Castellammare Post-WWII

[jimmyb]

I know there's an Italian articles thread, so I'll just post articoli relevant to CDG. Here's one from 2020.

https://www.alqamah.it/2020/06/17/le-pa ... lla-citta/

[jimmyb]

Here's another good one. Says Mariano Asaro has been "the bridge" between Cdg and Bonnanos--for some time. Also says he's distant relative of Calabro. Maybe they're cugini.

https://trapani.gds.it/articoli/cronaca ... d974b4c7c/

[B.]

A current guy who is still a mystery is Francesco Palmeri. He was ID'd publicly as the "Gambino underboss" involved in a transatlantic extortion attempt some years back but that was largely discredited. At the time it was mentioned he was Castellammarese and trying to collect on a 1980s loan connected to Cesare Bonventre in some way.

Turns out he's on Facebook and sure enough he is from Castellammare but currently lives in Taranto, Italy. He's mainly connected to Castellammarese names. Early Buffalo member from CDG Paolo Palmeri was very close to the Gambino Family interestingly but maybe a coincidence.

Wondering whether he was affiliated with the Gambinos as they said or if he may have been aligned with the Bonannos, if he was even a member of an NYC Family at all. His current residence on the Italian mainland doesn't help.

[Pogo The Clown]

A current guy who is still a mystery is Francesco Palmeri. He was ID'd publicly as the "Gambino underboss" involved in a transatlantic extortion attempt some years back but that was largely discredited. At the time it was mentioned he was Castellammarese and trying to collect on a 1980s loan connected to Cesare Bonventre in some way.

Turns out he's on Facebook and sure enough he is from Castellammare but currently lives in Taranto, Italy. He's mainly connected to Castellammarese names. Early Buffalo member from CDG Paolo Palmeri was very close to the Gambino Family interestingly but maybe a coincidence.

Wondering whether he was affiliated with the Gambinos as they said or if he may have been aligned with the Bonannos, if he was even a member of an NYC Family at all. His current residence on the Italian mainland doesn't help.

Going from memory it was the Italian press who gave him that label. US LE had him as an associate.


Pogo

[B.]

Good to know, thanks Pogo.

Seems most likely he was a Sicilian mafia member/associate involved with the Bonannos but we do have some weird arrangements with the Gambino/Lucchese Sicilians so who knows.

[PolackTony]

A current guy who is still a mystery is Francesco Palmeri. He was ID'd publicly as the "Gambino underboss" involved in a transatlantic extortion attempt some years back but that was largely discredited. At the time it was mentioned he was Castellammarese and trying to collect on a 1980s loan connected to Cesare Bonventre in some way.

Turns out he's on Facebook and sure enough he is from Castellammare but currently lives in Taranto, Italy. He's mainly connected to Castellammarese names. Early Buffalo member from CDG Paolo Palmeri was very close to the Gambino Family interestingly but maybe a coincidence.

Wondering whether he was affiliated with the Gambinos as they said or if he may have been aligned with the Bonannos, if he was even a member of an NYC Family at all. His current residence on the Italian mainland doesn't help.

Worth noting that Taranto is a major center of SCU activity. A number of guys from Taranto have been involved in stuff in Chicago, where Sicilian Cosa Nostra and Pugliese SCU affiliates seem to have been working together on narcotics and gambling operations. Interesting that this guy wound up in Taranto, of all places.

[CabriniGreen]

A current guy who is still a mystery is Francesco Palmeri. He was ID'd publicly as the "Gambino underboss" involved in a transatlantic extortion attempt some years back but that was largely discredited. At the time it was mentioned he was Castellammarese and trying to collect on a 1980s loan connected to Cesare Bonventre in some way.

Turns out he's on Facebook and sure enough he is from Castellammare but currently lives in Taranto, Italy. He's mainly connected to Castellammarese names. Early Buffalo member from CDG Paolo Palmeri was very close to the Gambino Family interestingly but maybe a coincidence.

Wondering whether he was affiliated with the Gambinos as they said or if he may have been aligned with the Bonannos, if he was even a member of an NYC Family at all. His current residence on the Italian mainland doesn't help.

Going from memory it was the Italian press who gave him that label. US LE had him as an associate.


Pogo

Whenever the Italians refer to the Gambino Sicilians, they almost always insinuate there is a Sicilian exponent in operation in New York. Like it's a separate organization that exist alongside the Gambinos in parallel. That Sylvestro Davi " Sicilian street boss" or whatever is the latest one.. Sorry... this thread is about Castellammare.... don't mind me....

[CabriniGreen]

I guess while I'm here... Gucciardi and Turriciano..?

[B.]

I guess while I'm here... Gucciardi and Turriciano..?

Gucciardi is a member or associate of the Sciacca Family involved with the Bonannos, but I'm curious about Turriciano. His older relative is def a member of the CDG Family but Stefano lives in NJ and associated with the Montagnas so I'd be interested in knowing his status. Definitely in the Bonanno orbit like Gucciardi.

Whenever the Italians refer to the Gambino Sicilians, they almost always insinuate there is a Sicilian exponent in operation in New York. Like it's a separate organization that exist alongside the Gambinos in parallel. That Sylvestro Davi " Sicilian street boss" or whatever is the latest one.. Sorry... this thread is about Castellammare.... don't mind me....

