by PolackTony » Thu Jul 20, 2023 11:00 pm
B. wrote: ↑Fri Jul 14, 2023 12:21 am
- Jasper Aiello was made but it's not clear which Family. He was originally from St. Louis and Springfield, Illinois, where his Family was active in the local mafia. His family was from Terrasini and he was allegedly related to the Licavolis.
I keep saying that these guys are interesting and it's because they really are. There is the local intersection in Youngstown of multiple LCN Families, the intersection of LCN regionally with the "Calabrian organization". But then there are also a lot of connections in various ways to the broader national network, from NYC to CA and almost everywhere in between.
Jasper Joseph "Fats" Aiello was born in 1913 in STL to Antonino "Tony" Aiello, born about 1889 in the Favarotta frazione of Terrasini, and Josephine Russo, born in STL in 1895 to Mariano Russo and Agostina Palmisano, of Termini Imerese. Tony Aiello and his brothers were infamous in the Prohibition era in both STL and Springfield, IL, where the Aiellos relocated around 1920 (I counted over 850 articles in the Springfield press in a 6-year span mentioning the Aiellos). During the 20s, the Aiello brothers were busted multiple times for bootlegging in Springfield and tied to violence that erupted in this period in Springfield, STL, and Chicago. In early 1927, Jasper Aiello, the 19-year-old son of Tony Aiello's brother Domenico, was shot to death in Springfield. Later that summer, Tony Russo and Vincenzo Spicuzza, both of STL and with close ties to Springfield, were found shot to death in the mobbed-up Chicago suburb of Melrose Park. Russo was the brother of Tony Aiello's wife Josephine Russo, and thus an uncle of Jasper "Fats" Aiello (investigators later told the Chicago press that the men were brought to Chicago by Joe Aiello -- no relation to the Terrasinesi Aiellos here, though the press mistakenly reported that they were all "brothers" -- as gunmen for Aiello's conflict with Tony Lombardo and Al Capone, and that Joe Aiello's meddling in STL was part of what triggered a war in the mafia there). Later that year, Tony Aiello's younger brothers Frank and Salvatore Aiello were shot to death in Springfield, and Charles Palmisano, a merchant from Termini Imerese who was very likely a relative of Josephine Russo, was murdered in STL (there were a number of other related murders in this period, which constituted a major war in the STL and Springfield mafia). It was reported that Tony Aiello was marked for death in Springfield and had to flee to relatives in STL for a time. In 1931, Tony Aiello shot and killed Joe Pisciotta, a convicted murderer and coal miner apparently from Castelvetrano, in Springfield and was exonerated on grounds of self-defense, as he claimed that Pisciotta pulled a pistol and threatened to kill him and his son Jasper.
In later years, Tony Aiello worked for the Catholic Church in Springfield and was an important man in the Italian community, serving for years on the committee of the Italian Citizens Club of Sangamon County. His brother-in-law Willie Russo (brother of Tony Russo killed in 1927, and another of Fats Aiello's uncle) was the reputed leader of a faction of younger, American-born mafiosi in STL that included members of the Licavoli, Bommarito, and Giammanco families from Terrasini. In 1930, Willie Russo was living in Ft Worth, TX< and in 1940 in Tulsa. But shortly thereafter, by the time of his WW2 draft card registration, Willie Russo was living in Cleveland. This was around the same time that Jasper Aiello seems to have moved to Youngstown, and I doubt it was a coincidence that Willie Russo's old buddy Jack Licavoli had relocated to Cleveland in 1938 (according to Danny Waugh, Licavoli had escaped being killed in Melrose Park in 1927 with Tony Russo and Vincenzo Spicuzza, at which point Licavoli then fled to Detroit). Willie Russo remained in Cleveland until he died in 1964.
So, Fats Aiello was from a line of infamous mafiosi with multiple relatives killed in the 1920s. I'd agree that he was most likely a Cleveland member and his ties via family to the Licavolis make this even more likely.
