by B. » Tue Sep 22, 2020 2:22 am
Found another interesting angle that connects to Bonventre and Detroit.
The Cusenzas of Flint
- Bonventre's mother had the maiden surname Cusenza and Bonventre lived in Flint, Michigan, before moving to San Diego. As referenced in the 1939 newspaper report of Bonventre's Michigan arrest, one of the men he associated with was Sam Ricca of Flint.
- San Jose capodecina Joseph Cusenza previously lived in Flint, Michigan, where he was a Detroit member. San Jose member informant Pete Misuraca identified brothers Joe, Paul, and Tony Cusenza as made members who lived in Flint when Misuraca lived in Detroit during the 1920s and 1930s. He mentioned them in connection with Sam Ricca, who he identified as another made member living in Flint at the time. He says all of these men were involved in the 1919 murder of his brother Sam Misuraca.
- Peter Misuraca stated that Joe's brother Tony Cusenza was "high up" in the organization and "in charge of the group" (capodecina?) at the time of his brother Sam's murder. Due to some kind of unspecified mistake during the murder of Sam Misuraca, he says Tony Cusenza was murdered approximately one year later while eating dinner at home.
- Peter Misuraca is off on his timeline, as Tony Cusenza was not murdered one year after the Sam Misuraca murder, but nearly a decade later in 1928. Cusenza was also not at his own home, but seated at a table (so maybe eating dinner) in the basement of Albert Guerazzi's home in Saginaw when Cusenza was shot through the window.
- A 1919 newspaper article backs up Misaraca's statement that the Cusenza group was involved in his brother Sam's murder. The article states that both Tony Cusenza and the Misuraca brothers allegedly participated in the murder of businessman W. Park Warner, then it was believed a "quarrel" over money between the murderers resulted in Sam Misuraca's murder less than two months later. Tony Cusenza and Vito "Lacarama" were arrested for the double murder of Sam Misuraca and Filippo "Angella".
- The article about the Misuraca / "Angella" murder also states that two of the surviving Misuraca brothers and a business partner of Sam Misuraca were being held for the Warner murder. This would be John and Art Misuraca I'm sure, though curious about the unnamed business partner. At this time Tony's brother Paul Cusenza was also on trial for the murder of Asa Putnam two years previous.
- An article about Tony Cusenza's 1928 murder states that he was a former "Detroit feudist" and president of an Italian mutual benefit association for San Vito Lo Capo compaesani. It also states he had participated in the "Vitale-Giannola wholesale fruit war" ten years previous.
- Cusenza's role as president in the San Vito compaesani association would lend itself to Peter Misuraca's statement that Cusenza was a leader of some kind. The article on his murder states that Cusenza had moved from Flint to Saginaw to recruit members for the San Vito association.
- Misuraca said Paul Cusenza died of natural causes, which is confirmed by his 1942 death in Detroit.
More California Connections
- Former Detroit member and later San Jose capodecina Joe Cusenza's son Leonardo lived in the California Bay Area like his father and was also a member of the San Jose family. With the Cusenzas allegedly killing Sam Misuraca in 1919, it appears all had been forgiven by later decades given that the Cusenzas and Misuracas were all involved together in San Jose. Peter Misuraca says Joe Cusenza died in a car accident. I can confirm he died in 1961, prior to Misuraca's statement, but can't confirm the accident.
- Frank Bompensiero reported that a Girolamo "Jimmy" Cusenza and his nephew Leonardo Cusenza moved to San Diego from Detroit, though he believed neither man was a made member they were connected to Detroit mafia figures. This is a different Leonardo from Joe's son in San Jose, as that was the Cusenzas' father's name and they all had sons named Leonardo. This would be Tony or Paul's son most likely.
- Joe Cusenza and Sam Ricca both being Detroit members in Flint in the 1920s/30s and associating together lends itself to the 1939 article connecting a Sam Vassallo to Ricca in Flint. Both Cusenza and San Jose member Salvatore Vassallo lived in Monterey, so it seems like too much of a coincidence that Cusenza's friend Ricca would be connected to a Sam Vassallo of the same age in Flint and then Cusenza would be near one in Monterey after leaving Flint. Sounds like Lennert believes they are separate men, though?
San Vito Lo Capo / Monte San Giuliano
- Both Paul and Joseph Cusenza came to the US from San Vito Lo Capo. Joseph's wife was a Vultaggio, a name found in Castellammare that connects to the early Bonanno family, and they married in Sicily.
