THE BLACK HAND FORUM

I believe the Colletti cousins were still Ribera members up to the early 2000s at least.


Pogo

Chaps wrote:Thanks B. I'm sure there's plenty more. I requested Joseph Colletti's records recently and I'm hoping there's more in there about any inter-family relations involving that family. Again, Colletti is an old Ribera name and, unless Felice corrects me, I believe there are still members in the Ribera Family with that last name (or were until fairly recently).

Unfortunately, the Larasso files were heavily redacted. I would say 98% of anything coming from a CI was redacted. There was no other mention on that trip Larasso made to Chicago to iron out the details of a wedding although I would make book on the fact that Bacino was involved as I don't know why Giancana would care about a wedding in Elizabeth, NJ. My hunch is it had connections to Ribera somehow.

Just from a little Facebook sleuthing, I've seen that Bacino's grandchildren in Illinois/Indiana (Calumet City is right on the border) are not just "friends" but in regular communication with the children of well-known DeCavalcante members in New Jersey. If those ties are still so strong, you can only imagine how strong they were with the older generations who came here from Ribera. The Bacinos could also be related to a number of familiar names in Elizabeth.

And yep, there were Colletti cousins active in Ribera up through the 1980s at least I believe.

Thanks B. I'm sure there's plenty more. I requested Joseph Colletti's records recently and I'm hoping there's more in there about any inter-family relations involving that family. Again, Colletti is an old Ribera name and, unless Felice corrects me, I believe there are still members in the Ribera Family with that last name (or were until fairly recently).

Unfortunately, the Larasso files were heavily redacted. I would say 98% of anything coming from a CI was redacted. There was no other mention on that trip Larasso made to Chicago to iron out the details of a wedding although I would make book on the fact that Bacino was involved as I don't know why Giancana would care about a wedding in Elizabeth, NJ. My hunch is it had connections to Ribera somehow.

Much appreciated.

Was not aware of any family connection with Larasso and Majuri. Truly the most clannish family in the US given the number of relations and their small size.

-On December 3, 1973 a Lieutenant from the Elizabeth PD advised that TINO FIUMARA is moving into the Elizabethport area with a heavy hand. FIUMARA is allegedly ousting LARASSO and FRANK MAJURI from their activities in the port, that is, gambling and loansharking. He stated that FIUMARA is not getting any opposition from the DE CAVALCANTE group, which is becoming very soft.

TINO FIUMARA is considered dangerous and is under the supervision of PETER V. LA PLACA, a "capo" in the GENOVESE La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family.

-Louis had a brother by the name of ALFONSO P. LARASSO who was born August 22, 1923 in Elizabeth, NJ.

-In 1973, a CI stated that FRANK COCCHIARO and LOUIS LARASSO were both capos.

-On May 31, 1974, the NJPD advised that a formal dinner was held at the Winfield Scott Hotel on May 11, 1974. Over 400 individuals attended and the majority of those attending were members or affiliates of organized crime from the Union County, NJ area plus numerous political and police officials. This dinner was the annual "Orphans of Italy" charity benefit sponsored by the Ribera Club of Elizabeth. "The Ribera Club is an organization sponsored by the DE CAVALCANTE La Cosa Rostra (LCN) Family.

-If anyone is familiar with the 1983 report on Organized Crime in New Jersey that was published in a Congressional report, it stated that Stefano Vitabile was the Treasurer of a corporation known as VAL Sand and Fill. According to FBI reports from the early 1970's, VAL stood for (Stefano) Vitabile, (Joseph) Amato, and (Louis) Larasso.

-On March 12, 1975, someone from the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation advised that LARASSO could be considered as one of the next people in line to take control of the DE CAVALCANTE La Cosa Nostra (LCN) Family. LARASSO is also considered a close associate of JOSEPH LA SELVA, an alleged capital of Waterbury, Connecticut.

