Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:20 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:02 pm Pietro SanFilippo born September 10, 1885 in Renella, Italy to unknown parents and by 1920 he was living in Rockford when he was arrested for theft in Madison, Wisconsin. Throughout the 1920s SanFilippo was arrested numerous times on alcohol charges. SanFilippo was noted in the 1930 Wickersham Report as having liquor interests in Green County, Wisconsin and Chicago and he was said to be related to Charles SanFilippo, head of the Unione Siciliano in Chicago. In 1931 SanFilippo was sentenced to a year and a day in Leavenworth regarding the huge liquor conspiracy trial in Rockford. After serving his term, SanFilippo moved to California in 1934 and died February 3, 1958 in San Diego.
Renella in Tuscany?
Is there a Renella, Sicily? His papers from Leavenworth just said he was born in Renella, Sicily.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:22 pm Very interesting to see guys with Trapanese ancestry from Marsala, Mazara, Gibellina associated with Rockford, given that these areas were well represented in Chicago. We see some of the same paesi being represented in both, with the apparent exception of the Bagheria-Termini-Ciminna "triangle" that was so influential in not just Chicago but also Milwaukee.
I don't believe I've ever seen anyone in Rockford from Bagheria or Termini for that matter. There may be one or two that were from Ciminna but I'm not sure.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:57 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:20 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:02 pm Pietro SanFilippo born September 10, 1885 in Renella, Italy to unknown parents and by 1920 he was living in Rockford when he was arrested for theft in Madison, Wisconsin. Throughout the 1920s SanFilippo was arrested numerous times on alcohol charges. SanFilippo was noted in the 1930 Wickersham Report as having liquor interests in Green County, Wisconsin and Chicago and he was said to be related to Charles SanFilippo, head of the Unione Siciliano in Chicago. In 1931 SanFilippo was sentenced to a year and a day in Leavenworth regarding the huge liquor conspiracy trial in Rockford. After serving his term, SanFilippo moved to California in 1934 and died February 3, 1958 in San Diego.
Renella in Tuscany?
Is there a Renella, Sicily? His papers from Leavenworth just said he was born in Renella, Sicily.
Ah, ok. There is a comune Arenella in Siracusa province, but in this case I’d think it’s more likely that it’s referring to a sector called Renella on the beach in Sciacca.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:59 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:22 pm Very interesting to see guys with Trapanese ancestry from Marsala, Mazara, Gibellina associated with Rockford, given that these areas were well represented in Chicago. We see some of the same paesi being represented in both, with the apparent exception of the Bagheria-Termini-Ciminna "triangle" that was so influential in not just Chicago but also Milwaukee.
I don't believe I've ever seen anyone in Rockford from Bagheria or Termini for that matter. There may be one or two that were from Ciminna but I'm not sure.
It’s a very stark and I think important difference between the origins of the mafia in Chicago and Rockford there. We see a possible relocation of some Agrigentini from Chicago to Rockford, but if the Bagheresi and Termitani didn’t really have a base there than not surprising that we don’t see that kind of movement of later chain migration. I suspect that a major influence on Rockford’s Sicilian settlement may have come from its links to the coal mining regions, thus why the Agrigentini have been so important there. Chicago obviously had those links as well, but also had lots of other connections that brought Sicilians there via other routes.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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If Pietro SanFilippo was related to the St. Louis Calogero "Charles" SanFilippo (did he live in Chicago too?) from the 1928 Cleveland meet, they were from Casteltermini in Agrigento. The Gambino SanFilippos were from Sciacca. Seems likely the hometown refers to that area.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 4:55 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:57 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:20 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:02 pm Pietro SanFilippo born September 10, 1885 in Renella, Italy to unknown parents and by 1920 he was living in Rockford when he was arrested for theft in Madison, Wisconsin. Throughout the 1920s SanFilippo was arrested numerous times on alcohol charges. SanFilippo was noted in the 1930 Wickersham Report as having liquor interests in Green County, Wisconsin and Chicago and he was said to be related to Charles SanFilippo, head of the Unione Siciliano in Chicago. In 1931 SanFilippo was sentenced to a year and a day in Leavenworth regarding the huge liquor conspiracy trial in Rockford. After serving his term, SanFilippo moved to California in 1934 and died February 3, 1958 in San Diego.
Renella in Tuscany?
Is there a Renella, Sicily? His papers from Leavenworth just said he was born in Renella, Sicily.
Ah, ok. There is a comune Arenella in Siracusa province, but in this case I’d think it’s more likely that it’s referring to a sector called Renella on the beach in Sciacca.
Interesting that you had a document stating "Renella". Lennert had Pietro SanFilippo as born 1884 in San Giuseppe Jato. The Pietro SanFilippo who I have that seems to match him married Antonina Licari of SGJ (parents Girolamo Licari and Vincenza Terrasi) in 1910 in Milwaukee and they later moved to Madison. Per their marriage record, his parents were Antonino SanFilippo and Rosa Corrao. Pietro and Antonina's sons Anthony (named after Pietro's father) and Jerome (named after Antonina's father Girolamo), born 1911 and 1913, respectively, in Milwaukee, per Lennert were also Rockford hoodlums who later moved to CA. On his WW1 draft card, Pietro was living in Madison, and working as a grocer with a relative there. While his death record has his birth year as 1884, I note that his actual tombstone in SD does state 1885.

