The Chicago Cheese War

[Antiliar]

The origins of Grande Cheese Company and the Chicago Cheese War are both confusing and mysterious. According to its web page, Filippo Candela, an immigrant from Montelpre, and an unnamed "Italian cheese buyer with whom he had been friends in the Old World" created Grande Cheese in the early 1940s. Giovanni Vincenzo DiBella, AKA John DiBella, was born in Montelpre in 1890. According to the FBI, DiBella was employed as the general manager of Grande Cheese in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, since 1941. He has a brother, Giovanni Battista DiBella, who lives in Brooklyn (according to other sources he's affiliated with the Bonanno Family). Part of the document is redacted, but it appears that at a certain point between the mid-1940s and the 1950s Joe Bonanno's wife acquired a 10% stake in the company. The file says that Dominick DiBella of the North Side crew is also a brother, but that's clearly mistaken. Dominick DiBella was born in Franklin, Louisiana in 1902 to Giuseppe DiBella and Rosa Calabrese.

On March 18, 1943, Outfit leaders Paul Ricca, Louis Campagna, Charles GIoe, Frank Maritote, Phil D'Andrea and others were indicted on the Hollywood extortion case. Ricca, Campagna and others met with Frank Nitto and told him to plead guilty and take the blame or else they would torture him. Nitto, who as it was had cancer, killed himself the next day. Shortly afterward it appears that they asked "Joe Batters" Accardo to be the acting day-to-day boss of the Outfit. "Tough Tony" or "Tony Cap" Capezio succeeded Accardo to head the old Grand Avenue crew - which would later become the Elmwood Park crew under Jack Cerone.

Not everyone agreed with this and a rival faction formed. The leaders appeared to have been Vincent "The Don" Benevento and his relative Nick DeJohn. Their rank and affiliation is uncertain. Benevento may have been in the old Grand Avenue crew under Accardo, and DeJohn was said to have been either a capo or in the North Side crew (his position will be clarified later). Gaspare Matranga was apparently the capo of the North Side crew (which actually controlled the Near North Side) at the time, and he and other North Siders such as Thomas Neglia and Ross Prio, and the "Three Doms," DiBella, Nuccio and Brancato, sided with The Don.

Who struck first is unknown. In the Cosa Nostra, sometimes people disappear and their bodies are never found. On December 6, 1943, three gunmen shot Thomas Neglia (real name Oneglia) as he sat in a barber chair over a decade before the same thing happened to Albert Anastasia. Neglia was reportedly a part owner of Grande Cheese. At the inquest it was revealed that Ross Prio, who was Neglia's close friend and partner, was the general manager of Grande Cheese in Chicago. When police went through Neglia's safe deposit box, they found certificates for 83 shares of stock in Grande Cheese. Neglia was an active supporter of the Italo-American National Union (known as the Unione Siciliana until 1925), an Italian fraternal society that sold insurance to its members and was at different times headed by Mafia boss Anthony D'Andrea, his nephew Phil D'Andrea, and Joseph Bulger. After the death of his friend, Ross Prio was made into the Outfit - which suggests that he may have been involved. Meanwhile, Ricca and associates were sentenced to ten years in federal prison on December 30, 1943.

On March 2, 1944, Sam "Snakes" Gervase was shot to death in his refrigerator repair shop. March 11, 1944, the body of 42-year-old James DeAngelo was found stuffed in the trunk of a car parked on North LaSalle Street. He was last seen on February 24, 1944, and was a friend of Gervase. Three broken ribs and several holes drilled or chiseled into his skull indicated that he had been tortured for days. Onofrio Vitale of Calumet City, a close friend of DeAngelos, was last seen on February 25. Jimmy DeAngelo was once a suspect in the 1935 killing of Rep. Albert Prignano, a close associate of Jack McGurn. DeAngelo was partner in a club, the Windup Lounge on 669 State Street, with Florence Allegretti. She had title because her husband James was not in the country legally. Of course Jimmy "Monk" Allegretti was a notorious soldier who operated on the North Side. Police sought Dominick Nuccio and Jasper Matranga, a friend of Neglia and Prio, for questioning, as well as Fred A. Romano, the President of Grande Cheese. Vitale's trussed-up body was found stuffed in a bag in a sewer on April 5, 1945, and identified a few days later.

