THE BLACK HAND FORUM

by B. » Mon Apr 21, 2025 1:55 pm

Great work. The Spinellis were others I was going to mention but you covered them well. (Side note, there are a couple edits/corrections I need to make in the Alabama article, unrelated to the Spinellis but regarding the Giacobbe/Bacino relation and some details about the Merlos.)

I knew of the Galletta / DiGiorgi connection which led me to wonder if these DiGiorgis were related to Jim DeGeorge but I never saw anything obvious or dug in deeply. Both Galletta and DeGeorge were on the 1947 orphanage committee together.

by **JoelTurner** » Mon Apr 21, 2025 12:25 pm

Giacomo “James” Spinelli was mentioned in passing in the Alabama, New Jersey, & the Agrigento Network article where his daughter’s marriage to Joseph Cocchiaro was highlighted. However, his other children had interesting spouses too:

- Daughter Maria married Giuseppe Guddeme. He was Boss Phil Amari’s first cousin. His mother Accursia Amari & Phil’s father Giuseppe were siblings.

- Daughter Francesca married capo Giacomo Colletti. His son Joseph Colletti was a member; his SIL Genaro Sortino (also a member) was discussed earlier in this thread.

- Daughter Ninfa “Nellie” married member Joseph Cocchiaro

- Son Santo “Sam” married Sarah Caterinicchia, daughter of probable Birmingham boss Giuseppe Caterinicchia

The Spinelli family lived in Louisiana briefly when their daughter Francesca was born in 1900. Going by the other kids births, they were in Alabama as early as June 1901 and as late as October 1905. By the 1910 census, they were in Elizabeth, NJ.

There was a Gioacchino Spinelli who helped found the Ribera Club. An individual with that name (born Jul 25 1890 - Ribera) was living in Elizabeth by the ‘20s. Going by the age difference, he could have been Giacomo’s nephew

——————————-

Phil Amari’s sister Leonarda Amari was married to Pietro Galletta. They married on Sep 21 1925 in Ribera.

Pietro had previously married Filippa DiGiorgi, daughter of Bartolomeo DiGiorgi & Accursia Galletta, on July 7 1923 in NYC. However, she passed away in Nov 1924.

Earlier, on Apr 3 1920, Pietro had immigrated heading to Bartolomeo DiGiorgi listing him as a cousin.

by **Wiseguy** » Wed Apr 09, 2025 2:22 pm

Felice "Phil" LaMela dead at 91 (pretty sure this is him?)

https://www.didonatofuneralservice.com/ ... d=41932620

by B. » Tue Apr 08, 2025 12:41 pm

Small correction from an earlier post, but it was Ribera boss Simone Capizzi's son Paolo who was a Sicilian operating alongside the DeCavalcantes in the US. There was also an older Paolo Capizzi who is identified in some places as Ribera boss who Gennaro Sortino was loyal to. In 2008 Francesco Capizzi was also identified as Ribera boss.

by B. » Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:52 am

Harrism wrote: ↑Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:25 am Great thread.

Did the Decavalcantes participate in the Castelamarese war? Do we have any indications for them participating? And is it known which faction in the castelamarese war they supported or where part of? They appareantly had a faction in NY close to the people from Sciacca.

No references to them having any involvement in the war or events before or after. Given Pasquale LoLordo was aligned with Capone, the DeCavalcantes were repped by the Genovese on the Commission afterward, and the Sciacchitani were allegedly pro-Masseria I'd suspect they were Masseria allies.

--

Other random notes:

- Emanuele Riggi (John's father) was another president of the orphanage committee at one time.

- On September 3, 1987, 55-year-old Ribera-born contractor Vincenzo Sorce was found shot to death beneath the Goethals Bridge near the outskirts of Elizabeth around twenty minutes after being seen leaving the Ribera Club. Sorce had been playing cards at the club with friends before his murder. Though up to ten witnesses saw him leave the club there was little to no cooperation and police sent flyers to 3000 residents of the Peterstown community written in both English and Italian asking witnesses to come forward and offered a $2000 reward for assistance. Sorce was shot three times in the head from behind and his killing was described by authorities as "gangland style" and "not spontaneous", Sorce's death occurring a relatively short time after the FBI raided the Local 394 hall and other DeCavalcante-linked properties.

