Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

[PolackTony]

Have you guys found where Pietro Barone was from? Catalanotto's apparent right-hand man. Tony found Catalanotto might have been from Agrigento a while back.

I have Vito/Victor Barone as his right-hand man. So far no luck finding him in Ancestry.com.

The Tribune reported his name as "Vietro" Barone, so I had assumed it was Pietro.

[PolackTony]

Another guy to note was Vincenzo Accardo, who was an alleged Aiello gunman arrested in 1930. His address was given as 816 N Milton, and a Vicenzo Accardo living at that address had been denied a naturalization document, which gave his birth year as 1897. In 1942 Vincenzo Accardo was naturalized. He was born 1897 in Gibellina, Trapani and married Rose Lisciandrello of Campofelice di Roccella (stated as such on Vincenzo's naturalization document). Rose was born 1905 and was the daughter of Michelangelo "Mike" Lisciandrello and Caterina Gualtieri. These were also the parents of brothers Joseph ("Ruffy"), Sam, and Frank ("Hot Dog") Lisciandrello, and in 1920 the family lived on N Milton in Little Sicily. Caterina had arrived in the US in 1906 with young son Giuseppe and infant daughter Rosa, bound for Chicago where her husband Michelangelo Lisciandrello lived. Sam and Frank were born later in Chicago. There is a record for a Michelangelo Lisciandrello from Campofelice who arrived in NYC in 1905. When Michelangelo died in 1920, his occupation was "grocer" and he lived at 816 N Milton, the same address that Vincenzo Accardo gave when he was arrested in 1930. Vincenzo Accardo died in Chicago in 1982.

Worth noting also that Villain identified Mike Lisciandrello as a member of the "Gloriana gang", and suspected Lisciandrello was involved in the 1919 hit on Gagliardo/Raimondi discussed in the "Gambinos" thread. Along with the Lisciandrellos, Joe Imburgio, Joey DiVarco, and Tony Demonte also had ancestry from Campofelice. I suspect that Campofelice fell under the aegis of the Termitani, as Termini was probably a hub for mafiosi from across that area of Eastern Palermo province.

In a 1919 article, the Tribune claimed that "Mike Lisandrello" was a member of the "Gloriana gang", along with the Dom Nuccio who was later a member of the Northside crew, and stated that police suspected the Gloriana boys were involved in the Gagliardo/Raimondi hit, as the hit happened in front of the home of alleged member Frank Giardinello (as stated in the "Gambinos" thread, the murders took place at a grocery store owned by a Peter Raineria).

[PolackTony]

Have you guys found where Pietro Barone was from? Catalanotto's apparent right-hand man. Tony found Catalanotto might have been from Agrigento a while back.

Yeah, I suspect that he may have been Agrigentese. I also think that his wife may have been Anna Sortino (Sciortino?), which was the birthname of Frank Ferrara, who was Agrigentese.

[B.]

Yeah, I was going off the "Vietro" Barone article too. Good to know it might go the other way.

I think Sortino is the true name. I forgot Sortino is a big name in Ribera near where you found the Ferraro Sortinos are from.

[PolackTony]

Yeah, I was going off the "Vietro" Barone article too. Good to know it might go the other way.

I think Sortino is the true name. I forgot Sortino is a big name in Ribera near where you found the Ferraro Sortinos are from.

Makes sense, as none of the records that I saw for Frank Ferrara's family use the "Sciortino" spelling.

[B.]

One thing about Marsala/Castelvetrano is there's a lot of regional affinity with nearby Agrigento. The Colorado guys from the Trapani / Agrigento border were intermarried/aligned and in the Bonanno thread we were talking about a guy whose family was from Marsala / Mazara but he was the cousin of a member from Sciacca. Along those lines, Joe Masseria was from Marsala / Menfi and Gentile considered Masseria's side the Sciacchitani.

Those connections might be something to look for in early Chicago given there were mafiosi from the southern Trapani coast and nearby Agrigento.

