Buffalo/Ontario Mob Acitivity

[Angelo Santino]

Your posts are like my article, loaded with information that you need to read it 5 times, lol.

On Lennert's list of early Rochester figures, I looked up one early mafia / black hand figure and he had listed a cousin as a Gaetano Marotta. Doesn't seem coincidental given how tight-knit the Rochester group's roots are turning out to be. If there's a relation, then even Tommy Marotta's background could go back to the early Sicilian mafia "black hand" colony in Rochester. The heritage of the Rochester group is closely linked to the heritage of Buffalo/NF, which is interesting, too, as Utica doesn't share that heritage despite being another tight-knit Sicilian group that would join the larger Buffalo family.

As we've spoken about before, in the 1910's there seemed enough activity there for there to be a Family. There and San Jose. The Marottas are new to me, both this one and the 1999 one. Never head of the man before.

An important detail that went along with Magaddino's comments about building his family to 125 is that he said the family had 22 members when he took over. This makes it possible that not only was Utica its own family originally, but so was Rochester, though the heritage of Rochester is much more deeply entwined with Buffalo/NF so who knows. There was clearly active and "viable" Sicilian mafia-style activity in Rochester and Utica long before Magaddino became boss and it seems unlikely that the early Buffalo family would have 22 members spread between Buffalo/NF, Ontario, Rochester, Utica, Erie, etc. The more likely explanation is that these were separate families that were brought under one banner, which would explain the jump from 22 to 125.

All new info to me and all very good points. I wonder if this was during prohibition when this arrangement took place.

My biggest takeaway from this entire topic is that the Buffalo family was or is much more like the DeCavalcantes than realized. A lot of the core membership going back to the beginning come from the same villages in Caltanissetta and nearby villages in Agrigento, and much of their influence was centered around one particular union. I mean, this really describes most US families, being that most families were based around men from certain villages who found a certain industry or activity that they could center themselves around. But Buffalo is unique in that it was the largest and arguably most important non-NYC Cosa Nostra family at its peak.

Almost every family has a hometown foundation. It's something we could probably chart using a US/NYC map and a Sicily map.

If you look through mafia history past to present, it is basically a catalog of "coincidences". I don't believe these are coincidences, but the result of a very tight-knit network and structure that inevitably creates patterns we can follow. The members themselves might not even be aware of these patterns, but because they are using the same networks and structure they will become part of the pattern. With this in mind, it's pretty interesting that we have Domenico Violi's father Paolo, Canadian acting captain for a US family, meeting with the Sicilian mafioso Cuffaro from Montallegro in Canada, who is responsible for informing Violi about Sicilian mafia activities in the province of Agrigento; then 40 years later Dom Violi becomes the Canadian underboss to a US boss of Montallegro heritage who himself visited Montallegro in the last 20 or 30 years. It might not mean there was some orchestrated plan, but the mafia is filled to the brim with these kinds of "coincidences" and they often have some kind of meaning, even if that meaning is simply that the same networks are still in some degree of use.

Elegantly put.

There is a Buffalo family with a boss, underboss, and membership of some kind, as there was a century ago. Beyond that, I take an agnostic approach to what they've been up to in the past couple of decades. I'm not going to say they've been active, dormant, they pulled a resurgence, or anything. What does seem to be true, though, is the Buffalo family is still participating in the network of Cosa Nostra, which recognizes them as a family, and this network is the true currency of the mafia spanning countries, generations, and pretty much any other variable you want to throw into the mix. As long as an organization is using these networks, however big or small they are, I consider them to be part of the ongoing Cosa Nostra phenomenon.

Agreed.

Chicago boss Antonio D'Andrea was an informant in 1904 and it involved Chicago and Buffalo. We don't have anything more specific than that but it points its existence before 1910. If memory serves, D'Aquila was even arrested in Buffalo at some point, I'm not sure pre or post 1910. Antiliar would know.

Clemente was arrested in Rochester in the 1910's by local police. He was to meet with John Vaccaro who fled NYC city and spent the 1910's moving around small towns between NJ and NY doing his counterfeiting business like Leonardo DiCaprio playing Frank Abagnale. Always wondered if this Vaccaro was linked to future ones.

The name Vincenzo Guarnieri, Rochester ring any bells?

