The "DeCavalcante" Name
- In most available US records, Francesco "Frank" Rizzo DeCavalcante used various spellings of the "DeCavalcante" name, including "DiCavalcanti", "DiCavalcante", and simply "Cavalcante", sometimes with the "De" separated, and always prefaced by Rizzo. An FBI interview with one of his sons revealed that the family's true name was Rizzo, while "DeCavalcante" was a title of some kind used by his father. The press would label Sam DeCavalcante "the Count" because of his alleged claims of royal lineage.
- I haven't been able to determine if the Rizzos actively used the "De Cavalcante/Cavalcanti" title in Sicily or if it was only used like a surname in the US to differentiate them from other Rizzos and/or communicate their status. Another comparable example in the mafia might be the Orlando Sciortinos from Camporeale who were members of the mafia in Williamsburg / San Francisco / Los Angeles. The Sciortinos prefaced their surname with "Orlando", even the female relatives, maybe to show relation to the Orlandos of Camporeale who produced early Williamsburg leader Paolo Orlando. The Rizzos may have had similar intentions, though in a non-mafia context.
- The "de Cavalcante" title would translate to "of Cavalcante/Cavalcanti". The first major Italian poet was Guido Cavalcanti and his father was a philosopher named Cavalcante de Cavalcanti, both from Florence. Fellow upper-class mafioso Joe Bonanno traced his heritage to important historic figures in Pisa, so it's possible the Rizzos similarly believed themselves to come from Tuscan nobility though there is no way of knowing if this was the source of the name/title, it's simply the most noteworthy example of Italian Cavalcantes/Cavalcantis I could find.
- The obituary of Rizzo DeCavalcante's fist wife lists her husband not only as a "broker" but also as a "marquis" and it refers to the deceased wife as "Marquise De Cavalcante". A marquis was a nobleman in European culture with a rank between count and duke. This obituary appears to suggest that the "De Cavalcante/Cavalcanti" title was specific to their marquis/marquise status. I would consider this confirmation that indeed "the Count" nickname was not far off for Sam -- Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante was a marquis, or considered himself as such.
General Background and Occhipinti Marriages
- Francesco "Frank" Rizzo DeCavalcante listed his birth year as 1888 and birthplace in Palermo, Sicily. Other records give an 1890 birth and other research shows a background from the specific hometown of Monreale, in Palermo province. Monreale is a town with a deep mafia history, so if that is his true hometown it could point to Sicilian mafia ties. Frank's father was Gaetano, the namesake of son Gaetano "Gay" Rizzo, the latter of which is mentioned by brother Sam in the DeCavalcante Tapes.
- Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante's first wife was an Occhipinti, Marie Antoinette. Her father Simone Occhipinti was a doctor and the namesake of son Simone "Sam" Rizzo DeCavalcante. Marie Antoinette's brother was presumably the father of Robert "Bobby Basile" Occhipinti, first cousin of Sam DeCavalcante, who later became a capodecina in the organization.
- Marie Antoinette Rizzo DeCavalcante died in 1926 and Frank would remarry by 1930, his new wife being Marie Occhipinti's younger sister, Caroline. Marie and Caroline's father Simone died two years after Marie, in 1928. While Simone Occhipinti entered the US from Naples and cited it as his last place of residence, he was born in Palermo and entered the US via New Orleans. One of his naturalization witnesses was a broker named Salvatore Rizzo and pharmacist Ludwig Ferrara. It is likely that Rizzo, a "broker" like Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante, was connected to the Rizzo DeCavalcantes, while it is probably a coincidence that Ferrara shares a surname with a future DeCavalcante member, though there is a note on that further below. Note that one of Rizzo DeCavalcante's sons would be named Salvatore Rizzo as well.
- The Occhipintis first lived in Manhattan and later Brooklyn, residing on Cropsey Ave in Bath Beach. Grandson Bobby Occhipinti would maintain a family home in Brooklyn with his wife and children while splitting time with a residence in Long Branch, NJ. DeCavalcante captain Frank Cocchiaro also came from NYC and later had a home in Long Branch, and boss Nick Delmore lived in Long Branch as well.
