Cleveland-Youngstown-Pittsburgh Mafia Discussion

[Angelo Santino]

At the request of another Forum member do I offer to make an honest attempt to answer reasonable questions. Please understand that I will not make-up an answer nor will I not be truthful. I will simply tell the truth or say: "I don't know". I will not respond to "cheap shots" or violate any Forum guidelines. I expect the same accommodation from all others - please.

All of that being said, please consider the following: I personally interacted with the upper management of the Pittsburgh LCN from the early 60's thru the death of Henry Zottola in 1998. Only and always as a "Family Friend", never a member of any "Crew". Although I met John Larocca i never actually sat down with him.

My association with these gentlemen started with my Dad's close friendship Jo Jo Pecora. Dad was a degenerate gambler and a big customer of the clubs in West Virginia. Dad's gambling adventures would start at Waterford Downs then continue at Club 30. That's where he met Jo Jo and Chuck Teemer. One thing let to another with my Dad and Mom becoming close friends with both.

Jo Jo and his brothers grew up going with their Dad, Charlie, to his cabin in Tionesta to hunt deer. The original cabin burnt down and Joe built a rather large, some would say opulent for a hunting camp, at the intersection of Wigg Hill and Rt. 666 in Tionesta. Camp was completed after the raid in Appalachia. The annual hunting season would begin the Friday after Thanksgiving and end over 2 weeks later after Doe season. Although there were several guests that would come and go, the regulars were: Jo Jo, his brothers, his Dad and his brother, Charlie, Michael, Nickey D, my Dad and I. Jo Jo would bring in Chuck the owner of the Hollywood Social Club to cook and sometimes Pancho, the head chef from The Knife & Fork restaurant. During hunting season Camp was not often used for out of state "Family" meetings. If and when this occurred, my Dad and I were respectfully asked to leave. However there were regular out of state "Family" meeting in the Summer months.

Although I lived in Youngstown and knew the "cast of characters" there, I was much closer to the Pittsburgh people and one special gentleman from Warren. Along the way I met JCB and find him to be honest and intelligent. He grew-up with one of the highest level of LCN in the Valley. He is also a very well versed historian regarding Youngstown, Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas.

Although I'm reasonably well versed, because of the face-to-face I enjoyed with these gentleman, I'm not Mr. Know-it-All. Please chime and add to my knowledge or ask sincere questions.

Rick, I and Lennert concluded our New York Sicilian Mafia article with Lennert, release date is May 27th, I'll post more closer to the date. But I've been looking into mainland Italian OC and it has brought me to the Ohio River Valley. You Calabresi were deep, in every town. The Sicilians worked with you, not over you.

There's not really any major town or village but most either came from Catanzaro and to a lesser extent Reggio Calabria. Opposite to the Sicilians who gravitated towards large metropolitan cities, the Calabresi preferred the small towns and littered New York State, Pennslyvania, Ohio, Indian, Ill and MN in small settlements.

Sicily was an island, Reggio Calabria, Calabria on up to Naples were not, so there is less distinction and people had relatives that moved all over so in theory, someone in RC could have relatives in Catanzaro and even Napoli, the difference is less than 150 miles.

So what I'm get at, is that outside of the popular Sicilian cities which included Mafia Families, there was a smaller network of Calabrians that ran throughout the entire northeast. As this relates to Ohio and Cleveland, these LCN families in the 40's and 50's extended beyond Cleveland and Pittsburgh, probably had operations in multiple parts of the state. And not everyone was Sicilian but Calabrian. So the rackets rested on areas of Italian immigration in the Ohio River Valley.

We Got Joe Lonardo, Pete and Tony Milano of Cleveland. What other early players we got?

(I'm new to this part of the USA (been to Cedar Point but that's mostly it!) and I'm Sicilian not Calabresi so I'm pretty green, any of you guys can set me straight or assist with my knowledge it would be greatly appreciated). All I can say is that Calabresi were connected across the country.

Even outside of the OC-mafia shit, the Calabresi experience hasn't been explored. You guys in the Ohio River Valley Americanized more rapidly than the Sicilians, but Calabrian ancestors played roles in local politics and became part of the American life. Rick Santorum, who's not Calabresi but whose ancestors came to work in the mines is one example of that. Besides the coal mines, the Calabresi built the railroads and created the Hot Pocket! Grazie for that!

Henry, Thanks for sticking around and getting some discussion going on Pittsburgh/Youngstown here on the board. As I mentioned before I was born and raised within an hour or so of Pittsburgh, and find this family extremely interesting due to my local roots and the total lack of coverage it's gotten. As I said before, Pittsburgh's got at least one "Blood And Honor" in its history if not 2 or 3. It blows my mind, that as big as the "mob" genres been and continues to be that there's never been any books written, documentaries done, or films on this family.

I recall seeing photos in the past couple months that were posted either here or on gbb with a lot of the Pitts. guys at hunting camp. I know it was you or JCB that posted them, just can't recall which board as I got distracted and didn't bookmark the thread. If it was at gbb, is there any chance you guys could post them again here? Maybe have Solai "watermark" them, or make them "copy proof" (so they don't end up all over the web), and then post them in a Pittsburgh/Youngstown thread in the photos section here. Those pics. are priceless in my opinion and deserve their place in a book dedicated to the Pittsburgh family!

From what I've managed to scrounge up online (old newspaper microfiche, or whatever you'd call them) And my Pennsylvania Crime Commission books, and a few articles by Torsten Ove, it seems like the FBI really made a half-hearted attempt at going after the LaRocca family. At least that's the opinion I've come to, maybe they just weren't as big of a priority (as other larger families) or the funding just wasn't there at the time.

Anyways, you mentioned meeting LaRocca once (I'm guessing it was just a brief encounter, nothing remarkable?), did you ever meet his son? Wasn't his son (Maybe still is?) pretty deeply entrenched in the newspaper union? Did you ever meet him, or have any backstory on his union position or involvement in family business?

How about Chucky Porter? Ever meet him or know much about how he came to rise to underboss?

