Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

[Antiliar]

Great find

[PolackTony]

Looks like the Antonino Montalbano killed in 1914 was from Sambuca as well. Different parents from Calogero but shared hometown and same name as Calogero's brother in Sambuca. Maybe a cousin/relation.

Revisiting this, as Montalbano was one of a string of murders that followed the killing of Rosario Dispenza.

Antonino Montalbano was born about 1878 in Sambuca (Sambuca records for these years are not available to confirm); per his 1914 Cook County death record, his parents were Mariano Montalbano and Maria "Parnciaro" [sic]. Montalbano arrived to Chicago in 1907 and owned a Little Sicily saloon on Townsend St. He was killed by two assailants armed with sawed-off shotguns while walking at Milton and Locust on March 21st 1914. Four days earlier, a younger man, whose name was given in the papers as Jack/John Lipare, was killed while "jauntily" strolling the street by two assailants with sawed-off shotguns; men on the street returned fire on the attackers with revolvers but the assailants escaped via an alley. Per his death record, Lipare was born in 1889 in Italy, but no other info is given (unable to verify his origins, as his surname -- if it wasn't an alias -- could've been Lipari or Lepore and no matches jump out). Turned out that Lipare was employed as a porter in Montalbano's saloon. Lipare was shot in front of the grocery store of Nicola Pigano [sic], which had been blown out by a "Black Hand" bombing earlier that morning. A "John Bavano" was apprehended by the police for Lipare's shooting but was later released after he accused the cops of beating a confession out of him. Unable to confirm "Bavano's" ancestry also (Bovano? Bufano? Pavone?).

At the time, the papers reported that the murders of Lipare and Montalbano were the latest of nearly 100 Italians murdered in Little Sicily in the past "months" (a specific range was not given).

Regarding the Calogero Montalbano involved in the 1905 Maggio murder in Little Sicily. He returned from Sicily to Chicago in 1911, so it's worth noting that Antonino Montalbano also took a trip to Sicily in 1910 and returned to Chicago in 1911.

[PolackTony]

Pietro Montalbano was suspected of killing Gaetano DiSalva on April 26, 1910, who was shot to death in front of his house at 1108 Gault Court. After he was released, Montalbano moved from 1152 Milton to the South Side. On June 19, 1911, Carmello LaRosa, believed to be a cousin of Montalbano, was killed. Nicola DiSalva, a cousin of Gaetano, was suspected of killing LaRosa. Joseph DiSalva, Gaetano's brother, was found with his throat cut, skull crushed, and stabbed through the heart, in his room at 1833 Clark Street on July 26, 1911.

Per his death record, LaRosa was Carmine LaRosa, born in 1887 in Italy; no other info is given (Carmelo and Carmine are different versions of the same name). Unable to confirm that LaRosa was related to Pietro Montalbano, there were a bunch of LaRosas from Marsala in Chicago, though none from Castelvetrano that I saw (also a bunch from various other parts of Sicily). The papers reported that LaRosa was shot by a rifleman from a distance at the saloon of his fiance's father at 19th and Armour Ave (Federal St) in the heart of Colosimo's Near Southside territory (which was also the base for D'Andrea and Merlo) and around the corner from where Joseph DiSalvo was later brutally murdered at 18th and Clark. LaRosa was betrothed to 15-year-old Mary Palaggi, born in the mining town of Ishpeming in the Upper Peninsula of MI to Mario Giuseppe "Joe" Palaggi and Teresa Nardi of Catanzaro province (probably the comune of Gagliano just outside of Catanzaro proper). Joe Palaggi was the owner of the saloon (in 1920 he owned a grocery store). LaRosa had been playing with Mary's 4-year-old brother Dominic on the sidewalk when a rifleman hidden down the block opened fire on him, hitting him three times including a fatal headshot (guy must've had military training). Little Dominic told the police that LaRosa had been killed by a man named Frank Spina, though Spina (who I would presume to have been from Simbario, Vibo Valentia, given their very strong presence on the Near Southside) was later released and Nick DiSalvo later charged. At the least, the story goes to show that Calabresi were already closely linked to mafia activities

