The FBI’s infiltration of the LCN in the Bay-area was massive and comprehensive by 1970. Roughly half the LCN members in the San Francisco and San Jose Crime Families were full-fledged informants or under development as informants.
(It kind of reminds me of the Chesterton’s “A man who was Thursday”. An undercover cop infiltrates a dangerous anarchist group and finds out basically everyone else in the group is an undercover cop.)
According to the FBI, 4 LCN members in the area were top echelon informants and another 10 LCN members were under development and sharing some information. The total number of LCN members in the San Francisco and San Jose Crime Families (residing in the territory of the FBI’s San Francisco Office) was only 27.
https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 3&tab=page
These cooperators don’t include an additional 6 LCN associates of the San Francisco Crime Family who were top echelon informants, 5 more LCN associates in the San Francisco and San Jose Crime Families who were under development and another 31 assorted criminals under development who were in the “Gambling and General criminal field”.
The FBI was aware the criminal activity of the LCN in the Bay-area was virtually non-existent by the 1970s but the bureau still devoted enormous manpower to tackling it. (You’ll be amazed if you read the whole document to see the level of infiltration by the FBI into rogue groups like the LCN, Black Panthers, communists, etc. Note to self, never join a secret criminal organization because there is a 50/50 chance the person to your left or right is an informant.)
Here’s a breakdown of who was talking:
Top echelon informants-
SF 2550 is Sal Costanza
SF 2745 is Peter Misuraca
SF 2689 is Tony Lima
SF 3208 is Carmine Tagliatella (h/t JD)
(SF member informant Frank Sorce is excluded here because he was living in Nevada at the time.)
http://mafiahistory.us/a022/f_nocalinf.html
SF 2501 was likely Jimmy Fratianno (see my other posting)
The FBI identified the LCN informants under development by symbol codes and their city of residence circa 1970. I compared that report to another FBI report that gives residences circa 1967 and a California Department of Justice report that lays out where every LCN member lived circa 1976. (Members may have moved or died in the interim so there will be discrepancy between the three reports.)
According to the FBI, SF 2874 resides in San Mateo. The only two LCN members that lived in San Mateo were SF (former?) boss James Lanza and SF member Frank Maita. So it looks like one of them was flirting with the FBI by 1970.
SF 3013 resides in Monterey. The only LCN members that lived in Monterey were San Jose Crime Family members Prospect Salvatore Mule and Nicolo Guastella. I like Mule because he once lived in Tucson, AZ and I thought he was good for one of the informants down there.
According to the FBI, these 4 LCN members under development reside in San Francisco.
SF 2545
SF 2630
SF 3132
SF 3141
The only LCN members that technically reside in the city of San Francisco were SF members Philip Maita (and maybe Frank Maita, it depends what FBI list you go off of) and SF underboss Gaspare Sciortino.
I’m not familiar with the neighbourhoods of the Bay-area and what towns are considered SF proper. I just went off Google Maps. Two other potential matches are San Jose Crime Family member Donato Ditri of Mountview, CA and Salvatore Taranto of Menlo Park, CA.
This isn’t conclusive “proof” of cooperation for any of these mobsters but it narrows the search and gives us some good suspects.
The informants that live in San Jose are too numerous to exclude or include based on city of residence.
The report actually rates the informants for their potential. I encourage everyone to read it.
wild speculation:
With so many informants, I wonder if the San Francisco Crime Family and the FBI came to some unwritten accommodation in the 1970s. We’ll wind up the SF crime family and cease virtually all criminal activity and you (the FBI) leave us alone and don’t prosecute us. Fratianno was always complaining that Lanza was putting the kibosh on deals. With one or two exceptions, the SF crime family seemed to just fade away in the 1970s.
FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
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Pogo The Clown
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Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
Great stuff Ed. It is insane how many SF and SJ guys were cooperating. I know it wasn't as bad in the other families but I think we would be surprised to learn just how many guy's were talking during the 1960s and 1970s.
Pogo
Pogo
It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.
Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
they have a sitdown and everyone is reporting back to the fbi and the agents sit around drinking beers and compare the different stories
"if he's such A sports wizard , whys he tending bar ?" Nicky Scarfo
Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
Pretty unbelievable. With so many informants, maybe there is some deeper historical info about the SF / SJ families (among other US families) hidden somewhere.
Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
How many members had SF at their height? 20?
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aleksandrored
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Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
Great post Ed, it's even exaggerated how many members were informates, would it be so bad to be members of LCN in San Francisco and San Jose to the point of breaking Omertà at that time ...
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Pogo The Clown
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Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
25 I believe.
Pogo
It's a new morning in America... fresh, vital. The old cynicism is gone. We have faith in our leaders. We're optimistic as to what becomes of it all. It really boils down to our ability to accept. We don't need pessimism. There are no limits.
Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
It was happening “everywhere.” 5000 made guys in NYC, I’d bet the odds that 10% of them talked in some capacity.Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:27 pm Great stuff Ed. It is insane how many SF and SJ guys were cooperating. I know it wasn't as bad in the other families but I think we would be surprised to learn just how many guy's were talking during the 1960s and 1970s.
Pogo
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NothingNew44
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NothingNew44
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Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
I was there recently staying in North Beach and ate at Alioto’s in the Wharf. Not much of significant Italian population. San Jose is very limited as well, and their Little Italy is reduced to a block.
Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
The west coast mafia was very different from New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Cleveland and Youngstown were midwestern, but different than Chicago.
It isn't surprising that La And San Fran had informants to me. I know a lot of Chicago guys were from New York, or were schooled by New Yorkers, I wonder how many, if any, west coast guys went there after leaving the east coast.
It isn't surprising that La And San Fran had informants to me. I know a lot of Chicago guys were from New York, or were schooled by New Yorkers, I wonder how many, if any, west coast guys went there after leaving the east coast.
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Angelo Santino
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Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
SF was around as a group since the 1870's but like Denver and to an extent LA and NO, began fading by the 1950's. Some of Pittsburgh's premier mafiosi of the 1900's previously lived in SF or NO.
Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
Nick Delmore claimed he was born in San Francisco but this appears to have been a lie to avoid deportation. I do wonder if he had ties there, though.
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SILENT PARTNERZ
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Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
I used to go to two SF Columbus Ave. places:NothingNew44 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:05 pm I was there recently staying in North Beach and ate at Alioto’s in the Wharf. Not much of significant Italian population. San Jose is very limited as well, and their Little Italy is reduced to a block.
Tosca's bar - cool layout- scalloped booths along the back wall
The Gold Spike Restaurant-old school, hole in the wall w/southern Italian food.
It held up against anything I've eaten in NYC. Or anywhere else.
'three can keep a secret, if two are dead'
Re: FBI infiltration of the LCN in San Francisco and San Jose was total
I was reading reports from the SF and SJ informants and it led me back to Ed's great Rat Trap article.
In the article it mentions John Misuraca telling the proposed member (informant Costanzo) what to expect from the induction ceremony and how someone might hypothetically throw a gun to him to test his reaction. In the full report, Costanzo says Misuraca prefaced the gun comment by saying they might try to provoke an incident of some kind at the ceremony, which in context with the gun comment, would be part of testing the inductee.
We hear some variations of making ceremonies, but we don't typically think of there being an "incident" or "test" at the ceremony. This stands out because Misuraca was a senior member of an NYC family and had a history in Newark and Detroit. Misuraca was likely no stranger to induction ceremonies, making it probable he had actually seen this kind of"incident" take place at a ceremony.
I'm reminded of a couple things:
- Tommy Ricciardi's induction into the Lucchese family. Ricciardi was led to believe by his sponsor (Accetturo) that he was taking part in a murder right up until the ceremony took place. This def qualifies as "an incident" used to test the inductee.
- Multiple DeCavalcante members repeatedly and aggressively asking inductees "Do you know why you're here?" at an early 1980s ceremony. Despite Misuraca candidly briefing Costanza about the ceremony before it took place, usually the only info communicated by a sponsor to a proposed member is that he will be asked if he knows why he's at the ceremony and he is to say "no." This is one of the most consistent aspects of the ceremony and in every other example it is asked once. The DeCavalcantes asking this question repeatedly would have only been done to rattle and test the inductees.
