Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

[B.]

Good eye -- that murder case was mostly guys from Sambuca from what I found (killers + victim both). Some of the other names in the case were butchered so Amato could easily be "Armato".

[PolackTony]

Good eye -- that murder case was mostly guys from Sambuca from what I found (killers + victim both). Some of the other names in the case were butchered so Amato could easily be "Armato".

Nah, scratch that. From the info I have, not only is Armato definitely a surname in Sambuca, it seems to be much more common there than Amato is.

I have a Michele Armato, born 1883 in Sambuca, who died in Chicago in 1947. In 1910, he lived on Milton in Little Sicily; in 1912, he married an Antonina Lo Cicero in Rockford. Probably the guy from the Raia thing.

[JoelTurner]

Was there ever a family in Marion, Illinois ?

I once spoke to a woman who told me that, when she was a kid(~1960s), her father told her there had been a Mafia family in Marion, Illinois. He pointed out some people saying that they had been bootleggers and were still gangsters.

I hadn’t heard of the place; when I looked it up I assumed that they would have been either associates of St. Louis or Chicago. I totally forgot about her story until I saw this comment:

Brother Mario was born in Herrin, Williamson County (near Marion and Johnston City), in 1915; in 1920, the family was living in Herrin, where Salvatore worked as a digger in the coal mines.

(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3089977 ... ily-times/)

A quick search gave me this article. So there was some Italian crime in the area, at least in 1915.

[Johnny1and1]

Was there ever a family in Marion, Illinois ?

I once spoke to a woman who told me that, when she was a kid(~1960s), her father told her there had been a Mafia family in Marion, Illinois. He pointed out some people saying that they had been bootleggers and were still gangsters.

I hadn’t heard of the place; when I looked it up I assumed that they would have been either associates of St. Louis or Chicago. I totally forgot about her story until I saw this comment:

Brother Mario was born in Herrin, Williamson County (near Marion and Johnston City), in 1915; in 1920, the family was living in Herrin, where Salvatore worked as a digger in the coal mines.

(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3089977 ... ily-times/)

A quick search gave me this article. So there was some Italian crime in the area, at least in 1915.

Marion and surrounding area has an Italian population that is unusual given its size. Also some transplants from the federal prison. It would be a more St Louis flavor than Chicago, but I doubt much is going on there.

[JoelTurner]

Was there ever a family in Marion, Illinois ?

I once spoke to a woman who told me that, when she was a kid(~1960s), her father told her there had been a Mafia family in Marion, Illinois. He pointed out some people saying that they had been bootleggers and were still gangsters.

I hadn’t heard of the place; when I looked it up I assumed that they would have been either associates of St. Louis or Chicago. I totally forgot about her story until I saw this comment:

Brother Mario was born in Herrin, Williamson County (near Marion and Johnston City), in 1915; in 1920, the family was living in Herrin, where Salvatore worked as a digger in the coal mines.

(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3089977 ... ily-times/)

A quick search gave me this article. So there was some Italian crime in the area, at least in 1915.

Marion and surrounding area has an Italian population that is unusual given its size. Also some transplants from the federal prison. It would be a more St Louis flavor than Chicago, but I doubt much is going on there.

People connected to St. Louis was my first guess too. The woman was talking about a time before the prison was built in 1963. I don't think anything is going on there now though.

[PolackTony]

Was there ever a family in Marion, Illinois ?

I once spoke to a woman who told me that, when she was a kid(~1960s), her father told her there had been a Mafia family in Marion, Illinois. He pointed out some people saying that they had been bootleggers and were still gangsters.

I hadn’t heard of the place; when I looked it up I assumed that they would have been either associates of St. Louis or Chicago. I totally forgot about her story until I saw this comment:

Brother Mario was born in Herrin, Williamson County (near Marion and Johnston City), in 1915; in 1920, the family was living in Herrin, where Salvatore worked as a digger in the coal mines.

(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3089977 ... ily-times/)

A quick search gave me this article. So there was some Italian crime in the area, at least in 1915.

Marion and surrounding area has an Italian population that is unusual given its size. Also some transplants from the federal prison. It would be a more St Louis flavor than Chicago, but I doubt much is going on there.

People connected to St. Louis was my first guess too. The woman was talking about a time before the prison was built in 1963. I don't think anything is going on there now though.

