Enzo and Piddu's Excellent Adventure

[B.]

Good observation on Luciano/Costello. Like Antiliar said, I don't think there's anything concrete to actually suggest Phil Mangano was his brother's acting boss or sostituto, but he appears to have been more than simply an aide in the defacto power structure. Not sure that neptosim or anti-neptosim would necessarily factor in, though, as it seems to depend on the circumstances.

This got me thinking about Joe Profaci and his brother Sal. I think it's in Rosalie Profaci Bonanno's book where a male relative of hers from Sicily was visiting and made a comment to her about how her father had been the real power behind his brother Joe, which upset her because I guess she didn't want to hear about the mafia.

Might be a coincidence, or more likely a combo of factors, but Sal Profaci dies in 1954 and we can see Joe Profaci's power unravel just a few years later, continuing with Magliocco afterward. Joe Bonanno's relationship to the Profaci clan, which was of great importance in mafia politics, also came first and foremost through Sal Profaci who spent time bootlegging with Bonanno in Buffalo and the two are shown together in Bill Bonanno's book at the same wedding table with some top Bonanno figures. It was Sal's daughter, too, who Bonanno arranged to marry his eldest son who he was grooming for mafia leadership. While they probably would have been allies anyway as part of the "conservative" faction of the Commission, the Profaci-Bonanno alliance may not have been as strong without Sal Profaci.

It's nonsense to say that longtime powers like Joe Profaci and Vincent Mangano got their power from their brothers, so not suggeting that, but for as much as we do hear about nepotism and relatives riding on coattails, both Profaci and Mangano appear to have had brothers who were legitimate mafia leaders in their own right.

This contrasts with so many stories we hear about brothers who wouldn't have had rank, or even membership, without their brother being a top member.

[PolackTony]

The absence of Luciano/Costello from the list leaves a gap in our understanding I think. If (presumably) Gentile had also included both Luciano and Costello, it would help to underscore that a senior leader and his acting substitute could (potentially) both be included as sitting members. With the Manganos I think this need not be a formal "acting boss"/sostituto arrangement, but perhaps just an "aide de camp" type, with significant input in the decision-making process of the formal rappresentante. With Milano and Polizzi maybe a senior/junior rappresentante arrangement (which makes me wonder if later on Ricca and Accardo could've both been seen as sitting on the Commission in a similar way).

[B.]

I think you're right to consider why Gentile named the people he did, but hard to say what it says about formal positions aside from the guys we know to be bosses. He may have just thrown out names off the top of his head, which is why he included multiple Mangano and Cleveland figures while forgetting to include the Genovese and Lucchese bosses who sat on the Commission. We can tell from his list that it is heavily influenced by the sphere he operated in.

- Traina for example was "just" a capodecina at this time in 1940 but we know he was also a messaggero between the Commission and Philadelphia, as well as a former sostituto for the capo dei capi, and probably a former Gran Consiglio member and consigliere. Knowing all of that, it makes complete sense why he's on the list given he had previously been one of the top national leaders and still carried the remnants of his old national duties (i.e. Philly).

- But would someone from another family include Traina on what's essentially a Commission list? Gentile knew Traina very well and interacted directly with him when Traina was D'Aquila's sostituto, both were involved with the Gran Consiglio, and both men were on the Castellammarese War peace committee. Gentile was also a member of the Mangano family alongside Traina until Gentile left the US. In Gentile's sphere, Traina's influence couldn't be ignored. Gentile was also the former consigliere of Cleveland so both Polizzi and Milano were a big part of his sphere.

- A Buffalo member on the other hand may or may not know that Joe Traina was a powerful member in NYC, and if asked to make a similar list of top national powers wouldn't include him. The Buffalo member would probably include John Montana (who sources say rivaled even Magaddino in terms of influence early on) and Joe DiCarlo Jr., plus maybe Frank Garofalo alongside Joe Bonanno. Those names would make sense in a Buffalo member's sphere. A Genovese or Chicago member would probably come up with their own variations based on their POV.

