The Genovese Westchester Pellegrino crew Inquiry...

[B.]

Yeah, on the DeCarlo tapes it is strongly suggested that Saro Mogavero took over a crew formerly headed by Patsy DelDuca. Yet we have strong info that Mogavero had been acting for the Pellegrino crew at one point, too, who he was obviously close to.

This is from an older post about that:

- Tim Murphy Pecora was recorded in 1965 telling DeCarlo that a "Soddo" (ph) was recently promoted to captain, replacing an old man named "Patsy" who had just died. This "Soddo" was out on bail on a narcotics charge. The FBI believed this "Soddo" was actually "Saro", and made a note that it was Rosario "Saro" Mancuso. This is strange, as Buffalo-Utica member Rosario Mancuso was a soldier in the Falcone crew, so it can't be him and I'm not sure who else it could be.

The description of "Saro" matches Mogavero perfectly, who was out on bail from a narcotics charge and Patsy DelDuca had just died in 1964, so that would fit the timeline.

Michelino Clemente was a South Brooklyn guy close to the docks, so if he was under Pellegrino that means the Pellegrino crew was truly sprawling. Clemente was said to be the Dallas family's liaison to the Commission by the late 1950s or early 1960s, which would make sense given the Pellegrinos' ties to Dallas.

Clemente is strange though, as he "seems" like more than a soldier. I should go through the transcripts of his bugs again to see if he says anything about crews. He talks a lot about Charlie Coppolino, who was another Genovese member connected to Mogavero and operated around the Brooklyn docks.

We know the DelDucas operated in that part of Brooklyn, too, so it almost makes me wonder if a Brooklyn element of the Pellegrino crew was placed under the DelDucas, but then why would Mogavero take it over. Maybe Patsy DelDuca's crew was merged with the Pellegrino-Mogavero crew when he died which could explain the confusion. I'm out of my element speculating on this.

[Antiliar]

Yeah, on the DeCarlo tapes it is strongly suggested that Saro Mogavero took over a crew formerly headed by Patsy DelDuca. Yet we have strong info that Mogavero had been acting for the Pellegrino crew at one point, too, who he was obviously close to.

This is from an older post about that:

- Tim Murphy Pecora was recorded in 1965 telling DeCarlo that a "Soddo" (ph) was recently promoted to captain, replacing an old man named "Patsy" who had just died. This "Soddo" was out on bail on a narcotics charge. The FBI believed this "Soddo" was actually "Saro", and made a note that it was Rosario "Saro" Mancuso. This is strange, as Buffalo-Utica member Rosario Mancuso was a soldier in the Falcone crew, so it can't be him and I'm not sure who else it could be.

The description of "Saro" matches Mogavero perfectly, who was out on bail from a narcotics charge and Patsy DelDuca had just died in 1964, so that would fit the timeline.

Michelino Clemente was a South Brooklyn guy close to the docks, so if he was under Pellegrino that means the Pellegrino crew was truly sprawling. Clemente was said to be the Dallas family's liaison to the Commission by the late 1950s or early 1960s, which would make sense given the Pellegrinos' ties to Dallas.

Clemente is strange though, as he "seems" like more than a soldier. I should go through the transcripts of his bugs again to see if he says anything about crews. He talks a lot about Charlie Coppolino, who was another Genovese member connected to Mogavero and operated around the Brooklyn docks.

We know the DelDucas operated in that part of Brooklyn, too, so it almost makes me wonder if a Brooklyn element of the Pellegrino crew was placed under the DelDucas, but then why would Mogavero take it over. Maybe Patsy DelDuca's crew was merged with the Pellegrino-Mogavero crew when he died which could explain the confusion. I'm out of my element speculating on this.

DelDuca has been a mystery. Since he died in 1960 there isn't much on him. He and Toddo Marino supposedly controlled Brooklyn gambling for the Genovese Family. Bill Feather has him as a member of Mike Miranda's crew who was promoted when Miranda was upped to consigliere. Perhaps "Soddo" is Toddo Marino who succeeded Patsy DelDuca in 1964 since we know that Mogavero succeeded Rocco Pellegrino in Westchester.

[B.]