That area of Downstate IL comes up a number of times in this thread. Williamson and neighboring counties had numerous coal mines, which attracted a lot of Sicilian and mainland Italian settlement. There seems to have been a concentration of migrants from Agrigento province in that area, and a number of Agringetini guys in Chicago had various connections there; there were definitely links between Sicilians in this region and Chicago. Apart from STL and Chicago, there was also the Springfield family in Downstate IL. So, while there probably was some form of mafia activity down around Williamson County, at least through the Prohibition era, we don’t know if this was an early “colony” family, or part of STL, Springfield, or Chicago.

Williamson County also had a large KKK presence, and considerable local hostility to Italians and other immigrant mine workers. In 1924-1926, there was a “Klan War” there between the KKK and Italian miners and bootleggers, which led to the deaths of some 20 people, including the Mayor of Herrin.

Another town in Downstate IL that no one’s ever heard of but had mafia activity back in the day is Benld, in Macoupin County, another heavy coal mining area. Your boy Tony Riela had bootlegging operations there in the ‘20s. Despite its proximity to STL, however, Riela’s partners were guys from the Springfield family.

[JoelTurner]

Was there ever a family in Marion, Illinois ?

I once spoke to a woman who told me that, when she was a kid(~1960s), her father told her there had been a Mafia family in Marion, Illinois. He pointed out some people saying that they had been bootleggers and were still gangsters.

I hadn’t heard of the place; when I looked it up I assumed that they would have been either associates of St. Louis or Chicago. I totally forgot about her story until I saw this comment:

Brother Mario was born in Herrin, Williamson County (near Marion and Johnston City), in 1915; in 1920, the family was living in Herrin, where Salvatore worked as a digger in the coal mines.

(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3089977 ... ily-times/)

A quick search gave me this article. So there was some Italian crime in the area, at least in 1915.

Marion and surrounding area has an Italian population that is unusual given its size. Also some transplants from the federal prison. It would be a more St Louis flavor than Chicago, but I doubt much is going on there.

People connected to St. Louis was my first guess too. The woman was talking about a time before the prison was built in 1963. I don't think anything is going on there now though.

That area of Downstate IL comes up a number of times in this thread. Williamson and neighboring counties had numerous coal mines, which attracted a lot of Sicilian and mainland Italian settlement. There seems to have been a concentration of migrants from Agrigento province in that area, and a number of Agringetini guys in Chicago had various connections there; there were definitely links between Sicilians in this region and Chicago. Apart from STL and Chicago, there was also the Springfield family in Downstate IL. So, while there probably was some form of mafia activity down around Williamson County, at least through the Prohibition era, we don’t know if this was an early “colony” family, or part of STL, Springfield, or Chicago.

Williamson County also had a large KKK presence, and considerable local hostility to Italians and other immigrant mine workers. In 1924-1926, there was a “Klan War” there between the KKK and Italian miners and bootleggers, which led to the deaths of some 20 people, including the Mayor of Herrin.

Another town in Downstate IL that no one’s ever heard of but had mafia activity back in the day is Benld, in Macoupin County, another heavy coal mining area. Your boy Tony Riela had bootlegging operations there in the ‘20s. Despite its proximity to STL, however, Riela’s partners were guys from the Springfield family.

Yeah, I doubt outsiders would have been able to distinguish between a crew in one of the the 3 families you mentioned vs. an actual independent family. Hypothetically, they could have been Italian criminals who were later called a mafia.

I had no idea that the KKK was that strong in Illinois, I had always associated them with the South. Considering that they were literally at war with the local Italian community, it would make sense if they were more insular.

I read about Benld in Riela’s FBI file. I just assumed that it was part of Springfield’s zone of operations.

[Snakes]

Was there ever a family in Marion, Illinois ?

I once spoke to a woman who told me that, when she was a kid(~1960s), her father told her there had been a Mafia family in Marion, Illinois. He pointed out some people saying that they had been bootleggers and were still gangsters.

I hadn’t heard of the place; when I looked it up I assumed that they would have been either associates of St. Louis or Chicago. I totally forgot about her story until I saw this comment:

Brother Mario was born in Herrin, Williamson County (near Marion and Johnston City), in 1915; in 1920, the family was living in Herrin, where Salvatore worked as a digger in the coal mines.

(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3089977 ... ily-times/)

A quick search gave me this article. So there was some Italian crime in the area, at least in 1915.