Some people connected with the dispute left. Salvatore Cutrera, a friend of associate of Neglia's, fled to Canada. In 1945, Jasper Matranga moved to Southern California and transferred his membership to the Jack Dragna crime family. Matranga, a native of Piana dei Greci, was later deported to Italy but moved to Tijuana, Mexico, where he continued to operate. Anthony Pinelli may also have been involved and decided to move to Sierra Madre near Pasadena. Nick DeJohn replaced Matranga as capo of the North Side crew.

On Friday night, December 28, 1945, Vincent Benevento was shot six times in the back of his store at 1057 W. Grand Avenue. Capezio crew member Sam Mesi lived very close at 1163 W. Grand, but then again - at least later - so did Jimmy Allegretti, who in 1960 was identified as living at 1103 W. Grand. If he lived their in 1945 is not known. Benevento's father-in-law, Charles Cutilla, was an old member of the Genna brothers gang. Police sought to question Dominic DiBella, Dominick Brancato, and Nick DeJohn. Benevento claimed he was shot over a disagreement and it might have seemed that he was grabbing a gun. Police found an arsenal in his store, including a Tommy gun. On September 21, 1946, Benevento was shot to death while he was hiding out in a cabin near Lake Zurich, in Lake County.

"Don Vincenzo" was backed as the "overlord of Little Italy" by Nick DeJohn, who was a power on Racine Avenue District. At the time of Benevento's death, De John had been traveling to Detroit and California. On May 9, 1947, Nick De John's body was found trussed up in the trunk of a car in San Francisco. He had been living with his wife in nearby Santa Rosa as Nicholas Rossi. After police discovered De John's body they thought that his pal "Libby" Nuccio would be next on the hit list. One source claimed that De John absconded $250,000 from Chicago and used to purchase the Poodle Dog Club in San Francisco - reportedly owned by James Franzone, a capo in the San Francisco borgata. De John's killing came about two months after the killing of former St. Louis boss Tom Buffa in Lodi. De John was later said to have been a suspect in the 1945 killing of Carl Carramusa, a Kansas City drug trafficker turned informant, in Chicago.

Police sought out James Franzone, who was reportedly a friend of Charles "Big Nose" LaGaipa, a narcotics trafficker and associate of Lucky Luciano and Nick Gentile who disappeared in 1944 - until his car was found with brain tissue and blood on the dashboard. Franzone was originally from Chicago - he was boyhood friends with DeJohn - and his brother Leonard may have been a member of the North Side crew. Jimmy Fratianno claimed that he was told that John (not James) Franzone, a Chicago capo, ordered Dominick "Hunk" Galiano to kill De John.

San Francisco police soon arrested Leonard Calamia, an employee of Sunland Cheese, which was partially owned by Franzone. Frank Scappatura was also connected to Sunland Cheese, and he was a pal of Sam Maugeri. Mike Abati, originally of Monte San Giuliano, was also connected to Sunland Cheese. Like Franzone, Abati was wanted as a suspect. Tony Lima, the boss of the San Francisco Family, was also wanted. So were Sebastiano Nani, a Profaci member, and Ciro Gallo, who wasn't made. Lee and Alphonse LaRocca, who were probably related to the LaRoccas Nick Gentile encountered in the early 1920s, were also suspects. Eventually the Sunland Cheese Company theory fell apart.

According to Paul Roland Jones of Dallas, Texas, Marcus Lipsky sent two members of the Chicago Outfit to work at a liquor store in September 1945. They were Paul Labriola and his friend James Weinberg. They were part of the Murray Humphreys-Hymie Levine group, and were also backed by Jack Cerone. Labriola and Weinberg started causing trouble, so in October "the Guzik mob" sent Nick DeJohn down to settle things. DeJohn was the third most important man in Chicago after Guzik and Humphreys, according to Jones. DeJohn ordered Labriola and Weinberg to run the liquor stores (one part refers to a singular liquor store and in another it's plural) and Lipsky to take over the gambling devices. Former Chicago city sealer Daniel Serritella told the FBI that Nick DeJohn was one of the top men in the Outfit in 1946, but not the third in importance.