- From the limited information available, there is nothing to suggest Rizzo DeCavalcante's father-in-law Dr. Simone Occhipinti was a mafioso, though it was not uncommon for doctors to be mafia members in Sicily and in the early Sicilian/American mafia. His son-in-law and two grandsons' prominent mafia membership suggest Occhipinti was at least "mafia-adjacent".
North Jersey and Legal Issues
- By the late 1910s, Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante and family were living in Westfield, NJ, in Union County, west of Elizabeth. He was self-employed as a broker at 1 Broadway Street, NYC. The DeCavalcante home in Westfield was large and later census reports show they had a live-in housekeeper. While it is unknown if Rizzo DeCavalcante was already a member by the late 1910s, his residence in Union County near Elizabeth, where Riberesi like the Merlos and Riggis had already been established for over a decade, lends itself to the organization's roots in the area.
- By all accounts the Rizzo DeCavalcantes were a wealthy family and Frank's marriage to a doctor's two daughters, the use of a title in his name, and his son Sam's alleged boasts of royal heritage all indicate the Rizzo DeCavalcantes were upper-class in Sicily, unlike some of the peasants and street criminals that became fellow mafiosi. It was not uncommon for mafia leadership and membership in Sicily and the early US to be made up of the upper professional class like the Rizzo DeCavalcantes.
- Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante is identified elsewhere as a fruit dealer and in 1925 filed a lawsuit against a man who failed to pay for a shipment of raisins. "Goodfellas don't sue goodfellas," except when they do. In 1931, it would be Rizzo DeCavalcante who was sued for issuing a check that didn't clear in a business transaction, which he then refused to pay. It appears Frank had another unspecified legal issue brought against him in 1932, possibly related to the previously mentioned 1931 check or a similar financial matter.
- Rizzo DeCavalcante's legal issues appear to coincide with a move to Trenton, where he already owned property. While we can't say for certain, we could speculate that the decision to move to Trenton full-time involved these aforementioned legal issues, though they appear to be relatively small issues typical of any businessman and not organized crime-related, though his move to Trenton would reveal undeniable organized crime activity.
DeCavalcantes in Trenton
- The Rizzo DeCavalcantes had a home in Trenton by the mid-1920s, but remained primarily in Westfield through the early 1930s, though it appears Frank's first wife died in 1926 while staying at the Trenton home. By 1940 the family was living full-time in Trenton, in a large home by the Pennsylvania border, not far from Hamilton Township where many Trenton mafia figures lived and spent time, later including Philadelphia capodecina John Simone, who became a friend of Sam DeCavalcante. The Rizzo DeCavalcantes appear to have kept their home in Westfield; possession of two large houses in different cities is further indication of their wealth.
- In 1940, Rizzo DeCavalcante was arrested as part of a bootleg ring that included collaboration with six corrupt South Jersey police chiefs and an ex-detective from Cumberland County. Joseph Burgo of Camden and Herman Coluccio of Trenton were among two Italian-Americans who participated in the ring with Rizzo DeCavalcante. Rizzo DeCavalcante's bootlegging activities in Trenton could shed light on why he owned property there earlier, during prohibition, before moving there full-time.
- Along with being proposed for membership in the Philadelphia family, which was vetoed by his father Frank and led to his induction into the Elizabeth-based family, Sam DeCavalcante was recorded discussing his earlier presence in the Bristol, PA, gambling scene and he continued to have interests in the Trenton / Bristol area after his move back to North Jersey.
- Sam DeCavalcante was also recorded meeting with Philadelphia leaders Angelo Bruno and Ignazio Denaro in the 1960s over issues related to DeCavalcante's ongoing interests in the Trenton area. One conversation suggests that Ignazio DiGirolamo was a DeCavalcante member who continued to operate in Trenton during the 1960s. Regardless, by the 1960s the DeCavalcante family's involvement in the area would be overshadowed by Philadelphia and the Gambino family's joint operations in the area.