I think the list is a good offhand representation of how Gentile saw things. He was a Masseria supporter who knew Luciano and Costello, but he was a Mangano member, a former Cleveland leader, and though he came to the US decades earlier, he was very much a "zip" (or what counts for one then) who transferred his membership between Sicily and the US in the 1920s. Except for the war, I don't think the Genovese family had much direct influence in his life and the authorities who interviewed him would have been clueless about the mafia, so they probably just asked him who the top national mafia leaders are and he named these ones off. If they had really pressed him for an accurate Commission list I'm sure he could/would have named all of them like he did in his book.

Gagliano/Lucchese are also missing. Going off memory, he barely talks about that family in his book. He doesn't seem to have interacted with the Corleonesi much even earlier on and a lot of the NYC people he knew were in Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, not so much East Harlem-Bronx. Like Luciano/Costello, I doubt he deliberately left Gagliano/Lucchese off, but I think he was just riffing off the top of his head.

This is all assuming the source is Gentile, but based on the info and what Antiliar said, it really can't be anyone else. What a fascinating guy... it's overwhelming how much he gave us yet there is so much more he had to have known. If I could interview one informant from history it would be him.

[PolackTony]

For sure, we certainly can't take Gentile's presumably offhand account of the ruling figures of the American mafia as proof of Commission membership, so I wouldn't want to extrapolate too much from it. But, it would've been interesting to see if Gentile had included the Genovese and Lucchese (whose absence I'd neglected to take note of, thanks) leaders, whether he would've named both Luciano and Costello, etc. While your points about Gentile's proximity to the Mangano and Cleveland families is very important here, Gentile was also not really a typical member of a family with a more locally-bound perspective. Of course, what we'd want would be someone who actually knew something to have queried him on some of these things -- "Wait, both Enzo and Phil Mangano are on this 'Consiglio'? Are they co-equal members or is one an 'aide' or the like?".

I don't recall -- in his later accounts, does he mention Traina and Phil Mangano as national leaders or Commission members?

[PolackTony]

Another thing to note though is that Gentile's general neglect of the Corleonesi goes to once again underscore the importance of these compaesani/regional networks in structuring the American mob, beyond the more obvious organizational parameters of particular Borgate.

[Villain]

The boss of the Genovese family went to prison in 1936 and in 1937 the alleged underboss fled to Italy, so it is possible that during the late 30s they kept a low profile (Costello was a fixer) and were represented by another family on the commission and thats why they are missing from the 1940 list which was possibly given by Gentile at the time (maybe he was talking about the previous years like 1939 or 1938, 1937 etc and maybe saw them as "weak" family).

It is possible that it was another NY family but it is also possible that Ricca/Chicago represented their interests since ive seen few examples in which years later Giancana sometimes represented Genoveses interests or voted the same way. Ive also seen one report where Giancana also represented LA's interests although most of us know that the Lukes allegedly presented LA on the round table, so maybe the Lukes were also represented by another fam or as B said, it is also possible that Gentile didnt have enough info on them.

Regarding Ricca and the Genoveses, we also know that during the early 60s Genovese high level members like Tommy Eboli referred to Ricca the same way as they referred to Vito. Not that im a Chicago "fan" but during the old days the Outfit was the third or second most powerful crime family around the US at the time.

Also, Ricca is on that old 1940 list, not Nitto which is an accurate info since the Outfit was a "mystery" after Capone. Gentile personally knew Capone because he (Capone) saved his life once and so Gentile possibly also knew few of Capones guys like Ricca. Just my two cents...

[Southshore88]

Cross-posting from the files section just to have the info here. Thanks to Chaps for providing the files where these come from.

From Arcuri's FBI file:

- Informant described "Don Pupine" (ph) as "Carlo Gambino long before Gambino", who was now retired. Was seen visiting the Arcuri liquor store more than once between 1963 and 1964. I'm guessing this was in reference to Giuseppe Traina (known as "Don Piddu") as he was known to visit the Arcuri store and isn't otherwise mentioned. If so, describing him as "Gambino long before Gambino" is further indication of his early status and likely admin position under D'Aquila.