In 1960, Elizabeth physician Dr. Anthony Ruvolo, 37, was arrested and sent to a mental hospital for the shotgun murder of his partner Dr. Annunciato LaFace, 34, in what was allegedly a dispute over their practice. Dr. Ruvolo "ambushed" both Dr. LaFace and Dr. Frank Merlo, 50, in the parking lot of St. Elizabeth Hospital. Ruvolo's wife was on vacation to Ribera, Sicily, at the time of the murder. The murder seems to be personal but funny you have doctors with links to Ribera whacking each other in Elizabeth.

- John Riggi was believed to have had influence over the Police Athletic League and was a member of the Board of Adjustment and the Elizabeth Human Relations Commission.

- In May or 1964, the Catena bug picked up Gene Catena meeting with Sam DeCavalcante and Catena asked DeCavalcante how many capodecinas he had, guessing Sam had three. Sam told him he had no capodecinas at the time and around 31 or 32 soldiers. Sam said most of them were old and not making much money but the ones who are making money give him a third.

by **Harrism** » Tue Apr 08, 2025 8:25 am

Great thread.

Did the Decavalcantes participate in the Castelamarese war? Do we have any indications for them participating? And is it known which faction in the castelamarese war they supported or where part of? They appareantly had a faction in NY close to the people from Sciacca.

by B. » Sun Apr 06, 2025 11:12 am

Thanks Stroccos.

by **Stroccos** » Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:45 am

B. wrote: ↑Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:15 am - In 1961 a teenaged Charles Stango and Frank Nigro along with a couple of friends were detained by police for disorderly conduct while driving around Watchung, a small town a ways outside of Elizabeth, claiming to be looking for a "haunted castle", a reference to Moldenke's Castle. The building was a mansion originally owned by a doctor and designed to look like the creator's family castle back in Denmark though it burned down in 1969. Giovanni Rocco recorded Stango calling Nigro "Goombah Frank" and saying they "made their bones" together, this episode of teenage mischief showing the two did go back to their teens together, close to fifty-years or more at that point. Their families also came from the same part of Avellino province, Stango's family originally from Vallata and neighboring Flumeri while Nigro's family looks to be from Vallata as well.

- Stango pleaded guilty in 1986 to cocaine distribution charges from the late 1970s along with Jerry Gallicchio of Newark and Fred Batissa of Elizabeth. By the time he pled guilty Stango was already serving prison time for the Mann murder. Gallicchio was also a suspect in the murder of NJ Colombo member Nello Cammarata and the Gallicchios were yet another family in this circle who may have come from Vallata. Older Gallicchios had numerous other connections to important NJ mafiosi and events, including a couple of them being on scene for the Vincenzo Troia murder in 1935.

- Stango had also been charged in 1979 with attempting to defraud a Newark bank and Philadelphia insurance firm in 1979 along with Batissa (from the cocaine case) and John Garofalo. Even earlier, in 1972, Stango and Batissa had been arrested in Florida and charges with possessing counterfeit money and marijuana. Stango was listed as a resident of California at the time showing his presence in Las Vegas in the mid-2010s was not his first time on the West Coast, Stango also boasting to Rocco he had ties to Los Angeles.

- Member Gaetano Alessi was a major commercial and residential builder in Bayonne and Jersey City during the 1980s and 90s. In 1994 he was arrested in a water theft scam through his ownership of the historic Pride Bake Shop in Bayonne. He was accused of bypassing water meters to steal water services from the city. Alessi was a native of San Giovanni Gemini, Agrigento, and a member of the Ribera Club, Alessi showing up in the well-known Riggi-era group photo of Ribera Club members. Alessi is the only DeCavalcante I've found from San Giovanni and seemingly always lived in Bayonne after coming to the US so it's not clear exactly how he was recruited but his hometown being in Agrigento may have played a role, especially if there was any Sicilian mafia connection back there. Son Vincent became a DeCavalcante associate and major construction contractor himself, being very close to members of the Gambino Family.

