by Angelo Santino » Tue Mar 28, 2023 5:36 am
Antiliar wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 3:34 am
Sullycantwell wrote: ↑Sat Mar 25, 2023 6:06 am
1.) was Salvatore D'Aquila the one responsible for the murders of Carmelo Nicolisi and/or Giuseppe Lagumina?
2.) does anyone know where Giuseppe Viserti (Lagumina's alleged killer) is from and what family he was connected to? was it the Morello's who killed him while he was out on bail? His death is weird because he was a partner with Vincenzo Terranova, but killed Lagumina who appears to have been a Morello member.
3.) Did D'Aquila kill any members of Schiro's borgata in this war? If so, who?
Remember there were three sides to the conflict: 1) There was Morello's side; 2) there was the side that supported Loiacono; and 3) there was D'Aquila, who was allied with the Loiacono supporters. Since we only know what was reported, we don't know if any of the victims switched sides or were insufficiently loyal. We also don't know if any killers shot the wrong targets.
1) Nicolosi and/or Lagumina were most likely Morello supporters, so were probably killed by Loiacono supporters or D'Aquila.
2) Giuseppe Viserti was from Sarno, Salerno, Italy, which is very close to the Capone hometown of Angri. We don't know if he killed Lagumina. That was the accusation, but it wasn't proven.
3) B answered this question.
The Loiacano "faction" became the Luccheses but what I'd strongly focus on and emphasize is the official organizational succession.
Morello - 189? - 1912
Pecoraro - 1910-1912 (Acting in some capacity)
LoMonte - 1912-1914
Greco - 1914-1914 (possibly)
Loiacano - 191?-1920
Reina - 192?-1930
In every era of the New York Mafia, we know Families weren't islands, that there was plenty of mingling and networking. And we know from Gentile that General Assemblies and Grand Councils governed the US much like the Commission did post '31. It can be assumed by the blowback Morello received for Loiacano's murder, that it was unsanctioned and not approved by D'Aquila the BOB, the Grand Council or Assembly. Former boss or not, Morello murdered a sitting boss, no different than Tony Bananas or John Gotti. The BOB, Council and Assembly seemingly considered this a violation and likely refused Morello's campaign to return as Family Boss.
So what you had, theoretically, is the BOB, GC, GE firmly against Morello's attempts and a death sentence was issued. One must consider the internal impact these factors played on the Corleonesi membership. We know that internal wars are never 50/50 but rather 20 for and 20 against with 60% in the middle who stay out of the politics and don't care/won't influence who is Boss. (This likely plays a part in why mafia wars have a history of being won by minority factions. Orena had the support of 3/4's while Perisco 1/4 and look who won. Same for Merlino). Using these more recent wars as a template, I think it's likely that most of the "Corleonesi" had no intention of defying the BOB and the Mafia government and opted to toe the line and remain in good standing. These members weren't going to put their life on the line for former boss Morello, whether they liked him or not. Organizationally, the Luccheses are the true formal successor to the early Corleonesi.
* Eric originally stated this and I disagreed that the Luccheses were and that it was instead both. My thinking has evolved. I think Eric was correct.
Which brings us to Morello, he had his (likely small) faction of the Family that went with him. It shares similarities to Joe Bonanno's situation in the 60's. He was deposed and not official but still a major force. we learned from Griffin in the 60's, the DiGregorio "faction" was composed of Cast and traditionalists, Bonanno's "faction" consisted of relatives, core supporters and a sizable portion of newly made Italian-American street hoodlums. We see reflections of this with the 2nd War where the Luccheses maintained the political links and "genetic makeup" of the Corleonesi while Morello's group became the Genovese family which grew to become to least-Sicilian influenced of the Families.
Loiacano was killed in 1920, it appears this dispute was squashed in 1924 when all sides agreed to a ceasefire. From 1920 to 1924 you have Vincenzo Terranova and Joe Masseria floated as powerhouses in this roque faction. Gentile called Masseria a boss in 1921. But it's possible these positions weren't formalized until 1924 when the Morello-Masseria group was accepted and instated back in the Mafia as its own Family independent of Corleonesi-Loiacano-Lucchese group. One of the apparent edicts was that for this to happen, Morello could be Boss, so it went to Masseria. Organizationally speaking, Masseria was likely the first official boss of the Gens. Operationally, they were well entrenched with former powerhouse Morello, Ciro Terranova, Frank Yale and other loyalists. What this rebel group managed to achieve was a true David and Goliath situation. They defied the Mafia government that had a death sentence on them to eventually being accepted and formalized as its own Family. This likely only could have been achieved through power and political connections. We know that despite the death sentence, members of other families, including D'Aquila-Gambinos, still secretly did business with them.
-
Now going back to the Good Killers, the informant claimed they were responsible for murders in Detroit including the Giannolas, but James Buccellato researched them and concluded that this wasn't the case and that their murders were later cleared up with no indication of the GK's involvement. If he made that mistake in Detroit, is it possible he made that same mistake for NY? Schiro and the Bonannos through history, have always operated fairly conservatively, for them to take up arms for Morello, a renegade faction, would put them at odds with the BOB, GC and GE. We know that when Gentile transferred to NY he joined the Bonannos and even described Schiro as a neutralist.
Just something to consider.
