Stefano Badami

[cavita]

These early years fascinates me and especially the roles that Troia and Bacino played and to some extent Francesco "Three Fingers" Coppola, as it seems he traveled extensively between Detroit, northern Illinois, St. Louis and New Orleans. It could be a very real possibility that these men (and others) were tasked with traveling to other cities and "setting up" smaller families with the intention of connecting them to the larger cities. This may explain Troia's presence in Madison, Rockford and Springfield and Coppola and Bacino as well. Just a thought.

[B.]

But again, I'm drawn back to the larger Sciaccatani faction and why, just why they didn't become their own Family or why the other other groups didn't push for it. Instead we have a minor (in numbers) Ribera element that was able to form and coexist alongside the superfamilies of NYC. Leads me to speculate if Bacino/Amari had political the political clout to request their own group and have it granted.

Thoughts...

- Masseria's faction is described as the Sciaccatani, but Masseria doesn't have significant presence from Agrigento in his own family. He was closely aligned with Mineo who took over a family with the largest group (numbers-wise, not percentage of organization) from Sciacca and Agrigento, which would seem to account for a large part of Masseria's support base yet Mineo doesn't seem to have had any Sciaccatani in his administration and most of what we hear about within that family during the war is the divided loyalties among leaders of Palermo origin. Sciaccatani from the D'Aquila family had been directly involved in earlier war(s) which could account for their later activities.

- When Gentile shows up on the scene he is part of the Sciaccatani and aligned with Masseria but is a mediator during the war and the Sciaccatani he joins in the Mangano family have autonomy and aren't a major factor in post-war politics that we know of. Our view is limited but we don't see the Sciaccatani in NYC having a strong part in the conflict despite the faction named for them.

- Accounting for all of the families:
Schiro/Maranzano - Members from Agrigento were already part of the family but aren't mentioned during the war. Angelo Caruso was non-Castellammarese, close to Agrigento members, and a top Maranzano loyalist, indicating the non-Castellammarese as a whole were supportive or passive to Maranzano's leadership. We don't hear any accounts of a divide or conflict within the Maranzano family during the war and Maranzano's death is due to his conduct toward other bosses and not internal conflict in his group.

Reina/Gagliano - Early Brooklyn captain Curiale is from Agrigento and his crew looks to have had others from Agrigento. Given that the Gagliano faction was said to be very small and made up mostly of East Harlem and Bronx members, that leaves the majority of the family either in support of Pinzolo (and Masseria) or indifferent to their leadership. It's possible what was or would become the Brooklyn Gagliano element was aligned with the Pinzolo / Masseria side. Another theory: D'Arco, who was a later captain of this crew and knew old-time members, said the crew dated back to when there was one family in Brooklyn. It could be another butchered D'Arco history lesson or it could be a reference to the Gagliano Brooklyn crew having originally been with some incarnation of the D'Aquila or Mineo families since those were the families in Brooklyn and one had a large Agrigento group. If they broke off from any family, as D'Arco seems to be saying, when and why did they break off? Any number of 1920s conflicts, including the Castellammarese War, could have the reason.

D'Aquila/Mineo - Large Sciacca and Agrigento representation, multiple crews, and seemingly a large part of Masseria's power base, yet no signs of hands-on involvement of D'Aquila/Mineo Sciaccatani in war and surrounding controversies. Agrigento crews continue to be a large presence in the Gambino family for decades but no admin members selected from these crews that we know of.

Mineo/Profaci - No known element from Agrigento.

Masseria - No known element from Agrigento except Masseria, who grew up in Trapani.

- We have the DeCavalcantes represented on the Commission by the Genovese. Sometimes these Commission rep relationships have historical meaning, like with the LA family being under Gagliano/Lucchese. Maybe the DeCavs were part of the Sciaccatani aligned with Masseria and that led to a connection, or maybe it was random.