DeJohn's wife told police that her husband had ulcers and they moved to California in January 1946 (shortly after Benevento was shot), later settling in Santa Rosa. He was replaced as capo by James DeGeorge.

At the end of July 1947, Franzone made himself available for questioning. He said that he and DeJohn were once partners in a die and mold company in Chicago with a Jack Perkins. In 1935 Perkins was sent to prison for two years for harboring Nelson. All three of them sold their interests a year and half earlier (so approximately January 1945). Franzone said he last saw DeJohn when he spent the day with him at his home on April 27, 1947. Franzone admitted to hanging out at LaRocca's Corner, the tavern owned by the LaRocca brothers from where DeJohn was last seen alive on May 7. The case went cold until police found DeJohn's watch and ring at a pawn shop in Brooklyn. Sebastiano Nani had the pawn ticket. Police arrested Nani, Abati, and Calamia for DeJohn's murder. Tony Lima and Frank Scappatura were sought as fugitives. The motive had something to do with black market cooking oil. The prime witness against them, however, was an unreliable abortionist and on March 9, 1949, after the case went to jury, District Attorney Edmund G. "Pat" Brown (later governor and father of Jerry Brown) asked the judge to dismiss the case.

Interestingly, a man in a restaurant claimed that he overheard a conversation with Paul Labriola in 1946, and sent a letter to the local sheriff, who later shared it with the FBI. Labriola and Weinberg were being called back to Chicago to take care of Nick DeJohn over the killing of Frank Marshall, the alias of Frank Covelli, who was slain on January 21, 1946.

Years later a confidential informant to the FBI provided some details about the "feud," but some of the dates and places were confused over time. "The Don" (Vincent Benevento) was displeased with how Accardo was running the Outfit and wanted to be in charge, he said. It may have been the case that his issue was with Capezio and he wanted to run the crew. Accardo, Benevento, and the others were all Sicilians, but Capezio's parents hailed from Muro Lucano in Potenza, and perhaps his origin had something to do with his displeasure.

According to the source, The Don ordered Nick DeJohn to kill Accardo but refused to carry out the assignment and fled to San Francisco, where The Don had him killed. There is no evidence for this. Accardo learned of the revolt and twelve people were killed; it is not certain if this number includes The Don. The Don's supporters included Joe DiVarco, Dominic DiBella, Dominic Nuccio, Dominic Brancato, Anthony Pinelli, and James DeGeorge.

There very well may have been more killings than Neglia, DeAngelo, Gervase, Vitale, and Benevento. (If the 1946 letter is accurate, then DeJohn's murder is unrelated to the others.) Frank Abatte, allegedly the top man in Calumet City, was killed in Hot Springs, Arkansas on April 22, 1944, and was a friend of DeAngelo's, so his death is almost certainly connected. The following I am putting out as being possibly connected to the Grande Cheese War murders, but in no way am I making any claims with certainty.

"Dago" Lawrence Mangano, who was connected to Accardo, and his alleged bodyguard Mike Pontillo were shot by gunmen on August 3, 1944. The three Doms were among the suspects in their murders.

Joseph J. Mundo, nephew of State Rep. James Adduci, who was closely connected to the Capezio crew, and an associate of Mangano's, was killed on December 28, 1944. He was also involved in a gas coupon scam that took a Detroit gang for over $30,000, so his death could be unrelated.

Frank Quatrocchi, killed on January 5, 1946, was a friend of Nick DeJohn and wanted for questioning for the Benevento killing. In 1948 a bail bondsman named Charley Cohen said that Marshall Caifano killed him.

Louis J. Laino was killed on April 10, 1946. Suspects included Sam Battaglia, Marshall Caifano, Patsy Clementi and others.

Based on the modus operandi of the Cosa Nostra, the most likely scenario is that James Franzone helped lure DeJohn to his death. The killers, sent from Chicago by Accardo, could have been Paul Labriola and Hunk Galiano, and possibly others. In 1962 Gerald Covelli, an associate of the North Side crew who later testified against the Outfit, added that Sam "Sperry" Lisciandrello told him that he and Joe Caesar DiVarco killed Nick DeJohn. DiVarco was rewarded by getting made, but not Lisciandrello. Labriola later met his own death in 1954 and Galiano in 1966. Gerald Covelli was killed out in Los Angeles in 1967 by a remote controlled toy truck with an attached bomb blew him up.

