Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

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Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by ImaginaryRisk » Mon Nov 25, 2024 6:24 pm

ImaginaryRisk wrote: Mon Nov 25, 2024 5:41 pm
antimafia wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2024 12:28 pm Respectively, a newspaper obituary for Joe Gentile, his registration of death, and his medical certification of death; the DOD on the two latter documents differs from the date in the obituary, with the registration of death showing an amendment, and the medical certification showing the physician mistakenly using the year 1994 instead of 1995 in the certification section.

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Interesting his address was listed as 1404 Commercial Drive on his death certificate, that definitely was not his primary residence. The same address where his nephew Di Salvo had his cafe. That building appears to still be owned by the Gentile extended family. It's leased to a popular pizzeria/restaurant in Vancouver. Upstairs are what appear to be apartment buildings. In today's market it would sell easily for 7-8 Million. The Gentile/Di Salvo families also own other real estate along Commercial Drive "little italy" in Vancouver. Frankie Di Salvo who's father Gerry Di Salvo operated restaurants in Vancouver was a partner with his uncle Joe Gentile in the restaurant business.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... /25573467/
I meant to say Frankie Di Salvo operated Roma Cafe on Commercial drive in the mid 2000s I think the family has shares in the ownership of that building as well. His dad Gerry was partners with his uncle Joe Gentile in the restaurant business

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by ImaginaryRisk » Mon Nov 25, 2024 5:43 pm

Any more information on Ernesto "Frank Martin" Barese? He was a "made" member of the Gambino family but was deported from the US to Italy. Somehow he showed up in Vancouver during the time of Joe Gentile. Did they have a confirmed connection? Some reports say that they did. Barese was said to be a major narcotics trafficker/facilitator. He eventually got deported from Canada back to Italy.

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by ImaginaryRisk » Mon Nov 25, 2024 5:41 pm

antimafia wrote: Mon Feb 19, 2024 12:28 pm Respectively, a newspaper obituary for Joe Gentile, his registration of death, and his medical certification of death; the DOD on the two latter documents differs from the date in the obituary, with the registration of death showing an amendment, and the medical certification showing the physician mistakenly using the year 1994 instead of 1995 in the certification section.

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Interesting his address was listed as 1404 Commercial Drive on his death certificate, that definitely was not his primary residence. The same address where his nephew Di Salvo had his cafe. That building appears to still be owned by the Gentile extended family. It's leased to a popular pizzeria/restaurant in Vancouver. Upstairs are what appear to be apartment buildings. In today's market it would sell easily for 7-8 Million. The Gentile/Di Salvo families also own other real estate along Commercial Drive "little italy" in Vancouver. Frankie Di Salvo who's father Gerry Di Salvo operated restaurants in Vancouver was a partner with his uncle Joe Gentile in the restaurant business.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the- ... /25573467/

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by antimafia » Wed Sep 25, 2024 8:17 pm

Re: Carmelo Gallo, aka Carlo Gallo, Carmen Gallo

The Maclean's magazine article for which Fab provided a screenshot a few posts back is referenced in the Thomas Renner-authored book that has a couple of titles: Mafia assassin: the inside story of a Canadian biker, hitman, and police informer and Mafia enforcer: a true story of life and death in the mob. The book Police undercover: the true story of the biker, the mafia & the mountie by Mark Murphy, the Mountie who retired from the RCMP because he wasn't treated very well by his employer, treads some of the same ground as Renner's. Later I'll try to provide quotes from each book about Gallo and Joe Gentile but for now I'll say that Murphy refers to Gallo as Gentile's "underling" -- a view that is consistent with James Dubro's assessment of Gallo -- and that Murphy believed there were about 6 members in Gentile's group.

