Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

[PolackTony]

Great info on Pueblo and regarding Oliveri. Oliveri was part of the old Corleonesi group in Chicago, of course, and I'm not sure when he left Chicago exactly. Cavita, when exactly did Oliveri arrive in Rockford?

B., I don't know if I've heard of Pietro Amato before. Did you have any more info on him?

[cavita]

Great info on Pueblo and regarding Oliveri. Oliveri was part of the old Corleonesi group in Chicago, of course, and I'm not sure when he left Chicago exactly. Cavita, when exactly did Oliveri arrive in Rockford?

B., I don't know if I've heard of Pietro Amato before. Did you have any more info on him?

Oliveri arrived in Rockford around 1932 and according to Maniaci he was driven around Rockford by three men carrying machine guns until Oliveri decided he wanted to go into the funeral home business. Boss Tony Musso told John Gasparini he could accept Oliveri as his partner in his funeral home business or not and Gasparini got the message.

[B.]

Oh I was confused when you wrote "Calumet City Cheese War". I assumed it was the 1940s "Cheese War" involving Benevento since it involved Chicago Heights. Was there an earlier conflict in Calumet City or was Maniaci confused on the timeline?

Tony -- Amato was born in Cinisi and living in Chicago, deported in 1953. He was closely involved with the mafia in Cinisi, not sure if he was an actual member. Suspected of heroin trafficking and deported as an illegal alien. His FBN file only lists Sicilian mafia members and doesn't give an address for Chicago, only says he was residing there before deportation. His mother was a Vitale which brings to mind Onofrio Vitale killed in 1944.

[PolackTony]

Great info on Pueblo and regarding Oliveri. Oliveri was part of the old Corleonesi group in Chicago, of course, and I'm not sure when he left Chicago exactly. Cavita, when exactly did Oliveri arrive in Rockford?

B., I don't know if I've heard of Pietro Amato before. Did you have any more info on him?

Oliveri arrived in Rockford around 1932 and according to Maniaci he was driven around Rockford by three men carrying machine guns until Oliveri decided he wanted to go into the funeral home business. Boss Tony Musso told John Gasparini he could accept Oliveri as his partner in his funeral home business or not and Gasparini got the message.

Yeah, so well before the Cheese War. Though definitely sounds like Oliveri wasn't in the good graces of the admin in Chicago. I don't know what he was up to in the years immediately preceding 1932, but maybe he had backed Aiello, or maybe he did something else that led to him running afoul in Chicago and having to seek Rockford's protection. Given that actual Aiellos remained in Chicago, I'd suspect that Oliveri fucked up in some other way.

When his brother Giovanni "Bowlegs" Oliveri was killed in June, 1928, the police told the Tribune that Oliveri and fellow victim Joseph Salamone were Genna-faction affiliates who had been killed by the "Aiello Syndicate". What's interesting also is that Joseph Salamone was from Alcamo -- given that Aiello was allied with the Castellammaresi, I would think that Salamone was probably more likely to be affiliated with Aiello than with the Gennas, but who knows. At the time of the murders, Oliveri was still living in Little Sicily (Elm and Cambridge), where we know he had been based for ~20 years by this time, and Salamone lived near Wolfram and Lincoln in Lakeview. Clearly, these were not Taylor St/Genna guys newly "muscling into" the Aiello's "alky territory" on the Northside, though it's certainly possible that there was a split in the Little Sicily group that we don't know about. The Tribune further stated that Oliveri had been "a former member of the Aiello faction". Given his Little Sicily base of operations, that was likely the case, but maybe he had defected from Aiello and sided with the opposition. Maybe the non-Bagheresi in Little Sicily were not on board for the Aiello vision.

When Aiello's bodyguard Antonino "Tough Tony" Califiore (from Bagheria) was shot at North Ave and Wells in July of 1928, police stated that they believed this was in retaliation for the Oliveri and Salamone murders, and the police at this time described the latter pair as allies of Capone. This theory could be supported by the fact that police recovered a receipt for likely bootlegging equipment from Tony Lombardo at Salamone's home after his death.

