Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

[cavita]

Filippo Caltagerone born January 24, 1895 in Aragona, Sicily to Salvatore Caltagirone and Calogera Garbisi and he immigrated through Ellis Island on August 20, 1912 settling in Rockford. In 1917 he and Frank Zammuto were charged with the murder of Giuseppe Tarantola and both men were sentenced to long terms in prison but a year later their sentences were overturned. In 1921 Caltagerone married Maria Provenzano of Roccamena, Sicily. In 1926 along with George Saladino and Tony DiGiovanni, he went on trial for the attempted murders of brothers David and Alex Dotz but all three were found innocent. Caltagerone was involved in the bootlegging business and FBI files stated he was named acting boss of the Rockford LCN from 1931 to 1932 while boss Tony Musso was in Leavenworth Prison. 1960s FBI files noted that Caltagerone was part of the “inner circle” of the Rockford LCN along with boss Zammuto, underboss Buscemi, consigliere Zito and capo Vince and the files stated Caltagerone was “close to Milwaukee LCN member Pasquale Migliaccio.” Caltagerone died March 26, 1971 in Rockford.

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Salvatore DiGiacomo was born August 20, 1947 in Aragona, Sicily to Vincenzo DiGiacomo and Maria Galluzzo and on December 19, 1972 he married his cousin Maria Galluzzo in Aragona. DiGiacomo immigrated to Rockford in 1976 and was immediately set up by underboss Frank Buscemi in the operation of Sam’s Pizza in 1977. FBI files in 1986 named DiGiacomo as being involved in a large-scale heroin trafficking operation in the Rockford area and there were hints that he was related to Biagio DIGiacomo of the Boston based LCN. DiGiacomo was naturalized a citizen in June 1979 and he died June 8, 2012 in Rockford.

[B.]

Joe Profaci's relative he arrived to in Chicago was Giuseppe Provenzano (cousin but never seen that name in the family tree).

Tom Hunt ID'd these as more distant relatives of Profaci in Chicago / Milwaukee:

Zarcone
LoCascio

Doesn't say exactly which were in Chicago vs. Milwaukee.

He said the Milwaukee Family Zarcones were a "branch" of the Profaci Zarcones but they were from Santa Flavia while Hunt lists Profaci's Zarcone relatives as Villabatesi. The towns aren't far from each other so maybe there is an extended relation. Ex-Chicago Milwaukee captain Michele Mineo was related to the Milwaukee Zarcones. Early NYC figure Giovanni Zarcone was from Bagheria like the Milwaukee ones.

Adding to this, I didn't realize the Profaci clan first established itself in Schnectady NY, including Joe's uncle Ignazio who was a member in Villabate.

This puts them near the Bagheria colony near Utica where the Aiellos lived and even closer to the Albany Termini colony that produced member Sylvester Battaglia. Profacis followed the same regional patterns as the Chicago triangle.

[PolackTony]

Joe Profaci's relative he arrived to in Chicago was Giuseppe Provenzano (cousin but never seen that name in the family tree).

Tom Hunt ID'd these as more distant relatives of Profaci in Chicago / Milwaukee:

Zarcone
LoCascio

Doesn't say exactly which were in Chicago vs. Milwaukee.

He said the Milwaukee Family Zarcones were a "branch" of the Profaci Zarcones but they were from Santa Flavia while Hunt lists Profaci's Zarcone relatives as Villabatesi. The towns aren't far from each other so maybe there is an extended relation. Ex-Chicago Milwaukee captain Michele Mineo was related to the Milwaukee Zarcones. Early NYC figure Giovanni Zarcone was from Bagheria like the Milwaukee ones.

In 1924, a Giuseppe Provenzano married a Gaetana Mangano in Chicago. I noted this when I was looking into Profaci's buddy Gaetano Mangano, father of Vincent "James Griffin" Mangano, as I thought that there might be a connection given both Profaci's "cousin" Provenzano and that Gaetano Mangano was also in Chicago. There were two other Joe Provenzanos connected to the mafia in Chicago, covered already in this thread, but those guys were from Burgio. As it turns out, this Provenzano-Mangano couple was from Corleone. Given that Profaci called Giuseppe Provenzano his cousin, interesting to note that Provenzano is not apparently recorded as a surname in Villabate; its two main concentrations in Palermo province are Corleone and Bagheria.

