Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

[PolackTony]

I looked into Catalano years ago and thought that the one born in 1876 was the closest match to the friend of Paolinello. I scoured the newspapers for an arrest hoping that he was arrested with someone named Paolo, but not luck. I did find a Domenico Catalano of Chicago who was arrested in New Orleans in 1909 and sentenced to 15 years at Louisiana State Prison the next year, along with Giuseppe Frangiamore and Oscar Ryan, both also of Chicago. It's possible that this is the same person, but aside from being from Chicago the newspapers don't give identifying information like ages or addresses. According to the 1910 census he was in Angola State Prison, was born in 1877 and had been married for 11 years.

Could be the same guy, as he was the right age and there was a Domenico Catalano who arrived in NOLA in 1890 born in 1876. I think it's a good bet this was him.

EDIT: Was this Giuseppe Frangiamore incarcerated with Catalano in 1915? If so, I don't see him resident there in 1910. There was a Giuseppe Frangiamore born 1872 in Acquaviva Platani, Caltanissetta (wife Ignazia was from Termini) in Chicago who was a jewelry store owner in Little Sicily in 1910. Later he lived in Humboldt Park and died in Chicago in 1946. There was also another Giuseppe Frangiamore from Acquaviva in Chicago, but this other guy was born in 1895, so maybe too young to be the guy with Catalano.

[Antiliar]

I looked into Catalano years ago and thought that the one born in 1876 was the closest match to the friend of Paolinello. I scoured the newspapers for an arrest hoping that he was arrested with someone named Paolo, but not luck. I did find a Domenico Catalano of Chicago who was arrested in New Orleans in 1909 and sentenced to 15 years at Louisiana State Prison the next year, along with Giuseppe Frangiamore and Oscar Ryan, both also of Chicago. It's possible that this is the same person, but aside from being from Chicago the newspapers don't give identifying information like ages or addresses. According to the 1910 census he was in Angola State Prison, was born in 1877 and had been married for 11 years.

Could be the same guy, as he was the right age and there was a Domenico Catalano who arrived in NOLA in 1890 born in 1876. I think it's a good bet this was him.

EDIT: Was this Giuseppe Frangiamore incarcerated with Catalano in 1915? If so, I don't see him resident there in 1910. There was a Giuseppe Frangiamore born 1872 in Acquaviva Platani, Caltanissetta (wife Ignazia was from Termini) in Chicago who was a jewelry store owner in Little Sicily in 1910. Later he lived in Humboldt Park and died in Chicago in 1946. There was also another Giuseppe Frangiamore from Acquaviva in Chicago, but this other guy was born in 1895, so maybe too young to be the guy with Catalano.

The name might not be Frangiamore. You know how those old newspapers mangled Italian names. It should be something similar to it though.

[PolackTony]

I looked into Catalano years ago and thought that the one born in 1876 was the closest match to the friend of Paolinello. I scoured the newspapers for an arrest hoping that he was arrested with someone named Paolo, but not luck. I did find a Domenico Catalano of Chicago who was arrested in New Orleans in 1909 and sentenced to 15 years at Louisiana State Prison the next year, along with Giuseppe Frangiamore and Oscar Ryan, both also of Chicago. It's possible that this is the same person, but aside from being from Chicago the newspapers don't give identifying information like ages or addresses. According to the 1910 census he was in Angola State Prison, was born in 1877 and had been married for 11 years.

Could be the same guy, as he was the right age and there was a Domenico Catalano who arrived in NOLA in 1890 born in 1876. I think it's a good bet this was him.

EDIT: Was this Giuseppe Frangiamore incarcerated with Catalano in 1915? If so, I don't see him resident there in 1910. There was a Giuseppe Frangiamore born 1872 in Acquaviva Platani, Caltanissetta (wife Ignazia was from Termini) in Chicago who was a jewelry store owner in Little Sicily in 1910. Later he lived in Humboldt Park and died in Chicago in 1946. There was also another Giuseppe Frangiamore from Acquaviva in Chicago, but this other guy was born in 1895, so maybe too young to be the guy with Catalano.

The name might not be Frangiamore. You know how those old newspapers mangled Italian names. It should be something similar to it though.

Yup. That may be as far as we can go with it. Also, the Tribune reported that the Giuseppe Frangiamore born in 1872 was the victim of "Black Hand" extortionists who burned down his bank/jewelry store on Oak St. Doesn't seem likely that this was the guy who was in Louisiana with Catalano. If the guy in question was actually named Frangiamore, it is very likely he was from Caltanissetta province, though.