In the meantime, James DeGeorge ended up being forced to step down in 1948 and moved to Wisconsin. He was replaced by Ross Prio, who held the post until his death in 1972.

[PolackTony]

The origins of Grande Cheese Company and the Chicago Cheese War are both confusing and mysterious. According to its web page, Filippo Candela, an immigrant from Montelpre, and an unnamed "Italian cheese buyer with whom he had been friends in the Old World" created Grande Cheese in the early 1940s. Giovanni Vincenzo DiBella, AKA John DiBella, was born in Montelpre in 1890. According to the FBI, DiBella was employed as the general manager of Grande Cheese in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, since 1941. He has a brother, Giovanni Battista DiBella, who lives in Brooklyn (according to other sources he's affiliated with the Bonanno Family). Part of the document is redacted, but it appears that at a certain point between the mid-1940s and the 1950s Joe Bonanno's wife acquired a 10% stake in the company. The file says that Dominick DiBella of the North Side crew is also a brother, but that's clearly mistaken. Dominick DiBella was born in Franklin, Louisiana in 1902 to Giuseppe DiBella and Rosa Calabrese.

On March 18, 1943, Outfit leaders Paul Ricca, Louis Campagna, Charles GIoe, Frank Maritote, Phil D'Andrea and others were indicted on the Hollywood extortion case. Ricca, Campagna and others met with Frank Nitto and told him to plead guilty and take the blame or else they would torture him. Nitto, who as it was had cancer, killed himself the next day. Shortly afterward it appears that they asked "Joe Batters" Accardo to be the acting day-to-day boss of the Outfit. "Tough Tony" or "Tony Cap" Capezio succeeded Accardo to head the old Grand Avenue crew - which would later become the Elmwood Park crew under Jack Cerone.

Not everyone agreed with this and a rival faction formed. The leaders appeared to have been Vincent "The Don" Benevento and his relative Nick DeJohn. Their rank and affiliation is uncertain. Benevento may have been in the old Grand Avenue crew under Accardo, and DeJohn was said to have been either a capo or in the North Side crew. Gaspare Matranga was apparently the capo of the North Side crew at the time, and he and other North Siders such as Thomas Neglia and Ross Prio, and the "Three Doms," DiBella, Nuccio and Brancato, sided with The Don.

Who struck first is unknown. In the Cosa Nostra, sometimes people disappear and their bodies are never found. On December 6, 1943, three gunmen shot Thomas Neglia (real name Oneglia) as he sat in a barber chair over a decade before the same thing happened to Albert Anastasia. Neglia was reportedly a part owner of Grande Cheese. At the inquest it was revealed that Ross Prio was the general manager of Grande Cheese in Chicago. When police went through Neglia's safe deposit box, they found certificates for 83 shares of stock in Grande Cheese. Meanwhile, Ricca and associates were sentenced to ten years in federal prison on December 30, 1943.

On March 2, 1944, Sam "Snakes" Gervase was shot to death in his refrigerator repair shop. March 11, 1944, the body of 42-year-old James DeAngelo was found stuffed in the trunk of a car parked on North LaSalle Street. He was last seen on February 24, 1944, and was a friend of Gervase. Three broken ribs and several holes drilled or chiseled into his skull indicated that he had been tortured for days. Onofrio Vitale of Calumet City, a close friend of DeAngelos, was last seen on February 25. Jimmy DeAngelo was once a suspect in the 1935 killing of Rep. Albert Prignano, a close associate of Jack McGurn. DeAngelo was partner in a club, the Windup Lounge on 669 State Street, with Florence Allegretti. She had title because her husband James was not in the country legally. Of course Jimmy "Monk" Allegretti was a notorious soldier who operated on the North Side. Police sought Dominick Nuccio and Jasper Matranga, a friend of Neglia and Prio, for questioning, as well as Fred A. Romano, the President of Grande Cheese. Vitale's trussed-up body was found stuffed in a bag in a sewer on April 5, 1945, and identified a few days later.

