by PolackTony » Sat Jul 09, 2022 12:27 pm
B. wrote: ↑Sat Jul 09, 2022 4:53 am
Thanks to PolackTony for pointing out John Ormento's family came from San Cataldo, which neighbors Joe Pinzolo's hometown Serradifalco. Could be a coincidence but maybe there were more Caltanissetta connections.
- Ormento was connected to the Priziola faction in Detroit which included his compaesani the Polizzis who were ex-Pittston. The Melis were also powerful compaesani in Detroit. At least one of the Melis lived for a time in NYC so have to wonder who they were "with". Looks like Ormento had relatives in Pittston, where Joe Pinzolo first arrived to his brother-in-law, and the Melis had ties there too.
- Connecting some of these dots is Genovese member Frank Livorsi (true name Livolsi), whose family intermarried with both John Ormento and the Melis of Detroit. Livorsi's family might be from Nicosia, Enna, which pre-1927 was part of Caltanissetta province. There seems to be something to these Caltanissetta relationships connecting the Genovese, Lucchese, Detroit, and Pittston.
- John Ormento grew up on E 107th in East Harlem so wouldn't have been part of the Little Italy group(s) unless there was geographic overlap to these crews. Ormento's next door neighbor in the apartment building he grew up in was Genovese member John Schillaci whose Family came from Corleone, one of the few Corleonese to show up in the Genovese and not the Lucchese after the Morello split. Valachi ID'd Schillaci as a Genovese member in the Mike Coppola crew (like Frank Livorsi), whose previous captain was Schillaci's paesan Terranova. Frank Amato was another Corleonese member of that crew and Amato's relative Liborio Bellomo was likely another.
- Maybe Schillaci mentored Ormento but if he was with a different Family something else must have put Ormento with the Luccheses. Same would apply to Livorsi. Ormento took over the crew of Ettore Coco, from Palermo, so Coco or someone with that crew may have brought him in. It's surprising though that Ormento didn't end up with the Genovese.
Good summary. Ormento’s parents were from San Cataldo, and the surname was originally Ormando. If Frank Livorsi was Nicosiano, that could be very significant. The great majority of Nicosiani settled in Chicago, where they basically built the Armour Square neighborhood (Bridgeport/Chinatown) and founded the Società SS Crocifisso di Nicosia. There were Livolsis from Nicosia, as well as the nearby town of Capizzi, Messina, where the LaPietras were from, in Chicago. There were a number of Nicosiani connected to the Outfit, of course. Chinatown crew member Jimmy Cordovano’s parents were from Nicosia, and he was heavily involved in heroin trafficking in the 1950s-60s. In a 60s FBI memo, a Mariano Cordovano was listed along with Vincenzo Rao as an “associate” of Lucchese captain Joe Rosato (as they listed Rao here, they were clearly using “associate” in the sense of a personal relationship. I haven’t seen Mariano Cordovano listed as a Lucchese member, but the Luccheses during that period are rather murky). That Cordovano was also from Nicosia, lived most of his life at 107th and 2nd Ave, and I believe very likely was a relative of Jimmy Cordovano, as Jimmy’s brother and grandfather were also named Mariano.
Another Nicosiano Chinatown crew member was Tony “Pupi” Maenza, who was linked to guys in a major Chicago heroin distribution operation that was supposedly connected to Ormento and Ettore Coco. In case files for the 1958 indictments that included Vito Genovese, Carmine Galante, Natale Evola, Rocco Mazzie, and Ormento, Ormento was alleged to have been purchasing heroin trafficked via Montreal from Galante, and in turn Ormento’s guys were shipping packages of it to Chicago.
[quote=B. post_id=233109 time=1657367636 user_id=127]
Thanks to PolackTony for pointing out John Ormento's family came from San Cataldo, which neighbors Joe Pinzolo's hometown Serradifalco. Could be a coincidence but maybe there were more Caltanissetta connections.
- Ormento was connected to the Priziola faction in Detroit which included his compaesani the Polizzis who were ex-Pittston. The Melis were also powerful compaesani in Detroit. At least one of the Melis lived for a time in NYC so have to wonder who they were "with". Looks like Ormento had relatives in Pittston, where Joe Pinzolo first arrived to his brother-in-law, and the Melis had ties there too.
- Connecting some of these dots is Genovese member Frank Livorsi (true name Livolsi), whose family intermarried with both John Ormento and the Melis of Detroit. Livorsi's family might be from Nicosia, Enna, which pre-1927 was part of Caltanissetta province. There seems to be something to these Caltanissetta relationships connecting the Genovese, Lucchese, Detroit, and Pittston.
- John Ormento grew up on E 107th in East Harlem so wouldn't have been part of the Little Italy group(s) unless there was geographic overlap to these crews. Ormento's next door neighbor in the apartment building he grew up in was Genovese member John Schillaci whose Family came from Corleone, one of the few Corleonese to show up in the Genovese and not the Lucchese after the Morello split. Valachi ID'd Schillaci as a Genovese member in the Mike Coppola crew (like Frank Livorsi), whose previous captain was Schillaci's paesan Terranova. Frank Amato was another Corleonese member of that crew and Amato's relative Liborio Bellomo was likely another.
- Maybe Schillaci mentored Ormento but if he was with a different Family something else must have put Ormento with the Luccheses. Same would apply to Livorsi. Ormento took over the crew of Ettore Coco, from Palermo, so Coco or someone with that crew may have brought him in. It's surprising though that Ormento didn't end up with the Genovese.
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Good summary. Ormento’s parents were from San Cataldo, and the surname was originally Ormando. If Frank Livorsi was Nicosiano, that could be very significant. The great majority of Nicosiani settled in Chicago, where they basically built the Armour Square neighborhood (Bridgeport/Chinatown) and founded the Società SS Crocifisso di Nicosia. There were Livolsis from Nicosia, as well as the nearby town of Capizzi, Messina, where the LaPietras were from, in Chicago. There were a number of Nicosiani connected to the Outfit, of course. Chinatown crew member Jimmy Cordovano’s parents were from Nicosia, and he was heavily involved in heroin trafficking in the 1950s-60s. In a 60s FBI memo, a Mariano Cordovano was listed along with Vincenzo Rao as an “associate” of Lucchese captain Joe Rosato (as they listed Rao here, they were clearly using “associate” in the sense of a personal relationship. I haven’t seen Mariano Cordovano listed as a Lucchese member, but the Luccheses during that period are rather murky). That Cordovano was also from Nicosia, lived most of his life at 107th and 2nd Ave, and I believe very likely was a relative of Jimmy Cordovano, as Jimmy’s brother and grandfather were also named Mariano.
Another Nicosiano Chinatown crew member was Tony “Pupi” Maenza, who was linked to guys in a major Chicago heroin distribution operation that was supposedly connected to Ormento and Ettore Coco. In case files for the 1958 indictments that included Vito Genovese, Carmine Galante, Natale Evola, Rocco Mazzie, and Ormento, Ormento was alleged to have been purchasing heroin trafficked via Montreal from Galante, and in turn Ormento’s guys were shipping packages of it to Chicago.