by PolackTony » Tue Oct 18, 2022 4:27 pm
In the recent thread on Salvatore LoVerde, I discussed the bust of a huge “Capone syndicate” alcohol ring in 1930 allegedly under the direction of LoVerde (using the alias Frank LaCort), the Argento brothers, and Giuseppe Almanza. The ring was charged with operating as many as 20 stills in Racine, Kenosha, and Cicero. “Don Peppino” Almanza was a merchant and business partner in an import company with the Argentos that was used to supply sugar to the stills. Don Peppino, from Campobello di Mazara/Castelvetrano, had previously been named in the Chicago papers as a member of the “Sicilian Quarto” (allegedly an elite circle of men directing the mafia in Chicago; possible early reference to the Chicago Consiglio) based on Taylor St alleged to have ordered the hit on Henry Spingola and linked to the infamous Antonino “Cavaliero” Spano of Marsala. The names of the men busted on both sides of this major Chicago operation were reported as below.
Agostino Lalomia of Buffalo was from Canicattì, which is very significant given that the leaders of this ring were said to be the Argento brothers from Canicattì, while Roy Carlisi was also involved (obviously another major Chicago-Buffalo link). The Vellas noted above in connection to Kenosha also had close ties to Buffalo (Buffalo had a major colony from Grotte, and there were also Vitellos from Grotte in Buffalo who may have been related to the Chicago Vitellos).
It’s unclear to me who the Vitello busted in Racine was, given the butchered name; he may have been one of the Chicago Vitellos (Giuseppe Vitello), but there were also
Vitiellos in Racine from San Vincenzo La Costa, Cosenza.
Salvatore Furnari of Racine was from Canicattì.
Santo Vassallo of Racine was from Montelepre and was married to a Serafina Bruno, born in Naro, Agrigento; her father Giuseppe Bruno from Canicattì was the Joseph Bruno named above. Giuseppe’s son Gaetano “Tom” Bruno, born in Naro, was married to a Furnari from Canicattì. Giuseppe Ingrasci of Racine was born in Sutera, Caltanissetta, and had ties to Chicago, Buffalo, and Western PA; his wife was Maria Bruno, another sister of Gaetano Bruno. Ernesto Nilo of Racine was from Canicattì; he was married to yet another Bruno sister.
Angelo Puma was from Canicattì and had close ties to Buffalo. He owned an Italian restaurant and cigar store in Racine and was busted there in 1922 for carrying a concealed firearm and in 1925 for bootlegging. His wife was Carmella DiPasquale, who was born in Milwaukee to parents from Catania and Ragusa. He died in 1930 following the liquor busts after a car accident while driving to Chicago.
Gaetano Scupino was from Canicattì and lived in Cicero like his paesani the Carlisis; I believe that he was also connected to Gloversvile, NY, where the Carlisis and Tornabene also had strong links.
Diego LoGiudice was born in 1879 in Canicattì and married Marta Caramanna of Canicattì in NYC; son Vincent LoGiudice was born there in 1909 and the family soon moved to Chicago. In 1930, they were living in W Wolfram in Lakeview on the Northside; Diego stated that he worked as a real estate broker (could’ve been involved also in acquiring the properties that this ring was using to operate stills). Son Vincent LoGiudice later died in 1941 while incarcerated at Leavenworth.
Carmelo Gentile was born in 1875 in Canicattì and settled in Little Sicily in Chicago in 1913. His mother seems to have been Giuseppa Drago, and thus I believe he was the half-brother of Giuseppe Carlisi and uncle to Roy and Sam Carlisi. Carmelo married his wife Vincenza Cani in Canicattì. When Gentile was naturalized in Chicago in 1926, one of his witnesses was Luigi LaTona who lived by Taylor St and was from Serradifalco, Caltanissetta (another comune closely tied to Buffalo, Serradifalco is very near to both Canicattì and Grotte as well as Sutera, where Giuseppe Ingrasci was from). A father and son pit of Salvatore LaTonas from Serradifalco were notorious mafiosi in Rochester in the 1920s (they seem to have had a Luigi LaTona in their line, so they may have been cousins of the Chicago guy). Luigi LaTona also had close family connections to Pittston, PA, which also had a major colony from Serradifalco and a number of important mafiosi from there and neighboring Montedoro.
