Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

[PolackTony]

Great info Cavita.

I couldn't 100% verify all of the guys involved with the 1905 Raia murder, but it looked to me like they were all from Sambuca from what I could find. The Giorgio Maggio mentioned by Tony is most likely the same one in the Raia murder, so his connection to Saccos definitely indicates a connection to the Rockford Maggio.

Still can't verify Phil Bacino's wife's family -- they were living in Calumet City by the 1920s and her father was Michele Maggio and mother was Giovanna Giglio. JD's recent post about Salvatore Giglia being an Aragonese NE member shows the Giglio/Giglia name shows up in that area. Michele Maggio died sometime between 1920 and 1930. Best candidates I found were either from Sambuca or Marsala but didn't find any smoking gun so can't confirm.

I found the 1905 murder victim Biagio Raia was also married to a Merlo, so one of his alleged killers Pietro Merlo may have been a marital relative along with Calogero Montalbano being a Raia relative. Most of the guys arrested appear to have been in their late 30s or 40s, while Michael Armato was in his early 20s. Armato appears to be from Sambuca like the others.

Per records from the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin on the Near Northside (the oldest Italian church in Chicago, founded 1881), Michele Maggio of Sambuca married Giovanna Giglio of Santo Stefano Quisquina in 1902. His parents were given as Calogero Maggio and Angela "Laona" [sic] and hers as Angelo Giglio and Domenica "Greccadiddio" [sic]. Their daughter Giovannina "Jennie" Maggio was born in 1911 and baptized at St Phillip Benizi Church (on Oak and Cambridge) in September; her godparents were Pietro Cotrona and Antonina Giamparra. So they initially seem to have lived in Little Sicily and then by 1920 were living in suburban West Hammond (renamed Calumet City in 1924), where Michele was a railroad worker.

You'd be interested in Dominic Candeloro's description of settlement patterns in Little sicily:

Perhaps Chicago’s most colorful Italian sector was on the city’s near North Side. Known alternately as “Little Sicily” and “Little Hell” and featuring “Death Corner,” this neighborhood was home to some 20,000 native-born Italians and Italian Americans by 1920. Most originated from the small towns surrounding Palermo, but there were also important contingents from Catania, Vizzini, and Sambuca-Zabat in eastern Sicily. According to Dr. Bruce Zummo, on Larabee Street were many inhabitants from Altavilla Milicia. Those on Cambridge Avenue came from Chiusa, and Caccamo. On Milton Avenue (now Cleveland Avenue) were the immigrants from Sambuca-Zabat. On Townsend Street resided families from Bagheria and Burgio. On North Cambridge Avenue, Hobbie Street, and Elm Street, the residents originated from the town of Corleone. The mix also included a sprinkling of so called “Gai-gai” families– from Mezzoiuso–Albanian Sicilians from the Piana dei Greci. The Dillingham Commission reported only one northern Italian family, compared to 155 south Italian families, in the Gault Court block of this area.

Shouldn't be surprising that in its history Chicago has had two bosses born in Sambuca (Merlo and Monteleone).

[cavita]

Paul Giovingo was born October 7, 1899 in Thibodeaux, Louisiana to Paolo and Maria Giovingo of Sambuca, Sicily. By the early 1920s Giovingo was living in Rockford where he racked up numerous liquor charges. By 1930 he and his brother Joe were trying to wrest control of Rockford’s booze racket from Tony Musso. Joe was murdered August 14, 1930 and Paul was also murdered on February 11, 1933 in Rockford, giving Tony Musso complete control of the Rockford illegal liquor business.

[B.]

Per records from the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin on the Near Northside (the oldest Italian church in Chicago, founded 1881), Michele Maggio of Sambuca married Giovanna Giglio of Santo Stefano Quisquina in 1902. His parents were given as Calogero Maggio and Angela "Laona" [sic] and hers as Angelo Giglio and Domenica "Greccadiddio" [sic]. Their daughter Giovannina "Jennie" Maggio was born in 1911 and baptized at St Phillip Benizi Church (on Oak and Cambridge) in September; her godparents were Pietro Cotrona and Antonina Giamparra. So they initially seem to have lived in Little Sicily and then by 1920 were living in suburban West Hammond (renamed Calumet City in 1924), where Michele was a railroad worker.

