THE BLACK HAND FORUM

by **cavita** » Mon Jul 08, 2019 1:27 pm

I just recently found an excerpt from an FBI file that Tony Riela of New Jersey was in Chicago the last week of June 1944. I have no doubt during this time he visited with Phil Bacino in Calumet City. His FBI file also noted that from June 7-16, 1944 he was staying at the Nelson Hotel in Rockford most likely visiting his old friends from when he lived there around 1930. I'm wondering if these were just cordial visits or was there something larger happening at that time that warranted help/advice from Riela?

by B. » Sat Jul 28, 2018 4:03 pm

Yeah, he likely attended that Cleveland meeting in 1928 as the aide to Pasquale LoLordo, who was a leader in Chicago and a fellow Riberese with ties to the NJ guys. Gentile and the Bonannos have talked about how at Commission/Assembly meetings (which are in theory different versions of the same idea) a boss/leader would bring an aide. Looks like Andrew Lombardino was there an aide to his uncle Salvatore, who was probably representing Newark; Magliocco would be Profaci's aide; Mangano possibly aide to Traina; etc. Some guys like Cammarata are interesting because he was likely with Newark but was a relative and paesan of Profaci so he may have been there as a liasion of some kind for both groups. Wish we knew more about this meeting but seems pretty obvious it was to discuss a multitude of issues going on around the country at the time.

Going back to Bacino, one of the Cleveland attendees was Palazzolo who was the leading figure in Indiana. Bacino ended up in Calumet City and a lot of his descendants ended up living in Indiana. Would be curious if Bacino himself had any mafia activities going on in Indiana and if he had any dealings with Palazzolo before he was murdered.

by **MichaelGiovanni** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:39 pm

link with a little history about the pizzeria with a pic of Bacino in the link.

http://theoriginaljohns.com/history.html

Another picture I found of him.

Link of the 1928 Cleveland meeting with mugshots. Phil Bacino alias Tony Bello Bottom 4th from the right.

by B. » Fri Jul 27, 2018 2:06 pm

felice wrote: ↑Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:21 pm
Antiliar wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 9:40 pm According to a document that felice saw in Italy, Bacino was reportedly an early boss of the Elizabeth Family. If he was, it was for a very short while. He was primarily a made member of the Chicago Heights Crew under Dominic Roberto, Jimmy Emery and Frank LaPorte.

As a side note, his family continues the pizzeria and I heard it's very good.
Bacino was reported to be a rich italian business man, he and Amari made a lot of donations to italian charities organizations, including an orphanages center in Ribera

Here is Amari and Bacino in Ribera at the opening of the orphanage. Joe Bonanno was rumored to be in attendance as apparently he was in Sicily at the time.

Also, Chaps -- I was able to confirm that John Bacino's wedding took place in 1965. Does that match up with LaRasso's visit with Chicago? With the younger Bacino marrying a woman from New Jersey and the wedding possibly taking place in Elizabeth, it implies a few possibilities:

- The Bacinos frequented NJ/Elizabeth enough for his son to have met a local girl.
- The Casales of NJ frequented Illinois/Calumet City enough for the children to have met.
- The Bacinos had a strong link to the Casale family (i.e. Ribera) and essentially arranged the marriage.

Seems unlikely that the two met completely randomly, so I would guess it was the third option or maybe some combination. Hard to imagine there would be emissaries from the DeCavs making arrangements with the Chicago family if the Casales weren't from Ribera or neighboring village, or otherwise connected to the mafia in NJ somehow. Who knows, maybe the Casales were related to someone of note in the DeCav family.

by **felice** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:21 pm

Antiliar wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 9:40 pm According to a document that felice saw in Italy, Bacino was reportedly an early boss of the Elizabeth Family. If he was, it was for a very short while. He was primarily a made member of the Chicago Heights Crew under Dominic Roberto, Jimmy Emery and Frank LaPorte.

As a side note, his family continues the pizzeria and I heard it's very good.

Bacino was reported to be a rich italian business man, he and Amari made a lot of donations to italian charities organizations, including an orphanages center in Ribera

by B. » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:19 pm

Chaps wrote: ↑Fri Jul 27, 2018 8:00 am
Chaps wrote: ↑Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:56 am
B. wrote:Phil Bacino's son John married a woman from New Jersey, surname Casale.
I mentioned in an earlier thread I did regarding Lou LaRasso that he was sent to Chicago by Sam DeCavalcante to help arrange a wedding. This was from his FBI file and I’d have to look back to find the year.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Here it is B:

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.