Saro Mogavero was out on bail on a narcotics charge at the time and the "r" in Saro would sound like a "d" the way it's pronounced, which is what the FBI thought as well, so seems like he is the best fit. Was Marino also out on bail for a narcotics arrest at the time? If not, I think they were talking about Mogavero.

It's possible the NJ Genovese members were confused about the NYC crew succession and made a mistake when discussing it. Also possible there was some weird rearranging of crews and/or members going on, i.e. some of Patsy DelDuca's members were reassigned to the Pellegrino/Mogavero crew which appears to have had their own Brooklyn members.

[PolackTony]

Pellegrino was also a member of Combaneesh (Combination), Camorra-type organization for mainlanders.

Thats quite interesting....

I'm sure I know where Villain is going here, as the same thoughts popped into my head lol.

Some early powerful Genovese crime family members like Vito Genovese, Willie Moretti, Richie Boiardo were all 'combaneesh' members. Pellegrino might've been an active participant in the Mafia–Camorra War because his name was connected to a few murders during the conflict. The next time Pellegrino's name popped up in a murder investigation was during the Castellammarese War almost fifteen years later.

Any further info on this "combaneesh"? I think I've only seen it mentioned before once and didn't understand it to specifically be a Mainlander thing. Did this come up in a wiretap, or did an informant actually shed light on it?

Were the DelDucas and Toddo Marino part of this "Combaneesh" as well, as I'd suspect? If so, then DelDuca's longstanding connection to Chicago going back to Prohibition becomes all the more interesting.

[PolackTony]

Saro Mogavero was out on bail on a narcotics charge at the time and the "r" in Saro would sound like a "d" the way it's pronounced, which is what the FBI thought as well, so seems like he is the best fit. Was Marino also out on bail for a narcotics arrest at the time? If not, I think they were talking about Mogavero.

It's possible the NJ Genovese members were confused about the NYC crew succession and made a mistake when discussing it. Also possible there was some weird rearranging of crews and/or members going on, i.e. some of Patsy DelDuca's members were reassigned to the Pellegrino/Mogavero crew which appears to have had their own Brooklyn members.

From the little I knew about Mogavero, I always understood him to be a BK guy on the waterfront. I was surprised to learn that he succeeded Pellegrino based up in White Plains. Seems that after his 1950s legal troubles, Mogavero relocated to White Plain, following his release from Danbury?

While NYC crews were not specifically geographic, they're still based to some degree on networks of affiliation and interaction, which of course are spatially situated. Thus Mogavero with the DelDucas makes perfect sense, but I'm wondering how these Westchester guys clicked with Brooklyn.I wonder if this was part of a longer-standing connection via the "Combaneesh"? I do note that Mogavero seems to have been Sicilian (so not himself part of this "Combaneesh") while Pellegrino I have as from Reggio di Calabria. But perhaps the connection to Mogavero was initially between the DelDuca/Marino group and Pellegrino.

[Antiliar]

I don't have Toddo Marino's FBI file nor his rap sheet for that time period. I can imagine "Toddo" sounding like "Soddo" through relatively primitive early 1960s hidden microphones, but I guess until we obtain their FBI files the issue will remain unresolved.

[B.]

Tony -- Mogavero was a Lower East Side guy. In addition to Mogavero being identified numerous times by LE as a close Pellegrino associate, Tommy Eboli was recorded describing Mogavero as "representing" Pellegrino. In Valachi's FBI debriefings he also said Mogavero "replaced" Pellegrino when Pellegrino became inactive. Further evidence of their close relationship is Mogavero's son's marriage to Pellegrino's daughter.

I think the Mogaveros were from Collesano in Palermo. The FBN says both parents born in Sicily.

If Mogavero did replace this "Patsy" who died around 1964/1965, it's possible that crew was merged or otherwise reported to the Mogavero/Pellegrino crew at that point. Tommy Eboli was recorded describing Mogavero as one of the top leaders in their faction, so if that's what took place it may have been an effort by the leadership to consolidate his power.