-In 1964, Larasso was an employee of the United Excavating Company of Linden, NJ although (Surprise) he held no official title and no-one was sure what he did there. An informant advised on 9/11/1964 that JOHN RIGGI met with SAM DE CAVALCANTE and reported he was attempting to make a connection with this company. RIGGI said that LARASSO had some affiliation with this contractor and and it would be necessary for him (RIGGI) to give LARASSO a cut of whatever money he makes with this contractor. "DE CAVALCANTE rebuked RIGGI for thinking he had to give subject a cut, pointing out it was the subject's place to help RIGGI because RIGGI was a capo regime."

-A man named LOUIS SISTO was apparently with the United Excavating Company. He told various building contractors in the Union County, NJ area in the 1950's that SISTO told them to check in with EMANUEL RIGGI before starting construction projects. EMANUEL RIGGI, a member of the DE CAVALCANTE LCN Family, was the Business Agent of Local 394, Hod Carriers Union, Elizabeth, NJ from 1945 to 1958, when he gave up the job to begin a Federal prison sentence for attempted extortion, in connection with his arrest in 1956 for payroll padding. LOUIS SISTO, upon interview by the Newark office, denied making payoffs to EMANUEL RIGGI, but described RIGGI as a shakedown artist. LOUIS SISTO died in 1961.

-It is noted that the September 7, 1968 issue of the Elizabeth Daily Journal contains an obituary for EMAUEL CARUANO, age 70, father of FRANK MAJURI'S wife. The obituary notice stated that CARUANO was to be buried on September 10, 1968. 9:00 a.m. out of St. Anthony's Church. The wake was held at (of all places) the Corsentino Home for Funerals in Elizabeth.

As Joe Caruano has been mention as Larasso's nephew, there is obviously a relationship by marriage between Larasso and Frank Majuri.



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they named like 3-4 guys who couldn't be identified by our police

felice wrote:No B, that's not him. The sortino's were talking about someone living in new jersey

Oh interesting. I don't think he had any sons, so maybe another relative.

No B, that's not him. The sortino's were talking about someone living in new jersey

Two of his daughters by the way married into the Merlo and Riggi families.

felice wrote:in the ribera-de cavalcante tapes I have they talk about a "peppino lo ruso" which could be Joseph La Raso. maybe he's a relative

A Giuseppe LoRaso of Ribera was arrested in an anti-drug raid in 2014 spanning several different provinces, but including many other men from Ribera and some familiar last names:
http://www.grandangoloagrigento.it/scia ... di-dimora/

No mafia connection mentioned, but seems likely this Giuseppe LoRaso is connected to the Ribera family and could be the same "Peppino".

in the ribera-de cavalcante tapes I have they talk about a "peppino lo ruso" which could be Joseph La Raso. maybe he's a relative

thanks for posting chaps, looking forward to more

Thanks for posting this, man!

I'd be curious to hear more about the Chicago trip, especially if Bacino and co. were involved.

I've got the original family name as LoRaso, but LuRaso could be closer to how they spelled it in Sicily. Alfonso LoRaso's death is mentioned once or twice on the DeCav tapes and there's a decent chance he was a member, but never seen it confirmed.

After Manny Riggi was busted in the 1950s he was apparently shelved, but it's not clear if it was more voluntary or what. He was still treated as a member but was largely inactive.

The Joseph Amato you mentioned who was involved with the Venetian bar was/is a longtime figure in the Ribera Club. I wonder if his birthplace "Satolica, Sicily" is a reference to Cattolica Eraclea. He lived in Ribera with his wife before immigrating to the US. Not a member but seems to have been a pretty big legitimate associate.

More details about Sferra's broken ankle and downfall, from an earlier post:

- He was picking his daughter up from school and thought a male student was being too close with a girl who was in his car, so he cut them off with his car and confronted the boy. He pushed the kid and the kid returned the favor by knocking Sferra off his feet which caused him to break his foot.

- He had a drinking problem and had gotten drunk in Atlantic City where he caused a commotion and damaged a bar or club. He denied it to Sam DeCavalcante but DeCavalcante said witnesses confirmed it.

