Visiting the West Side 1963

[PolackTony]

Boiardo was born Dec 8, 1890, in Naples. He attended night school in Chicago (during an interview he said he lived in Chicago from 1897 to 1904 - although he said he arrived on the SS Victor Emmanuel on Dec 18, 1900), then came to NJ where he had his first arrest in 1917 (a different report has 1914). He came into prominence as a racketeer in 1925 when he belonged to a gang headed by Frank Mazzocchi. By 1930 Boiardo and Mazzocchi were enemies. His wife was Jennie Manfro.

He arrived in the US in 1901 (I have the passenger manifest).

[PolackTony]

Carmine Orazio "Carmen Aaron" Battaglia was born in 1896 in Gagliano Castelferrato, today in Enna province, to Cataldo Battaglia and Catalda Parisi of Gagliano Castelferrato. Per his birth record, his birth name was Orazio Carmelo Battaglia. The family arrived in NYC in 1902 bound for Newark where Catalda's brother Matteo Parisi lived on 14th Ave in a largely Italian section in the Central Ward neighborhood; Carmine traveled under the name Carmelo Battaglia. The Battaglias settled nearby the Parisis on Bedford St in the Central Ward.

[Antiliar]

Boiardo was born Dec 8, 1890, in Naples. He attended night school in Chicago (during an interview he said he lived in Chicago from 1897 to 1904 - although he said he arrived on the SS Victor Emmanuel on Dec 18, 1900), then came to NJ where he had his first arrest in 1917 (a different report has 1914). He came into prominence as a racketeer in 1925 when he belonged to a gang headed by Frank Mazzocchi. By 1930 Boiardo and Mazzocchi were enemies. His wife was Jennie Manfro.

He arrived in the US in 1901 (I have the passenger manifest).

That's what he said in a 1938 interview. This is all from his FBI file. Obviously his memory wasn't the best

[PolackTony]

Boiardo was born Dec 8, 1890, in Naples. He attended night school in Chicago (during an interview he said he lived in Chicago from 1897 to 1904 - although he said he arrived on the SS Victor Emmanuel on Dec 18, 1900), then came to NJ where he had his first arrest in 1917 (a different report has 1914). He came into prominence as a racketeer in 1925 when he belonged to a gang headed by Frank Mazzocchi. By 1930 Boiardo and Mazzocchi were enemies. His wife was Jennie Manfro.

He arrived in the US in 1901 (I have the passenger manifest).

That's what he said in a 1938 interview. This is all from his FBI file. Obviously his memory wasn't the best

Well, his recollection was less than two weeks off from 1901, so not bad, lol.

The story as I understand it is that Boiardo wound up killing Mazzocchi in 1930. I have Francesco Mazzocchi as hailing from Lauro, Avellino, which makes sense as the 1st Ward had a ton of Avellines'. The Del Ducas were also from Lauro.

[B.]

Older thread with some Russo / Boiardo history if anyone is interested:

https://theblackhand.club/forum/viewtop ... 54#p100254

[PolackTony]

Older thread with some Russo / Boiardo history if anyone is interested:

https://theblackhand.club/forum/viewtop ... 54#p100254

Thanks. This was a great write-up. Boiardo was a very interesting character, and apparently the last of the guys connected to the old Camorra organizations to be brought into the mafia, which alone makes him a fascinating figure. I wonder if his conflict with the Mazzocchis was a strictly personal rivalry or if it was indicative of a broader rivalry between Napolitani (in the strict sense) and Avellinesi.

[eboli]

Yeah, the FBN got Lombardo's parents wrong. His parents were Natale Lombardo and Maria Licari, originally from Trapani. The father was born in 1869. Interestingly enough, Lombardo's family might have been Protestants.

Tony Bender doesn't appear to have been acting boss from 1959-1961-

Tony Bender was never the acting boss. He was acting underboss between May 1957 and Late 1961. Vito Genovese demoted him to soldier, and Tommy Eboli became the acting underboss and captain. Patsy Eboli got bumped to acting capo in early 1962.

DiQuarto was Bender's acting capo before Bender's demotion and continued for a short while until Eboli got promoted. DiQuarto replaced Vincent Mauro as Bender's top soldier in the crew circa 1960.

[Angelo Santino]

Yeah, the FBN got Lombardo's parents wrong. His parents were Natale Lombardo and Maria Licari, originally from Trapani. The father was born in 1869. Interestingly enough, Lombardo's family might have been Protestants.

Tony Bender doesn't appear to have been acting boss from 1959-1961-

Tony Bender was never the acting boss. He was acting underboss between May 1957 and Late 1961. Vito Genovese demoted him to soldier, and Tommy Eboli became the acting underboss and captain. Patsy Eboli got bumped to acting capo in early 1962.