From a taped 1961 conversation between Genovese member Michele Clemente and an unidentified member "Al" or "Sal", where Clemente is explaining how Commission representation of smaller families works:



- The reference to the "old guy there that used to be in Albert's seat - he was the underboss with the old boss." From context during the conversation, Albert is definitely Anastasia, so is this a reference to Vincent Mangano? Some of us have speculated that Mangano was D'Aquila's underboss, but it seems strange that this would be referenced here. He could also mean Anastasia was underboss to the old boss (Mangano), which is true. Either way, he is referring to a boss before Anastasia, but why would he bring Mangano up here?



- Giuseppe Traina wasn't dead at this time like it says, but interesting he comes up. We know Traina served as the liaison between the Philadelphia family and the Commission and a 1940s Italian Treasury source identified Traina as a member of the Commission. Though he wasn't a Commission member, this is another indication of Traina's important position and role as a Commission aide.

-------------------------------------------

The possible Mangano reference is vague, but if it was referring to him as "underboss to the old boss", it would seem he was saying Mangano was either D'Aquila or Mineo's underboss, which fits with the picture we have of Mangano in the 1920s and 1930-1931 before he became boss. I don't know why the unknown member "Al" or "Sal" would be talking about that, but we know from examples like the Magaddino tapes these guys can be all over the map with their references and context isn't always clear. We don't know the age (or anything else) about "Al" / "Sal", so for all we know he was around in the 1920s/1930s. Clemente, who he is talking to, would have been around 20 when D'Aquila was killed so that period might not be totally foreign to him either.

^ Also, the FBI clarifies below this that they refer to someone named Frank, who they believe is not Frank Majuri. Maybe this is a reference to Frank Scalise, who would have fit into a conversation about the earlier Gambino admin.

If "Don Pupine" (ph. -- probably Peppino) is Traina as I suspect, the reference to him as "Carlo Gambino before Carlo Gambino" is very interesting, as Gambino was the boss at the time of this report. Traina was never an official boss but he was D'Aquila's "sostituto" (acting boss) on multiple occasions so we know he had high stature. Seems later sources may have been aware of this. The reference in the Clemente conversation also reinforces Traina's stature, including the FBI's reference to Traina being an "old power" in the mafia.

Great insight B. - is it at all possible the Pauline they’re referencing to is Joe Bonanno? Wasn’t he also referred as Don Peppino or something close to that? When referring to him as Carlo before Carlo, could be referring to being a young boss who was on the commission. Also is a Sicilian and was allied to Profaci.

I personally agree with you about Traina but am looking for additional potential candidates.

[B.]

There were many Don Peppinos for sure, but Joe Bonanno would not have been seen at the Arcuri liquor store multiple times in the 1960s. He was barely in NYC and hiding from the Commission. Def appreciate you throwing more names into the hat, though.

There is a Philly report where Joe Traina is called "Giuseppino" Traina, so he was surely called Peppino in addition to Piddu and probably the other nicknames for Giuseppe. The reference to him here seems specific to the Gambino family ("Carlo Gambino before Carlo Gambino") and from other reports we know Traina visited the Arcuris at their liquor store. Traina wasn't named otherwise on this list of liquore store visitors, so I think he's the strongest bet.

--

Eboli -- thanks for weighing in, man.

As for the absence of the Genovese and Lucchese, I don't think there's any info pointing to them being represented by anyone else on the Commission during this period. Commission representation was a highly formal system and we know when the bosses of those families were incarcerated/deported, the acting admin stood in their place. Ricca definitely didn't represent the Genovese family. Again I think Gentile was just riffing on the people in his sphre of influence.