Similar arrangement to what existed in the 1980s:



Sicilian mafia members maintain their membership status but generally need to be "on record" with an NYC Family, which is what we see in the Gambino Family and probably these Bonanno-associated Sicilians. Not to be confused with their compaesani who are formally initiated/transfer to an NYC Family, though they are all close and politically aligned.

Sal Lombardo is a good case study, as he was a member of the Montelepre Family but an associate of the Gambino Family until Joe Gambino arranged his formal transfer to the Gambinos twenty years later.

Worth noting that Taranto is a major center of SCU activity. A number of guys from Taranto have been involved in stuff in Chicago, where Sicilian Cosa Nostra and Pugliese SCU affiliates seem to have been working together on narcotics and gambling operations. Interesting that this guy wound up in Taranto, of all places.

Great observation, especially because the investigation into Palmeri identified links with the 'Ndrangheta. I don't know if he himself had direct association with them but it was explicitly mentioned alongside him. Palmeri was wanted by authorities in Potenza, too, so he appears to be no stranger to mainland OC activity.

[jimmyb]

https://m.tp24.it/2022/03/07/inchieste/ ... bsp/174664

Drug bust in CDG. Back in March. Check out some of the last names: Bosco, Domingo, Calabro, Amato . . .

Domingo and Calabro are younger dudes. I presume they're related to the capi Francesco Domingo and Gio Calabro.

[B.]

Great find! Hadn't seen that.

There's even a D'Aguanno mentioned.

We were talking in the other thread about how Giuseppe Bosco was brought into the Bonanno Family through Baldo Amato's influence so here we have both surnames working together in Sicily.

Two Castellammarese Bosco brothers, Giuseppe (not the Bonanno) and Giovanni Bosco were arrested for drug trafficking in 2015 as well:
https://www.alpauno.com/castellammare-d ... lli-bosco/

[B.]

Familiar CDG / Alcamo surnames Francesco Palmeri is connected to on social media:

Magaddino
DiMaria
Vitale
Mione
Pisciotta
Cusenza
DiGaetano
Bongiorno
Coppola
Domingo
Milazzo

These names are common in the area but most if not all of the above have produced mafiosi so could give us an idea of Palmeri's connections. He is however connected to the Badalamentis from Torretta like one of the current Gambino zips.

He's connected to a Salvatore Catalano but not that one unfortunately haha. This one's Castellammarese.

EDIT: He says he's lived back in Italy since 2016.

[jimmyb]

A current guy who is still a mystery is Francesco Palmeri. He was ID'd publicly as the "Gambino underboss" involved in a transatlantic extortion attempt some years back but that was largely discredited. At the time it was mentioned he was Castellammarese and trying to collect on a 1980s loan connected to Cesare Bonventre in some way.

Turns out he's on Facebook and sure enough he is from Castellammare but currently lives in Taranto, Italy. He's mainly connected to Castellammarese names. Early Buffalo member from CDG Paolo Palmeri was very close to the Gambino Family interestingly but maybe a coincidence.

Wondering whether he was affiliated with the Gambinos as they said or if he may have been aligned with the Bonannos, if he was even a member of an NYC Family at all. His current residence on the Italian mainland doesn't help.

I'm looking through some Italiano documenti and I see a guy named Antonino Palmeri. Doesn't say much, but he was a technical official (or urban planner) in CDG and implicated in the big corruption scandal (2004). Just as a side note Vincenzo Bonventre and Epiphano Bonventre implicated in that scandal as well. According to the parliamentary investigation both related to the Bonventre Mafia family.

[B.]

Great to know there was another Palmeri involved.

Hoping we can eventually find out where some of the later Bonventres fit into the family tree. Nash found strong evidence Cesare Bonventre's family was part of the Vito Bonventre branch (the Bonanno capodecina killed 1930), who in turn were extended cousins of the Bonanno-Bonventre branch.

Then there's Pietro Bonventre (former head of the Castellammarese fraternal society in Brooklyn) and his brother Gaspare who you and I spoke about years ago. Pietro and Gaspare Bonventre were uncles/relatives of Santo Giordano, Frank Navarra, and Giovanni Fiordillino who all served as Bonanno captains. Gaspare, as you've mentioned in the past, was possibly the same Gaspare Bonventre known for his violent reputation who traveled between the US and Sicily and I believe he's the strongest candidate for the "old man" FNU Bonventre identified as a participant in the three captains hit with Giordano and Navarra -- they took Giordano to Gaspare Bonventre's home when he was shot.

Bonanno members Antonino and his son Jack Bonventre are another set I can't place. They are part of the Asaro decina and the Asaros refer to them as cousins, so they might descend from Vito Bonventre (JB's uncle) given he intermarried with the Asaros. Vinny Asaro told Gary Valenti that Antonino Bonventre had never done anything criminal and was made into the Bonanno Family because of his name, suggesting he comes from the lineage. Amazingly, Jack Bonventre now lives in Wappingers Falls where Maranzano had his estate and he's another guy on Facebook -- he appears to know his paesans in different places, including Buccellatos.

[jimmyb]

Great stuff. I believe Joe Buccellato's wife was Navarra. Frank was Joe's driver and protege. Joe's grandson told me he called Frank "Uncle Frank." But i don't remember if Frank was Joe's brother in law. I'll look through the FBI files again. Maybe it's in there. I believe Frank Navarra's father was a politician in CDG.