The Outfit's "most accomplished extortionist"

[Ed]

Btw the photo of Vogel, Larner and Smith is priceless....these guys used to be the "backbone" for the old Chicago Outfit

I included a photo of Johnny Bolton, allegedly personally killed by Giancana. His widow was the daughter of Rocco Fanelli.

Any relation to Carmen Fanelli, the business owner of Giancana's hangout? I believe Carmen Fanelli's widow, who continued to operate the business after her husband's death, might have shared some Intel with the FBI.

Yeah back in the days I used write about Bolton and he was a Taylor St guy so Im not much surprised that he was related to the Fanellis. Also to tell you the truth in the past i asked several times if there was any relation between Carmen and Rocco but i never received answer...as you said, Carmen used to take care of Giancanas Armory Lounge and if so there might be some relation....

Thanks Villain. I made a cursory look into Carmen and Rocco but didn't see a relationship. But I thought you or another of the OG Chicago researchers would know for sure.

Snakes,
I believe researcher P. Tony determined Arnold was a Hungarian Jew. In the late 1960s, the Chicago Tribune published an article revealing Arnold's real name so I don't think his non-Italian identity was a secret, at least in the later years.

[Villain]

It is interesting to note that after the 1936? killing of Bolton, it seems that Rocco Fanalli began fading away and Belcastro possibly inherited his interests. Outfit capo Jimmy Belcastro was Fanellis brother-in-law

[PolackTony]

Really great piece on Smith here Ed. I had seen some old reports that erroneously identified Joe Arnold as Italian, I'm guessing that Smith may have been the source for this error.

Arnold was or eastern european I believe originally from Ohio.

Yeah, he was from Ohio. His true surname was Arranyos, I believe. Greek, I think.

He was born Joseph Aranyos in NYC to Hungarian Jewish parents. He then grew up in Cleveland.

[Snakes]

Really great piece on Smith here Ed. I had seen some old reports that erroneously identified Joe Arnold as Italian, I'm guessing that Smith may have been the source for this error.

Arnold was or eastern european I believe originally from Ohio.

Yeah, he was from Ohio. His true surname was Arranyos, I believe. Greek, I think.

He was born Joseph Aranyos in NYC to Hungarian Jewish parents. He then grew up in Cleveland.

His social is of Ohio origin so it didn't seem he spent much time in New York before heading to the Midwest.

[SolarSolano]

Interesting anecdote on Anthony Pinelli being the inventor of so-called 'trunk music.' I'd love to learn more about some of these earlier guys like him and Grautadaduro and Morgano and where that crew came from. Never associated him as a killer more of a top hoodlum who was used as an intermediary in California in his later years - though I'm sure like all, they were violent in younger years.

[SolarSolano]

Really great piece on Smith here Ed. I had seen some old reports that erroneously identified Joe Arnold as Italian, I'm guessing that Smith may have been the source for this error.

Arnold was or eastern european I believe originally from Ohio.

Yeah, he was from Ohio. His true surname was Arranyos, I believe. Greek, I think.

He was born Joseph Aranyos in NYC to Hungarian Jewish parents. He then grew up in Cleveland.

His social is of Ohio origin so it didn't seem he spent much time in New York before heading to the Midwest.

I read somewhere that Arnold met the Outfit in prison and was invited to come to Chicago - he was a car thief as a teenager. I think a lot of guys from other areas eventually came into the Outfit this way. Would love to know the exact connection there.

[PolackTony]

Really great piece on Smith here Ed. I had seen some old reports that erroneously identified Joe Arnold as Italian, I'm guessing that Smith may have been the source for this error.

Arnold was or eastern european I believe originally from Ohio.

Yeah, he was from Ohio. His true surname was Arranyos, I believe. Greek, I think.

He was born Joseph Aranyos in NYC to Hungarian Jewish parents. He then grew up in Cleveland.

His social is of Ohio origin so it didn't seem he spent much time in New York before heading to the Midwest.

Yes, the family moved to Cleveland while Arnold was a baby, I believe. When Smith described Arnold as an "Italian from New York", he was wrong on both counts. It's certainly possible that Arnold let people think that about him in order to enhance his prestige or mystique.

[Snakes]

Really great piece on Smith here Ed. I had seen some old reports that erroneously identified Joe Arnold as Italian, I'm guessing that Smith may have been the source for this error.

Arnold was or eastern european I believe originally from Ohio.

Yeah, he was from Ohio. His true surname was Arranyos, I believe. Greek, I think.

He was born Joseph Aranyos in NYC to Hungarian Jewish parents. He then grew up in Cleveland.

His social is of Ohio origin so it didn't seem he spent much time in New York before heading to the Midwest.

Yes, the family moved to Cleveland while Arnold was a baby, I believe. When Smith described Arnold as an "Italian from New York", he was wrong on both counts. It's certainly possible that Arnold let people think that about him in order to enhance his prestige or mystique.

In the 1960s and 70s, he was mistaken as a made guy on more than one occasion so I think there was even confusion as to his ethnicity among the rank and file, especially considering how many anglicized their names during that time period.