Oliveri and Salamone were killed while visiting the fish market of Samuel Morreale at Oak and Milton (the aptly named "Death Corner"). The police took Morreale into custody as a suspect (presumably for luring the victims into an ambush), but Morreale told them that he had only summoned Oliveri to his business to sell him car insurance. While there were Morreales in Chicago from Agrigento, this one was from Bagheria. In 1911, the meat market/home of Little Sicily butcher Vincenzo Morreale of Bagheria was bombed; Morreale reported to police that he had been recieving "Black Hand" letters prior to the bombing. Butcher Angelo Morreale of Bagheria was twice wounded in shootings at his butcher shop at "Death Corner" in 1927 and 1928, and the Tribune reported that he was a close ally of Aiello. The Morreales are another example of Aiello allies who remained in Chicago long after the war was over (Vincenzo died in 1951, Salvatore 1955, and Angelo 1971). There was also a well-off Northside butcher named Bartolo Morreale who was from Bagheria, who I believe was Vincenzo and Angelo's brother. Interestingly, his wife was Vita Dispenza of Ciminna, daughter of Rosario Dispenza (yes, that Dispenza) and Francesca Spatafora. Vincenzo Morreale married Rosina Carramusa, born in the Settecannoli Quartiere of Palermo Citta. Their daughter Ann Morreale married Antonino "Anthony" Priola, son of Giuseppe Priola and Maria Ventimiglia of Ficarazzi, younger brother of Rockford member Phil Priola. Father Giuseppe Priola was very likely a Chicago member; a relative of Ross Prio told me they believed that Giuseppe Priola was the Prio relative Joe Priola who baptized one of Prio's nephews. When Giuseppe Priola died in 1967 at ~98 years old, his obituary stated that he was the steward of Local 753 of the Milk Drivers union. Another thing to note is that when Giuseppe Priola arrived in NYC from Ficarazzi in 1903, he was bound for Chicago where his brother-in-law Agostino LNU was living on W 22nd St in Chinatown. As a kid, Ross Prio's wife Maria Teramani (born in Teramo, Abruzzo) and her family lived nearby on W 25th. The Prio relative told me that Joe Priola baptized one of the Teramani kids and also witnessed one of their naturalizations, though I haven't been able to confirm that myself.

[PolackTony]

The question of past transportation infrastructure connecting different comuni in Sicily has come up before, as this may be an important factor in mafia network dynamics. Worth noting here that the first railroad in Western Sicily opened in 1863 from Palermo to Bagheria. By 1870, the route was extended to Termini and then south from Termini to Lercara. In the 1870s, this route was further extended from Lercara to Porto Empedocles.

By the 1880s, a railroad from Caltanissetta to Licata was constructed, passing via Canicattì, with a branch going from Canicattì to Aragona also.

[cavita]

Great info on Pueblo and regarding Oliveri. Oliveri was part of the old Corleonesi group in Chicago, of course, and I'm not sure when he left Chicago exactly. Cavita, when exactly did Oliveri arrive in Rockford?

B., I don't know if I've heard of Pietro Amato before. Did you have any more info on him?

Oliveri arrived in Rockford around 1932 and according to Maniaci he was driven around Rockford by three men carrying machine guns until Oliveri decided he wanted to go into the funeral home business. Boss Tony Musso told John Gasparini he could accept Oliveri as his partner in his funeral home business or not and Gasparini got the message.

Yeah, so well before the Cheese War. Though definitely sounds like Oliveri wasn't in the good graces of the admin in Chicago. I don't know what he was up to in the years immediately preceding 1932, but maybe he had backed Aiello, or maybe he did something else that led to him running afoul in Chicago and having to seek Rockford's protection. Given that actual Aiellos remained in Chicago, I'd suspect that Oliveri fucked up in some other way.

When his brother Giovanni "Bowlegs" Oliveri was killed in June, 1928, the police told the Tribune that Oliveri and fellow victim Joseph Salamone were Genna-faction affiliates who had been killed by the "Aiello Syndicate". What's interesting also is that Joseph Salamone was from Alcamo -- given that Aiello was allied with the Castellammaresi, I would think that Salamone was probably more likely to be affiliated with Aiello than with the Gennas, but who knows. At the time of the murders, Oliveri was still living in Little Sicily (Elm and Cambridge), where we know he had been based for ~20 years by this time, and Salamone lived near Wolfram and Lincoln in Lakeview. Clearly, these were not Taylor St/Genna guys newly "muscling into" the Aiello's "alky territory" on the Northside, though it's certainly possible that there was a split in the Little Sicily group that we don't know about. The Tribune further stated that Oliveri had been "a former member of the Aiello faction". Given his Little Sicily base of operations, that was likely the case, but maybe he had defected from Aiello and sided with the opposition. Maybe the non-Bagheresi in Little Sicily were not on board for the Aiello vision.