- Let's look at what happened with the Maranzano group after the war... during the war, a number of soldiers from his own family and the Gagliano family were reporting direct to him. After the war, they were given the option of staying with him or returning to other families, with some members going on to join a completely different family they had never been previously associated with. It's possible this was going on with the Masseria side, too. If not exactly the same set-up as Maranzano, it's probable that lines got blurred under Masseria during the war. You seemingly had new bosses being pulled from the membership of other families and the Masseria and D'Aquila/Mineo family were the two largest families which would only add to the confusion. I have to imagine there was some re-configuring of affiliation with the former Masseria/Mineo faction after the war which could account for members and factions going to other families.

- Gentile was involved with the Agrigento network all over the US and in Sicily, he talks about a New Jersey family under D'Amico/Troia, he was part of the Sciaccatani faction of the future Gambino family, and Gentile's close friend and travel partner was from Ribera but he never identifies him as a mafioso or part of any mafia group. He makes no connection between Agrigento and the D'Amico/Troia NJ family. You'd think somewhere, between all of that, he would have mentioned a concentration of Riberesi mafiosi, whether they were their own family or a faction of another. That he omits a Ribera mafia group entirely leaves all possibilities open.

- An important detail about the DeCavalcantes is that Local 394 was started in 1903, created by immigrants, possibly from Ribera. One report claims Manny Riggi was involved in the creation of 394 but he couldn't have been given his age. His father Giovanni and an uncle were in Elizabeth around that general time so it's possible that the source was at least right about Riggis being involved in creating 394. Local 394 was the lifeline for the DeCav NJ faction and in my opinion the DeCav family could have been its own independent organization as long as they've had the union, which looks to have been very early on.

EDIT: I believe it was local 394 that led to the rapid increase in Riberesi who moved to Elizabeth. Many if not most of the NJ members and civilian immigrants either worked for 394 or were otherwise involved in related labor management. Like the formation of other mafia colonies, the idea of having guaranteed work was a luxury in those days. We look back on those periods with our Sopranos eyes and we think "Sounds like a lotta light envelopes to me. Unacceptable," but guaranteed work was a major incentive and would have created a chicken/egg situation that led to the DeCav presence in Elizabeth where we can ask if it was Riberesi settlers that led to the union, if the union attracted the Riberesi, or a combination.

[Angelo Santino]

It's easier if I respond in red in parentheses rather than try and work the quote feature.

But again, I'm drawn back to the larger Sciaccatani faction and why, just why they didn't become their own Family or why the other other groups didn't push for it. Instead we have a minor (in numbers) Ribera element that was able to form and coexist alongside the superfamilies of NYC. Leads me to speculate if Bacino/Amari had political the political clout to request their own group and have it granted.

Thoughts... always enlighten, I've learned quite a bit from you and continue to.

- Masseria's faction is described as the Sciaccatani, but Masseria doesn't have significant presence from Agrigento in his own family. (Are you referring to the intro to Gentile's book? If so that was written by Felice Chilanti who tried to explain it as best as possible. Fact is by 1920 every Family in the US were heterogeneous, even your most conservative Sicilian groups had a mainland member here and there. You know this already, Chilanti didn't) He was closely aligned with Mineo who took over a family with the largest group (numbers-wise, not percentage of organization) from Sciacca and Agrigento, which would seem to account for a large part of Masseria's support base (Masseria's of what would be Sciaccatani but he wasn't binded by that anymore than Luciano was, who given his background should have been a Gambino shoe-in. These guys were American products, before Morello, Joe Masseria was arrested with people linked to former Bonanno boss Sebastian DiGaetano) yet Mineo doesn't seem to have had any Sciaccatani in his administration true, but neither did D'Aquila. Despite being one of the oldest factions in America, they were never a dominant group and most of what we hear about within that family during the war is the divided loyalties among leaders of Palermo origin (Both Palermitan groups are confusing at this time. Mineo goes from Boss of one group in 1912, falling off the radar for 18 years and then bossing a group who's successor he was previously at odds with 18 years prior. But if you listen to DiLeonardo who makes no mention of this and insists that Mineo was D'Aqula's under. Alfonso Attardi said D'Aquila's under was a "Mumbrao" which many suspect was in reference to Mineo. You then have Salvatore DiBella and Joe Profaci as said to have been boss in and around the same time. There's more to be learned.). Sciaccatani from the D'Aquila family had been directly involved in earlier war(s) which could account for their later activities. (They were there during Lupo's era, were hitters in D'Aquilas, they weren't as prevalent in the Cast War.

