1965 FBI-RCMP communication re: Montreal Bonanno membership

[B.]

A request was made by the FBI in 1965 asking Montreal LE to provide a list of 20 possible members of the Montreal Bonanno decina. The following 24 names were identified by Montreal LE and sent to the FBI in list form. In some cases they included limited background notes with a name, but I've added some other small details for context here and there in addition to correcting a couple of obvious misspellings, so this isn't an exact duplication of the original report but it is close.

The names supplied by Montreal were numbered as follows:

1) Frank Cotroni, said to be in prostitution and protection rackets for his brothers. Also said to act in a supervisory role.

2) Joseph Cocolicchio is said to be the strong-arm man and enforcer working for Frank Cotroni.

3) Peter Adamo, said to be a gambler involved with racing and bookmaking. Associates working for Adamo are said to be involved in safecracking and stolen bonds. Adamo doesn't participate in the crimes themselves, but helps plan and arrange outlets for distribution.

4) George William Coe, born in London, England, and involved in gambling and protection rackets. Principal partner of Peter Adamo.

5) Armand Courville, close Cotroni associate who acts as a legitimate front.

6) Fernand Pierre Lefebvre [sic?], Motel owner and close business associate as well as courier for Cotroni.

7) Paolo Violi, described in 1965 report as having been involved in illicit alcohol, counterfeiting, protection rackets, arson, and land fraud. Described as "closely associated" with the Cotroni group.

8) Iriving Ellis, "edge man" and collector for protection rackets related to gambling. Said to have traveled with Cotroni to Miami in 1958 and was/is used as a go-between with the "Carmine Galante organization."

9) Jackie Shugar, gambler involved in Embassy Steel.

10) Hyman Sternman, gambler and steel broker.

11) Leo Bercovitch, another gambler connected to the steel industry.

12) Soloman "Solly Silvers" Schnapp, "middleman" and "edge man" who is also connected to Embassy Steel.

13) Harry Ship, major gambler and "edge man".

14) Louis Greco, said to have been one of Galante's top enforcers in protection and stock rackets during the 1950s though declining in influence in the 1960s.

15) Albert Lean, said to have been involved with Luigi Greco in the late 1950s and early 1960s in a stock market racket that was connected to Arthur Tortorella and Carmine Lombardozzi of NYC.

16) Vincenzo "Jimmy" Orlando was a former professional hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings who got into the wrestling business and was involved in gambling. Jimmy lived part of the year in Miami, where his wife was from, and his brother Joseph Orlando was involved in gambling operations for the Cotroni group but was not included on this list. One of the Orlandos is mentioned in a report in connection with Bonanno soldier Joseph Asaro who lived in Montreal and likely became part of the local decina.

17) Leo Scanzano, connected to William Fiore of Springfield, MA, a major gambler. Scanzano ran gambling operations for the Cotroni group in Montreal and was a partner in a restaurant with his brother Frank Scanzano and the Orlando brothers. Frank Scanzano is described as a "strong arm", while Leo described as having been active in "white slave traffic" between the US and Monteal in the 1950s. Vincenzo Orlando and Leo Scanzano were said to have been "king pins" for the Montreal mafia at one time. In 1961, a police officer found a time bomb on Scanzano's porch, where it detonated but did not kill the officer.

18) Frank Guzzo, son-in-law and travel companion of Vic Cotroni. Later divorced from Cotroni's daughter. Guzzo forced a young female family friend to shoot him to death in 1990 as a "mercy killing" because he mistakenly believed he had cancer.

19) Ralph Guzzo, father of Frank and in the 1950s managed the Chez Paree Nightclub which was co-owned by Vic Cotroni.

20) Michael "Nick" Cotroni, described as a brother of Vic and Frank.

21) Paul Emile Desormiers, father-in-law of Frank Cotroni. Claimed to have made himself wealthy legitimately but had some shady dealings. A cruise ship he owned was burned and destroyed by "gangland violence" and he received $100,000 from insurance.