- Though brother Antonino "Tony" Cusenza was head of the San Vito Lo Capo society in Michigan, he came to the US from Monte San Giuliano. So like the Bonventre brothers, we see the Cusenzas came from both San Vito and Monte San Giuliano but identified in Michigan as compaesani from San Vito.
- Girolamo Cusenza (b. 1904) of Detroit and San Diego appears to be a younger brother of the other Cusenzas. He listed his hometown as both San Vito Lo Capo and Monte San Giuliano on two separate naturalization records in Detroit. Birth date and other details confirm it is the same man on both records, adding weight to Tony coming from Monte San Giuliano while Paul and Joe coming from San Vito. Both the Bonventres and Cusenzas appear to have alternated between both towns.
- Girolamo Cusenza's mother was also a Vultaggio, so it appears his brother Joseph Cusenza married a maternal cousin.
Back to Bonventre
- Based on his mother's surname of Cusenza, his residence in Flint, his connection to Sam Ricca in the 1930s, and his ties to both San Vito and Monte San Giuliano, Biaggio Bonventre must have been associated with the Cusenza faction of the Flint/Detroit underworld when he lived there.
- That Girolamo Cusenza and his nephew would move to San Diego, where Biaggio Bonventre lived, adds to the likelihood of the Cusenzas being Bonventre's maternal relatives given that both families were from the same Sicilian towns, lived in the same Michigan town, then moved to California, with some ending up in San Diego like Bonventre.
- The involvement of the Cusenza faction in the murders of W. Park Warner, Asa Putnam, and Sam Misuraca / Filippo "Angella", plus Tony's alleged participation in the Vitale-Giannola war, among other Michigan mafia violence, may have given Biaggio Bonventre ample opportunity to earn the reputation as a killer he had by the time of Jimmy Fratianno's 1940s arrival to LA. Impossible to speculate unless he was linked by investigators to any Michigan murders, but given his reputation and strong ties to the violent Cusenza group, it is easy to believe he participated in Detroit area murders prior to moving to California.
- The membership of all three Cusenza brothers and Sam Ricca in the Detroit family could also suggest Bonventre was himself made in Detroit prior to transferring to Los Angeles. He would have been close to 50 by the time he moved, which was an old age to be made in that era.
Misc. Detroit/Misuraca info:
- Peter Misuraca said his brother John, the Newark/Profaci member, married a Ventimiglia in Detroit, whose father and uncles were made members in Detroit. John Misuraca would stay with the Ventimiglia relatives when he visited Detroit. It appears the Ventimiglias of Detroit were from Terrasini, so makes sense these older ones were members.
- Peter Misuraca said Joe Zerilli took over as boss of Detroit in the 1930s from a man who had died of ulcers. Peter Misuraca's parents had arranged for him to marry a woman in Detroit, but the arrangement was cancelled so that she could marry the boss of the Detroit family. She says after he died she remained a wealthy single widow. Misuraca only met her a couple of times given it was an arranged marriage and couldn't remember her name.
- The above wouldn't be Cesare LeMare or Sam Catalanotte would it? They were both murdered and didn't die of "ulcers", plus they were old enough that they should have already been married, but given Peter Misuraca badly mixed up the details on Tony Cusenza's murder in relation to his brother Sam's murder, it wouldn't be surprising if he got some other details wrong. Misuraca also wasn't a member yet, so maybe it wasn't "the boss" but another high-ranking figure. Maybe there are marriage records for a prominent Detroit leader during this time that could point us in the right direction.
- Misuraca never says whether or not his own father was a mafia member. Given that all four sons would become mafia members, the fact that the elder Misuraca arranged a marriage between Peter and a woman who would instead marry a Detroit mafia leader, plus John Misuraca's presumably arranged marriage to a Detroit mafia member's daughter, it seems like the elder Misuraca was very mafia-friendly if not a member.
- Going back to Misuraca's statement that Tony Cusenza was "in charge of the group", I wonder if this lends itself to my colony families theory. Cusenza was allegedly a prominent mafioso with a number of made members under him and he was president of the San Vito society in the area. Given Toledo may have had its own colony family that was absorbed into Detroit, I wonder if Flint and Saginaw had their own small family primarily of men from San Vito and surrounding areas that was also absorbed into Detroit?
EDIT: Can anyone confirm the true names of Tony Cusenza's alleged co-conspirator in the Sam Misuraca murder, Vito "Lacarama", as well as the other victim, Filippo "Angella"?