There it is! So it was the guy from Sambuca. Not surprised Bacino married someone from his native area. Now it's whether or not they were related to Giorgio Maggio or Joe Maggio.

[cavita]

Vincent S. Giglio was born December 11, 1919 in Rockford, Illinois to Salvatore Giglio and Giuseppa Gulotta, both of Sambuca, Sicily. Giglio was a Rockford LCN associate being involved in gambling and the operation of gambling houses for the Rockford LCN. Giglio moved to California in 1967 and lived there until 1977 when he moved back to Rockford and died in Rockford on January 12, 1978. Giglio was also the uncle of John “Tiger” Frisella.

[PolackTony]

You'd be interested in Dominic Candeloro's description of settlement patterns in Little sicily:

Perhaps Chicago’s most colorful Italian sector was on the city’s near North Side. Known alternately as “Little Sicily” and “Little Hell” and featuring “Death Corner,” this neighborhood was home to some 20,000 native-born Italians and Italian Americans by 1920. Most originated from the small towns surrounding Palermo, but there were also important contingents from Catania, Vizzini, and Sambuca-Zabat in eastern Sicily. According to Dr. Bruce Zummo, on Larabee Street were many inhabitants from Altavilla Milicia. Those on Cambridge Avenue came from Chiusa, and Caccamo. On Milton Avenue (now Cleveland Avenue) were the immigrants from Sambuca-Zabat. On Townsend Street resided families from Bagheria and Burgio. On North Cambridge Avenue, Hobbie Street, and Elm Street, the residents originated from the town of Corleone. The mix also included a sprinkling of so called “Gai-gai” families– from Mezzoiuso–Albanian Sicilians from the Piana dei Greci. The Dillingham Commission reported only one northern Italian family, compared to 155 south Italian families, in the Gault Court block of this area.

To continue, Grand Ave was mainly settled by Sicilians and Baresi (with smaller numbers of Calabresi, Napolitani, and Lucani). As the neighborhood expanded west down Grand Ave, a second Italian parish, Holy Rosary, was founded (near Smith Park in my childhood area). Same mix of immigrants as the eastern part of Grand Ave:

Nearby to the west, an Italian community that included Sicilians and Pugliesi ( Mola di Bari, Modugno, Rutigliano) and a smattering of immigrants from other parts of Italy grew up around the Santa Maria Addolorata Parish. [...] The rough parish boundaries included the Italians from Ashland Avenue to the Chicago River, and from Hubbard Street to Chicago Avenue. Vecoli reported that the 1910 population of Italian ancestry in this 22nd Ward was 8500. In 1924 Fr. Domenico Canestrini reported to Rome that the parish served 1500 mostly large families of Sicilian and Baresi (Puglia) origin.

As they moved up the socio-economic ladder, Italians from Little Sicily and Grand Ave moved out to nicer neighborhoods like Humboldt Park and up Grand Ave to the far Northwest side around Harlem Ave and the adjacent suburb of Elmwood Park.

The Taylor St community (Guardian Angel, Our Lady of Pompeii, and St Calistus parishes) was founded by Lucani, Napolitani, and Calabresi and subsequently expanded west as the Taylor corridor swelled with more immigrants, including Sicilians and Abruzzesi as well:

Toward the south end of the Loop, near Clark Street and the Polk Street Station, was the earliest colony of southern Italians. Vecoli lists the towns of origin of these settlers in the 1870s and 1880s as: Trivigno, Corleto, Calvello and (especially) Laurenzana in Basilicata; Senarchia, Oliveto Citra, Teggiano and (especially) Ricigliano in Campania; Cosenza, Rende, San Fili and Fiumefreddo in Calabria. Starting in the 1870s Luigi Spizziri reportedly induced hundreds from Potenza to settle along South Clark Street. Ricigliano reportedly lost half of its population in the wave of emigration that hit southern Italy at the end of the 19th Century. Most of the migrants came to Chicago. Men and boys from Ricigliano eventually monopolized the Loop area news vending stands and members of this group were legendary for pushing their children and grandchildren into the professions.