Salvatore Giardina was born in 1882 in Canicattì and settled in Chicago in 1906. His wife Maddalena Nicosia was also from Canicattì. In 1930, they lived on the Far NW Side of Chicago and Salvatore owned a construction contracting company. Their daughter Florence Giardina married Salvatore “Sam” Nicosia Jr, who was born in Canicattì and had lived in Gloversville, NY, before moving to Chicago. Sam and Florence moved to Berrien County, MI, around 1940 (where Francesco Forestieri, brother of the Salvatore Forestieri mentioned above, had close ties). Worth noting here that Chicago member Calogero “Charlie” Nicosia was born in 1916 in River Forest to parents from Canicattì (his father was also named Salvatore Nicosia and they may have been relatives of the other Nicosias) who had previously lived in Pittston/Berwick, PA, before moving to Chicago. Charlie Nicosia was an attorney in the IL States Attorney’s office and a major political liaison for the Chicago outfit with Pat Marcy. In the 1950s, both Charlie and Sam Nicosia Jr were named as committee members in the Italo-American National Union (the “Unione Siciliana”).
Another daughter of Salvatore Giardina, Helen Giardina, married Vincenzo “James” Virrusso of Cicero; born in 1911 in Pietraperzia, he was the kid brother of infamous Chicago member Santo Virrusso. The Virrusos also seem to have had close ties to Kenosha, and Salvatore LoVerde used the Virrusso’s Cicero address when he was naturalized under a false name in 1930, again connecting back to the Racine liquor ring. In yet another connection to the Racine ring, in 1941 James Virruso was employed by the Italian Bakers Association; Chicago Canicattese mafioso and Racine ring leader Cipriano Argento had been head of this Association in the 1930s when he was murdered (apparently by Jim DeGeorge, who also had strong connections to WI).
Virgilio Quadracci was a grocer in Racine, born in 1881 in Amelia, Umbria, in Central Italy.
Discussion of the Vitellos, Argentos, and Virrussos can be found in the LoVerde thread:
viewtopic.php?p=239073#p239073In the recent thread on Salvatore LoVerde, I discussed the bust of a huge “Capone syndicate” alcohol ring in 1930 allegedly under the direction of LoVerde (using the alias Frank LaCort), the Argento brothers, and Giuseppe Almanza. The ring was charged with operating as many as 20 stills in Racine, Kenosha, and Cicero. “Don Peppino” Almanza was a merchant and business partner in an import company with the Argentos that was used to supply sugar to the stills. Don Peppino, from Campobello di Mazara/Castelvetrano, had previously been named in the Chicago papers as a member of the “Sicilian Quarto” (allegedly an elite circle of men directing the mafia in Chicago; possible early reference to the Chicago Consiglio) based on Taylor St alleged to have ordered the hit on Henry Spingola and linked to the infamous Antonino “Cavaliero” Spano of Marsala. The names of the men busted on both sides of this major Chicago operation were reported as below.
[img]http://theblackhand.club/forum/ext/dmzx/imageupload/files/696f66db78f3962c20df2b86e8997e17.jpeg[/img]
[img]http://theblackhand.club/forum/ext/dmzx/imageupload/files/696f66db78f3962c20df2b86e8997e17.jpeg[/img]
Agostino Lalomia of Buffalo was from Canicattì, which is very significant given that the leaders of this ring were said to be the Argento brothers from Canicattì, while Roy Carlisi was also involved (obviously another major Chicago-Buffalo link). The Vellas noted above in connection to Kenosha also had close ties to Buffalo (Buffalo had a major colony from Grotte, and there were also Vitellos from Grotte in Buffalo who may have been related to the Chicago Vitellos).
It’s unclear to me who the Vitello busted in Racine was, given the butchered name; he may have been one of the Chicago Vitellos (Giuseppe Vitello), but there were also [i]Vitiellos[/i] in Racine from San Vincenzo La Costa, Cosenza.
Salvatore Furnari of Racine was from Canicattì.
Santo Vassallo of Racine was from Montelepre and was married to a Serafina Bruno, born in Naro, Agrigento; her father Giuseppe Bruno from Canicattì was the Joseph Bruno named above. Giuseppe’s son Gaetano “Tom” Bruno, born in Naro, was married to a Furnari from Canicattì. Giuseppe Ingrasci of Racine was born in Sutera, Caltanissetta, and had ties to Chicago, Buffalo, and Western PA; his wife was Maria Bruno, another sister of Gaetano Bruno. Ernesto Nilo of Racine was from Canicattì; he was married to yet another Bruno sister.