- Not exactly the same thing, but the Guarraci induction ceremony where he was criticized by boss John Riggi for being a hothead. Seems like a strange and humiliating thing to do in front of everyone at an induction ceremony and from a certain point of view could be seen as testing the inductee.
Some observations based on all of the above:
- New Jersey. Misuraca is all but confirmed as a Newark family member before they disbanded. Anthony Accetturo might be the only modern source with knowledge about the break-up of the Newark family and his predecessors were likely former Newark members -- in fact, the Lucchese NJ crew looks to have been derived almost entirely from an influential faction of the Newark family. Though it was NYC members who asked the questions, the DeCavalcantes are an NJ-centric family and they may have had ties to the Newark family. Can't help but wonder if it was more common in New Jersey to "test" or otherwise take creative liberty at inductions.
- The recent bio on Anthony Scavuzzo adds another Newark element to San Jose. The bio says Scavuzzo may have been the SJ consigliere for a time in the 1950s. His paesans included some of the most powerful members of the Newark family and the Lucchese NJ faction, so he may have brought some of that influence with him. Which makes me think...
- Certain families have their own traditions for whatever reason. Most of it is very minor variations of the same basic components but I'm curious about a family like San Jose who was mostly a transplant group from different parts of the US. Members bringing quirks from their former cities/families could explain some variations in their ceremonies, i.e. the informant Sorce who said the inductee's cut finger is placed on the cut wrist of a member to signify a growing tree vs. Costanza who had the "normal" ceremony. A lot might depend on who conducts the ceremony and where they came from.
Other thoughts:
- Misuraca's influence in SJ. The family clearly had few if any prospects for induction which is why Misuraca was able to come in and sponsor two of his relatives and a random new recruit for membership, but Misuraca's influence seems to go back further and other relationships between SJ and Profaci / Villabate still don't explain how Misuraca became a defacto leader over the SJ family.
- I'm sure I commented before on an outside member sponsoring three members in another family. I have to believe this was more common in the early days of the US / Sicilian mafia when it was more understood that they were all one organization. This fits with the picture painted by Nick Gentile's travels around the US.
- Hard to believe Costanzo was just a neighbor of an associate and got inducted for helping with a failed shakedown. Reminds me of Philly witness Joe Salerno who painted a picture of himself as a plumber who claimed he was recruited to help with a murder almost overnight. I'd imagine there is more to the story but then again with the shape SJ was in anything is possible. Peter Misuraca sounds mentally ill with nothing to offer the organization, so this wasn't exactly an elite group. John Misuraca giving the okay for them to hit his brother in the early 60s, even if it wasn't sincere, is telling.
- The Sciortinos were said to have been D'Aquila men sent as spies to join the San Francisco family. They were living in San Jose early, so they must have split off from SF sometime after 1928. The possibility that the Sciortinos were with the D'Aquila/Gambino family when they lived in NYC adds a different element to the SJ family but maybe not. Would be curious if the Sciortinos fell under the influence of Mineo after D'Aquila was killed and Profaci took over from there. The Sciortinos may have had ties to Milwaukee, Chicago, and the other families with representation from Bagheria, too, given their background. Bagheria is near Villabate but surprisingly men from both cities don't usually overlap in US mafia families, with the exception being early San Jose. With that in mind it wouldn't be a shocker if Profaci influence went back to the Sciortino days.
In the article it mentions John Misuraca telling the proposed member (informant Costanzo) what to expect from the induction ceremony and how someone might hypothetically throw a gun to him to test his reaction. In the full report, Costanzo says Misuraca prefaced the gun comment by saying they might try to provoke an incident of some kind at the ceremony, which in context with the gun comment, would be part of testing the inductee.
We hear some variations of making ceremonies, but we don't typically think of there being an "incident" or "test" at the ceremony. This stands out because Misuraca was a senior member of an NYC family and had a history in Newark and Detroit. Misuraca was likely no stranger to induction ceremonies, making it probable he had actually seen this kind of"incident" take place at a ceremony.