The Halsted and Taylor Street area contained about 25,000 (1910) one-third of the city’s Italians—a mixture of people from Naples, Salerno, Bari, Messina, Palermo, Abruzzo, Calabria, Basilicata, the Marche, and Lucca. For many, this district served as a place of first settlement from which there was constant mobility. Though it was a very Italian area, it wasn’t occupied by the same Italians year in and year out. Presumably the most fortunate moved west eight blocks to the Ashland Avenue neighborhood, making room for newcomers who were just starting out.
The commercial center of this Little Italy was at the intersection of Taylor and Halsted Streets, just a few blocks north of the Maxwell Street Market. Taylor and Halsted was the “Italian Downtown.”

Taylor St Italians largely moved west to (at the time) nicer areas like Homan Square, Garfield Park, and eventually into suburbs like Cicero, Berwyn, and Melrose Park.


Though this article doesn't mention it, Chinatown/Bridgeport also had many Termitani and Calabresi (notably a very strong contingent of settlers from Simbario, Vibo Valentia, who hold their traditional festa at St Theresa church to this day):

The 1910 Census showed nearly 5000 persons of Italian ancestry on the near South Side. Over the years the colony moved further south into what is now known as Chinatown, where they were joined by Sicilians from Nicosia. The Scalabrinian Church of Santa Maria Incoronata (patron saint of Ricigliano) remained the focal center for the community until the 1980s, when it became the Chinese mission of St. Theresa.

Smaller Italian communities included the Toscani neighborhood in Heart of Chicago on the near SW side and a sizeable colony of Salernitani and Calabresi around 67th and Ashland in Grand Crossing (Our Lady of Mt Carmel) on the Southside.


The far Southside Pullman and Roseland Italian communities were mainly settled by a mix of Northerners (from Veneto and Piemonte) and Sicilians, while the nearby areas in and around Chicago Heights (including Calumet City and Blue Island) included Lucani, Sicilians, Marchegiani, and a few Calabresi and Abruzzesi:

The town of Blue Island at the southwest border of the city was heavily settled by Italian railroad workers from Potenza, Melfi, Avigliano, and some from Cosenza, and Catanzaro[.]

Chicago Heights, 30 miles to the south of the Loop and a satellite suburb similar to Blue Island had a population of 20,000 with 50 percent Italian stock by 1920. For most, it was a place of first settlement. The majority were Marchigiani, hailing from San Benedetto del Tronto. They made up about 60% of the Italian population. There were more or less equal numbers from Amaseno (Frosinone), the Sicilian town of Caccamo near Termini Imerese. Many of the latter came by way of New Orleans. Castel di Sangro (Abruzzi) also contributed a good number of immigrants to Chicago Heights.

Unsurprising that many Heights crew members were Caccamesi, but also not surprising that there was a Venetian member (Al Pilotto), as well as Calabresi (Ruberto, Ammirato, LaPorte) and Marchigiani (Nick Neroni, Guido Fidanzi, and the Luzis).

Melrose Park had an early Italian settlement, but then later this grew tremendously with the influx of Napolitani, Sicilians, and others fleeing the slum conditions of inner-city neighborhoods like Taylor St:

Melrose Park, sixteen miles to the west of the central city, was a place of second settlement attracting Riciglianesi (“Richies”), Trivignesi (“Trivies”), and others from the inner city to the wide open spaces of the western suburbs. Gabriel and Leonard DeFranco (from Castiglione, Abruzzi) were the first Italians to settle in Melrose (1888). They established a barbershop-cigar store-real estate business and Leonard emerged in 1903 as the first Italian Village Board member in 1903.

The Melrose Park Italian community owes its existence to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Emanuella De Stefano, a native of the town of Laurenzana, (Potenza) prayed to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel for the life of her gravely ill husband Emilio De Stefano, the well-known leader of the Laurenzanesi community. He recovered. In gratitude, Emanuella and her friend, Anna Marie Prignano, organized in July of 1894, the first Festa Della Madonna in Melrose Park on the DeStefano farm on 25th Avenue at North Avenue.