- When Gentile shows up on the scene he is part of the Sciaccatani and aligned with Masseria but is a mediator during the war and the Sciaccatani he joins in the Mangano family have autonomy and aren't a major factor in post-war politics that we know of. Our view is limited but we don't see the Sciaccatani in NYC having a strong part in the conflict despite the faction named for them. (But notice he doesn't directly reference where everyone is from as an importance. When he arrived back on the scene in 1930 he switched his affiliation to Cleveland and was consig to Frank Milano. Breaking down the sides, it really wasn't homogeneous groups, if we added up the sides of Masseria and Maranzano as two entities they would be fairly balanced with Cast more on one side. The biggest group that mattered was the Palermitan, that's probably why Mineo being placed there was important, it's why Maranzano really tried to entice those upset with D'Aquila's murder.)

- Accounting for all of the families:
Schiro/Maranzano - Members from Agrigento were already part of the family but aren't mentioned during the war. Angelo Caruso was non-Castellammarese, close to Agrigento members, and a top Maranzano loyalist, indicating the non-Castellammarese as a whole were supportive or passive to Maranzano's leadership. We don't hear any accounts of a divide or conflict within the Maranzano family during the war and Maranzano's death is due to his conduct toward other bosses and not internal conflict in his group. (My referencing Caruso and his position was making a point to note how they elevate members from the fringe as well as rely on nepotism. That group was probably 60-80% Cast and they would have been well within their rights to have an all Cast admin but they didn't do that. Just like how the DeCav's had non-Riberesi members of ranks. Or cut to more recent times and break it down by crew: Gotti didn't promote Ruggiero and Gene Gotti to Under and Consig but instead promoted members aligned with him but outside of his faction/crew. Gravano was Agrigentese descent as you know, but that wasn't a factor by this point.)

Reina/Gagliano - Early Brooklyn captain Curiale is from Agrigento and his crew looks to have had others from Agrigento. Given that the Gagliano faction was said to be very small and made up mostly of East Harlem and Bronx members, that leaves the majority of the family either in support of Pinzolo (and Masseria) or indifferent to their leadership. It's possible what was or would become the Brooklyn Gagliano element was aligned with the Pinzolo / Masseria side. Another theory: D'Arco, who was a later captain of this crew and knew old-time members, said the crew dated back to when there was one family in Brooklyn. It could be another butchered D'Arco history lesson or it could be a reference to the Gagliano Brooklyn crew having originally been with some incarnation of the D'Aquila or Mineo families since those were the families in Brooklyn and one had a large Agrigento group. If they broke off from any family, as D'Arco seems to be saying, when and why did they break off? Any number of 1920s conflicts, including the Castellammarese War, could have the reason. When the Corleonese Family split, the Lucchese Family shed their Corleonese roots to include members of all stripes, including Palermitans such as Lucchese who, going by hometown affiliation should have been Gambino or Colombo.

D'Aquila/Mineo - Large Sciacca and Agrigento representation, multiple crews, and seemingly a large part of Masseria's power base, yet no signs of hands-on involvement of D'Aquila/Mineo Sciaccatani in war and surrounding controversies. Agrigento crews continue to be a large presence in the Gambino family for decades but no admin members selected from these crews that we know of. (I haven't seen anything to indicate any connection beyond familial to such a base. He was in the Bowery and James St where you had multiple crews, families, affiliations, criminals operating. Had he went with D'Aquila he would have probably have been with one of the Sciacca crews just like Luciano would have been likely with Biondo, but the Genovese Family was offering something different.)

Mineo/Profaci - No known element from Agrigento. (Where the LoCiceros from there or was that another set of LoCiceros?

