B. wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 4:10 pm
Vito Impastato was one of the few guys we can bet on for Springfield Family membership. I'd bet he was tied to his paesans Cesare Manzella and Frank Alo/Abbate/Agrusa given they show up in Springfield in addition to the Chicago area. Not sure his relation to the KC ones but Impastato is a diehard mafia name in Cinisi -- the murdered anti-mafia activist Giuseppe Impastato's father Luigi was a made member in Cinisi.
Significant Cinisi paesan network between Chicago, the Heights, Gary, Springfield, St. Louis, Detroit, and apparently Kansas City. Chicago appears to have completely wiped out their local influence in the 1940s which is why Gianola's background is extra interesting.
Nicolo Impastato of Cinisi (the KC member) was put on trial in Palermo in 1928 with a bunch of other mafiosi from Cinisi and Terrasini. Most of the surnames were familiar and could be directly linked to Detroit, but among the names were a Giovanni Giunta who went to Pennsylvania or California and Filippo Manzella (from Terrasini, not Cinisi like Cesare).
Don't know if Giovanni Giunta was related to Chicago boss Joe Giunta. Other names on trial were Palazzolo and Badalamenti. Funny how the same year as the Palermo trial, Joe Giunta was arrested with Paolo Palazzolo in Cleveland and used his Gary address.
cavita wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 4:23 pm
Angelo “Dingo” Pro was born August 17, 1930 in Rockford, Illinois to Giovanni Pro of Ferentino, Italy and Antonia Buttoni of Viterbo, Italy. Pro was first arrested for operating an illegal fireworks stand in 1951 with Tom Buscemi but gambling was his real calling. Dingo was arrested many times for gambling and he was a notorious loanshark, lending out thousands of dollars while always carrying a pistol in his waistband. He could often be found at area restaurants and the Off Track Betting facility gambling and loaning out money and he died May 10, 2021 in Rockford, Illinois.
Was Pro his real surname? It seems incomplete, like it was originally Provenzano or something.
In all of his siblings and his father I have only seen it as Pro. I've often wondered about it myself but perhaps it was chopped at Ellis Island. I haven't looked to that angle yet.
cavita wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 4:23 pm
Angelo “Dingo” Pro was born August 17, 1930 in Rockford, Illinois to Giovanni Pro of Ferentino, Italy and Antonia Buttoni of Viterbo, Italy. Pro was first arrested for operating an illegal fireworks stand in 1951 with Tom Buscemi but gambling was his real calling. Dingo was arrested many times for gambling and he was a notorious loanshark, lending out thousands of dollars while always carrying a pistol in his waistband. He could often be found at area restaurants and the Off Track Betting facility gambling and loaning out money and he died May 10, 2021 in Rockford, Illinois.
Was Pro his real surname? It seems incomplete, like it was originally Provenzano or something.
In all of his siblings and his father I have only seen it as Pro. I've often wondered about it myself but perhaps it was chopped at Ellis Island. I haven't looked to that angle yet.
Probably actually just "Pro". The surname Pro is well-recorded in Ferrentino and surrounding comuni in Frosinone province.
BTW, "Dingo Pro" sounds like a good wrestler's name, lol.
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
Peter Scifo was born July 5, 1904 in Aragona, Sicily to Mr. and Mrs. Gaetano Scifo and at some point his family immigrated to Ladd, Illinois. Around 1919 the family moved to Rockford and Peter started catching arrests on liquor charges. In 1928 he was charged with kidnapping Anna Domino because she resisted his romantic advances. Peter then traveled to Aragona, Sicily to marry Francesca Caruana on February 22, 1930 and brought her back to Rockford. In 1956 he was indicted for influence peddling and attempted bribery involving Rockford’s City Council and in 1957 he was suspected in the bombing of Alderman Eric Anderson’s house which seriously injured Anderson’s wife. 1960s FBI files stated Scifo was a “political fixer” for the Rockford LCN. Scifo died September 22, 1969 in Rockford, Illinois.
Giuseppe Cammarata was born 1890 in Marsala, Sicily and by 1921 was arrested along with Gaspare Buffa for having two large alcohol stills in South Beloit, Illinois on the property of Giuseppe Palermo. Cammarata was arrested again in 1927 on the sale charges relating to his roadhouse inn located in South Beloit. On October 9, 1936 Cammarata was naturalized a citizen in Rockford and became a frontman for Rockford LCN consigliere Joe Zito in the operation of the Ingersol Tavern in South Beloit which he operated until 1967 when he retired and turned over the operation to Domenico Picchione. On August 22, 1975 Cammarata walked out to a shed in his backyard and shot and killed himself at the age of 85.