Marion and surrounding area has an Italian population that is unusual given its size. Also some transplants from the federal prison. It would be a more St Louis flavor than Chicago, but I doubt much is going on there.

People connected to St. Louis was my first guess too. The woman was talking about a time before the prison was built in 1963. I don't think anything is going on there now though.

That area of Downstate IL comes up a number of times in this thread. Williamson and neighboring counties had numerous coal mines, which attracted a lot of Sicilian and mainland Italian settlement. There seems to have been a concentration of migrants from Agrigento province in that area, and a number of Agringetini guys in Chicago had various connections there; there were definitely links between Sicilians in this region and Chicago. Apart from STL and Chicago, there was also the Springfield family in Downstate IL. So, while there probably was some form of mafia activity down around Williamson County, at least through the Prohibition era, we don’t know if this was an early “colony” family, or part of STL, Springfield, or Chicago.

Williamson County also had a large KKK presence, and considerable local hostility to Italians and other immigrant mine workers. In 1924-1926, there was a “Klan War” there between the KKK and Italian miners and bootleggers, which led to the deaths of some 20 people, including the Mayor of Herrin.

Another town in Downstate IL that no one’s ever heard of but had mafia activity back in the day is Benld, in Macoupin County, another heavy coal mining area. Your boy Tony Riela had bootlegging operations there in the ‘20s. Despite its proximity to STL, however, Riela’s partners were guys from the Springfield family.

Yeah, I doubt outsiders would have been able to distinguish between a crew in one of the the 3 families you mentioned vs. an actual independent family. Hypothetically, they could have been Italian criminals who were later called a mafia.

I had no idea that the KKK was that strong in Illinois, I had always associated them with the South. Considering that they were literally at war with the local Italian community, it would make sense if they were more insular.

I read about Benld in Riela’s FBI file. I just assumed that it was part of Springfield’s zone of operations.

The rebirth of the KKK actually originated in the Midwest, post-WWI. In addition to blacks, it expanded its persecution to immigrants, Catholics, and Jews.

[PolackTony]

Was there ever a family in Marion, Illinois ?

I once spoke to a woman who told me that, when she was a kid(~1960s), her father told her there had been a Mafia family in Marion, Illinois. He pointed out some people saying that they had been bootleggers and were still gangsters.

I hadn’t heard of the place; when I looked it up I assumed that they would have been either associates of St. Louis or Chicago. I totally forgot about her story until I saw this comment:

Brother Mario was born in Herrin, Williamson County (near Marion and Johnston City), in 1915; in 1920, the family was living in Herrin, where Salvatore worked as a digger in the coal mines.

(https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3089977 ... ily-times/)

A quick search gave me this article. So there was some Italian crime in the area, at least in 1915.

Marion and surrounding area has an Italian population that is unusual given its size. Also some transplants from the federal prison. It would be a more St Louis flavor than Chicago, but I doubt much is going on there.

People connected to St. Louis was my first guess too. The woman was talking about a time before the prison was built in 1963. I don't think anything is going on there now though.

That area of Downstate IL comes up a number of times in this thread. Williamson and neighboring counties had numerous coal mines, which attracted a lot of Sicilian and mainland Italian settlement. There seems to have been a concentration of migrants from Agrigento province in that area, and a number of Agringetini guys in Chicago had various connections there; there were definitely links between Sicilians in this region and Chicago. Apart from STL and Chicago, there was also the Springfield family in Downstate IL. So, while there probably was some form of mafia activity down around Williamson County, at least through the Prohibition era, we don’t know if this was an early “colony” family, or part of STL, Springfield, or Chicago.

Williamson County also had a large KKK presence, and considerable local hostility to Italians and other immigrant mine workers. In 1924-1926, there was a “Klan War” there between the KKK and Italian miners and bootleggers, which led to the deaths of some 20 people, including the Mayor of Herrin.

Another town in Downstate IL that no one’s ever heard of but had mafia activity back in the day is Benld, in Macoupin County, another heavy coal mining area. Your boy Tony Riela had bootlegging operations there in the ‘20s. Despite its proximity to STL, however, Riela’s partners were guys from the Springfield family.

Yeah, I doubt outsiders would have been able to distinguish between a crew in one of the the 3 families you mentioned vs. an actual independent family. Hypothetically, they could have been Italian criminals who were later called a mafia.