Found another interesting angle that connects to Bonventre and Detroit.
[b]The Cusenzas of Flint[/b]
- Bonventre's mother had the maiden surname Cusenza and Bonventre lived in Flint, Michigan, before moving to San Diego. As referenced in the 1939 newspaper report of Bonventre's Michigan arrest, one of the men he associated with was Sam Ricca of Flint.
- San Jose capodecina Joseph Cusenza previously lived in Flint, Michigan, where he was a Detroit member. San Jose member informant Pete Misuraca identified brothers Joe, Paul, and Tony Cusenza as made members who lived in Flint when Misuraca lived in Detroit during the 1920s and 1930s. He mentioned them in connection with Sam Ricca, who he identified as another made member living in Flint at the time. He says all of these men were involved in the 1919 murder of his brother Sam Misuraca.
- Peter Misuraca stated that Joe's brother Tony Cusenza was "high up" in the organization and "in charge of the group" (capodecina?) at the time of his brother Sam's murder. Due to some kind of unspecified mistake during the murder of Sam Misuraca, he says Tony Cusenza was murdered approximately one year later while eating dinner at home.
- Peter Misuraca is off on his timeline, as Tony Cusenza was not murdered one year after the Sam Misuraca murder, but nearly a decade later in 1928. Cusenza was also not at his own home, but seated at a table (so maybe eating dinner) in the basement of Albert Guerazzi's home in Saginaw when Cusenza was shot through the window.
- A 1919 newspaper article backs up Misaraca's statement that the Cusenza group was involved in his brother Sam's murder. The article states that both Tony Cusenza and the Misuraca brothers allegedly participated in the murder of businessman W. Park Warner, then it was believed a "quarrel" over money between the murderers resulted in Sam Misuraca's murder less than two months later. Tony Cusenza and Vito "Lacarama" were arrested for the double murder of Sam Misuraca and Filippo "Angella".
- The article about the Misuraca / "Angella" murder also states that two of the surviving Misuraca brothers and a business partner of Sam Misuraca were being held for the Warner murder. This would be John and Art Misuraca I'm sure, though curious about the unnamed business partner. At this time Tony's brother Paul Cusenza was also on trial for the murder of Asa Putnam two years previous.
- An article about Tony Cusenza's 1928 murder states that he was a former "Detroit feudist" and president of an Italian mutual benefit association for San Vito Lo Capo compaesani. It also states he had participated in the "Vitale-Giannola wholesale fruit war" ten years previous.
- Cusenza's role as president in the San Vito compaesani association would lend itself to Peter Misuraca's statement that Cusenza was a leader of some kind. The article on his murder states that Cusenza had moved from Flint to Saginaw to recruit members for the San Vito association.
- Misuraca said Paul Cusenza died of natural causes, which is confirmed by his 1942 death in Detroit.
[b]More California Connections[/b]
- Former Detroit member and later San Jose capodecina Joe Cusenza's son Leonardo lived in the California Bay Area like his father and was also a member of the San Jose family. With the Cusenzas allegedly killing Sam Misuraca in 1919, it appears all had been forgiven by later decades given that the Cusenzas and Misuracas were all involved together in San Jose. Peter Misuraca says Joe Cusenza died in a car accident. I can confirm he died in 1961, prior to Misuraca's statement, but can't confirm the accident.
- Frank Bompensiero reported that a Girolamo "Jimmy" Cusenza and his nephew Leonardo Cusenza moved to San Diego from Detroit, though he believed neither man was a made member they were connected to Detroit mafia figures. This is a different Leonardo from Joe's son in San Jose, as that was the Cusenzas' father's name and they all had sons named Leonardo. This would be Tony or Paul's son most likely.
- Joe Cusenza and Sam Ricca both being Detroit members in Flint in the 1920s/30s and associating together lends itself to the 1939 article connecting a Sam Vassallo to Ricca in Flint. Both Cusenza and San Jose member Salvatore Vassallo lived in Monterey, so it seems like too much of a coincidence that Cusenza's friend Ricca would be connected to a Sam Vassallo of the same age in Flint and then Cusenza would be near one in Monterey after leaving Flint. Sounds like Lennert believes they are separate men, though?
[b]San Vito Lo Capo / Monte San Giuliano[/b]
- Both Paul and Joseph Cusenza came to the US from San Vito Lo Capo. Joseph's wife was a Vultaggio, a name found in Castellammare that connects to the early Bonanno family, and they married in Sicily.