- Trenton DeCavalcante associate Joseph Sabato was proposed for membership, however it is unknown if Sabato was ever made. Sabato's father was a Philadelphia mafia member born in Enna and the younger Sabato confessed to a gambling charge in the 1960s so that charges against his wife would be dropped; Angelo Bruno criticized Sabato's confession while meeting with DeCavalcante and appears to have challenged Sabato's candidacy for membership as a result of his so-called "cooperation" with LE. It's not clear why Sabato was associated with the DeCavalcantes and not Philadelphia like his father, but as with DeCavalcante's near-induction into the Philadelphia group, there appears to have been close association between the different Trenton groups. Philadelphia had a number of early members from Enna, like the Sabatos, and DeCavalcante's uncle Nick Delmore was from Enna province though there is no reason to believe this was relevant to DeCavalcante's relationship to Joe Sabato.
- Ribera-born Girolamo Guarraggi was a later Trenton-based figure with the DeCavalcante family. Additionally, when the Gambino family allegedly tried to bar the DeCavalcante family from inducting NYC associates, one of the areas they are said to have allowed the DeCavalcantes to recruit from was "Philadelphia". This may have been a reference to the Trenton / Bristol area and would suggest the Gambino family, who had made members in Trenton, were familiar with the DeCavalcante's historic ties to the South Jersey / Pennsylvania border.
- We can be almost certain that Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante was the Elizabeth-based family's authority in the Trenton area while he was alive given he was identified as a capodecina on the DeCarlo tapes.He would die in 1954 following hospitalization for an unspecified illness.
- Sam would move back to North Jersey in the 1950s, basing himself in Kenilworth by the end of the decade where he eventually took over Nick Delmore's plumbing contracting business. One informant stated that Sam DeCavalcante did not have a regular presence in Elizabeth until 1953 when he began to be seen as a constant companion of his uncle Delmore. Sam's return to North Jersey could relate to his father's illness/death and his uncle's position in the Newark area. Sam DeCavalcante would become Delmore's underboss in 1961, then acting boss, and finally replace him as official boss in 1964.
Delmore Relation?
- The exact relation to Nick Delmore is still open. Delmore is repeatedly referred to by Sam DeCavalcante as his "uncle" on his office tapes. Other sources similarly refer to Delmore as DeCavalcante's uncle and the two were undoubtedly close. Delmore claimed to be born in San Francisco but may have been born in Nicosia, Enna province, where his parents were from. The family's true name was Amoruso. There are no known ties between the Elizabeth/DeCavalcante group and San Francisco.
- The Rizzo DeCavalcantes and Occhipintis were from upper Palermo province, with neither having a clear connection to Enna, though Delmore's mother appears to have been a Rizzo. Rizzo is among the most common Italian surnames, so this may just be a coincidence. However, with the Palermitani Occhipintis living in Naples prior to emigration, it's possible the Rizzo DeCavalcantes were similarly well-traveled which would make connections around the island more likely.
- Speaking of Delmore, despite his age and prominent role as a bootlegger in the late 1920s and early 1930s (which culminated in the murder of a federal agent), he was supposedly not inducted into the mafia until the mid-1940s. Boiardo's FBI file suggests that Delmore was inducted in the same ceremony as Genovese member Ruggiero Boiardo. This opens up the question of whether it was a joint ceremony involving both the DeCavalcante and Genovese families or if Delmore was initially made into the Genovese family and later transferred to the Elizabeth group. Prior to his membership, Delmore had close ties to early NJ Genovese figures including associates Jerry Catena and Longy Zwillman and prior to the FBI learning of the DeCavalcante family's existence they believed Delmore was a Genovese capodecina. A reference on the DeCarlo tapes indicates Catena may have been inducted at the same time as Boiardo and Delmore.
- What we can be sure of is that this ceremony was likely one of the first, if not the first, inductions held in NYC/NJ after the books were closed in the early 1930s. Like Boiardo, Delmore would have been among the most prominent mafia associates in Newark at this time so it is unsurprising he would be at the top of the list for new inductions. If Delmore was inducted alongside Boiardo (and Catena), it's just another one of many mysteries surrounding the DeCavalcante family and its members.
- Sam DeCavalcante was recorded discussing his own induction as a member of the Elizabeth/DeCavalcante family during the mid-late 1940s, so the Elizabeth group was definitely taking in new members during the 1940s and Delmore's alleged relation to DeCavalcante would lead us to believe he joined the same family he would eventually become boss of. Delmore's exact trajectory is still open for interpretation, though, as is his exact relation to the Rizzo DeCavalcantes.
