by cavita » Fri May 22, 2020 7:03 am
It was mid-May 1958 and “family” members had gathered in the home of Tony Musso at 2117 North Court Street in Rockford. Musso was the longtime Rockford LCN boss and had been since at least 1928 or so. This gathering, however, was not a happy one. Musso was dying of cancer and only had a few days to live so he had called his trusted men around his bedside. There he picked his successor to lead the Rockford LCN- Phil Priola. Musso passed away on May 22nd but the Rockford “Outfit” did not abide by Musso’s wishes. The rest of the “family” felt that since Priola had only returned to Rockford in 1956 after spending about 15 years in Chicago, he should not be designated as boss. Instead, the members chose Joe Zammuto to head the family and continue Musso’s legacy.
What was the story behind Tony Musso and his rise to the top of this small Midwestern LCN family? One would have to go back to February 11, 1893 to Partinico, Sicily where Musso was born to Agostino Musso and Vincenza Coronna. At the age of 19, Musso boarded the S.S. Argentina and on August 28, 1912 he arrived at Ellis Island. Musso gave his destination as Detroit, Michigan to stay with a cousin, Vincenzo Finazzo. Musso’s length of time in Detroit is not known, but what is known is that by July 3, 1917 Musso was found to be in New Orleans, Louisiana where he was married to Maria Piro. Maria’s father was Vincenzo Piro, an early New Orleans mafia member and it would appear that Musso learned much from Vincenzo in regards to organized criminal activity. Again, it is not known why, but the next few years finds Musso in the St. Louis area. On February 1, 1918 in St. Louis, Musso took his first arrest when he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and drawing a loaded revolver on the arresting police officer. Another arrest in St. Louis on July 31, 1919 saw Musso arrested on charge of carrying a concealed weapon and burglary along with Joe Provenzano, Jim Curezo, Joe Busan and Joe “Banana Joe” Berti. Musso had given an address as being in Lexington, Illinois and his son, August Musso, was born in Johnston City, Illinois in 1918 so it seems that Musso was traveling back and forth from St. Louis and central Illinois.
For whatever reason, Musso was found to be living in Madison, Wisconsin of all places in the early 1920s and he already seemed to be quite established there when on April 21, 1924 he gave a banquet for friends in honor of Joe Parelli, middleweight boxing champion at the Paradise Café on Regent Street in Madison. It would appear that Musso found bootlegging very profitable at this time in the old Bush section of “Little Italy” in Madison. 1924 was a busy year for Musso when he was said to have offered the captain of detectives W.H. McCormick $15,000 to allow his illegal stills to operate for 6 months but this was shot down and he had also bribed Philip E. LaFollette, Progressive candidate for governor. At the time, LaFollette was county district attorney- LaFollette had a Dictaphone in his office and the conversation between him and Musso was taken down by a stenographer for evidence. And finally on August 28, 1924 Musso was charged in Madison for possessing faked revenue stamps and seals while proprietor of the Belvedere Café at 808 and 810 Regent Street. The owners of the building were Tony LoMonaco and Andrew DiSalvo. LoMonaco was a native of San Giuseppe Iato, Sicily and had ties to the Bommarito family of St. Louis while DiSalvo was a criminal in his own right and he was the brother of Benedetto DiSalvo, acknowledged to be the first official boss of the Madison LCN.
By June 1925 Musso was allegedly involved in a rape case along with Little Pete Gargano and though next to nothing is known about this incident it caused Musso to flee the city where he landed in Rockford, Illinois. In March 1927 Musso was listed as Group Chairman in charge of collecting funds for the wife of slain Rockford Police Officer Frank Cichella and was listed as a grocer having his shop at 411 Lincoln Avenue. This “shop” however, was a front for sugar importation and alcohol distribution. Flush with profits from his bootlegging activities, Musso and associates opened the Liberty Macaroni Company at 1112 Rock Street on May 29, 1927 along with Pete DeFaio, Louis Sarna and Primiano Casalena. This company, while producing pasta, also was a good location for alcohol distribution as it was right along the Rock River.
In October 1927 Musso found himself charged in Rockford for the first time on a case of kidnapping Ezra Duffy, a Dixon, Illinois bootlegger who failed to pay Musso and his men for a load of alcohol. Musso was charged along with Antonio Catalano, Joe Stassi, Vincenzo Troia and Paul Scamardo. All the men except Catalano had lived in Madison prior to coming to Rockford. Musso’s involvement in the case wouldn’t be proven until much later and he was free to go about his business which included an arrest in April 1928 for transporting 200 gallons of liquor along with John Sacco. On January 28, 1929 Musso was finally arraigned on the Ezra Duffy kidnapping but this case would drag on for a while.
