Visiting Los Angeles 1963

[B.]

Bompensiero said the guy made in Sicily from Detroit named Jack Pace/Pollina may have been from Trapani. Alcamo is a good guess given how many of the Detroit/San Diego guys were Alcamese.

[Antiliar]

Chris, if it's not too late and you think it's worth adding, I thought of 2 more members to add. To be more precise, one is a confirmed member and the other is not.

1/ Marco Impastato, who was Tony Mirabile's driver/bodyguard. He was identified as a member by Bompensiero, but died in 1962.




2/I strongly suspect Frank Fiorello of having been a member. He was married to Helena LiMandri, whose father and brother (Marco & Joe) were San Diego decina members. He was also friends with Joe Dippolito who was one of his pallbearers when he died in 1966. And above all he was big into narcotics and was connected with NY guys.

Unfortunately, I searched and never found anything regarding his membership. But his profile beeps my "mafia member" radar. I know this is purely speculative and maybe other experts like B or Antiliar or you will disagree, but I think he's a suspected member. In any case, someone well connected.


Your call. At worst it allows to start another discussion ^^ (or not)

I saw a doc in Mary Farrell that Fiorello wasn't a member, but I can't find it right now.

[motorfab]

I saw a doc in Mary Farrell that Fiorello wasn't a member, but I can't find it right now.

Wow, thank you, I try to find out since years.

Not a top priority because we all have a social life, but if you re-find the doc one of these days, I'd like to see it.

[Antiliar]

I saw a doc in Mary Farrell that Fiorello wasn't a member, but I can't find it right now.

Wow, thank you, I try to find out since years.

Not a top priority because we all have a social life, but if you re-find the doc one of these days, I'd like to see it.

I've been looking, but it's not coming up. I saw it within the past two weeks, so it's frustrating to me. If I find it, I'll definitely post. That's what I've been trying to do. Maybe you'll have better luck if you try.

[PolackTony]

Fratianno's transfer never officially went through. What Licata told Bompensiero more or less supports Fratianno's story in his book that Roselli tried to do it on his own and it was never recognized.



Up until this point Bomp himself believed Fratianno was a Chicago member.

Report from 1967 shows that at that time Bomp believed Fratianno to be a soldier under LaPorte:

[B.]

If Bompensiero was under the impression Fratianno was with Chicago during that time, it's an indication he wasn't reporting to the LA leadership during the last few years of Desimone's leadership. Looks like Desimone's death prompted Licata to follow-up on it and LaPorte may have taken the opportunity to distance himself. Whether LaPorte ever actually considered Fratianno a member of his decina is the question, but Bompensiero was as well-schooled as it gets so if he thought Fratianno was with Chicago it seems that was the general perception in LA before Licata took over.

There's also a report before Licata reached out to Chicago where Licata complained to Bomp about too many members of other Families in the area operating in CA. Fratianno was considered one of these non-LA members at the time as they hadn't investigated the "transfer" yet.

[JoelTurner]

Unknown decina:
Arthur DiMaria

(https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... PageId=210)

According to NY T-51, Arthur was in Joseph Dippolito's crew

[JoelTurner]

2/I strongly suspect Frank Fiorello of having been a member. He was married to Helena LiMandri, whose father and brother (Marco & Joe) were San Diego decina members. He was also friends with Joe Dippolito who was one of his pallbearers when he died in 1966. And above all he was big into narcotics and was connected with NY guys.

Unfortunately, I searched and never found anything regarding his membership. But his profile beeps my "mafia member" radar. I know this is purely speculative and maybe other experts like B or Antiliar or you will disagree, but I think he's a suspected member. In any case, someone well connected.

You weren't wrong that he was well connected. Fiorello is listed as a known associate of Joe Profaci along with guys like Luciano, Costello, and Mangano. (https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... elPageId=5)

Also, the feds made a mistake with his birth date. They list at as 6-30-07. According to his WW2 draft card, it was June 3rd 1907.



He lived right next to his in-laws, the LiMandris in Belleville, NJ; before moving out to California by 1950. If he was a member, I wonder when and where he was made.

[Angelo Santino]

So for bosses-

DeSimone
Dragna
Ardizzone
DeSimone
DiGiorgio?

[motorfab]

You weren't wrong that he was well connected. Fiorello is listed as a known associate of Joe Profaci along with guys like Luciano, Costello, and Mangano. (https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... elPageId=5)

Also, the feds made a mistake with his birth date. They list at as 6-30-07. According to his WW2 draft card, it was June 3rd 1907.