I had no idea that the KKK was that strong in Illinois, I had always associated them with the South. Considering that they were literally at war with the local Italian community, it would make sense if they were more insular.

I read about Benld in Riela’s FBI file. I just assumed that it was part of Springfield’s zone of operations.

The rebirth of the KKK actually originated in the Midwest, post-WWI. In addition to blacks, it expanded its persecution to immigrants, Catholics, and Jews.

Yup. Downstate IL was basically the South anyway, and only wound up in the same state as Chicago due to political exigency in the 19th century; the two regions were settled and developed through separate dynamics (downstate mainly by southerners from Kentucky, etc.; Chicago by Yankees from NY). But the Klan was quite active in the 1920s in many parts of the North, including in parts of NY and NJ.

[B.]

Noticed that Joe Priola's wife and kids (Phil wasn't born yet) came to the US with Joe's nephew Gaetano Priola. Gaetano would marry Francesca Manzella from Bagheria, her father being Costantino Manzella and her mother a Salerno. Gaetano Priola's mother was also a Salerno so this was probably a cousin.

Of interest is that Gaetano Priola's naturalization was witnessed by Anthony Scardina. Earlier in this thread Tony identified Antonino Scardina from Bagheria as a business partner of Costantino Manzella, who it turns out was Gaetano Priola's father-in-law so this is no doubt the same Scardina. There were also apparently Scardinas involved in Rockford, which would fit with the Priolas' ties there. Tony mentioned that Antonino Scardina's wife was a Balistrieri from Santa Flavia so he may have had ties to Milwaukee. Antonino Scardina's son Mariano was murdered in 1907 in a bar owned by his father and Gaetano Priola's father-in-law Costantino Manzella.

So the Priolas def intermarried and associated closely with Bagheresi mafia figures early on. Gaetano Priola died in 1959, haven't seen any indication he was involved in the mafia but he was connected to it through his uncle, cousin, and father-in-law.

A daughter of Gaetano Priola married a Frank Solano and another daughter married a Scimeca, a name from Caccamo. Gaetano's wife's sister married a Romano and his other naturaliation witness was a Joseph Romano so probably a connection there.

[PolackTony]

Noticed that Joe Priola's wife and kids (Phil wasn't born yet) came to the US with Joe's nephew Gaetano Priola. Gaetano would marry Francesca Manzella from Bagheria, her father being Costantino Manzella and her mother a Salerno. Gaetano Priola's mother was also a Salerno so this was probably a cousin.

Of interest is that Gaetano Priola's naturalization was witnessed by Anthony Scardina. Earlier in this thread Tony identified Antonino Scardina from Bagheria as a business partner of Costantino Manzella, who it turns out was Gaetano Priola's father-in-law so this is no doubt the same Scardina. There were also apparently Scardinas involved in Rockford, which would fit with the Priolas' ties there. Tony mentioned that Antonino Scardina's wife was a Balistrieri from Santa Flavia so he may have had ties to Milwaukee. Antonino Scardina's son Mariano was murdered in 1907 in a bar owned by his father and Gaetano Priola's father-in-law Costantino Manzella.

So the Priolas def intermarried and associated closely with Bagheresi mafia figures early on. Gaetano Priola died in 1959, haven't seen any indication he was involved in the mafia but he was connected to it through his uncle, cousin, and father-in-law.

A daughter of Gaetano Priola married a Frank Solano and another daughter married a Scimeca, a name from Caccamo. Gaetano's wife's sister married a Romano and his other naturaliation witness was a Joseph Romano so probably a connection there.

Great work connecting Gaetano Priola to the Scardinas and Bagherese Manzella! As a note, Gaetano’s daughter Frances Priola married Vincent Scimeca, who was born in Chicago to parents from Ciminna. There were and are a bunch of Scimecas from Ciminna in Chicago (today, Massimo LoBue’s in laws are Scimecas; Frank Cali’s mom was also a Scimeca from Ciminna). Ross Prio’s adoptive family were intermarried with Scimecas, so Gaetano’s daughter marrying one could be further indication that the Ficarazzi Priolas were indeed related or linked to Prio.

I have Josephine Priola’s husband as Frank Solazzo (not Solano), so looks like no connection to Vince Solano. Solazzo’s family was from Vallelunga.