Some people connected with the dispute left. Salvatore Cutrera, a friend of associate of Neglia's, fled to Canada. In 1945, Jasper Matranga moved to Southern California and transferred his membership to the Jack Dragna crime family. Matranga, a native of Piana dei Greci, was later deported to Italy but moved to Tijuana, Mexico, where he continued to operate. Anthony Pinelli may also have been involved and decided to move to Sierra Madre near Pasadena. James DeGeorge replaced Matranga as capo of the North Side crew, or perhaps Nick DeJohn was briefly the capo in between the two.

On Friday night, December 28, 1945, Vincent Benevento was shot six times in the back of his store at 1057 W. Grand Avenue. Capezio crew member Sam Mesi lived very close at 1163 W. Grand, but then again - at least later - so did Jimmy Allegretti, who in 1960 was identified as living at 1103 W. Grand. If he lived their in 1945 is not known. Benevento's father-in-law, Charles Cutilla, was an old member of the Genna brothers gang. Police sought to question Dominic DiBella, Dominick Brancato, and Nick DeJohn. Benevento claimed he was shot over a disagreement and it might have seemed that he was grabbing a gun. Police found an arsenal in his store, including a Tommy gun. On September 21, 1946, Benevento was shot to death while he was hiding out in a cabin near Lake Zurich, in Lake County.

"Don Vincenzo" was backed as the "overlord of Little Italy" by Nick DeJohn, who was a power on Racine Avenue District. At the time of Benevento's death, De John had been traveling to Detroit and California. On May 9, 1947, Nick De John's body was found trussed up in the trunk of a car in San Francisco. He had been living with his wife in nearby Santa Rosa as Nicholas Rossi. After police discovered De John's body they thought that his pal "Libby" Nuccio would be next on the hit list. One source claimed that De John absconded $250,000 from Chicago and used to purchase the Poodle Dog Club in San Francisco - reportedly owned by James Franzone, a capo in the San Francisco borgata. De John's killing came about two months after the killing of former St. Louis boss Tom Buffa in Lodi. De John was later said to have been a suspect in the 1945 killing of Carl Carramusa, a Kansas City drug trafficker turned informant, in Chicago.

Police sought out James Franzone, who was reportedly a friend of Charles "Big Nose" LaGaipa, a narcotics trafficker and associate of Lucky Luciano and Nick Gentile who disappeared in 1944 - until his car was found with brain tissue and blood on the dashboard. Franzone was originally from Chicago - he was boyhood friends with DeJohn - and his brother Leonard may have been a member of the North Side crew. Jimmy Fratianno claimed that he was told that John (not James) Franzone, a Chicago capo, ordered Dominick "Hunk" Galiano to kill De John.

San Francisco police soon arrested Leonard Calamia, an employee of Sunland Cheese, which was partially owned by Franzone. Frank Scappatura was also connected to Sunland Cheese, and he was a pal of Sam Maugeri. Mike Abati, originally of Monte San Giuliano, was also connected to Sunland Cheese. Like Franzone, Abati was wanted as a suspect. Tony Lima, the boss of the San Francisco Family, was also wanted. So were Sebastiano Nani, a Profaci member, and Ciro Gallo, who wasn't made. Lee and Alphonse LaRocca, who were probably related to the LaRoccas Nick Gentile encountered in the early 1920s, were also suspects. Eventually the Sunland Cheese Company theory fell apart.

According to Paul Roland Jones of Dallas, Texas, Marcus Lipsky sent two members of the Chicago Outfit to work at a liquor store in September 1945. They were Paul Labriola and his friend James Weinberg. They were part of the Murray Humphreys-Hymie Levine group, and were also backed by Jack Cerone. Labriola and Weinberg started causing trouble, so in October "the Guzik mob" sent Nick DeJohn down to settle things. DeJohn was the third most important man in Chicago after Guzik and Humphreys, according to Jones. DeJohn ordered Labriola and Weinberg to run the liquor stores (one part refers to a singular liquor store and in another it's plural) and Lipsky to take over the gambling devices. Former Chicago city sealer Daniel Serritella told the FBI that Nick DeJohn was one of the top men in the Outfit in 1946, but not the third in importance.