I have a ton of questions, but have to meet a buddy of mine that's having a hard time dealing with his divorce. Let's keep this discussion rolling, I'll be back later this evening. And I'm sure there's other guys here that are interested as well.

Thanks again Henry!

Who where you influential Calabresi Mafiosi in this area? We have Tony and Frank Milano. There were the Volpes and Vallones? My knowledge is lacking here.

This question is best answered by JCB. He's an honest and well versed historian.

Frank and Tony Milano wrote their father Pietro in Reggio Calabria, but Frank hailed from San Stefano and Tony came from Milanesi, both Milanesi and S.Stefano were walking distance of each other, close to Aspromonte where other American members came from and also the hometown of the Picciotteria (predecessor of the 'ndrangheta) in the 1870's, RC citta is not very far from both towns.

There were several families of Volpes, I believe some were even Sicilian.

But I'm willing to bet more Calabresi came from Catanzaro, especially in places like Pittsburgh and Chicago and Toronto. But maybe I'm wrong. In my findings I've found more people from Catanzaro than Reggio Calabria in the ORV. Set me straight people, I need a Bubs to make me black. My knowledge in this area is severely lacking.

Also, apart from Mott Street, W 10th, Brooklyn heights and the Bronx, you midwestern fellaz had very little contacts to NY. Granted Sicilians were the largest Italian demographic, it just seems the Calabrians preferred the smaller towns. Now if East Bronx comes in, I'm not speaking of Salernitanesi and Napolitani, you fellaz were northern by mezzogiorno standards.

And what makes this harder, is that by 1930, we were all Italians, our dialects merged, we celebrated mainland Italian holidays, prior to Sicilians and Calabrians arriving, they never celebrated the San Gennaro Festival or any other holiday. Over time, Sicilian, Calabrian all became bullshit. By the 1950's Italian were Italian, you ask someone where their people come from, they won't say Sicily or Naples or Calabria, they'll say 116th St! Sicilians kept intermarrying and even inbreeding, Calabesi (both Reggio and Catanzaresi) and Napolitan (Compagnia and Salerno provinces) Americanized at a faster rate, chose Irish or American women as wives, much more so than the Sicilians. Now it's not set in stone, look at Luciano and his whoring and non-mafioso culture and you'd conclude he was Calabrian, but more often than not, the Siclian mafioso intermarried into other mafioso families, the Calabrian gangster just married. And prior to the 1930's Calabrians were some pimp mofo's, they had their women out hookin for them and marked them with the sfego "dat's my beyatch"! It's a distinction from the Sicilian malavita who in large measure, abstained from prostitution. Bottomline, Calabrians: ganstaz and they knew it! They dressed far dapper than the Sicilians, when a Sicilian got arrest their expression was: "Who? Meeee??' The Calabresi mug read: "Yeah! Me! And who da fuck you lookin at!? I slashah your face when I ah get outta dis, you ah cock-ah-sucker mother-ah-fuck-errrr! Take me to jail I ah fuckin extort-ah someone ah there too. Muddah-ah fuckaz!!!"

Again, back in the 1910's, I get a Black Hand letter from Morello, maybe I change my routine a little, I get fucked with the Calabrians, I'm moving across the country! You fuckers were just mean and evil in the purest senses of the words. Like Henry Hill said: "Fuck you! Pay me!"

Henry, Thanks for sticking around and getting some discussion going on Pittsburgh/Youngstown here on the board. As I mentioned before I was born and raised within an hour or so of Pittsburgh, and find this family extremely interesting due to my local roots and the total lack of coverage it's gotten. As I said before, Pittsburgh's got at least one "Blood And Honor" in its history if not 2 or 3. It blows my mind, that as big as the "mob" genres been and continues to be that there's never been any books written, documentaries done, or films on this family.

I recall seeing photos in the past couple months that were posted either here or on gbb with a lot of the Pitts. guys at hunting camp. I know it was you or JCB that posted them, just can't recall which board as I got distracted and didn't bookmark the thread. If it was at gbb, is there any chance you guys could post them again here? Maybe have Solai "watermark" them, or make them "copy proof" (so they don't end up all over the web), and then post them in a Pittsburgh/Youngstown thread in the photos section here. Those pics. are priceless in my opinion and deserve their place in a book dedicated to the Pittsburgh family!

From what I've managed to scrounge up online (old newspaper microfiche, or whatever you'd call them) And my Pennsylvania Crime Commission books, and a few articles by Torsten Ove, it seems like the FBI really made a half-hearted attempt at going after the LaRocca family. At least that's the opinion I've come to, maybe they just weren't as big of a priority (as other larger families) or the funding just wasn't there at the time.

Anyways, you mentioned meeting LaRocca once (I'm guessing it was just a brief encounter, nothing remarkable?), did you ever meet his son? Wasn't his son (Maybe still is?) pretty deeply entrenched in the newspaper union? Did you ever meet him, or have any backstory on his union position or involvement in family business?

How about Chucky Porter? Ever meet him or know much about how he came to rise to underboss?

I have a ton of questions, but have to meet a buddy of mine that's having a hard time dealing with his divorce. Let's keep this discussion rolling, I'll be back later this evening. And I'm sure there's other guys here that are interested as well.

Thanks again Henry!

If you go to Surveillances & Mug Shots on the Forum and scroll down to Pittsburgh Hierarchy from personal family album you'll find some interesting old photos posted, with permission, by JCB. These were taken at Charlie's Roost on different occasions. My computer skills are somewhat limited, so best reach out for JCB to see if he'll repost them here if necessary. Those pictures, along with several others, are already in a "Family Album"

I had the privilege of having coffee with Mr. Larocca only once. I found him to be soft spoken, and intelligent while being very much in charge. "Speak softly and carry a big stick"!

