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Rumors of a Senator With Mafia Membership
- Sometime prior to early 1967, LA member informant Frank Bompensiero reported to the FBI that a past US Senator from New York was an LCN member. Later that year, when discussing it with the FBI again he said it may not have been a Senator but a US Congressman from NY and that he had forgotten his name. He said the man was "very old" and had "long been out of politics." Bompensiero told the FBI he would ask Jimmy Fratianno for a reminder of the man's name, indicating he originally got the information from Fratianno or that Fratianno was otherwise more knowledgeable of the individual. No follow up was reported from what's currently available, though Bompensiero had by this time mentioned the Senator on at least two occasions.
- Four years previous, in 1963, San Jose member informant Sal Costanza reported that fellow SJ member Alex Camarata referred to a "Louie Boschetto" as an LCN member who was a "senator of some kind" that owned the El Rancho motel in Rock Springs, Wyoming. This "Boschetto" was being used to monitor and report on the activities of SJ member Pete Misuraca, then visiting Wyoming.
- Records show that the El Rancho in Rock Springs was in fact owned by a Wyoming State Senator named Louis Boschetto (1898-1977). The Boschettos were northern Italians who came from Austria and Louis lived in Wyoming for most of his life. Nothing in his background jumps out as an obvious Cosa Nostra connection except for this discussion between made members, where Boschetto was identified as a member and an apparent point of contact for Cosa Nostra members in Wyoming.
- Boschetto was himself ostensibly an upstanding citizen, being state deputy for the Wyoming Knights of Columbus in 1949/1950 and holding influential positions in other civic groups. In 1938 he and an in-law patented some kind of customized fishing equipment. Records show that he was a member of the Wyoming State House of Representatives circa 1950 and was a Democrat. He was also a leading member of the Highway 30 Association. It appears he was no longer involved with the senate by the 1960s, when Costanza made reference to him.
- It is possible that Bompensiero was also referring to the same senator. His description of the senator's age and "past" status in politics fits Boschetto. Boschetto appears to have been familiar with and in contact with LCN members in California, particularly the Bay Area where Jimmy Fratianno also operated. Because we know Boschetto was in contact with Bay Area mafia members, it is reasonable to believe Fratianno got his information in the same circles, which he then passed on to Bompensiero.
- The only discrepency is Bompensiero believed the senator to be from New York, but he was re-telling secondhand information and may have made a mistake or misinterpreted what he was told; i.e., he may have been told there was a senator "out east" who was a member, or something similar, which he interpreted as NY. Another very slim possibility is that Boschetto was officially a member of an NY family, hence the confusion, but Boschetto's lifelong residence in Wyoming and no known east coast connections makes this difficult to believe.
Rock Springs
- Rock Springs had a long history of local corruption and criminal activity, both as a "cowboy town" earlier on and as a regional hub for organized criminal activity and municipal corruption for decades. There was early criminal activity among northern Italians in Rock Springs, where the Boschettos moved in 1931 after having spent many years in a more remote Wyoming town close to Utah.
- There is no clear indication what, if any, historical relationship this northern Italian criminal element in Wyoming had in terms of mafia association, but there must have been some sort of relationship to the national mafia network in this area if an Austrian-Italian politician who spent his entire life in Wyoming became a Cosa Nostra member known to California members.
- Informants have talked about how the mafia initially only allowed Sicilians, then came to accept Calabrians, Neapolitans, and finally other Italians, usually in that order. If northern Italian figures in Wyoming did become Cosa Nostra members it would seemingly be later in the timeline. Given that Louis Boschetto didn't move to Rock Springs until 1931, it's most likely he received his membership after that point given that the organization was by then open to most Italians, though this is pure speculation.
- It's possible that Boschetto was connected to the northern Italian criminal element in Rock Springs and this is the most logical explanation for his path to membership in Cosa Nostra. Rock Springs Italian crime figure Pietro Zanetti, from Piedmont, lived in Las Vegas in the 1930s where he allegedly associated with Bugsy Siegel before returning to Rock Springs. If true, Siegel could have provided contact with the mafia for other Rock Springs Italians if another unknown connection didn't already exist. Las Vegas would also put Zanetti in proximity with California members and other mafia figures, so Zanetti is one possible connection between the mafia and Rock Springs, and therefore Boschetto.
- John Anselmi was another alleged Rock Springs Italian crime figure and a number of Rock Springs Anselmis came from Austria via Northern Italy like the Boschettos. One of John Anselmi's sons, Don, became a Democratic Party chairman in Rock Springs before resigning in the late 1970s due to an investigation into embezzlement that targeted the longtime mayor of Rock Springs. Don Anselmi was also accused of having organized crime ties to Arizona and a 1974 LA Times article alleged that he had been involved in gun running between California and Wyoming along with real estate scams. Don Anselmi's grandson wrote a book where it is mentioned that "rumors of his family's mob connections followed him" around Rock Springs.