It goes back to the Clemente transcripts I posted, where he says there were six avugats on the Commission. This doesn't seem to be accurate, as they deliberately kept an odd number for voting purposes, but he was probably just throwing a number out off the top of his head, not thinking about all of the specifics. Clemente didn't know that us freaks were going to be analyzing a random taped conversation he had with a friend.

It just shows how the smallest discrepancy from an informant can make us spin our wheels, haha. If we asked Gentile, he probably would have said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention them and we moved on to another topic in the interview so it didn't come up."

--

We could also look at the NYC-NJ consiglio mentioned by Valachi. Unlike the other US families, he says the NYC-NJ consiglio was made up of the consiglieri of each family as well as a boss. He listed Rao and Biondo as members of this consiglio, adding to his consiglieri bit, but it's possible other ranking members could sit on it like we see in other US families where captains and even respected soldiers sat on the local consiglio. Valachi gave the impression that the NYC-NJ consiglio rotated which boss presided over it, so it's possible some of the other figures rotated as well depending on circumstance. Maybe Traina and Phil Mangano sat on this consiglio in the 1930s which is why Gentile associated them with the word "consiglio" but I'm probably thinking too far out here as to why Gentile included them on this 1940 "Gran Consiglio" list.

If nothing else, it shows that Gentile considered them influential figures alongside their boss Vincent Mangano.

--

Another thing to note though is that Gentile's general neglect of the Corleonesi goes to once again underscore the importance of these compaesani/regional networks in structuring the American mob, beyond the more obvious organizational parameters of particular Borgate.

Great observation. If Gentile's book was our entire source for early mafia history, we would think the roots of the entire organization came from Agrigento but that was just his sphere / network.

Just like with Bonanno, if we didn't have other sources we might think the roots of the organization came from Castellammare/Trapani but that's again his sphere.

Those networks are two of the strongest roots (along with Palermo and Corleone, the latter of which I see as separate from the more provincial networks) and all of the roots connect to form the tree of the mafia (they have used this visual of a tree themselves), but each guy's POV is based heavily on his own network.

[Antiliar]

The Genovese and Lucchese Families were mentioned by Gentile. He named Lucky Luciano and "Masi" Gagliano as Commission members.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... agliano%22

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... agliano%22

[Angelo Santino]

B., in 1922, the SS identified Vincent Mangano as a power at the Brooklyn docks, his rank wasn't specified (nor would it have been). My speculation is that he was a captain throughout the 1920's.

What's interesting is that from 1928 until 1930, Mineo was the Gambino head allied with Masseria while Mangano appeared politically neutral. Gentile never directly connects Mineo with the other Gambino's he discusses, notably Mangano and Anastasia.

[B.]

When Gentile talked to Traina about Masseria, Traina told him Mangano would not turn on Masseria. Mangano was also at the Bronx meeting where Mineo and Ferrigno were killed. That meeting supposedly consisted of the diehard Masseria/Mineo faction leaders. I think you're right that Gentile never directly connected Mineo to Mangano, but it seems to be implied that they were allies and Mangano was def one of the top leaders of that family under Mineo and not one of Maranzano's allies. Maranzano wanted to kill Mangano even after the war.

You mentioning the docks might be important in this. Mineo and Mangano both lived/operated up in the neighborhoods near the Brooklyn docks. It seems like the pro-D'Aquila guys who opposed Mineo were mostly based further south around Bath Beach, Bensonhurst, and Gravesend. D'Aquila lived down there before the Bronx, same with Traina and Jimmy DiLeonardo. I believe the Castellanas were already down there as well. The other D'Aquila loyalists Scalise and the Gambino brothers were in the Bronx at the time. D'Aquila's loyalists lived in the same neighborhods he did.

Bartolo Ferrigno later lived in Bensonhurst, but when his brother Stefano arrived to the US he was headed to Kensington / Borough Park / Prospect Park area which is closer to the docks. Ferrigno moved to the Bronx like D'Aquila, but his Brooklyn roots seem to have been in the same area as Mangano and Mineo. So the three top guys in that family who were aligned with Masseria were near the docks.