stango was living in Fresno in the mid 70s , , he was busted out there for trying to shake someone down I forget the particulars.

by B. » Sun Apr 06, 2025 10:15 am

- In 1961 a teenaged Charles Stango and Frank Nigro along with a couple of friends were detained by police for disorderly conduct while driving around Watchung, a small town a ways outside of Elizabeth, claiming to be looking for a "haunted castle", a reference to Moldenke's Castle. The building was a mansion originally owned by a doctor and designed to look like the creator's family castle back in Denmark though it burned down in 1969. Giovanni Rocco recorded Stango calling Nigro "Goombah Frank" and saying they "made their bones" together, this episode of teenage mischief showing the two did go back to their teens together, close to fifty-years or more at that point. Their families also came from the same part of Avellino province, Stango's family originally from Vallata and neighboring Flumeri while Nigro's family looks to be from Vallata as well.

- Stango pleaded guilty in 1986 to cocaine distribution charges from the late 1970s along with Jerry Gallicchio of Newark and Fred Batissa of Elizabeth. By the time he pled guilty Stango was already serving prison time for the Mann murder. Gallicchio was also a suspect in the murder of NJ Colombo member Nello Cammarata and the Gallicchios were yet another family in this circle who may have come from Vallata. Older Gallicchios had numerous other connections to important NJ mafiosi and events, including a couple of them being on scene for the Vincenzo Troia murder in 1935.

- Stango had also been charged in 1979 with attempting to defraud a Newark bank and Philadelphia insurance firm in 1979 along with Batissa (from the cocaine case) and John Garofalo. Even earlier, in 1972, Stango and Batissa had been arrested in Florida and charges with possessing counterfeit money and marijuana. Stango was listed as a resident of California at the time showing his presence in Las Vegas in the mid-2010s was not his first time on the West Coast, Stango also boasting to Rocco he had ties to Los Angeles.

- Member Gaetano Alessi was a major commercial and residential builder in Bayonne and Jersey City during the 1980s and 90s. In 1994 he was arrested in a water theft scam through his ownership of the historic Pride Bake Shop in Bayonne. He was accused of bypassing water meters to steal water services from the city. Alessi was a native of San Giovanni Gemini, Agrigento, and a member of the Ribera Club, Alessi showing up in the well-known Riggi-era group photo of Ribera Club members. Alessi is the only DeCavalcante I've found from San Giovanni and seemingly always lived in Bayonne after coming to the US so it's not clear exactly how he was recruited but his hometown being in Agrigento may have played a role, especially if there was any Sicilian mafia connection back there. Son Vincent became a DeCavalcante associate and major construction contractor himself, being very close to members of the Gambino Family.

by B. » Sat Apr 05, 2025 2:29 pm

Yeah, Tommaso Bacino was the same one who told the FBI he was distantly related to Phil. The FBI also included a Joe Bacino (b. 1893) as an LCN figure and described him as a cousin of Phil on their "Dead List". When I looked into Joe five or six years ago I don't think I definitively identified him but found one from Burgio who may have fit. Maybe you narrowed it down, hard to remember.

Another associate in that case was Joseph Grisafi from Sambuca (same hometown as Bacino in-laws the Maggios) and one of Phil Bacino's grandchildren married a Grisafi. I remember you doing a dive into him and it looked like the granddaughter's in-laws were descended from Joseph. Mentioning it here for anyone else who is curious about his circle of neighboring paesani / relatives who worked alongside him in the US, this clearly an extensive mafia network from Agrigento that extended from New York and New Jersey to Connecticut and into the Midwest.