Salvatore DiBenedetto was born February 15, 1899 in Vicari, Sicily to Mr. and Mrs. Gus DiBenedetto and immigrated to Rockford from Sicily in 1910. In 1915 he married Carmella Alto in Hammond, Louisiana and took his first arrest for bootlegging in July 1929 in Rockford. DiBenedetto was involved in the Musso faction of the huge liquor conspiracy operation in Rockford and was convicted in 1931 and sentenced to a year and a day in Leavenworth Prison. Upon release, DiBenedetto became a front for Rockford LCN operations and along with Frank Fazio, operated the Plantation Tavern on Kilburn Avenue. DiBenedetto died in Rockford on November 11, 1975.
cavita wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 5:04 pm
Giuseppe Cammarata was born 1890 in Marsala, Sicily and by 1921 was arrested along with Gaspare Buffa for having two large alcohol stills in South Beloit, Illinois on the property of Giuseppe Palermo. Cammarata was arrested again in 1927 on the sale charges relating to his roadhouse inn located in South Beloit. On October 9, 1936 Cammarata was naturalized a citizen in Rockford and became a frontman for Rockford LCN consigliere Joe Zito in the operation of the Ingersol Tavern in South Beloit which he operated until 1967 when he retired and turned over the operation to Domenico Picchione. On August 22, 1975 Cammarata walked out to a shed in his backyard and shot and killed himself at the age of 85.
What were the theories on why Cammarata was killed? Also, any relations to the Cammaratas in St Louis?
cavita wrote: ↑Wed Apr 06, 2022 5:04 pm
Giuseppe Cammarata was born 1890 in Marsala, Sicily and by 1921 was arrested along with Gaspare Buffa for having two large alcohol stills in South Beloit, Illinois on the property of Giuseppe Palermo. Cammarata was arrested again in 1927 on the sale charges relating to his roadhouse inn located in South Beloit. On October 9, 1936 Cammarata was naturalized a citizen in Rockford and became a frontman for Rockford LCN consigliere Joe Zito in the operation of the Ingersol Tavern in South Beloit which he operated until 1967 when he retired and turned over the operation to Domenico Picchione. On August 22, 1975 Cammarata walked out to a shed in his backyard and shot and killed himself at the age of 85.
What were the theories on why Cammarata was killed? Also, any relations to the Cammaratas in St Louis?
Try as I may I haven't been able to find anything on Cammarata's early history other than being born in Marsala- nothing before 1921 and nothing on his parents. Hell, I can't even find what his wife's maiden name was. Perhaps as I get more time I can look into it in the future.
Frank “Gumba” Saladino was born December 9, 1945 in Rockford, Illinois to Giorgio Saladino and Leona Napoli, both being from Roccamena, Sicily. Frank’s father was a longtime Rockford LCN member and was most likely an early capo. Frank was charged for disorderly conduct and assault in his teen years but his father’s June 7, 1964 must have had a profound effect on him as he was arrested with Joe W. Saladino on July 28, 1964 for beating and raping a 19 year old girl. Frank served almost four years in Pontiac Prison on the charge and was released March 11, 1968. The ensuing years are a mystery but in 1976 Frank was hooked up with the Chinatown Crew in the Chicago Outfit where he participated in the Paul Haggerty murder. Frank was involved in more murders and beatings in Chicago and was a collector of gambling proceeds due to him being over six feet tall and 300 pounds. By the mid 1980s Frank was back in Rockford collecting gambling and narcotics money on behalf of the Rockford LCN and he was often seen in the company of Salvatore Galluzzo as possibly a chauffeur and bodyguard. The FBI had photographed Saladino and Galluzzo meeting with Sam Carlisi and Jimmy Marcello of the Outfit in April 1989. On April 25, 2005 federal agents arrived at a Hampshire, Illinois hotel to arrest Saladino on charges of murder and gambling on behalf of the Outfit but they found him deceased.