I met Chuckie Porter during deer season of 1976. He came to camp in his new white Cadillac convertible with red leather guts. Michael introduced him to my Dad and I. Nickey D leaned out and whispered to my Dad that he may be "The Guy" someday. Although there were a few 4 wheel drive Jeeps available, Chuckie insisted on taking his car back in the woods: "Don't you know it has front-wheel drive"! Charlie simply shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes at me. Later that day we had to go dig him out with the other Jeeps with chains and come-alongs. Later that night, during "Happy Hour", Charlie simply looked at me and smiled. Several years later I was reintroduced to him by my dearest friend. I only knew of his son, the attorney, but never met him.

Thanx for asking.

You Sicilian or Calabrese? I know that doesn't mean shit to you and didn't mean shit to your immediate relatives and ancestors. These terms mean nothing to 2nd, 3rd and 4th gen Italians. But work with me on this, organized crime in this area didn't just originate with the Sicilian Mafia. Trust me on this.

In Ohio and Pennsylvania, "racket cities" included more than Pittsburgh and Cleveland. You had Warren, Youngstown, Canton, Canonburg, Johnstown, Wheeling, WV. These were not Sicilian towns, they were Calabrian, and even though my stuff "the camorra" stops in the 1930's, these LCN families of the modern era had rackets going on in these locations. Jo Jo Pecora is one example of modern continuities.

And like I said to Jimmerz- who I believe is from Pittsburgh: Turtle Creek, The Hill (Wylie), Sharpsburgh, hazlewood, Glenwood, Braddock. Any knowledge of these Pittsburgh suburbs or who was active in them? In the 1920's, blacks began moving into downtown Pittsburgh "The Hill' which sent Italians running, some moved nationally while others relocated into Eastern Pittsburgh in the 1920's. The Calabrian population just scattered and Americanized. They gave their kids English names and married non-Italian women and even Americanized their own names far greater than the Sicilians. Like I said previously, the Calabresi experience has never been explored.

I have no reason not to trust you. Point well taken, however it does mean "shit" to me. Although not nearly as much as it did to our ancestors. Both sets of my Grand-parents were born in Avellino, making me a second generation Napletian.

I never really gave much thought to some of the good natured ribbing that Charlie would give Jo Jo about being Calabrese. I was just a teenager and I didn't understand it's meaning. I asked my Dad and he explained that the "special group" of people that all these friends were part of were mostly Sicilian. At the time I simply nodded me head but I really didn't know what that meant until years later.

Needless to say you're right on regarding the surrounding "racket cities". As you may know, Charlie was the proprietor of a very popular restaurant/pizzeria in downtown Warren. Tony D and Joe P were also from Warren. Not to mention the "gambling crew" from Niles. I had several encounters with a really smart guy from Canton, Pat F. I also met with a really tough guy from Wheeling several times, Paul H.

FOH, were there a lot of hits with in the pit/Youngstown family in the 80s and 90s?......Soliai

Not "lots of hits". The real blood baths were in the 50s and 60s.

However the two most significant "hits" were Joey Naples and Ernie Biondilo. Although most though Joey's hit was ordered by Lenny Strollo, the fact is that he didn't order it. That can not be said for the hit on Ernie.

The late 70's and early 80's saw at least 10 professional mob hits during the Cleveland-Pittsburgh war over total control of the Youngstown/Warren rackets. Charlie Carabbia being probably the most high profile along with his cousin, Dominic "Junior" Senzarino in 1980. Most of the professional hits in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas were drug related with Chucky Porter and Louis Raucci orchestrating the murders. Most interestingly is "if" Angelo Lonardo wasn't indicted along with Rockman, Licavoli & company in Cleveland, how far up the chain of command would have the murders reached? We aren't talking about a couple million bucks in the Youngstown rackets, but more like $40-$50 million per year. If the conflict wasn't "interrupted" by the Feds, I think LaRocca and Genovese would have had to wipe out some of the brass in Cleveland...or vice versa. Remember, the All American Club in Campbell, OH was raking in $20 million "cash" per year that was being whacked up amongst the top Youngstown & Pittsburgh guys...let alone all the other illegal gambling, drug trafficking, loansharking, labor racketeering and prostitution money. From all my research, the Charlie Carabbia kidnapping and murder sparked harsh feelings between Lonardo/Licavoli and Mannarino/LaRocca. Russell Bufalino had to step in and mediate some peace as he was "very close" to Gabriel Mannarino in Pittsburgh and thought Angelo Lonardo was very much a "man's man."

Rick, I and Lennert concluded our New York Sicilian Mafia article with Lennert, release date is May 27th, I'll post more closer to the date. But I've been looking into mainland Italian OC and it has brought me to the Ohio River Valley. You Calabresi were deep, in every town. The Sicilians worked with you, not over you.

There's not really any major town or village but most either came from Catanzaro and to a lesser extent Reggio Calabria. Opposite to the Sicilians who gravitated towards large metropolitan cities, the Calabresi preferred the small towns and littered New York State, Pennslyvania, Ohio, Indian, Ill and MN in small settlements.

Sicily was an island, Reggio Calabria, Calabria on up to Naples were not, so there is less distinction and people had relatives that moved all over so in theory, someone in RC could have relatives in Catanzaro and even Napoli, the difference is less than 150 miles.

So what I'm get at, is that outside of the popular Sicilian cities which included Mafia Families, there was a smaller network of Calabrians that ran throughout the entire northeast. As this relates to Ohio and Cleveland, these LCN families in the 40's and 50's extended beyond Cleveland and Pittsburgh, probably had operations in multiple parts of the state. And not everyone was Sicilian but Calabrian. So the rackets rested on areas of Italian immigration in the Ohio River Valley.

We Got Joe Lonardo, Pete and Tony Milano of Cleveland. What other early players we got?

(I'm new to this part of the USA (been to Cedar Point but that's mostly it!) and I'm Sicilian not Calabresi so I'm pretty green, any of you guys can set me straight or assist with my knowledge it would be greatly appreciated). All I can say is that Calabresi were connected across the country.