[PolackTony]

Another guy to note was Vincenzo Accardo, who was an alleged Aiello gunman arrested in 1930. His address was given as 816 N Milton, and a Vicenzo Accardo living at that address had been denied a naturalization document, which gave his birth year as 1897. In 1942 Vincenzo Accardo was naturalized. He was born 1897 in Gibellina, Trapani and married Rose Lisciandrello of Campofelice di Roccella (stated as such on Vincenzo's naturalization document). Rose was born 1905 and was the daughter of Michelangelo "Mike" Lisciandrello and Caterina Gualtieri. These were also the parents of brothers Joseph ("Ruffy"), Sam, and Frank ("Hot Dog") Lisciandrello, and in 1920 the family lived on N Milton in Little Sicily. Caterina had arrived in the US in 1906 with young son Giuseppe and infant daughter Rosa, bound for Chicago where her husband Michelangelo Lisciandrello lived. Sam and Frank were born later in Chicago. There is a record for a Michelangelo Lisciandrello from Campofelice who arrived in NYC in 1905. When Michelangelo died in 1920, his occupation was "grocer" and he lived at 816 N Milton, the same address that Vincenzo Accardo gave when he was arrested in 1930. Vincenzo Accardo died in Chicago in 1982.

Worth noting also that Villain identified Mike Lisciandrello as a member of the "Gloriana gang", and suspected Lisciandrello was involved in the 1919 hit on Gagliardo/Raimondi discussed in the "Gambinos" thread. Along with the Lisciandrellos, Joe Imburgio, Joey DiVarco, and Tony Demonte also had ancestry from Campofelice. I suspect that Campofelice fell under the aegis of the Termitani, as Termini was probably a hub for mafiosi from across that area of Eastern Palermo province.

In a 1919 article, the Tribune claimed that "Mike Lisandrello" was a member of the "Gloriana gang", along with the Dom Nuccio who was later a member of the Northside crew, and stated that police suspected the Gloriana boys were involved in the Gagliardo/Raimondi hit, as the hit happened in front of the home of alleged member Frank Giardinello (as stated in the "Gambinos" thread, the murders took place at a grocery store owned by a Peter Raineria).

Has anyone confirmed Charles Gloriana's origins? I have a "Charles Gloriano", born 1895 who in 1917 lived at Oak and Townsend (in 1919, per the Tribune, Charles Gloriana was 24 and lived at Oak and Townsend). This info, however, seems to point to a Vincenzo Glaviano, born 1895 in Palazzo Adriano to Antonino Glaviano and Caterina Fazio, who arrived together in 1898 in NYC bound for Chicago. In 1910, the family, still using the Glaviano spelling, was living on Gault Ct in Little Sicily with Caterina's father Paolo Fazio. In 1922, "Charles Glavana" married Rose Locacciato, born in Chicago to parents who seem to have been from Vicari. In 1930, Charles and Rose Gloriana were living in LA (funny how so many guys decided to leave Chicago for more hospitable weather around 1930). By 1940, they were back in Chicago, living near Wieland and North Ave in the Near Northside Old Town neighborhood (WW2 draft card states that he was born in "Palaccio"). The CA death index has CHarles Gloriana, born April 1895, as deceased in LA in 1976.

Maybe someone has better info than me, but from what I've seen I think this was the guy.

[B.]

Had him on my old list -- birth record for a daughter says he was born in "Palermo, Palermo" and married to "Rose Lucas". Doubt Gloriana is a true name so you probably found the right one. Another from Palazzo.

[PolackTony]

Henry Spingola, Angelo Genna's brother-in-law who was murdered in 1926, was born Rico (i.e., "Enrico") Spingola in 1895 in Chicago. Per his birth record, his father Giuseppe Spingola was from Roggiano Gravina, Cosenza, Calabria, and his mother Carolina Di Maio from San Donato di Ninea, Cosenza province. Henry and his brother Peter (born 1893 in Chicago) owned an auto garage on Morgan near Taylor that was alleged to have served as an HQ for the Genna group. Henry was the sole Republican candidacy for the IL House 17th district in 1924, though from what I can tell it doesn't seem that he won the election.

Angelo Genna married Lucille Spingola, Henry's younger sister, in 1924. When Angelo was killed in 1925, his funeral was held at Henry Spingola's home at 1750 W Taylor (near Hermitage; demolished for the UIC Medical Center). Lucille subsequently remarried Charles Spizzirri, born in NYC to parents from Cosenza province.

Villain once posted an excerpt from Johnny Roselli's file, with a Salvatore Spingola discussing collections for Ricca's defense fund in the 1940s. Spingola stated that his family had known Ricca for many years in the Taylor St Patch. This should be younger brother Salvatore Spingola, born in Chicago in 1910.

