by PolackTony » Fri Feb 28, 2025 1:08 pm
Proletarian187 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 28, 2025 12:27 pm
Didn't know he was calabrian. He would have been made sometime in the late 70's or early 80's I believe?
He was made by/under Jack Tocco around the time Tocco changed that policy. And he became a big player pretty quick. It could indicate he was part of the reason for the change of policy.
That’s possible. He was of course from Chicago and seems to have been an associate with the Daddono crew in the Western suburbs. In the late 60s, he was pinched with some other guys in that group, including suspected Chicago LCN member Salvatore DeRosa, for a big heist of a cigar truck. LaPiana wound up getting acquitted for the hijacking charges in 1969, and I believe soon after he relocated to Detroit. Offhand, I’m not sure the exact year that he married Phyllis Meli, but I believe it was at some point in the 70s.
LaPiana was, of course, also a relative by marriage of Jack Tocco’s wife Marie Meli (daughter of Angelo Meli).
Another important piece here is that LaPiana’s father, Anthony LaPiana Sr, was a long time employee of the Sanitary District of Chicago (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District), an institution that long served as an important institution for patronage jobs for the Cook County Democratic machine (the Sanitary District also had officials with LCN ties, unsurprisingly, which I’ve noted before in the Chicago threads), and a Teamsters official. In 1947, LaPiana Sr was already identified as an employee of the Sanitary District who had never take the civil service exam, so it’s clear that he was awarded the position via some clout that he had (he clearly had a “rabbi” somewhere).
After flipping, former IBT President Jackie Presser told the FBI that LaPiana Jr served as a critical liaison to the Teamsters for both the Detroit and Chicago outfits. He was also personally close to Chuckie O’Brien. Lapiana was publicly identified as a Detroit LCN member by Detroit FBI SA Sam Ruffino during the 1998 RICO trial of Jack Tocco. Ruffini testified that the FBI were aware that LaPiana was a member, although he was not depicted as such in the 1987 Detroit outfit chart that the FBI had presented to Congress. I’d agree that he was probably made sometime between the mid-70s and early 1980s.
[quote=Proletarian187 post_id=290281 time=1740770850 user_id=8432]
Didn't know he was calabrian. He would have been made sometime in the late 70's or early 80's I believe?
He was made by/under Jack Tocco around the time Tocco changed that policy. And he became a big player pretty quick. It could indicate he was part of the reason for the change of policy.
[/quote]
That’s possible. He was of course from Chicago and seems to have been an associate with the Daddono crew in the Western suburbs. In the late 60s, he was pinched with some other guys in that group, including suspected Chicago LCN member Salvatore DeRosa, for a big heist of a cigar truck. LaPiana wound up getting acquitted for the hijacking charges in 1969, and I believe soon after he relocated to Detroit. Offhand, I’m not sure the exact year that he married Phyllis Meli, but I believe it was at some point in the 70s.
LaPiana was, of course, also a relative by marriage of Jack Tocco’s wife Marie Meli (daughter of Angelo Meli).
Another important piece here is that LaPiana’s father, Anthony LaPiana Sr, was a long time employee of the Sanitary District of Chicago (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District), an institution that long served as an important institution for patronage jobs for the Cook County Democratic machine (the Sanitary District also had officials with LCN ties, unsurprisingly, which I’ve noted before in the Chicago threads), and a Teamsters official. In 1947, LaPiana Sr was already identified as an employee of the Sanitary District who had never take the civil service exam, so it’s clear that he was awarded the position via some clout that he had (he clearly had a “rabbi” somewhere).
After flipping, former IBT President Jackie Presser told the FBI that LaPiana Jr served as a critical liaison to the Teamsters for both the Detroit and Chicago outfits. He was also personally close to Chuckie O’Brien. Lapiana was publicly identified as a Detroit LCN member by Detroit FBI SA Sam Ruffino during the 1998 RICO trial of Jack Tocco. Ruffini testified that the FBI were aware that LaPiana was a member, although he was not depicted as such in the 1987 Detroit outfit chart that the FBI had presented to Congress. I’d agree that he was probably made sometime between the mid-70s and early 1980s.