[NickleCity]

...
Unless the funding has been cut severely, I would imagine the FBI is currently aware of the information that's come out. Given that it involves drugs, Bonanno LCN and international crime (US and Canada) they might be very interested. If Buffalo was reconstituted in 2014 then it explains why they were silent for so long, but within a few years of being active they are being noticed which coincides with the argument of criminal convictions equating to activity.

I don't think anyone here is arguing that Buffalo's stayed silent from 1998 until 2017 because they are criminal masterminds. But what comes with the 2014 Allegations is the possibility that this group was beefed up within a very short timeframe i.e. 15 or even 20 new members by 2017 to round out 30 by counting alive heads from the 2006 and 1997 charts. It's that or the FBI missed 5-10 members in 1997 and 2006 which I don't think is likely.

B., do you have any opinion on Buffalo's numbers throughout the eras from say 1960 to 2000? Was there a sharp decline or do you think they have members that evaded scrutiny into the 90's?

I am not 100% convinced they have been completely quiet from 1998 to 2014. Here is one example:

The Las Vegas HOA Scam:

A. According to George Knapp I-Team reporter for CBS news affiliate KLAS NewsNow channel 8 in Vegas during a story called "More Targets in HOA Conspiracy" he states, "The FBI thinks he [Paul Citelli] is affiliated with the Buffalo Mob."

Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj9LblS ... e=youtu.be

B. Jeff German, a reporter for the Las Vegas Journal Review, writes a section on possible mob ties in an article titled "Lawyer kick-started massive HOA probe with private investigation," from July 13, 2013. He writes:

According to the FBI affidavit, one witness told investigators there were “rumors” that Benzer’s now-defunct company, Silver Lining Construction, was controlled by the New York Mob and had helped Quon set up her law firm.
A potential target said during a secretly recorded conversation that Benzer, 46, thought of himself as a “Soprano,” a reference to the HBO series about organized crime.
The target told the informant that people thought Benzer was “in the mob” because of his association with attorneys John V. Spilotro and Mark Kulla. Spilotro is the nephew of Anthony Spilotro, the slain overseer of street rackets in Las Vegas for the Chicago mob in the 1970s and 1980s.
Investigators also disclosed they were aware that a key player in one of the HOA takeovers, Paul Citelli, was known to have ties to the Buffalo mob.
One of Benzer’s top associates told an informant that Benzer maintained that he was not connected to the mob and preferred to think of himself as “just a bully,” the affidavit states. Both Benzer and his “right-hand man,” Ralph Priola, according to the affidavit, would be seen around town with armed bodyguards, which concerned investigators for the safety of their informants.

Here is the article: https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/cou ... stigation/

C. John L Smith of the Las Vegas Journal Review asks the question who is Joe Bravo in his article from June 10, 2012 called "Familiar faces show up in HOA probe." In this article he states:

"It’s a question some members of local law enforcement have asked for years. For the record, Joseph Angelo Bravo is a convicted drug trafficker who was sentenced to 87 months in 1993 for his role in a cocaine importing ring with ties to the Buffalo mob.
The Niagara Falls-to-Las Vegas distribution network was accused of distributing 400 kilos of cocaine between 1986 and 1990. A lengthy investigation compiled 2,500 wiretap conversations, recordings whose legality was vigorously but unsuccessfully challenged by defense lawyers Oscar Goodman and David Chesnoff. The 16 defendants pleaded guilty before trial.
I was reminded of that old case May 31 when Paul Citelli entered U.S. District Judge James Mahan’s courtroom and took his place among the 14 latest defendants to plead guilty in the HOA scandal. Citelli, a Southern Nevada limousine driver, was one of Bravo’s partners in the cocaine distribution ring back in the years authorities believed the Buffalo mob was the dominant La Cosa Nostra family on the streets of Las Vegas.
At the time of Citelli’s 1993 sentencing, he apologized to U.S. District Judge Lloyd George for his transgression and received a break. Faced with a potential 27-year prison term, Citelli caught only seven."

He then questions Bravo's dealings with Chestnoff and their partnership in an airport in Baja Sur California. He writes:

Defense attorneys Chesnoff and Marty Keach are listed in real estate records as partners in land deals with Bravo both locally and in Mexico. Down in Baja California Sur, their friend Joe’s name and criminal history have splashed in the press in association with their Punta Arena de la Ventana resort and the management of a private airport outside La Paz.
What’s a convicted drug trafficker doing managing a Mexican airport?
That’s a question skeptical reporters asked in 2010. They’ve also wondered about Bravo’s cordial relationship with then-Baja Sur Gov. Narciso Agundez Montano.
I might ask for Agundez to vouch for Bravo’s character, but the former governor was just arrested in late May on public corruption charges.