Now, I wonder very much if Frank Spina was the same Francesco Spina born in 1886 in Simbario who was married to Caterina Roti. If not, they were likely cousins of some sort. Frank and Caterina Spina lived at 2210 W Ohio in the Grand Ave Patch (later famous as the Joey Lombardo building, across the street from Mitchell schoolyard; Phil Bacino's first known Chicago address was just down the street a few years later as well)). In August 1925, Frank Spina was killed in a triple shooting at Huron and Rockwell (my hood) across from Smith Park. Killed along with Spina (who was found to have been armed with an unfired revolver) was Giuseppe Vecchio, while Joseph Preiti was badly wounded with a gut shot (Preti and Vecchio lived together on the 2100 block of W Warren St on the Near Westside). It was reported that Joseph's brother Antonio Preiti had been shot and killed in 1924 nearby at Chicago Ave and Grad and investigators believed that the same men were responsible for both attacks. The Preitis were from the comune of Joppolo in Vibo Valentia (not far from Tropea where the Anastasios in NYC were from) and Antonio had only arrived in Chicago in 1923, a couple of months before his murder (several people from Colosimi, Jim Colosimo's hometown, were on the ship with him). Before he died, Giuseppe Preiti identified one of his shooters as Frank Cresto, who lived around the corner on Superior St (may have been Salernitan'). One of the other shooters was identified as "Tony Capeco", then already wanted by CPD for another murder. Pretty clear that this was Tony Capezio, who later owned a flower shop at Chicago Ave and Western in the immediate neighborhood of the shootings.

Frank Spina married Caterina Roti at Santa Maria Incoronata Parish on the Near southside, which goes to show that he was definitely linked to that neighborhood prior to their move to Grand Ave, which may be relevant given the Larosa murder; in 1920, they seemed to have been living at 21st and Lasalle St. Caterina's daughter Caterina "Katherine" Tassione (from a prior marriage in Simbario) married Mariano Nigro of Marana Principato, Cosenza -- their daughter was Joey Lombardo's wife, Marion Nigro. Another daughter of Caterina Roti was Angelina Tassione, who married Brunco Andreacchi -- their son is Joey Andriacchi. Frank Spina was thus the step-grandfather of Joey A.

[Antiliar]

Hard to tell if some of these murders were crimes of passion or long-held feuds, or if they were organized crime related. I'm wondering also, considering his proximity to Merlo and D'Andrea - plus the fact that Joe Esposito was made - could they have made Big Jim? We also have the group photo from 1914 with Colosimo, Torrio and Merlo together. Not saying he was but just speculating.

[B.]

Hard to tell if some of these murders were crimes of passion or long-held feuds, or if they were organized crime related. I'm wondering also, considering his proximity to Merlo and D'Andrea - plus the fact that Joe Esposito was made - could they have made Big Jim? We also have the group photo from 1914 with Colosimo, Torrio and Merlo together. Not saying he was but just speculating.

I wonder about Torrio and Colosimo. Bill Bonanno said both of them were part of the "Masseria group" but it's in a weird section where he says all of the groups were only loosely organized which we know from his father, Gentile, Clemente etc. is inaccurate. He also puts D'Aquila and Scalise in Masseria's group which couldn't be more wrong. However, all of the guys listed except for Torrio and Colosimo are confirmed members.

He does say Torrio attended his wedding and talks about him as a mafia figure who successfully retired, so maybe Bill did hear something about Torrio at least being a member. I've seen FBI reports that confirm he had direct access to all of the top Genovese leaders after returning to NYC. Speaking of which, I saw a passport application that places him living in Brooklyn in 1923, which I'm pretty sure is the right guy. Did he bounce back and forth or did he return earlier than is commonly reported?

You also have that unknown Chicago informant who said Colosimo "took orders" from NYC and after Capone killed him that Capone was backed by the same people in NYC. Who knows how accurate it is, but it could suggest Colosimo had ties to guys like Yale, Masseria, etc.

I could see Torrio being a remote Genovese member but not sure about Colosimo, though I do think there's something here as far as mafia membership goes. Joe Esposito's induction opens the doors to more of these prominent mainlanders being members for sure even though they had their own relationships / groups.

[Antiliar]

If Torrio was a made member he would have been under D'Andrea and Merlo, which begs the question why none of them made Capone. Big Al was close to Tony Lombardo, yet he never made him.