Gallo's original online funeral-home obit is no longer available. AFAIK, there was no print obituary. However, it's easy to find some links to some "obituary" pages that were derived from the original:

https://www.echovita.com/ca/obituaries/ ... lo-6468795

https://necrocanada.com/obituaries/carm ... 1945-2017/ (photo of Gallo below is found at https://necrocanada.com/obituaries/wp-c ... 5-2017.jpg)

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An Ancestry user provided the details about Gallo's funeral-home obituary by citing from the following link that is no longer operational and does not appear to have been captured on the Wayback Machine:

https://www.everhere.com/ca/obituary-va ... lo-6468795

The details at https://www.ancestry.ca/family-tree/per ... 9571/facts (see the second "obituary" listed as an unsourced citation):

Carmelo Gallo Location Vancouver, British Columbia Date Deceased : November 22, 2017 Birth : July 3, 1945 Obituary Here is Carmelo Gallo’s online obituary. Please accept Everhere’s sincere condolences. Sadly, on November 22nd 2017, at the age of 72, we had to say goodbye to Carmelo Gallo (Vancouver, British Columbia). You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family. You may also light a candle in honor of Carmelo Gallo. For the visitation and funeral service information please see event section below.

The print obituary for Carmelo's father, Giuseppe Gallo, will be found online at https://www.newspapers.com/image/492706772:

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The aforementioned Ancestry user traces Giuseppe's ancestry to Iatronoli, Reggio di Calabria.

Link to Giuseppe Gallo's registration of death:

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Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by B. » Wed Sep 25, 2024 12:19 pm

Belmonte Mezzagno and Termini fit Syracuse as the wider region stretching from Syracuse to Albany attracted mafia-affiliated Palermitani from places like Bagheria, Villabate (near Belmonte), Termini Imerese, and other towns. The Buffalo decina that covered that jurisdiction also had close ties to Canada.

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by antimafia » Wed Sep 25, 2024 11:13 am

^^^^
You and I have found the same details so far. James Dubro wrote in Mob rule that Joe Romano was from Syracuse, NY (you've probably seen that the Romanos were specifically in Onondaga County). This is what I've got for Romano and his ancestors to date:

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Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by PolackTony » Wed Sep 25, 2024 9:16 am

antimafia wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2024 9:32 pm
antimafia wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2024 8:34 pm
B. wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2024 8:01 pm Dr. Giuseppe Romano was from Termini Imerese if that helps at all. As you and I have discussed before there was a large colony from Termini in the Toronto area so it is a paesan group with a strong Canadian connection.
Yes, Giuseppe Romano's precise POB in Palermo is helpful, as initially I was only getting hits that he was born in Palermo. There are tons of records for him.

I've seen two YOBs for his son-in-law Anthony Mangione: 1900 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:62L7-ZKFF) and 1901 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPX7-HN2). Lots of records for him and his wife, Maria Concetta Romano.

Unfortunately, I'm not finding records that would help me flesh out Joe Romano's family tree, despite his having resided in both the US and Canada. I've been able to piece together that he a) was likely born in 1932, b) was married, c) had 5 or 6 kids, d) was said to have been from New York, and e) had gone to San Francisco for a trip before being ordered deported.
So if some of the newspaper reporting in Canada about Joe Romano is correct, his full name was Joseph James Romano, he was born in Argentina, and he died in LA toward the end of July 1987.

The 1950 US Census record below lists a 17-year-old Joseph Romano who was born in Argentina, while his parents -- James and Frances -- and his younger sister were all born in New York State.

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I agree that this is likely to have been the same Joseph J Romano that you’ve reported on as connected to Vancouver.

While he was born in Argentina, his parents were both born in Syracuse, NY, where he also grew up. Father James Romano was born in Syracuse to Vito Romano of Belmonte Mezzagno and Ignazia Russo of Tèrmini Imerese. Joseph J Romano’s mother, Frances Ranieri, was born in Syracuse to Calabrian parents from Catanzaro province. So while he in fact was of partial Termitano ancestry, the Romano surname in his case came from Belmonte.

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by motorfab » Wed Sep 25, 2024 5:50 am

B, here is an article about Carmelo "Carlo" Gallo published in Macleans magazine in 1982. Gallo turned himself in to police in January 1983 and was subsequently sentenced to life.

According to Cecil Kirby, Gallo was a member of the 'ndrangheta in Vancouver so it is hard to say if he was under the authority of Joe Gentile. One thing is for sure is that in addition to Violi, he was largely connected to the Commisso brothers and the Siderno Group
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Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by B. » Tue Sep 24, 2024 8:21 pm

What is known about Carlo Gallo in terms of background?

Along with Joe Gentile being presumed by us to have been a made member and now likely a confirmed ex-LA member via Piscopo, it's very likely Gerlando Gentile was a made member, affiliation unknown. You have to wonder how many fully-initiated members lived in Vancouver at different times. Probably not many but something is there.