[PolackTony]

Ned Charles Bakes was born in 1905 in Chicago to "Charles Bakes", born ~1883 in Termini Imerese, and Mille Bakes (Maria Carmella D'Elia Cianciarulo), born in Chicago 1888 to parents from Potenza, Basilicata (probably). Several sources over the years give Ned Bakes's real name as Ignatius Spacchese, but his birth record has him as Ned Charles Bakes. Several members of his extended family did seem to use "Ned" as a variant of Ignazio, however. "Charles Bakes" was likely born Calogero or Carlo Sbacchi, to Ignazio Sbacchi and Marianna Tedesco of Termini Imerese. The spelling of the surname was confirmed by a note that I found online from an Italian genealogist, referencing local records stating that Charles Bakes' sister Elizabetta Giovanna Sbacchi (who married a Biaggio Marchetti and died 1909 in childbirth in Chicago), was born in Termini in 1869 to Ignazio Sbacchi and Marianna Tedesco. Ignacio was then 20 and working as a coachmen. In 1891, Ignazio Sbacchi, born ~1849, arrived in NYC from the port of Palermo bound for Buffalo. Elizabetta Sbacchi arrived in NYC in 1892. I'm not sure when the family arrived in Chicago, but in 1894 daughter "Mary Sbaccas" married a Vito Rizzo in Chicago. When Ignazio died in Chicago in 1899, he was listed as Ignazio Sbacchi on the Catholic Church record for his burial, and a later document for one of his children refers to Ignazio Sbacchi as "Ned Bakes". In 1900 the family was listed as "Sbacchisi" -- including mother Mary, and kids Giuseppe, Frank, Charlie, and Josie (Giuseppina), along with daughter Mary Rizzo and her kids -- living on Desplaines in the Taylor St Patch. Giuseppe Sbacchi/Joseph Bakes married Caterina "Katie" Serritella, likely a cousin to IL State Senator Dan Serritella, as both of their families were from Ricigliano, Salerno. Francesco "Frank Bakes" also had a son, born in 1905, who was named Ignazio/Ned Ignace Bakes. While various documents used spellings like "Spacchese", "Spacchisi", "Bachesi", etc., it is clear to me that the surname was actually Sbacchi, and this cognome is present in Sicily (see Via Pietro Sbacchi in Cinisi, for example).

Charles Bakes seems to have himself been a gangster and was murdered in 1917 when a gunman by the name of Cuono Colletta (from Acerra, Napoli) opened fire inside of Joe Esposito's tavern on Taylor St. Also wounded in the shooting was Joe Esposito's brother Sam. Colletta was said to have been a known gunman in "Little Italy", who had previously been pinched on "white slavery" charges in Omaha, and had also been hiding out in Detroit under the assumed name "Savoia". This incident goes to show that, potentially, Esposito's Napulitan' group was already closely allied with Sicilians by 1917. On his death record, Bakes' occupation was listed as chauffeur (along with "grocer", "chauffeur" was another very-high risk occupation group in those days...).

After Charles was murdered, Millie Bakes married a Mosale "Mossie" Falone (born in Chicago to Molisani parents), who died in 1940.

In 1938, Ned Bakes was arrested for running an operation recovering grain alcohol from denatured alcohol in Aurora, IL, and sentenced in 1939 to five years in prison. He wasn't in the can long, however, as on his WW2 draft card he was living at 3232 W Flournoy (near Kedzie) in Homan Square and working at the Cook County Sheriff's Office (lol). In 1944, while on parole, police announced that they were looking to question Bakes for his role as "one of the leaders in a gang suspected of extensive dealings in blackmarket liquor".

I'm not sure when Bakes would've been inducted into the mafia, but perhaps it was after this period. In the following years, Bakes becomes known as a top lieutenant for Outfit 1st Ward/organized labor boss Pete Fosco, and Bakes himself was a deputy Cook County sheriff for a period. During the later 1940s, the Chicago papers noted that Bakes was considered a messenger or "go-between" for several high-level Outfit figures, including the incarcerated Paul Ricca. In 1948, Bakes was sought for questioning by the authorities along with Pete Fosco in the Ricca, Capmpagna, D'Andrea, and Gioe parole scandal, and Bakes was described at the time as a "mysterious man of influence in Italian-American affairs". In 1954 Bakes was held for questioning -- but never charged -- by Milwaukee police in the slaying of Milwaukee liquor store owner John Ditrapani, along with former IL state rep Jimmy Adduci, Peter Granata, and Dominic Volpe. Further, in 1948, while under suspicion by federal authorities for his role in the Ricca parole operation, Bakes was arrested in Los Angeles, where police suspected his involvement in the Bugsy Siegel hit, though it seems that Bakes was never charged. At this time, a Chicago reporter additionally claimed that Bakes's address corresponded with that of a person of interest in the slaying of Chicago wire service owner James Ragen (IIRC Siegel had been running a "syndicate"-controlled rival service to Ragen's Nationwide News Service before he was killed).

