Joseph Benanti / DiPalermos

[PolackTony]

Want to mention in this thread, along with Joe and Steve Armone's father Terenzio (from Misilmeri, Palermo), Joe Pinzolo's other naturalization witness was Salvatore Spano in Manhattan. Spano was from Bagheria, Palermo, so yet another Manhattan Palermitano connection for Pinzolo.

Looking back at this, I'm curious about Salvatore Spano as there were Chicago Spanos from Bagheria. Most of Pinzolo's documented relationships are to underworld figures (including to Calabrian gangsters when he first moved to NYC) so this guy might be of interest.

If this guy Spano was from Bagheria and connected to the mafia, it’s certainly possible he had connections in Chicago.

[LAfarmer108]

Very interesting info B. I’ve always been intrigued by the DiPalermo’s. Joe Beck and Petey Beck were obviously neck deep in the heroin business but never really heard much about them being involved in murder. Only tidbits I remember reading about them is heroin, being degenerate gamblers and having suits/clothing to match the color of their Cadillac for each day of the week.

Any other information about them would be greatly appreciated. When were they made?

According to “The Valachi Papers” The man Valachi killed with the lead pipe, he mistakenly thought was Joe Beck coming to kill him on Genovese orders. (joe beck is described in the book as a veteran cosa nostra enforcer).

[NYNighthawk]

Are Joe Beck's kids still around I remember seeing them in federal court with lawyers from Roy Cohn's firm back in the late 1970's and they looked like skells back then.

[axx]

- There has also been some speculation John DioGuardi was a captain before his legal trouble. Along with the reference to Plumeri being a captain, it's hard to know exactly how this would fit in. It seems possible if not likely that Plumeri and the DioGuardis were at one point part of what's now known as the Prince street crew, assuming it wasn't split up and mixed/matched with other crews at some point.

For what it's worth, John DioGuardi is listed as 'former caporegima' by the FBI in a '68 file.

Thanks, Charlie. There are a few references to him being in a leadership position and he sure seems like someone who would be.

This is from an article following Plumeri's death. So the captains voted for the consigliere position?

[B.]

Good find. The entire membership is supposed to vote for the consigliere but often do so through their captain as proxy.

Wonder what the article's source was for that info.

[axx]

What's interesting is the writer (Axthelm) was a sports section columnist for most of his life.
Can't say anything about his sources though.

[CornerBoy]

wonder how the brody's would sell the junk out of the restaurant? the original rays. food was great. tough waitresses. junior chilli would always be with 12 25 year old kids.

[B.]

Thanks to PolackTony for pointing out John Ormento's family came from San Cataldo, which neighbors Joe Pinzolo's hometown Serradifalco. Could be a coincidence but maybe there were more Caltanissetta connections.

- Ormento was connected to the Priziola faction in Detroit which included his compaesani the Polizzis who were ex-Pittston. The Melis were also powerful compaesani in Detroit. At least one of the Melis lived for a time in NYC so have to wonder who they were "with". Looks like Ormento had relatives in Pittston, where Joe Pinzolo first arrived to his brother-in-law, and the Melis had ties there too.

- Connecting some of these dots is Genovese member Frank Livorsi (true name Livolsi), whose family intermarried with both John Ormento and the Melis of Detroit. Livorsi's family might be from Nicosia, Enna, which pre-1927 was part of Caltanissetta province. There seems to be something to these Caltanissetta relationships connecting the Genovese, Lucchese, Detroit, and Pittston.

- John Ormento grew up on E 107th in East Harlem so wouldn't have been part of the Little Italy group(s) unless there was geographic overlap to these crews. Ormento's next door neighbor in the apartment building he grew up in was Genovese member John Schillaci whose Family came from Corleone, one of the few Corleonese to show up in the Genovese and not the Lucchese after the Morello split. Valachi ID'd Schillaci as a Genovese member in the Mike Coppola crew (like Frank Livorsi), whose previous captain was Schillaci's paesan Terranova. Frank Amato was another Corleonese member of that crew and Amato's relative Liborio Bellomo was likely another.

- Maybe Schillaci mentored Ormento but if he was with a different Family something else must have put Ormento with the Luccheses. Same would apply to Livorsi. Ormento took over the crew of Ettore Coco, from Palermo, so Coco or someone with that crew may have brought him in. It's surprising though that Ormento didn't end up with the Genovese.

[PolackTony]

Thanks to PolackTony for pointing out John Ormento's family came from San Cataldo, which neighbors Joe Pinzolo's hometown Serradifalco. Could be a coincidence but maybe there were more Caltanissetta connections.

- Ormento was connected to the Priziola faction in Detroit which included his compaesani the Polizzis who were ex-Pittston. The Melis were also powerful compaesani in Detroit. At least one of the Melis lived for a time in NYC so have to wonder who they were "with". Looks like Ormento had relatives in Pittston, where Joe Pinzolo first arrived to his brother-in-law, and the Melis had ties there too.

- Connecting some of these dots is Genovese member Frank Livorsi (true name Livolsi), whose family intermarried with both John Ormento and the Melis of Detroit. Livorsi's family might be from Nicosia, Enna, which pre-1927 was part of Caltanissetta province. There seems to be something to these Caltanissetta relationships connecting the Genovese, Lucchese, Detroit, and Pittston.