Rocco Pellegrino's exact rise in the Genovese family is mysterious. He was already a "somebody" before he joined the mafia and we know the family immediately promoted Capone and Anthony Strollo to capodecina after inducting them, so maybe something similar happened with Pellegrino. How he ended up with powerful members in Manhattan and Brooklyn under him from his base in White Plains is a good question. NYC crews weren't defined by strict territory, but it's not obvious how it worked out.

[Villain]

Pellegrino was also a member of Combaneesh (Combination), Camorra-type organization for mainlanders.

Thats quite interesting....

I'm sure I know where Villain is going here, as the same thoughts popped into my head lol.

Some early powerful Genovese crime family members like Vito Genovese, Willie Moretti, Richie Boiardo were all 'combaneesh' members. Pellegrino might've been an active participant in the Mafia–Camorra War because his name was connected to a few murders during the conflict. The next time Pellegrino's name popped up in a murder investigation was during the Castellammarese War almost fifteen years later.

Any further info on this "combaneesh"? I think I've only seen it mentioned before once and didn't understand it to specifically be a Mainlander thing. Did this come up in a wiretap, or did an informant actually shed light on it?

Were the DelDucas and Toddo Marino part of this "Combaneesh" as well, as I'd suspect? If so, then DelDuca's longstanding connection to Chicago going back to Prohibition becomes all the more interesting.

Click on the next page too...

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... Combaneesh

Interesting to note is that the during the 60's the Outfit had its own Combine which was like a separate squad made out of members from different crews

[B.]

Sometime before mid-1963 an FBI informant identified Toddo Marino as a captain. If that's true, both candidates for "Soddo" (ph) mentioned in this thread were already captains before the 1965 DeCarlo tape about "Soddo" (ph) replacing the deceased "Patsy". I believe Mogavero is the stronger candidate given how the narcotics arrest matches up, but in either case it would likely mean "Patsy's" crew was assigned to an existing captain.

... assuming that "Soddo" (ph) is not someone else entirely.

[PolackTony]

Pellegrino was also a member of Combaneesh (Combination), Camorra-type organization for mainlanders.

Thats quite interesting....

I'm sure I know where Villain is going here, as the same thoughts popped into my head lol.

Some early powerful Genovese crime family members like Vito Genovese, Willie Moretti, Richie Boiardo were all 'combaneesh' members. Pellegrino might've been an active participant in the Mafia–Camorra War because his name was connected to a few murders during the conflict. The next time Pellegrino's name popped up in a murder investigation was during the Castellammarese War almost fifteen years later.

Any further info on this "combaneesh"? I think I've only seen it mentioned before once and didn't understand it to specifically be a Mainlander thing. Did this come up in a wiretap, or did an informant actually shed light on it?

Were the DelDucas and Toddo Marino part of this "Combaneesh" as well, as I'd suspect? If so, then DelDuca's longstanding connection to Chicago going back to Prohibition becomes all the more interesting.

Click on the next page too...

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... Combaneesh

Interesting to note is that the during the 60's the Outfit had its own Combine which was like a separate squad made out of members from different crews

Thanks. This may have been where I’d seen the Combaneesh mentioned before, as it doesn’t specifically state that it was a mainlander organization (though that could be surmised by Genovese’s membership).

Any further info on the Combaneesh? I note that in Italian it should be either combinazione or combinata — I’m assuming “Combaneesh” was of Napuletan’ dialetto origin.

[Villain]

Pellegrino was also a member of Combaneesh (Combination), Camorra-type organization for mainlanders.

Thats quite interesting....

I'm sure I know where Villain is going here, as the same thoughts popped into my head lol.

Some early powerful Genovese crime family members like Vito Genovese, Willie Moretti, Richie Boiardo were all 'combaneesh' members. Pellegrino might've been an active participant in the Mafia–Camorra War because his name was connected to a few murders during the conflict. The next time Pellegrino's name popped up in a murder investigation was during the Castellammarese War almost fifteen years later.

Any further info on this "combaneesh"? I think I've only seen it mentioned before once and didn't understand it to specifically be a Mainlander thing. Did this come up in a wiretap, or did an informant actually shed light on it?

Were the DelDucas and Toddo Marino part of this "Combaneesh" as well, as I'd suspect? If so, then DelDuca's longstanding connection to Chicago going back to Prohibition becomes all the more interesting.