In 1965, Bakes -- then 61 and residing at 900 North Lake Shore Dr. -- was convicted of failing to file past tax returns. At the time Bakes was described as an "alleged figure in syndicate gambling on the west side". Soon Bakes was in further trouble with the law. In 1969 he was convicted of stealing thousands of Westinghouse Electric stock certificates (valued at $13 million) and sentenced to six years in prison. Free on an appeal bond in 1970, Bakes was subsequently arrested for possession of another load of stolen stocks, from a separate case. Despite this second infraction while out on appeal, Bakes was sentenced to four years to run concurrently with his original sentence. He was paroled in 1973.

In December 1975, Rose Mary Pellegrino Bakes reported that her husband went missing during a trip to the (famous) Ferrara's Bakery on Taylor St. Bakes's body later turned up in the trunk of his car. While investigators later fingered Gerry Scarpelli as the hitter, the account that I've read suggests that Bakes was knocked down on Nicoletti's orders, possibly on suspicion of being an informant. Another thing to note is, of course, that Giancana had been killed earlier in 1975, potentially leaving Bakes with no "rabbi" in the organization following Ricca's prior death.

[Antiliar]

Follow up on Pietro Catalanotte. He and his family came from Villafranca, but there were several towns by that name. Could have been from Agrigento or Messina. A couple passengers next to them on the manifest were from Messina as well. It could be a coincidence or paisan from the same province. On the other hand, the similar names in Strongy Ferraro's background could point to a connection. I think we'll find one if it's there.

BTW, do you guys have Frank Ferraro's FBI file? If not, I can upload.

[B.]

Tony -- John DiTrapani was a capodecina in the Milwaukee Family (parents from Palermo) allied with Frank LoGalbo using Chicago connections to try and take over their Family when he got killed. LoGalbo transferred affilitation to Chicago after DiTrapani's death. Makes sense Chicago figures were questioned.

BTW, do you guys have Frank Ferraro's FBI file? If not, I can upload.

Took a look at it on Gavin Schmitt's site, but thanks man!

Ed raised the question on Rat Trap of what Ferraro's rank was before Giancana became boss as Ralph Pierce said Ferraro was part of a group of leaders involved in the process.

[PolackTony]

Tony -- John DiTrapani was a capodecina in the Milwaukee Family (parents from Palermo) allied with Frank LoGalbo using Chicago connections to try and take over their Family when he got killed. LoGalbo transferred affilitation to Chicago after DiTrapani's death. Makes sense Chicago figures were questioned.

BTW, do you guys have Frank Ferraro's FBI file? If not, I can upload.

Took a look at it on Gavin Schmitt's site, but thanks man!

Ed raised the question on Rat Trap of what Ferraro's rank was before Giancana became boss as Ralph Pierce said Ferraro was part of a group of leaders involved in the process.

That’s right, thanks for the reminder on DiTrapani.

Regarding Ferraro, not sure if we know for certain (maybe Anti has a better idea), but my suspicion is that he was a capo. If Pierce was correct (and Pierce was one of the few non-members who may have really known this kind of thing), than I’d suspect that Ferraro was on the board/council and was probably a powerful capo before becoming underboss.

[Antiliar]

I speculated about that myself. He seemed to be closest to the Chinatown crew, but we know who the capos were for that crew and he wasn't one of them. So it's a mystery to me.

[PolackTony]

I speculated about that myself. He seemed to be closest to the Chinatown crew, but we know who the capos were for that crew and he wasn't one of them. So it's a mystery to me.

The way I understand it, when Bruno Roti died he was succeeded by his son-in-law Frank Caruso. Maybe there was in fact another crew on the Southside or based in the Loop, and Ferraro was the last captain of that crew before it got folded into Chinatown. Ferraro's backstory is a mystery to me, but if Pierce was right, he doesn't seem to have been just a "soldier" before he became UB.