DiQuarto was Bender's acting capo before Bender's demotion and continued for a short while until Eboli got promoted. DiQuarto replaced Vincent Mauro as Bender's top soldier in the crew circa 1960.

Thanks for the response. Who identified Strollo as the acting under? I wonder if he had an AC while he was acting.

I do have some questions that relate to the lists Pogo made, and Pogo I'd like your comments as well.

1 The Moretti Crew went to Catena, the theory is that Boiardo and DeCarlo were allowed to have their own decine at some point before 1963. I believe Pogo listed Boiardo as being promoted in 1957. DeCarlo is listed as starting in the 60's. How sure are we it was that late? DeCarlo referred to the thirteen Gen crews (another report said 33 from Kipson-something) which sounded like they had been established for some time.

2 The Miranda Crew, what's the source for "-In 1958 this Crew was split between Frank Celano, Frank “Funzie” Tieri, Antonio “Tony” Carillo, Generoso "Taddo DeMarco/Del" Del Duca, Peter “Pete Desi” DeFeo and Salvatore “Little Sal” Celembrino." I ask because the FBI reports label DeFeo as Miranda's Acting Capo in the 60's.

3 IF the number of crews totaled 13, we have 11 confirmed, two others- Carmine Battaglia and Tony Pro are suspected. There is also Springfield which had a decina there so Battaglia or Pro may not be correct, if there were 13 decina in 1963.

You guys have looked extensively into this family, and any pointers would have helpful.

[eboli]

Yeah, the FBN got Lombardo's parents wrong. His parents were Natale Lombardo and Maria Licari, originally from Trapani. The father was born in 1869. Interestingly enough, Lombardo's family might have been Protestants.

Tony Bender doesn't appear to have been acting boss from 1959-1961-

Tony Bender was never the acting boss. He was acting underboss between May 1957 and Late 1961. Vito Genovese demoted him to soldier, and Tommy Eboli became the acting underboss and captain. Patsy Eboli got bumped to acting capo in early 1962.

DiQuarto was Bender's acting capo before Bender's demotion and continued for a short while until Eboli got promoted. DiQuarto replaced Vincent Mauro as Bender's top soldier in the crew circa 1960.

Thanks for the response. Who identified Strollo as the acting under? I wonder if he had an AC while he was acting. Mauro, then DeQuarto were acting for him in the late 1950s.

I do have some questions that relate to the lists Pogo made, and Pogo I'd like your comments as well.

1 The Moretti Crew went to Catena, the theory is that Boiardo and DeCarlo were allowed to have their own decine at some point before 1963. I believe Pogo listed Boiardo as being promoted in 1957. DeCarlo is listed as starting in the 60's. How sure are we it was that late? DeCarlo referred to the thirteen Gen crews (another report said 33 from Kipson-something) which sounded like they had been established for some time.

2 The Miranda Crew, what's the source for "-In 1958 this Crew was split between Frank Celano, Frank “Funzie” Tieri, Antonio “Tony” Carillo, Generoso "Taddo DeMarco/Del" Del Duca, Peter “Pete Desi” DeFeo and Salvatore “Little Sal” Celembrino." I ask because the FBI reports label DeFeo as Miranda's Acting Capo in the 60's.

3 IF the number of crews totaled 13, we have 11 confirmed, two others- Carmine Battaglia and Tony Pro are suspected. There is also Springfield which had a decina there so Battaglia or Pro may not be correct, if there were 13 decina in 1963.

You guys have looked extensively into this family, and any pointers would have helpful.

The FBI ID'd Strollo as acting underboss but only after his death. Between May 1957 and 1959, he was acting as an underboss in an unofficial capacity, meaning he was just a capo who handled a lot of work for Genovese and Catena and bossed around other capos on Catena and Genovese's orders. Strollo was a personal underboss for Genovese, but he also did stuff for Catena in NJ. Eugene Catena had a similar role in the early to mid-1960s.

After Genovese's sentencing in 1959, Catena became the acting boss, and Strollo 'officially' became the acting underboss until a few months before his death when he fell out of favor.

In my Catena and Strollo writeups I went into more details, but here are excerpts regarding the Moretti and Miranda crews:

1. On the Moretti/Boiardo/Catena crew split:

Interestingly enough, Tony Strollo's demotions and subsequent disappearance coincided with a substantial shake-up of the New Jersey Faction of the Genovese crime family. In late 1961 or early 1962, Jerry Catena broke up the old Willie Moretti crew, headed by Richie Boiardo since 1957. Catena's reasoning for the crew's dismantlement remains unknown, but it was likely to give his brother Eugene more muscle and authority. The split went three ways between Richie Boiardo, Angelo DeCarlo, and Eugene Catena.