[quote=Antiliar post_id=257369 time=1679999669 user_id=77]
[quote=Sullycantwell post_id=257172 time=1679749583 user_id=7821]
1.) was Salvatore D'Aquila the one responsible for the murders of Carmelo Nicolisi and/or Giuseppe Lagumina?
2.) does anyone know where Giuseppe Viserti (Lagumina's alleged killer) is from and what family he was connected to? was it the Morello's who killed him while he was out on bail? His death is weird because he was a partner with Vincenzo Terranova, but killed Lagumina who appears to have been a Morello member.
3.) Did D'Aquila kill any members of Schiro's borgata in this war? If so, who?
[/quote]
Remember there were three sides to the conflict: 1) There was Morello's side; 2) there was the side that supported Loiacono; and 3) there was D'Aquila, who was allied with the Loiacono supporters. Since we only know what was reported, we don't know if any of the victims switched sides or were insufficiently loyal. We also don't know if any killers shot the wrong targets.
1) Nicolosi and/or Lagumina were most likely Morello supporters, so were probably killed by Loiacono supporters or D'Aquila.
2) Giuseppe Viserti was from Sarno, Salerno, Italy, which is very close to the Capone hometown of Angri. We don't know if he killed Lagumina. That was the accusation, but it wasn't proven.
3) B answered this question.
[/quote]
The Loiacano "faction" became the Luccheses but what I'd strongly focus on and emphasize is the official organizational succession.
Morello - 189? - 1912
Pecoraro - 1910-1912 (Acting in some capacity)
LoMonte - 1912-1914
Greco - 1914-1914 (possibly)
Loiacano - 191?-1920
Reina - 192?-1930
In every era of the New York Mafia, we know Families weren't islands, that there was plenty of mingling and networking. And we know from Gentile that General Assemblies and Grand Councils governed the US much like the Commission did post '31. It can be assumed by the blowback Morello received for Loiacano's murder, that it was unsanctioned and not approved by D'Aquila the BOB, the Grand Council or Assembly. Former boss or not, Morello murdered a sitting boss, no different than Tony Bananas or John Gotti. The BOB, Council and Assembly seemingly considered this a violation and likely refused Morello's campaign to return as Family Boss.
So what you had, theoretically, is the BOB, GC, GE firmly against Morello's attempts and a death sentence was issued. One must consider the internal impact these factors played on the Corleonesi membership. We know that internal wars are never 50/50 but rather 20 for and 20 against with 60% in the middle who stay out of the politics and don't care/won't influence who is Boss. (This likely plays a part in why mafia wars have a history of being won by minority factions. Orena had the support of 3/4's while Perisco 1/4 and look who won. Same for Merlino). Using these more recent wars as a template, I think it's likely that most of the "Corleonesi" had no intention of defying the BOB and the Mafia government and opted to toe the line and remain in good standing. These members weren't going to put their life on the line for former boss Morello, whether they liked him or not. Organizationally, the Luccheses are the true formal successor to the early Corleonesi.
* Eric originally stated this and I disagreed that the Luccheses were and that it was instead both. My thinking has evolved. I think Eric was correct.
Which brings us to Morello, he had his (likely small) faction of the Family that went with him. It shares similarities to Joe Bonanno's situation in the 60's. He was deposed and not official but still a major force. we learned from Griffin in the 60's, the DiGregorio "faction" was composed of Cast and traditionalists, Bonanno's "faction" consisted of relatives, core supporters and a sizable portion of newly made Italian-American street hoodlums. We see reflections of this with the 2nd War where the Luccheses maintained the political links and "genetic makeup" of the Corleonesi while Morello's group became the Genovese family which grew to become to least-Sicilian influenced of the Families.
Loiacano was killed in 1920, it appears this dispute was squashed in 1924 when all sides agreed to a ceasefire. From 1920 to 1924 you have Vincenzo Terranova and Joe Masseria floated as powerhouses in this roque faction. Gentile called Masseria a boss in 1921. But it's possible these positions weren't formalized until 1924 when the Morello-Masseria group was accepted and instated back in the Mafia as its own Family independent of Corleonesi-Loiacano-Lucchese group. One of the apparent edicts was that for this to happen, Morello could be Boss, so it went to Masseria. Organizationally speaking, Masseria was likely the first official boss of the Gens. Operationally, they were well entrenched with former powerhouse Morello, Ciro Terranova, Frank Yale and other loyalists. What this rebel group managed to achieve was a true David and Goliath situation. They defied the Mafia government that had a death sentence on them to eventually being accepted and formalized as its own Family. This likely only could have been achieved through power and political connections. We know that despite the death sentence, members of other families, including D'Aquila-Gambinos, still secretly did business with them.
-
Now going back to the Good Killers, the informant claimed they were responsible for murders in Detroit including the Giannolas, but James Buccellato researched them and concluded that this wasn't the case and that their murders were later cleared up with no indication of the GK's involvement. If he made that mistake in Detroit, is it possible he made that same mistake for NY? Schiro and the Bonannos through history, have always operated fairly conservatively, for them to take up arms for Morello, a renegade faction, would put them at odds with the BOB, GC and GE. We know that when Gentile transferred to NY he joined the Bonannos and even described Schiro as a neutralist.
Just something to consider.