Now, here's something else that's quite interesting. As noted, Pietro SanFilippo initially settled in Milwaukee and his mother was a Corrao. Frank Bompensiero's first wife, Thelma SanFilippo, who died in 1955, was born in Wisconsin in 1911 and her mother was a Corrao. I'm pretty sure that her parents were Lorenzo SanFilippo and Filippa Corrao of Santa Flavia, who arrived in NYC in 1905 bound for Milwaukee. They both later moved to SD, where they died. Thelma married Frank Bomp in 1929 in SD. He, of course, was born 1905 in Milwaukee to Giuseppe Bompensiero of Porticello and Anna Maria Tagliavia of neigboring Santa Flavia(Giuseppe Bompensiero actually died as an American citizen in Santa Flavia in 1925).

Now, the Rockford-associated Pietro Corrao SanFilippo may match a Pietro SanFilippo from Santa Flavia, who filed his petition for naturalization in Milwaukee in 1908 (gave his birth year as 1886). That guy said that he arrived in NYC in 1903, which matches a Pietro SanFilippo from Santa Flavia who arrived in 1903 bound for Buffalo. The only records for a Pietro/Peter SanFilippo in WI seem to be for the same individual, but even if this were a different guy, the SanFilippo and Corrao surnames in WI are strongly linked to Santa Flavia/Porticello, so my assumption would be that Pietro Corrao SanFilippo was from there as well. Not sure if Lennert actually confirmed that he was from SGJ, apart from his wife Antonina Licari being from there.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 8:23 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 4:55 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:57 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:20 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:02 pm Pietro SanFilippo born September 10, 1885 in Renella, Italy to unknown parents and by 1920 he was living in Rockford when he was arrested for theft in Madison, Wisconsin. Throughout the 1920s SanFilippo was arrested numerous times on alcohol charges. SanFilippo was noted in the 1930 Wickersham Report as having liquor interests in Green County, Wisconsin and Chicago and he was said to be related to Charles SanFilippo, head of the Unione Siciliano in Chicago. In 1931 SanFilippo was sentenced to a year and a day in Leavenworth regarding the huge liquor conspiracy trial in Rockford. After serving his term, SanFilippo moved to California in 1934 and died February 3, 1958 in San Diego.
Renella in Tuscany?
Is there a Renella, Sicily? His papers from Leavenworth just said he was born in Renella, Sicily.
Ah, ok. There is a comune Arenella in Siracusa province, but in this case I’d think it’s more likely that it’s referring to a sector called Renella on the beach in Sciacca.
Interesting that you had a document stating "Renella". Lennert had Pietro SanFilippo as born 1884 in San Giuseppe Jato. The Pietro SanFilippo who I have that seems to match him married Antonina Licari of SGJ (parents Girolamo Licari and Vincenza Terrasi) in 1910 in Milwaukee and they later moved to Madison. Per their marriage record, his parents were Antonino SanFilippo and Rosa Corrao. Pietro and Antonina's sons Anthony (named after Pietro's father) and Jerome (named after Antonina's father Girolamo), born 1911 and 1913, respectively, in Milwaukee, per Lennert were also Rockford hoodlums who later moved to CA. On his WW1 draft card, Pietro was living in Madison, and working as a grocer with a relative there. While his death record has his birth year as 1884, I note that his actual tombstone in SD does state 1885.