He lived right next to his in-laws, the LiMandris in Belleville, NJ; before moving out to California by 1950. If he was a member, I wonder when and where he was made.

It looks he wasn't made, but excellent infos, thanks. Indeed for an associate, he was more than well surrounded in that list

So for bosses-

DeSimone
Dragna
Ardizzone
DeSimone
DiGiorgio?

All good https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... =Dippolito

[JoelTurner]

(https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... lPageId=14)

This document identifies Peter Giammona (LA T-4) and Antonio Bruno (LA T-9) as members.

The document is from 1968; I don’t know if LA made people anyone between 1963-68 though.

[Antiliar]

So for bosses-

DeSimone
Dragna
Ardizzone
DeSimone
DiGiorgio?

Correct:

Vito Di Giorgio, 1921-1922?
Rosario Desimone, c1922-c1925
Giuseppe Ernesto (Joseph) Ardizzone, c1925-1931
Ignazio (Jack) Dragna, 1931-1956
Frank Desimone, 1956-1967

[Antiliar]

(https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... lPageId=14)

This document identifies Peter Giammona (LA T-4) and Antonio Bruno (LA T-9) as members.

The document is from 1968; I don’t know if LA made people anyone between 1963-68 though.

Peter Giammona moved from Contra Costa County sometime between 1942 and 1950, so he may have transferred from the San Jose Family. Prima facie he was probably related to Angelo Giammona of Modesto, who was sponsored by John Misuraca. Pietro Salvatore Giammona was born in 1904 and the son of Ciro (Charles) Giammona, originally of Giardinello, Palermo, Sicily, and later of Oakland, California, and Rosalia (Rose) Misuraca, also of Giardinello. Pietro arrived with his mother in 1905 with a destination of Grand Rapids, Michigan. By 1910 they lived in St. Louis, Missouri. By 1950, Peter and his wife Vivian and their children lived in Long Beach, Los Angeles, California. He died in 1980. It turns out that Angelo Giammona of Modesto was Peter's younger brother.

Judging by his father's obit, Peter was already living in L.A. County by 1948:

Oakland Tribune 1948Dec17 Ciro Giammona obit.jpg

Tony Bruno, if it's the same guy, worked as a bartender for Albert Marco in the 1920s and was active until the 1930s. Not sure if he was related to Sam Bruno, whose real name was Bartolotta and died in Detroit in 1954. Bruno was born in 1896 in San Giuseppe Jato and didn't marry until 1950 when he lived at 431 El Camino Drive, Beverly Hills. His wife was Carmela Mazzola.

[B.]

Bill Feather has Antonio "Tony Bruno" Bartolotta (b. 1896) as Sam's brother but we know there are occasional errors on his lists. Sam Bruno definitely came from Cinisi but no idea about his brother or whether this Tony Bruno is the same guy.

A FamilySearch tree only lists one brother for Rosalino "Sam Bruno" Bartolotta named Matteo though those are sometimes incomplete.

[PolackTony]

Bill Feather has Antonio "Tony Bruno" Bartolotta (b. 1896) as Sam's brother but we know there are occasional errors on his lists. Sam Bruno definitely came from Cinisi but no idea about his brother or whether this Tony Bruno is the same guy.

A FamilySearch tree only lists one brother for Rosalino "Sam Bruno" Bartolotta named Matteo though those are sometimes incomplete.

FWIW, it seems possible that Rosolino could've had a brother named Antonino. When Rosolino first arrived to Detroit, he listed his contact there as his brother, Salvatore Bartolotta. A guy who seems to match him listed a brother named Vito on another passenger manifest, and in turn a Vito Bartolotta listed a brother named Antonino. Rosolino Bartolotta stated that his father back in Cinisi was named Matteo Bartolotta; just based on traditional naming conventions, if that were his father's name, you'd expect that he would not have also had a brother named Matteo, but who knows.

Feather also lists Tsidora [sic] "Syd Bruno" Bartolotta and Domiano [sic] "Danny Bruno" Bartolotta as LA members during the period in question for this chart. But then Feather seemed to think that their father was a "Salvatore". These were in fact sons of Rosolino Bartolotta and wife Anna Rubino (b. 1898 in Terrasini): Dominic Bartolotta, AKA Dominic Bruno (b. 1919 in Detroit), and Isidoro Bartolotta, AKA Sidney Bruno (b. 1928 in LA).

I have no idea myself if the sons were ever positively ID'd as actual members but thought it worth adding them here for discussion.