DeJohn's wife told police that her husband had ulcers and they moved to California in January 1946 (shortly after Benevento was shot), later settling in Santa Rosa.

At the end of July 1947, Franzone made himself available for questioning. He said that he and DeJohn were once partners in a die and mold company in Chicago with a Jack Perkins. In 1935 Perkins was sent to prison for two years for harboring Nelson. All three of them sold their interests a year and half earlier (so approximately January 1945). Franzone said he last saw DeJohn when he spent the day with him at his home on April 27, 1947. Franzone admitted to hanging out at LaRocca's Corner, the tavern owned by the LaRocca brothers from where DeJohn was last seen alive on May 7. The case went cold until police found DeJohn's watch and ring at a pawn shop in Brooklyn. Sebastiano Nani had the pawn ticket. Police arrested Nani, Abati, and Calamia for DeJohn's murder. Tony Lima and Frank Scappatura were sought as fugitives. The motive had something to do with black market cooking oil. The prime witness against them, however, was an unreliable abortionist and on March 9, 1949, after the case went to jury, District Attorney Edmund G. "Pat" Brown (later governor and father of Jerry Brown) asked the judge to dismiss the case.

Interestingly, a man in a restaurant claimed that he overheard a conversation with Paul Labriola in 1946, and sent a letter to the local sheriff, who later shared it with the FBI. Labriola and Weinberg were being called back to Chicago to take care of Nick DeJohn over the killing of Frank Marshall, the alias of Frank Covelli, who was slain on January 21, 1946.

Years later a confidential informant to the FBI provided some details about the "feud," but some of the dates and places were confused over time. "The Don" (Vincent Benevento) was displeased with how Accardo was running the Outfit and wanted to be in charge, he said. It may have been the case that his issue was with Capezio and he wanted to run the crew. Accardo, Benevento, and the others were all Sicilians, but Capezio's parents hailed from Muro Lucano in Potenza, and perhaps his origin had something to do with his displeasure.

According to the source, The Don ordered Nick DeJohn to kill Accardo but refused to carry out the assignment and fled to San Francisco, where The Don had him killed. There is no evidence for this. Accardo learned of the revolt and twelve people were killed; it is not certain if this number includes The Don. The Don's supporters included Joe DiVarco, Dominic DiBella, Dominic Nuccio, Dominic Brancato, Anthony Pinelli, and James DeGeorge.

There very well may have been more killings than Neglia, DeAngelo, Gervase, Vitale, and Benevento. (If the 1946 letter is accurate, then DeJohn's murder is unrelated to the others.) Frank Abatte, allegedly the top man in Calumet City, was killed in Hot Springs, Arkansas on April 22, 1944, and was a friend of DeAngelo's, so his death is almost certainly connected.

"Dago" Lawrence Mangano, who was connected to Accardo, and his alleged bodyguard Mike Pontillo were shot by gunmen on August 3, 1944. The three Doms were among the suspects in their murders.

Joseph J. Mundo, nephew of State Rep. James Adduci, who was closely connected to the Capezio crew, and an associate of Mangano's, was killed on December 28, 1944. He was also involved in a gas coupon scam that took a Detroit gang for over $30,000, so his death could be unrelated.

Frank Quatrocchi, killed on January 5, 1946, was a friend of Nick DeJohn and wanted for questioning for the Benevento killing. In 1948 a bail bondsman named Charley Cohen said that Marshall Caifano killed him.

Louis J. Laino was killed on April 10, 1946. Suspects included Sam Battaglia, Marshall Caifano, Patsy Clementi and others.

Based on the modus operandi of the Cosa Nostra, the most likely scenario is that James Franzone helped lure DeJohn to his death. The killers, sent from Chicago by Accardo, could have been Paul Labriola and Hunk Galiano, and possibly others. Labriola later met his own death in 1954 and Galiano in 1966.

This is a really great write up, thanks.

Have you been able to confirm the exact familial relationship between Benevento and DeJohn?

Charles Cutillo I believe was an alias of Giuseppe San Filippo of Termini Imerese. He was from what I understand the original owner of Benevento's cheese store at Grand and Aberdeen (the building is still there. It's a beautiful old building that I admired as a kid before having any idea as to its history of course). Tangential, but the Mesi brothers' mother (Girolama Guarino) I believe was from Termini as well.

