DeCavalcante family - 1963

[JoelTurner]

Here's the info I had for the DeCavalcante family in 1963. Please add any information or corrections that you have.

------------

Former Bosses

Phil Bacino: ?-? (In IL by 1930)
Phil Amari: ?-1958 (Moved to Italy)

------------

Administration

Boss

NICHOLAS AMORUSO
(Nick Delmore)
DOB: Dec 23 1891
POB: Nicosia, Italy
F: Luigi Amoruso
M: Providenzia Rizzo
W: Ernestine Wakefield
Previous wife: Loretta Sexton
Occupation: Real estate salesman
Address: 675 Westwood Ave, Long Branch, NJ
Former Addresses: 4 Snyder Ave, Berkeley Heights, NJ; 9 Leslie Pl, Irvington, NJ; 21 Pierce St, Newark, NJ
Death: Feb 2 1964

Underboss

SIMONE PAUL RIZZO DECAVALCANTE
(Sam the Plumber)
DOB: Mar 3 1911
POB: NYC, NY
F: Frank Rizzo DeCavalcante
M: Marie Antoinette Occhipinti
W: Mary Abrams
Occupation: Plumbing/heating supply
Address: 167 Cleveland Ave, Trenton, NJ
Previous Addresses: 6040 Broad St, Philadelphia, PA; 114 N Euclid Ave, Westfield, NJ
Death: Feb 7 1997

Consigliere: N/A

Captains: Unsure if there were captains pre-1964.

Frank Cocchiaro; Paul Farina; Louis LaRasso; Joe LoLordo, and John Riggi were later identified

------------

Members:


Estimated # of Members: 35

North Jersey

FRANK THOMAS MAJURI
(Big Frank, Frank Gagliano)
DOB: Apr 18 1909
POB: NYC, NY
F: Calogero Majuri
M: Giovanna Catalinotto
W: Carmela Caruano
Occupation: Vice President of Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 635 Ercama St, Linden, NJ
Previous Addresses: 446 Livingston St, Elizabeth, NJ
FBI #: 1102386
SBI #: 96262
Death: Apr 04 1999
Family from Corleone

SALVATORE CATERNICCHIO
(Skinny Sal)
DOB: Jan 2 1904
POB: Ribera, Italy
W: Mary Aquilina
Occupation: Labor foreman - Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 314 Amity St, Elizabeth, NJ
FBI #: 3926472
SBI #: 99312
Death: Apr 1989

LOUIS ANTHONY LARASSO
(Fat Lou, Luciano)
DOB: Nov 13 1926
POB: Elizabeth, NJ
F: Alfonso Larasso
M: Mary Lobrutto
W: Stephanie Idec
Occupation: Labor foreman - Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 2711 Bradbury Ave, Linden, NJ
FBI #: 745765C
SBI #: 261743
Death: Nov 11 1991
Family from Ribera

ALFONSO LARASSO
DOB: Feb 2 1890
POB: Ribera, Italy
W: Mary Lobrutto
Occupation: Janitor/Clerk - Standard Oil
Address: 315 Spencer St, Elizabeth, NJ
Previous Addresses: 624 3rd Ave, Elizabeth, NJ
Death: Nov 1964

CARMELO CORSENTINO
(Carmine, Carl)
DOB: Jan 4 1895
POB: Ribera, Italy
W: Mary Colletti
Occupation: Railroad laborer - Standard Oil
Address: 624 2nd Ave, Elizabeth, NJ
Death: May 13 1995

NICHOLAS QUARINO
DOB: Apr 16 1906
POB: Elizabeth, NJ
F: Michael Quarino
M: Vincenza Quartararo
W: Emma Cantillo
Occupation: Self Employed [Worked as a driver for Nick Delmore]
Address: 331 Center St, Elizabeth, NJ
Previous Addresses: 847 4th Ave, Elizabeth, NJ
Death: Mar 1988
Family from Agrigento, Italy

JOSEPH LEONARD SFERRA
(Joe Tiger)
DOB: Dec 28 1913
POB: Elizabeth, NJ
F: Pasquale Sferra
M: Josephine Genova
Occupation: Business Agent of Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 629 2nd Ave, Elizabeth, NJ
Previous Addresses: 214 High St, Elizabeth, NJ; 321 John St, Elizabeth, NJ
Death: Apr 21 1988
Family from Ribera, Italy

