1927 Making Ceremony

[Antiliar]

This took place in Pittsburgh and was apparently attended by a New York member, who told the story to the FBI:

FBI Bonanno Crime Family p23 (34) Pittsburgh initiation.jpg

FBI Bonanno Crime Family p24 (35) Pittsburgh initiation.jpg

[MichaelGiovanni]

Interesting that the commission was mentioned for that time period. I suppose that was a general statement made years later and referring to how things eventually became not necessarily how things were in 1927.

[Antiliar]

Interesting that the commission was mentioned for that time period. I suppose that was a general statement made years later and referring to how things eventually became not necessarily how things were in 1927.

Right. In 1927 they still had the Boss of Bosses, the General Assembly, and special commissions appointed by the Boss of Bosses. It's possible, however, that Western Pennsylvania or the Greater Pittsburgh Area did have some sort of commission.

[DPG]

When was this report filed?

[Ed]

T-96 is Tony Lima. He was made in Pittsburgh before he became boss in San Francisco.

[aleksandrored]

Thanks, this is very interesting. It is curious that he mentions about not working with drugs, and that time Luciano and others were already involved in it, you will see they only spoke for being part of the ritual or was something specific of Pittsburgh.

[bert]

T-96 is Tony Lima. He was made in Pittsburgh before he became boss in San Francisco.

They call him NY T-96, I thought that meant he was out of New York?

[Ed]

T-96 is Tony Lima. He was made in Pittsburgh before he became boss in San Francisco.

They call him NY T-96, I thought that meant he was out of New York?

No, the reference to "NY" in this context just means the report was produced by the New York Office. To find out the true identity of the informant, you have go to the beginning of the relevant FBI report where they break down the "T-symbols" and refer to the underlying informant symbol code. I've seen this document before and T-96 is "SF 2689".

[scagghiuni]

Interesting that the commission was mentioned for that time period. I suppose that was a general statement made years later and referring to how things eventually became not necessarily how things were in 1927.

it's very possible the commission existed before 1931, i never believed luciano created it, it's just bullshit, the mafia commission existed in sicily at least in the late 1800s

[BeatiPaoli]

To AntiLiar and Everyone: Great find! I am curious, is this the oldest report of an initiation ceremony performed in America, as told to any level of law enforcement or the courts, which has been written down?

Regards,
BeatiPaoli

[scagghiuni]

the most interesting thing is that both italian and american government know perfectly cosa nostra or whatever it was called at that time existed long before they they should make us believe

[Antiliar]

To AntiLiar and Everyone: Great find! I am curious, is this the oldest report of an initiation ceremony performed in America, as told to any level of law enforcement or the courts, which has been written down?

Regards,
BeatiPaoli

Yes, this might be the earliest report of an American Mafia initiation ceremony. It beats Joe Valachi's by several years and Joe Bonanno didn't go into details in his book. The Society of the Banana, a Mafia-like group in Ohio and Pittsburgh, had a very different ceremony that's closer to the Camorra.

[BeatiPaoli]

To Antliar: Thank you very much for the reply. Could you point me in the right direction to learn more about " The Society of the Banana, a Mafia-like group in Ohio and Pittsburgh" that you referenced in you reply? Any books or on-line sources would be helpful.

Regards,
BeatiPaoli

[Antiliar]

To Antliar: Thank you very much for the reply. Could you point me in the right direction to learn more about " The Society of the Banana, a Mafia-like group in Ohio and Pittsburgh" that you referenced in you reply? Any books or on-line sources would be helpful.

Regards,
BeatiPaoli

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/363 ... nd-society

[BeatiPaoli]

To AntiLiar: Thank you for the reference! I have the book, will place it on my priority list to read. Thank you, again!

Regards,
BeatiPaoli