Richie Boiardo remained a caporegime. He retained control over his Newark territories and whatever he got after the destruction of Zwillman's criminal empire. Since he was getting up there in age, he placed his son as the crew's acting captain. Tony Boy was familiar with the role ever since his induction in the Genovese crime family in the late 1950s. After Catena's shake-up, Tony Boy became his father's expected criminal successor in their new, smaller regime.

As a caporegime, Eugene Catena inherited Moretti's criminal network centered around Patterson in Passaic County. He also operated in Newark and throughout Northern New Jersey, looking after his and Jerry's interests. It's worth of note that based on information provided by contemporary federal informants, Eugene Catena's promotion took place before that of Gyp DeCarlo. There might have been a relatively short period of a few months during which DeCarlo was a soldier under Eugene Catena. There's not enough information to create a complete timeframe, but sometime before October 1962, DeCarlo became a captain. He oversaw rackets in Hudson, Essex, and Bergen counties.

2. On Mike Miranda crew split:

Vito Genovese's first action as the new boss was to put Frank Costello on the shelf. He warned all members of the Genovese crime family not to contact him under the penalty of death. Vito also appointed a new administration panel to assist him in running the borgata. Michele 'Mike' Miranda became the consigliere. He was a respected old-timer and a crucial figure in the new regime. After his promotion, Miranda's former crew suffered a five-way split between Frank 'Funzi' Tieri, Salvatore 'Little Sally' Celambrino, Antonio 'Tony the Sheikh' Carillo, Francesco 'Frank' Cerano, and Peter 'Philie Aquilino' DeFeo. Miranda likely agreed to the split to secure the number three spot in the crime family.

3. On Carmine Battaglia's status in 1963:

On November 8, 1962, a meeting between the Genovese and Philadelphia crime families took place. Carmine Battaglia was representing Caponigro and the Philadelphia borgata. Jerry Catena represented DeCarlo and the Genovese. The negotiators reached an agreement, and it seems like it was in Caponigro's favor, most likely because DeCarlo was guilty of muscling in on Caponigro's rackets unauthorized.

DeCarlo later complained about how Caponigro ignored explicit orders and contacted Catena before asking permission from Angelo Bruno. During the inter-family meeting, it was apparent how pissed off Jerry Catena was. He mentioned that only a few weeks earlier, he told Angelo Bruno how everything in Newark was okay, and now he had to explain to him that 'everything was upside down again.' He blamed DeCarlo's greed for the whole situation. In the aftermath of the meeting, Jerry Catena ordered DeCarlo and his crew to do nothing with any New York people without first clearing it with him or Eugene Catena.

Carmine Battaglia was an interesting character because it looks like he switched multiple crime families. After the old Newark borgata disbanded, Battaglia became a Genovese member. Sometime in the 1950s, he secured a transfer to the Philadelphia crime family. During the 1962 meeting, Battaglia was most likely a caporegime. He was representing Angelo Bruno and speaking for Caponigro as if Tony Bananas was a soldier under him. It's all very speculative because Battaglia was a very influential member of the Newark underworld between 1930 and 1970 and a close associate of Catena since the 1930s. These two facts largely influenced many federal informants who provided conflicting information on the man.

4. Tony Pro was not a captain. He was Catena's underling. The FBI got confused because Pro was very influential.

[Angelo Santino]

That's very informative. I believe you're correct but do youhave any thoughts on this 13/33 business?

Odd.

[PolackTony]

Great info, eboli. Was hoping you’d get in on this too.

As a side note, I wonder if Battaglia being from Enna had anything to do with his association with the Philly family.

[eboli]

That's very informative. I believe you're correct but do youhave any thoughts on this 13/33 business?

DeCarlo almost certainly talks about the family's crews. There were many changes, and not even all crews were kicking up to Vito at all times. Pisano and Catena's crews are good examples. He might've got confused or forgotten somebody when he said 13. The 33 likely include acting captains. They were also referred to as captains in that period. Here's what I have about the family's structure circa 1962-1963:

(Name - Time & Reason for Promotion)

Michael 'Trigger Mike' Coppola - 1930s OG
Thomas 'Tommy Palmer' Greco - 1930s OG
Rocco 'The Old Man' Pellegrino - 1930s OG

Francesco 'Funzi' Tieri - 1957 Miranda Crew Split
Antonio 'Tony the Sheikh' Carillo - 1957 Miranda Crew Split
Francesco 'Frank' Celano - 1957 Miranda Crew Split
Salvatore 'Little Sal' Celembrino - 1957 Miranda Crew Split
Peter 'Pete Desi' Defeo - 1957 Miranda Crew Split