By early 1928 it was very clear that Tony Musso was in charge of the Italian criminal element in Rockford and had aligned almost all of the bootleggers under him. On March 9, 1928 a huge article in the Rockford Daily Republic made note of a street fight that Musso had with Giacomo “Jack” DeMarco. A columnist for the paper interviewed Musso about the fight and described the mob boss as fairly tall and straight and very good-looking. Musso had questioned why the columnist should give the incident a main ribbon story when it was just a little fight between men and that there is “no justice in making that story grow large into the fear of a gang war in Rockford.” Musso described how DeMarco pulled a gun on him in the 1100 block of South Main Street and Musso knocked the gun to the side as it fired wildly. Musso then grabbed the gun, emptied the shells and threw the gun away as he proceeded to beat up DeMarco. Who was Jack DeMarco? At that time he was a bootlegger who racked up numerous arrests and in light of the fight with Musso, appears to have been a rival in the bootlegging business.
On September 3, 1928 Gaetano DiSalvo was shot and killed while sitting in his LaSalle roadster in front of the Milano Café on Morgan Street. Leading up to that date, DiSalvo was warned several times by competitors to use different whiskey labels in his bootleg alcohol, but he insisted on using the Old Crow and Old Log Cabin labels. Witnesses described two swarthy-looking men who shot DiSalvo and then ran down an alley before disappearing into the night. Soon after this murder, the newspapers reported that authorities called Musso into their offices and told him, “There are to be no more murders here,” indicating that they knew he was responsible and that he was clearly in charge of bootlegging in Rockford.
As 1930 rolled around, federal agents were busy chasing the numerous bootleggers in Rockford which at this time became a huge hub for alcohol production and distribution to Chicago and the middle west. Rockford was responsible for providing liquor to all parts of Iowa and into Nebraska as well as supplying Al Capone’s gang in Chicago when needed. This Capone connection to Musso most likely came through Musso’s sister-in-law Camille who was married to Tony Lombardo, an early ally of Capone. By July 21, 1930 federal agents had been looking to serve a warrant on Musso for liquor conspiracy charges and he was found to be in Los Angeles, California and staying with his father-in-law Vincenzo Prio, who had moved to that city some time before and was working under that city’s LCN capo Vito DiGiorgio. Musso was brought back to Rockford where he posted bond but was then arrested again in St. Louis on August 20, 1930 on a hold for immigration authorities. When arrested Musso was found in the company of two men identified as Cicero, Illinois gangsters- Joe Cincumiano and Vincent Infusino. Infusino, however, gave his address as St. Louis and was an early member of the “The Green Ones” in that city before moving to San Francisco and becoming an LCN power out there.
The summer of 1930 was a busy one for Musso, not just because of the imminent liquor trial but there was also a faction that challenged Musso for control over Rockford’s illicit liquor racket. This opposing side seemed to be led by Paul Giovingo, a Louisiana born Sicilian who had spent more time in Rockford than Musso and who obviously felt he was more deserving to lead the Rockford Italian criminal element. This feud reached new heights on the evening of August 14, 1930 and the place was the 1100 block of South Main Street. To back up a bit, Paul Giovingo had a brother named Joe, who was two years older and had taken arrests for burglary and bootlegging. On that particular evening Joe Giovingo was standing on the sidewalk next to his parked vehicle making small talk with two Rockford Police detectives. In Giovingo’s vehicle sat Elmer Whitely, Paul “Peachy” Picchioni and Tommy Abbott, who was a northside Chicago rival of Al Capone. As Giovingo stood talking between the detectives on the sidewalk, a dark colored sedan made its way south along Main Street. A shotgun poked out of the rear passenger window and discharged twice, inflicting seventeen wounds into Giovingo who slumped to the pavement instantly dying. Giovingo’s murder was never solved and his brother Paul was bent on revenge.
Two days later on August 16th, a car drove past 411 Lincoln Avenue, firing shots from the moving vehicle and hitting the storefront which was shared by Tony Musso and Vincenzo Troia. The car moved west to and turned north in front of 1501 Clifton Avenue where it again unloaded a fusillade of bullets on that address which happened to be the rooming house of Vincenzo Troia, Tony Riela and Tony LaPuma. No one was injured in these attempts but Paul Giovingo made it clear that he was out for blood and the right to run Rockford’s illegal rackets. It was soon discovered that Troia had disappeared the evening of the Giovingo slaying and the newspapers described Troia as a “first lieutenant of Tony Musso.”