Angelo Puma was from Canicattì and had close ties to Buffalo. He owned an Italian restaurant and cigar store in Racine and was busted there in 1922 for carrying a concealed firearm and in 1925 for bootlegging. His wife was Carmella DiPasquale, who was born in Milwaukee to parents from Catania and Ragusa. He died in 1930 following the liquor busts after a car accident while driving to Chicago.
Gaetano Scupino was from Canicattì and lived in Cicero like his paesani the Carlisis; I believe that he was also connected to Gloversvile, NY, where the Carlisis and Tornabene also had strong links.
Diego LoGiudice was born in 1879 in Canicattì and married Marta Caramanna of Canicattì in NYC; son Vincent LoGiudice was born there in 1909 and the family soon moved to Chicago. In 1930, they were living in W Wolfram in Lakeview on the Northside; Diego stated that he worked as a real estate broker (could’ve been involved also in acquiring the properties that this ring was using to operate stills). Son Vincent LoGiudice later died in 1941 while incarcerated at Leavenworth.
Carmelo Gentile was born in 1875 in Canicattì and settled in Little Sicily in Chicago in 1913. His mother seems to have been Giuseppa Drago, and thus I believe he was the half-brother of Giuseppe Carlisi and uncle to Roy and Sam Carlisi. Carmelo married his wife Vincenza Cani in Canicattì. When Gentile was naturalized in Chicago in 1926, one of his witnesses was Luigi LaTona who lived by Taylor St and was from Serradifalco, Caltanissetta (another comune closely tied to Buffalo, Serradifalco is very near to both Canicattì and Grotte as well as Sutera, where Giuseppe Ingrasci was from). A father and son pit of Salvatore LaTonas from Serradifalco were notorious mafiosi in Rochester in the 1920s (they seem to have had a Luigi LaTona in their line, so they may have been cousins of the Chicago guy). Luigi LaTona also had close family connections to Pittston, PA, which also had a major colony from Serradifalco and a number of important mafiosi from there and neighboring Montedoro.
Salvatore Giardina was born in 1882 in Canicattì and settled in Chicago in 1906. His wife Maddalena Nicosia was also from Canicattì. In 1930, they lived on the Far NW Side of Chicago and Salvatore owned a construction contracting company. Their daughter Florence Giardina married Salvatore “Sam” Nicosia Jr, who was born in Canicattì and had lived in Gloversville, NY, before moving to Chicago. Sam and Florence moved to Berrien County, MI, around 1940 (where Francesco Forestieri, brother of the Salvatore Forestieri mentioned above, had close ties). Worth noting here that Chicago member Calogero “Charlie” Nicosia was born in 1916 in River Forest to parents from Canicattì (his father was also named Salvatore Nicosia and they may have been relatives of the other Nicosias) who had previously lived in Pittston/Berwick, PA, before moving to Chicago. Charlie Nicosia was an attorney in the IL States Attorney’s office and a major political liaison for the Chicago outfit with Pat Marcy. In the 1950s, both Charlie and Sam Nicosia Jr were named as committee members in the Italo-American National Union (the “Unione Siciliana”).
Another daughter of Salvatore Giardina, Helen Giardina, married Vincenzo “James” Virrusso of Cicero; born in 1911 in Pietraperzia, he was the kid brother of infamous Chicago member Santo Virrusso. The Virrusos also seem to have had close ties to Kenosha, and Salvatore LoVerde used the Virrusso’s Cicero address when he was naturalized under a false name in 1930, again connecting back to the Racine liquor ring. In yet another connection to the Racine ring, in 1941 James Virruso was employed by the Italian Bakers Association; Chicago Canicattese mafioso and Racine ring leader Cipriano Argento had been head of this Association in the 1930s when he was murdered (apparently by Jim DeGeorge, who also had strong connections to WI).
Virgilio Quadracci was a grocer in Racine, born in 1881 in Amelia, Umbria, in Central Italy.
Discussion of the Vitellos, Argentos, and Virrussos can be found in the LoVerde thread:
http://theblackhand.club/forum/viewtopic.php?p=239073#p239073