Oh, I remember you mentioning that. That very well could be the wedding of John Bacino. I believe the bride lived in Union county, NJ, if not Elizabeth itself but can't confirm the town. It took place in the 1960s while Phil Bacino was still alive so the timeline probably matches up with your info about a wedding.

by **felice** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 12:15 pm

yes, Filippo had a brother named Luciano who was considered to be an early mafia member. he was born 1895

by **Chaps** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 8:00 am

Chaps wrote: ↑Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:56 am
B. wrote:Phil Bacino's son John married a woman from New Jersey, surname Casale.
I mentioned in an earlier thread I did regarding Lou LaRasso that he was sent to Chicago by Sam DeCavalcante to help arrange a wedding. This was from his FBI file and I’d have to look back to find the year.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

Here it is B:

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.

by **Chaps** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 6:56 am

B. wrote:Phil Bacino's son John married a woman from New Jersey, surname Casale.

I mentioned in an earlier thread I did regarding Lou LaRasso that he was sent to Chicago by Sam DeCavalcante to help arrange a wedding. This was from his FBI file and I’d have to look back to find the year.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

by B. » Fri Jul 27, 2018 1:16 am

Phil Bacino's son John married a woman from New Jersey, surname Casale.

by **Frank** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 2:24 pm

The way it sounds, Bacino could have been connected and or been boss or temporary boss before he came to Chicago. Or after Lolordo was killed.

by B. » Thu Mar 22, 2018 1:41 pm

Antiliar wrote: ↑Thu Mar 22, 2018 2:14 am
Villain wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:44 pm
Antiliar wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 9:40 pm According to a document that felice saw in Italy, Bacino was reportedly an early boss of the Elizabeth Family. If he was, it was for a very short while. He was primarily a made member of the Chicago Heights Crew under Dominic Roberto, Jimmy Emery and Frank LaPorte.

As a side note, his family continues the pizzeria and I heard it's very good.
Was he previously connected to the Northsiders or the Sanfilippo or Costello factions in the South suburbs? I remember there was one picture with Roberto and Bacino and some other guys
The old Chicago Heights Mafia Family run by Sanfilippo and Piazza was gone by 1926, so I agree with B that he was probably connected with Giunta and Lolordo at the time of the 1928 meeting. He could have moved to New Jersey after they were killed (assuming that the report that Felice saw is accurate), then returned under Capone or his successors. According to his naturalization (which was about two weeks after the Cleveland meeting), he lived at 2321 W. Ohio Avenue in Chicago, so it would make sense that he was part of the Chicago Family. He was living in Calumet City by 1935.

Hadn't thought of him moving to NY/NJ for a time after Lolordo's murder since he ultimately stayed in Calumet City, but could be possible. Joseph Lolordo fled permanently to NYC after the murder, and we have examples of Aiello's paesani fleeing Chicago after his murder, with some of them returning to the fold later, so Bacino could have been in a similar situation after Lolordo's death. Pasquale Lolordo it should be noted lived in Manhattan for a number of years before Bacino came to the US, so Lolordo could have been an early NY/NJ leader of the Riberesi group. I wonder what the crossover is in timeline between Bacino coming to the US and Lolordo and Bacino moving to Chicago. If Lolordo left for Chicago first, he may have left Bacino in some kind of temporary leadership role.

Jim DeGeorge comes up surprisingly little even though he was a Chicago captain from Ribera. I have found indications that he knew Bacino, of course, but very little on that relationship. I wonder how much he factored into Bacino staying in Chicago/Calumet City. DeGeorge would later have his falling out with the Chicago administration but that was unrelated and decades later.

As I've mentioned a few times now, too, Bacino's direct descendents in Calumet City and Indiana are in close contact via social media with a number of familiar names in Elizabeth, NJ, including direct relatives of the Riggis and other DeCavalcante names. None of these people ever lived in the same part of the country, so it shows you how deeply connected the early Riberesi mafiosi must have been regardless of region. With Bacino traveling frequently back to Sicily (presumably Ribera), there is a lot we don't know about how this network/family interacted and I don't think we should be entirely hinged on regional proximity when considering ranks.

by **Villain** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 9:18 am

Antiliar wrote: ↑Thu Mar 22, 2018 2:14 am
Villain wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 11:44 pm
Antiliar wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 9:40 pm According to a document that felice saw in Italy, Bacino was reportedly an early boss of the Elizabeth Family. If he was, it was for a very short while. He was primarily a made member of the Chicago Heights Crew under Dominic Roberto, Jimmy Emery and Frank LaPorte.