Returning to the huge liquor conspiracy trial in Rockford which started in late 1930, Musso was being represented by Frank DeBartolo out of Chicago, but to avail. Musso was eventually convicted on February 2, 1931 and was sentenced to two years in Leavenworth Prison where he was taken on February 21st. Besides Paul Giovingo, one of those sentenced in the liquor conspiracy trial was Jack DeMarco, the man Musso had fought with on South Main Street in March 1928. DeMarco also began his sentence on February 21st and while he was in Leavenworth, there were those that felt he had been a little too cooperative with the interviewing authorities. On the morning of January 18, 1932 DeMarco was released from Leavenworth after serving just less than a year. Having come back to his Romona Street house to a homecoming party put on by his friends and family, DeMarco was feeling very relaxed as he entertained these guests with food, drink, conversation while a record on the Victrola was spinning. There was a knock on the door when one of the guests happily shouted, “Come on in!” Just then three “youthful looking” men entered and identified themselves as detectives as they brandished guns and asked where Jack DeMarco was. Just then DeMarco entered the room and said to the men, “You’re no detectives.” At this point one of the gunmen herded all the guests into a back bedroom except DeMarco who remained in the living room with the other two gunmen. It was then that five slugs pierced DeMarco’s back as he crumpled to the floor. As he lay there bleeding out, two more shots were fired into his head behind his left ear. The trio then fled the scene in a dark colored sedan. It would seem from this murder that Musso was behind it even ordering it from prison perhaps. Whether Musso was still sore over the fight he had with DeMarco four years prior, or he supposed that DeMarco was too forthcoming to authorities while in prison, justice was meted out that evening. Musso was eventually released from Leavenworth on September 10, 1932 and it is interesting to note that later FBI files detailed that while Musso was serving his term in prison, Phil Caltagerone was named acting boss of the Rockford LCN.
Not long after his release Musso had to deal with another problem in Paul Giovingo. Giovingo had gotten released from Leavenworth four months before Musso and was making the rounds to all the Rockford speakeasies and threatening them to buy his alcohol. There were even reports that Giovingo and his men were hijacking loads of booze that belonged to Musso. That and the fact that Giovingo was still hot over the murder of his brother Joe made Paul Giovingo a very dangerous man. Leading up to February 1933, there were increased threats against Giovingo including menacing phone calls to his home. On the evening of February 11, 1933 Giovingo had left his home at 1033 Montague Street, headed east on Montague and turned north onto South Winnebago Street. It was then that a car had overtaken Giovingo’s vehicle and sprayed it with bullets. Two 12-gauge shotgun slugs found their way into Giovingo as well as four .38 caliber bullets fired from close range as Giovingo lay dying. Giovingo was found slumped over the wheel of his vehicle dead, clutching a revolver that he never got the chance to fire. This murder effectively ended any more opposition to Musso as those bootleggers that sided with Giovingo either sided with Musso or gave up the business altogether.
Soon after the Giovingo murder, Prohibition was repealed and the profits from liquor dried up. Musso still had his gang producing illegal alcohol with fake revenue labels and oversaw hijacking and a huge car theft ring but the incredible profits from bookmaking and gambling were in Musso’s sights however and he started organizing a complete takeover of this racket. In the 1930s Charles Kalb was said to be the biggest bookmaker and provider of wire race service in the Rockford area. Kalb’s domain stretched from Rockford to Woodstock, south to Rochelle and Dixon and north into Beloit, Wisconsin. FBI files detailed that Kalb had refused to furnish horserace wire information to the Italians wanting in on the action and he had let it be known that they were not welcome in the handbook business. Musso’s solution to this problem came about on the evening of December 21, 1937. With Charles Kalb driving, his wife in the passenger seat and business partner Harry Dunn in the backseat, the trio had just left an evening movie at the Coronado Theater in downtown Rockford. Heading to his home located on Clinton Avenue, Kalb wanted to turn left into an alley leading to his home but noticed a vehicle behind him. Pulling over to let the automobile pass, a dark colored sedan slowly eased by and a 12 gauge shotgun poked out from the car’s passenger window. Shotgun slugs poured forth, leaving Kalb dead instantly and his wife slightly injured by flying glass as the murderous vehicle sped off into the night. Though no one was ever charged with Kalb’s death, those questioned included Leonard Ginestra, Phil Caltagerone, Leo Palmeri, Ralph “Fuzzy” Pearce, George Anderson and George Saladino. The Rockford Register Star had this to say about the “Bookie War” in Rockford:
“Recently a book making faction wished to expand to a more pretentious downtown location it was learned. Kalb, who controlled the service reporting race results in the city, informed this group that they could not have service in any but the location they had at the time, police were told. Despite Kalb’s decision the men are reported to have leased a downtown location. Kalb persisted in his refusal despite rumored threats from the operators.”
