by PTown » Thu Dec 26, 2024 3:20 pm
Harrism wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2024 5:25 am
Antiliar wrote: ↑Sun Dec 22, 2024 12:48 pm
Little_Al1991 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 21, 2024 11:34 pm
How did Cosa Nostra first start in LA and how did they get approval to start?
We don't know how it started and we don't know who its earliest bosses were until around 1921, when Vito Di Giorgio left New Orleans to become boss. He may have organized the family, but it's possible it actually started much earlier around 1902 by immigrants from Corleone and Piana dei Greci.
Generally, I believe all families would have to be recognized by the Capo di Capi and the Consiglio, so depending on when it was formed it was either Giuseppe Morello or Toto D'Aquila. According to a later Sicilian source at least ten men are required to form a borgata. When Di Giorgio was boss he had an (suspected) underboss in Rosario Desimone, and other members such as Joe Ardizzone, Jack Dragna, and Vincenzo Piro, along with others whose names are unknown or uncertain.
How many immigrants from Corleone are there? Or do all of the immigrant just happen to be maffia related? Corleone having such a big presence in a foreign country whilst being a relatively small and inland town keeps baffling me.
Is there a reason Corleone is overrepresented in America? Or is this perspective clouded by them having a lot of prominent members rather than having a large amount of members? If not, what factors play a role in this? Did their businesses (more agricultural?) collapse where coastal town where more diversified? Or had law enforcement in Sicilly have a particular reason to focus on Corleone (if they did at all)?
Corleone is a special town to Sicilians, because of the town's role in the uprising against French rule in the 1200s. The Sicilian flag contains the red for Palermo, the biggest city, and yellow for Corleone, a small town. That's a big honor. Corleonesi do have a special place in the minds of Sicilians for being tough and full of heart.
However, their special role in Italian-American Organized Crime is just happenstance. There are several towns in Sicily that produced a lot of migrants to the U.S., and thus, when the mob was based on genetic family (clan) ties, these folks had an advantage because they simply had more kinfolk here.
Examples include Castellamare del Golfo (Maranzano, Maggadino, Bonanno), Bagheria, Terrasini, Lucca Sicula/Burgio, etc.
The way immigration used to work was one or two pioneers would come, and then sponsor other townsman. So you ended up with concentrations of people in a given New World city from the Old World town, often by coincidence of knowing that first pioneer. For Italians who went to Argentina or Canada or Australia, they came from slightly different towns. That's why you still see different regional/town of origin powerhouses there.
Anyway, hope that answered your questions. Back to the LA family...
[quote=Harrism post_id=287888 time=1735129513 user_id=8402]
[quote=Antiliar post_id=287784 time=1734896915 user_id=77]
[quote=Little_Al1991 post_id=287770 time=1734849263 user_id=7497]
How did Cosa Nostra first start in LA and how did they get approval to start?
[/quote]
We don't know how it started and we don't know who its earliest bosses were until around 1921, when Vito Di Giorgio left New Orleans to become boss. He may have organized the family, but it's possible it actually started much earlier around 1902 by immigrants from Corleone and Piana dei Greci.
Generally, I believe all families would have to be recognized by the Capo di Capi and the Consiglio, so depending on when it was formed it was either Giuseppe Morello or Toto D'Aquila. According to a later Sicilian source at least ten men are required to form a borgata. When Di Giorgio was boss he had an (suspected) underboss in Rosario Desimone, and other members such as Joe Ardizzone, Jack Dragna, and Vincenzo Piro, along with others whose names are unknown or uncertain.
[/quote]
How many immigrants from Corleone are there? Or do all of the immigrant just happen to be maffia related? Corleone having such a big presence in a foreign country whilst being a relatively small and inland town keeps baffling me.
Is there a reason Corleone is overrepresented in America? Or is this perspective clouded by them having a lot of prominent members rather than having a large amount of members? If not, what factors play a role in this? Did their businesses (more agricultural?) collapse where coastal town where more diversified? Or had law enforcement in Sicilly have a particular reason to focus on Corleone (if they did at all)?
[/quote]
Corleone is a special town to Sicilians, because of the town's role in the uprising against French rule in the 1200s. The Sicilian flag contains the red for Palermo, the biggest city, and yellow for Corleone, a small town. That's a big honor. Corleonesi do have a special place in the minds of Sicilians for being tough and full of heart.
However, their special role in Italian-American Organized Crime is just happenstance. There are several towns in Sicily that produced a lot of migrants to the U.S., and thus, when the mob was based on genetic family (clan) ties, these folks had an advantage because they simply had more kinfolk here.
Examples include Castellamare del Golfo (Maranzano, Maggadino, Bonanno), Bagheria, Terrasini, Lucca Sicula/Burgio, etc.
The way immigration used to work was one or two pioneers would come, and then sponsor other townsman. So you ended up with concentrations of people in a given New World city from the Old World town, often by coincidence of knowing that first pioneer. For Italians who went to Argentina or Canada or Australia, they came from slightly different towns. That's why you still see different regional/town of origin powerhouses there.
Anyway, hope that answered your questions. Back to the LA family...