As a side note, his family continues the pizzeria and I heard it's very good.
Was he previously connected to the Northsiders or the Sanfilippo or Costello factions in the South suburbs? I remember there was one picture with Roberto and Bacino and some other guys
The old Chicago Heights Mafia Family run by Sanfilippo and Piazza was gone by 1926, so I agree with B that he was probably connected with Giunta and Lolordo at the time of the 1928 meeting. He could have moved to New Jersey after they were killed (assuming that the report that Felice saw is accurate), then returned under Capone or his successors. According to his naturalization (which was about two weeks after the Cleveland meeting), he lived at 2321 W. Ohio Avenue in Chicago, so it would make sense that he was part of the Chicago Family. He was living in Calumet City by 1935.

Thanks, the main reason for my question was that I think I read somewhere that Bacino also held operations on Chicago's Northwest Side

by **cavita** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 8:08 am

B. wrote: ↑Thu Mar 22, 2018 12:05 am - Likely served as Pasquale Lolordo's aide at the 1928 Cleveland meeting. National Assembly (pre-Commission) and similar meetings were described as having a leader in attendance accompanied by an aide. A number of the Cleveland attendees fit this relationship. Given Lolordo's prominence in Chicago at the time, he likely brought Bacino as his assistant/aide.

Also interesting at that 1928 Cleveland summit was Salvatore Oliveri. Oliveri was born in Corleone, Sicily but by September 1919 he was in Chicago his marriage to Vincenza Marino. A later FBI information revealed that Oliveri fled Chicago during the Capoe/Aiello war in 1930. Sometime after that, an FBI informant stated that Oliveri came to Rockford, Illinois around 1932 and was driven around the city by three men with machine guns. Oliveri made the decision to muscle in on John Gasparini' funeral home business. The informant stated that Oliveri’s decision was given the go-ahead by Rockford LCN boss Tony Musso (who was a Capone ally) who contacted Gasparini and told him he could either accept Oliveri as a partner or as a competitor. Gasparini “got the message” and told Musso he would be happy to take on Oliveri as a partner. Later FBI files said that Oliveri was absorbed into the Rockford family. I have to think that Bacino, Lolordo and Oliveri were at the Cleveland summit as representing Chicago's south suburbs based on all this and it must be certain that Bacino and Oliveri must have stayed in contact over the years due to their proximity to one another and previous history.

by **Frank** » Thu Mar 22, 2018 7:55 am

cavita wrote: ↑Wed Mar 21, 2018 7:51 pm Starting a thread on Phil Bacino with some sparse info. If anyone can add to his timeline to fill in some of the missing areas that would help.

Phil Bacino:

January 4, 1902 born in Ribera, Sicily

June 27, 1923 immigrated through Ellis Island on the S.S. Taormina with his destination being to his uncle Carmelo Giacobbe in New York city.

December 7, 1928 was arrested under the name Tony Bello at the Hotel Statler in Cleveland, Ohio as one of those attending a Mafia summit.

December 21, 1928 naturalized in Chicago, Illinois

September 24, 1940 arrested in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin bootlegging case along with Alphonse Caruso and James Anastase from Rockford, Illinois, Joe Grisafi, 35, Calumet City, Illinois. Joseph Spewak, 19, Chicago, Sam Gottlieb, 27, Chicago, Ben Krakover, 37, Chicago, Eugene Presta, 44, Chicago, William Covelli, 52, Aurora, Illinois, Tony Caponi, Frank Coconato, Frank Infusino, Ben Kalb, Joe Lescauski, Aldo Nudi, Arthur P. Ricchio, Emil Ricchio, Roy Ricchio, Walter Schlaeger all of Kenosha, Kenneth Jensen, Racine, Harry P. Vasiliu, Milwaukee, Henry Schmunk, Franksville, George Schulz, Burlington, Walter Steffen, Burlington, Herman R. Yanke, Lake Geneva, Charles Cosentino, Kenosha, Bryant Roberts, Burlington.
October 1967 listed in the Chicago Crime Commission as someone having links to the Chicago Outfit.

October 6, 1974 died in Calumet City, Illinois.

Suspected to be among the bosses of the Calumet City, Illinois mafia.

Testimony by Anthony Rotondo, DeCavalcante crime figure, stated that Bacino had ties with the New Jersey mafia through the Amari family.

Founder and owner of John’s Restaurant and Pizzeria in Calumet City, Illinois.

Didn't Rotondo say that Bacino was boss of the New Jersey Family?

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Phil Bacino thread- Chicago/New Jersey

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