- Though brother Antonino "Tony" Cusenza was head of the San Vito Lo Capo society in Michigan, he came to the US from Monte San Giuliano. So like the Bonventre brothers, we see the Cusenzas came from both San Vito and Monte San Giuliano but identified in Michigan as compaesani from San Vito.
- Girolamo Cusenza (b. 1904) of Detroit and San Diego appears to be a younger brother of the other Cusenzas. He listed his hometown as both San Vito Lo Capo and Monte San Giuliano on two separate naturalization records in Detroit. Birth date and other details confirm it is the same man on both records, adding weight to Tony coming from Monte San Giuliano while Paul and Joe coming from San Vito. Both the Bonventres and Cusenzas appear to have alternated between both towns.
- Girolamo Cusenza's mother was also a Vultaggio, so it appears his brother Joseph Cusenza married a maternal cousin.
[b]Back to Bonventre[/b]
- Based on his mother's surname of Cusenza, his residence in Flint, his connection to Sam Ricca in the 1930s, and his ties to both San Vito and Monte San Giuliano, Biaggio Bonventre must have been associated with the Cusenza faction of the Flint/Detroit underworld when he lived there.
- That Girolamo Cusenza and his nephew would move to San Diego, where Biaggio Bonventre lived, adds to the likelihood of the Cusenzas being Bonventre's maternal relatives given that both families were from the same Sicilian towns, lived in the same Michigan town, then moved to California, with some ending up in San Diego like Bonventre.
- The involvement of the Cusenza faction in the murders of W. Park Warner, Asa Putnam, and Sam Misuraca / Filippo "Angella", plus Tony's alleged participation in the Vitale-Giannola war, among other Michigan mafia violence, may have given Biaggio Bonventre ample opportunity to earn the reputation as a killer he had by the time of Jimmy Fratianno's 1940s arrival to LA. Impossible to speculate unless he was linked by investigators to any Michigan murders, but given his reputation and strong ties to the violent Cusenza group, it is easy to believe he participated in Detroit area murders prior to moving to California.
- The membership of all three Cusenza brothers and Sam Ricca in the Detroit family could also suggest Bonventre was himself made in Detroit prior to transferring to Los Angeles. He would have been close to 50 by the time he moved, which was an old age to be made in that era.
[b]Misc. Detroit/Misuraca info:[/b]
- Peter Misuraca said his brother John, the Newark/Profaci member, married a Ventimiglia in Detroit, whose father and uncles were made members in Detroit. John Misuraca would stay with the Ventimiglia relatives when he visited Detroit. It appears the Ventimiglias of Detroit were from Terrasini, so makes sense these older ones were members.
- Peter Misuraca said Joe Zerilli took over as boss of Detroit in the 1930s from a man who had died of ulcers. Peter Misuraca's parents had arranged for him to marry a woman in Detroit, but the arrangement was cancelled so that she could marry the boss of the Detroit family. She says after he died she remained a wealthy single widow. Misuraca only met her a couple of times given it was an arranged marriage and couldn't remember her name.
- The above wouldn't be Cesare LeMare or Sam Catalanotte would it? They were both murdered and didn't die of "ulcers", plus they were old enough that they should have already been married, but given Peter Misuraca badly mixed up the details on Tony Cusenza's murder in relation to his brother Sam's murder, it wouldn't be surprising if he got some other details wrong. Misuraca also wasn't a member yet, so maybe it wasn't "the boss" but another high-ranking figure. Maybe there are marriage records for a prominent Detroit leader during this time that could point us in the right direction.
- Misuraca never says whether or not his own father was a mafia member. Given that all four sons would become mafia members, the fact that the elder Misuraca arranged a marriage between Peter and a woman who would instead marry a Detroit mafia leader, plus John Misuraca's presumably arranged marriage to a Detroit mafia member's daughter, it seems like the elder Misuraca was very mafia-friendly if not a member.
- Going back to Misuraca's statement that Tony Cusenza was "in charge of the group", I wonder if this lends itself to my colony families theory. Cusenza was allegedly a prominent mafioso with a number of made members under him and he was president of the San Vito society in the area. Given Toledo may have had its own colony family that was absorbed into Detroit, I wonder if Flint and Saginaw had their own small family primarily of men from San Vito and surrounding areas that was also absorbed into Detroit?
[b]EDIT:[/b] Can anyone confirm the true names of Tony Cusenza's alleged co-conspirator in the Sam Misuraca murder, Vito "Lacarama", as well as the other victim, Filippo "Angella"?