by Villain » Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:09 am
Antiliar your question is spot on.
I dont have the knowledge to speak regarding the whole US mob but as you already know that during the old days the Chicago family was involved in investing in opium fields in Mexico during the 1930s and 40s, and later on they were involved in the heroin trade, possibly until the late 60s or early 70s. BUT I have some infos that previous of that, some Outfit criminals were involved in the cocaine business or they were only using it for themselves, especially the ones who were involved in the prostitution business and as we all know, the Outfit was involved in the same racket since day one.
My opinion is that Chinese people brought it and the Irish gangsters were the first ones who began selling cocaine in different forms, for example Mickey Finn who was stationed in Chicago's Loop area at the time. Later according to some sources, during Prohibition in some of the brothels which were owned by Dennis Cooney and Victoria Shaw, many agents used to find a lot of white powder which later turned out to be cocaine, instead of heroin. Dont forget that the Chinese also brought white heroin, instead of the usual brown one which came out years later, and we also know that both Cooney and Shaw were previously connected to Colosimo and later to Torrio and Capone.
Regarding the late 50's and 60's, I have one Outfit associate who went by the name of Sheldon Teller who in turn was a corrupt cop who was heavily involved in the heroin trafficking, but he also dealt with weed and cocaine. His close associates were John Sullivan, Thomas Durso and Sam Canzoneri, all being corrupt cops at the time. Im not quite sure on who was Sheldon's connection to the Outfit, but all I know is that Durso was connected to Mad Sam, while Canzoneri was possibly with the North Side crew.
During the late 60s and early 70s, the Outfit was involved in the cocaine trafficking together with Pete Licavoli and sources say that Licavoli was behind the movement of large quantities of cocaine even to Anchorage, Alaska, and obviously many parts of the US and one of his partners at the time was allegedly Tony Spilotro. According to the FBI, the full extent of the operation was not known, but some government investigators had documents that the gang supplied a major portion of hard drugs for the Chicago market and possibly for some of the smaller Midwest cities.
During the same time we also have Armand D’Andrea who was the Outfit's rep in Arizona, who with the help of one Frank Mancini, brought his two bros Nick and Mario into the cocaine business. Story goes that Mancini was responsible for the connections to Colombian and Mexican drug cartels. and they transported the cocaine with the help of the old transporting method of stolen parts or whole cars between Arizona and Illinois.
During the early 70s the two main Outfit associates who were responsible for the transportation of large quantities of cocaine were Ora Curry and Robert Pronger. The interesting thing regarding both of them was that they had business relations n Central and South America and also all the way to the Middle East.
Later another crew was involved in the same business which included Ken Eto and Sam Sarcinell and story goes that during its peak, the group moved approximately 200 kilos of cocaine per month, mainly from the Miami area. According to the feds, the Colombian cocaine was distributed to points such Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, and also the Los Angeles area, where Sarcinelli kept one of his residences. During the late 70s Sarcinelli sold 14 pounds of cocaine to an undercover agent
During the early 1980s, James Tortoriello and his son Mark were also heavily involved in the cocaine business and they were both killed probably because of that.
So if you ask me, the Chinese were the first ones who brought it and later during the late 60s the North Side crew in Chicago were possibly the main players in the cocaine business, while during the 70s and 80s, the prize goes to the Chicago Heights faction.
Antiliar your question is spot on.
I dont have the knowledge to speak regarding the whole US mob but as you already know that during the old days the Chicago family was involved in investing in opium fields in Mexico during the 1930s and 40s, and later on they were involved in the heroin trade, possibly until the late 60s or early 70s. BUT I have some infos that previous of that, some Outfit criminals were involved in the cocaine business or they were only using it for themselves, especially the ones who were involved in the prostitution business and as we all know, the Outfit was involved in the same racket since day one.
My opinion is that Chinese people brought it and the Irish gangsters were the first ones who began selling cocaine in different forms, for example Mickey Finn who was stationed in Chicago's Loop area at the time. Later according to some sources, during Prohibition in some of the brothels which were owned by Dennis Cooney and Victoria Shaw, many agents used to find a lot of white powder which later turned out to be cocaine, instead of heroin. Dont forget that the Chinese also brought white heroin, instead of the usual brown one which came out years later, and we also know that both Cooney and Shaw were previously connected to Colosimo and later to Torrio and Capone.
Regarding the late 50's and 60's, I have one Outfit associate who went by the name of Sheldon Teller who in turn was a corrupt cop who was heavily involved in the heroin trafficking, but he also dealt with weed and cocaine. His close associates were John Sullivan, Thomas Durso and Sam Canzoneri, all being corrupt cops at the time. Im not quite sure on who was Sheldon's connection to the Outfit, but all I know is that Durso was connected to Mad Sam, while Canzoneri was possibly with the North Side crew.
During the late 60s and early 70s, the Outfit was involved in the cocaine trafficking together with Pete Licavoli and sources say that Licavoli was behind the movement of large quantities of cocaine even to Anchorage, Alaska, and obviously many parts of the US and one of his partners at the time was allegedly Tony Spilotro. According to the FBI, the full extent of the operation was not known, but some government investigators had documents that the gang supplied a major portion of hard drugs for the Chicago market and possibly for some of the smaller Midwest cities.
During the same time we also have Armand D’Andrea who was the Outfit's rep in Arizona, who with the help of one Frank Mancini, brought his two bros Nick and Mario into the cocaine business. Story goes that Mancini was responsible for the connections to Colombian and Mexican drug cartels. and they transported the cocaine with the help of the old transporting method of stolen parts or whole cars between Arizona and Illinois.
During the early 70s the two main Outfit associates who were responsible for the transportation of large quantities of cocaine were Ora Curry and Robert Pronger. The interesting thing regarding both of them was that they had business relations n Central and South America and also all the way to the Middle East.
Later another crew was involved in the same business which included Ken Eto and Sam Sarcinell and story goes that during its peak, the group moved approximately 200 kilos of cocaine per month, mainly from the Miami area. According to the feds, the Colombian cocaine was distributed to points such Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, and also the Los Angeles area, where Sarcinelli kept one of his residences. During the late 70s Sarcinelli sold 14 pounds of cocaine to an undercover agent
During the early 1980s, James Tortoriello and his son Mark were also heavily involved in the cocaine business and they were both killed probably because of that.
So if you ask me, the Chinese were the first ones who brought it and later during the late 60s the North Side crew in Chicago were possibly the main players in the cocaine business, while during the 70s and 80s, the prize goes to the Chicago Heights faction.