THE BLACK HAND FORUM

Doti refers to earned merit such as "de sgarro" or "de sangue." Giovinotto, picciotto, camorrista are the grades/classes of membership. A picciotto who has committed enough acts on behalf of the society becomes a picciotto de sgarro after a formal recognition.

The "Combaneesh" tape is a perfect example. You have guys who weren't made into Cosa Nostra until the 1940s but even guys like DeCarlo and Ciaffone who didn't attain the formal position of Camorristi were clearly part of the minor society, schooled in organized Italian underworld activity...

I haven’t seen San Vito Sullo Ionio documented as having a Camorra back in the day, but we can presume that only some fraction of the Societies that existed were targeted by the authorities in trials. Today I’m not aware of ‘Ndrangheta specifically in San Vito, but I’m no authority on the subject, ...

Correction to the above -- Mauro was not Neapoltian but from Sambiase as the other guys mentioned earlier. Important as his travel to Philadelphia raises better questions. Mauro came from a prestigious family and attended Naples Military Academy so no worries. Philly is interesting, we have almost ...

In 1910. Mauro was living with a "Ralph Alberte," who was 50. I wonder if that was an alias that might have been one of the guys in the Sambiase case. Right, in 1910, Ferdinando Mauro was recorded as living as a boarder in the apartment of a “Ralph Alberte” in the Hill district of Pittsbu...

In 1910. Mauro was living with a "Ralph Alberte," who was 50. I wonder if that was an alias that might have been one of the guys in the Sambiase case. Right, in 1910, Ferdinando Mauro was recorded as living as a boarder in the apartment of a “Ralph Alberte” in the Hill district of Pittsbu...

Something to note -- even though Camorristi began joining Cosa Nostra as early as the mid-late 1910s, it wasn't one single moment where they all fell together even within a single Family. The Genovese had been bringing in Camorristi for many years yet Richie Boiardo resisted the mafia through the C...

There weren’t only inter-regional tensions but also ties, of course, and this was true in the Societies outside of prison also. When the “Società di Camorra” in Nicastro, Catanzaro was busted in the mid-1880s, it was claimed during the trial that they were in contact with the infamous Ciccio Cappuc...

There weren’t only inter-regional tensions but also ties, of course, and this was true in the Societies outside of prison also. When the “Società di Camorra” in Nicastro, Catanzaro was busted in the mid-1880s, it was claimed during the trial that they were in contact with the infamous Ciccio Cappuc...

Sigismondo Castromediano wrote that when he was in prison before Rissorgimento he was extorted by Sicilian who called himself a camorrista Not only that but a leader! This was at mid-century meaning non-Naps were most likely a factor for quite some time. I heard rumblings without tangible evidence ...

Same. I've sat on this for years just gathering information but this mainland society is like the Sicilian one- there's always more to be found. By the 1850's, the camorra in prison consisted of more than Neapolitans, it also included Catanzaresi, Regginesi, Cosentini, Pugliesi, Potentini, Salernita...

I didn’t know that capintesta was still outside of Naples. The capintesta was elected every year at a meeting by the rest of the capintriti, like a capo crimine. in terms of functionality and responsibilities, he resembles the capo dei capi that he is the main mediator. Aniello Ausiello was the fir...

https://theblackhand.club/forum/ext/dmzx/imageupload/files/ff71d373c1075a0fb0c500352ce3205b.png Im try to made about ranks between societies Good job. It's confusing stuff and some elements are left up to the interpreter. It's hard to compare the 19th century camorra to the 20th century 'ndrangheta...

I am working on Article 3 which deals solely with the structure- the overall society, the grades of membership, the doti, the office positions and ceremonies. It makes more sense to view it as a true secret society like the freemasonry more so than through a mafia-centric lens which is why I'm also ...

One thing I am curious about is the evolution of the 'ndrangheta hierarchy. We know that the honored society since 1860 until the 1920s maintained its structure, there might have been deviations in office positions but it remained unchanged from MAJOR Camorrista MINOR Picciotto Giovinotti Onorati I...