I'm reminded of a couple things:
- Tommy Ricciardi's induction into the Lucchese family. Ricciardi was led to believe by his sponsor (Accetturo) that he was taking part in a murder right up until the ceremony took place. This def qualifies as "an incident" used to test the inductee.
- Multiple DeCavalcante members repeatedly and aggressively asking inductees "Do you know why you're here?" at an early 1980s ceremony. Despite Misuraca candidly briefing Costanza about the ceremony before it took place, usually the only info communicated by a sponsor to a proposed member is that he will be asked if he knows why he's at the ceremony and he is to say "no." This is one of the most consistent aspects of the ceremony and in every other example it is asked once. The DeCavalcantes asking this question repeatedly would have only been done to rattle and test the inductees.
- Not exactly the same thing, but the Guarraci induction ceremony where he was criticized by boss John Riggi for being a hothead. Seems like a strange and humiliating thing to do in front of everyone at an induction ceremony and from a certain point of view could be seen as testing the inductee.
Some observations based on all of the above:
- New Jersey. Misuraca is all but confirmed as a Newark family member before they disbanded. Anthony Accetturo might be the only modern source with knowledge about the break-up of the Newark family and his predecessors were likely former Newark members -- in fact, the Lucchese NJ crew looks to have been derived almost entirely from an influential faction of the Newark family. Though it was NYC members who asked the questions, the DeCavalcantes are an NJ-centric family and they may have had ties to the Newark family. Can't help but wonder if it was more common in New Jersey to "test" or otherwise take creative liberty at inductions.
- The recent bio on Anthony Scavuzzo adds another Newark element to San Jose. The bio says Scavuzzo may have been the SJ consigliere for a time in the 1950s. His paesans included some of the most powerful members of the Newark family and the Lucchese NJ faction, so he may have brought some of that influence with him. Which makes me think...
- Certain families have their own traditions for whatever reason. Most of it is very minor variations of the same basic components but I'm curious about a family like San Jose who was mostly a transplant group from different parts of the US. Members bringing quirks from their former cities/families could explain some variations in their ceremonies, i.e. the informant Sorce who said the inductee's cut finger is placed on the cut wrist of a member to signify a growing tree vs. Costanza who had the "normal" ceremony. A lot might depend on who conducts the ceremony and where they came from.
Other thoughts:
- Misuraca's influence in SJ. The family clearly had few if any prospects for induction which is why Misuraca was able to come in and sponsor two of his relatives and a random new recruit for membership, but Misuraca's influence seems to go back further and other relationships between SJ and Profaci / Villabate still don't explain how Misuraca became a defacto leader over the SJ family.
- I'm sure I commented before on an outside member sponsoring three members in another family. I have to believe this was more common in the early days of the US / Sicilian mafia when it was more understood that they were all one organization. This fits with the picture painted by Nick Gentile's travels around the US.
- Hard to believe Costanzo was just a neighbor of an associate and got inducted for helping with a failed shakedown. Reminds me of Philly witness Joe Salerno who painted a picture of himself as a plumber who claimed he was recruited to help with a murder almost overnight. I'd imagine there is more to the story but then again with the shape SJ was in anything is possible. Peter Misuraca sounds mentally ill with nothing to offer the organization, so this wasn't exactly an elite group. John Misuraca giving the okay for them to hit his brother in the early 60s, even if it wasn't sincere, is telling.
- The Sciortinos were said to have been D'Aquila men sent as spies to join the San Francisco family. They were living in San Jose early, so they must have split off from SF sometime after 1928. The possibility that the Sciortinos were with the D'Aquila/Gambino family when they lived in NYC adds a different element to the SJ family but maybe not. Would be curious if the Sciortinos fell under the influence of Mineo after D'Aquila was killed and Profaci took over from there. The Sciortinos may have had ties to Milwaukee, Chicago, and the other families with representation from Bagheria, too, given their background. Bagheria is near Villabate but surprisingly men from both cities don't usually overlap in US mafia families, with the exception being early San Jose. With that in mind it wouldn't be a shocker if Profaci influence went back to the Sciortino days.