[Antiliar]

Found him. He's in the 1910 US Census, Police Jury Ward 7, West Feliciana, Louisiana, USA in Angola State Prison on page 3 of 15, line 7. The name is Guiseppi Frangedenore in the census. He was born in 1873, married 4 years, and immigrated in 1900. Interestingly, the Giuseppe Frangiamore in Chicago was born in 1872, married 5 years, and immigrated in 1900. The Chicago census was taken April 10, 1910, and the Louisiana one on April 18, 1910. Obviously he couldn't have been two places at once, but you didn't have to be there in person to provide census information. Census-takers got it from family and neighbors. So it's very possible that this is the same guy.

[PolackTony]

Found him. He's in the 1910 US Census, Police Jury Ward 7, West Feliciana, Louisiana, USA in Angola State Prison on page 3 of 15, line 7. The name is Guiseppi Frangedenore in the census. He was born in 1873, married 4 years, and immigrated in 1900. Interestingly, the Giuseppe Frangiamore in Chicago was born in 1872, married 5 years, and immigrated in 1900. The Chicago census was taken April 10, 1910, and the Louisiana one on April 18, 1910. Obviously he couldn't have been two places at once, but you didn't have to be there in person to provide census information. Census-takers got it from family and neighbors. So it's very possible that this is the same guy.

Nice. Good point and that may be the same guy. There is a record for Giuseppe Frangiamore in Chicago, born about 1873, who married Francesca De Gregorio in 1908, however (he later remarried in 1916). Hard to imagine that the surname was not Frangiamore, given the misspelling in the census. But maybe he lied about when he was married.

[Antiliar]

Frangiamore was discharged on May 25, 1915 (the Angola Prison register is online at FamilySearch), and Catalano was a grocer and saloonkeeper by profession. He was discharged Feb 2, 1915. The Chicago Catalano was a butcher and grocer in 1918 (draft card) and a candy store salesman in 1920 (census).

[PolackTony]

Frangiamore was discharged on May 25, 1915 (the Angola Prison register is online at FamilySearch), and Catalano was a grocer and saloonkeeper by profession. He was discharged Feb 2, 1915. The Chicago Catalano was a butcher and grocer in 1918 (draft card) and a candy store salesman in 1920 (census).

I think we found our guys. Frangianore remarried a woman from Termini in 1916, so that fits when he was out of prison.

Based on his occupation, Frangiamore wasn’t a two-bit crook and I’d suspect he was a member himself, but who knows.

[PolackTony]

Frank Anthony Aureli was bron Francesco Aureli in 1919 in Chicago to Alfonso Aureli of Gioia dei Marsi, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, and Aida/Anna Schilza (various odd spellings, not sure the original) of Pomarico, Potenza, Basilicata. Frank grew up near Wood and Grenshaw in the Taylor St Patch (now a parking garage for the UIC Medical Center).

It's unclear whether Aureli was actually a member, though the Feds carried him as one on their 60s lists. The list I have only sources one CI, presumably Bombacino (NY T-190, original code redacted). Did anyone else ever positively ID him as a member?

[PolackTony]

Another guy listed on those old documents as a member was Lou Briatta. The list I have only sources who I presume was Bombacino (the code in the document is NY T-190, but the original code is redacted).

Briatta was born in 1908 in Chicago and baptized Luigi Briatta in 1909. His parents were Giovanni Braiotta (worth noting that his mother's maiden name was Spizziri) and Maria Teresa Amelio of Malvito, Cosenza, Calabria. As a kid, Briatta lived on Aberdeen near Polk in the Taylor St Patch. In 1948, Briatta married Concetta "Tina" Guzaldo. Her father Cosimo Guzaldo was born in NOLA in 1901, while her mother Christina Lupo was born in Chicago to parents from Caccamo. Given the Guzaldo surname, it's a good bet that Cosimo's parents were also Caccamesi. In the 1940s, the Guzaldos lived near Ohio and Homan in Humboldt Park (incidentally, the Latin Kings originated on this corner a short time later in the 1950s), very near to Cerone. There were several Guzaldo brothers (Phil, Peter, Tony) who lived in the immediate area and ran bookmaking and gambling operations under Joe Gags (who also lived in this neighborhood). Their father was a Michele Guzaldo from Caccamo. Interestingly, Phil Guzaldo married Cecilia Lupo, whose family was also from Caccamo.

[PolackTony]

In one list that I have, Rocco "Bobby Dore" Salvatore was called a member by NY T-190 and one other source (NY T-191). According to a 1969 Tribune article, Salvatore was 54 years old at that time. Salvatore's FBI file, however, has a 1961 Oak Park PD arrest document stating that he was 50, and another document states that he was born 1911. This matches the Rocco Salvatore born in 1911 in Chicago to Vito Salvatore of Ricigliano, Salerno, Campania and Maria Giovanna Lauria of Laurenzana, Potenza, Basilicata (another Chicago Ital power couple...). From 1910-1930 the Salvatores lived at the eastern end of the Taylor St Patch on Gilpin (Cabrini St) and Canal. Rocco Salvatore died in Cook County in 1993.

