and died in 1998 so not sure what his status was in 1963.

He was already part of Jo Jo Pecora's Crew working at the Club 30 then the Jockey Club across the street. However he was not "made" then.

[B.]

- The excerpt where Philly captain Pete Maggio says "Frank" the Neapolitan (Amato) is underboss and Kelly Mannarino is capodecina comes from June 1962. Gentile said Amato was the underboss back when Vincenzo Capizzi was boss so he held the position for 30+ years.

- La Rocca was boss going back to at least the 1950s. He was a Villarosa paesano of early boss Capizzi and Jack Gadazzo who Gentile said was close to Capizzi.

- Dominick Auditori was a confirmed member still alive.

- Bompensiero was told by Leo Moceri that Tripodi was a capodecina over Steubenville with a few soldiers under him.

- Gentile said the Family had 70 members in the early 1930s

- Sam Mannarino was cooperating later in the 1960s: http://mafiahistory.us/rattrap/ptmannarino.html

^ Mannarino said the last induction was "a long time ago -- too long".

^ Circa 1967 Mannarino said the Family had 30 remaining members and only six were active.

^ He knew the organization as "the Outfit" locally.

^ He said Bazzano Jr., Ciancutti, and Fontana weren't members but he was also coy/reluctant about IDing members so not positive that's true.

^ Highly recommend this doc: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=127923

-------

- Tom Hunt interpreted some of Gentile's info as follows:

Conti was not the only Mafia boss in the region at this time. Gentile indicated that a number of bosses cooperated through a council overseen by Salvatore Calderone.

Calderone held a position akin to chairman on the Mafia's western Pennsylvania ruling panel during Conti's reign in Pittsburgh.

I'm not sure what the exact source of the info is (I can't find it in Capomafia), but if that's accurate it's no doubt referring to a Family consiglio where Calderone was secretary / chairman while Conti was boss.

If they had a consiglio as this implies it might explain confusion over who was boss over the decades. We know the consiglio created confusion in some places.

[Angelo Santino]

- The excerpt where Philly captain Pete Maggio says "Frank" the Neapolitan (Amato) is underboss and Kelly Mannarino is capodecina comes from June 1962. Gentile said Amato was the underboss back when Vincenzo Capizzi was boss so he held the position for 30+ years.

- La Rocca was boss going back to at least the 1950s. He was a Villarosa paesano of early boss Capizzi and Jack Gadazzo who Gentile said was close to Capizzi.

- Dominick Auditori was a confirmed member still alive.

- Bompensiero was told by Leo Moceri that Tripodi was a capodecina over Steubenville with a few soldiers under him.

- Gentile said the Family had 70 members in the early 1930s

- Sam Mannarino was cooperating later in the 1960s: http://mafiahistory.us/rattrap/ptmannarino.html

^ Mannarino said the last induction was "a long time ago -- too long".

^ Circa 1967 Mannarino said the Family had 30 remaining members and only six were active.

^ He knew the organization as "the Outfit" locally.

^ He said Bazzano Jr., Ciancutti, and Fontana weren't members but he was also coy/reluctant about IDing members so not positive that's true.

^ Highly recommend this doc: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=127923

-------

- Tom Hunt interpreted some of Gentile's info as follows:

Conti was not the only Mafia boss in the region at this time. Gentile indicated that a number of bosses cooperated through a council overseen by Salvatore Calderone.

Calderone held a position akin to chairman on the Mafia's western Pennsylvania ruling panel during Conti's reign in Pittsburgh.

I'm not sure what the exact source of the info is (I can't find it in Capomafia), but if that's accurate it's no doubt referring to a Family consiglio where Calderone was secretary / chairman while Conti was boss.

If they had a consiglio as this implies it might explain confusion over who was boss over the decades. We know the consiglio created confusion in some places.

