New arrests in Torretta

[felice]

well, according to some sources looks like this Sylvester Davì is basically the sicilians street boss of the Gambino family. His father Calogero is a Lucchese family captain

Calogero is his uncle, not father. Sorry. His father is Giacomo

[Frank]

Great example with Gentile. His role was very much like a street boss over the Agrigentini crews and he even called himself the "sostituto" (a term roughly equivalent to acting boss) but on a chart you wouldn't put him directly under Mangano like he's street boss of the entire family.

Another soldier example might be Joel Cacace. There was a time in the late 1980s that he was a soldier direct w/ the admin but more like a street boss representing the admin, helping run the family, and carrying messages.

The Bonannos' "top/senior captain" role (described by multiple sources 1950s-1980s) seems to have been essentially a street boss, too.

Sounds similar to Joey Lombardo being street boss in Chicago if what Red Wemette said is accurate

[felice]

the investigation is a really nice read, it's funny how they are getting charged for mafia association because of meetings regarding border limits of lands where people could graze their cows. in the whole investigation there's nothing else criminal, just one extortion episode.
4 years ago the family had new elections and Raffaele Di Maggio was appointed as boss, the Inzerillos were supporting him. There were some troubles in the election of Simone Zito as consigliere. Zito was very friend of Frank Calì and he had support of americans in particular old big time Torretta family members living in the Usa.

one thing about Calì, many people were taped talking about him, it's incredible how everyone really liked him, everyone has amazing words for him. If not killed he would have been really been the perfect boss.

After Calì's death seems like that Simone Zito started to have some issues in the Usa, Lorenzo Mannino b.1946 (owner of il colosseo restaurant in brooklyn and first cousin of Lorenzo Mannino b.1958) said to a Torretta family member that Zito had to stay away from NY because people could hurt him and Silvester Davì told to the same guy that the guy had to choice, either Davì or Zito side.
Some members even labelled Zito as a rat which's not true. His son, Calogero, emerged to be really hated.

Silvester Davì lives in Astoria where the large group of Davì always lived: 3 brothers with several sons and granchildren. The fourth brother was Giuseppe Antonio Davì who was Torretta family boss in the 90, now he's facing a life sentence in Italy.
The Davì brothers were moving heroin in the 80s in a group headquartered at Cafè Commercio in Astoria. Part of the group was even Giuseppe Gambino the guy killed by Francesco Oliveri later killed by Gravano.

in the whole investigation Lorenzo Mannino b.1958 is never mentioned despite some Torretta family members talked how only NY could fix some problems within their family. No one names Mannino, at one point the Puglisi brothers (Davì faction against Zito) receives Ernest Grillo from NY and the guy seems to be there to fix the solution maybe sent there by Lorenzo Mannino.

[CabriniGreen]

the investigation is a really nice read, it's funny how they are getting charged for mafia association because of meetings regarding border limits of lands where people could graze their cows. in the whole investigation there's nothing else criminal, just one extortion episode.
4 years ago the family had new elections and Raffaele Di Maggio was appointed as boss, the Inzerillos were supporting him. There were some troubles in the election of Simone Zito as consigliere. Zito was very friend of Frank Calì and he had support of americans in particular old big time Torretta family members living in the Usa.

one thing about Calì, many people were taped talking about him, it's incredible how everyone really liked him, everyone has amazing words for him. If not killed he would have been really been the perfect boss.

After Calì's death seems like that Simone Zito started to have some issues in the Usa, Lorenzo Mannino b.1946 (owner of il colosseo restaurant in brooklyn and first cousin of Lorenzo Mannino b.1958) said to a Torretta family member that Zito had to stay away from NY because people could hurt him and Silvester Davì told to the same guy that the guy had to choice, either Davì or Zito side.
Some members even labelled Zito as a rat which's not true. His son, Calogero, emerged to be really hated.