Masseria - No known element from Agrigento except Masseria, who grew up in Trapani.

- We have the DeCavalcantes represented on the Commission by the Genovese. Sometimes these Commission rep relationships have historical meaning, like with the LA family being under Gagliano/Lucchese. Maybe the DeCavs were part of the Sciaccatani aligned with Masseria and that led to a connection, or maybe it was random. (So it appears I was mistaken on a long-term Gambino connection? Noted, thanks.

- Let's look at what happened with the Maranzano group after the war... during the war, a number of soldiers from his own family and the Gagliano family were reporting direct to him. After the war, they were given the option of staying with him or returning to other families, with some members going on to join a completely different family they had never been previously associated with. It's possible this was going on with the Masseria side, too. If not exactly the same set-up as Maranzano, it's probable that lines got blurred under Masseria during the war. You seemingly had new bosses being pulled from the membership of other families and the Masseria and D'Aquila/Mineo family were the two largest families which would only add to the confusion. I have to imagine there was some re-configuring of affiliation with the former Masseria/Mineo faction after the war which could account for members and factions going to other families. (That's certainly possible, I never pondered that before.

- Gentile was involved with the Agrigento network all over the US and in Sicily, he talks about a New Jersey family under D'Amico/Troia, he was part of the Sciaccatani faction of the future Gambino family, and Gentile's close friend and travel partner was from Ribera but he never identifies him as a mafioso or part of any mafia group. He makes no connection between Agrigento and the D'Amico/Troia NJ family. You'd think somewhere, between all of that, he would have mentioned a concentration of Riberesi mafiosi, whether they were their own family or a faction of another. That he omits a Ribera mafia group entirely leaves all possibilities open. (Who knows why Nick said alot of what he said or why he omitted certain things. It sounds like he was leaving the Riberesi out, not identifying them. I know that sounds conspiratorial but I'm throwing that out there.

- An important detail about the DeCavalcantes is that Local 394 was started in 1903, created by immigrants, possibly from Ribera. One report claims Manny Riggi was involved in the creation of 394 but he couldn't have been given his age. His father Giovanni and an uncle were in Elizabeth around that general time so it's possible that the source was at least right about Riggis being involved in creating 394. Local 394 was the lifeline for the DeCav NJ faction and in my opinion the DeCav family could have been its own independent organization as long as they've had the union, which looks to have been very early on. (That's interesting and a good point. Perhaps that Local played an important part in that Formation. But is it possible that if the Riberese split from NY they kept the union? I suppose it is, but again, 1903 sounds about right when this family had the potential and right climate to form. But Rochester should have had its own Family, so should have San Jose before they ever did, those were two very active cities in 1910-1920 and yet didn't have groups until the 60's and 40's.)

EDIT: I believe it was local 394 that led to the rapid increase in Riberesi who moved to Elizabeth. Many if not most of the NJ members and civilian immigrants either worked for 394 or were otherwise involved in related labor management. Like the formation of other mafia colonies, the idea of having guaranteed work was a luxury in those days. We look back on those periods with our Sopranos eyes and we think "Sounds like a lotta light envelopes to me. Unacceptable," but guaranteed work was a major incentive and would have created a chicken/egg situation that led to the DeCav presence in Elizabeth where we can ask if it was Riberesi settlers that led to the union, if the union attracted the Riberesi, or a combination. (I think you're definitely onto something.)

(Great post, I learned alot. Thanks.

[B.]

Riffing off the local 394 idea, Sam DeCavalcante demoted Joe Sferra from his role in the union as well as his position as captain at the same time. John Riggi was elevated to both positions. On the tapes he deals with it as if the position of captain in that crew went hand in hand with the union title. Pino Schifilliti's promotion to captain may have been in part to oversee activities with another related union. It wasn't everything in the family, but it's

The Genovese connection may have been through Nick Delmore. He associated with some Genovese members/associates early on in NJ and was misidentified on some FBI reports as a Genovese captain before they knew he was boss of his own family. Delmore was also connected in some way with the Genovese family in an induction ceremony. Delmore lived in Long Branch which was an area closely tied to the Genovese.

