THE BLACK HAND FORUM

Antiliar wrote: ↑Wed Dec 07, 2022 2:42 pm

PolackTony wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 6:04 pm

B. wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:56 pm I speculated w/ CC and Antiliar that it could have been Salvatore Brancato. You don't see nicknames for surnames like that but it's similar and Brancato was an important NYC mafioso from Palermo at this time, sometimes referred to as a "leader" and would fit with this crowd.

Possible too it was a pseudonym, someone who entered illegally and wasn't documented in the US, etc.

It would be one thing for a non-Sicilian to attend a casual dinner, but a non-Sicilian organizing what may have been a formal banquet where the capo dei capi welcomes a prominent Sicilian mafioso would be surprising to say the least.

Sure, he could well have been Brancato, as that would fit the context. But the surname thing would be pretty odd, I think. If he actually was named Brancaccio he was almost certainly Napolitan’ and I would think most likely the guy born 1851 who lived on Navy St.

Looking over David Critchley's book, his footnote on the Brancaccio letter to Cascio Ferro has Brancaccio as the same guy that I identified (d. 1923), but doesn't note that he was born in Salerno.

Another possibility is that there was a mistranscription. Has anyone here ever seen the original letter itself? Critchley references a 1909 report documenting the letter in the Palermo archives. Maybe the people who took down the report put Brancaccio when it was originally Brancato or something else.

Missed this thread from several months ago. To answer your question, the letter was reproduced in the biography of Joseph Petrosino by Arrigo Petacco. The book was originally in Italian then translated to English. The Italian version of the book has Brancaccio. The letter was taken off Vito Cascio Ferro, if I recall correctly, after he was arrested in Palermo as a suspect in the Petrosino assassination. I think it's more likely it was found among his belongings, because why would he be carrying a an eight-year-old letter on his person? They also found the letter mentioning DiLeonardo and several photos.

PolackTony wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 6:04 pm

B. wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:56 pm I speculated w/ CC and Antiliar that it could have been Salvatore Brancato. You don't see nicknames for surnames like that but it's similar and Brancato was an important NYC mafioso from Palermo at this time, sometimes referred to as a "leader" and would fit with this crowd.

Possible too it was a pseudonym, someone who entered illegally and wasn't documented in the US, etc.

It would be one thing for a non-Sicilian to attend a casual dinner, but a non-Sicilian organizing what may have been a formal banquet where the capo dei capi welcomes a prominent Sicilian mafioso would be surprising to say the least.

Sure, he could well have been Brancato, as that would fit the context. But the surname thing would be pretty odd, I think. If he actually was named Brancaccio he was almost certainly Napolitan’ and I would think most likely the guy born 1851 who lived on Navy St.

Looking over David Critchley's book, his footnote on the Brancaccio letter to Cascio Ferro has Brancaccio as the same guy that I identified (d. 1923), but doesn't note that he was born in Salerno.

Another possibility is that there was a mistranscription. Has anyone here ever seen the original letter itself? Critchley references a 1909 report documenting the letter in the Palermo archives. Maybe the people who took down the report put Brancaccio when it was originally Brancato or something else.

B. wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 6:43 pm Another possibility is he was indicating he came from Brancaccio given the importance of hometowns ("all of Corleone"). Should have been a least a last name and "di" if that's the case but I think we're missing either context or language.

B. wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:56 pm I speculated w/ CC and Antiliar that it could have been Salvatore Brancato. You don't see nicknames for surnames like that but it's similar and Brancato was an important NYC mafioso from Palermo at this time, sometimes referred to as a "leader" and would fit with this crowd.

Possible too it was a pseudonym, someone who entered illegally and wasn't documented in the US, etc.

It would be one thing for a non-Sicilian to attend a casual dinner, but a non-Sicilian organizing what may have been a formal banquet where the capo dei capi welcomes a prominent Sicilian mafioso would be surprising to say the least.

B. wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:20 pm After Cascio Ferro's 1901 arrival to NYC, he was invited to a dinner with the following names via a letter from Salvatore Brancaccio:

Giuseppe Morello
Carlo Costantino
Giuseppe Fontana
Francesco Megna
Gioacchino DiMartino
Salvatore Brancaccio

B. wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 2:20 pm Salvatore Brancaccio
Another possible Brooklyn resident. The Informer says he may not have been a Sicilian and possibly lived on Navy Street, where the Neapolitans had a strong underworld presence, but it's unconfirmed. His letter to Cascio Ferro would suggest they were acquainted and the attendance at the dinner by well-connected Sicilian mafia figures would make a non-Sicilian background for Brancaccio very interesting, though it also suggests we may just not have enough info and Brancaccio was a Sicilian figure who flew under the radar.

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Would be interesting to know why these exact men were chosen for the dinner with Cascio Ferro. Based on what's available, it looks like we have the Corleonesi, Schiro, and Lupo families represented, which may have been the total number of separate NYC families in 1901, so that could have factored into who attended. Again, though, if Brancaccio was a Navy Street guy from Naples, that could suggest it was important to show social solidarity with a non-mafia group, but what makes it strange is that he would be the one writing the letter to Cascio Ferro. Too many what-ifs, but an interesting glimpse into something.