[SolarSolano]

Did anything ever happen to that kid from Cicero who shot Joe Arnold? He was in debt I believe and had gotten beat up - wonder what happened to him given he couldn't really get protection as a drug addict and low level hood...

[Villain]

Interesting anecdote on Anthony Pinelli being the inventor of so-called 'trunk music.' I'd love to learn more about some of these earlier guys like him and Grautadaduro and Morgano and where that crew came from. Never associated him as a killer more of a top hoodlum who was used as an intermediary in California in his later years - though I'm sure like all, they were violent in younger years.

By the mid 1940s, Pinelli, Morgano etc. belonged to the old Northwest faction or until the conflict occurred. In 1945, Pinelli fled the city and went to LA but still had some bookmaking ops in Chicago which were headed by his associates, while Morgano owned a pizza restaurant on the Near North Side.

By the early 1950s there many Sicilian, Mainlander and non-Italian clans, mostly associated with the Chicago Heights faction, that controlled northwest Indiana but in 1952/53, Pinelli was brought back to Chicago and became a capo for the Indiana crew and brought his old associates like Morgano, Gruttadauros, Zizzo etc. but probably again under the jurisdiction of the Heights mob.

Now, you might ask yourself what the hell were guys from Rogers Park, Rush St, Grand Av and Taylor St doing all the way in northwest Indiana? Well this might be the best proof regarding the connection between the old Northwest and Chicago Heights Mafias and their close cooperation back in the days of Prohibition. It seems that some old Northwest Sicilian members like Pinelli already very well knew the Chi Heights, C City and northwest Indiana areas, probably with the help of their previous connections to some of their former Sicilian associates from those same territories.

There were also guys like John Formusa and George Dicks who came from different crews but belonged to the "newly" created Indiana crew or were closely associated with them.

[SolarSolano]

Was Pinelli known as "Long Tom?" I've also been following him it appears he was an important figure in later years as he was meeting with La Rocca and Mannarino from Pittsburgh who appeared to seek his permission or connections to narco traffickers. Was he reporting directly to Frank LaPorte while he ran Gary?

[Villain]

Was Pinelli known as "Long Tom?" I've also been following him it appears he was an important figure in later years as he was meeting with La Rocca and Mannarino from Pittsburgh who appeared to seek his permission or connections to narco traffickers. Was he reporting directly to Frank LaPorte while he ran Gary?

Probably first to Ammirato aka Emery and then to LaPorte (during those days Emery was one of top guys in narcotics), and yeah Pinelli and his crew were deeply involved both in prostitution and the dope trade since Gary and Hammond used to be two of the "drop stations" regarding the stash which was meant for the Chicago market. These guys used their pizzerias as fronts for the dope trade long before the so-called pizza connection was revealed.

Also Pinelli was the boss from 1953 until 1958/59 so he was replaced temporarly by Formusa i think (possibly Formusa was before Pinelli i dont remember) and later Morgano took over the throne officially. After Morgano, Zizzo became the boss and whenever Zizzo had problems, Gruttadauro acted for him.

[SolarSolano]

Morgano, Zizzo and Gruttadauro all had sons who would continue like their fathers. I've always wondered how Anthony Zizzo gravitated to Melrose Park/Cicero Crew after his father was in Gary. Are you aware of where Frank Cease Zizzo resided? Did most of this Gary crew live north in Chicago?

Another member of their borgata was Nuzzo - also an interesting family of fourth generation bookies who are exceptionally active today.

[Villain]

Morgano, Zizzo and Gruttadauro all had sons who would continue like their fathers. I've always wondered how Anthony Zizzo gravitated to Melrose Park/Cicero Crew after his father was in Gary. Are you aware of where Frank Cease Zizzo resided? Did most of this Gary crew live north in Chicago?

Another member of their borgata was Nuzzo - also an interesting family of fourth generation bookies who are exceptionally active today.

I have one 1940s home adress of Frank Zizzo on 2416 Taylor St, so i presume that before landing in the Indiana crew, he knew the Taylor St guys who by the early or mid 50s took over Melrose Park. For example Zizzo was close with George Dicks who in turn was close with Nicoletti, the future boss of MP. I also believe that Frank Zizzo was also closely connected to guys from the Cicero area, especially from around S 51st St. So this might explain some of his son's connections.

Sam Nuzzo (Flando) possibly started in the old Montana clan from MP and later joined DeGrazia, followed by Battaglia and Nicoletti. It is possible Sam Nuzzo was related to Cuono Nuzzo (possible dad or uncle) and John Nuzzo (possible brother or cousin), also from the former Montana clan. I think Sam Nuzzo also hosted one of Accardos famous parties and publicly stated that he in fact grew up with Accardo....

[Villain]

As SolarSolano already pointed out, the info regard Pinelli being labeled as the inventor of the so-called "trunk music" is quite interesting. Was that one of the main reasons for which both Accardo and Giancana reached out to Pinelli so he can rule the Indiana crew with an iron fist? I dont have any info regarding Pinelli being a brutal guy but instead he was a lucrative businessman involved in gambling, prostitution and narcotics, and also had a lot of connections around the country....