Salvatore DiBella was a stevedore like his son Tom. Given Tom DiBella's stature on the docks, I'd guess his father had similar status especially given he was a mafia boss. It's speculation, but I think you (CC) and Antiliar thought Salvatore DiBella was likely subservient to Mineo given he was boss of Mineo's old family during this period where Mineo and Masseria were in power. Profaci on the other hand lived further south and was secretly said to be aligned with Maranzano (and therefore the D'Aquila loyalists).

We don't think of these conflicts being geographic in nature, so it might be a coincidence, but it does seem like the different loyalties among leaders in the pro-D'Aquila and pro-Mineo factions were separated by neighborhood.

[Antiliar]

Salvatore DiBella was a stevedore like his son Tom. Given Tom DiBella's stature on the docks, I'd guess his father had similar status especially given he was a mafia boss. It's speculation, but I think you (CC) and Antiliar thought Salvatore DiBella was likely subservient to Mineo given he was boss of Mineo's old family during this period where Mineo and Masseria were in power. Profaci on the other hand lived further south and was secretly said to be aligned with Maranzano (and therefore the D'Aquila loyalists).

We don't think of these conflicts being geographic in nature, so it might be a coincidence, but it does seem like the different loyalties among leaders in the pro-D'Aquila and pro-Mineo factions were separated by neighborhood.

What made me think that DiBella was in some sense subservient to Mineo was the statement made by Peter Sardini to investigators while he was in Sing Sing in 1932. According to Sardini, Mineo was giving orders to these early Profaci guys during the period when DiBella or Profaci were supposedly in charge of them. It's very confusing, so I'm open to other explanations.

[B.]

Salvatore DiBella was a stevedore like his son Tom. Given Tom DiBella's stature on the docks, I'd guess his father had similar status especially given he was a mafia boss. It's speculation, but I think you (CC) and Antiliar thought Salvatore DiBella was likely subservient to Mineo given he was boss of Mineo's old family during this period where Mineo and Masseria were in power. Profaci on the other hand lived further south and was secretly said to be aligned with Maranzano (and therefore the D'Aquila loyalists).

We don't think of these conflicts being geographic in nature, so it might be a coincidence, but it does seem like the different loyalties among leaders in the pro-D'Aquila and pro-Mineo factions were separated by neighborhood.

What made me think that DiBella was in some sense subservient to Mineo was the statement made by Peter Sardini to investigators while he was in Sing Sing in 1932. According to Sardini, Mineo was giving orders to these early Profaci guys during the period when DiBella or Profaci were supposedly in charge of them. It's very confusing, so I'm open to other explanations.

I think you're on the money, personally. Adding to it is that DiBella was from metro Palermo proper, like Mineo. The post-Castellammarese War leadership was overwhelmingly from "suburbs" like Villabate and Carini, not inner city Palermo.

Giuseppe Peraino appears to have been a leader of the early Carinesi faction (more here: viewtopic.php?p=170787) but he was also from metro Palermo like Mineo and DiBella. I've never seen a proper explanation for his murder (I don't believe the Frankie Yale theory; the media and local police tried to connect every mafia murder to Yale) and suspect it may have involved the volatile mafia politics at the time. During this period his Carinese friend Giuseppe Mannino was also killed as was his eldest son Carmelo Peraino.

Tom DiBella's FBI file shows that when he was boss in the 1970s he relied heavily on Giuseppe Peraino's sons as aides, both members. DiBella had weekly administration meetings at Joe Peraino's house and used Anthony Peraino to carry orders while DiBella was in prison. I would bet this relationship goes back to their fathers as Mineo family leaders from metro Palermo. Anthony Peraino was also close to capodecina Sam Badalamenti from Carini, whose association probably dates back to Giuseppe Peraino as well given Peraino's closest associates were from Carini and the murdered Mannino appears to be a marital relative of Badalementi (and pretty much the whole Carini faction).