22) Ferdinando Mucelli. Nephew of Vic Cotroni employed with the Giuseppe Suputo [sic?] and Figli firm.

23) Dominic DeFrancesco, brother of Joseph. An Orlando DeFrancesco was also involved with the Cotronis but not sure if he was related.

24) Joseph DeFrancesco, closely associated with the Cotroni group and chauffeur to Vic Cotroni.

- Montreal LE considered the above names the most significant figures in the Cotroni group and noted that they may not all belong to the "Montreal branch" of the "family" (i.e. Bonanno organization) but felt that some of them likely do belong to the "family", in particular Frank Cotroni, Cocolicchio, Adamo, Coe, Courville, Violi, Ellis, Orlando, Scanzano, the Guzzos, and DeFrancescos. It's strange that even after making that clarification, they still included three non-Italians in the most "likely" list.

- From other reports we know the FBI had learned that the Bonanno Montreal decina had 20 members, hence specifying that number in their request. The intention behind their contact with Canadian LE was to make formal member identifications in a territory they knew little about. RCMP provided them with a list of 20+ close Cotroni associates and leads, but the list isn't of much value itself when it comes to the formal structure in Montreal and reflects some of the issues that have continued to impact our understanding of Canadian mafia activities up to present day.

- This list is Montreal-centric. The Bonannos are believed to have had members in Ontario by this time but the report does not include any Ontario-based names and aside from Violi's inclusion on the list none of the names show a direct connection to Ontario. On one of the Magaddino tapes, a speaker believed to be Bonanno leader Paul Sciacca claims Joe Bonanno inducted seven people from Magaddino's territory (i.e. Ontario) in addition to inducting an additional two members in Montreal who were not part of the pre-approved limit of 10 Montreal members. So arguably any Montreal membership list from this period should include up to 6 or 7 slots for non-Montreal based members.

- The list is also Cotroni-centric. Cotroni was a powerful figure at the center of Montreal mafia activities so his associations and relationships were the best available lead for identifying potential members. However, it's unlikely that his decina was made up only of his close personal associates given the Bonannos varied interests in Montreal and what we've learned about the group since then.

- This report notes that Joe Bonanno may have tried to establish Montreal as its own separate family if he had succeeded in establishing his own residence in Montreal years earlier. Bonanno's residence didn't pan out and he faced great opposition from the Canadian government, but I'm curious if this statement is based on actual intel or if they just assumed that Bonanno wanted to start a "family" when he tried to establish residence. Not sure I've heard this angle before, but with his attempts to establish a California/west coast family under his leadership, it's not difficult to believe Bonanno had considered something similar in Canada. One of Magaddino's taped complaints was that Bonanno had expanded the Montreal crew beyond an agreed-upon membership limit, so there are indications Bonanno may have been scheming as he was known to do.

--

Going back to the list itself.

Removing the non-Italians from that last chunk of names, we have:
- Frank Cotroni (confirmed member)
- Joe Cocolicchio
- Peter Adamo
- Paolo Violi (confirmed member)
- Luigi Greco (confirmed member)
- Jimmy Orlando
- Leo Scanzano
- Frank Guzzo
- Ralph Guzzo
- Dominic DeFrancesco
- Joseph DeFrancesco

That's ten names, plus the following confirmed and suspected members (via other sources) who were for some reason not included by Montreal LE on their list:
- Vic Cotroni
- Giuseppe Cotroni
- Romeo Bucci
- Joseph Asaro
- Frank Dasti
- Nicolo Di Iorio

Other possibilities:
- Giuseppe Saputo (my own belief)
- Diodato Mastracchio (identified in some accounts as a "soldier")
- Vincenzo "Jimmy" Soccio (same as above)

So in theory, 13 of the above names could be made members. There are 9 who are confirmed or heavily suspected of membership, leaving 4 slots open in Montreal and 7 slots open in "Magaddino's territory". It is implied in the tape transcript that Violi was one of the men Bonanno "recruited in Hamilton", so he would probably be included with the 7, shifting it to 5 open slots in the Montreal area and 6 open slots outside of Montreal. Maybe some of those 5 spots in Montreal were filled by the remaining Italians from Montreal LE's list of 24 names.