Due to his likely past affiliation with the old Sicilian Mafia I had thought that Mangano may have sided with the "rebels" in this conflict and thus that his death (and possibly Labriola Jr) was at the hands of the upstart faction. You believe that he was a loyalist though? I know that the three Doms were suspects in the Mangano hit, but the CI in the 60s claimed that Prio and the Doms betrayed their collaborators and sided with the dominant Outfit faction (which fits their roles in the Northside after this conflict was out down of course). If they were involved in Mangano's killing, I wonder then if they hit him for the "rebels" while they were still working with them, or for the Accardo faction if they had already flipped?

Any further info or ideas on DeGeorge's place within all of this? And anything to substantiate the 60s CI's claim that the upstarts had some backing from some of the Heights guys or KC?

[PolackTony]

As an addendum to my above note, I suppose that the Abatte thing does substantiate the claim that the Heights had some faction siding with the upstarts.

[Antiliar]

As an addendum to my above note, I suppose that the Abatte thing does substantiate the claim that the Heights had some faction siding with the upstarts.

It's funny that we were just discussing Termini Imerese.

Regarding Mangano, I'm just putting it out there as a possible murder that was part of the series of murders committed by either side. I personally don't have enough information to say with any certainty which side Mangano was on. or if his killing was even related. He's a mystery and I wish I had some good documented info that would help me place him. Like I note about the CI, he got a lot of information wrong, so we have to take what he said with a healthy dose of skepticism. He also got some information right, so I don't want to discount him entirely either. There is certainly more to the story. I added a note to clarify.

[Snakes]

Great write-up. This is a period I know next to nothing about besides the normal stuff so thanks for posting.

[Villain]

Good stuff as always Anti, and thanks.

I just want to add few things and i dont know if you will agree with me but still...

First, we also must not forget the 1943 hit on John Pisano who was possibly connected to Pinelli and the rest of the old timers.

Second, according to some of the files on DeGeorge (i think Cavita also confirmed this), he was labelled as member of Chicagos "board of directors" since the early 30s by controlling the whole North Side and the report also stated that he was mostly involved in legitimate enterprises such as selling grapes and stuff. With that being said, i think that all of the previously mentioned North Side capos were under DeGeorge.

Also, the files say that DeGeorge allegedly wasnt aware regarding the whole plot. Maybe he realized that right after the murders of ONeglia and DeAngelo and possibly some of his guys began to create their own separate factions and refused to listen to him?! I believe thats what really saved DeGeorge from being killed...

I really dont believe in the story that after the Benevento and DeJohn hits, DeGeorge suddenly realized what was going on and the guys simply gave him free pass. I believe in what i said previously....in 1945 Pinelli fled Chicago and thats one good sign on what was really going on. Again, according to some reports even the Dallas operation failed because of the whole conflict.

As for Mangano, my opinion is that he belonged to the old Sicilian faction and his murder wasnt a coincidence since he probably plotted against Accardo and the Caponites.

[Antiliar]

This doc confirms that the subject (Jasper Matranga) was the capo before DeGeorge.

Matranga, Jasper - FBI file - DeGeorge DeJohn.jpg

[Villain]

This doc confirms that the subject (Jasper Matranga) was the capo before DeGeorge.

Matranga, Jasper - FBI file - DeGeorge DeJohn.jpg

What time period is this (about Matranga being predecessor)?

[PolackTony]

This doc confirms that the subject (Jasper Matranga) was the capo before DeGeorge.

Matranga, Jasper - FBI file - DeGeorge DeJohn.jpg

Is t it your belief that Matranga was Northside capo decina up until he left town in 1945? My question is then when did DeGeorge take the spot, and how long did he hold it, given that Prio took it around 1945/47? Is it possible that Matranga was Northside capo during a period, and then in charge of Calumet City either before or after his tenure as Northside capo (or does it seem more likely that Fratianno/Demaris were simply in error on Matranga's CC connection?)?.

[Villain]

First I have this on DeGeorge (Ovid Demaris)...ill try to find the rest of the stuff later..