Immediately after Kalb’s death, Musso and company opened up a wire information service at Elm and Main Streets in downtown Rockford and they were free to exploit all the profits from this new enterprise which they pretty much did unmolested. Around this time with his increased income, Musso had also opened up the Guaranteed Fuel Company at 900 Brooke Road. Proving that he wasn’t above getting involved in “the rough stuff,” Musso was arrested on January 29, 1938 on assault charges when striking coal truck driver Earl Richmond claimed Musso fired two shotgun blasts at the tires of his automobile and threatened him with a 12-gauge shotgun. Another unidentified man with Musso brandished a .45 pistol and hit Richmond in the jaw with his fist. For this incident Musso was only fined, but it may have caused him to be more endeared to his men.
The 1940s were a great time for Musso and the Rockford LCN. Gambling was taking off in Rockford at unprecedented levels with bookmaking, poker games, slot machines and numbers jars and punch boards leading the way. Though there were raids on all this activity, it was mainly by the Rockford Police department and operations within the city limits. Those activities that were outside the city limits within the jurisdiction of the county were largely left alone because of payoffs to the sheriff. Later FBI files noted that Milwaukee informant Augie Maniaci filled in the FBI years later on Musso’s activities while Maniaci was living in Rockford. He stated that for as long as he knew, going back to the early 1940s, that Musso was the boss and that he had Sheriff Kirk King “in his pocket” through payoffs. Later FBI files had this to say about Rockford during that time period:
“Unidentified sources in 1946-47 stated that gambling in Rockford, Illinois is under the control of a local syndicate consisting of CHARLES DURSCH, TONY MUSSO, ALF J. MALLOT, JASPER CALO, CHARLES LAZZIO, JOHN “Blackie” CALDEROTTA, THOMAS PENDERGAST, FRANCIS R. CROON, RUBIN A. CROON, WILLIAM B. MORRIS, SAM LAZZIO and FRANK MARAGI. It was indicated that this group owns, controls and subscribes to a wire service for horse race booking operated by CHUCK DURSCH. It was further indicated that this service goes to Spotty’s Tavern, South Main Street, Rockford, which is operated by SAM LAZZIO and FRANK MARAGI.”
There was also some interesting insight into Musso and his behavior as well. In 1966 when Milwaukee informant Augie Maniaci was giving up information to the FBI, he has this to say about Musso and his underboss Jasper Calo:
“He (the informant) said that JASPER CALO was the underboss for MUSSO and because MUSSO was a playboy and not generally available to handle the day to day business of the outfit, most of the routine decisions were made by CALO. For this reason, according to informant, many people outside the outfit believed that CALO was the boss of the Italian underworld in Rockford.”
As the 1950s dawned, it was truly the golden age for the Rockford LCN. There was much money that was being made with gambling leading the way. Prostitution was profitable as well as the infiltration of the vending machine business and extortion was big. On June 9, 1951 the Rockford Morning Star reported that Musso was on a list of 150 names of Chicago and northern Illinois people who would be investigated by the IRS for their incomes. Also named was Rockford LCN underboss Gaspare Calo, Winnebago County Sheriff Kirk King and Fritz Dursch, who was the brother to Charles Dursch, the Rockford mob associate and front man. This investigation came to nothing and life went on for Musso and his gang.
As the 1950s progressed, Musso and company began to make some inroads into being friendly with the other local law enforcement entities. The September 26, 1954 Rockford Morning Star edition showed a photo of Rockford mob associate and gambler Charles Dursch with two detectives on the Rockford police department at the opening of the new police trapshooting range. Another photo showed Tony Musso, mob associate Anthony Zacharia, Dr. LeBaron, Paul Johnson, John LaMendola and Rockford mob member Joe “Gramps” Marinelli all holding their guns on the trapshooting range. This “rubbing of the shoulders” so to speak, of the Rockford mob with the Rockford police department speaks volumes as to the connections the local Outfit enjoyed with law enforcement and it is interesting to note that LaMendola also became police chief in Loves Park, just north of Rockford.
By the time the late 1950s came about, the FBI had just started investigating Musso but they characterized him as a local “hoodlum” not knowing that he headed up the Rockford branch of the LCN for at least the last 30 years. It was noted that if anyone wanted to install any type of illegal gambling machine in Rockford they would have to see Musso and pay him $90.00 per machine. The FBI was also interested in the number of phone calls being made between Musso and Milwaukee’s LCN boss John Alioto, but before any big investigation could be undertaken into Musso, he passed away on May 22, 1958.
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The question has been made as to how Musso was able to become boss in Rockford- was he appointed or did he just simply take over? The discussion was that perhaps he was placed into the position by Vincenzo Troia who was kind of a roving mafia dignitary at the time who was close to Salvatore Maranzano. Another theory was that Al Capone himself designated Musso to run the Rockford contingent and one other possibility is that maybe Francesco “Three Fingers” Coppola had a hand in Musso’s selection seeing as he was also kind of a floating mafia bigwig himself. No one knows for sure, but I tend to lean towards Troia helping to set up the mafia families of Madison, Rockford and Springfield before moving on from each city.