[B.]

Should have mentioned earlier, Calogero Montalbano moved back to Sicily and came back in 1911 which is when he arrived to Pietro Merlo. By that time Merlo was living in Champaign, Illinois. Montalbano's immigration record says he previously lived in Chicago, which is consistent with his arrest for the Raia murder with Merlo years earlier.

Wondering if Montalbano returned to Sicily and Merlo moved to Champaign because of the heat brought on by the Raia murder. Champaign is closer to Springfield and like we've talked about with some of the Burgio guys, there seem to have been small Agrigento colonies spread out further south in tiny communities.

Both Montalbano and Merlo would be living in Chicago again later.

[PolackTony]

Should have mentioned earlier, Calogero Montalbano moved back to Sicily and came back in 1911 which is when he arrived to Pietro Merlo. By that time Merlo was living in Champaign, Illinois. Montalbano's immigration record says he previously lived in Chicago, which is consistent with his arrest for the Raia murder with Merlo years earlier.

Wondering if Montalbano returned to Sicily and Merlo moved to Champaign because of the heat brought on by the Raia murder. Champaign is closer to Springfield and like we've talked about with some of the Burgio guys, there seem to have been small Agrigento colonies spread out further south in tiny communities.

Both Montalbano and Merlo would be living in Chicago again later.

Champagne is also close to Danville, where early guys like the Misuracas and Portueses (possibly Castellammaresi) moved back and forth from to Chicago.

[Antiliar]

James "Duke" Basile was an associate of the Ferriola street crew and a close friend of Gerry Scarpelli. Basile became an informant for the FBI and his information was used to turn Scarpelli, who had been recently made into the Outfit.

In 1970, Basile was noted to be part of a robbery ring headed by Willie Potatoes. In March 1971 he pleaded guilty to a 1966 robbery for which an innocent man was imprisoned. Basile was given seven years. By the end of the month James Fioramonti was pardoned for the crime he did not commit. Basile spent five years in prison.

Seventeen years after Basile was sent to prison it was revealed that he had been secretly recording conversation for 16 months, providing information on Joe Ferriola, Dominick Senese, Robert Bellavia, Scarpelli, and others. Longtime Outfit associate and jewel thief Paul "Peanuts" Panczko also turned informant; it was Panczko's recording of Basile that convinced him to defect to the FBI. Prosecutors gave Basile a plea agreement that recommended a 15-year sentence, but the judge sentenced him to 10.

He later testified that he served as a U.S. Marine and saw combat in Korea. He was discharged after four years. He began in his life of crime in 1958 when he began working at the Owl Club in Calumet City. From there he began loan sharking and bank robbing. He said he worked under Giancana, Buccieri, then Torello and Ferriola. He knew Ricca, Cerone, LaPorte, Aiuppa, Humphreys, and many other important figures in the Outfit, which consisted of forty hardcore members and about 500 men on call. He claimed that Ferriola was the "boss of bosses" of the Outfit and he was the underboss for street collections. Ferriola, he said, was the "boss of bosses" from 1979 to 1989 (he was actually capo of the Buccieri crew).

Despite being an informant, after he died in 2008 his obituary was published in the Chicago area newspapers and memorial services were held at the Panozzo Bros. Funeral Home. His obituary noted that his parents were Frank Basile and Catherine Markoff. James Peter Basile was born on November 4, 1935, in Chicago and died on February 1, 2008. His father, Frank J Basile, was born on September 17, 1910, also in Chicago, and his parents were Vincenzo (James) Basile and Agnese Brunacci. Basile was born in 1863 and his wife was ten years younger. According to one source they both hailed from Cosenza, Calabria, but according to another Vincenzo was Sicilian and Agnese was from Alessandria (Alessandria del Carretto, Cosenza). Duke Basile's father and several other relatives worked for Sherwin Williams Paint Company.