Now, here's something else that's quite interesting. As noted, Pietro SanFilippo initially settled in Milwaukee and his mother was a Corrao. Frank Bompensiero's first wife, Thelma SanFilippo, who died in 1955, was born in Wisconsin in 1911 and her mother was a Corrao. I'm pretty sure that her parents were Lorenzo SanFilippo and Filippa Corrao of Santa Flavia, who arrived in NYC in 1905 bound for Milwaukee. They both later moved to SD, where they died. Thelma married Frank Bomp in 1929 in SD. He, of course, was born 1905 in Milwaukee to Giuseppe Bompensiero of Porticello and Anna Maria Tagliavia of neigboring Santa Flavia(Giuseppe Bompensiero actually died as an American citizen in Santa Flavia in 1925).

Now, the Rockford-associated Pietro Corrao SanFilippo may match a Pietro SanFilippo from Santa Flavia, who filed his petition for naturalization in Milwaukee in 1908 (gave his birth year as 1886). That guy said that he arrived in NYC in 1903, which matches a Pietro SanFilippo from Santa Flavia who arrived in 1903 bound for Buffalo. The only records for a Pietro/Peter SanFilippo in WI seem to be for the same individual, but even if this were a different guy, the SanFilippo and Corrao surnames in WI are strongly linked to Santa Flavia/Porticello, so my assumption would be that Pietro Corrao SanFilippo was from there as well. Not sure if Lennert actually confirmed that he was from SGJ, apart from his wife Antonina Licari being from there.
In Gavin Shmitt's book on Milwaukee, he states that Pietro SanFilippo was the maternal cousin of the Giuseppe "Zami" [sic] murdered there in 1911 ("Zami's" mother was also a Corrao, though I have no idea what the original spelling of this surname was). "Zami" was murdered by his close friend Ignazio Giangrasso of Santa Flavia, who was convicted and sentenced to 15 years. Giangrasso was later an associate of Michele Mineo.

In a book on San Diego's "Little Italy", surnames including Buompensiero, Corona, Corrao, SanFilippo, Balistrieri, and Crivello are noted as prominent in the Santa Flavia/Porticello/Sant'Elia community in SD. These names are of course all strongly associated with the Santa Flavia-area community in Milwaukee.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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Madison rappresentante Carlo Peter Caputo was born 1903 in Bagheria to Biaggio Caputo and Maria Giammarresi. Biaggio initially emigrated to NYC in 1910, where he was joining his brother Calogero Caputo, who lived at 147 Sullivan St near Houston in Greenwich Village (Calogero later moved to the Bronx where he died in 1929. Worth noting that their mother was a Scardina and their paternal grandmother an Aiello). Teenage sisters Pietra and Antonina Caputo emigrated to Chicago in 1913, where Biaggio was then living at 515 W Oak St in Little Sicily. Mother Maria Giammarresi seems to have remained in Bagheria. While internet sources state that Carlo Caputo arrived in Chicago in 1919, if that's true then I don't see it. He arrived in 1921 at NYC bound for Chicago, where his sister Antonina lived at 435 W Oak St (by this time Biaggio had returned to Bagheria and was listed as Carlo's relative back home). Carlo was traveling with a group of other Bagheresi bound for Chicago and NYC, including a number of Gagliardos. I don't have a record of where Carlo was living in 1930, but he married Rosa Maria "Rosemary" LaTona in 1935 in Chicago. Rosemary was born in 1911 in Chicago to Giovanni LaTona and Caterina Tantillo of Bagheria. By the time of his 1939 naturalization, Carlo and Rosemary were living in Madison, where Carlo remained until he died in 1993.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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B. wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 6:01 pm If Pietro SanFilippo was related to the St. Louis Calogero "Charles" SanFilippo (did he live in Chicago too?) from the 1928 Cleveland meet, they were from Casteltermini in Agrigento. The Gambino SanFilippos were from Sciacca. Seems likely the hometown refers to that area.
See above. To me it seems that SanFillipo was most likely from the Santa Flavia area and his connection to San Diego is not incidental and includes a possible familial link to Frank Bompensiero's first wife.

Given that Cavita found a document from Leavenworth giving his birthplace as "Renella", maybe this was actually a corruption of Porticello. Might seem like a stretch, but unless I'm completely off, everything points to him being from Santa Flavia/Porticello.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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Louis Sarfeno "Gigi" Pratico was born in 1924 in Chicago Heights to Demetrio Pratico of Pellaro, Reggio Calabria province and Lucia Acciarri of Grottammare, Ascoli Piceno, Marche. Like Frank LaPorte's father Saverio Liparota, Demetrio Pratico worked at Calumet Steel. In 1946, Gigi Pratico married Jane Ziccardi, who was born in Chicago Heights to parents with ancestry from Caserta and Benevento provinces, Campania.