When Aiello's bodyguard Antonino "Tough Tony" Califiore (from Bagheria) was shot at North Ave and Wells in July of 1928, police stated that they believed this was in retaliation for the Oliveri and Salamone murders, and the police at this time described the latter pair as allies of Capone. This theory could be supported by the fact that police recovered a receipt for likely bootlegging equipment from Tony Lombardo at Salamone's home after his death.

Oliveri and Salamone were killed while visiting the fish market of Samuel Morreale at Oak and Milton (the aptly named "Death Corner"). The police took Morreale into custody as a suspect (presumably for luring the victims into an ambush), but Morreale told them that he had only summoned Oliveri to his business to sell him car insurance. While there were Morreales in Chicago from Agrigento, this one was from Bagheria. In 1911, the meat market/home of Little Sicily butcher Vincenzo Morreale of Bagheria was bombed; Morreale reported to police that he had been recieving "Black Hand" letters prior to the bombing. Butcher Angelo Morreale of Bagheria was twice wounded in shootings at his butcher shop at "Death Corner" in 1927 and 1928, and the Tribune reported that he was a close ally of Aiello. The Morreales are another example of Aiello allies who remained in Chicago long after the war was over (Vincenzo died in 1951, Salvatore 1955, and Angelo 1971). There was also a well-off Northside butcher named Bartolo Morreale who was from Bagheria, who I believe was Vincenzo and Angelo's brother. Interestingly, his wife was Vita Dispenza of Ciminna, daughter of Rosario Dispenza (yes, that Dispenza) and Francesca Spatafora. Vincenzo Morreale married Rosina Carramusa, born in the Settecannoli Quartiere of Palermo Citta. Their daughter Ann Morreale married Antonino "Anthony" Priola, son of Giuseppe Priola and Maria Ventimiglia of Ficarazzi, younger brother of Rockford member Phil Priola. Father Giuseppe Priola was very likely a Chicago member; a relative of Ross Prio told me they believed that Giuseppe Priola was the Prio relative Joe Priola who baptized one of Prio's nephews. When Giuseppe Priola died in 1967 at ~98 years old, his obituary stated that he was the steward of Local 753 of the Milk Drivers union. Another thing to note is that when Giuseppe Priola arrived in NYC from Ficarazzi in 1903, he was bound for Chicago where his brother-in-law Agostino LNU was living on W 22nd St in Chinatown. As a kid, Ross Prio's wife Maria Teramani (born in Teramo, Abruzzo) and her family lived nearby on W 25th. The Prio relative told me that Joe Priola baptized one of the Teramani kids and also witnessed one of their naturalizations, though I haven't been able to confirm that myself.

Awesome information and yes, I don't know what happened to Oliveri to flee Chicago but it seems after he went to Rockford he was basically inactive.

[cavita]

Nello F. Cellitti was born May 14, 1926 in Rockford, Illinois to Amato Cellitti and Antonette Cuppini of Ferentino, Frosinone, Italy. Cellitti married Joanne Castrogiovanni in Rockford in 1948 and her family was from Aragona, Sicily. Cellitti was a Rockford LCN associate and trusted frontman for consigliere Joe Zito in the operation of the Casbah Tavern. He was questioned in the 1968 federal liquor and gambling probe and was found guilty of mislabeling whiskey at his tavern Nello’s Cabaret. In 1976 Cellitti was arrested for gambling and he died July 12, 2007 in Rockford, Illinois.

[cavita]

Sam “Boone” Gugliotta was born August 18, 1924 in Rockford, Illinois to Francesco Gugliotta and Concetta Martorana of Sambuca, Sicily. Gugliotta was involved in gambling with the Rockford LCN and took a few arrests on those charges. In 1959 Gugliotta was questioned in the gambling inquiry and double murder of Joseph Greco and Donald Burton. In 1962 Gugliotta married Frances Zinna whose family was from Sambuca, Sicily. Gugliotta died June 3, 2008 in Rockford, Illinois.

[cavita]

Antonio “Dino” Laudicina was born March 2, 1954 in Marsala, Sicily and he immigrated to Rockford in 1969. Laudicina married Antonina Borgia of Capaci, Sicily on October 27, 1979 in Rockford, Illinois. Laudicina was owner and operator of Napoli’s Pizza. This restaurant may have been a front for narcotics distribution for the Rockford LCN as a 1994 FBI file on capo Sebastian Gulotta noted a real estate mortgage in Laudicina’s name. Laudicina died July 28, 2004 in Chicago, Illinois.