Regarding Torrio, his mother and stepfather lived in Brooklyn and he did make frequent trips. It's possible he was made into the Luciano Family in the 1930s.

[PolackTony]

If Torrio was a made member he would have been under D'Andrea and Merlo, which begs the question why none of them made Capone. Big Al was close to Tony Lombardo, yet he never made him.

Regarding Torrio, his mother and stepfather lived in Brooklyn and he did make frequent trips.

My read of the the accounts from Gentile and Maniaci is that Capone was pretty clearly on record with the Masseria Family (and if he had been formally with them since before he came to Chicago, then he might’ve been an associate going back to Morello before the Family split). Per Maniaci, Capone was paying protection money to Masseria, which was a major factor in the tensions that developed between Capone and Aiello. Per Gentile, Lombardo, once he found out that Capone was paying Masseria, told Capone to go back to NYC and tell Masseria that he would no longer pay. If these accounts are accurate, then it sounds like Lombardo may have wanted to induct Capone but wasn’t able to, given that Capone was on record. Masseria likely caught wind of what Lombardo was trying to do and pre-empted him by making Capone himself and then instructing him to kill Lombardo.

With Torrio, I think we’d have to assume that if he was never made in either Family, there must have been a reason. If he really was trying to get out of the life, maybe he was proposed and turned it down. Having said that, it wouldn’t in the least surprise me if we ever uncover an account claiming that he was in fact made. Same with Colosimo, though with him it’s also possible that he was simply held with high regard by the mafia for being a boss within his own society.

[Antiliar]

Torrio was supposedly a member and adviser to the Big Seven, a bootlegging cartel in New York from the late 1920s to the early 1930s. Depending on the source, its members were Enoch "Nucky" Johnson, Abner "Longy" Zwillman of New Jersey, Moe Dalitz of Cleveland, Waxey Gordon and Harry "Nig" Rosen of Philadelphia, Danny Walsh of Providence, Luciano and Joe Adonis. Lansky and Siegel were also involved. In 1940, Thomas Dewey and his investigators looking into Murder Inc. believed that Joe Adonis succeeded Frankie Yale and John Torrio.

[PolackTony]

Eugene Ubriaco was a non-Sicilian who could have been a made member in the mid-1910s.

Just as a refresher for anyone reading, Eugene “Charles” Ubriaco seems to have been a close partner of Nicolò Terranova, aka “Nick Morello”, and very possibly was a member of the Morello borgata. He was killed in 1916 with Nick Morello in a hit by the Navy St Camorra group in their conflict with the Morellos.

There seems to be some confusion in other sources regarding Ubriaco’s origins. I’ve seen it claimed that he was born in 1867 and arrived in the US in 1909 (the latter seems to refer to a 1909 arrival in Boston). Per his 1916 death record, Eugene Ubriaco was born in 1889 to Carmelo Ubriaco and Amelia DiGaetana. This matches a Eugenio Ubriaco, born about 1890 in Cellara, Cosenza province, who arrived in NYC in 1898, bound for a brother on E 114 St in East Harlem. In 1905, a Carmelo Ubriaco, born about 1868 in Cellara, was living with his family at 431 E 114 St, between 1st and Pleasant Aves (same block as the famous Rao’s would later be located). One of Carmelo’s other sons, Joseph Ubriaco, had a son born in 1918 whom he named Eugene, presumably after his slain brother.

Cellara neighbors Piana Crati, where Rocky Infelise’s family was from (interestingly, both Ubriacos from Cellara and Infelises from Piana Crati also settled in Sault St Marie in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). Cellara is also very close to Colosimi, where, of course, Jim Colosimo was born.

[PolackTony]

In December of 1925, reputed bootlegger Francesco Alongi (given in the papers as "Frank Along") was shot to death when he answered the door of his apartment on the 1100 block of N Sedgewick in Little Sicily. Francesco's second wife Maria Carini (born in Porticello, Santa Flavia; her mother was a Balistreri) was at home during the shooting but unable to identify the assailant/s. Francesco had previously been married to Giuseppa Ricupa from Menfi (she latter remarried a Michele Pullaro from Santo Stefano Quisquina) but remarried Maria in 1923.