It was mid-May 1958 and “family” members had gathered in the home of Tony Musso at 2117 North Court Street in Rockford. Musso was the longtime Rockford LCN boss and had been since at least 1928 or so. This gathering, however, was not a happy one. Musso was dying of cancer and only had a few days to live so he had called his trusted men around his bedside. There he picked his successor to lead the Rockford LCN- Phil Priola. Musso passed away on May 22nd but the Rockford “Outfit” did not abide by Musso’s wishes. The rest of the “family” felt that since Priola had only returned to Rockford in 1956 after spending about 15 years in Chicago, he should not be designated as boss. Instead, the members chose Joe Zammuto to head the family and continue Musso’s legacy.
What was the story behind Tony Musso and his rise to the top of this small Midwestern LCN family? One would have to go back to February 11, 1893 to Partinico, Sicily where Musso was born to Agostino Musso and Vincenza Coronna. At the age of 19, Musso boarded the S.S. Argentina and on August 28, 1912 he arrived at Ellis Island. Musso gave his destination as Detroit, Michigan to stay with a cousin, Vincenzo Finazzo. Musso’s length of time in Detroit is not known, but what is known is that by July 3, 1917 Musso was found to be in New Orleans, Louisiana where he was married to Maria Piro. Maria’s father was Vincenzo Piro, an early New Orleans mafia member and it would appear that Musso learned much from Vincenzo in regards to organized criminal activity. Again, it is not known why, but the next few years finds Musso in the St. Louis area. On February 1, 1918 in St. Louis, Musso took his first arrest when he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and drawing a loaded revolver on the arresting police officer. Another arrest in St. Louis on July 31, 1919 saw Musso arrested on charge of carrying a concealed weapon and burglary along with Joe Provenzano, Jim Curezo, Joe Busan and Joe “Banana Joe” Berti. Musso had given an address as being in Lexington, Illinois and his son, August Musso, was born in Johnston City, Illinois in 1918 so it seems that Musso was traveling back and forth from St. Louis and central Illinois.
For whatever reason, Musso was found to be living in Madison, Wisconsin of all places in the early 1920s and he already seemed to be quite established there when on April 21, 1924 he gave a banquet for friends in honor of Joe Parelli, middleweight boxing champion at the Paradise Café on Regent Street in Madison. It would appear that Musso found bootlegging very profitable at this time in the old Bush section of “Little Italy” in Madison. 1924 was a busy year for Musso when he was said to have offered the captain of detectives W.H. McCormick $15,000 to allow his illegal stills to operate for 6 months but this was shot down and he had also bribed Philip E. LaFollette, Progressive candidate for governor. At the time, LaFollette was county district attorney- LaFollette had a Dictaphone in his office and the conversation between him and Musso was taken down by a stenographer for evidence. And finally on August 28, 1924 Musso was charged in Madison for possessing faked revenue stamps and seals while proprietor of the Belvedere Café at 808 and 810 Regent Street. The owners of the building were Tony LoMonaco and Andrew DiSalvo. LoMonaco was a native of San Giuseppe Iato, Sicily and had ties to the Bommarito family of St. Louis while DiSalvo was a criminal in his own right and he was the brother of Benedetto DiSalvo, acknowledged to be the first official boss of the Madison LCN.
By June 1925 Musso was allegedly involved in a rape case along with Little Pete Gargano and though next to nothing is known about this incident it caused Musso to flee the city where he landed in Rockford, Illinois. In March 1927 Musso was listed as Group Chairman in charge of collecting funds for the wife of slain Rockford Police Officer Frank Cichella and was listed as a grocer having his shop at 411 Lincoln Avenue. This “shop” however, was a front for sugar importation and alcohol distribution. Flush with profits from his bootlegging activities, Musso and associates opened the Liberty Macaroni Company at 1112 Rock Street on May 29, 1927 along with Pete DeFaio, Louis Sarna and Primiano Casalena. This company, while producing pasta, also was a good location for alcohol distribution as it was right along the Rock River.
In October 1927 Musso found himself charged in Rockford for the first time on a case of kidnapping Ezra Duffy, a Dixon, Illinois bootlegger who failed to pay Musso and his men for a load of alcohol. Musso was charged along with Antonio Catalano, Joe Stassi, Vincenzo Troia and Paul Scamardo. All the men except Catalano had lived in Madison prior to coming to Rockford. Musso’s involvement in the case wouldn’t be proven until much later and he was free to go about his business which included an arrest in April 1928 for transporting 200 gallons of liquor along with John Sacco. On January 28, 1929 Musso was finally arraigned on the Ezra Duffy kidnapping but this case would drag on for a while.