[cavita]

Antonio Musso born February 11, 1893 in Partinico, Sicily and immigrated through Ellis Island in 1912 with his destination being Detroit to his cousin Vincenzo Finazzo’s home. Musso married Maria Piro of Monreale, Sicily on July 3, 1917 in New Orleans, Louisiana. By 1918 he was living in Johnston City, Illinois and by 1924 was living in Madison, Wisconsin where he became a power in the illicit alcohol business. By 1925 he fled Madison on rape charges for Rockford where he became the clear leader bootlegging operations there. While serving a term in Leavenworth on liquor conspiracy charges from 1931 to 1932 FBI files stated Phil Caltagerone became acting LCN boss. Musso continued running Rockford LCN operations and just until he died May 22, 1958 in Rockford. Besides his wife and two sons, his obituary stated he was survived by his sister Stefania Torrici in Italy.

[B.]

We talked about it before (probably in this thread) but Oliveri's first cousin was married to Lucchese boss Tom Reina. Certainly wouldn't have helped his situation to lose an important advocate in NYC, though we don't really hear about Reina's influence in other cities like his peers Masseria, D'Aquila, Profaci, and Schiro.

[cavita]

We talked about it before (probably in this thread) but Oliveri's first cousin was married to Lucchese boss Tom Reina. Certainly wouldn't have helped his situation to lose an important advocate in NYC, though we don't really hear about Reina's influence in other cities like his peers Masseria, D'Aquila, Profaci, and Schiro.

Given all of Oliveri's heavy connections I'm surprised he wasn't more of a power and he basically retired from OC at the age of 37 to run a reputable and profitable funeral home business.

[B.]

I'd guess he had some kind of stature at 1928 Cleveland. Some of the attendees may have been messengers/representatives without rank but I'd say most were high-ranking. Seems he fell from grace in a few short years after that.

Which goes back to the obscure Chicago attendee Giuseppe "Scacco" from Camporeale. Pretty sure his true name is Sacco like the longtime boss of Camporeale, Vanni Sacco. Wouldn't be surprised if "Scacco" was tied with Rockford given you've mentioned they had guys from Camporeale, Roccamena, and San Giuseppe Jato, all of which are close-knit. How Camporeale fits into Chicago is another question but maybe was linked to the local Trapanesi given it was in Trapani province back then and part of that network elsewhere.

Musso being from Partinico could play into that too. We see Partinico was a key part of the Bonanno Family early on and part of that network.

Rockford is crazy because they were small but you've shown that well-connected paesani groups from Palermo, Trapani, and Agrigento all played a big role, just like Chicago but with some difference in specific towns though there was crossover too.

You've also solved the mystery of Sambuca -- it never made sense to me that a mafia stronghold in 1800s Sicily produced so few US members but they were well-repped in Rockford.

[cavita]

Anthony Zacharia was born November 8, 1909 in Cherry, Illinois to Gaetano and Elisa Zacharia. Gaetano was from Bologna, Italy and Elisa was from Montese, Italy. Zacharia took his first arrest in 1930 for bootlegging near Mark, Illinois. On February 25, 1933 in Rockford he married Angelina Gulotta of Sambuca and he became involved in gambling with the Rockford LCN taking quite a few arrests. In the 1960s he was noted as splitting the proceeds from LCN sanctioned gambling games with capo Charles Vince and soldier Sebastian Gulotta, who was also his nephew. Zacharia’s brother-in-law was Rockford LCN associate Frank Maragi and Zacharia died November 2, 1995 in Rockford.

[cavita]

Vincenzo Troia October 27, 1887 San Giuseppe Iato, Sicily to Benedetto Troia and Rosalia Costanza. Troia married Rosaria Ruffino on July 28, 1907 in SGI and it was reported he was the town’s mafia boss in the early 1920s. Troia reportedly entered the U.S. in 1925 disguised in monk’s clothing. By 1927 he was in Rockford and being charged with the kidnapping of a Dixon, Illinois bootlegger. At some point he became a power in the NYC LCN. Troia could very well have been the first official boss of the Springfield, Illinois LCN and kept in close contact with his Rockford cohorts and was arrested there in 1934 with bodyguard Frank Longo. Troia was murdered on August 22, 1935 in Newark, New Jersey and it was suspected he was trying to muscle in on the illegal lottery racket there.