Francesco Alongi was born in either 1895 or 1897 in Ciminna and seems likely to have been the paternal uncle of Concetta Alongi, mother of later Chicago member and Giancana buddy "Slicker Sam" Rosa. Concetta Alongi was born in Ciminna to Vito Alongi (like Francesco, his father was a Salvatore Alongi) and Lucia Guerenti. She married Vito DeRosa (the family later shortened the surname to "Rosa") of Ciminna in Chicago in 1914; they lived on Milton in Little Sicily (where Francesco Alongi lived before moving to Sedgewick) until the 1930s, when they relocated to Melrose Park. Son Salvatore "Sam Rosa" DeRosa was born in 1919 in Chicago. In 1943, he married Vincenza "Zena" DiFrancesca, born in Melrose Park to parents from Gratteri and Cefalu (immigrants from the area around Campofelice di Roccella, Lascari, and Cefalu having a notable colony in Melrose Park).

[PolackTony]

Several accounts that I've come across claim that after Johnny Torrio arrived in Chicago, he was responsible for murdering 10 "Black Handers" who had been targeting or harassing Jim Colosimo (some further assert that Torrio was assisted in this by Frankie Yale). One name that is treated as confirmed fact by such accounts was Filippo Catalano, stated to have been murdered by Torrio and his men in 1910. As with many such -- likely apocryphal -- claims, no actual source is given, though I suspect that the story might go back to Jack McPhaul's 1970 book on Torrio.

The facts reported to the public about the case make no such link to Torrio, of course. Filippo Catalano was born sometime in the 1870s in Gioia Tauro, longtime 'ndrangheta stronghold on the Tyrrhenian Coast of the province of Reggio Calabria (while his 1910 death record states that he was born in 1870, the engraving on his headstone at Mount Carmel Cemetery states that he was born in 1875 in Gioia Tauro). While it's unclear to me exactly when he arrived in Chicago, Catalano owned a saloon on the Near Southside. In the middle of a Saturday night in June 1910, Catalano was shot to death at 16th and State by an assailant stated to have escaped via nearby train tracks. Catalano had been drinking at a nearby establishment, the Vesuvius Restuarant at Archer and 20th (Cullerton St), with a friend named Edgardo Accetta and a third man; the three had left together when Catalano was attacked. Accetta was arrested and held for questioning as a witness to the murder. CPD discovered that Accetta was an attorney and singer from NYC, with an office at 109 Mulberry St in Lower Manhattan's Little Italy; Accetta . Accetta -- who was born about 1880 in Formia, Latina province, Lazio -- stated that he was a friend of Catalano and a frequent visitor to Chicago who had stopped in the city at this time while en route to St Paul. The papers also reported that Accetta had identified a photo of a guy named Charles Monaco (given as "Eugeno Monaco" in some sources) as the man who killed Catalano. Interestingly, in 1917 a Carmelo "Charles" Monaco (born in Oliveto Citra, Salerno), whose father was named Eugenio Monaco, lived nearby at 23rd and Wentworth. Carmelo Monaco was in Chicago by 1910, as that year he married Santina Rovello of Nicosia, Enna, so he may well be the man identified by Accetta. Worth noting also that a Salernitan' saloon owner in the same area, Michele Amabile, was a witness to Mike Merlo's 1905 naturalization.

It's unclear to me if Monaco was arrested or charged with Catalano's murder. Investigators initially theorized that Catalano -- described by the papers as a "bad man" who was "hated and feared by his countrymen" in the Italian community -- had been targeted in revenge for a previous shooting of a man whose name was given as "John Jocko" [sic], who had survived an attack about two months before the Catalano murder. Per the Tribune, "Jocko" had identified Catalano as his shooter, but refused to press charges against his assailant.

The Catalano case soon took a sensational turn, however. A wealthy elderly widow from New York, Fannie Stelle, collapsed and died while staying at the Palmer House Hotel in the Loop, where Accetta was also staying. As it turned out, Mrs. Stelle -- despite being twice his age, had previously been betrothed to Accetta and left $25k to him in her will. Apparently, after breaking her engagement to the much younger man, was hit with a lawsuit for $50k by Accetta. Stelle owned valuable property in the Chicago Loop and was said to be in town conducting business; investigators uncovered that Accetta had met with her at the Palmer House before heading down to the Near Southside on the night that Catalano was killed; reportedly, Stelle had collapsed and died after being informed that Accetta had been involved in a murder. It was also reported that Stelle had $25k in cash and $50k in diamonds sewn into the clothing that she was wearing when she died. A lawyer from New York connected to Stelle's family stated that he had repeatedly urged her to drop Accetta from her will, but Stelle had always refused on grounds that she was afraid to do so; it would seem that the wealthy widow was being extorted. With this new info at hand, police then theorized that someone may have gotten wind of Accetta getting a payment from Stelle that night and had been targetting Accetta for robbery when Catalano was shot.