This Vancouver element is turning out to be very interesting given the "boss" was a nephew of an influential early US mafia leader across many locations, there were close ties to the Bonanno Montreal decina via the Calabrian Violi, and as you've highlighted there were also close ties to the broader Calabrian group in Ontario. It wasn't one-dimensional, i.e. Siculianesi being connected to paesans in other locations, but something wider.

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by antimafia » Tue Sep 24, 2024 12:35 pm

Link to my Evernote item containing the page seen farther below, which is taken from Wade Rowland's Making Connections book:

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s229/sh/ ... QFf4lF05HA

NB: The author incorrectly identfied Domenico Luppino as being the son-in-law of a "Remo" Commisso of Toronto. Upon marrying Rosetta Commisso, Luppino became the son-in-law of the Cosimo Commisso b. Feb. 12, 1912; this Cosimo's wife, Pasqualina Stalteri b. May 9, 1916, was said to be a cousin of the Vincenzo "Jimmy" Deleo who was an early member of the Siderno Group's camera di controllo in Toronto.

The other references to "Remo" Commisso are to the Rocco Remo Commisso who, along with his two brothers, is well known to us mobwatchers. His relationships with Violi and Gallo are correctly depicted, save the use of the word "associates."

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Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by antimafia » Sat Sep 21, 2024 9:32 pm

antimafia wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2024 8:34 pm
B. wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2024 8:01 pm Dr. Giuseppe Romano was from Termini Imerese if that helps at all. As you and I have discussed before there was a large colony from Termini in the Toronto area so it is a paesan group with a strong Canadian connection.
Yes, Giuseppe Romano's precise POB in Palermo is helpful, as initially I was only getting hits that he was born in Palermo. There are tons of records for him.

I've seen two YOBs for his son-in-law Anthony Mangione: 1900 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:62L7-ZKFF) and 1901 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPX7-HN2). Lots of records for him and his wife, Maria Concetta Romano.

Unfortunately, I'm not finding records that would help me flesh out Joe Romano's family tree, despite his having resided in both the US and Canada. I've been able to piece together that he a) was likely born in 1932, b) was married, c) had 5 or 6 kids, d) was said to have been from New York, and e) had gone to San Francisco for a trip before being ordered deported.
So if some of the newspaper reporting in Canada about Joe Romano is correct, his full name was Joseph James Romano, he was born in Argentina, and he died in LA toward the end of July 1987.

The 1950 US Census record below lists a 17-year-old Joseph Romano who was born in Argentina, while his parents -- James and Frances -- and his younger sister were all born in New York State.

Image

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by antimafia » Sat Sep 21, 2024 8:34 pm

B. wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2024 8:01 pm Dr. Giuseppe Romano was from Termini Imerese if that helps at all. As you and I have discussed before there was a large colony from Termini in the Toronto area so it is a paesan group with a strong Canadian connection.
Yes, Giuseppe Romano's precise POB in Palermo is helpful, as initially I was only getting hits that he was born in Palermo. There are tons of records for him.

I've seen two YOBs for his son-in-law Anthony Mangione: 1900 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:62L7-ZKFF) and 1901 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPX7-HN2). Lots of records for him and his wife, Maria Concetta Romano.

Unfortunately, I'm not finding records that would help me flesh out Joe Romano's family tree, despite his having resided in both the US and Canada. I've been able to piece together that he a) was likely born in 1932, b) was married, c) had 5 or 6 kids, d) was said to have been from New York, and e) had gone to San Francisco for a trip before being ordered deported.

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by B. » Sat Sep 21, 2024 8:01 pm

Dr. Giuseppe Romano was from Termini Imerese if that helps at all. As you and I have discussed before there was a large colony from Termini in the Toronto area so it is a paesan group with a strong Canadian connection.

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by antimafia » Sat Sep 21, 2024 5:07 pm

Re: Joe Romano of Vancouver:

The Canadian federal government ordered his deportation to the US in February 1981.

I'll post some newspaper clippings at some point later but I can tell you now that Joe Romano was an American citizen from New York -- I still haven't researched his place of birth (POB); his YOB is likely 1932 -- who had been living in Vancouver since 1967.

Re: Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile

by antimafia » Sat Sep 21, 2024 10:57 am


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