James 'Jimmy' Angelina - 1959 Augie Pisano Murder
Tommaso 'Tommy Ryan' Eboli - 1962 Tony Bender Murder

Ruggiero 'The Boot' Boiardo - Late 1961-Early 1962 NJ Crew Split
Eugene 'Gene' Catena - Late 1961-Early 1962 NJ Crew Split
Angelo 'Gyp' DeCarlo - Late 1961-Early 1962 NJ Crew Split

Vincent 'Jimmy Blue Eyes' Alo - 1955 Doto's Deportation
Cosmo 'Gus' Frasca - Early 1950s Brooklyn Faction Crew Merge

Rosario 'Saro' Mogavero* - After Toddo DelDucca's death, his crew got disbanded. Funzi Tieri got the Brooklyn rackets while Saro Mogavero received the Manhattan ones. The bosses likely promoted Mogavero to captain shortly after. He split from Pellegrino with all the Lower Manhattan rackets. During this period, the bosses loved to break down the old larger crews into smaller, more contained regimes. There's conflicting info on Mogavero's status, but HK shares my opinion. Another possibility is that the Pellegrino crew split happened later in the 1960s after Mogavero's release from prison, but that contradicts facts regarding Ratteni and Alo's operations.

[PolackTony]

That's very informative. I believe you're correct but do youhave any thoughts on this 13/33 business?

DeCarlo almost certainly talks about the family's crews. There were many changes, and not even all crews were kicking up to Vito at all times. Pisano and Catena's crews are good examples. He might've got confused or forgotten somebody when he said 13. The 33 likely include acting captains. They were also referred to as captains in that period. Here's what I have about the family's structure circa 1962-1963:

(Name - Time & Reason for Promotion)

Michael 'Trigger Mike' Coppola - 1930s OG
Thomas 'Tommy Palmer' Greco - 1930s OG
Rocco 'The Old Man' Pellegrino - 1930s OG

Francesco 'Funzi' Tieri - 1957 Miranda Crew Split
Antonio 'Tony the Sheikh' Carillo - 1957 Miranda Crew Split
Francesco 'Frank' Celano - 1957 Miranda Crew Split
Salvatore 'Little Sal' Celembrino - 1957 Miranda Crew Split
Peter 'Pete Desi' Defeo - 1957 Miranda Crew Split

James 'Jimmy' Angelina - 1959 Augie Pisano Murder
Tommaso 'Tommy Ryan' Eboli - 1962 Tony Bender Murder

Ruggiero 'The Boot' Boiardo - Late 1961-Early 1962 NJ Crew Split
Eugene 'Gene' Catena - Late 1961-Early 1962 NJ Crew Split
Angelo 'Gyp' DeCarlo - Late 1961-Early 1962 NJ Crew Split

Vincent 'Jimmy Blue Eyes' Alo - 1955 Doto's Deportation
Cosmo 'Gus' Frasca - Early 1950s Brooklyn Faction Crew Merge

Rosario 'Saro' Mogavero* - After Toddo DelDucca's death, his crew got disbanded. Funzi Tieri got the Brooklyn rackets while Saro Mogavero received the Manhattan ones. The bosses likely promoted Mogavero to captain shortly after. He split from Pellegrino with all the Lower Manhattan rackets. During this period, the bosses loved to break down the old larger crews into smaller, more contained regimes. There's conflicting info on Mogavero's status, but HK shares my opinion. Another possibility is that the Pellegrino crew split happened later in the 1960s after Mogavero's release from prison, but that contradicts facts regarding Ratteni and Alo's operations.

Thanks for the info. So, there were like, what, 7-8 "original" crews before the crew splits? Terranova/Coppola/Lombardo crew, Greco crew, Pellegrino crew, Miranda crew (later split), Pisano/Angelina crew, Strollo/Eboli crew, NJ/Moretti crew (later split), Doto/Alo crew, Frasca crew (?), DelDuca crew.

This more or less correct? Any other pre-1960s crews left out? What were the pre-Frasca BK crews -- did Frasca inherit what had originally been, at least in part, Frankie Yale's crew? And the Coppola East Harlem crew was never split, right?

[Angelo Santino]

I read your NJ crew write up. Amazing research done.

So Boiardo was in a dispute with Zwillman or the NJ Gen crew? If he was boss if his independent group do you think it was possible he was made captain immediately after being brought in? Sounds like he and Catena had an on and off again relationship while he and Miranda seemingly got along.

All of this is so interesting.

[Charlie]

So there was indeed only 6/7 crews at one time ? It means more than 50 (made) guys under each captain. Must have been a bitch to manage on a daily basis.