Silvester Davì lives in Astoria where the large group of Davì always lived: 3 brothers with several sons and granchildren. The fourth brother was Giuseppe Antonio Davì who was Torretta family boss in the 90, now he's facing a life sentence in Italy.
The Davì brothers were moving heroin in the 80s in a group headquartered at Cafè Commercio in Astoria. Part of the group was even Giuseppe Gambino the guy killed by Francesco Oliveri later killed by Gravano.

in the whole investigation Lorenzo Mannino b.1958 is never mentioned despite some Torretta family members talked how only NY could fix some problems within their family. No one names Mannino, at one point the Puglisi brothers (Davì faction against Zito) receives Ernest Grillo from NY and the guy seems to be there to fix the solution maybe sent there by Lorenzo Mannino.

felice you previously posted this.....


Simone Zito and Tony Mannino started to be pretty indipendent after they killed a guy. Tony Mannino even sent John Gambino to fuck himself off. Zito once sitted on John Gambino's desk. Gambino said he was going to lose his patience.

Is it fair to say, Zito has been chafing against the leadership for some time?

Also, this is where I get a little confused. So Zito is Sicilian mafia. Ranking member even. But based in NY, are the Torreta people considered escapees too? That's one thing....


Davi is Gambino. Zito is Sicilian mafia. Yet Davi tells some mobster he has to pick between them, who to be with. Now if this was just switching crews, that's one thing. This would be switching organizations, right? Yet they phrase it like they are interchangeable. Yet the protocol says, it has to be one or the other. Yet they seem so close as to almost be the same organization.
It seems almost like Davi considers him and Zito to be rivals in the same organization, but they cant be, right?

Where does the Sicilian mafia begin, and the Gambinos end, and vice versa?

[CabriniGreen]

I find it fascinating that the Torreta family seems to be more NY based than Sicily. Like the Inzerillos, they seem to operate like a Sicilian family in exile.

When they say, only NY could fix the Torreta family problem, did they mean Torreta family members in NY like Zito, or the actual Gambino guys, like the Americans? Did they say what the problem was?

[CabriniGreen]

I believe Felice is saying Silvestro Davi is a made member of the Gambino family who carries out "street boss" type duties for the Sicilian faction under the Gambino family (which probably includes made members of both the Gambino and the Sicilian mafia).

It was "leader of Torettisi in NY", that caught my eye. It's a little misleading. If that doesn't mean leader of Sicilian mafiosi belonging to the Torreta family, I dont get the distinction. If an American like Grillo goes to Sicily, would they refer to him like, " hes the leader of a regime of Brooklynites".... like that doesnt mean anything. In Sicily, you can distinguish mafiosi by territory because that's how the families are organized. Not really in NY. So if hes in NY, leading a crew of "Torettisi", one must ask, what does Torettisi mean, if not the Torreta family?



It's the same problem with Canada when they say things like "Calabrian", I think Ndrangheta, in general.
If you had a mostly say, Calabrian crew in NY, and they were under an American and you described him as being a leader of " Sidernese", that's a loaded statement, right?

I'd be thinking the Siderno people are in NY.....

[CabriniGreen]

one thing about Calì, many people were taped talking about him, it's incredible how everyone really liked him, everyone has amazing words for him. If not killed he would have been really been the perfect boss

I know people love to say Barney. But I really believe Cali was the most powerful Italian gangster in NY. Guy was a legit international power...

[B.]

the investigation is a really nice read, it's funny how they are getting charged for mafia association because of meetings regarding border limits of lands where people could graze their cows. in the whole investigation there's nothing else criminal, just one extortion episode.

Brings to mind Bonanno member Nino Mistretta meeting with Castellammare boss Domingo for help getting municipal approval to build a swimming pool on his property in Sicily.

Though these seem like silly matters for international mafia leaders to meet over, the fact that NYC members and Sicilian bosses are meeting in Sicily over swimming pool regulations and cattle/property disputes actually suggests they have closer ties than if they were only meeting to discuss big criminal operations. That they are connecting over these small routine matters suggests a closer relationship than if it were just something for big financial gain like drug trafficking.

Grillo comes from a crew with a deep Sicilian history of its own, but pretty interesting the Gambinos sent him opposed to one of the countless Sicilian-born Gambino members. He was close to Frank Cali and Michael Paradiso who have both been part of the recent leadership.

Appreciate all of the info, Felice. Thank you.