1 Some say the lineage goes like this (but we need to question everything)-
Vincenzo Capizzi 1932-1937
Frank Amato / Roccorainola, Caserta, Naples 1937-1956
Sebastian John La Rocca 1956-1984

2 That settles it. Tripodi did have a large amount of guys around them but as to who was made I heard Joseph Quatrone. Tripodi had a "right hand" who was Phillip Matucci.

3 30 members seems right, my list currently has 33 but Zoccoli, F&C Valenti, Anzalone transferred. I have a George Adragna who also went to SD, not sure if he was a member like the other SJ Adragna who came from Pittsburgh.

4 Gentile never said that, that was Tom Hunt's interpretation. The way Gentile described it was confusing but I'd say your deep dive into panels and consigli cleared it up. Salvatore Calderone was the former Boss, vacated it to Conti and sat on the panel. I think that we don't hear about it much because it may have been seen as a function more so than an actual official position by its members because those who mention it don't seem to focus to much on it, but that may because they were in the dark on it.

Interesting stuff.

[Angelo Santino]

Updated 1st post chart

[B.]

Pat Ferruccio was apparently a member at this time. Lonardo said he was a Pittsburgh member.

The Pittsburgh member George Adragna was either planning to or did move to California but was still in Pittsburgh at this time.

I haven't seen Charles Imburgia as a confirmed member but everything available strongly points to him already being made at this time.

[FriendofHenry]

Pat Ferruccio was apparently a member at this time. Lonardo said he was a Pittsburgh member.

The Pittsburgh member George Adragna was either planning to or did move to California but was still in Pittsburgh at this time.

I haven't seen Charles Imburgia as a confirmed member but everything available strongly points to him already being made at this time.

I forgot about Charles Imburgia aka. Charlie Murgie He was definitely a member in '63!

[PolackTony]

I'm not sure what the exact source of the info is (I can't find it in Capomafia), but if that's accurate it's no doubt referring to a Family consiglio where Calderone was secretary / chairman while Conti was boss.

If they had a consiglio as this implies it might explain confusion over who was boss over the decades. We know the consiglio created confusion in some places.

FWIW, my reading of the Gentile info was the same: that he may have been describing Conti as the rappresentante of the family while Calderone may have been “Chairman” of the family council. As CC stated, the explicit “Chairman” thing isn’t in Gentile, but Gentile’s info makes sense if a Consiglio was in place. Given the similarity of Pitt’s Sicilian backgrounds to Chicago, I’d think that if one had a Consiglio, the other did as well.

[Angelo Santino]

I'm not sure what the exact source of the info is (I can't find it in Capomafia), but if that's accurate it's no doubt referring to a Family consiglio where Calderone was secretary / chairman while Conti was boss.

If they had a consiglio as this implies it might explain confusion over who was boss over the decades. We know the consiglio created confusion in some places.

FWIW, my reading of the Gentile info was the same: that he may have been describing Conti as the rappresentante of the family while Calderone may have been “Chairman” of the family council. As CC stated, the explicit “Chairman” thing isn’t in Gentile, but Gentile’s info makes sense if a Consiglio was in place. Given the similarity of Pitt’s Sicilian backgrounds to Chicago, I’d think that if one had a Consiglio, the other did as well.

Any idea where this is? Gatimoli?

gatimoli.PNG

[Angelo Santino]

I'm not sure what the exact source of the info is (I can't find it in Capomafia), but if that's accurate it's no doubt referring to a Family consiglio where Calderone was secretary / chairman while Conti was boss.

If they had a consiglio as this implies it might explain confusion over who was boss over the decades. We know the consiglio created confusion in some places.

FWIW, my reading of the Gentile info was the same: that he may have been describing Conti as the rappresentante of the family while Calderone may have been “Chairman” of the family council. As CC stated, the explicit “Chairman” thing isn’t in Gentile, but Gentile’s info makes sense if a Consiglio was in place. Given the similarity of Pitt’s Sicilian backgrounds to Chicago, I’d think that if one had a Consiglio, the other did as well.

Any idea where this is? Gatimoli?
gatimoli.PNG

Acquaro wrote he was from "Parmi." Had to have been Palmi in RC and not Parma in the north.