We know Chesnoff has represented many a mobster (for example Vincent Faraci) and Goodman has long been alleged to have had mob ties.

Here is a link to Smith's Article: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/fami ... hoa-probe/

Here some pics related to the questions Smith raised:

D. In another Las Vegas Journal Review article by Jeff German called "Target of Las Vegas HOA investigation detailed scheme, bribes in secret documents" from October 30, 2104 writes:

Joe Bravo Mexico Airport.jpg

Joe Bravo Airport.jpg

Investigators in 2011 also asked Benzer about possible mob involvement in the HOA takeover scheme.
In one interview, Benzer said he was friends with Joseph A. Bravo, a Las Vegas ticket broker who received an 87-month federal prison term in 1993 for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring with alleged ties to the Buffalo mob.
Benzer said he met Bravo through lawyer John V. Spilotro, the nephew of Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro, the Chicago mob’s infamous overseer of street rackets in Las Vegas until his murder in 1986.
Bravo’s nephew, real estate agent Anthony R. Wilson, pleaded guilty in the HOA investigation. So did limousine driver Paul Citelli, who was convicted with Bravo in the 1993 cocaine case.
Benzer told investigators that he didn’t believe Bravo had mob ties, but admitted that Bravo had loaned him as much as $20,000 and turned him on to hard money lenders as the scheme progressed.
Before sitting down with Benzer, Justice Department lawyers agreed not to use anything he said against him at trial if the negotiations fell through. But they were free to corroborate the wealth of information they got from Benzer with other witnesses.[/b]

Here is the link to this article: https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/loc ... documents/

This doesn't prove Buffalo was involved in this, but LE and journalists were definitely looking into this possibility. So, I don't think it can be dismissed.

Then real quick and without documentation there is the Massimi murder that a LE officer who married into the Aiello family (think BUSICO) and grew up with those alleged to be involved told me to look into and that the Buffalo News said reminded Buffalo of the mob.

Finally there is the Butch Quarcini indictment and convictions of the Niagara Falls LIUNA Local 91 "Goon Squad" in the early to mid 2000's. 91 and Quarcini worked closely with Pieri during Love Canal "clean-up" and answered to the family during the Todaro era according to Fino.

Not saying the Buffalo mob is huge or that Todaro is a mastermind, but a case can be made that there could have been some activity that resulted in arrests of those alleged to be a part of and/or on the fringes of the mob in Buffalo.

[SonnyBlackstein]

If you guys turn this into a Buffalo vs. Chicago argument, you will all be legally retarded in my eyes forever.

Bravo sir.

[B.]

Chicago boss Antonio D'Andrea was an informant in 1904 and it involved Chicago and Buffalo. We don't have anything more specific than that but it points its existence before 1910. If memory serves, D'Aquila was even arrested in Buffalo at some point, I'm not sure pre or post 1910. Antiliar would know.

Clemente was arrested in Rochester in the 1910's by local police. He was to meet with John Vaccaro who fled NYC city and spent the 1910's moving around small towns between NJ and NY doing his counterfeiting business like Leonardo DiCaprio playing Frank Abagnale. Always wondered if this Vaccaro was linked to future ones.

The name Vincenzo Guarnieri, Rochester ring any bells?

Traina represented D'Aquila at a Buffalo meeting in the 1920s. Magaddino talks too about a situation Buffalo was heavily involved in relating to the reinstatement of a former boss of bosses who was potentially going to be placed under the Buffalo family, but Magaddino did not accept it. This was no doubt Giuseppe Morello. There were also several meetings reported by all of the usual sources about meetings in upstate and western NY relating to the Castellammarese War.

I can't remember who it was, but one of the old sources talked about how Buffalo or western NY area was a regular spot for national meetings pre-Commission as well. I'm not sure where other Commission meetings were later on, but interesting that in the 1950s they had a Commission meeting in Binghamton and then a year later the big assembly meeting at Apalachin. Those spots were Bufalino territory in SW NYS, but there is still this pattern of western NY being used as a spot for high-level national meetings. I have to imagine it's because it was a convergent point between the east coast, midwest, and Canada, plus whatever the political reasons were within the mafia.