Even outside of the OC-mafia shit, the Calabresi experience hasn't been explored. You guys in the Ohio River Valley Americanized more rapidly than the Sicilians, but Calabrian ancestors played roles in local politics and became part of the American life. Rick Santorum, who's not Calabresi but whose ancestors came to work in the mines is one example of that. Besides the coal mines, the Calabresi built the railroads and created the Hot Pocket! Grazie for that!

My entire family is from the Reggio Calabria region. I know that Montreal and other parts of Canada that my family settled in along with certain areas in Buffalo/Rochester were dominated at one time by the Calabrese.

My great grandfather, Domenico Rosario Barbaro, aka Dominick Barber, was murdered on 10-24-1924 and his brother Frank was murdered on 10-24-1925, were both head of the Youngstown rackets by 1916 along with Nicolo "Nicky" Mallamo, and were all from Calabria. Going further into the 1930's and through the 1980's, Youngstown was dominated by the Romeo's, Mallamo's and Prato's, all from San Nicolo in Reggio Calabria. Youngstown also had the Neapolitans (The entire Naples family) and a Sicilian element with Vince a DeNiro and Joe DiCarlo. However, the Calabrians were the true power for many years in Youngstown.

Tony Milano used the alias Romeo and wrote to them, could it be possible they were related? And as I may have started earlier, in the 1920's Italians began leaving the area, some went to Chicago, others went to California. There was an entire secondary migration of Italians out of the ORV into San Francisco and LA.

@Henry: Avellino? I found only one person from Avellino but his entire family including his brother came from Lamezia Terme. Do you know if there was a large Avellino population? I would think not, that they were just sprinkled in here and there but you may know the correct answer.

Tony Milano used the alias Romeo and wrote to them, could it be possible they were related? And as I may have started earlier, in the 1920's Italians began leaving the area, some went to Chicago, others went to California. There was an entire secondary migration of Italians out of the ORV into San Francisco and LA.

@Henry: Avellino? I found only one person from Avellino but his entire family including his brother came from Lamezia Terme. Do you know if there was a large Avellino population? I would think not, that they were just sprinkled in here and there but you may know the correct answer.

Another very interesting observation. The only people I knew from Avellino were my grandparents. There were only two of them as my Mother's Father died before I was born as did my Father's Mother.

As I stated previously: JCB is an intelligent and well versed historian. It appears that you and he should collaborate on a book of your own.

Romney, Being as my mother's side of the family all originated from the south end of the "boot",I've always taken for granted that my dad's side came from the same region. I got a surprise yesterday when I brought this subject up while talking with my maternal grandmother. Turns out my dads people actually came from around Caltagirone in Sicily.

Anyways, one of my maternal great grandfathers (Calabrese) immigrated and settled initially in Potter Co. PA, then relocated to Clearfield Co. which is where they stayed, he found work with a RR company and worked there all his life. The other (Also Calabrese) immigrated with his parents when he was about 10 years old around 1910, and when he was old enough got a job in the deep mines, which he did up until retirement. He eventually died of "black lung" from breathing all that coal dust.

My mom and dad divorced when I was pretty young, so I was never extremely close with that side. What I do know, is that they settled in Jefferson Co. and got into the coal business (Starting their own coal co.)and bar business.

On my mothers side, I have relatives that settled in Pittsburgh, Rochester and Buffalo NY and Cleveland OH, and in Melbourne, AU


On my dad's side, the only other clan that I know of for certain, settled in Chicago, IL.

The funny thing about my parents marriage was, when I asked my mom about it, she said that my grandparents were dead set against it and that she wished she'd of listened to them. Wtf was the root of this animosity between Calabrians and Sicilians? Was this some "tribal" thing that dates back hundreds of years?

About the region's and who controlled what in and around the immediate vicinity of Pittsburgh, all I know about that is what I've read online.

I'm going to get a hold of my dad in the next couple days and see what more I can come up with.

Tony Milano used the alias Romeo and wrote to them, could it be possible they were related? And as I may have started earlier, in the 1920's Italians began leaving the area, some went to Chicago, others went to California. There was an entire secondary migration of Italians out of the ORV into San Francisco and LA.

@Henry: Avellino? I found only one person from Avellino but his entire family including his brother came from Lamezia Terme. Do you know if there was a large Avellino population? I would think not, that they were just sprinkled in here and there but you may know the correct answer.

Yes, the Milano's and Romeo's were cousins through marriage...along with the Mallamo's from Youngstown. Also, the Melia and Mediate family were tied in with this whole clan.

Jimmerz, to the contrary I have seen more alliances between Sicilians and Calabrians than animosity. Most of your "early" Cleveland leaders of Sicilian and Calabrian descent ID'd in the 20's were working together as early as 1910. In fact, someone could look at the same stuff and conclude there was one organization in Cleveland. I believe otherwise. Maybe the mafias were more pragmatic than the rest of the population? They bounced work off each other. People can talk about the Morello-Morano NY war of 1916 or Gentile's Camorra wars of the 1910's but apart from that, it was a symbiotic relationship. By the time Sicilians and Calabrians were formally one organization was a mere formality, they were tight prior to the 20's. And also, Calabrians had ties to Messina, Sicily. Alot of Calabrians who joined the Italian army were stationed there and they were in contact with Calabrians in the ORV.

The Pittsburgh Railroad company ran along the Ohio River into the Monangahela (sp?) river and the Calabresi followed the work. They worked and moved, worked and moved. Again, unlike the Sicilians who settled in clusters, the Calabresi were more decentralized, small pockets in small towns. Does this seem right?

And also, in the 1900's there was a Sicilian mafia network that got busted, they were called the "Society of the Banana." Rick and I have never made sense of that. It could have been misunderstanding or maybe there was something more to it. But some of the fellas nabbed even back then, had ties to Calabrians. I'm still not sure what to make of it.