Click on the next page too...

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... Combaneesh

Interesting to note is that the during the 60's the Outfit had its own Combine which was like a separate squad made out of members from different crews

Thanks. This may have been where I’d seen the Combaneesh mentioned before, as it doesn’t specifically state that it was a mainlander organization (though that could be surmised by Genovese’s membership).

Any further info on the Combaneesh? I note that in Italian it should be either combinazione or combinata — I’m assuming “Combaneesh” was of Napuletan’ dialetto origin.

If Capone, Ricca and Luciano also belonged to that same Combine, than it might've been the so-called Americanized faction?

[B.]

The "Americanized" faction of the Chicago family referred to by Stefano Magaddino on the Magaddino tapes was a faction of the Chicago mafia family represented by Paul Ricca. Ricca represented this group at the post-Castellammarese War meeting in Chicago, while he says Toto LoVerde represented the "Greaseball" faction. They were both part of the same Chicago organization attending a national mafia meeting, just representing different factions.

[Villain]

The "Americanized" faction of the Chicago family referred to by Stefano Magaddino on the Magaddino tapes was a faction of the Chicago mafia family represented by Paul Ricca. Ricca represented this group at the post-Castellammarese War meeting in Chicago, while he says Toto LoVerde represented the "Greaseball" faction. They were both part of the same Chicago organization attending a national mafia meeting, just representing different factions.

Yeah, thanks for the remind.

[B.]

In addition to his close relationship to the Calabrian Frank Ianni in Dallas, an FBI report from 1964 states that Steubenville, Ohio, mafia figure James Tripodi was in periodic contact with Rocco Pellegrino.

Unsurprisingly, Rocco Pellegrino also had interests in Connecticut. Vito Sabia of Stamford was identified as a partner in a Connecticut numbers business with Rocco Pellegrino. The FBI carried Sabia as a "suspected member" of the Genovese family but I haven't seen any confirmation of membership.

--

The Pellegrino crew looks to have covered the following territory, maybe more:

White Plains / Mount Vernon / Westchester County
The Bronx
Lower East Side / Manhattan
South Brooklyn
Stamford / Connecticut
Florida

Gambling interests in Texas and close ties to Steubenville, Ohio.

Served as liaison to Dallas family, who were represented on the Commission by the Genovese family by the late 1950s. Pellegrino's sons Peter and Carmine and crew member Michele Clemente served as go-betweens for the Dallas family and NYC.

--

Funny how such an influential longtime figure can fly under the radar. Obviously we all know about him on here, but he should be mentioned alongside all of the well-known "household" names from that era of the Genovese family yet isn't. Kind of the Giuseppe Traina of the Genovese family.

[PolackTony]

In addition to his close relationship to the Calabrian Frank Ianni in Dallas, an FBI report from 1964 states that Steubenville, Ohio, mafia figure James Tripodi was in periodic contact with Rocco Pellegrino.

Unsurprisingly, Rocco Pellegrino also had interests in Connecticut. Vito Sabia of Stamford was identified as a partner in a Connecticut numbers business with Rocco Pellegrino. The FBI carried Sabia as a "suspected member" of the Genovese family but I haven't seen any confirmation of membership.

--

The Pellegrino crew looks to have covered the following territory, maybe more:

White Plains / Mount Vernon / Westchester County
The Bronx
Lower East Side / Manhattan
South Brooklyn
Stamford / Connecticut
Florida

Gambling interests in Texas and close ties to Steubenville, Ohio.

Served as liaison to Dallas family, who were represented on the Commission by the Genovese family by the late 1950s. Pellegrino's sons Peter and Carmine and crew member Michele Clemente served as go-betweens for the Dallas family and NYC.

--

Funny how such an influential longtime figure can fly under the radar. Obviously we all know about him on here, but he should be mentioned alongside all of the well-known "household" names from that era of the Genovese family yet isn't. Kind of the Giuseppe Traina of the Genovese family.

Not to focus too much on this angle (and agreed on your assessment of Pellegrino’s unheralded role), but I think it’s interesting to note that both Sabia (Lucano) and Tripodi (Calabrese?) were also mainlanders.