--

There was Anthony Guarnieri, Bufalino member in Binghamton, who later became a capodecina and likely took Barbara's interests. He was born in Utica and mingled with other western NY figures, so there was originally speculation he might be a Buffalo member but that proved to be incorrect. One of the few non-Sicilians involved fairly early on with Pittston, no idea if he connects to Rochester Guarnieris but it's a name in these circles at least.

[Angelo Santino]

Vincenzo Guarnieri, b 1878, from Campobello di Licata, Girgenti. Father Vincent, brother Giovanni at 241 Senenca St, Buffalo.
Any of this seem of interest?

[B.]

Vincenzo Guarnieri, b 1878, from Campobello di Licata, Girgenti. Father Vincent, brother Giovanni at 241 Senenca St, Buffalo.
Any of this seem of interest?

That province is proving to be one of the central backbones of the entire N.American mafia so it potentially throws Buffalo into the equation, especially with Rochester being part of the same conversation.

I am pretty sure Anthony Guarnieri was a mainlander when I looked him up, still interesting to have an early name from AG.

[Angelo Santino]

Vincenzo Guarnieri, b 1878, from Campobello di Licata, Girgenti. Father Vincent, brother Giovanni at 241 Senenca St, Buffalo.
Any of this seem of interest?

That province is proving to be one of the central backbones of the entire N.American mafia so it potentially throws Buffalo into the equation, especially with Rochester being part of the same conversation.

I am pretty sure Anthony Guarnieri was a mainlander when I looked him up, still interesting to have an early name from AG.

I can't verify that he was amico nos or even associated. Same with the names I have for Rochester like Carl Castellano who was supposed to be some kind of criminal head in 1910. Whether it's Mafia or an independant non-affiliated counterfeiting outfit with no rights or rituals remains a question. But given great level of non-mafia crime it's very possible it's nothing.

[Angelo Santino]

...
Unless the funding has been cut severely, I would imagine the FBI is currently aware of the information that's come out. Given that it involves drugs, Bonanno LCN and international crime (US and Canada) they might be very interested. If Buffalo was reconstituted in 2014 then it explains why they were silent for so long, but within a few years of being active they are being noticed which coincides with the argument of criminal convictions equating to activity.

I don't think anyone here is arguing that Buffalo's stayed silent from 1998 until 2017 because they are criminal masterminds. But what comes with the 2014 Allegations is the possibility that this group was beefed up within a very short timeframe i.e. 15 or even 20 new members by 2017 to round out 30 by counting alive heads from the 2006 and 1997 charts. It's that or the FBI missed 5-10 members in 1997 and 2006 which I don't think is likely.

B., do you have any opinion on Buffalo's numbers throughout the eras from say 1960 to 2000? Was there a sharp decline or do you think they have members that evaded scrutiny into the 90's?

I am not 100% convinced they have been completely quiet from 1998 to 2014. Here is one example:

The Las Vegas HOA Scam:

A. According to George Knapp I-Team reporter for CBS news affiliate KLAS NewsNow channel 8 in Vegas during a story called "More Targets in HOA Conspiracy" he states, "The FBI thinks he [Paul Citelli] is affiliated with the Buffalo Mob."

Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj9LblS ... e=youtu.be

B. Jeff German, a reporter for the Las Vegas Journal Review, writes a section on possible mob ties in an article titled "Lawyer kick-started massive HOA probe with private investigation," from July 13, 2013. He writes:

According to the FBI affidavit, one witness told investigators there were “rumors” that Benzer’s now-defunct company, Silver Lining Construction, was controlled by the New York Mob and had helped Quon set up her law firm.
A potential target said during a secretly recorded conversation that Benzer, 46, thought of himself as a “Soprano,” a reference to the HBO series about organized crime.
The target told the informant that people thought Benzer was “in the mob” because of his association with attorneys John V. Spilotro and Mark Kulla. Spilotro is the nephew of Anthony Spilotro, the slain overseer of street rackets in Las Vegas for the Chicago mob in the 1970s and 1980s.
Investigators also disclosed they were aware that a key player in one of the HOA takeovers, Paul Citelli, was known to have ties to the Buffalo mob.
One of Benzer’s top associates told an informant that Benzer maintained that he was not connected to the mob and preferred to think of himself as “just a bully,” the affidavit states. Both Benzer and his “right-hand man,” Ralph Priola, according to the affidavit, would be seen around town with armed bodyguards, which concerned investigators for the safety of their informants.