[cavita]

Nice legwork on this info! Thanks for posting!

[B.]

Sure thing.

--

Joseph "Pepe" Cocolicchio from the list is a strong candidate for membership. Along with managing Cotroni's Metropole club, he was described as the middleman in communications between Vic Cotroni and US "organized crime" figures. In late 1958 Cocolicchio was reported to have engaged in a phone call with an unspecified caller in New Kensington, PA, and a month later Pittsburgh leader Sam Mannarino from New Kensington visited Montreal. He was also reported to have contact with Cleveland, possibly in connection with Mannarino/Pittsburgh.

Another Metropole employee close to Cocolicchio and the Cotronis was Jack Croce. Surprised he wasn't included on Montreal LE's list of potential members but he is a less likely candidate anyway compared to some of the other names on the list.

[antimafia]

For me, the pages below were the most intriguing.

[Antiliar]

Great research, B

[B.]

Many of the Italian names appear to have been born in Montreal and a couple may have heritage from Foggia. Curious what anyone can find on their backgrounds.

Death years could also give us some clues, as the Montreal crew was able to bring in a number of new members in the 1970s and 80s which indicates that older members had died.

[CabriniGreen]

From Ice....


While membership in the Montreal decina was restricted to Italians, like other mafia groups in North America, this core membership served as the infrastructure for a larger criminal network, which over time included hundreds of associates from all types of ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds — French, English, Irish, Slavic, and Jewish, among others. Certain non-Italian associates were deemed so important they reported directly to Vic Cotroni or Paolo Violi and were even assigned soldiers to work under their supervision....

[CabriniGreen]

What do you think about this from the same book...

While Paolo would pay his respects to both Cotroni and Luppino, as well as Bonanno and Magaddino, he was playing a dangerous game. According to Peter Edwards, “Paolo Violi clearly had his own ideas. He privately told Luppino that the Cotroni family should strike out on its own and should be subordinate to neither the Magaddino nor the Bonanno family. Violi displayed dangerous signs of hubris as he belittled the abilities and judgment of Vic Cotroni and his close associate Louis Greco.”

[motorfab]

I think it is possible that Calgero Renda & Angelo Lanzo were members during those years. Or at least in the late 60s.

[antimafia]

In 1965, close to three months before the RCMP replied to the FBI's request for information about the crime group in Montreal, an internal FBI memo indicates the FBI thought the Bonanno crew in Montreal had approximately 40 members. We've all previously seen the page below.

[B.]

Yeah, the report about 40 members came up before and is interesting to consider but the more consistent number spanning multiple decades has been 20 and it was the specific number of names the FBI asked for from Montreal LE in 1965 which gives it added weight. If we can come up with 20 strong candidates for membership for a given period and then discover there are more, I'm all for it, but confirming close to 20 for any given period is enough of a challenge and it seems neither the FBI nor the RCMP themselves were able to do it.

In the span of a few short years, the FBI's knowledge of the mafia grew exponentially. It's crazy to see FBI reports from the 1940s and 50s, even when they had informants, and compare it to the type of information they were getting in the early 1960s. The RCMP's knowledge in the 1960s was closer to the 1940s and 50s US investigators who knew names, criminal activities, and social association but all organizational info is addressed in generalities at best.

The FBI was looking to identify Canadian made members in 1965 and they received a great list of leads from the RCMP, but the RCMP was coming from a different place in terms of information and understanding which is reflected in their response. They appear to have given the FBI an accurate "street view" of the Cotroni group so I'm not trying to take anything away from what is otherwise valuable information, only pointing out that the FBI and Canadian LE were essentially speaking two different dialects of the same language when it came to mafia investigation in 1965 and this may still be true to some degree.