[Antiliar]

Joseph Portuese - looks like the correct one:

Name: Joseph Portuese
Birth Date: 16 Sep 1868
Birth Place: Italy
Death Date: 21 May 1919
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Burial Date: 23 May 1919
Cemetery Name: Mt. Carmel
Death Age: 50
Occupation: Barber
Race: White
Marital status: M
Gender: Male
Father Name: Michael Portuese
Father Birth Place: Italy
Mother Birth Place: Italy
Spouse Name: Rosie Portuese

Name: Rosa Cimilluca
Gender: Female
Spouse: Giuseppe Partuese

Name: Rose Cimilluca Portuese
Birth Date: 8 Sep 1881
Birth Place: Ventamiglia, Italy
Death Date: 25 Apr 1947
Death Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Burial Date: 28 Apr 1947
Burial Place: Proviso, Cook, Illinois
Cemetery Name: Mt. Carmel
Death Age: 65
Occupation: Housewife
Race: White
Marital status: W
Gender: Female
Residence: Chicago, Cook, Ill.
Father Name: Joseph Cimilluca
Father Birth Place: Ventamiglia, Italy
Mother Name: Maddalena Pagani
Mother Birth Place: Ventamiglia, Italy
Spouse Name: Joseph

Name: Giuseppe Portoghese
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/ Nationality: American
Marital status: Married
Age: 40
Birth Date: abt 1868
Birth Place: Palermo
Other Birth Place: Ventimiglio
Last Known Residence: Ventimiglio, Palermo
Departure Port: Palermo
Arrival Date: 27 Nov 1908
Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA
Final Destination: Chicago, Illinois
Height: 5 Feet, 5 Inches
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Complexion: Dark
Money in Possession: 20
Person in Old Country: Rosa Cincilluco
Person in Old Country Relationship: Wife
Person in Old Country Residence: Ventimiglio
Person in US: Matteo Judia
Spouse: Rosa Cincilluco
Ship Name: San Giovanni

Ventimiglia di Sicilia (Sicilian: Calamigna) is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, located in the autonomous region of Sicily, Italy. Though "Ventimiglia di Sicilia" is its official name, in Sicilian, the city is known as Calamigna.

Ventimiglia was founded in the 1620s by Don Girolamo del Carretto. The town was named after his wife, Beatrice Ventimiglia. In 1863, "di Sicilia" was added to Ventimiglia, to differentiate the city from the town of Ventimiglia in Liguria. The city is neighbored by the towns Baucina, Bolognetta, Caccamo, Casteldaccia and Ciminna.

[Antiliar]

Salvatore DiGiovanni was shot and killed by Joseph Morici on Feb 21, 1901, after they played cards in a saloon located at 57 Grand Avenue and owned by Morici's brother, Frank Morici. Morici insisted that he killed DiGiovanni in self-defense and the jury agreed.

There is confusion over DiGiovanni's origin. Most DiGiovannis in the Chicago area associated with organized crime were from Palazzo Adriano, Sicily, but Thomas Hunt in his article wrote that he was Neapolitan. At the time of his death it was believed that DiGiovanni had been part of a counterfeiting gang and spent time in Sing Sing. In October/November 1889 the notorious counterfeiter Gaetano Russo was arrested with his wife and several others, including a Salvatore DiGiovanni and his wife Angelina. All of them were convicted and sent to prison. There was also a Salvatore "DeGiovanni" who was sent to Sing Sing for forgery on March 14, 1889. He was a 36-year-old married piano maker who lived at 317 Broome Street in Manhattan. There was also a 36-year-old Salvatore DiGiovanni arrested on Jan 25, 1889, for abandoning his wife and eloping with 14-year-old Victoria Roberil of 156 Bleeker Street in New York.

The New York Times article from 1889 adds, "Salvatore de Giovanni, age 36, of 317 Broome street, who was convicted of forgery in the second degree for signing the name of his brother-in-law Gaetano Gambardillo, to a bail bond in the Jefferson Market Court, was given 10 years in state prison yesterday by Recorder Smyth. Giovanni is the man who made so much noise in the court room when he was arraigned for trial that he had to be handcuffed and taken out." The bail bond was for only $18.

In 1892, after he was transferred to Clinton State Prison, he and other prisoners who had applied for pardons put on a show for the governor who was visiting the prison. DiGiovanni performed a magic trick involving burning a piece of paper, but it didn't go as planned. He was discharged on September 19, 1895. Noteworthy is that in his pardon application his attorney wrote that there was "an indictment against him for abduction for which has not no been tried."