[Angelo Santino]

Salvatore DiBella was a stevedore like his son Tom. Given Tom DiBella's stature on the docks, I'd guess his father had similar status especially given he was a mafia boss. It's speculation, but I think you (CC) and Antiliar thought Salvatore DiBella was likely subservient to Mineo given he was boss of Mineo's old family during this period where Mineo and Masseria were in power. Profaci on the other hand lived further south and was secretly said to be aligned with Maranzano (and therefore the D'Aquila loyalists).

We don't think of these conflicts being geographic in nature, so it might be a coincidence, but it does seem like the different loyalties among leaders in the pro-D'Aquila and pro-Mineo factions were separated by neighborhood.

What made me think that DiBella was in some sense subservient to Mineo was the statement made by Peter Sardini to investigators while he was in Sing Sing in 1932. According to Sardini, Mineo was giving orders to these early Profaci guys during the period when DiBella or Profaci were supposedly in charge of them. It's very confusing, so I'm open to other explanations.

Mineo lived close to someone ID'd in the SS as Salvatore Di Lella which could have been a typo or maybe not the same guy at all, which is why we didn't include it in the article.

In a few weeks, when I'll have far more free time, I'll try and look into it.

[B.]

Sure looks like a typo.

- DiBella entered the US in his early 20s circa at the turn of the 20th century, so he could have been a member of the Lupo family before falling under Mineo. I was wrong about the DiBellas living near the docks... Salvatore DiBella's WWI card says they lived in Bath Beach by the late 1910s. He very well may have lived closer to the docks like Mineo earlier on. We see many figures live up in that part of Brooklyn and later move further south.

- DiBella was "Head Foreman" at one of the Brooklyn piers by WWI, so Tom DiBella did hold a similar if not the same position his father did. Tom was the eldest son and Salvatore's 1934 death record lists his father as Thomas DiBella as well, so the true name of Salvatore's father would have been Tommaso or Gaetano DiBella. His mother was a "Maria LoVerso".

- Tom DiBella's FBI file says his mother, Salvatore's wife was Francesca Luchese/Luchees/Luccatese. Their daughter's marriage record shows the spelling Lucchese. So Salvatore DiBella's wife was definitely a Lucchese/Luchese and their eldest daughter was born in Palermo so they were already married before coming to the US.

- The above daughter married Gaetano Gianni (b. 1890 or 1892) from Palermo, so at least one of their children married within the Palermitani community. Gaetano's father was Salvatore Gianni and mother Francesca Cammarata. Interesting he had the same name (in Italian) as his wife's brother and their parents both had the same first names, too. Tom DiBella also married a Frances/Francesca. Family gatherings must have been confusing.

- By 1930 Salvatore DiBella and wife were living with son-in-law Gaetano Gianni and their daughter Maria. This would have been around the time DiBella was boss. Makes you wonder if Gianni may have been involved with the mafia, too. DiBella died in 1934, so he wasn't around long after being replaced as boss.

--

- Speaking of these figures going to Italy in the 1920s, in 1927 and 1929 Mineo went to Italy but was accompanied only by his wife. Not only was she living in Rome before she followed him to the US, but the immigration records say Maria Mineo was born in Rome. Her maiden name was Colagrande and a quick search points to that being a name found more commonly on the mainland. Was she of Roman descent? If she was born in Rome and lived there, how would Mineo have met her? Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante married a woman whose family lived in Naples but they were from Palermo originally. Not so sure Mineo's wife was Sicilian at all. Suggests he was well-traveled even in Italy, which along with his brother being a doctor, adds to him being from an affluent background.

- Joe Valachi said Mineo killed his wife's former husband to steal her away and that she was happy when Mineo was killed, returing to Italy afterward. Valachi mentioned this in context with the rule forbidding that kind of action, ala Vito Genovese doing the same. I don't know that I'd trust Valachi's memory of Mineo's romantic life as he didn't know him personally and the situation he described would have happened in Italy. It's made less likely by Maria Mineo's background in Rome. Where'd he hear this rumor?