[Antiliar]

Frank Anthony Aureli was bron Francesco Aureli in 1919 in Chicago to Alfonso Aureli of Gioia dei Marsi, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, and Aida/Anna Schilza (various odd spellings, not sure the original) of Pomarico, Potenza, Basilicata. Frank grew up near Wood and Grenshaw in the Taylor St Patch (now a parking garage for the UIC Medical Center).

It's unclear whether Aureli was actually a member, though the Feds carried him as one on their 60s lists. The list I have only sources one CI, presumably Bombacino (NY T-190, original code redacted). Did anyone else ever positively ID him as a member?

From what I can gather he was allegedly a partner of Dominic Cortina in a sports betting center, or maybe he worked for Cortina and Angelini. He was also a loan shark. He appears to be an associate insofar as I can see. Haven't seen a second person ID him as a member. There were associates with Italian surnames working under made guys but the reporting made it difficult to differentiate between them.

[PolackTony]

Frank Anthony Aureli was bron Francesco Aureli in 1919 in Chicago to Alfonso Aureli of Gioia dei Marsi, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, and Aida/Anna Schilza (various odd spellings, not sure the original) of Pomarico, Potenza, Basilicata. Frank grew up near Wood and Grenshaw in the Taylor St Patch (now a parking garage for the UIC Medical Center).

It's unclear whether Aureli was actually a member, though the Feds carried him as one on their 60s lists. The list I have only sources one CI, presumably Bombacino (NY T-190, original code redacted). Did anyone else ever positively ID him as a member?

From what I can gather he was allegedly a partner of Dominic Cortina in a sports betting center, or maybe he worked for Cortina and Angelini. He was also a loan shark. He appears to be an associate insofar as I can see. Haven't seen a second person ID him as a member. There were associates with Italian surnames working under made guys but the reporting made it difficult to differentiate between them.

Agreed. It may be worth listing him as a "possible member", but I think it's plausible that he was never made. Briatta is another one that is at least "possible", I think, but may not have been made. "Guilt by association" and/or inferring membership by the fact that someone was in charge of specific operations (as Briatta was with Loop gambling) is not sufficient. Non-member CIs saw that these guys were important in racket operations and were close to made guys, and thus could've assumed that they were members, when in reality they may have just been supervisors tasked by made guys to oversee other associates.

[PolackTony]

Per my info, Joseph "New York"/"Joe the Barber" LaBarbera was most likely the Joseph Anthony LaBarbera born in New Orleans in 1912 to Antonio LaBarbera and Anna Gagliano. His father best matches the Antonio LaBarbera who arrived in NOLA in 1903 and was born in 1876 in Bagheria. There are a couple of potential matches for Anna Gagliano, but none give any info more specific than "embarked at Palermo". By 1915, the LaBarberas were living in Fredonia in Chautauqua County, in far Western NY, where Antonio died in 1919. His obituary stated that he was a member of the "Fraternal Beneficial Society". Perhaps this was a compaesani society, or just a more general mutual aid society, but I wonder if it had any connections to the mafia as some such societies did. In 1920 the LaBarberas were still living in Fredonia, but by 1930 they were in Buffalo, where Joseph still lived per his WW2 draft card. My understanding is that he arrived in Chicago during the 1940s. Per his SSDI, he died in 1983 with his most recent address in Buffalo, so at some point, he returned.

If his family was from Bagheria, perhaps they had a connection to Chicago, potentially explaining how Joseph wound up there.

[B.]

Don't know of any Buffalo-based guys from Bagheria but we've talked about the Utica/Frankfort colony so Bagheria was part of that Family.

I forgot to mention before but Sylvester Battaglia (b. 1890) was an old time Albany-based member of the Utica crew from Termini Imerese. His brother Gus was a cattle rancher who moved to Arizona and his going-away party was attended by important Utica members including both Falcones. Joe Bonanno talks about Gus Battaglia in his book but I don't think he says whether or not he was a member of his "tradition" as his brother was.

Were the Chicago Battaglias from Termini?

[PolackTony]

Don't know of any Buffalo-based guys from Bagheria but we've talked about the Utica/Frankfort colony so Bagheria was part of that Family.

I forgot to mention before but Sylvester Battaglia (b. 1890) was an old time Albany-based member of the Utica crew from Termini Imerese. His brother Gus was a cattle rancher who moved to Arizona and his going-away party was attended by important Utica members including both Falcones. Joe Bonanno talks about Gus Battaglia in his book but I don't think he says whether or not he was a member of his "tradition" as his brother was.

Were the Chicago Battaglias from Termini?

Good info here. I recall Bonanno mentioning Gus Battaglia, and of course the surname caught my attention, but it's common enough.

From my info, Salvatore "Teets" Battaglia's parents Salvatore Battaglia, Sr and Giuseppa Scaletta were indeed from Termini.