by B. » Sat Oct 26, 2019 4:34 pm
Much of the foundation of St. Louis was the Terrasini / Partinico / Cinisi portal that connected them to Detroit and that network, which despite some strong personal ties to Joe Profaci, John Misuraca, and select NYC members, didn't really create much of a road between St. Louis and the east coast that I know of. Like other midwest/western families, whatever NYC and east coast ties there were had to have been earlier on if they existed at all, when the paesani networks were more active and members traveled/moved more frequently.
According to informants, the family was first under the influence of Chicago and later transitioned to more Detroit influence, with overwhelming ties between the St. Louis and Detroit membership. Kansas City was also influential over St. Louis according to most sources, though reports vary on the degree of formal influence Kansas City had. There is no question Chicago and Detroit dominated St. Louis politically.
However... outside of the Terrasini/etc. group, there was also a powerful group in St. Louis from Agrigento that may have produced more than one early St. Louis boss. The early Chicago connection is interesting in this context, as early St. Louis boss Miceli lived in Chicago prior to St. Louis and in the 1920s Chicago had two bosses from Agrigento (Merlo, Lolordo). The national Agrigento network was extremely tightknit and there was extensive contact/travel between members, so along with Chicago being the obvious local midwest power, this Agrigento connection can't be completely ignored when considering Chicago and St. Louis' close relationship earlier on. Detroit shifted to dominating St. Louis interestingly when the Terrasini/Partinico/Cinisi figures became bosses of St. Louis, which speaks for itself.
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Nick Gentile's brother Vincenzo, who was at least associated with the mafia, lived in St. Louis for a time in the early 1900s and ended up settling in NYC later, but whether he was a made member of either group is pure speculation. It should be noted that he used the same mafia-dominated Agrigentesi network as his brother Nick prior to Nick's own travels in America, so it is likely that Vincenzo Gentile's residence in St. Louis is not a coincidence given the early presence of powerful mafia members from Agrigento in St. Louis, including early figures from Siculiana where the Gentiles were from, as well as other nearby towns. Nick Gentile was made in Philadelphia (where there was an early mafia element from Agrigento in Norristown), so given that this was the same network, it shows that the network in St. Louis may have connected to Philadelphia and of course NYC, where the Gentiles ended up and where there was a strong element from Agrigento in the Gambino family.
So there was definitely a pathway for someone in St. Louis to connect with Philly/Norristown or NYC because the network extended to these places, but aside from Vincenzo Gentile as a very big "maybe", there are no other candidates I'm aware of. That said, these relationships would have been most relevant in the early 1900s and most of the early members of St. Louis are an absolute mystery so we have no clue if these places had members in common back then or other connections.
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An interesting St. Louis member was Giovanni Mirabella, who attended the 1928 Cleveland mafia meeting as well as a ~1931 Chicago peace meeting with Al Capone and Los Angeles leaders. In 1928 he would have rubbed shoulders with Profaci, Traina, and some other prominent NYC / NJ figures in Cleveland but there is no indication of an ongoing relationship. Though he was young, his presence at important national meetings in both 1928 and 1931 seemingly as a representative of St. Louis suggests he was a figure of some importance but he is not known to have ever held a high rank. CI Frank Bompensiero met him first at the ~1931 Chicago meeting and later in the 1960s during a social visit to St. Louis.
Calogero SanFilippo was an early St. Louis member who attended the 1928 meeting with Mirabella and he came from Agrigento. The meeting was also attended by Pasquale Lolordo, Chicago leader from Agrigento, so there is a potential connection along the lines of what I suggested above.
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Here is a long thread about St. Louis which covers some of the above and a lot more:
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4109Much of the foundation of St. Louis was the Terrasini / Partinico / Cinisi portal that connected them to Detroit and that network, which despite some strong personal ties to Joe Profaci, John Misuraca, and select NYC members, didn't really create much of a road between St. Louis and the east coast that I know of. Like other midwest/western families, whatever NYC and east coast ties there were had to have been earlier on if they existed at all, when the paesani networks were more active and members traveled/moved more frequently.
According to informants, the family was first under the influence of Chicago and later transitioned to more Detroit influence, with overwhelming ties between the St. Louis and Detroit membership. Kansas City was also influential over St. Louis according to most sources, though reports vary on the degree of formal influence Kansas City had. There is no question Chicago and Detroit dominated St. Louis politically.
However... outside of the Terrasini/etc. group, there was also a powerful group in St. Louis from Agrigento that may have produced more than one early St. Louis boss. The early Chicago connection is interesting in this context, as early St. Louis boss Miceli lived in Chicago prior to St. Louis and in the 1920s Chicago had two bosses from Agrigento (Merlo, Lolordo). The national Agrigento network was extremely tightknit and there was extensive contact/travel between members, so along with Chicago being the obvious local midwest power, this Agrigento connection can't be completely ignored when considering Chicago and St. Louis' close relationship earlier on. Detroit shifted to dominating St. Louis interestingly when the Terrasini/Partinico/Cinisi figures became bosses of St. Louis, which speaks for itself.
--
Nick Gentile's brother Vincenzo, who was at least associated with the mafia, lived in St. Louis for a time in the early 1900s and ended up settling in NYC later, but whether he was a made member of either group is pure speculation. It should be noted that he used the same mafia-dominated Agrigentesi network as his brother Nick prior to Nick's own travels in America, so it is likely that Vincenzo Gentile's residence in St. Louis is not a coincidence given the early presence of powerful mafia members from Agrigento in St. Louis, including early figures from Siculiana where the Gentiles were from, as well as other nearby towns. Nick Gentile was made in Philadelphia (where there was an early mafia element from Agrigento in Norristown), so given that this was the same network, it shows that the network in St. Louis may have connected to Philadelphia and of course NYC, where the Gentiles ended up and where there was a strong element from Agrigento in the Gambino family.
So there was definitely a pathway for someone in St. Louis to connect with Philly/Norristown or NYC because the network extended to these places, but aside from Vincenzo Gentile as a very big "maybe", there are no other candidates I'm aware of. That said, these relationships would have been most relevant in the early 1900s and most of the early members of St. Louis are an absolute mystery so we have no clue if these places had members in common back then or other connections.
--
An interesting St. Louis member was Giovanni Mirabella, who attended the 1928 Cleveland mafia meeting as well as a ~1931 Chicago peace meeting with Al Capone and Los Angeles leaders. In 1928 he would have rubbed shoulders with Profaci, Traina, and some other prominent NYC / NJ figures in Cleveland but there is no indication of an ongoing relationship. Though he was young, his presence at important national meetings in both 1928 and 1931 seemingly as a representative of St. Louis suggests he was a figure of some importance but he is not known to have ever held a high rank. CI Frank Bompensiero met him first at the ~1931 Chicago meeting and later in the 1960s during a social visit to St. Louis.
Calogero SanFilippo was an early St. Louis member who attended the 1928 meeting with Mirabella and he came from Agrigento. The meeting was also attended by Pasquale Lolordo, Chicago leader from Agrigento, so there is a potential connection along the lines of what I suggested above.
--
Here is a long thread about St. Louis which covers some of the above and a lot more:
http://theblackhand.club/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4109