--

It was "leader of Torettisi in NY", that caught my eye. It's a little misleading. If that doesn't mean leader of Sicilian mafiosi belonging to the Torreta family, I dont get the distinction. If an American like Grillo goes to Sicily, would they refer to him like, " hes the leader of a regime of Brooklynites".... like that doesnt mean anything. In Sicily, you can distinguish mafiosi by territory because that's how the families are organized. Not really in NY. So if hes in NY, leading a crew of "Torettisi", one must ask, what does Torettisi mean, if not the Torreta family?

Torrettesi means people from Torretta. In this case, the info suggests Davi is a made member of the Gambinos but has influence/authority over all Torrettesi mafia members in the US, which from what Felice said includes Gambino, Lucchese, and Sicilian mafia members in NYC who associate together and in some cases are relatives.

Davi is Gambino. Zito is Sicilian mafia. Yet Davi tells some mobster he has to pick between them, who to be with. Now if this was just switching crews, that's one thing. This would be switching organizations, right? Yet they phrase it like they are interchangeable. Yet the protocol says, it has to be one or the other. Yet they seem so close as to almost be the same organization.
It seems almost like Davi considers him and Zito to be rivals in the same organization, but they cant be, right?

What Felice described is a political conflict, which can include members of different families forming alliances and it does nothing to affect formal affiliation. It's not switching crews or switching organizations, it's choosing political alliances.

The politics in Torretta are important enough for the Gambino family to send an American-born captain to help mediate, so not surprising the conflict includes a Torrettese Gambino member (Davi) and a Torretta family leader (Zito). They aren't the same organization, but they are paesans in the same close-knit political network and they don't operate in a vaccuum.

Look at the Passo di Rigano family in the 1980s. Members in the US and Sicily were both forced to take sides in the factional warfare going on, with those who chose the wrong side being forced to hide or be killed. Sicilian Gambino members took different sides and this impacted their standing in NYC and Sicily. The Inzerillos in the Gambino family chose the wrong side and Nino Inzerillo was killed and his crew was basically shelved for a number of years, while those like the Gambino brothers sided with the other political faction and became powerful.

I'm not surprised there's still international factionalism that includes multiple families when you look at how closely linked the Gambino family is to Palermo today. The D'Aquila family was involved in Palermo conflicts (on a much larger scale) almost 100 years ago and D'Aquila sent emmissaries to help. Amazingly, Ernest Grillo comes from a crew that can be traced back to D'Aquila and the crew's early captain Jimmy DiLeonardo may have been sent to mediate the Palermo dispute in the 1920s. Shows you how these patterns keep playing out. Oh and D'Aquila's ally in Palermo was named what? Antonino Grillo (surely a coincidence but what is Ernie Grillo's heritage?).

[felice]

B. you are right, despite they are in two different families they are still part of the same environment. The contrast was about public works and contracts. So we have to expect this Davì will emerge soon in some kind of american investigations. He seems to be legit anyway, he is running a pizzeria and a gelateria in Astoria. Grillo is interesting. Strange how the sicilians sent an american to fix the dispute even because Grillo didn't speak italian.

[felice]

Someone posted a photo from a recent torrettese wedding in NY, there was also Frank Inzerillo in that photo plus Filippo Gambino one of the arrested guys

[CabriniGreen]

-

It was "leader of Torettisi in NY", that caught my eye. It's a little misleading. If that doesn't mean leader of Sicilian mafiosi belonging to the Torreta family, I dont get the distinction. If an American like Grillo goes to Sicily, would they refer to him like, " hes the leader of a regime of Brooklynites".... like that doesnt mean anything. In Sicily, you can distinguish mafiosi by territory because that's how the families are organized. Not really in NY. So if hes in NY, leading a crew of "Torettisi", one must ask, what does Torettisi mean, if not the Torreta family?

Torrettesi means people from Torretta. In this case, the info suggests Davi is a made member of the Gambinos but has influence/authority over all Torrettesi mafia members in the US, which from what Felice said includes Gambino, Lucchese, and Sicilian mafia members in NYC who associate together and in some cases are relatives.

Davi is Gambino. Zito is Sicilian mafia. Yet Davi tells some mobster he has to pick between them, who to be with. Now if this was just switching crews, that's one thing. This would be switching organizations, right? Yet they phrase it like they are interchangeable. Yet the protocol says, it has to be one or the other. Yet they seem so close as to almost be the same organization.
It seems almost like Davi considers him and Zito to be rivals in the same organization, but they cant be, right?