Statements like those from "Ice" contribute to the confusion without adding much to the knowledge base, re: "soldiers" being assigned to non-Italian associates. Does that mean made members answered to non-Italians within the organization? Or only in specific operations? Those kinds of details are important. It's not uncommon, even in NYC at its peak, for non-Italian associates with a specialty in a given racket / business to have a more prominent role than a made member in the same operation. It's a different story for a made member to work under a non-Italian associate in the numbers business, for example, than it is for a made member to be wholly responsible to and under the direction of a non-Italian associate in mafia organization matters. I'd be curious which of these "Ice" was referring to and how they determined what was happening inside of the group.

Imprecise use of language is an issue with all of this. Some of the Montreal coverage, past and present, seems to refer to associates as "soldiers", soldiers as "lieutenants", and captain as "boss". Terms like "soldier", "lieutenant "(captain), "boss", and even "family" get used loosely by some writers and even investigators, but those terms each refer to a specific role that does not change in its basic definition. My only definition of a Cosa Nostra soldier is someone who can be introduced and recognized as "amico nostra" to another member. There is so much variation in members' backgrounds, criminal/non-criminal activities, career, induction ceremony (or lack thereof), reputation, relationships, location, etc. that I go with the simplest possible standard for determining membership: whether or not they are recognized by other Cosa Nostra members as an inducted member of Cosa Nostra, which can be demonstrated through CIs, tapes, or other well-placed sources.

Some indications of membership when lacking direct confirmation:
- Being used in communications with other confirmed Cosa Nostra members. Not a smoking gun, as important associates are used in this capacity, but an example like Cocolicchio handling communications with a Pittsburgh mafia leader on behalf of Cotroni is exactly what I mean.
- Blood and/or marital relation to prominent members. Though there are exceptions, prominent mafia members are almost always surrounded by in-laws and blood relatives who have been inducted.
- Shared hometown with prominent members. A great example is the Cattolica Eraclea and Siculiana group who filled the membership with men from their Sicilian hometown. The entire N.American mafia followed this pattern early on and it's still a major source of leads on both historic figures as well as immigrant mafiosi active today. The same might be true of the Montreal Calabrians but I don't have enough info.

Just some thoughts after going through this report in addition to a few others on Montreal LCN activities from the same period.

[BeatiPaoli]

To B.: That is a great summation, and logical assumptions to follow re: Cosa Nostra membership. As an aside, a great U.S. example of prominent Non-Italian Associates were named for Chicago in the Valachi charts of 1963; the FBI made a separate chart for the prominent Non-Italian Associates for the Chicago "Family." I thought of Chicago immediately as I was reading the Canadian LE list of names.

Again, great summation!

Regards,
Beati Paoli

[motorfab]

I started reading the CECO report (it dates back to the mid-1970s) yesterday. According to a wire tape of Violi, there would be in 1974, 20 members of which half are inactive and he (Violi) would like to add other members. Guys like Soccio and DiMaulo are described as inductees. Sounds good?

If you ever want to get into a translation of the report I leave you the link of a PDF. Unfortunately I think that it exists only in French, but it must be able to be translated with smartphone applications. Otherwise I can translate some stuff if you're interested.

https://www.ceic.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/F ... R-2401.pdf

[motorfab]

Something I just remembered, I read that Pietro Sciarra was a made man in Italy. Someone knows more about it? Is it possible that he has a double affiliation Italy/Bonanno or only Italy ?

[Laurentian]

Something I just remembered, I read that Pietro Sciarra was a made man in Italy. Someone knows more about it? Is it possible that he has a double affiliation Italy/Bonanno or only Italy ?

Chiara belonged to the family of Leonardo Caruana, Siculiana. I do not think he had any double affiliation with the Bonannos. He was a fugitive in "residence" with the Montreal decina. As you know, he was murdered in Montreal in February 1976.