Gigi Pratico was a burglar and enforcer for the Chicago Heights crew, who was fired from the Chicago Heights police force in 1963 for "conduct unbecoming a police officer". In early 1966, the Tribune reported that Pratico, who was then managing the Eagles Club lounge for the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Calumet Park, was being subpoenaed by the Illinois Crime Commission for irregularities regarding the ownership of the lounge's liquor license. Presumably, the investigation was related to something more significant than that. As it turns out, Gigi Pratico was a suspect in the murder of lounge bartender Clarence Forrest, whose body was found dumped over the state line in Indiana back in March 1965. In August of 1966, Gigi Pratico was found beaten and shot to death on the outskirts of Chicago Heights. The Tribune reported that police believed this was the first strike in a war between the Buccieri and LaPorte crews, stating that LaPorte had left Pratico, his bodyguard and chauffeur, in charge of his affairs while he was absent from the scene in California. At the time of his murder, Pratico was dressed in a burglary outfit, and police suspected that he went willingly with his killers (I'd assume they called him up for a burglary job as a pretense to clip him).

Bill Feather had Pratico as a member in his chart on the Mafia Membership blog. I've never seen any other sources claiming that Pratico was made and given his relatively young age, I rather doubt it (though he was apparently very close to LaPorte). If he was still actively pulling burglaries at the time of his death, that also suggests to me that he probably wasn't made (by that point, he should've been taxing burglars).
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 10:30 pm
B. wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 6:01 pm If Pietro SanFilippo was related to the St. Louis Calogero "Charles" SanFilippo (did he live in Chicago too?) from the 1928 Cleveland meet, they were from Casteltermini in Agrigento. The Gambino SanFilippos were from Sciacca. Seems likely the hometown refers to that area.
See above. To me it seems that SanFillipo was most likely from the Santa Flavia area and his connection to San Diego is not incidental and includes a possible familial link to Frank Bompensiero's first wife.

Given that Cavita found a document from Leavenworth giving his birthplace as "Renella", maybe this was actually a corruption of Porticello. Might seem like a stretch, but unless I'm completely off, everything points to him being from Santa Flavia/Porticello.
I looked over the evidence myself just to put another set of eyes on it, and I have to agree with you. I don't know what to make of "Renella," but Santa Flavia seems to be a match.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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Antiliar wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 11:21 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 10:30 pm
B. wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 6:01 pm If Pietro SanFilippo was related to the St. Louis Calogero "Charles" SanFilippo (did he live in Chicago too?) from the 1928 Cleveland meet, they were from Casteltermini in Agrigento. The Gambino SanFilippos were from Sciacca. Seems likely the hometown refers to that area.
See above. To me it seems that SanFillipo was most likely from the Santa Flavia area and his connection to San Diego is not incidental and includes a possible familial link to Frank Bompensiero's first wife.

Given that Cavita found a document from Leavenworth giving his birthplace as "Renella", maybe this was actually a corruption of Porticello. Might seem like a stretch, but unless I'm completely off, everything points to him being from Santa Flavia/Porticello.
I looked over the evidence myself just to put another set of eyes on it, and I have to agree with you. I don't know what to make of "Renella," but Santa Flavia seems to be a match.
Thanks for checking it out. Pietro SanFilippo would seem to have been ideally positioned as a liaison between Rockford and Milwaukee, given that he was probably from Santa Flavia and his wife was from San Giuseppe Jato.

The potential link to Bomp is very interesting here as well. I hadn’t previously given much thought as to why Bompensiero ended up in SD specifically, but it seems clear that the SD Italian community had a strong presence from the Santa Flavia area including surnames linked to the mafia in Milwaukee. I’d imagine there may have been some links there to Chicago as well. Would’ve been interesting to see if Bompensiero had any take on the Aiello conflict given his background.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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Bompensiero was close to Francesco Balistrieri who he ID'd as a retired Milwaukee member in San Diego (uncle to Frank). He told the FBI about a dinner he attended with Frank LaPorte and Balistrieri in California in the 1960s. Haven't seen him say much about Milwaukee even though he's from there and knew all the Midwest Families.