I note that when Joe Profaci arrived in Boston in 1925, he stated that Giuseppe Provenzano lived in Chicago on the 800 block of N Cambridge in Little Sicily, while in 1928, the Corleonese Giuseppe Provenzano was living on the 1100 block of N Cambridge. I didn't see another Giuseppe Provenzano in Chicago who seemed like a smoking gun for Profaci's "cousin".

Any further info on who the LoCascios were? That surname is another one that isn't really associated with Villabate at all from what I can tell. Lo Cascio clusters in Baucina as well as Bagheria-Termini, while Cascio, of course, is strongly associated with Corleone. Given the close proximity, I think it shouldn't be surprising at all if Profaci had relations in and around Bagheria. There were a lot of LoCascios in Chicago, unsurprisingly, from Termini, Altavilla, Caccamo, etc.

Another interesting Provenzano was Angelo Provenzano, born 1881 in Altavilla Milicia. In 1920, he was caught taking 15 barrels of whisky under allegedly "spurious permits" from the Sibley Warehouse, a massive and heavily guarded stockpile of alcohol that the government held for medicinal purposes. Investigators stated that the Northside site that the whisky was slated to be transported to was an illegal liquor distribution center that contained a bunch of blank permit documents. Angelo Provenzano was a well-to-do businessman (in 1920 listed as a trader of dried fruits, later acquired other businesses such as a currency exchange), who traveled back and forth between Sicily and Chicago with his family several times in the 1920s and died in Oak Park in 1962.

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Salvatore “Toto” Galluzzo was born April 13, 1902 in Aragona, Sicily to Mose and Sara Galluzzo and he immigrated to Rockford in 1922. The next year he was sentenced to 100 days in jail on liquor charges. In 1927 Galluzzo married Domenica Valenti in Rockford and her family was from Burgio, Sicily. Galluzzo was arrested again in 1933 for involvement in a huge liquor ring operating from Belvidere, Illinois all the way to Savanna, Illinois. Galluzzo often used the alias “Sam DeVito” and his brother in law was Frank Zammuto, the brother of Rockford LCN boss Joe Zammuto. Galluzzo took one final arrest for gambling in 1967 and he died October 6, 1986 in Rockford. It’s quite possible that he was an early Rockford LCN member and was distant cousins to the other Rockford Salvatore Galluzzo (1934-2016).

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Salvatore Galluzzo was born March 6, 1934 in Aragona, Sicily to Gerlando Galluzzo and Alfonsa DiGiacomo and he married Giuseppa Piranio of Aragona in January 1962. In later 1962 Galluzzo immigrated to Rockford. Galluzzo started as a frontman for Rockford LCN operations in the tavern business and then began operating pizzerias in the Rockford area. Rockford Police files in the early 1980s identified Galluzzo as a made member of the family and FBI files from 1986 stated Galluzzo was involved in the heroin trafficking operation headed by underboss Frank Buscemi. In 1989 Galluzzo was filmed with Rockford member Frank “Gumba” Saladino meeting with Chicago’s Sam Carlisi and Jimmy Marcello. Indications were that Galluzzo became Rockford LCN boss upon the death of boss Joe Zammuto and he was identified as running the floating gambling games in the Rockford area with his brother Natale. Galluzzo died May 4, 2016 in Rockford.

[cavita]

Charles Gaziano born July 14, 1914 in Rockford, Illinois to Domenico Gaziano and Vincenza Salamone of Aragona, Sicily. In 1936 he was listed as the vice president of Sunlite Dairy which was owned by underboss Gaspare Calo and consigliere Joe Zito and Gaziano’s sister Maria had married Zito. By 1937 Gaziano was vice president of D’Agostin Distribution which was a wholesale liquor company. Gaziano was a trusted Rockford LCN associate who was charged with gambling a couple of times at the Roma Club which was secretly controlled by Joe Zito. In one of those arrests Gaziano was charged with trying to pay hush money to the complaining witness. Gaziano died July 29, 2000 in Rockford, Illinois.

[PolackTony]

Salvatore Galluzzo was born March 6, 1934 in Aragona, Sicily to Gerlando Galluzzo and Alfonsa DiGiacomo and he married Giuseppa Piranio of Aragona in January 1962. In later 1962 Galluzzo immigrated to Rockford. Galluzzo started as a frontman for Rockford LCN operations in the tavern business and then began operating pizzerias in the Rockford area. Rockford Police files in the early 1980s identified Galluzzo as a made member of the family and FBI files from 1986 stated Galluzzo was involved in the heroin trafficking operation headed by underboss Frank Buscemi. In 1989 Galluzzo was filmed with Rockford member Frank “Gumba” Saladino meeting with Chicago’s Sam Carlisi and Jimmy Marcello. Indications were that Galluzzo became Rockford LCN boss upon the death of boss Joe Zammuto and he was identified as running the floating gambling games in the Rockford area with his brother Natale. Galluzzo died May 4, 2016 in Rockford.

