Kenjis book and Milano family

[Pete]

Just finished reading this and while its more like 300 pages of him blowing himself there were some interesting nuggets. Kenji talks about whether Pete Milano was one of the worst or one of the best bosses. While Milano is known for having presided over the weakening family he also made a shit load of money and did very minimal time in jail while guys that are revered as a gangsters gangster like mike rizzi lived out his days broke and in prison over shooting a guy in the head because he wouldn't pay tribute. Kenji may be on to something with this I found it interesting and it seems obvious who he smarter wise guy was

[Pete]

Also kenji talked about dealing with a made guy from the Denver family whih has supposedly been extinct for many many years

[JCB1977]

Just finished reading this and while its more like 300 pages of him blowing himself there were some interesting nuggets. Kenji talks about whether Pete Milano was one of the worst or one of the best bosses. While Milano is known for having presided over the weakening family he also made a shit load of money and did very minimal time in jail while guys that are revered as a gangsters gangster like mike rizzi lived out his days broke and in prison over shooting a guy in the head because he wouldn't pay tribute. Kenji may be on to something with this I found it interesting and it seems obvious who he smarter wise guy was

His father was longtime Cleveland Underboss/Consigliere Anthony "Tony" Milano and his uncle was Frank Milano, head of the old Cleveland Mayfield Road Mob. Tony & Frank planted their flags in L.A back in the late 1930's and owned many of the motion picture unions. They got their start with Warner Bros., who got their start in Youngstown, OH. Pete & Carmen inherited millions from the old man.

[tmarotta]

I enjoyed Kenji's book as well, but I think he likes to tell stories. The only person who has ever claimed that there was any LCN activity in Denver is Kenji.

[Costigan]

It was an interesting book in the respect that you get some insight into what it was like in the last days of the Milano family. I'll bet most of Pete's money came from legitimate sources, such as whatever business he owned, as the remnants of that family didn't seem to have anything going on the street, just small time hustling, guys hanging out at the racetrack, etc. Like Pete, the whole family seemed risk averse. When Jimmy Caci went away for a short bid, his brother told the others in his crew that they weren't going to do anything while Jimmy was away. Brokesters. Mike Rizzi, on the other hand, was a dangerous guy. He just couldn't get his head above water, ever. The Animal in Hollywood deals with Rizzi quite a bit, but its not very well written, and Fiato, like Kenji, blows himself all through the book....

[JCB1977]

It was an interesting book in the respect that you get some insight into what it was like in the last days of the Milano family. I'll bet most of Pete's money came from legitimate sources, such as whatever business he owned, as the remnants of that family didn't seem to have anything going on the street, just small time hustling, guys hanging out at the racetrack, etc. Like Pete, the whole family seemed risk averse. When Jimmy Caci went away for a short bid, his brother told the others in his crew that they weren't going to do anything while Jimmy was away. Brokesters. Mike Rizzi, on the other hand, was a dangerous guy. He just couldn't get his head above water, ever. The Animal in Hollywood deals with Rizzi quite a bit, but its not very well written, and Fiato, like Kenji, blows himself all through the book....

Peter & Carmen Milano inherited tens of millions of dollars from their father Tony Milano. Tony was in the rackets for 50 years and had every union in Cleveland for 40 years.

[Angelo Santino]

It was an interesting book in the respect that you get some insight into what it was like in the last days of the Milano family. I'll bet most of Pete's money came from legitimate sources, such as whatever business he owned, as the remnants of that family didn't seem to have anything going on the street, just small time hustling, guys hanging out at the racetrack, etc. Like Pete, the whole family seemed risk averse. When Jimmy Caci went away for a short bid, his brother told the others in his crew that they weren't going to do anything while Jimmy was away. Brokesters. Mike Rizzi, on the other hand, was a dangerous guy. He just couldn't get his head above water, ever. The Animal in Hollywood deals with Rizzi quite a bit, but its not very well written, and Fiato, like Kenji, blows himself all through the book....

The Last Mafioso by Jimmy Fratianno contained the strong bias against the LA Family and he took verbal vengeance on their characters: Peter Milano was "afraid of his own shadow" and Jimmy had to hold back laughing when he heard he became a capo. Essentially everyone was a fucking idiot next to the weasel.

Cut to The Animal... The book was rushed to cash in on the OJ Trial, they released it as quick as they could because "Denise Simpson was the most sought after woman in America, but it was she who sought the company of Tony Rome Fiato." Not also remember, that Fiato came up under Rizzi who came up under Fratianno. So the narratives were from the same viewpoint.