- Records show that John Anselmi's family lived in Los Angeles for a time in the 1920s and early 1930s before returning to Rock Springs, so that is another Los Angeles / California connection to Rock Springs Italian crime figures.
- The Austrian-Italian connection and involvement in Wyoming politics suggests that the Anselmis were close to Louis Boschetto. One of Louis Boschetto's nephews was also a pallbearer at the funeral of Don Anselmi's father John and an Anselmi would work at Boschetto's El Rancho motel, so the families were clearly close. Don Anselmi's position in the same political party as Boschetto and Anselmi's involvement in local municipal corruption, which is alleged to have been pervasive throughout the history of Rock Springs, suggests that Boschetto himself was involved in corrupt practices as a politician, which would be in line for a Cosa Nostra member.
Formal Mafia Affiliation
- Proximity would suggest any mafia element in Rock Springs could have been with the Colorado group given it was the closest Cosa Nostra family and Wyoming was reportedly under the control of the early Pueblo / Colorado family. Pueblo was a major destination in the early US mafia network and though it was far from Wyoming, the Pueblo group looks to have had influence spread throughout the state of Colorado and this included the southern part of Wyoming, possibly including the crime-friendly town of Rock Springs. It's not difficult to believe that the early and influential (in terms of mafia politics) Colorado family had an outpost in Wyoming that wasn't sustainable long-term but by the 1960s still had Boschetto as a relic along with whoever and whatever else we don't know.
- The report where Boschetto is mentioned as a Cosa Nostra member was forwarded to the Denver FBI office and contact was made between them and the SF and NYC FBI offices in an attempt to gain more information related to Boschetto. It also stated that the Denver office would consider trying to interview Boschetto. Immediately after the report discusses Boschetto, the report mentions Colorado mafia figures the Smaldone brothers and Jim Colletti. Though it is not clear what the context was in referencing the other Colorado mafia figures, this report's focus on Boschetto and Denver mafia figures, as well as the Colorado mafia's connections to Wyoming, suggest that the FBI was connecting Boschetto to the Colorado group.
- An independent FBI report mentioned that the Denver FBI Office was responsible for investigating Cosa Nostra ties to both Colorado and Wyoming, so the Denver office may have been contacted simply because of their proximity and we can't assume that Boschetto was part of the Colorado family, though it seems most likely.
- It's also possible Boschetto was affiliated with a California group given the only apparent references to him came from California members. However, this seems unlikely given that the California groups were thoroughly compromised by informants who identified most of the membership and neither Boschetto nor any senator is mentioned as a member or suspected member within their own ranks, nor is Wyoming mentioned as an outpost, past or present, of any California group. Many California members, particularly those who cooperated, were nationally connected and quite knowledgeable of random members/connections among smaller regional groups, making it unsurprising that they would be the source of info on an obscure Wyoming member regardless of his family affiliation. However, Rock Springs crime figures Zanetti and Anselmi having their own possible California ties does bring up some questions.
- Colorado member and future leader Rosario Dionisio was married in Wyoming in 1916. Additionally, the Smaldone brothers of Denver reportedly had operations in Wyoming, including bootlegging operations. Like Boschetto, the Smaldones were mainlanders, being from Potenza, unlike the Sicilians from Lucca Sicula who dominated the early Colorado family. Rock Springs itself was known for bootlegging activities and political corruption during Prohibition.
Other Mafia Politicians
- Alleged Bonanno member in Montreal, Alfonso Gagliano, is also a well-known politician. Though we don't know exactly when or why he was inducted into Cosa Nostra, his hometown in Siculiana places him in close proximity to other Bonanno members in Canada and suggests there could even be kinship ties as is common, especially with so-called "legitimate" members. Gagliano has a history of corrupt and unethical accusations against him in Canada.
- California informants supplied the info on Louis Boschetto's alleged membership, but close political relationships in the mafia were not uncommon to that crowd. San Francisco mayor Joe Alioto came from a well-known mafia family and had ties/relations to mafia figures around the US.
- In Sicily, especially early on, it was not uncommon for mafia members and leaders to be involved in local politics as mayors and other municipal figures. Early Sicilian pentito Dr. Melchiorre Allegra, himself involved in politics, identified Lucio Tasca Bordonaro, the first post-fascist mayor of Palermo, as a mafia member. Many other Sicilian examples of mafia association and membership among politicians can be referenced.