DeGeorge, James

AKA: (nee Vincenzo DeGiorgi), Don Vincenzo

DESCRIPTION: Born about 1898; RO: Sicilian; FH: both sons suffered violent deaths; daughter, Louise (Mrs. Anthony Pinelli, Jr.); brother-in-law, Frank Tallo (murder victim); brother, Charles.

FREQUENTS: Resides at 3716 N. Kedvale Ave. (mysteriously destroyed by fire on Jan. 7, 1966); Triple D Ranch, Route 2, Hancock, Wis.- a 6,000-acre black Angus cattle ranch, protected by watch-dogs, private guards and alarm system.

RECORD: First arrested in 1922 with his brother, Charles, for the gang-type murder of Frank Fondanetta, no indictment returned, also arrested as an accessory to murder in 1933.

BUSINESS: Extensive national interests in the Italian olive oil, grapes, cheese, bread and macaroni industries.

MODUS OPERANDI: Got his start in the early 1920s in the Italian bread industry. A power in the grape business in Chicago, which he buys in carload lots in California and sells to Italians for home wine making. Dominates Wisconsin rackets, and credited by local and federal authorities as the absentee ganglord of rackets in Lake County, Indiana. Ranks in the upper echelon of the Mafia. A member of the Syndicate's board of directors.

[Antiliar]

This doc confirms that the subject (Jasper Matranga) was the capo before DeGeorge.

Matranga, Jasper - FBI file - DeGeorge DeJohn.jpg

What time period is this (about Matranga being predecessor)?

That's what it says in this document. The time period has to be determined by the totality of what we know.

[Antiliar]

This doc confirms that the subject (Jasper Matranga) was the capo before DeGeorge.

Matranga, Jasper - FBI file - DeGeorge DeJohn.jpg

Is t it your belief that Matranga was Northside capo decina up until he left town in 1945? My question is then when did DeGeorge take the spot, and how long did he hold it, given that Prio took it around 1945/47? Is it possible that Matranga was Northside capo during a period, and then in charge of Calumet City either before or after his tenure as Northside capo (or does it seem more likely that Fratianno/Demaris were simply in error on Matranga's CC connection?)?.

My educated guess is this:
Jasper Matranga, 1931-1945
Nick DeJohn, 1945-1946
James DeGeorge, 1946-1948
Ross Prio, 1948-1972

Yes, I think Fratianno/Demaris were mistaken when they connected Matranga to Calumet City. The two people most closely associated with CC were Onofrio Vitale and Phil Bacino, and they would be under the capo of Chicago Heights.

[Villain]

I dont know if you missed them but there are dozens of infos regarding Prios high stature during the late 1940s...he is especially nicely explained during the hearings by various investigators and witnesses...it was stated that he was Pinellis and DeGeorge's successor...even Dom Nuccio stated that by 1945 Prio joined the wining faction aka the Outfit and it is documented that by 1948 he was Accardos guy on the North Side..it was also sated that DeGeorge was punished by the Outfit "for the failure to fulfill his obligations towards the organization"

[Antiliar]

I dont know if you missed them but there are dozens of infos regarding Prios high stature during the late 1940s...he is especially nicely explained during the hearings by various investigators and witnesses...it was stated that he was Pinellis and DeGeorge's successor...even Dom Nuccio stated that by 1945 Prio joined the wining faction aka the Outfit and it is documented that by 1948 he was Accardos guy on the North Side..it was also sated that DeGeorge was punished by the Outfit "for the failure to fulfill his obligations towards the organization"

1948 would probably be better. That's when DeGeorge moved to Wisconsin. Looked like I already had that year but misremembered.

[Villain]

I dont know if you missed them but there are dozens of infos regarding Prios high stature during the late 1940s...he is especially nicely explained during the hearings by various investigators and witnesses...it was stated that he was Pinellis and DeGeorge's successor...even Dom Nuccio stated that by 1945 Prio joined the wining faction aka the Outfit and it is documented that by 1948 he was Accardos guy on the North Side..it was also sated that DeGeorge was punished by the Outfit "for the failure to fulfill his obligations towards the organization"

1948 would probably be better. That's when DeGeorge moved to Wisconsin. Looked like I already had that year but misremembered.

No problem. It happens to me also quite often. Too much info...not enough brain cells lol