In the 1992 case against John Riggi, the following was about Riggi's position in the 1980s: "...was the acting boss of the DeCavalcante LCN family and in this capacity had a relationship with the Genovese family with respect to his conduct of the affairs of Local 394 as well as other matters. " Seems to be saying that because he was acting boss of the DeCavalcantes he had a certain relationship with the Genovese where his conduct was subject to them in some way, including union activities.

[Pogo The Clown]

Sam DeCavalcante demoted Joe Sferra from his role in the union as well as his position as captain at the same time.

This is awful.


Pogo

[B.]

He was on a downward spiral. He got drunk, made a scene, and trashed a place in Atlantic City then tried to deny it when Sam DeCavalcante brought it up to him, but DeCavalcante told him he had witnesses. Then when Sferra was dropping his daughter off at school he saw a teenage boy driving a teenage girl and something about it upset him. He confronted the boy and the boy knocked Sferra off his feet and he busted his leg. Then his boss tells him he sucks at his job and demotes him in the mafia and from his "legitimate" occupation, double-fired. After all of this humiliation, he breaks down and cries and it just so happens to be recorded on tape and his pathetic weeping "This is awful" is immortalized forever in books. If you've heard of Joe Sferra, you probably heard about him because he cries about his demotion in the DeCav tapes.

He was like that character in A Bronx Tale who has nothing but bad luck. His story also sounds like a Sopranos storyline.

[sdeitche]

Riffing off the local 394 idea, Sam DeCavalcante demoted Joe Sferra from his role in the union as well as his position as captain at the same time. John Riggi was elevated to both positions. On the tapes he deals with it as if the position of captain in that crew went hand in hand with the union title. Pino Schifilliti's promotion to captain may have been in part to oversee activities with another related union. It wasn't everything in the family, but it's

The Genovese connection may have been through Nick Delmore. He associated with some Genovese members/associates early on in NJ and was misidentified on some FBI reports as a Genovese captain before they knew he was boss of his own family. Delmore was also connected in some way with the Genovese family in an induction ceremony. Delmore lived in Long Branch which was an area closely tied to the Genovese.

In the 1992 case against John Riggi, the following was about Riggi's position in the 1980s: "...was the acting boss of the DeCavalcante LCN family and in this capacity had a relationship with the Genovese family with respect to his conduct of the affairs of Local 394 as well as other matters. " Seems to be saying that because he was acting boss of the DeCavalcantes he had a certain relationship with the Genovese where his conduct was subject to them in some way, including union activities.

Great stuff overall on the thread!

Delmore moved to Long Branch in the late 1940, after 1947. Prior to that he had a vacation house there. His home in 1920s through early 1940s was Plainfield, then ELizabeth, followed by Long Branch, then finally his dairy farm in Freehold.

[sdeitche]

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[B.]

It's always been strange to me that the Luccheses didn't maintain stronger ties to Sicily and never imported any "zips" from Corleone. There were so many aggressive young mafia-connected men in Corleone and the Lucchese family had such strong Corleonesi roots, you would think they would have had an arrangement with Sicily like the Gambinos and Bonannos. Couple thoughts:

- Pennino's son and other relatives/allies of the Gaglianos and Raos in Sicily being on the side of Michele Navarra is an indication that their US counterparts in the Lucchese family may have lost a vital connection to Corleone when the Navarra side was beaten and members were killed. However, there could be connections between Toto Riina and the Luccheses, as close relatives of murdered boss Tom Reina used the alternate spelling Riina. We don't know if Riina even knew any potential relatives in NYC, though, while the Gagliano/Rao connection to Navarra is something we can map out.