[PolackTony]

In 1915, Chicago had its own "Barrel Murder", a product of the era's internecine warfare in Little Sicily. On October 26th, a wine cask containing the body of a man was discovered in an area of "open prairie" in what at the time was an undeveloped section of the SW side at 36th and Sacramento. The body sported an apparent hatchet wound to the head and had also been garroted. Police reported that robbery was an unlikely motive, as barrel man retained valuables on his person; a business card for attorney Bernard P Barasa, formerly an IL Assistant States Attorney, was found in his pocket.

The barrel body was identified as Agostino Giovenco, employed as a barber in the Little Sicily shop of Joseph Romano. Agostino was born in 1875 in Altavilla Milicia, arrived in NYC in 1893, and was naturalized in Chicago in 1902; Joseph Romano was likely one of several Giuseppe Romanos from Altavilla living in Little Sicily. The papers reported that Agostino and his brother Giovanni "John" Giovenco had previously operated a saloon in Little Sicily, which had closed due to poor business; Agostino had returned to work in his former trade as a barber (the 1910 census confirms that Agostino was working as a barber at that time). When questioned by the police, Bernard Barasa confirmed that Agostino was a longtime friend; Barasa further added that while he had represented Agostino as a client, this was never in a criminal case and he had no clue as to why someone had wanted to kill him. The papers also reported that the Giovencos' saloon had been forced to close due to harassment from their fellow "countrymen" affiliated with the "Black Hand".

As was often the case in Little Sicily, things were a bit more complicated than a local business/tradesman who fatally ran afoul of the "Black Hand". As it turns out, Agostino Giovenco had a notorious criminal background and had been arrested several times as a suspect in a number of "unsolved Italian murders"; each time, Giovenco was released due to lack of evidence. His brother Giovanni was on the run at the time of Agostino's murder due to charges of running a "confidence game". Giovanni subsequently told police that he had been in Milwaukee; records show that by 1916, Giovanni and his family were living in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Bonanno-ville), where they remained. In September of 1914, Agostino Giovenco (misreported as "Giovanco") was arrested after a man named "Lauredo Veso" [sic] was shot and gravely wounded in the Giovenco brothers' saloon, at Larrabee and Hobie in Little Sicily. Amazingly, "Veso" gave an account of the shooting to the cops from his hospital bed (the Tribune reported: "For the first time in the history of the north side Sicilian colony a wounded man has made a statement to the police"). Veso claimed that a Giuseppe Abote [sic] had lured him to the saloon under the pretext of delivering some shotgun shells; upon his arrival, another man opened fire on "Veso". "Johnny Giovanco" then dumped the injured Veso into the street to die ("Johnny Giovanco is bad", Veso reportedly told CPD as he swore revenge if he recovered). All of the parties involved in this incident were probably Altavillesi, as there were Visos from Altavilla in Chicago related to both Giovencos and Abbates. I suspect that "Lauredo Veso" may have been a Giuseppe Viso, from Altavilla, whose wife was named Loretta (the papers made it clear that "Veso" didn't speak English and had a relative translating for him, so perhaps they misreported his name).

Two days after Agostino's body was discovered, the police arrested Martin Costanzo, "financial secretary of the Congregazione Maria Lauretana", as a suspect in the murder. This was the Società Maria SS Lauretana di Altavilla Milicia, which in those days held its annual Festa at San Filippo Benizi Parish in Little Sicily. It turned out that Giovanni Giovenco was the President of the Society. Costanzo told the cops that Giovanni had sent masked gunmen to force him to hand over funds collected to pay back debts from the prior year's Festa. As locals on Larrabee street had reported that they saw Costanzo arguing with Agostino Giovenco on the day that the latter disappeared, police instead suspected that Costanzo had been stealing funds from the Society and killed Agostino when confronted over it. The cops had nothing more to go on than this, however, and Costanzo was freed the next day by Judge William Dever (who in 8 years' time would be the famous "Reform Mayor" of Chicago). Martin Costanzo was born Matteo Costanza in 1893 in Altavilla; he died in Chicago in 1944. His wife, Vincenza Sances, was born in Mazara del Vallo, to a father from Marsala and a mother from Altavilla Milicia; interesting to see that back in Sicily, the Chicago "Palermo Triangle" area was already connected to the Chicago "Trapani Triangle". This reminds me of a Magaddino woman from Castellammare del Golfo that I came across once, who married a guy from Altavilla back in Sicily before they moved to Chicago.