The only Salvatore DiGiovanni in the 1900 Chicago census who fits the age of the DiGiovanni killed in 1901 (born c1851) was a Salvatore DiGiovanni who lived at 114 West Polk Street. He was 48 and his wife Vittoria was 26. Their daughter Angela was born in Maine in Sep 1896 and their son Antonio was born in Ohio in Jan 1899 (his World War II draft card shows that he was born in Cincinnati on Jan 6, 1899). He was a piano maker. Victoria Roberil was born around 1875 and Vittoria DiGiovanni was born around 1874. A Maine birth record from September 1896 shows that Angelina De Giovanni was born to Salvedori De Giovanni and Victoria Dapilelle De Giovanni.

So at this time it seems likely that the Salvatore DiGiovanni is the one who eloped and spent time in jail in New York, but is not the counterfeiter arrested with Gaetano Russo. I couldn't find any record to show where he was born, but considering that he immigrated in 1876 according to the 1900 census a non-Sicilian origin can't be ruled out.

[Antiliar]

The March 3, 1901, edition of the Tribune does assert that DiGiovanni was Neapolitan, but it's in an exaggerated and romantic story about the Mafia in Chicago that needs to be taken with a pound of salt. In the very sentence that it claims he was Neapolitan it makes a serious error. "This Neapolitan was killed by a party of five Sicilians." Only one man was accused of killing DiGiovanni, and that was Joseph Morici. Instead of printing the facts the author went with a West Side Story fight about the Jets and Sharks with DiGiovanni as the poor underdog Neapolitan versus the savage Sicilians. So while DiGiovanni may in fact have been from Naples, this source is too untrustworthy without corroborating evidence.

[PolackTony]

Joseph Portuese - looks like the correct one:

Great info on the Portueses. I had wondered if this guy was related to the Gaspare and Antonio Portuese mentioned in the Tribune in 1913 (I discussed in the "Gambinos" thread). "Caspar" and his brother Antonio had been living in downstate Danville, IL (near Champagne). The brothers were allegedly hired by their brother-in-law Vincenzo Misuraca, married to their sister, to burn down his building to collect the insurance. After the fire, the brothers reportedly talked to the authorities and then fled to Chicago (not a great place to escape mafia vengeance in 1913, to say the least). "Caspar" was murdered in Little Sicily in March, 1913 (listed as "Gaspano Portoghese" in the Cook County DI, born ~1882). Two weeks prior, Gaspare's brother Antonio Portuese and several of his buddies had been arrested after the murder of Nicholas Contoni on Morgan and Polk in the Taylor St Patch.

In the 1910 census, Vincenzo Misuraca, born 1869, was living in Danville, IL, and occupied as a fruit vendor. With him lived his wife Mary and her brother "Toney Portuesa". However, in 1920 a Vincenzo Misuraca (fruit peddler) and wife Mary were living in Racine, WI (same ages as the above people). In 1930, Vincenzo Misuraca, born 1869, and his wife Rosa Maria Portuese returned to the US following a trip back to Sicily. Both were born in Castellammare del Golfo and lived in Racine, WI. Rosa Maria "Mary" died in Racine in 1939, where Vincenzo was still living as a lodger in 1940. I can't find a death record for him anywhere, so maybe he returned to Sicily after his wife died (she has her own tomb also, so it doesn't seem that he was buried with her).

As noted in the "Gambinos" thread, Giuseppe Morici's (the one from Termini) partner Pietro Misuraca, implicated with Morici in blowing up half a block on Grand Ave in 1911 to collect the insurance money, had previously lived in Danville, Il, where he was a fruit peddler and had reportedly burned down his business for the insurance money. I would think it's a strong assumption that Vincenzo and Pietro Misuraca were related, but as I don't have a death record for Vincenzo (which would hopefully have had his parents listed), I can't cross-check his parents against Pietro's (who I believe was the Pietro Misuraca who was born ~1872 and died in Chicago in 1918). If so, these would be among the few Castellammaresi we see connected to the mafia in Chicago.