Again, there was a time when being Sicilian and Calabresi meant something. You go to New York today and you an Italian where their people came from, they'll give you a NY street. There's no more Sicilian or Napolitan, it's Bensonurt Italian or East Harlem etc etc. East Bronx could probably be more accurate than me. He's Calabrian too, he's Salernitano so his ties to the OHR would probably be slim to none. But today it's a question of being Italian-American and maybe remembering the time before gentrification. Little Italy was on the decline since the 1980's, yet people still go to NYC expecting a cultural experience.

[Angelo Santino]

Jimmerz, to the contrary I have seen more alliances between Sicilians and Calabrians than animosity. Most of your "early" Cleveland leaders of Sicilian and Calabrian descent ID'd in the 20's were working together as early as 1910. In fact, someone could look at the same stuff and conclude there was one organization in Cleveland. I believe otherwise. Maybe the mafias were more pragmatic than the rest of the population? They bounced work off each other. People can talk about the Morello-Morano NY war of 1916 or Gentile's Camorra wars of the 1910's but apart from that, it was a symbiotic relationship. By the time Sicilians and Calabrians were formally one organization was a mere formality, they were tight prior to the 20's. And also, Calabrians had ties to Messina, Sicily. Alot of Calabrians who joined the Italian army were stationed there and they were in contact with Calabrians in the ORV.

The Pittsburgh Railroad company ran along the Ohio River into the Monangahela (sp?) river and the Calabresi followed the work. They worked and moved, worked and moved. Again, unlike the Sicilians who settled in clusters, the Calabresi were more decentralized, small pockets in small towns. Does this seem right?

Romney, It definitely sounds plausible to me. I'm almost 100% certain my grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad(PRR), but there was also the now defunct Baltimore - Ohio Railroad (B&O), Initially they lived in Wharton,PA in Potter Co. (Which is tiny, maybe a dozen or so houses and a general store that's still operating) , he then moved the family to DuBois, Pa. I'm not sure if this was "relocating" to keep working for the same RR or if he got a job with the other and relocated to take that job.

I'll have to talk more with my gram and some of my other family to get more backstory, as this has really gotten my interest now.

The article that Tag mentioned, that's due to be released, will that be online on a particular website? or will it run in a periodical/newspaper? Sounds extremely interesting to me, and I look forward to reading it.

I'm pretty hung over today, as I tied a good one on yesterday which I rarely do. Anyways, viewing the screen of this tablet for any period of time is aggravating the shit out of my head, so I quickly read/scanned through this thread and didn't really focus enough to cover everything.I want to read through this thread a little more closely tomm. with a clear head.


Henry and/or JCB, We're you guys familiar with John Fontana from Monroeville? He was supposedly a made guy under LaRocca that died in the early 80's. There's a John Fontana Jr. from the same area who's a dentist, I'm assuming that's his son? Also there's a state senator from Pitts. Wayne Fontana, I'm wondering how he is related to John Sr., if in fact he was. There was also a Joe Fontana from Monroeville that spent a lot of time up in my hometown (DuBois,PA), I'm curious as to how he was related to John Fontana Sr.

Thanks Guys!, Jimmerz

Joe Fontana? There were Fontanas connected with Colosimos in PN, ILL and MN, they had loose links to Toronto. When Calabrians got in trouble in Cleveland, they would high tale it Toronto.

Names Talerico, Mendicino or Mastroianni mean anything?

And you're right, Baltimore was connected via the Pittsburgh Railroad. This map, the black lines, pretty much is a blueprint for Calabrian settlements.



But there's also the issue of coal mining, I can't find a map showing that, but pretty much eastern OH, western PA and WV. Upstate New York?? Calabrians congregated along the mines as well. But the coal mines and the railroad, were they connected? I would think both industries would have served each other. I'll have to look more into the history of the railroad.

Phatmattress lives in PA and I think he's connected to the coal industry, he potentially might know more.

Here's one. Appalachian Coal Field.

Jimmerz, to the contrary I have seen more alliances between Sicilians and Calabrians than animosity. Most of your "early" Cleveland leaders of Sicilian and Calabrian descent ID'd in the 20's were working together as early as 1910. In fact, someone could look at the same stuff and conclude there was one organization in Cleveland. I believe otherwise. Maybe the mafias were more pragmatic than the rest of the population? They bounced work off each other. People can talk about the Morello-Morano NY war of 1916 or Gentile's Camorra wars of the 1910's but apart from that, it was a symbiotic relationship. By the time Sicilians and Calabrians were formally one organization was a mere formality, they were tight prior to the 20's. And also, Calabrians had ties to Messina, Sicily. Alot of Calabrians who joined the Italian army were stationed there and they were in contact with Calabrians in the ORV.

The Pittsburgh Railroad company ran along the Ohio River into the Monangahela (sp?) river and the Calabresi followed the work. They worked and moved, worked and moved. Again, unlike the Sicilians who settled in clusters, the Calabresi were more decentralized, small pockets in small towns. Does this seem right?

Romney, It definitely sounds plausible to me. I'm almost 100% certain my grandfather worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad(PRR), but there was also the now defunct Baltimore - Ohio Railroad (B&O), Initially they lived in Wharton,PA in Potter Co. (Which is tiny, maybe a dozen or so houses and a general store that's still operating) , he then moved the family to DuBois, Pa. I'm not sure if this was "relocating" to keep working for the same RR or if he got a job with the other and relocated to take that job.

I'll have to talk more with my gram and some of my other family to get more backstory, as this has really gotten my interest now.

The article that Tag mentioned, that's due to be released, will that be online on a particular website? or will it run in a periodical/newspaper? Sounds extremely interesting to me, and I look forward to reading it.

I'm pretty hung over today, as I tied a good one on yesterday which I rarely do. Anyways, viewing the screen of this tablet for any period of time is aggravating the shit out of my head, so I quickly read/scanned through this thread and didn't really focus enough to cover everything.I want to read through this thread a little more closely tomm. with a clear head.


Henry and/or JCB, We're you guys familiar with John Fontana from Monroeville? He was supposedly a made guy under LaRocca that died in the early 80's. There's a John Fontana Jr. from the same area who's a dentist, I'm assuming that's his son? Also there's a state senator from Pitts. Wayne Fontana, I'm wondering how he is related to John Sr., if in fact he was. There was also a Joe Fontana from Monroeville that spent a lot of time up in my hometown (DuBois,PA), I'm curious as to how he was related to John Fontana Sr.