I forgot or didn't know Triolo was from Johnston City but fits the presence of Miceli and the Canzoneris in the Burgitano / Palazzese colony.

by **PolackTony** » Sat Apr 05, 2025 1:56 pm

B. wrote: ↑Sat Apr 05, 2025 12:33 pm - Since we were talking about confusion over the Triolos, Phil Bacino's mother's family, one of Phil Bacino's associates in Calumet City was an Andrew Triolo. I assume this was a relative but I already made some incorrect assumptions about the Triolo-Giacobbe relation. Bacino did associate with some distant relatives named Bacino (one of them told the FBI he was a distant relative in this case, not sure what the research shows) in the area who were around the Chicago Family who we've discussed previously.

Yup, Andrea Triolo was one of the guys arrested along with Phil Bacino in 1940 as part of a huge, multistate bootlegging ring (presumably under Bacino’s control, this ring had a bunch of stills and distribution arms in IL, IN, MI, and OH). He was born in downstate Johnston City, IL, in 1907 and seems to have been brought back to Sicily as a kid, as he returned to the US bound for Chicago in 1926. I don’t know for a fact but suspect that his family was from Burgio, as other Triolos in Williamson County — where of course there was a colony of Burgitani with close ties to Chicago — were from Burgio and also relocated to Chicago from the 1920s on (decline of coal mining in Southern IL). As you might, recall, Tommaso Bacino of Burgio/Chicago, who we can presume was a paternal relative of Phil, also had close ties to the old Agrigentino colony in Williamson County. I’d very much bet that Andrea Triolo was Burgitano (he died in 1981 in IN; I’m not sure that he was ever publicly identified as being involved in criminal activities subsequent to the big 1940 case).

by B. » Sat Apr 05, 2025 1:10 pm

Yeah those are the most logical conclusions.

Carmelo Giacobbe I should point out was also the oldest potential member I've found. A couple others I'll get into were a few years younger and are equally solid candidates but Giacobbe is the eldest one who can be reasonably speculated about.

by **PolackTony** » Sat Apr 05, 2025 12:56 pm

B. wrote: ↑Fri Apr 04, 2025 1:54 pm Ok. Also strange she consistently used her mother's surname of Triolo rather than her birth name, the wife apparently using a selection of given names and surnames. Maybe SHE was the mafioso, haha.

I suspect that Corinda was an illegitimate birth, hence her using her mother’s maiden name. I’ve seen cases like this before, where the father’s name was just used for the birth record but then the mother’s name is of course used subsequently. I don’t have her mother, Giuseppa Triolo’s death record, so I also wonder if her mother may later have married a guy named Montalbano. Speculative, but could well account for these discrepancies. I also wonder whether Palma may have been her middle name, or if it was her baptismal name (these don’t always correspond to one’s legal given name), as Palma was not an uncommon female name in Ribera.

by B. » Sat Apr 05, 2025 12:33 pm

Thanks man. Please feel free to contribute / correct anything.

- Something I forgot to mention is that Mariano Coniglio was also president of the Ribera Club at one time, as was Vincenzo Carlino's son Emanuele. For some reason the Ribera Club temporarily closed down between 1932 - 1935, not sure why given the Sicilian colony was in full swing by the 1920s (hence the formation of the club in 1923) and continuing to grow. Other presidents of note over the years were Pietro Guarraci (possibly acting boss Frank Guarraci's father) and John Riggi. The founding president circa 1923 was Paolo Sgro (b. early 1880s) who previously lived in Lower Manhattan between 1904-1913 and was a relative of the Truncales, Phil Amari's mother's maiden name. Joe Colletti and Giuseppe Merlo (possibly Joe Merlo Jr.'s father based on the period) once served as trustees in the 1970s while Pietro Guarraci was president and Sam DeCavalcante was the club's general director at the time.

- Since we were talking about confusion over the Triolos, Phil Bacino's mother's family, one of Phil Bacino's associates in Calumet City was an Andrew Triolo. I assume this was a relative but I already made some incorrect assumptions about the Triolo-Giacobbe relation. Bacino did associate with some distant relatives named Bacino (one of them told the FBI he was a distant relative in this case, not sure what the research shows) in the area who were around the Chicago Family who we've discussed previously.

by **nash143** » Sat Apr 05, 2025 9:28 am

Amazing thread. Just fantastic!

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