Now, worth noting that Antonio Portuese (per the above info) seems to have been a Trapanese and was suspected of a murder in the Taylor St Patch in 1913. Nicholas Contoni was murdered in an alley near where he was living as a boarder at Blue Island and Vernon Park. Antonio Portuese, a fellow boarder, was suspected of luring Contoni into being ambushed by a shotgun blast. Their landlords, Joseph and Ann LaSpisa were also suspects in the murder. LaSpisa and Portuese were indicted for the murder but acquitted. Now, this was the same Giuseppe LaSpisa who was later D'Andrea's bodyguard and murdered in 1921.

Giuseppe LaSpisa was from Ventimiglia (he was even the president of the Ventimiglia society). And the Portueses that Rick identified above were from Ventimiglia, so it may be tempting to think that Antonio and Gaspare Poortuese were also from Ventimiglia, but it seems pretty clear to me that they were from Castellammare. Not just the above info. In 1912, Giovanni Gentinoto of Vizzini, Catania married Caterina Portuese, of Castellammare, at St Phillip Benizi Church in Little Sicily. One of the witnesses was Antonio Portuese. After 1913, I can't find any records for Antonio Portuese. After he was acquitted for the Contoni murder and with his brother having been murdered in Chicago, perhaps he skipped town.

I suspect that Antonio Portuese wound up living by Taylor St due to the Trapanesi component of the mafia in that neighborhood. Giuseppe LaSpisa's house, where Portuese had been staying, was just down the street from where Pietro Genna was living at Blue Island and Polk in the 1910s. '

On the subject of Trapanesi by Taylor St, in 1906, Pietro Montalbano, born 1868 in Castelvetrano to Filippo Montalbano and Francesca Mangiaracina, married Rosaria Bellafiore, born 1871 in Castelvetrano to Nicola Bellafiore and Paola Gampizza, in Holy Guardian Angel Parish in the Taylor St Patch, showing that Montalbano was associated with that neighborhood as early as 1906. In 1910, Pietro and Rose (also called "Sarah" in some documents) lived at Blue Island and Polk, the same block that Pietro Genna (and later, more Gennas) moved to within the next couple of years, and, again, down the street from where Antonio Portuese was living with LaSpisa in 1913.

Another Trapanese guy was Angelo Spano's alleged associate Francesco Cappello, killed in Chicago Heights in 1926 shortly after Spano (who according to the Tribune had relocated to Chicago Heights shortly before his murder). Per his death record, he was from Marsala and had only been in the country for 2 years.

Just pouring through the records, Trapanesi in Chicago seem to have been concentrated in the Taylor St and Grand Ave neighborhoods (unsurprisingly, one gave rise to Giancana and the other Accardo). Among the many Trapanesi families that I've been looking at are notable (though not uncommon, of course) surnames like Buccellato, Montana, Asaro, Licari (strongly associated with the mafia in Mazara del Vallo), Giacalone (the Detroit Giacalone's father was from Mazara del Vallo), and of course Accardi/Accardo. While there are a few people from around Castellammare, most seem to be from Marsala, Castelvetrano, Mazara del Vallo, Gibellina, Poggioreale, Campobello di Mazara, Santa Ninfa, Partanna, and Salemi. I suspect that as we continue digging into these early guys, we will find more Trapanesi connected to the mafia in Chicago.

[Antiliar]

This gets more and more interesting, especially finding the early connections - many of which lasted through the existence of the Outfit.

[B.]

What a thread.

The infamous Misuracas from St. Louis/Detroit/Colombo/San Jose were from Giardinello in Palermo (basically Montelepre) but were part of the Trapanesi faction in Michigan. Don't know if that came through local association or if there was a deeper tie. Lennert would know their family history better than anyone.

The Misuraca father was named Pietro and they lived in St. Louis early, so not insanely far from the ones you found in that Danville colony (strange how much these places are showing up). Don't know of a Chicago connection offhand.

[PolackTony]

Salvatore DiGiovanni was shot and killed by Joseph Morici on Feb 21, 1901, after they played cards in a saloon located at 57 Grand Avenue and owned by Morici's brother, Frank Morici. Morici insisted that he killed DiGiovanni in self-defense and the jury agreed.