Theodore Bacino was born February 1936 in Rockford, Illinois to Giovanni Bacino and Alice Pansar. It is unknown where Bacino’s family came from but Ribera could be a possibility. Bacino was arrested on robbery and kidnapping charges starting when he was nineteen years old and one of those first arrests was done by Winnebago County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael Iasparro. Throughout the 1960s Bacino became involved with the Rockford LCN often turning up at LCN sanctioned gambling games. On March 15, 1974 Bacino robbed a Poplar Grove, Illinois bank, briefly kidnapping the bank manager and he then got in a shootout with Deputy Michael Mayborne, killing him. Upon his arrest, Bacino was found in possession of a list of names of people he gambled with- these names included Winnebago Sheriff’s Captain Michael Iasparro, Rockford LCN street gambling boss Phil “The Tailor” Emordeno, County Board Member Theophelo “Tuffy” Quinonez and Circuit Court Bailiff Frank “Sonny” Calacurcio among many others. In 1976 Bacino was sentenced to 75-100 years in prison and in 2017 he was paroled to Florida where he lived to this day at the age of 86.
James Angelo Capicotte was born May 28, 1924 in Niagra Falls, New York and his family history is a mystery other than he had a grandmother in Niagra Falls named Palma Cherry. On April 17, 1947 he married Concetta Macaluso in Rockford. Capicotte worked in the auto sales business and in 1972 he was arrested for fencing stolen loot in an operation that was suspected of being tied to the Rockford LCN. In 1975 he was arrested along with Nick Vince, brother of Rockford LCN capo Charles Vince, Frank Sparacino and Joe Inglima, all Rockford LCN associates, in connection with a teenage sex ring that was also tied to the Rockford LCN. In 1978 Capicotte was served a federal warrant in connection with a sports betting ring tied to the Rockford LCN that also saw Phillip and Frank Vella charged. The operation took in $10,000-$15,000 a week and had customers from South Beloit to Cherry Valley. In 1992 Capicotte was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Capicotte was a gambler and bookmaker tied to the Rockford LCN and he actively took gambling bets well into his 80s and he passed away in Rockford on October 21, 2016.
Frank A. Geraci was born August 1, 1942 in Rockford, Illinois to Giovanni Geraci and Stella Gulotta. Giovanni Geraci was from Connecticut and Stella was from Sambuca, Sicily. In November 1959 Frank was involved in a large gang fight that included at least sixteen people and comprised of guns, knives, clubs and brass knuckles. In October 1963 Geraci married Priscilla Salamone in Rockford and he was the co-owner of the Honey Bread Baking Company. In the late 1960s Geraci became a firefighter with the Rockford Fire Department and in 1976 he opened the Stella Baking Company where FBI files stated this business hosted after-hours high stakes gambling games tied to the Rockford LCN in the 1980s and 1990s. In February 2006 Geraci was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal gambling bust in Rockford that was tied to the Chicago Outfit’s Chinatown Crew. Outfit informant Nick Calabrese stated he and his brother Frank would travel to meet Frank Geraci and Joe W. Saladino and split gambling proceeds with them. Geraci died in Rockford on November 13, 2010.
Joseph “Pep” Fiorenza was born October 22, 1945 in Rockford, Illinois to Gaetano “Ike” Fiorenza and Anna Buda. Although his mother was born in Milwaukee, his father’s side of the family came from Sambuca, Sicily. Fiorenza was a longtime bookmaker for the Rockford LCN taking hundreds of bets a week. In September 2004 Pep was arrested for impersonating a police officer when he flashed a sheriff’s badge at a motorist and told the man he would take him to jail. In February 2006 Pep was arrested for his involvement in a Rockford area gambling ring that was tied to the Chicago Outfit’s Chinatown Crew.
Joseph P. Zammuto was born February 6, 1896 in Aragona, Sicily to Giuseppe and Assunta Zammuto. Zammuto immigrated through Ellis Island on August 15, 1913 with his destination being Rockford. On July 1, 1920 he married Elena Schiro in Rockford. She was born in New Orleans to Giorgio Schiro and Antonia Giacomazzo. Zammuto became involved early on with bootlegging and later gambling, being put in charge of slot machines for the Rockford LCN in the 1940s. In 1958 with the death of Tony Musso, Zammuto was made boss of the Rockford LCN, a title he held until his death on May 18, 1990.
Have you seen anything about Peoria? One Chicago informant thought there was a mafia presence there and I found some Catalanottos from Villafranca Sicula lived there, in particular a Giuseppe Catalanotto who worked as a miner. Maybe there's a relation to the early Chicago leader Pietro Catalanotto.
Starting to wonder what parts of Illinois didn't have residents from the Agrigento cluster.