Here is the article: https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/cou ... stigation/

C. John L Smith of the Las Vegas Journal Review asks the question who is Joe Bravo in his article from June 10, 2012 called "Familiar faces show up in HOA probe." In this article he states:

"It’s a question some members of local law enforcement have asked for years. For the record, Joseph Angelo Bravo is a convicted drug trafficker who was sentenced to 87 months in 1993 for his role in a cocaine importing ring with ties to the Buffalo mob.
The Niagara Falls-to-Las Vegas distribution network was accused of distributing 400 kilos of cocaine between 1986 and 1990. A lengthy investigation compiled 2,500 wiretap conversations, recordings whose legality was vigorously but unsuccessfully challenged by defense lawyers Oscar Goodman and David Chesnoff. The 16 defendants pleaded guilty before trial.
I was reminded of that old case May 31 when Paul Citelli entered U.S. District Judge James Mahan’s courtroom and took his place among the 14 latest defendants to plead guilty in the HOA scandal. Citelli, a Southern Nevada limousine driver, was one of Bravo’s partners in the cocaine distribution ring back in the years authorities believed the Buffalo mob was the dominant La Cosa Nostra family on the streets of Las Vegas.
At the time of Citelli’s 1993 sentencing, he apologized to U.S. District Judge Lloyd George for his transgression and received a break. Faced with a potential 27-year prison term, Citelli caught only seven."

He then questions Bravo's dealings with Chestnoff and their partnership in an airport in Baja Sur California. He writes:

Defense attorneys Chesnoff and Marty Keach are listed in real estate records as partners in land deals with Bravo both locally and in Mexico. Down in Baja California Sur, their friend Joe’s name and criminal history have splashed in the press in association with their Punta Arena de la Ventana resort and the management of a private airport outside La Paz.
What’s a convicted drug trafficker doing managing a Mexican airport?
That’s a question skeptical reporters asked in 2010. They’ve also wondered about Bravo’s cordial relationship with then-Baja Sur Gov. Narciso Agundez Montano.
I might ask for Agundez to vouch for Bravo’s character, but the former governor was just arrested in late May on public corruption charges.

We know Chesnoff has represented many a mobster (for example Vincent Faraci) and Goodman has long been alleged to have had mob ties.

Here is a link to Smith's Article: https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/fami ... hoa-probe/

Here some pics related to the questions Smith raised:

D. In another Las Vegas Journal Review article by Jeff German called "Target of Las Vegas HOA investigation detailed scheme, bribes in secret documents" from October 30, 2104 writes: Joe Bravo Mexico Airport.jpgJoe Bravo Airport.jpg

Investigators in 2011 also asked Benzer about possible mob involvement in the HOA takeover scheme.
In one interview, Benzer said he was friends with Joseph A. Bravo, a Las Vegas ticket broker who received an 87-month federal prison term in 1993 for his role in a cocaine trafficking ring with alleged ties to the Buffalo mob.
Benzer said he met Bravo through lawyer John V. Spilotro, the nephew of Anthony “The Ant” Spilotro, the Chicago mob’s infamous overseer of street rackets in Las Vegas until his murder in 1986.
Bravo’s nephew, real estate agent Anthony R. Wilson, pleaded guilty in the HOA investigation. So did limousine driver Paul Citelli, who was convicted with Bravo in the 1993 cocaine case.
Benzer told investigators that he didn’t believe Bravo had mob ties, but admitted that Bravo had loaned him as much as $20,000 and turned him on to hard money lenders as the scheme progressed.
Before sitting down with Benzer, Justice Department lawyers agreed not to use anything he said against him at trial if the negotiations fell through. But they were free to corroborate the wealth of information they got from Benzer with other witnesses.[/b]

Here is the link to this article: https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/loc ... documents/

This doesn't prove Buffalo was involved in this, but LE and journalists were definitely looking into this possibility. So, I don't think it can be dismissed.

Then real quick and without documentation there is the Massimi murder that a LE officer who married into the Aiello family (think BUSICO) and grew up with those alleged to be involved told me to look into and that the Buffalo News said reminded Buffalo of the mob.