Agostino Giovenco's apparent friend and lawyer Bernard Barasa (later the first Italian judge in Chicago and failed mayoral candidate) was, of course, the guy who was later Supreme President of the Italo-American National Union, the successor to the Unione Siciliana, when it was opened to non-Sicilians and renamed in 1925. Though Barasa was himself of Northern Italian ancestry (he was born in 1878 near Marquette, in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, to parents from Quassolo, Torino, Piemonte; the Barasas owned an iron mine and stimulated the colonization of the area by Italian mine workers), his close connections to Chicago's Sicilian community are underscored by the fact that his daughter Kathryn Barasa (herself an important lawyer) married Samuel Rinella, an attorney from a prominent family from Termini Imerese (their firm, Rinella & Rinella, was for decades one of the major divorce law firms in Chicago).

The Società Maria SS Lauretana di Altavilla Milicia has been in operation for 122 years, since its founding in Chicago in 1900. With the arrival of the second wave of migrants from Altavilla to Chicago from the 1950s on, the Society was revitalized; their annual Festa is still held in July, though it has been many years since it was held at the long-gone San Filippo Benizi Parish. Unsurprisingly, new generations of Giovencos have arrived in Chicago from Altavilla, and they remain active in the Altavillesi Society. Given the info presented here, I suspect that Agostino and Giovanni Giovenco may have been mafiosi and likely were involved in the founding of the Society. while Altavilla was a notorious hotbed of mafia violence in more recent decades (forming part of the "triangolo della morte" with Bagheria and Casteldaccia), we know that the mafia was present in Altavilla Milicia by at least the early 1880s, when reports commented on a "sect" there referred to as "società dei Fratuzzi" (as in both neighboring Bagheria and Corleone).

I also found northside member August Giovenco's parents were Agostino Giovenco from Altavilla Milicia, Province of Palermo and Maria Catanzaro from Termini Imerese, Province of Palermo.

Maria Catanzaro was born in Chicago in 1887 to Agostino Catanzaro and Santa Di Cola, of Termini Imerese. She married Agostino Giovenco in Chicago in 1903. Their son and future Chicago member Agostino "Gus" Giovenco, Jr, was born in Chicago in 1909. It would seem that Gus had inherited his father's penchant for violence, as he was arrested with Tom Rossi in 1933 for the Cicero murder of John Pippan, secretary-treasurer of both the Italian Bread Drivers Union (then engaged in a spat over a contract with the Italian Breadmakers Association) and the Statuary Workers Union. It would seem that Giovenco and Rossi were never tried for the murder, however (apparently, it was difficult to get witnesses to testify in these cases). The arrest would come back to haunt Giovenco years later. In 1969, the Better Government Association in Chicago made a stink in the press about Giovenco's position as Democratic Party secretary and Committeeman for the 42nd Ward, after it came out that Giovenco had not disclosed his arrest record when he was hired and that he was being investigated by the FBI for consorting with known mobsters, including Ross Prio (who we know was his capodecina).

[Antiliar]

Great research, B and Tony. A lot of dots getting connected.

[Snakes]

As a random aside to the Giovenco info, an informant in the early 70s considered Giovenco to be a "fruit." Make of that what you will

[PolackTony]

In 1968, the FBI released a list of suspected Chicago mafia members. They noted that their informants' estimates for Chicago's "membership" total ranged from 50 to 400. As we know, a good number of the men listed were either not -- or unlikely to have been -- LCN members (at least at the time; Rocky Infelise is an example of a guy carried by the Feds as a member in the '60s who was only made ~20 years later). A name on this list that seems to never have been discussed on this forum was Vito DiZonno (who I personally doubt was a member). There's hardly any info on this guy anywhere, though he seems to have been an interesting figure, as he was both a carting firm owner and a cartage hijacker (playing both sides of the fence, if you will).