Again, great info on all of these Rockford guys Cav. You are the friggin' man.

We know from FBI intel that there was a lot happening in both Rockford and Chicago in the late 80s with the Zips and narcotics operations, so one might imagine that could've been a big part of the context for the Galluzzo meeting with Carlisi and Marcello. The fact that the Rockford heroin operation was under Buscemi I think is also significant, given his longstanding personal ties to Chicago.

I again can't help but notice that there are a bunch of Buscemis active in the Chicago Burgio Society. Of course, Buscemi's not an uncommon surname in Agrigento, but we've seen with the Bacinos that people with the same surname can certainly be related across different comuni. For all I know, these people are all upstanding citizens/residents living the American Dream, and I certainly wouldn't want to assume otherwise. But we know that there were a bunch of Agrigentin' zips in the region a few decades ago, and the criminal element is still going to be very much embedded within the larger immigrant community. Another guy that I wonder about in this context is Johnny Apes. While he came over as a kid from Sambuca, it's reasonable to think that his family would've had close ties back there and we know there were Sambucesi zips in Rockford, while the Chinatown crew had a close link to Rockford via Saladino.

[cavita]

Salvatore Galluzzo was born March 6, 1934 in Aragona, Sicily to Gerlando Galluzzo and Alfonsa DiGiacomo and he married Giuseppa Piranio of Aragona in January 1962. In later 1962 Galluzzo immigrated to Rockford. Galluzzo started as a frontman for Rockford LCN operations in the tavern business and then began operating pizzerias in the Rockford area. Rockford Police files in the early 1980s identified Galluzzo as a made member of the family and FBI files from 1986 stated Galluzzo was involved in the heroin trafficking operation headed by underboss Frank Buscemi. In 1989 Galluzzo was filmed with Rockford member Frank “Gumba” Saladino meeting with Chicago’s Sam Carlisi and Jimmy Marcello. Indications were that Galluzzo became Rockford LCN boss upon the death of boss Joe Zammuto and he was identified as running the floating gambling games in the Rockford area with his brother Natale. Galluzzo died May 4, 2016 in Rockford.

Again, great info on all of these Rockford guys Cav. You are the friggin' man.

We know from FBI intel that there was a lot happening in both Rockford and Chicago in the late 80s with the Zips and narcotics operations, so one might imagine that could've been a big part of the context for the Galluzzo meeting with Carlisi and Marcello. The fact that the Rockford heroin operation was under Buscemi I think is also significant, given his longstanding personal ties to Chicago.

I again can't help but notice that there are a bunch of Buscemis active in the Chicago Burgio Society. Of course, Buscemi's not an uncommon surname in Agrigento, but we've seen with the Bacinos that people with the same surname can certainly be related across different comuni. For all I know, these people are all upstanding citizens/residents living the American Dream, and I certainly wouldn't want to assume otherwise. But we know that there were a bunch of Agrigentin' zips in the region a few decades ago, and the criminal element is still going to be very much embedded within the larger immigrant community. Another guy that I wonder about in this context is Johnny Apes. While he came over as a kid from Sambuca, it's reasonable to think that his family would've had close ties back there and we know there were Sambucesi zips in Rockford, while the Chinatown crew had a close link to Rockford via Saladino.

Would it surprise you then that there were Montaleone/Monteleone in Rockford that were from Sambuca? I will say that over the years and going back decades I have never heard a bad word about any of the Rockford Montaleone/Monteleone people. Still, very interesting conncetions.

[PolackTony]

Salvatore Galluzzo was born March 6, 1934 in Aragona, Sicily to Gerlando Galluzzo and Alfonsa DiGiacomo and he married Giuseppa Piranio of Aragona in January 1962. In later 1962 Galluzzo immigrated to Rockford. Galluzzo started as a frontman for Rockford LCN operations in the tavern business and then began operating pizzerias in the Rockford area. Rockford Police files in the early 1980s identified Galluzzo as a made member of the family and FBI files from 1986 stated Galluzzo was involved in the heroin trafficking operation headed by underboss Frank Buscemi. In 1989 Galluzzo was filmed with Rockford member Frank “Gumba” Saladino meeting with Chicago’s Sam Carlisi and Jimmy Marcello. Indications were that Galluzzo became Rockford LCN boss upon the death of boss Joe Zammuto and he was identified as running the floating gambling games in the Rockford area with his brother Natale. Galluzzo died May 4, 2016 in Rockford.