By early 1928 it was very clear that Tony Musso was in charge of the Italian criminal element in Rockford and had aligned almost all of the bootleggers under him. On March 9, 1928 a huge article in the Rockford Daily Republic made note of a street fight that Musso had with Giacomo “Jack” DeMarco. A columnist for the paper interviewed Musso about the fight and described the mob boss as fairly tall and straight and very good-looking. Musso had questioned why the columnist should give the incident a main ribbon story when it was just a little fight between men and that there is “no justice in making that story grow large into the fear of a gang war in Rockford.” Musso described how DeMarco pulled a gun on him in the 1100 block of South Main Street and Musso knocked the gun to the side as it fired wildly. Musso then grabbed the gun, emptied the shells and threw the gun away as he proceeded to beat up DeMarco. Who was Jack DeMarco? At that time he was a bootlegger who racked up numerous arrests and in light of the fight with Musso, appears to have been a rival in the bootlegging business.
On September 3, 1928 Gaetano DiSalvo was shot and killed while sitting in his LaSalle roadster in front of the Milano Café on Morgan Street. Leading up to that date, DiSalvo was warned several times by competitors to use different whiskey labels in his bootleg alcohol, but he insisted on using the Old Crow and Old Log Cabin labels. Witnesses described two swarthy-looking men who shot DiSalvo and then ran down an alley before disappearing into the night. Soon after this murder, the newspapers reported that authorities called Musso into their offices and told him, “There are to be no more murders here,” indicating that they knew he was responsible and that he was clearly in charge of bootlegging in Rockford.
As 1930 rolled around, federal agents were busy chasing the numerous bootleggers in Rockford which at this time became a huge hub for alcohol production and distribution to Chicago and the middle west. Rockford was responsible for providing liquor to all parts of Iowa and into Nebraska as well as supplying Al Capone’s gang in Chicago when needed. This Capone connection to Musso most likely came through Musso’s sister-in-law Camille who was married to Tony Lombardo, an early ally of Capone. By July 21, 1930 federal agents had been looking to serve a warrant on Musso for liquor conspiracy charges and he was found to be in Los Angeles, California and staying with his father-in-law Vincenzo Prio, who had moved to that city some time before and was working under that city’s LCN capo Vito DiGiorgio. Musso was brought back to Rockford where he posted bond but was then arrested again in St. Louis on August 20, 1930 on a hold for immigration authorities. When arrested Musso was found in the company of two men identified as Cicero, Illinois gangsters- Joe Cincumiano and Vincent Infusino. Infusino, however, gave his address as St. Louis and was an early member of the “The Green Ones” in that city before moving to San Francisco and becoming an LCN power out there.
The summer of 1930 was a busy one for Musso, not just because of the imminent liquor trial but there was also a faction that challenged Musso for control over Rockford’s illicit liquor racket. This opposing side seemed to be led by Paul Giovingo, a Louisiana born Sicilian who had spent more time in Rockford than Musso and who obviously felt he was more deserving to lead the Rockford Italian criminal element. This feud reached new heights on the evening of August 14, 1930 and the place was the 1100 block of South Main Street. To back up a bit, Paul Giovingo had a brother named Joe, who was two years older and had taken arrests for burglary and bootlegging. On that particular evening Joe Giovingo was standing on the sidewalk next to his parked vehicle making small talk with two Rockford Police detectives. In Giovingo’s vehicle sat Elmer Whitely, Paul “Peachy” Picchioni and Tommy Abbott, who was a northside Chicago rival of Al Capone. As Giovingo stood talking between the detectives on the sidewalk, a dark colored sedan made its way south along Main Street. A shotgun poked out of the rear passenger window and discharged twice, inflicting seventeen wounds into Giovingo who slumped to the pavement instantly dying. Giovingo’s murder was never solved and his brother Paul was bent on revenge.
Two days later on August 16th, a car drove past 411 Lincoln Avenue, firing shots from the moving vehicle and hitting the storefront which was shared by Tony Musso and Vincenzo Troia. The car moved west to and turned north in front of 1501 Clifton Avenue where it again unloaded a fusillade of bullets on that address which happened to be the rooming house of Vincenzo Troia, Tony Riela and Tony LaPuma. No one was injured in these attempts but Paul Giovingo made it clear that he was out for blood and the right to run Rockford’s illegal rackets. It was soon discovered that Troia had disappeared the evening of the Giovingo slaying and the newspapers described Troia as a “first lieutenant of Tony Musso.”