The third man with Catalano and Accetta was identified as Pasquale Capaldo, proprietor of the Vesuvius Restuarant, who was also questioned by the cops. Capaldo and Accetta stated that they were good friends and that Accetta frequently visited Vesuvius when he was in Chicago. I wasn't able to find any record for a Pasquale Capaldo in Chicago. There were other Capaldos in Chicago from Villa Latina, Frosinone, however. Like Formia, Accetta's hometown, Villa Latina is today in the region of Lazio but in the past, both were part of the province of Caserta in Campania, which also used to encompass infamous Chicago towns such as Acerra and Nola, today in Napoli province. This area was also historically known as the "Terra di Lavoro" and associated strongly with the early Camorra.

Very interesting to note, however, that Capaldo appears in some 1912 court records related to an Angelo Pellegrino in Brooklyn (I believe the same Angelo Pellegrino who was the head of a longshoreman's company on the Brooklyn waterfront at the time). It was claimed that Pellegrino had a friend of his named Antonio Riccio write a letter to Pasquale Capaldo, residing on W 20th at Archer (where the Vesuvius Restuarant was located) in Chicago, inquiring as to the whereabouts of Angelo Masiani in 1912. Misiani was the guy convicted in 1910 for conspiring with Antonio Cincotti/Cincotta (both of the Brooklyn waterfront) to extort $15k from famed Napolitan' tenor Enrico Caruso. Caruso was, of course, also known as a personal friend of Jim Colosimo who frequented Colosimo's establishment in Chicago; in 1920, Caruso was listed as an honorary pallbearer for Big Jim's funeral. Angelo Pellegrino was appealing for the return of money that he had posted for Misiani's bail when the latter was released from jail awaiting appeal for the Caruso extortion conviction; naturally, Misiani skipped town and forfeited the bail.

The best match IMO for Misiani is an Antonio Misiano born about 1880 in Casabona, Crotone, Calabria, who arrived in Brooklyn in 1904. Casabona also happens to have been the hometown of Johnny Torrio's stepfather, Salvatore Caputo. So, while nothing would seem to confirm that Torrio had any involvement in the murder of Filippo Catalano, he was probably connected to the same social circles. Misiani's partner in the Caruso extortion attempt may have been an Antonio Cincotta born about 1885 on the offshore Sicilian island of Lipari, Messina, who lived in Brooklyn.

[PolackTony]

July 1913 property transactions between Luigi Colosimo, Jim Colosimo's father (a later transaction makes it clear that "Lingo" was a butchering of Luigi), and Johnny Torrio and Mike Merlo's wife Maria Pecoraro (born about 1891 in Vicari) at 26th and Wentworth:

[B.]

July 1913 property transactions between Luigi Colosimo, Jim Colosimo's father (a later transaction makes it clear that "Lingo" was a butchering of Luigi), and Johnny Torrio and Mike Merlo's wife Maria Pecoraro (born about 1891 in Vicari) at 26th and Wentworth:

Excellent discovery.

[PolackTony]

Related to the above posts regarding the 1910-1911 murders on the Near Southside of Filippo Catalano, Carmine LaRosa, and Joe DiSalva.

In November 1911, Pasquale D'Amico and brothers Francesco and Stefano "Danelo" (as the papers gave the surname) were riddled with bullets while walking under the railroad viaduct at Archer Ave near S Clark St (very close to the Vesuvius Restuarant owned by Pasquale Capaldo discussed above in relation to Filippo Catalano). D'Amico and Francesco died, while Stefano was hospitalized with fatal gunshot wounds (he died a couple of weeks later). The prior day, D'Amico and Stefano had been in court, where charges of "highway robbery" against them had been dropped when the complainant failed to identify them. D'Amico and the "Danelos" were noted by CPD as notorious and well-known "black handers" in the Near Southside Italian colony, with prior police records. Further, after arriving at the hospital, Stefano reportedly requested a visit from Jim Colosimo, but then clammed up and refused to talk to Colosimo when police insisted on accompanying Big Jim to the hospital room.