- DeCavalcante brought Riggi into his office after demoting Sferra and told him he was giving him Sferra's role with the union and promoting him to head of Sferra's former decina, saying he was responsible for seven men. He made it clear that Sferra was still to be respected even though he was demoted.

I recently received the FBI files of onetime DeCavalcante Underboss and Caporegime Louis Larasso. I'm posting up what I can get out of it as it is heavily redacted. Most of the statements from CI's are redacted despite the fact I have seen statements from the same CI's (number such as NK T-1 or NK T-4 are given) in other reports without redaction. As I was unable to find an obituary and Larasso was apparently never declared legally dead, I used the testimony of Anthony Rotondo and information from John Riggi's appeal as proof of death which they accepted.

The other thing I find odd is that they only found files going up to 1976. From what I can tell he was not considered that active afterward and was not actively investigated.

-Birth records for the City of Elizabeth indicate that LARASSO was born LUCIANO LURASO on November 13, 1923 at 333 John Street in Elizabeth. Father was ALFONSO LURASO and mother was MARIA LO BRUTTO. Both parents were born in Italy.

-Apparently JOSEPH CARUANO, who later became a capo regime on the DeCavalcante Family, was Larasso's nephew. A report dated December 27, 1957 said that CARUANO was employed by Local 394, Hod Carriers and Laborer's Union. AFL. At the time LARASSO was listed as a Trustee in the Local. On July 18, 1957, CARUANO was arrested for bookmaking at the Public Service, Gas and Electric Site in Linden, NJ. Police stated that at the time of his arrest, CARUANO tried to dispose of a brown paper bag containing $558 in cash.

-During November of 1952, EMANUEL RIGGI (John's father) set up a social club at 112 South Wood Avenue in Linden known as the Swank Club, Inc. LARASSO was a trustee in this corporation. The Linden Chief of Police told FBI agents that while the Swank Club's Articles of Incorporation stated that the purpose of the club was to "promote athletic, social, civic, and patriotic recreational activity and sportsmanship among members and to promote and advance good health and greater bonds of friendship, etc", the true purpose of the Swank was "the purpose of gambling." The club didn't last long due to heavy police surveillance and EMANUEL RIGGI was imprisoned.

-In 1956, LARASSO and JOHN RIGGI became partners in a restaurant at 35 Broad Street in Elizabeth named Lou-Johns. It had three floors with the first floor being a bar, an exclusive restaurant on the second, and a gambling casino on the third. Again, the establishment only lasted for about four or five months as LARASSO and RIGGI "couldn't get the proper clearance."

-Union County Prosecutor RUSSEL MORSS stated that as of December 1957, PHIL AMARI has been suspected for a long time of bringing into this country illegally Italians from someplace in Sicily and putting them to work as laborers in Local 394. MORSS stated that in the past INS has conducted raids at the various work sites where Local 394 has been working in order to determine whether persons who have entered this country illegally are employed. He stated that to date the raids have not been very successful. As a footnote to this interview, MORSS ended by saying that "there was no indication to date that LARASSO has been closely associated with AMARI."

-Apparently, in 1962, JIMMY PALERMO "took control" of the popular Venetian Bar in Elizabeth, apparently as a front for LARASSO. This was due to the fact that PALERMO had no criminal record at the time and could get a liquor license. Two others that held the liquor license at the Venetian were JOSEPH R LA SALA, born April 3, 1930 in Naples and JOSEPH AMATO, born August 10, 1928 in Satolica, Sicily.

-NICHOLAS DELMORE suffered a heart attack in August 1963 that paralyzed one side of his body. Law Enforcement and several underworld sources believed that LARASSO would be the next boss. But, in November 1963, a source said that SAM DE CAVALCANTE had announced to some of the gamblers in Elizabeth that he was now the boss.

-In March of 1965, a CI advised that LOUIS LARASSO stated that SAM DE CAVALCANTE "was not only his boss but also his caporegima." This led the CI to believe this meant that LARASSO answered directly to DE CAVALCANTE.