Maniaci said guys like Caputo and Mineo fled Chicago during the war but I'm not sure how much of it directly involved Joe Aiello's death in 1928. Mineo's FBI file says he already moved to Milwaukee by 1927 and if Caputo was married in Chicago in 1935 he kept strong connections there. There are reports that indicate Chicago helped Madison from being overpowered by Balistrieri/Milwaukee. Would guess Maniaci's main point was correct, that the Bagheresi in Chicago had serious problems and some of them fled but seems more complicated than that when it comes to individual members. Sam Aiello being opposed to Joe Aiello and returning to Chicago adds to that.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 8:23 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 4:55 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:57 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:20 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:02 pm Pietro SanFilippo born September 10, 1885 in Renella, Italy to unknown parents and by 1920 he was living in Rockford when he was arrested for theft in Madison, Wisconsin. Throughout the 1920s SanFilippo was arrested numerous times on alcohol charges. SanFilippo was noted in the 1930 Wickersham Report as having liquor interests in Green County, Wisconsin and Chicago and he was said to be related to Charles SanFilippo, head of the Unione Siciliano in Chicago. In 1931 SanFilippo was sentenced to a year and a day in Leavenworth regarding the huge liquor conspiracy trial in Rockford. After serving his term, SanFilippo moved to California in 1934 and died February 3, 1958 in San Diego.
Renella in Tuscany?
Is there a Renella, Sicily? His papers from Leavenworth just said he was born in Renella, Sicily.
Ah, ok. There is a comune Arenella in Siracusa province, but in this case I’d think it’s more likely that it’s referring to a sector called Renella on the beach in Sciacca.
Interesting that you had a document stating "Renella". Lennert had Pietro SanFilippo as born 1884 in San Giuseppe Jato. The Pietro SanFilippo who I have that seems to match him married Antonina Licari of SGJ (parents Girolamo Licari and Vincenza Terrasi) in 1910 in Milwaukee and they later moved to Madison. Per their marriage record, his parents were Antonino SanFilippo and Rosa Corrao. Pietro and Antonina's sons Anthony (named after Pietro's father) and Jerome (named after Antonina's father Girolamo), born 1911 and 1913, respectively, in Milwaukee, per Lennert were also Rockford hoodlums who later moved to CA. On his WW1 draft card, Pietro was living in Madison, and working as a grocer with a relative there. While his death record has his birth year as 1884, I note that his actual tombstone in SD does state 1885.

Now, here's something else that's quite interesting. As noted, Pietro SanFilippo initially settled in Milwaukee and his mother was a Corrao. Frank Bompensiero's first wife, Thelma SanFilippo, who died in 1955, was born in Wisconsin in 1911 and her mother was a Corrao. I'm pretty sure that her parents were Lorenzo SanFilippo and Filippa Corrao of Santa Flavia, who arrived in NYC in 1905 bound for Milwaukee. They both later moved to SD, where they died. Thelma married Frank Bomp in 1929 in SD. He, of course, was born 1905 in Milwaukee to Giuseppe Bompensiero of Porticello and Anna Maria Tagliavia of neigboring Santa Flavia(Giuseppe Bompensiero actually died as an American citizen in Santa Flavia in 1925).

Now, the Rockford-associated Pietro Corrao SanFilippo may match a Pietro SanFilippo from Santa Flavia, who filed his petition for naturalization in Milwaukee in 1908 (gave his birth year as 1886). That guy said that he arrived in NYC in 1903, which matches a Pietro SanFilippo from Santa Flavia who arrived in 1903 bound for Buffalo. The only records for a Pietro/Peter SanFilippo in WI seem to be for the same individual, but even if this were a different guy, the SanFilippo and Corrao surnames in WI are strongly linked to Santa Flavia/Porticello, so my assumption would be that Pietro Corrao SanFilippo was from there as well. Not sure if Lennert actually confirmed that he was from SGJ, apart from his wife Antonina Licari being from there.
Yes same SanFilippo. I have hardly done any research on him because he moved from Rockford early and was a non-factor. I listed Renella because that's the earliest document I had that gave any hint as to his birthplace but it seemed very unlikely to me he was from there.
I love this site because we all come together to share research and it leads to other avenues and connections. It makes sense he was from the SGI/Santa Flavia area as those are the people he hung around with- Licari, LoMonaco, Sunzeri, etc.
Also, his son Anthony was killed in a grocery robbery in SD in the 40s or 50s if I remember right. I also have some other info I'll look into tonight.
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Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