Again, great info on all of these Rockford guys Cav. You are the friggin' man.

We know from FBI intel that there was a lot happening in both Rockford and Chicago in the late 80s with the Zips and narcotics operations, so one might imagine that could've been a big part of the context for the Galluzzo meeting with Carlisi and Marcello. The fact that the Rockford heroin operation was under Buscemi I think is also significant, given his longstanding personal ties to Chicago.

I again can't help but notice that there are a bunch of Buscemis active in the Chicago Burgio Society. Of course, Buscemi's not an uncommon surname in Agrigento, but we've seen with the Bacinos that people with the same surname can certainly be related across different comuni. For all I know, these people are all upstanding citizens/residents living the American Dream, and I certainly wouldn't want to assume otherwise. But we know that there were a bunch of Agrigentin' zips in the region a few decades ago, and the criminal element is still going to be very much embedded within the larger immigrant community. Another guy that I wonder about in this context is Johnny Apes. While he came over as a kid from Sambuca, it's reasonable to think that his family would've had close ties back there and we know there were Sambucesi zips in Rockford, while the Chinatown crew had a close link to Rockford via Saladino.

Would it surprise you then that there were Montaleone/Monteleone in Rockford that were from Sambuca? I will say that over the years and going back decades I have never heard a bad word about any of the Rockford Montaleone/Monteleone people. Still, very interesting conncetions.

Not surprising at all, given what I've learned about Rockford from your work. Of course, all these people who may have had no direct involvement in OC are integral parts of the broader Ital-American and immigrant community that is the ecosystem that brings the guys who are connected to the mob over from Sicily, and within which the latter guys move and operate. Not like everyone from these towns, or anything like every recent immigrant, is actively taking part in the OC dimension, but it's also not the case that the mob is completely separate from the broader community. This is why I go back to the Sicilian paesani societies as an interesting angle. Not that these are anything like "fronts" for the mob. But one can presume that they are central nodes in the networks linking their comuni of origin to the dynamics of local Italian-American identity and life, and like any other important institution, one can assume that the mafia will parasitize them or use them for their own purposes, even if that doesn't at all reflect the larger mission or activities of many if not most of the members of these societies. On that note, the fact that the Sambuca Society remains robust and highly active after over ~120 years of sustained immigration and back-and-forth connections to Sicily should be something to really think about.

[cavita]

The Lazzio Brothers- Charles, Sam and Joe. The Lazzio boys were all born in Convent, Louisiana to Giovanni and Rosa Lazzio and though their Italian origins are not known, indications are that they were from Sambuca, Sicily. By the mid-1920s the family was living in Rockford and they became involved in bootlegging and alcohol distribution. After Prohibition ended, the brothers became involved in gambling and Sam and Charles were noted in FBI files as being part of a syndicate that controlled gambling in the Rockford area in the 1940s along with the hierarchy of the Rockford LCN. All had numerous gambling arrests over the years and Sam was heavily involved with future Rockford LCN capo Charles Vince in hijacking goods from trucks and trains. All the brothers were trusted associates being frontmen, bookmakers and operators of taverns for the Rockford LCN. Charles died in 1987, Joe in 1981 and Sam in 1985.

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Alberto “Bino” Seminerio was born September 8, 1936 in Aragona, Sicily to Vincenzo Seminerio and Concetta Cumbo. On January 20, 1964 he married Epifania Mancuso in Aragona and they immigrated to Rockford on August 31, 1972 most likely at the sponsorship of Rockford underboss Frank Buscemi. In 1978 Seminerio opened Bino’s Restaurant in New Milford, Illinois just south of Rockford. Seminerio was naturalized a citizen on November 13, 1981 in Rockford. 1980s FBI files stated Seminerio was involved in a large-scale heroin trafficking operation headed by underboss Frank Buscemi and he allegedly held illegal high stakes card games which was part of The Soccer Club, a floating gambling game headed by Salvatore and Natale Galluzzo. FBI files also stated that Seminerio appeared to be tied to a Sicilian Mafia family. Seminerio died January 24, 2010 in Rockford.

