When California Dreaming Becomes Deadly: Was Hamilton (ON) Mob Figure “Made” In L.A. In The Weeks Before He Was Killed?

[Tony Monte]

Could Tommy Gambino maybe be the head of a crew under the gambino family Sicilian faction out in LA?

[B.]

The Morena info from the Hamilton article indicated Iavarone was inducted into "an LA Family" which suggests the LA Family still has its own recognition. A lot of questions obviously. There'd be political value to leaving the LA Family on its own but having a clan member as leader, especially given the value would be based on having California as a network node rather than a robust criminal organization.

Also gives the Gambino Family less responsibility over LA members they don't know. Have to figure too the other NYC Families would have reservations about the Gambino Family stripping LA of its designation and transferring them. Would be a pretty big political move even if it didn't directly impact other Families.

The Hamilton article referring to it as "an" LA Family probably indicates they were just relaying info from Morena that Iavarone was made in LA and the Canadian writer didn't have knowledge of what existed there or its history.

[Newyorkempire]

The Morena info from the Hamilton article indicated Iavarone was inducted into "an LA Family" which suggests the LA Family still has its own recognition. A lot of questions obviously. There'd be political value to leaving the LA Family on its own but having a clan member as leader, especially given the value would be based on having California as a network node rather than a robust criminal organization.

Also gives the Gambino Family less responsibility over LA members they don't know. Have to figure too the other NYC Families would have reservations about the Gambino Family stripping LA of its designation and transferring them. Would be a pretty big political move even if it didn't directly impact other Families.

The Hamilton article referring to it as "an" LA Family probably indicates they were just relaying info from Morena that Iavarone was made in LA and the Canadian writer didn't have knowledge of what existed there or its history.

"Network node" +2

[Angelo Santino]

Make this thread a sticky, it'll be at 300+ pages in no time.

[antimafia]

I haven't quite confirmed yet but I'm fairly certain Tony and Albert Iavarone's father Giuseppe and mother Rosa (both deceased) were respectively born in Pannarano (Benevento) and Casagiove (Caserta), both of which are in Campania. Giuseppe was possibly born to parents Pietro and Maria (née Caputo). Rosa may have had the maiden name Melone.

I would be able to definitively confirm the ancestry of the Iavarone brothers' parents if I were to find either historical records or an online obituary that states place of birth. Back issues of the Hamilton Spectator print editions likely have such obituaries, based on what I found on the RootsWeb site.

FamilySearch has a user-contributed family tree that doesn't contain any records but was a very good lead -- the lack of records in this tree prevents me from asserting Giuseppe Iavarone and Rosa Melone were born in Campania, but someone certainly took the trouble to enter as much information as possible.

Make sure you sign in to the FamilySearch site before or after tapping/clicking on https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedig ... /LHDS-3HS/.

Rosa Melone Iavarone's original online obituary no longer appears on the website for the Friscolanti funeral home in Hamilton, but the Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie has re-created on its site the obituary, including the accompanying photo -- see
https://federationgenealogie.qc.ca/base ... sID=294275.

To see the obituary results on the RootsWeb site, go to https://obituaries.rootsweb.com/obits/s ... ullsearch= and then enter

Iavarone

in the Keywords field before tapping/clicking on the Submit button. There are 2 almost identical results for Peter John Iavarone -- a brother to Tony and Al who died in 2004 -- and 1 result for IAVARONE, Rosa (MELONE). Hover over the results to get a few more general details.

[PolackTony]

I haven't quite confirmed yet but I'm fairly certain Tony and Albert Iavarone's father Giuseppe and mother Rosa (both deceased) were respectively born in Pannarano (Benevento) and Casagiove (Caserta), both of which are in Campania. Giuseppe was possibly born to parents Pietro and Maria (née Caputo). Rosa may have had the maiden name Melone.

I would be able to definitively confirm the ancestry of the Iavarone brothers' parents if I were to find either historical records or an online obituary that states place of birth. Back issues of the Hamilton Spectator print editions likely have such obituaries, based on what I found on the RootsWeb site.

FamilySearch has a user-contributed family tree that doesn't contain any records but was a very good lead -- the lack of records in this tree prevents me from asserting Giuseppe Iavarone and Rosa Melone were born in Campania, but someone certainly took the trouble to enter as much information as possible.

Make sure you sign in to the FamilySearch site before or after tapping/clicking on https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedig ... /LHDS-3HS/.

Rosa Melone Iavarone's original online obituary no longer appears on the website for the Friscolanti funeral home in Hamilton, but the Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie has re-created on its site the obituary, including the accompanying photo -- see
https://federationgenealogie.qc.ca/base ... sID=294275.

To see the obituary results on the RootsWeb site, go to https://obituaries.rootsweb.com/obits/s ... ullsearch= and then enter

in the Keywords field before tapping/clicking on the Submit button. There are 2 almost identical results for Peter John Iavarone -- a brother to Tony and Al who died in 2004 -- and 1 result for IAVARONE, Rosa (MELONE). Hover over the results to get a few more general details.

Iavarone is an overwhelmingly Campanian - and particularly Napolitan' - surname. I don't have any documentary evidence about this guy's specific origin, but I'd be very surprised if the name wasn't from Campania.

[scagghiuni]

Could Tommy Gambino maybe be the head of a crew under the gambino family Sicilian faction out in LA?

maybe a crew of zips... he has strong links with the sicilian mafia

[NickleCity]

What Peter Edwards wrote on Sept. 17, 2018:

“Iavarone, 50, was shot dead in the midst of a dispute between two Niagara Region groups of mobsters who are both tied to the New York State mob, several former southern Ontario organized crime police investigators said.