[quote=B. post_id=264454 time=1689319273 user_id=127]
- Jasper Aiello was made but it's not clear which Family. He was originally from St. Louis and Springfield, Illinois, where his Family was active in the local mafia. His family was from Terrasini and he was allegedly related to the Licavolis.
[/quote]
I keep saying that these guys are interesting and it's because they really are. There is the local intersection in Youngstown of multiple LCN Families, the intersection of LCN regionally with the "Calabrian organization". But then there are also a lot of connections in various ways to the broader national network, from NYC to CA and almost everywhere in between.
Jasper Joseph "Fats" Aiello was born in 1913 in STL to Antonino "Tony" Aiello, born about 1889 in the Favarotta frazione of Terrasini, and Josephine Russo, born in STL in 1895 to Mariano Russo and Agostina Palmisano, of Termini Imerese. Tony Aiello and his brothers were infamous in the Prohibition era in both STL and Springfield, IL, where the Aiellos relocated around 1920 (I counted over 850 articles in the Springfield press in a 6-year span mentioning the Aiellos). During the 20s, the Aiello brothers were busted multiple times for bootlegging in Springfield and tied to violence that erupted in this period in Springfield, STL, and Chicago. In early 1927, Jasper Aiello, the 19-year-old son of Tony Aiello's brother Domenico, was shot to death in Springfield. Later that summer, Tony Russo and Vincenzo Spicuzza, both of STL and with close ties to Springfield, were found shot to death in the mobbed-up Chicago suburb of Melrose Park. Russo was the brother of Tony Aiello's wife Josephine Russo, and thus an uncle of Jasper "Fats" Aiello (investigators later told the Chicago press that the men were brought to Chicago by Joe Aiello -- no relation to the Terrasinesi Aiellos here, though the press mistakenly reported that they were all "brothers" -- as gunmen for Aiello's conflict with Tony Lombardo and Al Capone, and that Joe Aiello's meddling in STL was part of what triggered a war in the mafia there). Later that year, Tony Aiello's younger brothers Frank and Salvatore Aiello were shot to death in Springfield, and Charles Palmisano, a merchant from Termini Imerese who was very likely a relative of Josephine Russo, was murdered in STL (there were a number of other related murders in this period, which constituted a major war in the STL and Springfield mafia). It was reported that Tony Aiello was marked for death in Springfield and had to flee to relatives in STL for a time. In 1931, Tony Aiello shot and killed Joe Pisciotta, a convicted murderer and coal miner apparently from Castelvetrano, in Springfield and was exonerated on grounds of self-defense, as he claimed that Pisciotta pulled a pistol and threatened to kill him and his son Jasper.
In later years, Tony Aiello worked for the Catholic Church in Springfield and was an important man in the Italian community, serving for years on the committee of the Italian Citizens Club of Sangamon County. His brother-in-law Willie Russo (brother of Tony Russo killed in 1927, and another of Fats Aiello's uncle) was the reputed leader of a faction of younger, American-born mafiosi in STL that included members of the Licavoli, Bommarito, and Giammanco families from Terrasini. In 1930, Willie Russo was living in Ft Worth, TX< and in 1940 in Tulsa. But shortly thereafter, by the time of his WW2 draft card registration, Willie Russo was living in Cleveland. This was around the same time that Jasper Aiello seems to have moved to Youngstown, and I doubt it was a coincidence that Willie Russo's old buddy Jack Licavoli had relocated to Cleveland in 1938 (according to Danny Waugh, Licavoli had escaped being killed in Melrose Park in 1927 with Tony Russo and Vincenzo Spicuzza, at which point Licavoli then fled to Detroit). Willie Russo remained in Cleveland until he died in 1964.
So, Fats Aiello was from a line of infamous mafiosi with multiple relatives killed in the 1920s. I'd agree that he was most likely a Cleveland member and his ties via family to the Licavolis make this even more likely.