Thanks Guys!, Jimmerz

John Fontana was an enforcer for Kelly Mannarino and his brother Sam. He also acted as a bodyguard for both the Mannarino brothers. John did get made and ran a book until his death. His son is a dentist, but I'm not sure about his connection to Wayne Fontana. Joe was his brother and he did a few things for Russ Bufalino, as a favor to Kelly Mannarino.

[Angelo Santino]

Not "lots of hits". The real blood baths were in the 50s and 60s.

However the two most significant "hits" were Joey Naples and Ernie Biondilo. Although most though Joey's hit was ordered by Lenny Strollo, the fact is that he didn't order it. That can not be said for the hit on Ernie.

The late 70's and early 80's saw at least 10 professional mob hits during the Cleveland-Pittsburgh war over total control of the Youngstown/Warren rackets. Charlie Carabbia being probably the most high profile along with his cousin, Dominic "Junior" Senzarino in 1980. Most of the professional hits in Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas were drug related with Chucky Porter and Louis Raucci orchestrating the murders. Most interestingly is "if" Angelo Lonardo wasn't indicted along with Rockman, Licavoli & company in Cleveland, how far up the chain of command would have the murders reached? We aren't talking about a couple million bucks in the Youngstown rackets, but more like $40-$50 million per year. If the conflict wasn't "interrupted" by the Feds, I think LaRocca and Genovese would have had to wipe out some of the brass in Cleveland...or vice versa. Remember, the All American Club in Campbell, OH was raking in $20 million "cash" per year that was being whacked up amongst the top Youngstown & Pittsburgh guys...let alone all the other illegal gambling, drug trafficking, loansharking, labor racketeering and prostitution money. From all my research, the Charlie Carabbia kidnapping and murder sparked harsh feelings between Lonardo/Licavoli and Mannarino/LaRocca. Russell Bufalino had to step in and mediate some peace as he was "very close" to Gabriel Mannarino in Pittsburgh and thought Angelo Lonardo was very much a "man's man."

I'm afraid I need to show my age - again. I'm old enough to have lived through the "Youngstown Tune-up" decade or so. Thus the more normal "hit's", if there's any thing normal about a "hit", that followed in the 70's and 80's don't resinate as much for me. That being said: JCB, as usual, is correct in saying that those later decades were very bloody. Included in those blood stained years were the shooting of Joseph DeRose Sr. He was shot in his drive-way by mistake. His son, Joseph Marc DeRose was the intended target. Joey got his later that year. Then there was Robert DeSerbo. He worked for Joey Naples at Youngstown United Music. He and his brother also ran poker games in Struthers. He was watching TV in his family room when he heard a noise and and got up to look out his patio door. He was literally cut in two with a shot-gun blast, thru the glass door, from a double barrel 10ga.

For what's it's worth: It's my pleasure to participate on this Forum with intelligent contributors as opposed to being annoyed by non contributing dummies in other places.

Where these Fontanas connected to Illinois? Relatives? It's a common name and there may have been several with the same name. It was a common name across Italy. But there were Fontanas associated with prostitution (a Calabresi thing, Sicilians never got into, not mafiosi) and were associated with others in the business across the north east. 1910-ish.

And I'll re-ask, any Calabrese old-timers with sfregi on their faces? It's not always indicative, Charley Lucky was involved with prostitution and had a facial scar, was of Sicilian descent but grew up on East 13th and mixed with alot of people. But coincidently, the sfrego was something found in Neapolitan brothels in the 1850's, it was associated with people in the prostitution industry, including the camorra. In America, the Calabresi dealt in that, they married women brothel runners, they enslaved women and forced them to hook. We were talking some very ruthless fuckers.

Romney, check this link out:

http://newsinteractive.post-gazette.com/prohibition/

Joe Fontana? There were Fontanas connected with Colosimos in PN, ILL and MN, they had loose links to Toronto. When Calabrians got in trouble in Cleveland, they would high tale it Toronto.

Names Talerico, Mendicino or Mastroianni mean anything?

And you're right, Baltimore was connected via the Pittsburgh Railroad. This map, the black lines, pretty much is a blueprint for Calabrian settlements.



But there's also the issue of coal mining, I can't find a map showing that, but pretty much eastern OH, western PA and WV. Upstate New York?? Calabrians congregated along the mines as well. But the coal mines and the railroad, were they connected? I would think both industries would have served each other. I'll have to look more into the history of the railroad.

Phatmattress lives in PA and I think he's connected to the coal industry, he potentially might know more.

yes the two industries were connected back in the early days. my father and grandfather were both miners. my grandfather was pretty much a slave to the coal industries and the coal companies operated almost like a little mafia. lots of intimidation and murders. i have been told stories about the "company stores" which were owned and operated by the coal companies. my grandfather alot of the time was not given cash for his paycheck but script, or credit which you could spend at their stores only. if you were caught shopping somewhere else you risked the chance of being fired and pretty much run out of town. my dad was in the union and enjoyed alot more then my grandfather ever did. the union gave the miners a chance to stand up and not take this. although i lived through alot of strikes that got pretty nasty with violence. trucks were burnt, and scabs would get beat down by union miners when they attempted to cross the picket lines. i can remember being young with my dad and helping him make jack spikes which were 6 roofing nails welded together so they could be thrown at the tires of company trucks or scabs trying to come in or out of the mining location. i have recently seen coal being transportated on train. mostly now a days coal is transported by truck. in my direct area we don't transport out alot because of the power plants here. we have 3 major power plants right in my area. the keystone powerplant actually provides power to NYC.

Joe Fontana? There were Fontanas connected with Colosimos in PN, ILL and MN, they had loose links to Toronto. When Calabrians got in trouble in Cleveland, they would high tale it Toronto.