There is confusion over DiGiovanni's origin. Most DiGiovannis in the Chicago area associated with organized crime were from Palazzo Adriano, Sicily, but Thomas Hunt in his article wrote that he was Neapolitan. At the time of his death it was believed that DiGiovanni had been part of a counterfeiting gang and spent time in Sing Sing. In October/November 1889 the notorious counterfeiter Gaetano Russo was arrested with his wife and several others, including a Salvatore DiGiovanni and his wife Angelina. All of them were convicted and sent to prison. There was also a Salvatore "DeGiovanni" who was sent to Sing Sing for forgery on March 14, 1889. He was a 36-year-old married piano maker who lived at 317 Broome Street in Manhattan. There was also a 36-year-old Salvatore DiGiovanni arrested on Jan 25, 1889, for abandoning his wife and eloping with 14-year-old Victoria Roberil of 156 Bleeker Street in New York.

The New York Times article from 1889 adds, "Salvatore de Giovanni, age 36, of 317 Broome street, who was convicted of forgery in the second degree for signing the name of his brother-in-law Gaetano Gambardillo, to a bail bond in the Jefferson Market Court, was given 10 years in state prison yesterday by Recorder Smyth. Giovanni is the man who made so much noise in the court room when he was arraigned for trial that he had to be handcuffed and taken out." The bail bond was for only $18.

In 1892, after he was transferred to Clinton State Prison, he and other prisoners who had applied for pardons put on a show for the governor who was visiting the prison. DiGiovanni performed a magic trick involving burning a piece of paper, but it didn't go as planned. He was discharged on September 19, 1895. Noteworthy is that in his pardon application his attorney wrote that there was "an indictment against him for abduction for which has not no been tried."

The only Salvatore DiGiovanni in the 1900 Chicago census who fits the age of the DiGiovanni killed in 1901 (born c1851) was a Salvatore DiGiovanni who lived at 114 West Polk Street. He was 48 and his wife Vittoria was 26. Their daughter Angela was born in Maine in Sep 1896 and their son Antonio was born in Ohio in Jan 1899 (his World War II draft card shows that he was born in Cincinnati on Jan 6, 1899). He was a piano maker. Victoria Roberil was born around 1875 and Vittoria DiGiovanni was born around 1874. A Maine birth record from September 1896 shows that Angelina De Giovanni was born to Salvedori De Giovanni and Victoria Dapilelle De Giovanni.

So at this time it seems likely that the Salvatore DiGiovanni is the one who eloped and spent time in jail in New York, but is not the counterfeiter arrested with Gaetano Russo. I couldn't find any record to show where he was born, but considering that he immigrated in 1876 according to the 1900 census a non-Sicilian origin can't be ruled out.

The Salvatore DiGiovanni born in 1851 and murdered in 1901 in Chicago married Vittoria Pupilella in Covington, KY (across the river from Cincinnati) in 1900, right before they moved to Chicago. As you note, their daughter Angeline was born in Charlotte, ME in 1896. Salvatore and Vittoria were clearly together as common-law spouses before they were formally married. Pupilella is a mainland surname (Campobasso, Molise). I actually drove by Charlotte last year while staying in Maine for a while, and it seems like a pretty unlikely place to be connected to Chitalian history, to say the least. Apparently, however, in the 1890s a labor gang padrone recruited several hundred Italian men from NYC to Charlotte, where they lived and shanties and subsequently left. DiGiovanni may be the same Salvatore DiGiovanni who was incarcerated in Sing Sing in 1889 (born ~1853); given the fact that the Italian work gang in Charlotte was recruited from NYC, it would be expected that's where he was before going to Maine.

Another thing to note is that DiGiovanni was living at Polk and Clinton. At this point in time, the eastern end of what became the Taylor St Patch was settled mainly by Napolitani, Lucani, and other mainlanders. Even without having read the Tribune's sensationalized account, knowing this I would have guessed he was likely Napolitan'. None of that proves that he actually was, of course, but I think it's a good bet that he was.