- In the years leading up to Navarra's death, Tom Gagliano and Stefano Badami had also died, the impact of which is impossible to know but could have had an impact on ongoing relations to Corleone. Badami's status at the time of his death is also unknown, but both he and Gagliano had been US bosses from Corleone at a time when that was important and both were closely connected to the Penninos, who like I said link this group to the losing faction of the Corleone mafia wars. It's similar to what happened in the Profaci family, I believe. Joe Profaci's relatives and allies in the Villabate family were involved in the produce wars which had a drastic impact on the Palermo mafia at the time and this was followed just a few years later by the death of Profaci. It seems to be a similar turn of events for both the Lucchese and Profaci families in the 1950s/60s, with key connecting members in the US dying around the same period that serious problems were happening in their Sicilian hometowns. This would explain why they didn't have an influx of "zip" members/associates beginning in the 1960s and contining into the 1980s like the Bonannos and Gambinos.

- Another factor would be that the US Corleone network was large and influential early on, but by the 1950s and 60s they had been established in America so long that they were more Americanized than, for example, families under Castellammarese or Palermitano bosses like Joe Bonanno and Carlo Gambino who came to America much later, in the 1920s, and had contemporary relatives and friends in the Sicilian mafia. Again they are similar to the Profaci family, who by the 1950s were inducting many members who were completely Americanized. Americanization, key members dying, and trouble in Sicilian hometowns was a perfect storm that sped up the Americanization of the Lucchese and Profaci families, for sure.

[maxiestern11]

Good info B

[B.]

Do you think it's possible the Ribera faction originated in the Gambinos and became independent after D'Aquila's 1928 murder?

As we discussed previously, the Agrigento faction of NYC primarily fell under the Gambinos from 1900 up until at least 1940. The Ribera demographics in NYC followed it went alongside those of Agrigento in NYC and Brooklyn. IF the modern DeCav originated in NY and NJ was an outlier, that would coincide with other Agrigento demographics into Pennsylvania which maintained links to NY (reason why Celeste Morello argued Scranton was part of NY.)

You've mentioned several members linked to the Corleonesi and that follows the same pattern I've encountered with Mafiosi from the Agrigento-Palermo province border. Some were more aligned with the Corleonesi (Genovese) whereas others were with the Sciaccatani (Gambinos). But I should bring up Schiro and how he, being from Roccamena, should have- by using this logic- fallen in with the Corleonesi, however his mafia links were in Camporeale. Bisacquina is another city where Vito Cascio Ferro was around the Corleonesi but the DiLeonardos were around D'Aquila. Bagheria appears to be another city, Zarcone being with Lupo and D. Pecoraro being with Morello, interesting that they both apparently held leadership positions.

If the Riberesi started from the Gambinos, the First Family, they could technically lay claim to descending from NY's Founding Family (Palermitan, Agrigentesi). Still doesn't explain why Stango and D'Arco claim the Mafia started in Jersey and filtered into NYC. I can't explain it other than to say it's simply wrong.

Also interesting to the note that the Riberesi were among Birmingham's mafiosi, Joe N Gallo was Bisaquinesi descent from Alabama.

If we really wanted to, we could make a map of Sicily (and Palermo) divide up the factions and then map it to America with what faction went to what city. Palermo and NYC would have to be separate maps. We can show factions and migrations but we can't guarantee everyone was a member. Outside of the bosses and a soldier or captain here or there, we don't have very many confirmed names. And I've grown more conservative with who we confirm as a member that early on, it's why I opt for 'associate' or 'affiliate.'

Joe Lonardo, before moving to Cleveland, was in New York, he too would have fallen under the Gambinos given his Licatese roots. He's credited with being CL's founding boss and I've seen nothing to contradict that. The family was noted by Gentile to contain a large Licatesi element, it also contained out 'factions' such as Carinesi, which in NY would have also fallen under the Gambinos.

It's like a puzzle, the more pieces you fit together the more the picture is revealed.

Leone?... Simone?

Here's a thought that should have been obvious but just crossed my mind:

It's possible the NJ element of the DeCavalcantes was part of the Newark family, while the NYC element was part of an NYC family (i.e. under D'Aquila). Maybe when the Newark family was broken up or some other event impacted NJ, the logical decision was to combine the remaining NJ guys from Ribera with their counterparts in NYC and create a new family, including some non-Riberesi for whatever reason.