Now in Kenji's case, he directly wrote in his book that he was either shown a copy of Fiato's book or was introduced to him through the FBI. He told me the same thing in person. So quite naturally he's going to have the same viewpoint: Pete Milano was a pussy. But in his later blogs, he recanted and admitted Pete Milano died a legitimate millionaire.

Kenji once told me certain "LA Family facts" such as:
A) Pete Milano abolished the making ceremony and stated that when Fiato joined it was as simple as Milano saying: "If you want him in, he's in." Now whether Fiato told this again to Kenji or if Kenji was reciting what he read to me. I can only guess.

B) Milano didn't replace the consigliere and then the underboss. Kenji stated this to be the case, but he could have just put that together from what he read or what he was told.

It seems to me that Milano seen the writing on the wall and just let it die a death. Members probably dabbled in certain crime but as an organization they weren't making new members. And this goes back to the neighborhoods, Italian neighborhoods were going extinct by the 1970's. With the exception of east coast expatriates, the Italian colonies were gone, what existed was a network of Italians and some social clubs but even that dissolved in time... One thing I agree with Kenji on is that the LA Family had no 'long term rackets.' It was one member doing this and another member doing that. Jimmy Caci allegedly attended a sitdown with the muscle of two bikers before he died.

[Angelo Santino]

Another observation about the LA Family is that they traditionally have been presided over by individuals with east coast connections. Joe Ardizzone, Vito Di Giorgio, Jack Dragna got their start in New Orleans and New York (which were connected to the Genovese family early on.) Pueblo and LA were connected by way of Rosario DeSimone who hailed from CO but was a close confident of 1920's Boss Vito DiGiorgio. Di Giorgio was formerly of New Orleans, connected to Joe Morello of NY since the 1900's. Jack Dragna hailed from Corleone and Harlem and thus was Gen connected. They had connections to Detroit, Dominick Brooklier who was from Detroit.

Every boss up to Peter Milano, came from mafia stock, all of them I believe, Brooklier being the exception, came from second generation or more mafia stock (*Rick if I'm wrong, correct me). The Milanos were quite influential in the ORV from 1910 to 1940 and arguably far into the 70's. There was almost a triangle of influence that spanned Cleveland, Mexico and LA. They were the successful Capones in a way.

But even a good majority of LA members came from the east. Fratianno from Cleveland, Brooklier from Detroit, Rizzitello from NYC (orig from Montreal I think), Caci from Buffalo, Milano's father from Cleveland.. You get the idea. This was, from the get go, a very different family than let's say the Bonanno's in Williamsburgh who were centered along Roebling and N5th, Marcy and Wallabout. Even Fiato (from New England) noticed the distinction between the ethnic neighborhoods of the east and the nuovo neighborhoods of LA.

[Ed]

MF has some very specific information about the Milanos, ie business dealings and personal criminal history, that always suggested to me that one of them could have shared some confidential information with the FBI.

[Pete]

I enjoyed Kenji's book as well, but I think he likes to tell stories. The only person who has ever claimed that there was any LCN activity in Denver is Kenji.

There was certainly lcn activity in Denver at some point I think what is disputed is how long ago that was

[JCB1977]

It was an interesting book in the respect that you get some insight into what it was like in the last days of the Milano family. I'll bet most of Pete's money came from legitimate sources, such as whatever business he owned, as the remnants of that family didn't seem to have anything going on the street, just small time hustling, guys hanging out at the racetrack, etc. Like Pete, the whole family seemed risk averse. When Jimmy Caci went away for a short bid, his brother told the others in his crew that they weren't going to do anything while Jimmy was away. Brokesters. Mike Rizzi, on the other hand, was a dangerous guy. He just couldn't get his head above water, ever. The Animal in Hollywood deals with Rizzi quite a bit, but its not very well written, and Fiato, like Kenji, blows himself all through the book....

The Last Mafioso by Jimmy Fratianno contained the strong bias against the LA Family and he took verbal vengeance on their characters: Peter Milano was "afraid of his own shadow" and Jimmy had to hold back laughing when he heard he became a capo. Essentially everyone was a fucking idiot next to the weasel.

Cut to The Animal... The book was rushed to cash in on the OJ Trial, they released it as quick as they could because "Denise Simpson was the most sought after woman in America, but it was she who sought the company of Tony Rome Fiato." Not also remember, that Fiato came up under Rizzi who came up under Fratianno. So the narratives were from the same viewpoint.