-Apparently there was a period of time where LARASSO was fencing stolen merchandise which annoyed SAM DE CAVALCANTE. Sam told Lou that from that point on, any items that Lou received to sell had to first be cleared by Sam.

-There has been talk of how much Sam DeCavalcante had a soft spot for Larasso but it appears that in the 1960's Sam kept Lou on a fairly short leash. For instance, a report from March of 1965 says that DeCavalcante criticized Larasso for failure to keep him informed of what Larasso was doing, where he was going, and who he was associating with. Larasso felt that DeCavalcante was unjustly disturbed with him as Sam know that Lou was loyal and would not do anything without Sam's ok. Apparently this all came to a head due to a deal that Larasso tried to make with WILLIE MALANGA. Malanga apparently was a Gambino as Sam states that he was in JOE PATTERN'S crew and that Joe and Sam had known each other since they were kids. Larasso admitted that three months prior he had set up a deal with Malanga but it had fell through. DeCavalcante said that it might have gone through if Larasso had checked with him before going through with the deal. DeCavalcante then proceeded to tell Larasso that other members of the Family felt that Larasso was not "sincere and respectable enough" and that Larasso "sneaks around." Larasso attempted to defend himself by pointing out that back in the day DeCavalcante had never checked in regularly with Phil Amari. "DeCavalcante claimed exception, stating that Amari was unreasonable to him and all other men who were then in his Family."

-Larasso was a heavy gambler and DeCavalcante and FRANK MAJURI on more than one occasion had to tell Lou that stories had reached them regarding his heavy betting at Yonkers Racetrack and that he should knock it off.

-On May 24, 1965, a CI reported that Sam DeCavalcante me with ANTHONY "LITTLE PUSSY" RUSSO, who informed Sam that he "did not have much respect for LOU who was under NICK. RUSSO asked who LOU was under at the present time and DE CAVALCANTE replied that LOU is not under anyone except DE CAVALCANTE and that he answers directly to DE CAVALCANTE. RUSSO stated that LOU did not 'live right' and suggested that DE CAVALCANTE should 'put him down'. RUSSO also suggested that LOU should not treat DE CAVALCANTE 'like dirt'. Informant stated that DE CAVALCANTE that LOU is a 'cockroach' at times but that DE CAVALCANTE straightens him out." The agent finished by stating that "subject has a poor reputation amongst other top hoodlums who have commented in the past about the subject's lack of intelligence."

-In line with information that B. posted about Joe Sferra:

On 6/11/1965, Larasso met with DeCavalcante and "discussed the demotion by DE CAVALCANTE of JOSEPH SFERRA from his position as Business Agent of Local 394 and as a caporemina. DE CAVALCANTE said that SFERRA had been punished enough. Subject commented that SFERRA was a changed man now and would not cause any trouble in the future. Subject told DE CAVALCANTE that DE CAVALCANTE was the "father of the family" and that he had done the right thing by SFERRA."

"SFERRA lost favor with DE CAVALCANTE for the manner in which he had conducted the affairs of Local 394, the chief complaint being that SFERRA had failed to provide steady employment for LCN members. SFERRA broke an ankle in late May, 1965, after an accident with a young motorist. SFERRA refused to readily disclose to DE CAVALCANTE how the accident had occurred, which angered DE CAVALCANTE. DE CAVALCANTE then decided to remove SFERRA from the above positions."

-Interesting note regarding Larasso being sent to Chicago by DeCavalcante to "confer with representatives of the GIANCANA Family of LCN" about the arrangements for a wedding. The names of the bride and groom are redacted but it took place in Elizabeth, NJ.

Still reading through the files so I'll post more later. One thing I was hoping to find in these files was the two occasions when Larasso supposedly plotted against the leadership of the Family. According to an earlier posting by JD the first got him shelved and the only reason he wasn't killed was because Sam DeCavalcante intervened and the other got him killed in 1991 not long after gaining the rank of Capo.