Vito Nicholas DiZonno was born in Chicago in 1920 to Francesco "Frank" Di Zonno, of Triggiano, Bari (like the DiFronzos, Nittis, Calabreses, etc) and Salvatoria "Jennie" Longo. Jenny Longo was born in Chicago in 1902 to Inocencio "Vincent" Longo and Agostina "Augusta" Giuffrè, both of Tèrmini Imerese (Inocencio's mother was a Battaglia, and a Francesco Battaglia was Jennie Longo's godfather). Frank DiZonno and Jennie Longo married in Chicago in 1919; on his WW2 draft registration, Frank was living at Halsted and Erie in the Grand Ave Patch (near where his wife's paesani, the Moricis, had their HQ at Grand, Halsted, and Milwaukee circa 1900). Sometime before 1940, Vito married Rose LoSurdo, who was born in Chicago in /1919 to Benedetto Lo Surdo, orf Cellamare, Bari, and Valeriana Mazzacano, also of Bari (likely either Triggiano or Bari City). Unsurprisingly, the LoSurdos also lived in the Grand Ave Patch, at Ohio and May St. In 1940, Vito and Rose were living with his parents on Green St at Ohio; Vito stated that he was working as a chauffeur at the time. On his WW2 draft card, Vito and Rose were living at Halsted and Ohio (it should be noted that this was in the immediate vicinity of Nick DeJohn's bakery), and Vito was employed by the O.K. Motor Service, located near Morgan and Kinzie. Possible that Vito was involved in some gambling activities, as in 1948 he returned solo from a trip to Cuba. Vito died in Chicago in 1971.

Vito DiZonno seems to have first appeared in the papers in 1954, following the murder of Chicago member Charlie Gioe. A phone number for Tony Sicilia was found on Gioe's person when he was killed. When Sicilia was questioned by the police, he claimed that he only knew Gioe as a casual acquaintance, via their mutual friend Vito DiZonno; DiZonno and Sicilia co-owned a beer warehouse at that time. In 1956, Vito DiZonno (then living at 3715 N Sawyer in the Irving Park neighborhood) was arrested by Federal agents as a member of a gang that hijacked a truck container containing $300K worth of wedding dresses, bound for Michigan Ave boutiques. I suspect that the hijacking may have been an inside job, as the driver of the truck, Joseph Scavone, lived at Erie and Hoyne (the same block that the Calabrese brothers lived as kids) in the Grand Ave Patch; one of the robbery crew, George Guerino, lived very close by at Race and Damen. In 1967, Vance Cartage, Inc, of which Vito DiZonno was the President (he was then living at Osceola and Wellington in the Montclare neighborhood, near the border of Elmwood Park), had over 20 trucks, and other equipment, seized by the IRS for failure to pay back taxes totaling over $40k. In 1971, the Daily News reported that DiZonno was the head of another carting firm, City Transit Lines (located on the same block, at 42nd and Knox on the SW side, where the prior Vance Cartage had been located); this time, DiZonno's problem was operating a fleet of trucks without city vehicle stickers. The same 1971 article also noted that DiZonno "has been arrested several times by FBI agents on hijacking charges".

In July of 1971, a CI told the Feds that Irv Weiner and Turk Torello had taken over Vito DiZonno's trucking business. The CI attributed this takeover to DiZonno having "stuck" Weiner with a bad check for $35k issued to the State of IL; allegedly, Weiner and Torello "had kicked VITO DI ZONNO out of this business and had set up VITO'S son, FRANK DI ZONNO, as the head of the business" (son Frank DiZonno was born in 1937). If factual, the account certainly doesn't support DiZonno having been a made guy (unless he had been shelved at some point). Vito DiZonno died later that year, 1971/11/06.

As Vito was at least thought to have been a "member" by one Chicago CI, he may well have been an associate who belonged to an Outfit crew, though which one exactly isn't clear. His residential history would strongly suggest Elmwood Park, though geography certainly doesn't strictly define crew affiliation in every case. Alternatively, he could've been with the Battaglia crew; this is supported by his apparent association with Irv Weiner (and perhaps by the possibility that he may have been a relative, though likely distant, of Teets Battaglia). Lastly, the claim that DiZonno was involved with Torello would've likely been due to the SW side location of his cartage businesses. Possibly he was working with both the Battaglia and Buccieri crews, though we'd need to know more about his criminal activities and connections.

Son Frank DiZonno, who allegedly was placed in charge of his dad's carting company by the mob in 1971, seems to have moved to Huntington Beach, CA in the '90s. It looks like Frank's younger brother, Vito DiZonno, Jr, ran Freight Tech Carting, Inc, out of Naperville until he retired recently and moved to TX. Freight Tech's FB page has had activity that connects to a number of people in Outfit social circles (Chuckie Bellavia and others), unsurprisingly.