Ok, we've circled back to something very interesting:
- On the Magaddino transcript with Joe Falcone, the reason they discussed Frank Valenti's transfer from Pittsburgh to Buffalo-Rochester was because Magaddino was initially talking about a problem with someone who Joe Falcone initially confused for the well-known Frank Valenti, which led them to start discussing him (let's call him "Famous" Frank for the sake of clarity).
- Magaddino tells Falcone not to confuse the first man with Famous Frank Valenti. When I first read this, my impression was that the first man was also named Frank Valenti, hence Falcone's confusion, but that didn't make sense at the time. Now it does, as you will see below.
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- The Donato Valenti I mentioned earlier lived consistently in Rochester after arriving in the US and had a son named Frank, born the same year (or close to it) as Famous Frank. As Eboli mentioned, this Donato's birth year varies in records but I'm fairly certain all of the records refer to the same man, born around the mid-1870s.
- A 1907 immigration record shows that a Donato Valente, born in the same range of years as the above Donato Valenti, was traveling to Rochester, NY as his destination and lists a Giuseppe as his brother. You can see this here, and though something may be written or smudged over the destination, you can see Rochester written underneath:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 3AJXVW-WJM
- On the above record, I'm having a hard time deciphering Donato's Italian town of residence. It is transcribed as Sambatesa but both the original handwritten records and the online interpretations like this are often riddled with errors and while the word in cursive looks close to that, I can't figure out what town it's actually referring to and can't find any towns, historic or otherwise, that were called Sambatesa. Others on the same manifest from "Sambatesa" were heading to PA, with at least one going to Pittsburgh. Often paesans on the same manifest were relatives or otherwise connected to each other, so this establishes a potential connection between both Rochester and Pittsburgh for Donato "Valente".
- Given that this Donato was going to Rochester and his age is a close match, it's likely he is the same Donato "Valenti" who shows up in other records as a longtime Rochester resident with a son named Frank, born around the same period as Famous Frank. Given that the Donato on the 1907 manifest had a brother named Giuseppe, it seems possible if not likely that Giuseppe would also name his son Frank in the Italian custom, which is true for Famous Frank, son of Giuseppe.
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- Magaddino says that the first man who he is having issues with came back from Florida and was "thrown out" after disparaging the organization. This man, likely named Frank Valenti as well, does not appear to be a member, as when Joe Falcone confuses him with Famous Frank, Magaddino clarifies that Famous Frank is a Cosa Nostra member, implying that the other man is not. Still, it is clear the other man was associated with the Buffalo group.
- Death records show that a Frank Valenti born the day after Famous Frank Valenti's alleged birthday died in Florida in 2003. Is it confirmed that Famous Frank died in 2008, as most online sources indicate? It would seem odd that both Frank Valentis were born a day apart, but not impossible of course. If the Frank who died in Florida in 2003 is in fact different from Famous Frank, the age and Florida connection suggests this could be Donato's son Frank.
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- When Magaddino discusses Famous Frank Valenti, remember that he mentions in addition to Valenti himself joining Buffalo, Valenti also wanted his brother (Stanley), "another cousin", and an "old man" to join as well. The language "another cousin" implies that they had already discussed a cousin of Famous Frank Valenti. Given the context of the conversation this is almost certainly the first man they "threw out" who appears to also be named Frank Valenti, which would make complete sense if he was Donato's son since Donato appears to be the brother of Frank's father Giuseppe. This makes it almost certain that the first man who was "thrown out" was a cousin of Famous Frank and that reinforces the idea that he was also named Frank Valenti.
- The phonetics of "Bonorra's son" could easily be a mistranslation of Donato. In these types of transcripts, the B and D sound are often mistaken for one another and in heavy Italian accents (which Magaddino had) the letter T and R often sound alike (Cheech posted in another thread about how his friend "Ciro" sounds like "Cheeto" -- great example!).
- If "Bonorra" does refer to "Donato", Magaddino is probably not referring to Donato's son Frank who was "thrown out", but another son of Donato who is looking to join the Buffalo family, as "Bonorra's son" and "Mickey's father" are mentioned in the context of Famous Frank wanting his brother, "another cousin", and an "old man" to join the family.
NOTE: The well-known Frank Valenti was never known as "Famous Frank", that's solely me trying to distinguish him in this clusterfuck of information.