Younger Relatives Inducted
- As mentioned, Sam DeCavalcante was initiated in the mid-late 1940s. He discussed this on the DeCarlo tapes with Genovese members, stating that Joe Bruno wanted to induct DeCavalcante into the Philadelphia family as early as the 1930s. Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante intervened however and eventually sponsored his son into the Elizabeth-based family. I found this anecdote interesting, as it suggests there was some ambiguity with Sam DeCavalcante's affiliation at least as far as the Philadelphia leadership was concerned. It also confirms that his father Frank was already a member by the 1930s.
- Rizzo Decavalcante's nephew Bobby Occhipinti would become a made member in the 1970s after more than a decade as a proposed member. He would be promoted to capodecina before the end of the decade. While Occhipinti was originally from NYC and lived in Long Branch, he may have had Elizabeth-based members in his decina, as one report suggests JoJo Ferrara was a member of Occhipinti's crew. It may be a coincidence, but recall that Occhipinti's grandfather's naturalization was witnessed by a Ferrara in NYC.
- While Sam DeCavalcante's sons would not become made members of the mafia, a younger marital relative, Vincent Palermo, would become one of the family's top leaders by the late 1990s. Vincent Palermo married Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante's great-niece, the daughter of capodecina Bobby Occhipinti, and Palermo would rise through the ranks, eventually becoming an NYC capodecina and acting administration member. Palermo's rise was independent of his marital connections, but it is interesting that virtually all of the known made members of the Rizzo DeCavalcante clan became top leaders of the family. Palermo of course would become a cooperating witness.
Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante's Rank / Stature
- After becoming official boss in 1964, Sam DeCavalcante ran into issues with the senior membership of his family, as evidenced on his office tapes. Recalling a meeting he had with these members, DeCavalcante tried to silence their complaints by reminding them that his father had personally inducted many of these men. This suggests that Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante was in a leadership position within the DeCavalcante family relatively early in its history.
- There is no reason to believe Rizzo DeCavalcante was a boss, though given the lack of information we have on DeCavalcante history we can't rule anything out, including administration positions. He was described by Genovese members on the Angelo DeCarlo tapes as a capodecina at the time of his illness/death and was well-respected by members of the DeCarlo crew, who visited Rizzo DeCavalcante in the hospital. It's possible Rizzo DeCavalcante was a capodecina when he sponsored some of the men his son referred to on the office tapes, or as a capodecina he may have officiated the ceremony which has been known to happen. It's also possible Rizzo DeCavalcante held a higher rank than capodecina prior to his move to Trenton.
- Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante was familiar to Joe Bonanno, who in one account claimed Sam DeCavalcante was not the man his father was. This would suggest that Frank was a significant figure, as Bonanno was not only familiar with Rizzo DeCavalcante but he felt that his son Sam was inferior despite being a fellow boss. In fact, a 1964 FBI report suggests that Sam DeCavalcante was chosen as the Commission's liaison to Joe Bonanno because of Bonanno's close relationship to Sam's father Frank. In Joe Bonanno's book he disparages Sam DeCavalcante as an errand boy, so it is clear that Bonanno's close relationship to the elder Rizzo DeCavalcante did not extend to his son Sam.
- Given Joe Bonanno's preference for mafia "aristocracy", he may have been impressed by Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante's status as a marquis / nobleman in addition to his mafia stature.
- Given that Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante's stature was used by both Sam DeCavalcante and the Commission in attempts to pacify mafia figures in two separate instances, with both of these events happening nearly a decade after Rizzo DeCavalcante's death, his reputation appears to have been exceptional in mafia circles and suggests significant influence within the mafia while he was alive. The DeCarlo crew spoke favorably of him as well, so this extended to the non-Sicilian groups in Newark.
- What is also significant about Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante is he has no apparent ties to Ribera, which produced so much of the Elizabeth group's prominent membership and has been cited by sources as a significant element of that family. Not only was Rizzo DeCavalcante an early non-Riberesi leader in this family, but Nick Delmore and Sam DeCavalcante would lead the family as non-Riberesi bosses for over two decades in the years after Rizzo DeCavalcante's death.