No reason to believe this is any more likely than other theories, only that I've always assumed that the DeCavs were all part of the same group all along, whether as a crew of another family or their own family from the beginning. It's just as possible they were distributed among a couple of different groups, with NJ and NYC residence giving a practical reason for them to be split up, then brought together as their own group at some point. It wouldn't be typical of the mafia at the time, but the DeCavs and NJ as a whole aren't typical either.

[Chaps]

B.

The DeCavalcante's I believe will always be an enigma. I don't know that we'll ever find the truth about their creation and history. The only story we have is from Anthony Acceturo who claimed Lucky formed the Five Families and "allowed" the formation of one Family in NJ that became the DeCavalcante. As we now know, the Five Families already existed. Who knows about the so called "Newark Family." I (as of now) accept B's theory.

The DeCav's existed all along and may have been a "Sixth Family." They migrated (partly as they remained in Brooklyn) to NJ due to their control of Local 394.

[Grouchy Sinatra]

Old man Profaci knew how to split his enemies.

[nowandlater]

B.

The DeCavalcante's I believe will always be an enigma. I don't know that we'll ever find the truth about their creation and history. The only story we have is from Anthony Acceturo who claimed Lucky formed the Five Families and "allowed" the formation of one Family in NJ that became the DeCavalcante. As we now know, the Five Families already existed. Who knows about the so called "Newark Family." I (as of now) accept B's theory.

The DeCav's existed all along and may have been a "Sixth Family." They migrated (partly as they remained in Brooklyn) to NJ due to their control of Local 394.

I don't know if this qualifies as being part of "the Newark family" but one group that was from Newark and very active in the 1960's and 1970's that you never hear about anymore are the Campisi's. I mention this because is it possible their activity could be mistaken or blended into what is referred to as the Newark family while they seem to be unknown and never mentioned? The Campisi's were a family by blood from Newark and a form of crime family unto themselves. Ira Pecznick (book: To Drop A Dime by Paul Hoffman) and John Tully were associates of theirs. They were at their peak when Hugh Addonizio was the mayor of Newark and Anthony Imperiale was a State Senator from Newark during the time of the riots in 1967. They were very active during the time of Sam the Plumber, Joe Bayonne, Gyp DeCarlo and Richie the Boot and his son Tony Boy Boiardo.

[kpjohnson]

B.

The DeCavalcante's I believe will always be an enigma. I don't know that we'll ever find the truth about their creation and history. The only story we have is from Anthony Acceturo who claimed Lucky formed the Five Families and "allowed" the formation of one Family in NJ that became the DeCavalcante. As we now know, the Five Families already existed. Who knows about the so called "Newark Family." I (as of now) accept B's theory.

The DeCav's existed all along and may have been a "Sixth Family." They migrated (partly as they remained in Brooklyn) to NJ due to their control of Local 394.

I don't know if this qualifies as being part of "the Newark family" but one group that was from Newark and very active in the 1960's and 1970's that you never hear about anymore are the Campisi's. I mention this because is it possible their activity could be mistaken or blended into what is referred to as the Newark family while they seem to be unknown and never mentioned? The Campisi's were a family by blood from Newark and a form of crime family unto themselves. Ira Pecznick (book: To Drop A Dime by Paul Hoffman) and John Tully were associates of theirs. They were at their peak when Hugh Addonizio was the mayor of Newark and Anthony Imperiale was a State Senator from Newark during the time of the riots in 1967. They were very active during the time of Sam the Plumber, Joe Bayonne, Gyp DeCarlo and Richie the Boot and his son Tony Boy Boiardo.

You forgot to mention Jerry Catena, Little Pussy Russo and Harold K.O. Konigsberg. They were all around active and affiliated with those previously mentioned during the time of the Campisi's. The Campisi's were also connected with an illicit underworld cemetery (burial ground on Joseph Celso's chicken farm) in Jackson Township NJ. Another book about the Campisi's, Ira Pecznick et al is Deal by Harvey Aronson (1978).