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cavita wrote: Mon Mar 28, 2022 5:41 am
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 8:23 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 4:55 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 3:57 pm
PolackTony wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:20 pm
cavita wrote: Sun Mar 27, 2022 2:02 pm Pietro SanFilippo born September 10, 1885 in Renella, Italy to unknown parents and by 1920 he was living in Rockford when he was arrested for theft in Madison, Wisconsin. Throughout the 1920s SanFilippo was arrested numerous times on alcohol charges. SanFilippo was noted in the 1930 Wickersham Report as having liquor interests in Green County, Wisconsin and Chicago and he was said to be related to Charles SanFilippo, head of the Unione Siciliano in Chicago. In 1931 SanFilippo was sentenced to a year and a day in Leavenworth regarding the huge liquor conspiracy trial in Rockford. After serving his term, SanFilippo moved to California in 1934 and died February 3, 1958 in San Diego.
Renella in Tuscany?
Is there a Renella, Sicily? His papers from Leavenworth just said he was born in Renella, Sicily.
Ah, ok. There is a comune Arenella in Siracusa province, but in this case I’d think it’s more likely that it’s referring to a sector called Renella on the beach in Sciacca.
Interesting that you had a document stating "Renella". Lennert had Pietro SanFilippo as born 1884 in San Giuseppe Jato. The Pietro SanFilippo who I have that seems to match him married Antonina Licari of SGJ (parents Girolamo Licari and Vincenza Terrasi) in 1910 in Milwaukee and they later moved to Madison. Per their marriage record, his parents were Antonino SanFilippo and Rosa Corrao. Pietro and Antonina's sons Anthony (named after Pietro's father) and Jerome (named after Antonina's father Girolamo), born 1911 and 1913, respectively, in Milwaukee, per Lennert were also Rockford hoodlums who later moved to CA. On his WW1 draft card, Pietro was living in Madison, and working as a grocer with a relative there. While his death record has his birth year as 1884, I note that his actual tombstone in SD does state 1885.

Now, here's something else that's quite interesting. As noted, Pietro SanFilippo initially settled in Milwaukee and his mother was a Corrao. Frank Bompensiero's first wife, Thelma SanFilippo, who died in 1955, was born in Wisconsin in 1911 and her mother was a Corrao. I'm pretty sure that her parents were Lorenzo SanFilippo and Filippa Corrao of Santa Flavia, who arrived in NYC in 1905 bound for Milwaukee. They both later moved to SD, where they died. Thelma married Frank Bomp in 1929 in SD. He, of course, was born 1905 in Milwaukee to Giuseppe Bompensiero of Porticello and Anna Maria Tagliavia of neigboring Santa Flavia(Giuseppe Bompensiero actually died as an American citizen in Santa Flavia in 1925).

Now, the Rockford-associated Pietro Corrao SanFilippo may match a Pietro SanFilippo from Santa Flavia, who filed his petition for naturalization in Milwaukee in 1908 (gave his birth year as 1886). That guy said that he arrived in NYC in 1903, which matches a Pietro SanFilippo from Santa Flavia who arrived in 1903 bound for Buffalo. The only records for a Pietro/Peter SanFilippo in WI seem to be for the same individual, but even if this were a different guy, the SanFilippo and Corrao surnames in WI are strongly linked to Santa Flavia/Porticello, so my assumption would be that Pietro Corrao SanFilippo was from there as well. Not sure if Lennert actually confirmed that he was from SGJ, apart from his wife Antonina Licari being from there.
Yes same SanFilippo. I have hardly done any research on him because he moved from Rockford early and was a non-factor. I listed Renella because that's the earliest document I had that gave any hint as to his birthplace but it seemed very unlikely to me he was from there.
I love this site because we all come together to share research and it leads to other avenues and connections. It makes sense he was from the SGI/Santa Flavia area as those are the people he hung around with- Licari, LoMonaco, Sunzeri, etc.
Also, his son Anthony was killed in a grocery robbery in SD in the 40s or 50s if I remember right. I also have some other info I'll look into tonight.
Thanks everyone for your contributions!
Thank you, man! Lennert and some other sources online seem to think that SanFilippo was a Rockford member. What’s your take on that?

Also, anyone think it’s possible that SanFilippo was a member in SD?
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
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