Finally there is the Butch Quarcini indictment and convictions of the Niagara Falls LIUNA Local 91 "Goon Squad" in the early to mid 2000's. 91 and Quarcini worked closely with Pieri during Love Canal "clean-up" and answered to the family during the Todaro era according to Fino.

Not saying the Buffalo mob is huge or that Todaro is a mastermind, but a case can be made that there could have been some activity that resulted in arrests of those alleged to be a part of and/or on the fringes of the mob in Buffalo.

Thanks, this is all new to me.

I'm learning more on this forum in 2019 than I've learned on here the last five years. Amazing to have a place where all different trains of thought and expertise can mingle and share.

[B.]

Digging into Lennert's list, his info seems to have the most legs of anything I've seen on early Rochester.

A Buffalo member who could have the answers to some questions was Dominick Romeo. Not sure if his true name was Dominic, Domenico, or what. He's included on transcripts with Magaddino and appears knowledgeable of the family's Canadian activities and seems to be held in higher respect by Magaddino than some of his other visitors. Romeo was a Calabrian member and accompanied Peter A. Magaddino to a meeting in Hamilton attended by Vic Cotroni and Paolo Violi.

[Frank]

On Lennert's list of early Rochester figures, I looked up one early mafia / black hand figure and he had listed a cousin as a Gaetano Marotta. Doesn't seem coincidental given how tight-knit the Rochester group's roots are turning out to be. If there's a relation, then even Tommy Marotta's background could go back to the early Sicilian mafia "black hand" colony in Rochester. The heritage of the Rochester group is closely linked to the heritage of Buffalo/NF, which is interesting, too, as Utica doesn't share that heritage despite being another tight-knit Sicilian group that would join the larger Buffalo family.

An important detail that went along with Magaddino's comments about building his family to 125 is that he said the family had 22 members when he took over. This makes it possible that not only was Utica its own family originally, but so was Rochester, though the heritage of Rochester is much more deeply entwined with Buffalo/NF so who knows. There was clearly active and "viable" Sicilian mafia-style activity in Rochester and Utica long before Magaddino became boss and it seems unlikely that the early Buffalo family would have 22 members spread between Buffalo/NF, Ontario, Rochester, Utica, Erie, etc. The more likely explanation is that these were separate families that were brought under one banner, which would explain the jump from 22 to 125.

My biggest takeaway from this entire topic is that the Buffalo family was or is much more like the DeCavalcantes than realized. A lot of the core membership going back to the beginning come from the same villages in Caltanissetta and nearby villages in Agrigento, and much of their influence was centered around one particular union. I mean, this really describes most US families, being that most families were based around men from certain villages who found a certain industry or activity that they could center themselves around. But Buffalo is unique in that it was the largest and arguably most important non-NYC Cosa Nostra family at its peak.

If you look through mafia history past to present, it is basically a catalog of "coincidences". I don't believe these are coincidences, but the result of a very tight-knit network and structure that inevitably creates patterns we can follow. The members themselves might not even be aware of these patterns, but because they are using the same networks and structure they will become part of the pattern. With this in mind, it's pretty interesting that we have Domenico Violi's father Paolo, Canadian acting captain for a US family, meeting with the Sicilian mafioso Cuffaro from Montallegro in Canada, who is responsible for informing Violi about Sicilian mafia activities in the province of Agrigento; then 40 years later Dom Violi becomes the Canadian underboss to a US boss of Montallegro heritage who himself visited Montallegro in the last 20 or 30 years. It might not mean there was some orchestrated plan, but the mafia is filled to the brim with these kinds of "coincidences" and they often have some kind of meaning, even if that meaning is simply that the same networks are still in some degree of use.

There is a Buffalo family with a boss, underboss, and membership of some kind, as there was a century ago. Beyond that, I take an agnostic approach to what they've been up to in the past couple of decades. I'm not going to say they've been active, dormant, they pulled a resurgence, or anything. What does seem to be true, though, is the Buffalo family is still participating in the network of Cosa Nostra, which recognizes them as a family, and this network is the true currency of the mafia spanning countries, generations, and pretty much any other variable you want to throw into the mix. As long as an organization is using these networks, however big or small they are, I consider them to be part of the ongoing Cosa Nostra phenomenon.