Returning to the huge liquor conspiracy trial in Rockford which started in late 1930, Musso was being represented by Frank DeBartolo out of Chicago, but to avail. Musso was eventually convicted on February 2, 1931 and was sentenced to two years in Leavenworth Prison where he was taken on February 21st. Besides Paul Giovingo, one of those sentenced in the liquor conspiracy trial was Jack DeMarco, the man Musso had fought with on South Main Street in March 1928. DeMarco also began his sentence on February 21st and while he was in Leavenworth, there were those that felt he had been a little too cooperative with the interviewing authorities. On the morning of January 18, 1932 DeMarco was released from Leavenworth after serving just less than a year. Having come back to his Romona Street house to a homecoming party put on by his friends and family, DeMarco was feeling very relaxed as he entertained these guests with food, drink, conversation while a record on the Victrola was spinning. There was a knock on the door when one of the guests happily shouted, “Come on in!” Just then three “youthful looking” men entered and identified themselves as detectives as they brandished guns and asked where Jack DeMarco was. Just then DeMarco entered the room and said to the men, “You’re no detectives.” At this point one of the gunmen herded all the guests into a back bedroom except DeMarco who remained in the living room with the other two gunmen. It was then that five slugs pierced DeMarco’s back as he crumpled to the floor. As he lay there bleeding out, two more shots were fired into his head behind his left ear. The trio then fled the scene in a dark colored sedan. It would seem from this murder that Musso was behind it even ordering it from prison perhaps. Whether Musso was still sore over the fight he had with DeMarco four years prior, or he supposed that DeMarco was too forthcoming to authorities while in prison, justice was meted out that evening. Musso was eventually released from Leavenworth on September 10, 1932 and it is interesting to note that later FBI files detailed that while Musso was serving his term in prison, Phil Caltagerone was named acting boss of the Rockford LCN.
Not long after his release Musso had to deal with another problem in Paul Giovingo. Giovingo had gotten released from Leavenworth four months before Musso and was making the rounds to all the Rockford speakeasies and threatening them to buy his alcohol. There were even reports that Giovingo and his men were hijacking loads of booze that belonged to Musso. That and the fact that Giovingo was still hot over the murder of his brother Joe made Paul Giovingo a very dangerous man. Leading up to February 1933, there were increased threats against Giovingo including menacing phone calls to his home. On the evening of February 11, 1933 Giovingo had left his home at 1033 Montague Street, headed east on Montague and turned north onto South Winnebago Street. It was then that a car had overtaken Giovingo’s vehicle and sprayed it with bullets. Two 12-gauge shotgun slugs found their way into Giovingo as well as four .38 caliber bullets fired from close range as Giovingo lay dying. Giovingo was found slumped over the wheel of his vehicle dead, clutching a revolver that he never got the chance to fire. This murder effectively ended any more opposition to Musso as those bootleggers that sided with Giovingo either sided with Musso or gave up the business altogether.
Soon after the Giovingo murder, Prohibition was repealed and the profits from liquor dried up. Musso still had his gang producing illegal alcohol with fake revenue labels and oversaw hijacking and a huge car theft ring but the incredible profits from bookmaking and gambling were in Musso’s sights however and he started organizing a complete takeover of this racket. In the 1930s Charles Kalb was said to be the biggest bookmaker and provider of wire race service in the Rockford area. Kalb’s domain stretched from Rockford to Woodstock, south to Rochelle and Dixon and north into Beloit, Wisconsin. FBI files detailed that Kalb had refused to furnish horserace wire information to the Italians wanting in on the action and he had let it be known that they were not welcome in the handbook business. Musso’s solution to this problem came about on the evening of December 21, 1937. With Charles Kalb driving, his wife in the passenger seat and business partner Harry Dunn in the backseat, the trio had just left an evening movie at the Coronado Theater in downtown Rockford. Heading to his home located on Clinton Avenue, Kalb wanted to turn left into an alley leading to his home but noticed a vehicle behind him. Pulling over to let the automobile pass, a dark colored sedan slowly eased by and a 12 gauge shotgun poked out from the car’s passenger window. Shotgun slugs poured forth, leaving Kalb dead instantly and his wife slightly injured by flying glass as the murderous vehicle sped off into the night. Though no one was ever charged with Kalb’s death, those questioned included Leonard Ginestra, Phil Caltagerone, Leo Palmeri, Ralph “Fuzzy” Pearce, George Anderson and George Saladino. The Rockford Register Star had this to say about the “Bookie War” in Rockford:
“Recently a book making faction wished to expand to a more pretentious downtown location it was learned. Kalb, who controlled the service reporting race results in the city, informed this group that they could not have service in any but the location they had at the time, police were told. Despite Kalb’s decision the men are reported to have leased a downtown location. Kalb persisted in his refusal despite rumored threats from the operators.”
