In 1952, Samuel LaTorre had been arrested as an accomplice in a burglary case which included an associate from Syracuse. A short time later, LaTorre was involved with Charles Joseph Parisi, identified as an LCN member, in a counterfeiting charge for which LaTorre was convicted in 1954 and sent to the federal prison in Lewisburg, PA, for four years. His father, one of the top local mafia members for decades, had also fallen from grace less than a decade earlier in the 1940s and no longer had involvement in the organization. Any or all of these reasons likely contributed to Samuel's cooperation, but the counterfeiting case was mentioned specifically in an FBI summary of LaTorre's cooperation which could suggest it was the main motivation for his turn.
LaTorre was providing the FBI with historical information on his father and the Pittston family by 1955 and appears to have done so at least sporadically into the mid-late 1960s. He also cooperated in connection with a criminal case in 1967, so it appears he was still willing to provide information on his criminal associates on some kind of ongoing basis. Though his name is redacted and he was assigned an informer ID, very little was done to hide his identity as Samuel LaTorre. His birth date is given as well as his relationship as Stefano LaTorre's son, in addition to wife's name, home address, and other clear identifying info.
In addition to robbery and counterfeiting, Samuel LaTorre was involved in gambling operations for the family but claimed he himself wasn't a member. However, his father admitted his own mafia membership to Samuel and gave him some history of the organization, which Samuel gave to the FBI. Some of the information has made its way out or is otherwise available from other sources, but I haven't seen it attributed to Samuel LaTorre via his father before this.
Samuel LaTorre attended three years of college and was in the US Navy during WWII. One of at least three sons to Stefano LaTorre, including Joseph, who was involved in Pittston gambling activities. Samuel was born 1918 and died 1989, only 5 years after his father.
The following came from the FBI's contacts with LaTorre:
- Stefano LaTorre, from Montedoro, came to the US in 1903 and settled in Pittston, where he became the head of the local mafia. LaTorre then paid for the passage of Santo Volpe, who came from Montedoro to Pittston and eventually became the new boss. Volpe was boss until 1942, when he was "eased out" by the organization for prioritizing his "personal business" over the mafia. Volpe died in 1958 at 79.
- LaTorre and Volpe were partners in a coal contracting business. LaTorre was also involved in business with Charles Bufalino, described as another member of the Pittston family leadership. Bufalino was the uncle of Russell Bufalino and from Montedoro like the others. Russell Bufalino is identified as the "current leader" in the "upstate Pennsylvania area."
- LaTorre was a leading member of the Pittston family from the time of his arrival (1903) until around 1945, when he fell out of favor within the organization. The report doesn't give specifics, only that LaTorre lost standing and was no longer "recognized" by other family leaders, in particular John Sciandra, father of Angelo. Sounds like he was shelved.
- Samuel LaTorre told the FBI "it is amazing" that the elder LaTorre wasn't killed by the family but feels he was "allowed to live" due to respect and fear.
- Samuel reported to the FBI that the elder LaTorre told him the names of other inducted Pittston members and the "past activities" of the family, including murder. He also said that his father was willing to answer any question about the organization, as he had never refused to answer. The informant was willing to ask his father questions on behalf of the FBI.
- Samuel LaTorre claimed the elder LaTorre told him about the inner workings and membership of the family because Samuel was "the favorite son" and Stefano gave him the info "for his own personal protection." It's never stated when the elder LaTorre started giving Samuel inside information on the mafia and the Pittston family in particular, though a reasonable guess is that Stefano began opening up with his son after he had been shelved. Because "protecting" Samuel is specifically stated as a motivation, it's possible Stefano LaTorre told his son about the inner workings of the organization because he was no longer in a position to help Samuel in his dealings with the group.
- Samuel LaTorre cooperated in connection with a case against Samuel Ruggere, which led to the recovery of $44,000 in stolen property. Further research shows that the Ruggere case involved the sale of $100,000+ in stolen cigarettes. Part of the load was transported to Brooklyn, where the partial load was recovered by police after the arrest of Ruggere and an Anthony Farano. Cross-referencing this with the FBI report, we know the Brooklyn load was recovered due to LaTorre's cooperation.
- In 1967, LaTorre identified 38 mafia members, citing his father for this info. The FBI previously knew 30 of the names. It appears this included members of different groups, as two of the names were Joseph and Pasquale Pagano of the Genovese family. Interestingly, the Paganos weren't inducted as members until after Stefano LaTorre lost his standing, so either he still dealt with other mafia figures to some degree post-1945 or his son received some of these names from other sources. Other names aren't identified in this report.
- Though LaTorre denied membership, the contacting agent was "not completely convinced" that Samuel LaTorre was only an associate. There are other examples of FBI member informants who either initially denied membership and later admitted it, or outright denied it despite conflicting evidence, so it could go either way with LaTorre, especially since we don't have many inside sources into the Bufalino family and a handful of members may have slipped under the radar. Personally, I don't think Samuel LaTorre was a member unless he snuck in before 1945 when his father still had standing in the family.
- LaTorre's cooperation created a dilemma, which is mentioned in the report. The FBI's criteria for identifying members required "highly confidential" sources (i.e. listening devices/tapes) or an admitted member source to confirm someone's membership. However, the reporting agent said he would try to make an exception in this case, no doubt due to LaTorre receiving info direct from his father.