What Felice described is a political conflict, which can include members of different families forming alliances and it does nothing to affect formal affiliation. It's not switching crews or switching organizations, it's choosing political alliances.

The politics in Torretta are important enough for the Gambino family to send an American-born captain to help mediate, so not surprising the conflict includes a Torrettese Gambino member (Davi) and a Torretta family leader (Zito). They aren't the same organization, but they are paesans in the same close-knit political network and they don't operate in a vaccuum.

Look at the Passo di Rigano family in the 1980s. Members in the US and Sicily were both forced to take sides in the factional warfare going on, with those who chose the wrong side being forced to hide or be killed. Sicilian Gambino members took different sides and this impacted their standing in NYC and Sicily. The Inzerillos in the Gambino family chose the wrong side and Nino Inzerillo was killed and his crew was basically shelved for a number of years, while those like the Gambino brothers sided with the other political faction and became powerful.

I'm not surprised there's still international factionalism that includes multiple families when you look at how closely linked the Gambino family is to Palermo today. The D'Aquila family was involved in Palermo conflicts (on a much larger scale) almost 100 years ago and D'Aquila sent emmissaries to help. Amazingly, Ernest Grillo comes from a crew that can be traced back to D'Aquila and the crew's early captain Jimmy DiLeonardo may have been sent to mediate the Palermo dispute in the 1920s. Shows you how these patterns keep playing out. Oh and D'Aquila's ally in Palermo was named what? Antonino Grillo (surely a coincidence but what is Ernie Grillo's heritage?).

Only thing here, were the Inzerillos and Gambinos really forced to switch sides? Like turn on each other? I read it as, they stayed together politically, but had to both abdicate power in Sicily, and immigrate to the US. And even then, they sent Naimo just to watch them.

[CabriniGreen]

B. you are right, despite they are in two different families they are still part of the same environment. The contrast was about public works and contracts. So we have to expect this Davì will emerge soon in some kind of american investigations. He seems to be legit anyway, he is running a pizzeria and a gelateria in Astoria. Grillo is interesting. Strange how the sicilians sent an american to fix the dispute even because Grillo didn't speak italian.

I have an idea about this. They might have sent an American to be an impartial mediator. An American would have no dog in the fight. Kinda how the Siderno guys didnt trust Bruzzesse to mediate the Colluccio conflict because he was too close to them.


And just to clarfy...

These men under Davi, WERE made men in the Torretta family. Not just Americans with Torettisi ancestry? Whether transfers or whatnot, they originated in Sicily?

[CabriniGreen]

B. you are right, despite they are in two different families they are still part of the same environment. The contrast was about public works and contracts. So we have to expect this Davì will emerge soon in some kind of american investigations. He seems to be legit anyway, he is running a pizzeria and a gelateria in Astoria. Grillo is interesting. Strange how the sicilians sent an american to fix the dispute even because Grillo didn't speak italian.

I have an idea about this. They might have sent an American to be an impartial mediator. An American would have no dog in the fight. Kinda how the Siderno guys didnt trust Bruzzesse to mediate the Colluccio conflict because he was too close to them.


And just to clarfy...

These men under Davi, WERE made men in the Torretta family. Not just Americans with Torettisi ancestry? Whether transfers or whatnot, they originated in Sicily?

Also, could " fixing" the dispute, could it mean he was GIVEN the decision by Mannino or someone, and went to inform them of the judgement?

Just a thought....

[CabriniGreen]

, Lorenzo Mannino b.1946 (owner of il colosseo restaurant in brooklyn and first cousin of Lorenzo Mannino b.1958) said to a Torretta family member that Zito had to stay away from NY because

Hold up..... Jesus Christ.... IS THIS ANOTHER LORENZO MANNINO?

[CabriniGreen]

, Lorenzo Mannino b.1946 (owner of il colosseo restaurant in brooklyn and first cousin of Lorenzo Mannino b.1958) said to a Torretta family member that Zito had to stay away from NY because

Hold up..... Jesus Christ.... IS THIS ANOTHER LORENZO MANNINO?

I'm sitting here wondering why Mannino would tell another family's consigliere to stay away from NY. It's a different Mannino, lol...