Names Talerico, Mendicino or Mastroianni mean anything?

And you're right, Baltimore was connected via the Pittsburgh Railroad. This map, the black lines, pretty much is a blueprint for Calabrian settlements.



But there's also the issue of coal mining, I can't find a map showing that, but pretty much eastern OH, western PA and WV. Upstate New York?? Calabrians congregated along the mines as well. But the coal mines and the railroad, were they connected? I would think both industries would have served each other. I'll have to look more into the history of the railroad.

Phatmattress lives in PA and I think he's connected to the coal industry, he potentially might know more.

yes the two industries were connected back in the early days. my father and grandfather were both miners. my grandfather was pretty much a slave to the coal industries and the coal companies operated almost like a little mafia. lots of intimidation and murders. i have been told stories about the "company stores" which were owned and operated by the coal companies. my grandfather alot of the time was not given cash for his paycheck but script, or credit which you could spend at their stores only. if you were caught shopping somewhere else you risked the chance of being fired and pretty much run out of town. my dad was in the union and enjoyed alot more then my grandfather ever did. the union gave the miners a chance to stand up and not take this. although i lived through alot of strikes that got pretty nasty with violence. trucks were burnt, and scabs would get beat down by union miners when they attempted to cross the picket lines. i can remember being young with my dad and helping him make jack spikes which were 6 roofing nails welded together so they could be thrown at the tires of company trucks or scabs trying to come in or out of the mining location. i have recently seen coal being transportated on train. mostly now a days coal is transported by truck. in my direct area we don't transport out alot because of the power plants here. we have 3 major power plants right in my area. the keystone powerplant actually provides power to NYC.

Nice input phatmattress, unbelievable how far unions would go in those days. If it wasn't for unions, the working man would have been used and abused by management. I had an opportunity right out of college to go to work as a business agent for IBT local 416 in Cleveland, but the local was still mobbed up and my dad talked me out of the job. I would have been an officer by now and the local was put under govn't regulations since then, but my dad didn't want me getting caught up in anything. Plus, I would have been stuck in Cleveland for 30+ years. I remember back in 95, my uncle got me a union job at Superior Beverage in Youngstown. They had a strike and it got violent with scab drivers getting beat down, management offices were torched...I was an 18 year old kid fresh out of high school working a summer job to earn some $$ for college, boy did that strike wake me up to reality.

Nice input phatmattress, unbelievable how far unions would go in those days. If it wasn't for unions, the working man would have been used and abused by management. I had an opportunity right out of college to go to work as a business agent for IBT local 416 in Cleveland, but the local was still mobbed up and my dad talked me out of the job. I would have been an officer by now and the local was put under govn't regulations since then, but my dad didn't want me getting caught up in anything. Plus, I would have been stuck in Cleveland for 30+ years. I remember back in 95, my uncle got me a union job at Superior Beverage in Youngstown. They had a strike and it got violent with scab drivers getting beat down, management offices were torched...I was an 18 year old kid fresh out of high school working a summer job to earn some $$ for college, boy did that strike wake me up to reality.

As you may know, this strike was settled by Congressman James Traficant. The strike almost got really out of hand when the local UAW got involved. They offered their support for the Truckers in any manner that was needed! Jimbo was able to help both sides understand that discretion was the better part of valor. This meeting of the minds took place at the Captain's Table restaurant in the Ramada Inn, Liberty Township. Hard to believe the Motel and restaurant were owned by Lenny Strollo

My uncle Dominic was semi retired by 1980 and his nephew (who was only a few years younger) named Vincenzo "Brier Hill Jimmy" Prato took over but by then aligned himself with Pittsburgh. Prato died in 1988 and his protege, Joey Naples who was inducted along with Lenny Strollo into at he LaRocca Family in 1987. My uncle Dominic baptized John Bazzano Jr and was close to Capo Antonio Ripepi, a powerful and influential member from Calabria as well. Ripepi was father in law to John Bazzano Jr as well as Costenze "Stan" Valenti, former boss in Rochester, NY who was made in Pittsburgh and with the support of Tony Ripepi and Big John LaRocca went on to start his own family with his brother Frank Valenti.

FYI- I know Lennert as we've been sharing info and documents for a couple years now.

I seen Ripepi in your files. I don't know what to make of him.

He was "hands down" the most powerful, influential Capo in Pittsburgh with strong ties to NY, Philly, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Chicago. Plus he had ties to Italy. I have his FBI file if you want it. As the father in law to John Bazzano Jr and Stan Valenti, he had his fingers in all pies from Pitt-NY. He was a multi millionaire and owned a few companies, Keystone Music and a coal company. He lived in a mansion in the Whitehall section of Pittsburgh and was made by Frank Amato Sr (prior to LaRocca) as well as over in Italy by the N'Drangheta.

The man that "all" mob observers should look into and as a matter of fact, admire...is Charles "Charlie Murgie" Imburgia. He was the longtime consigliere in Pittsburgh who resided in Warren, OH since the 1950's. He was "good friends" and nurtured and fostered relationships with the NY and Chicago families. He was also close to Chicago, KC, Milwaukee, Scranton, LA, and New England crime families. Friend of Henry refers to him as Uncle Charlie, a play to his close relationship with Charlie and a tribute to Charlie and his wise ways.

What's your opinion of the "Sicilian" and "Calabrese" organizations? The fact that they had separate ceremonies and the Calabrese had a 100 fee and a 10 month annual fee is not how the traditional mafia ever operated. It doesn't seem like the Calabrese had to clear anything with the Sicilians, but clearly Tony Milano was higher up in Cleveland.

Did Milano had his own crew or was he close with Scalish, Licavoli et al?

Thanks again!

Tony Milano and his brother Frank had a large crew and were the founders of the old Mayfield Road Mob. Milano was semi retired by the time Scalish took over Cleveland. However, Tony Milano stayed on as Consigliere for many years under Scalish but also had extensive operations in Los Angeles and was heavily involved with labor racketeering. He hated Licavoli as many did and Licavoli was intimidated by Milano and they both lived in a Little Italy but Milano was known as "The King of Murray Hill," which drove Jack White crazy! Obviously both the Sicilians and Calabrese operated and for the most part, they operated with peace and strict territories.