- John D'Arco of Chicago was an influential politician suspected of mafia membership within the Chicago group.
- Former Washington state governor Albert Rosellini was closely linked with the Colacurcios, independent Italian criminals in Seattle, and aided them through his influence. Interestingly, an old CI on the west coast claimed that Rosellini's father had once been a mafia leader in the Seattle area. Records show the elder Rosellini did have early issues with the law but it's unlikely he had any true mafia affiliation, though it is possible he was an earlier figure in what would become the Colacurcio group. The Rosellinis were Northern Italian.
Regional Protocol and Rules
- Mafia protocol places heavy emphasis on making and maintaining regional contacts. For one, it is how the mafia network grows and survives (and the absence of this is one reason for the mob's decline), but it was an actual mafia rule that the local group be contacted when a member from another group is visiting. Milwaukee boss Frank Balistrieri was recorded discussing this in the 1960s, as a Bonanno member with ties to Milwaukee had visited without Balistrieri being consulted, which was a violation of protocol and an insult to Balistrieri.
- Later, coincidentally in Milwaukee and again with Bonanno members, we see the great measures taken to make sure proper protocol was followed when Ruggiero and Pistone attempted to get involved in the area. This involved an elderly member in NJ making introductions through the Rockford family, requiring several stages of meetings and travel, just so that the local Milwaukee family could be formally introduced to a Bonanno member who wanted to place an associate in a gambling operation.
- A rule all mafia members learn is to inform their captain/superior when they are leaving town or going on vacation. In addition to the captain wanting to keep track of the soldier's whereabouts, an additional reason given for this rule is so that contact can be made with local Cosa Nostra groups beforehand. Another reason given for reporting travel plans is so that members can give messages they want the traveling member to pass on to the other group. As discussed on Angelo Bruno's office tapes, this protocol extended to members traveling to Sicily and presumably anywhere there was a mafia presence.
- While a soldier was still expected to report his travel plans to his superiors, it doesn't seem any extra protocol needed to be followed when a member visited an "open" territory, but the presence of even one member in a city or region meant that there was a Cosa Nostra presence there and therefore it is connected to a certain family. If Boschetto was indeed a Cosa Nostra member and had been asked to keep an eye on Pete Misuraca, it suggests he was a regional point of contact for the area, whether that was as a remnant of earlier Wyoming membership or not.
- Additionally, Misuraca was known as somewhat of a troublemaker in mafia circles (and an informant himself). Beyond protocol, Boschetto may have been tasked with keeping an eye on Misuraca given his reputation. It would be interesting to know if Misuraca mentioned Boschetto himself during his own cooperation with the FBI, but I haven't seen any indication.
- This protocol backs up the idea that Boschetto was a mafia member, which is more logical than the alternative explanation, which is that an ostensibly legitimate former State Senator several states away was monitoring an inept, troublemaking SJ gangster on behalf of a few unimpressive California hoodlums as some kind of unspecified favor. It makes much more sense that Boschetto was following standard mafia protocol by keeping tabs on a visiting mafia member in his area as a favor to other mafia members.
Conclusion
- The fact that Boschetto is explicitly named, first and last name, as a mafia member in a reported conversation between the two SJ members and all other identifying info checks out shows that he was not only a real person, but quite likely an obscure mafia member in an unlikely location who we would never know about if it hadn't been for an offhand remark from a couple of member sources. That he was an influential local figure in his community with no obvious criminal activity who attained an important political position in his state shows that we still don't know the entire scope of the US mafia, its connections, and its history.
- It wouldn't be surprising if there were many unknown members early on in seemingly fringe places like this. When the US side of the mafia was developing, cities and regions weren't as established as they are today and immigrants might go to an area that seemed like it was the next big thing, only for work to dry up or the area just didn't grow. In some places, there may have been a small and short-lived mafia element that left a holdover or two. That's not hard to believe when it comes to Sicilians or even Calabrians.
What makes this Boschetto situation so strange is the combination of his Wyoming location, Austrian-Italian background, and involvement in high-level politics. Nothing about that sounds like the kind of obscure member we'd expect to find hanging around unnoticed all of the years he was alive.
- I don't believe Boschetto could have been the only member inducted in Rock Springs. His ties and potential relation to fellow Austrian-Italians the Anselmis and the Anselmis' long history of crime/corruption and ties to California make John Anselmi a strong candidate for membership in my opinion. Peter Zanetti is another whose name should be included as a potential candidate. Beyond that, we can't assume anything as we all probably would have assumed there was never a Cosa Nostra member who served as a State Senator in a small Wyoming town.