Pasquale D'Amico was reported to live at 22nd (today Cermak Rd) and Michigan Ave at the time of the shooting. Per his death record, he was a bartender and was born about 1885 in Italy. No further info or names of relatives were given, and thus it wasn't possible for me to confirm his origin (further, D'Amico is such a common surname that I'm not even able to venture a guess as to where he could've been from).

His November 22nd death record gives "Francesco's" name as Felice "Danello", born about 1884 in Italy, while his brother's name was given as "Stefano "Danello", born about 1878 in Italy, on his death record from December 19th. The papers gave the brothers' address at 25th and Lowe in the nearby Bridgeport neighborhood.

Later records for a Salvatore "Sam" Danile in Chicago, born about 1900 in Italy, give his father as Stefano Danile and mother as Frances Messina. In 1930, Sam was living with his widowed mother Frances, and sisters Stefania and Anna, at 25th and Lowe, where the "Danello" brothers had lived. No other record can be found for a Stefano Danile or something similar in Chicago, so it is a very strong guess that he was the same guy as the "Danello" killed in 1911. Now, there were a bunch of Daniles (the original spelling) and Messinas from San Biagio Platani, Agrigento (which had a significant colony, as did neighboring Sant' Angelo Muxaro, in the Chinatown/Bridgeport community) who had settled in the same immediate area, so this would be the best guess for the origin of the "Danello" brothers.

In 1905, a Stefano Danile, born about 1878 in San Biagio Platani, arrived in Sharpsburg, PA, with his wife Alfonsa and 4-year-old son Salvatore, to a brother named Giuseppe Danile. Further, several family trees online state that Giuseppe had brothers named both "Steven" and Felice, and one of Giuseppe's later sons was named Felice/Felix, possibly named after his murdered uncle. A subsequent 1908 manifest has Stefano Danile returning to PA from San Biagio, while stating that his wife back in San Biagio was Alfonsa Messina (i.e., "Frances" Messina in Chicago).

It is evident that the Stefano Danile who initially arrived in PA in 1905 was the same guy who was killed in Chicago in 1911. For confirmation, in January of 1911, Alfonsa Messina arrived from San Biagio to her husband Stefano Danile, living at 25th and Lowe in Chicago.

Given that we already know that Colosimo was a friend and partner of Michele Merlo as early as 1913 at the latest, it shouldn't be surprising that Colosimo was reportedly called to the hospital room of a dying Stefano Danile, also Agrigentino amd a reputedly notorious "black hander" in Colosimo and Merlo's neighborhood. Also worth noting that at the time of the triple shooting in 1911, Colosimo's address was given as 20th and Armour Ave (today Cullerton and Federal); this was in the immediate vicinity of Capaldo's restaurant and one block down from the Palaggi Tavern, both sites connected to the 1911 murders of Filippo Catalano and Carmine LaRosa, respectively.

Given the significant community from San Biagio/Sant' Angelo on the Southside, if the Daniles were early mafiosi in the area, their involvement might point to a deeper context for Jimmy Catuara (from Sant' Angelo) later on.

[B.]

Here's an interesting guy:

- Joseph Romano of Youngstown was described as the Sicilian facton's leader before surviving a 1960 shotgun attack then moved to Chicago. He spent time in Sharon PA after that where he associated with "members" previously involved with Sal Marino who by then was in San Jose.

- It looks like this is a Joseph Romano born in Altavilla Milicia in 1900 and living in Youngstown circa 1950 but died in Chicago in 1969. His wife was the sister of Angelo LaMantia of Chicago, who in turn was married to the sister of Milwaukee member Vito Aiello. The Aiellos' mother was the sister of Milwaukee boss Vito Guardalabene and their father Isidoro Aiello was a likely Milwaukee member.

Anyone familiar with Romano or seen other references to him? He appears to have been a Pittsburgh member but was obviously tied in with the Milwaukee and Chicago Families. He apparently spent the last 9 years of his life in Chicago.