But see, back in the 1910's, Orange Ave! Joe Lonardo and the Milanos were one block from each other, when people got arrested they were linked as one gang despite there being two sets of people: those from Licata, and those from Calabria.

So when did the Milanos "start" the Mayfield Road gang? They were active and had an already extensive multi-state network by 1912 and they were mid-level, not exactly the Calabresi leadership which they ran afoul of and why they were busted in MN on the run.

The MAYFIELD RD. MOB, so named because they met frequently in the Little Italy section of Mayfield Rd., evolved into a powerful local crime syndicate in the 1920s and 1930s through bootlegging and illegal gambling. In 1932 1st and 2nd generation Italian leaders Anthony & Frank Milano reached a formal agreement with the Jewish-Cleveland Syndicate of Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman, Louis Rothkopf, and Samuel Tucker who organized Buckeye Enterprises through which they operated laundries, casinos, and nightclubs. Both groups profited from the relationship. In 1949 when Dalitz and his partners built the Desert Inn gambling casino in Las Vegas, the Cleveland family protected the casino from shakedowns by other Mafia families and was rewarded with a $30k per month purported portion of the casino profits. The income helped support illegal gambling, bookmaking, loan sharking, and labor rackets in Northeastern Ohio.

By the 1930’s, Frank Millano and his gang replaced the Porrello’s as Cleveland’s primary crime family. His standing within the underworld grew even more prominent after joining the National Crime Syndicate and developing connections with a number of high profile mobsters, including Charlie "Lucky’’ Luciano and Meyer Lansky. After being indicted for tax invasion, however, Milano fled for Mexico in 1935.

Often lost in the Woodland Avenue wars of the 1920’s and 1930’s amid the dirty money that changed hands, the shootings, the explosions, and the splattered blood, was the rich Italian legacy that brought families together during the grueling economic conditions of the Great Depression, friendships that lasted a lifetime, and the profound sense of community that could be found on Woodland Avenue; a sense of community that has sadly vanished into the thin night air within most communities of this present age.

Residents of the old Woodland Avenue neighborhood, to be sure, were blessed with a rich history. Beginning at end of the 19th century, around the 1880’s and 1890’s Italian immigrants started settling in inexpensive wood-framed houses with sub-divisions to accommodate multiple renters in an area referred to as ``Big Italy’’, located on Woodland Avenue near Orange Avenue and East 30th, which included the area where Progressive Field now stands. By the 1920’s, as the Italian population began dwindling, immigrants started drifting further down Woodland Avenue toward E. 110th which offered another stretch of cheap housing. During the 1920’s-600-700 Italians inhabited Woodland Avenue & 110th with the Italian population doubling by the 1930’s, according to Pamela Dorazio Dean, Associate Curator for Italian American History at the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Check this link out on the Old Mayfield Road Mob and Las Vegas.

http://striplv.com/archives/19-featured ... -life.html

Great thread! Having lived most of my life in East PA, outside of Philly, with some family from the coal region, it's a good read other then your typical mobbed up areas that we're all use to hearing about. Something different.

Great pics that are related to this area too. Shows the regular human side, those hunting pics are very Pennsy.

People can't understand how lucrative this area used to be before the 1960's. The railroad, the coal mines, big business and gave good albeit hard work for a decent pay. We're talking OC in this thread, but these industries allowed Italians to work their way up the latter. I remember there was a war over Youngstown, today there's hardly nothing there. That area of the US has changed so much, not for the better either. It is sad in many ways.

The change was rather rapid, wouldn't you guys say 1970-1990 is when the area went fell into economic depression?

Yeah Romney, that's probably a pretty accurate time frame. You had the oil crisis of the 70's that got the ball rolling with the abrupt market change from big V8 cars to small 4 cylinder autos.

All the steel mills were built in Pittsburgh, due to the areas abundance of coal and it's large role in the manufacture of steel. With the railroads, and the r rivers it was easy to distribute the steel economically to the various manufacturing facilities that used it. I think the trend towards import autos, affected domestic automakers first and in turn trickled down to the steel industry, which gradually got worse and worse. I think there's only a couple operational mills left in the Pittsburgh area if I'm not mistaken. It's nothing like it was 30-40 years ago. As I mentioned elsewhere on the board the other day, as most manufactured goods are now made outside our borders, there's little demand domestically for the materials. I'd say the biggest consumer of coal in this region now, are the power plants which produce electricity that predominantly goes to NYC and Chicago and large cities in between.

People can't understand how lucrative this area used to be before the 1960's. The railroad, the coal mines, big business and gave good albeit hard work for a decent pay. We're talking OC in this thread, but these industries allowed Italians to work their way up the latter. I remember there was a war over Youngstown, today there's hardly nothing there. That area of the US has changed so much, not for the better either. It is sad in many ways.

The change was rather rapid, wouldn't you guys say 1970-1990 is when the area went fell into economic depression?

No back in the day those industries supplied other elements for the mob. Up until the late 1980s the bars in this area operated 24/7 because so many men worked swing shifts. From what I have been told almost every pool table cigarette machine condomachine in every bar was mob owned. The blue collar boys loved to gamble and play numbers. And of course take gambling and booze throw those together and what's next? Drugs...a little uppers never hurt the guys at us steel or any of those hard working industries. New ken was a big strong hold for the pittsburgh mob, now it's a gang run bigger shit hole. Many white citizens that remain there have said they would love to have the mob as opposed to what it's turned into.

TBC..................

[JCB1977]

Here are a few links to the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Mobwar from 1977-1983:

1. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5h ... occa&hl=en (Cleve-Pitts War- Youngstown article)

2. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=69 ... +war&hl=en (Pittsburgh Takeover)

3. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wp ... +war&hl=en (Cleve-Pitt Mob war)