Very well stated

[eboli]

The video of the panel on "The Fall of the Buffalo Mafia" JCB posted a few pages back is very interesting. It was a bit amusing how much they didn't like Paddy Calabrese and Fino, mentioning a couple of times how they would make shit up or intentionally stirring up trouble for people and later snitch on them. It sounded like they had more disdain for them than the people they were investigating. Judge Martoche actually mentioned how Calabrese would often return to Buffalo from Montana after he entered witsec, once he heard the crime family is afraid of going near him since they expected that it will only bring more pressure from law enforcement their way. So he was openly flexing on them every time he was returning home to visit family.

A couple of quotes on the status on the Buffalo Mob from the whole thing:

"We're gonna talk about the death of the mob in Buffalo and it doesn't mean the mob is death elsewhere. Mob families are flourishing, not to degree they once were, but they are flourishing in NYC and there's still some mob activity around the country. I did organized crime cases throughout my career. Less by the end of it, but that was more a product of the fact there was nothing left in Buffalo by the end of it, in terms of organized crime that is."

Anthony M. Bruce

"Finally the federal government got involved, basically took over the union and straightened it out. And if we have to talk about the demise of the Buffalo Mob, I call it the americanization of the Buffalo Mob. The children, the grandchildren, the great-grandchildren of those loyal mafiosi that came over from Italy did not have the same loyalty that their forefathers had for this criminal empire. It dissipated and when the revenue sources dried up, it dissipated even further. That in a simple summary, in my opinion, is why there's no longer mafia presence in Buffalo."

Lee Coppola

[Wiseguy]

A couple of quotes on the status on the Buffalo Mob from the whole thing:

"We're gonna talk about the death of the mob in Buffalo and it doesn't mean the mob is death elsewhere. Mob families are flourishing, not to degree they once were, but they are flourishing in NYC and there's still some mob activity around the country. I did organized crime cases throughout my career. Less by the end of it, but that was more a product of the fact there was nothing left in Buffalo by the end of it, in terms of organized crime that is."

Anthony M. Bruce

"Finally the federal government got involved, basically took over the union and straightened it out. And if we have to talk about the demise of the Buffalo Mob, I call it the americanization of the Buffalo Mob. The children, the grandchildren, the great-grandchildren of those loyal mafiosi that came over from Italy did not have the same loyalty that their forefathers had for this criminal empire. It dissipated and when the revenue sources dried up, it dissipated even further. That in a simple summary, in my opinion, is why there's no longer mafia presence in Buffalo."

Lee Coppola

About sums it up.

[Lupara]

You'd put Buffalo at its peak above Chicago?

i don't think so, chicago, philly, new england were probably stronger at their peak than buffalo

I think Buffalo would be the most significant after the big five and Chicago. New England and Philly would follow next.

[Lupara]

Okay, let's not even get into that shit. I was referring to Magaddino's status on the Commission and influence in national mafia politics, which was a reflection of Buffalo at the time. Buffalo was also central in US mafia politics before Magaddino took over and high-level national meetings were held there in the 1920s through the Castellammarese War. Beyond that, I absolutely will not bring a Chicago argument into this 215 page topic and I was not thinking of them or anything else beyond the point that Buffalo was a political powerhouse in the early mafia.

If you guys turn this into a Buffalo vs. Chicago argument, you will all be legally retarded in my eyes forever.

You brought it up with specifically saying they may have been the largest and most significant family after New York (implying to be above Chicago) so I was genuinly interested what made you believe so. No need to overreact and call me a retard for asking you that question. I wasn't aiming for a Chicago vs. Buffalo debate.

[B.]

Okay, let's not even get into that shit. I was referring to Magaddino's status on the Commission and influence in national mafia politics, which was a reflection of Buffalo at the time. Buffalo was also central in US mafia politics before Magaddino took over and high-level national meetings were held there in the 1920s through the Castellammarese War. Beyond that, I absolutely will not bring a Chicago argument into this 215 page topic and I was not thinking of them or anything else beyond the point that Buffalo was a political powerhouse in the early mafia.

If you guys turn this into a Buffalo vs. Chicago argument, you will all be legally retarded in my eyes forever.

You brought it up with specifically saying they may have been the largest and most significant family after New York (implying to be above Chicago) so I was genuinly interested what made you believe so. No need to overreact and call me a retard for asking you that question. I wasn't aiming for a Chicago vs. Buffalo debate.

I'm already busy at Summerslam because CC and I are taking on Pogo and Wiseguy for the tag team title. But I promise I'll see your ass at Monday Night Raw. Let's see what you have to say about Chicago then.