[cavita]

Frank J. “Boz” Terrazino born January 18, 1921 in Rockford to Giuseppe Terrazino and Lucia Lombardo of San Giuseppe Iato, Sicily. Terrazino married Sarah Donze on July 31, 1946 and her family was from Corleone, Sicily. Terrazino began operating the Sky Room Restaurant at the Greater Rockford Airport in June 1961 and in December 1968 he was indicted in the federal gambling and liquor inquiry in relation to his lounge Terrazino’s. Terrazino was given a modest fine for mislabeling whiskey and FBI files stated the tavern was secretly controlled by Rockford LCN consigliere Joe Zito. Terrazino died November 24, 1977 Rockford.

[Antiliar]

Carl Carramusa was an Illinois-born mobster who served as the front man for Kansas City operations of an international narcotics ring. Ignazio Antinori, a high-ranking member of the Tampa borgata, organized the drug ring and imported the drugs from France by way of Havana and had them transported to Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, and other locations where crime families existed. Carramusa was born in Chicago as Carlo Carramusa on August 24, either in 1907 or 1908, to Frank (Francesco) Carramusa, a native of the Province of Palermo, and Vincenza Sanfilippo. Frank's parents were Carlo Carramusa and Olivia Spano, and Vincenza's father was Pietro Sanfilippo, who also came from the Province of Palermo. Some of Pietro's siblings were born in Porticello, Santa Flavia. Vincenza's parents came from Solanto, next to Santa Flavia. In Chicago, the Carramusas lived in the rear of 818 Milton Avenue. Francesco Carramusa was a grocer; his naturalization was witnessed by Mike Coniglio, who was probably from Corleone and lived at 114 Milton. Carl Carramusa and his family moved to Kansas City when he was a child.

When Carl was a boy his younger brother, 11-year-old Frank Jr, was murdered by the local Mafia in Kansas City. As an adult, despite the death of his brother, he joined the Kansas City Family and operated Carey's Modernistic bar at 3223 Troost Street. He married Leona Varveris on October 30, 1928, in Kansas City; they already had a daughter, Virginia Marie, on August 30, 1927. The Carramusas had a son, Frank, in 1938. In 1942 the Federal Bureau of Narcotics arrested Carramusa and several other members of the Kansas City, St. Louis and Tampa Families. Ignazio Antinori was not arrested - he was accused of selling inferior quality narcotics and they buyers demanded their money back. He refused and was shot to death in 1940. His sons Paul and Joseph replaced him in the drug ring and were among those arrested.

Carramusa decided to turn and became a government witness. His brother's alleged killer sat in the front row and made threatening gestures toward him; police escorted him out and arrested him. Carramusa was given four years for his participation, but joined the Army, leading the judge to dismiss one charge and place him on probation for the others. He was able to leave the Army in 1944 and was advised to move to a safe location far from the Mafia. He chose to move to Chicago - but with a new name. His brother Sam lived nearby at 1145 N. Lawndale Avenue, and his father also lived in the city. The new name he chose, Carl Carey, was actually the same alias he previously used in Kansas City. He opened up an ornamental furniture business, De Pac Wood Products, Inc. at 506 S. Wells Street. Joseph "De Grassia" was Carramusa's partner. Rocco DeGrazia of Melrose Park had a brother named Joseph.

On June 21, 1945, as Carramusa sat in his car in front of his house at 837 N. Lawndale Avenue, a car with three men fired at him with a shotgun, blowing his head off. The gunmen fired three times from the slow-moving car driving north on Lawndale Avenue. His 15 or 16-year-old daughter and her two friends saw the whole thing. His wife, Leona, was pregnant with another child. The widow told police that they were waiting for Carl to drive them to a baby shower in her honor. Nicolo Impastato of the Kansas City borgata was suspected of being one of the gunmen. Daughter Virginia married Carl Gurera in Kansas City in 1950. Carl Gurera's older brother was Joseph Frank Gurera, a made member of the Kansas City Family who spent time in Milwaukee.

[PolackTony]

He was able to leave the Army in 1944 and was advised to move to a safe location far from the Mafia. He chose to move to Chicago

Well, that was a brilliant move on Carramusa’s part. Soon as I read that, I knew how the story would end, lol. Not only did he move to Chicago but chose to live in Humboldt Park which was crawling with Outfit guys. Makes me think of that black dude at the Paterson Falls in season 1 of the Sopranos “Some sad shit. Muthafucka said he didn’t wanna live no more”.

Great write up of a thing I wasn’t at all aware of. Any idea who they were working with on the Chicago end? If it was Rocco’s brother Joe DeGrazia, we know that Rocco was involved with drugs, so that could be a good bet. Any idea as to who Antinori’s customers who killed him were (you probably would’ve already stated that if they were known, of course)?