Buffalo would have to give approval for high-level killings, sources said, adding that mob leaders there are believed to have turned their backs on one side in the dispute and given tacit approval to the other.

“They’re all supposed to be under Buffalo,” one source said of the two feuding Ontario crime factions.”

[Newyorkempire]

What Peter Edwards wrote on Sept. 17, 2018:

“Iavarone, 50, was shot dead in the midst of a dispute between two Niagara Region groups of mobsters who are both tied to the New York State mob, several former southern Ontario organized crime police investigators said.

Buffalo would have to give approval for high-level killings, sources said, adding that mob leaders there are believed to have turned their backs on one side in the dispute and given tacit approval to the other.

“They’re all supposed to be under Buffalo,” one source said of the two feuding Ontario crime factions.”

Im sure Musitanos phone calls went unanswered. Especially after losing the Rizzutos as power. It all comes full circle again.

[stubbs]

Total speculation here, but my guess is the Gambinos wanted to make Iavarone for some reason, but they couldn’t due to protocol, so they used the Los Angeles family as a proxy.

Tommy Gambino is described as the boss of the LA family, and he’s obviously close to the Gambino family’s current leadership in NYC through blood, being Rosario Gambino’s son. His uncle John Gambino was also a huge heavyweight with the Binos and was often described as the reason Frank Cali was able to rise to the Gambinos administration.

I doubt the LA family has any active rackets, but given Tommy’s close relationship to the Gambino family, it’s not hard to believe they keep in close contact given that he’s related to many of them by blood. Since he’s the boss, he can still make new members whether he has active street rackets or not.

Ontario has been described as historically belonging to the Buffalo family in terms of LCN territory, even if Buffalo likely hasn’t had the strength or manpower in several decades to exercise actual control over the province.

However, even if today the Buffalo family is weak, that doesn’t mean another LCN family can just come into their territory and make new members without permission. Assuming my theory is true, the Gambinos wanted to make Iavarone and reached out to Tommy Gambino to get Iavarone a button in Los Angeles to avoid violating protocol by not having Iavarone made wih Buffalo. The Buffalo family seems to be close to the Bonannos, especially given the recent history of Violi (Buffalo family) being at a Bonanno making ceremony in Ontario.

Todaro was probably pissed as his family is supposed to have control over Ontario, at least in terms of American LCN families. So, the LA family making someone without his permission violates that protocol. The reason the Gambinos would want someone in Ontario made could be as simple as to counter the Bonannos recent additions of new members in the province. This would be why they would use the LA family as a proxy, so as to hide their true intentions in the region. Or, they may have wanted to do business with Iavarone but couldn’t unless he was first made an “amico nostra” or whatever.

Also, just guessing based on all the news stories, but it seems like Iavarone was killed as part of the Violi-Musitanos war, not due to any protocol violation. I think the Musitanos had Iavarone killed due to being close to the Violis as payback for Angelo Musitano’s murder, but I could be wrong. I think Iavarone’s brother is the real powerhouse on the street in Hamilton, so he could’ve been killed brother-for-brother as Pat Musitano was powerful in the streets but Angelo had apparently left he life behind.

[Moscone65]

Sounds pretty accurate to me ^

[Newyorkempire]

Total speculation here, but my guess is the Gambinos wanted to make Iavarone for some reason, but they couldn’t due to protocol, so they used the Los Angeles family as a proxy.

Tommy Gambino is described as the boss of the LA family, and he’s obviously close to the Gambino family’s current leadership in NYC through blood, being Rosario Gambino’s son. His uncle John Gambino was also a huge heavyweight with the Binos and was often described as the reason Frank Cali was able to rise to the Gambinos administration.

I doubt the LA family has any active rackets, but given Tommy’s close relationship to the Gambino family, it’s not hard to believe they keep in close contact given that he’s related to many of them by blood. Since he’s the boss, he can still make new members whether he has active street rackets or not.

Ontario has been described as historically belonging to the Buffalo family in terms of LCN territory, even if Buffalo likely hasn’t had the strength or manpower in several decades to exercise actual control over the province.

However, even if today the Buffalo family is weak, that doesn’t mean another LCN family can just come into their territory and make new members without permission. Assuming my theory is true, the Gambinos wanted to make Iavarone and reached out to Tommy Gambino to get Iavarone a button in Los Angeles to avoid violating protocol by not having Iavarone made wih Buffalo. The Buffalo family seems to be close to the Bonannos, especially given the recent history of Violi (Buffalo family) being at a Bonanno making ceremony in Ontario.

Todaro was probably pissed as his family is supposed to have control over Ontario, at least in terms of American LCN families. So, the LA family making someone without his permission violates that protocol. The reason the Gambinos would want someone in Ontario made could be as simple as to counter the Bonannos recent additions of new members in the province. This would be why they would use the LA family as a proxy, so as to hide their true intentions in the region. Or, they may have wanted to do business with Iavarone but couldn’t unless he was first made an “amico nostra” or whatever.

Also, just guessing based on all the news stories, but it seems like Iavarone was killed as part of the Violi-Musitanos war, not due to any protocol violation. I think the Musitanos had Iavarone killed due to being close to the Violis as payback for Angelo Musitano’s murder, but I could be wrong. I think Iavarone’s brother is the real powerhouse on the street in Hamilton, so he could’ve been killed brother-for-brother as Pat Musitano was powerful in the streets but Angelo had apparently left he life behind.

+2