- John Ormento grew up on E 107th in East Harlem so wouldn't have been part of the Little Italy group(s) unless there was geographic overlap to these crews. Ormento's next door neighbor in the apartment building he grew up in was Genovese member John Schillaci whose Family came from Corleone, one of the few Corleonese to show up in the Genovese and not the Lucchese after the Morello split. Valachi ID'd Schillaci as a Genovese member in the Mike Coppola crew (like Frank Livorsi), whose previous captain was Schillaci's paesan Terranova. Frank Amato was another Corleonese member of that crew and Amato's relative Liborio Bellomo was likely another.

- Maybe Schillaci mentored Ormento but if he was with a different Family something else must have put Ormento with the Luccheses. Same would apply to Livorsi. Ormento took over the crew of Ettore Coco, from Palermo, so Coco or someone with that crew may have brought him in. It's surprising though that Ormento didn't end up with the Genovese.

Good summary. Ormento’s parents were from San Cataldo, and the surname was originally Ormando. If Frank Livorsi was Nicosiano, that could be very significant. The great majority of Nicosiani settled in Chicago, where they basically built the Armour Square neighborhood (Bridgeport/Chinatown) and founded the Società SS Crocifisso di Nicosia. There were Livolsis from Nicosia, as well as the nearby town of Capizzi, Messina, where the LaPietras were from, in Chicago. There were a number of Nicosiani connected to the Outfit, of course. Chinatown crew member Jimmy Cordovano’s parents were from Nicosia, and he was heavily involved in heroin trafficking in the 1950s-60s. In a 60s FBI memo, a Mariano Cordovano was listed along with Vincenzo Rao as an “associate” of Lucchese captain Joe Rosato (as they listed Rao here, they were clearly using “associate” in the sense of a personal relationship. I haven’t seen Mariano Cordovano listed as a Lucchese member, but the Luccheses during that period are rather murky). That Cordovano was also from Nicosia, lived most of his life at 107th and 2nd Ave, and I believe very likely was a relative of Jimmy Cordovano, as Jimmy’s brother and grandfather were also named Mariano.

Another Nicosiano Chinatown crew member was Tony “Pupi” Maenza, who was linked to guys in a major Chicago heroin distribution operation that was supposedly connected to Ormento and Ettore Coco. In case files for the 1958 indictments that included Vito Genovese, Carmine Galante, Natale Evola, Rocco Mazzie, and Ormento, Ormento was alleged to have been purchasing heroin trafficked via Montreal from Galante, and in turn Ormento’s guys were shipping packages of it to Chicago.

[B.]

Frank Livorsi was born in Chicago and checking now it def looks like his father came from Nicosia. Don't know when the Livorsis moved to NYC.

We talked earlier in the thread about how Bonaventura "Joe" Pinzolo's naturalization was witnessed by Salvatore Spano from Bagheria. The other witness was Joe Armone's father Terenzio. Never seen Spano's name connected to NYC activity but I know it surfaces in Chicago.

John Ormento's father first arrived to Berwick, PA, not too far from the Pittston area. Angelo Meli arrived to Dunmore, PA.

Basically the only thing missing is a Buffalo connection.

[PolackTony]

Frank Livorsi was born in Chicago and checking now it def looks like his father came from Nicosia. Don't know when the Livorsis moved to NYC.

We talked earlier in the thread about how Bonaventura "Joe" Pinzolo's naturalization was witnessed by Salvatore Spano from Bagheria. The other witness was Joe Armone's father Terenzio. Never seen Spano's name connected to NYC activity but I know it surfaces in Chicago.

John Ormento's father first arrived to Berwick, PA, not too far from the Pittston area. Angelo Meli arrived to Dunmore, PA.

Basically the only thing missing is a Buffalo connection.

That’s a big deal about Livorsi (to me at least, lol). Not at all surprising given that he was Nicosiano. Great find. Given that the Chinatown guys had narcotics operations going, Livorsi could also have been important link there.

Going back to the original topic of this thread, the whole Marineo/Baucina, group in the Lucchese family is very interesting. Lots of people in Chicago from that same inland Palermo region: Marineo, Baucina, Ventimiglia, Mezzojuso, Misilmeri, Vicari (for decades, the Baucinesi and Vicaresi had very active paesani Societe in Chicago). We’ve seen that Chicago had members from this area, unsurprisingly, and several NYC families did as well, so it’s another potential network to think about. I brought it up on another thread, but the Di Palermo brothers in the late 50s were working with Carmine and Ralph Polizzano who I believe may also have been Marinesi (at least their father’s side). Info that I’ve seen places them as Genovese associates, though I don’t know if that was actually true and whether they were made. As kids, they lived on Rivington St, which, of course, is not at all far from the Prince and Elizabeth locations of the guys with the Lucchese group down there. The Di Palermos and Polizzanos were supplying guys in Chicago heroin; while I don’t know that their ancestry played any direct role in those connections, demographically, at least, it’s possible.