PA-2243940-2228.jpg

[Angelo Santino]

Alcamo? Likely former Bonanno or perhaps Gambino.

adragna brooklyn.PNG

[B.]

I'm pretty certain the "NYC Family" Joe Adragna belonged to was the Bonannos, same with father Giuseppe Adragna. From Alcamo and they lived in Williamsburg. Pittsburgh-based brother Frank Adragna was arrested for the Bazzano murder with Ciro Gallo, a Bonanno member from Palazzo Adriano who married a woman from Alcamo. Gallo's brother Geraldo of the San Jose Family was also a suspect in the Giuseppe Siragusa murder in Pittsburgh so a lot of connections between these families and San Jose, Pittsburgh, and NYC.

In Hunt's Gentile informer issue they theorize that the father Giuseppe Adragna is Pittsburgh member "Joe l'Alcamese" but I'm not so sure. He's a good guess as he was definitely an Alcamese named Joe and had ties to Pittsburgh but some of the other identifying info Gentile gave doesn't fit. Giuseppe Adragna lived in Williamsburg, was already married (twice actually), and seemingly died of natural causes, whereas Gentile says "Joe l'Alcamese" lived in Pittsburgh, was in the process of marrying, and was murdered. Either he misremembered or there were other members from Alcamo in Pittsburgh along with the Adragnas.

Gentile's claim of 70 members in 1932 makes sense to me given they had around ~30 by 1967. Mannarino said they hadn't inducted anyone for a very long time so I could see them going from 70 to 30 members in 35 years. Who were all of those members though? Gentile says he had a few compaesani in the Family in the 1930s, not sure if he means Siculiana or just Agrigento but seems there were a lot of old names we don't know. "Paolinello" the Palermitano kid from Chicago was also made in Pittsburgh to save his life, wish we could figure him out.

[B.]

The Adragna name was also referenced in the 1896 "society unto themselves" investigation in Castellammare. The CDG bosses had previously hid out the "Adragna gang" in Castellammare -- the implication is the "Adragna gang" was from outside Castellammare so they very well could have been from Alcamo and it would show the Adragnas were connected to Cosa Nostra back in Sicily. Lennert found Giuseppe Adragna and his brother were involved in crime in Sicily so I wouldn't be surprised if they or their relatives were part of the "Adragna gang".

[PolackTony]

I'm not sure what the exact source of the info is (I can't find it in Capomafia), but if that's accurate it's no doubt referring to a Family consiglio where Calderone was secretary / chairman while Conti was boss.

If they had a consiglio as this implies it might explain confusion over who was boss over the decades. We know the consiglio created confusion in some places.

FWIW, my reading of the Gentile info was the same: that he may have been describing Conti as the rappresentante of the family while Calderone may have been “Chairman” of the family council. As CC stated, the explicit “Chairman” thing isn’t in Gentile, but Gentile’s info makes sense if a Consiglio was in place. Given the similarity of Pitt’s Sicilian backgrounds to Chicago, I’d think that if one had a Consiglio, the other did as well.

Any idea where this is? Gatimoli?
gatimoli.PNG

Acquaro wrote he was from "Parmi." Had to have been Palmi in RC and not Parma in the north.
PA-2243940-2228.jpg

Yeah, the place name on the passenger manifest should be Fatrinoli. I’ve found a number of old references (18th/19th C) to a location called Fatrinoli in RC province, in the area around Taurianova/Molochio. Maybe it was a frazione of one of those comuni, or it was renamed or disbanded or something. Also saw some Acquaros in Pitt from Sinopoli. All in that same Tirrenico section of RC not far from Palmi and Gioia Tauro.

[Angelo Santino]

Mike Genovese's father was from Roccorainola, same place as Amato. His mother was from the next town over, Cicciano.

[Angelo Santino]

Mannerino's father was Giacinto who changed his name from Ruggiero to Mannerino, he came from Amantea, Cosenza. His mother Domenica Politano came from Lago, Cosenza.

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