Now in Kenji's case, he directly wrote in his book that he was either shown a copy of Fiato's book or was introduced to him through the FBI. He told me the same thing in person. So quite naturally he's going to have the same viewpoint: Pete Milano was a pussy. But in his later blogs, he recanted and admitted Pete Milano died a legitimate millionaire.

Kenji once told me certain "LA Family facts" such as:
A) Pete Milano abolished the making ceremony and stated that when Fiato joined it was as simple as Milano saying: "If you want him in, he's in." Now whether Fiato told this again to Kenji or if Kenji was reciting what he read to me. I can only guess.

B) Milano didn't replace the consigliere and then the underboss. Kenji stated this to be the case, but he could have just put that together from what he read or what he was told.

It seems to me that Milano seen the writing on the wall and just let it die a death. Members probably dabbled in certain crime but as an organization they weren't making new members. And this goes back to the neighborhoods, Italian neighborhoods were going extinct by the 1970's. With the exception of east coast expatriates, the Italian colonies were gone, what existed was a network of Italians and some social clubs but even that dissolved in time... One thing I agree with Kenji on is that the LA Family had no 'long term rackets.' It was one member doing this and another member doing that. Jimmy Caci allegedly attended a sitdown with the muscle of two bikers before he died.

Fratianno was a Cleveland guy. He was always jealous of Tony Milano and viewed Pete & Carmen as spoiled brats...which they certainly were. They grew up with privilege and not wanting for anything and going to the best schools and having legitimate high paying jobs waiting for them. Everybody in Cleveland knew the weasel envied Tony. Peter & Carmen made money in unions out there, make no mistake about it. After Tony died, the weasel felt he could control them.

[Angelo Santino]

I enjoyed Kenji's book as well, but I think he likes to tell stories. The only person who has ever claimed that there was any LCN activity in Denver is Kenji.

There was certainly lcn activity in Denver at some point I think what is disputed is how long ago that was

Denver was an extension of Pueblo which died out in the 60's/early 70's. The Smaldones of Denver continued on, connected to LA and St Louis. They eventually split into two factions: Eugene Smaldone and Clyde Smaldone. They lasted long enough to make it onto an FBI chart in 1988: Boss: Eugene Smaldone; Consligere: Paul Villano and Underboss: Clarence Smaldone.

[Angelo Santino]

It was an interesting book in the respect that you get some insight into what it was like in the last days of the Milano family. I'll bet most of Pete's money came from legitimate sources, such as whatever business he owned, as the remnants of that family didn't seem to have anything going on the street, just small time hustling, guys hanging out at the racetrack, etc. Like Pete, the whole family seemed risk averse. When Jimmy Caci went away for a short bid, his brother told the others in his crew that they weren't going to do anything while Jimmy was away. Brokesters. Mike Rizzi, on the other hand, was a dangerous guy. He just couldn't get his head above water, ever. The Animal in Hollywood deals with Rizzi quite a bit, but its not very well written, and Fiato, like Kenji, blows himself all through the book....

The Last Mafioso by Jimmy Fratianno contained the strong bias against the LA Family and he took verbal vengeance on their characters: Peter Milano was "afraid of his own shadow" and Jimmy had to hold back laughing when he heard he became a capo. Essentially everyone was a fucking idiot next to the weasel.

Cut to The Animal... The book was rushed to cash in on the OJ Trial, they released it as quick as they could because "Denise Simpson was the most sought after woman in America, but it was she who sought the company of Tony Rome Fiato." Not also remember, that Fiato came up under Rizzi who came up under Fratianno. So the narratives were from the same viewpoint.

Now in Kenji's case, he directly wrote in his book that he was either shown a copy of Fiato's book or was introduced to him through the FBI. He told me the same thing in person. So quite naturally he's going to have the same viewpoint: Pete Milano was a pussy. But in his later blogs, he recanted and admitted Pete Milano died a legitimate millionaire.

Kenji once told me certain "LA Family facts" such as:
A) Pete Milano abolished the making ceremony and stated that when Fiato joined it was as simple as Milano saying: "If you want him in, he's in." Now whether Fiato told this again to Kenji or if Kenji was reciting what he read to me. I can only guess.

B) Milano didn't replace the consigliere and then the underboss. Kenji stated this to be the case, but he could have just put that together from what he read or what he was told.

