I have to say, this thread gives me another opportunity to shamelessly promote my book "Early Organized Crime in Detroit"
http://jbuccellato.com/
The first few chapters identify a number of early Detroit mafiosi. Governor Christie is right though, considering the unevenness in quality of existing sources, it's difficult to state with certainty that all these guys were 'made.'
I have some candidates though:
In 1905, Joe Moceri was known in the community as "King of the Italians." This was not the Joe "Misery" Moceri that emerged during the Prohibition era and was part of the River Gang. They could have been related though. Anyhow, 'King' Moceri was implicated in a voter fraud and illegal immigration scandal. Because I can't say for sure if he was mafioso, I describe him as a leading padrone in the Italian Colony.
A better case can be made for Salvatore D'Anna being one of the first high profile mafiosi in Detroit. Newspapers describe him as a criminal big shot as early as 1908. I describe him as the "Giannola viceroy" in Detroit (the Giannola brothers lived outside the city).
Francesco Paolo D'Anna is another interesting candidate. He was definitely one of the leading padroni in the community. He was a convicted embezzler in Sicily and brought Raffaele Palizzolo to Detroit.
I would put Pietro Mirabile on the list. Felice Buccellato too (not to be confused with his first cousin don Felice Buccellato in CDG).
I make an argument that the Adamo Brothers were mafiosi. I know not everyone is convinced, but look at the evidence. They were definitively involved in the rackets. Both men had lengthy arrest records (including murder) and Salvatore was known on the streets as a shooter. The brothers worked closely with mafiosi like the Buccellato and Mirabile families. Lastly, they were gunned down in a gangland hit. I realize that being an important underworld figure doesn't necessarily mean you're mafiosi. Local law enforcement and the newspapers were convinced, however, that the Adamo brothers were top of the food chain in the Italian underworld. That kind of status and the other evidence leads me to believe they were uomini di rispetto.
I have to say, this thread gives me another opportunity to shamelessly promote my book "Early Organized Crime in Detroit" http://jbuccellato.com/
The first few chapters identify a number of early Detroit mafiosi. Governor Christie is right though, considering the unevenness in quality of existing sources, it's difficult to state with certainty that all these guys were 'made.'
I have some candidates though:
In 1905, Joe Moceri was known in the community as "King of the Italians." This was not the Joe "Misery" Moceri that emerged during the Prohibition era and was part of the River Gang. They could have been related though. Anyhow, 'King' Moceri was implicated in a voter fraud and illegal immigration scandal. Because I can't say for sure if he was mafioso, I describe him as a leading padrone in the Italian Colony.
A better case can be made for Salvatore D'Anna being one of the first high profile mafiosi in Detroit. Newspapers describe him as a criminal big shot as early as 1908. I describe him as the "Giannola viceroy" in Detroit (the Giannola brothers lived outside the city).
Francesco Paolo D'Anna is another interesting candidate. He was definitely one of the leading padroni in the community. He was a convicted embezzler in Sicily and brought Raffaele Palizzolo to Detroit.
I would put Pietro Mirabile on the list. Felice Buccellato too (not to be confused with his first cousin don Felice Buccellato in CDG).
I make an argument that the Adamo Brothers were mafiosi. I know not everyone is convinced, but look at the evidence. They were definitively involved in the rackets. Both men had lengthy arrest records (including murder) and Salvatore was known on the streets as a shooter. The brothers worked closely with mafiosi like the Buccellato and Mirabile families. Lastly, they were gunned down in a gangland hit. I realize that being an important underworld figure doesn't necessarily mean you're mafiosi. Local law enforcement and the newspapers were convinced, however, that the Adamo brothers were top of the food chain in the Italian underworld. That kind of status and the other evidence leads me to believe they were uomini di rispetto.