Immediately after Kalb’s death, Musso and company opened up a wire information service at Elm and Main Streets in downtown Rockford and they were free to exploit all the profits from this new enterprise which they pretty much did unmolested. Around this time with his increased income, Musso had also opened up the Guaranteed Fuel Company at 900 Brooke Road. Proving that he wasn’t above getting involved in “the rough stuff,” Musso was arrested on January 29, 1938 on assault charges when striking coal truck driver Earl Richmond claimed Musso fired two shotgun blasts at the tires of his automobile and threatened him with a 12-gauge shotgun. Another unidentified man with Musso brandished a .45 pistol and hit Richmond in the jaw with his fist. For this incident Musso was only fined, but it may have caused him to be more endeared to his men.
The 1940s were a great time for Musso and the Rockford LCN. Gambling was taking off in Rockford at unprecedented levels with bookmaking, poker games, slot machines and numbers jars and punch boards leading the way. Though there were raids on all this activity, it was mainly by the Rockford Police department and operations within the city limits. Those activities that were outside the city limits within the jurisdiction of the county were largely left alone because of payoffs to the sheriff. Later FBI files noted that Milwaukee informant Augie Maniaci filled in the FBI years later on Musso’s activities while Maniaci was living in Rockford. He stated that for as long as he knew, going back to the early 1940s, that Musso was the boss and that he had Sheriff Kirk King “in his pocket” through payoffs. Later FBI files had this to say about Rockford during that time period:
“Unidentified sources in 1946-47 stated that gambling in Rockford, Illinois is under the control of a local syndicate consisting of CHARLES DURSCH, TONY MUSSO, ALF J. MALLOT, JASPER CALO, CHARLES LAZZIO, JOHN “Blackie” CALDEROTTA, THOMAS PENDERGAST, FRANCIS R. CROON, RUBIN A. CROON, WILLIAM B. MORRIS, SAM LAZZIO and FRANK MARAGI. It was indicated that this group owns, controls and subscribes to a wire service for horse race booking operated by CHUCK DURSCH. It was further indicated that this service goes to Spotty’s Tavern, South Main Street, Rockford, which is operated by SAM LAZZIO and FRANK MARAGI.”
There was also some interesting insight into Musso and his behavior as well. In 1966 when Milwaukee informant Augie Maniaci was giving up information to the FBI, he has this to say about Musso and his underboss Jasper Calo:
“He (the informant) said that JASPER CALO was the underboss for MUSSO and because MUSSO was a playboy and not generally available to handle the day to day business of the outfit, most of the routine decisions were made by CALO. For this reason, according to informant, many people outside the outfit believed that CALO was the boss of the Italian underworld in Rockford.”
As the 1950s dawned, it was truly the golden age for the Rockford LCN. There was much money that was being made with gambling leading the way. Prostitution was profitable as well as the infiltration of the vending machine business and extortion was big. On June 9, 1951 the Rockford Morning Star reported that Musso was on a list of 150 names of Chicago and northern Illinois people who would be investigated by the IRS for their incomes. Also named was Rockford LCN underboss Gaspare Calo, Winnebago County Sheriff Kirk King and Fritz Dursch, who was the brother to Charles Dursch, the Rockford mob associate and front man. This investigation came to nothing and life went on for Musso and his gang.
As the 1950s progressed, Musso and company began to make some inroads into being friendly with the other local law enforcement entities. The September 26, 1954 Rockford Morning Star edition showed a photo of Rockford mob associate and gambler Charles Dursch with two detectives on the Rockford police department at the opening of the new police trapshooting range. Another photo showed Tony Musso, mob associate Anthony Zacharia, Dr. LeBaron, Paul Johnson, John LaMendola and Rockford mob member Joe “Gramps” Marinelli all holding their guns on the trapshooting range. This “rubbing of the shoulders” so to speak, of the Rockford mob with the Rockford police department speaks volumes as to the connections the local Outfit enjoyed with law enforcement and it is interesting to note that LaMendola also became police chief in Loves Park, just north of Rockford.
By the time the late 1950s came about, the FBI had just started investigating Musso but they characterized him as a local “hoodlum” not knowing that he headed up the Rockford branch of the LCN for at least the last 30 years. It was noted that if anyone wanted to install any type of illegal gambling machine in Rockford they would have to see Musso and pay him $90.00 per machine. The FBI was also interested in the number of phone calls being made between Musso and Milwaukee’s LCN boss John Alioto, but before any big investigation could be undertaken into Musso, he passed away on May 22, 1958.
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The question has been made as to how Musso was able to become boss in Rockford- was he appointed or did he just simply take over? The discussion was that perhaps he was placed into the position by Vincenzo Troia who was kind of a roving mafia dignitary at the time who was close to Salvatore Maranzano. Another theory was that Al Capone himself designated Musso to run the Rockford contingent and one other possibility is that maybe Francesco “Three Fingers” Coppola had a hand in Musso’s selection seeing as he was also kind of a floating mafia bigwig himself. No one knows for sure, but I tend to lean towards Troia helping to set up the mafia families of Madison, Rockford and Springfield before moving on from each city.