It seems to me that Milano seen the writing on the wall and just let it die a death. Members probably dabbled in certain crime but as an organization they weren't making new members. And this goes back to the neighborhoods, Italian neighborhoods were going extinct by the 1970's. With the exception of east coast expatriates, the Italian colonies were gone, what existed was a network of Italians and some social clubs but even that dissolved in time... One thing I agree with Kenji on is that the LA Family had no 'long term rackets.' It was one member doing this and another member doing that. Jimmy Caci allegedly attended a sitdown with the muscle of two bikers before he died.

Fratianno was a Cleveland guy. He was always jealous of Tony Milano and viewed Pete & Carmen as spoiled brats...which they certainly were. They grew up with privilege and not wanting for anything and going to the best schools and having legitimate high paying jobs waiting for them. Everybody in Cleveland knew the weasel envied Tony. Peter & Carmen made money in unions out there, make no mistake about it. After Tony died, the weasel felt he could control them.

Yeah, and they both came from opposite backgrounds. Peter and Carmen Milano were entering an organization with family members holding high positions, whereas Fratianno entered on his own. Alot of members without the lineage feel they have to work harder to achieve the same status. Fratianno was most likely an informant very early one. He kept a scrapbook of all his exploits and would show them to people as a means of intimidation.

But the question stands: why did Brooklier make Fratianno Acting Underboss? There's no proof of it, but I secretly wonder if Brooklier was setting Jimmy up to bury himself. One of the major transgressions was Jimmy touring the country identifying himself as Acting Boss, which was actually held by Louis Tom Dragna. Jimmy would have sold his soul to be a boss. He was bitter at Tom DeSimone, Scozzari, Licata and Brooklier, feeling that if he hadn't been in jail at this point or that other event didn't happen, he would have been boss... Again, Fratianno was very bitter and his narration doesn't disguise it.

[Antiliar]

Another observation about the LA Family is that they traditionally have been presided over by individuals with east coast connections. Joe Ardizzone, Vito Di Giorgio, Jack Dragna got their start in New Orleans and New York (which were connected to the Genovese family early on.) Pueblo and LA were connected by way of Rosario DeSimone who hailed from CO but was a close confident of 1920's Boss Vito DiGiorgio. Di Giorgio was formerly of New Orleans, connected to Joe Morello of NY since the 1900's. Jack Dragna hailed from Corleone and Harlem and thus was Gen connected. They had connections to Detroit, Dominick Brooklier who was from Detroit.

Every boss up to Peter Milano, came from mafia stock, all of them I believe, Brooklier being the exception, came from second generation or more mafia stock (*Rick if I'm wrong, correct me). The Milanos were quite influential in the ORV from 1910 to 1940 and arguably far into the 70's. There was almost a triangle of influence that spanned Cleveland, Mexico and LA. They were the successful Capones in a way.

But even a good majority of LA members came from the east. Fratianno from Cleveland, Brooklier from Detroit, Rizzitello from NYC (orig from Montreal I think), Caci from Buffalo, Milano's father from Cleveland.. You get the idea. This was, from the get go, a very different family than let's say the Bonanno's in Williamsburgh who were centered along Roebling and N5th, Marcy and Wallabout. Even Fiato (from New England) noticed the distinction between the ethnic neighborhoods of the east and the nuovo neighborhoods of LA.

I don't know if the bosses had fathers or other relatives who were in the Mafia. Don't know anything about DiGiorgio's father so can't say, Joe Ardizzone's father Antonino probably was, don't know anything about Rosario DeSimone's father and I don't think Dragna's father was in it. Certainly it helped Frank Desimone get picked as boss that his father was a boss. Don't know about Nick Licata's father either, so I can't say that we have enough info to confirm that they all came from Mafia stock.

[Antiliar]

MF has some very specific information about the Milanos, ie business dealings and personal criminal history, that always suggested to me that one of them could have shared some confidential information with the FBI.

Ed,long time no see, buddy. We know that the Los Angeles Family hasd quite a few informants: Frank Bompensiero, Jimmy Fratianno, "Dago Louie" Piscopo/Merli, Louis Dragna, Fiato, as well as plenty of associates like Kenji. Mickey Cohen even provided some intel. Plus the LAPD Intelligence Unit really monitored those guys, which is one of the reasons the Los Angeles Family failed to grow. The LAPD even chased out Capone when he came in 1927 and Accardo and Giancana when they came in 1950.