JOSEPH COCCHIARO
DOB: Mar 6 1893
POB: Ribera, Italy
W: Nellie Spinella
Occupation: Laborer - Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 471 Irvington Ave, Elizabeth, NJ
Previous Addresses: 344 Union Ave, Elizabeth, NJ; 201 3rd Ave East Northport, NY
Death: Mar 1979

JOHN MICHAEL RIGGI
(Uncle John)
DOB: Feb 1 1925
POB: Elizabeth, NJ
F: Emanuele Riggi
M: Francesca Nufrio
W: Sara DiLeo
Occupation: Business Agent of Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 1115 W Henry St, Linden, NJ
FBI #: 979891
SBI #: 359718
Death: Aug 3 2015

EMMANUELE RIGGI
(Manuel)
DOB: May 19 1903
POB: Ribera, Italy
F: Giovanni Riggi
M: Filippa
W: Francesca Nufrio
Occupation: Retired; former Business Agent of Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 155 Donaldson PL, Linden, NJ
Death: Mar 12 1983

GIACOMO COLLETTI
(Jake)
DOB: Jan 18 1900
POB: Ribera, Italy
W: Francesca
Occupation: Laborer - Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 28 S 7th St, Elizabeth, NJ
Previous Addresses: 333 John St, Elizabeth, NJ
Death: 1987

PAOLO FARINA
(Paul)
Jul 2 1926
Occupation: Laborer - Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 105 Ash St, Cateret, NJ

South Jersey

JOHN ANGELO GIORDANO
(Tracey)
DOB: May 17 1910
POB: Trenton, NJ
W: Kathleen Violente
Address: 4 Roseville Ln, Allentown, NJ
Previous Address: 523 New Willow St, Trenton, NJ
FBI #: 918684
SBI #: 14794
Death: Dec 12 1997

New York

FRANK ANTHONY COCCHIARO
(Condi, Frank Coch)
DOB: Oct 29 1920
POB: NYC, NY
F: Rosario Cocchiaro
M: Frances LaGaipa
W: Jess Pagnotta
Occupation: Longshoresman
Address: 134 1st Ave, NYC, NY
FBI #: 4694212
SBI #: 35934A
Death: Nov 7 1985
Family from Agrigento, Italy

JOSEPH ANTHONY GIACCOBE
(Uncle Joe)
DOB: Jul 2 1923
POB: NYC, NY
F: Lorenzo Giacobbe
M: Giovanna “Jenny” LaBella
W: Antoinette Gianni
Address: 21-14 47th St, Queens, NY
Previous Addresses: 1447 76 & 75 St-2nd Avenue, NY, NY
Death: Jul 23 2015
Family from Ribera, Italy

GIUSEPPE LOLORDO
(Joseph)
DOB: Jan 3 1898
POB: Ribera, Italy
F: Vincenzo LoLordo
M: Giovanna LNU
W: Anna Cascio
Occupation: Construction
Address: 2370 32nd St, Queens, NY
Previous residences: Chicago, IL ; Los Angeles, CA
Death: Nov 15 1978

PIETRO GALLETTA
(Pete Gallo)
DOB: April 24 1896
POB: Ribera, Italy
F: Francesco Galletta
M: Spina Bruscianella
W: Lilippa Di Giorgi
Occupation: Laborer - Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 41 W Farm Lane, Commack, NY
Previous Addresses: 24-32 23 St, Queens, NY
Death: Dec 13 1998

ANTONIO ROCCO STAITI
(Tony the Napper)
DOB: Sep 10 1920
POB: Portchester, NY
F: Frank Staiti
M: Louise Grandinetti
Occupation: Laborer - Local No. 394, Hod Carriers Union
Address: 2080 E 53rd St, Brooklyn, NY
Previous Addresses: 224 Williams St, Rye, NY
FBI #: 470567F
Death: Dec 21 2001

Connecticut

MICHAEL PUGLIA
(Mickey Poole)
DOB: Jun 5 1915
POB: Bridgeport, CT
F: Anthony Puglia
M: Assunta “Susan” Vicinanzo
W: Emma Koshal
Address: 383 Myrtle Ave, Bridgeport, CT
Death: Dec 5 1973

JOSEPH LASELVA
(Joe Buff)
DOB: Aug 17 1907
POB: Waterbury, CT
F: Leonardo Laselva
M: Maria Louisa
W: Lucille Angelicola (Divorced)
Occupation: Laborer
Address: 72 Dalton Ave, Waterbury, CT
Previous Addresses: 119 Scoville St, Waterbury, CT
Death: Sep 1983
Family from Calabria

ANTHONY ROSARIO LASELVA
(Tony Buff, Raymond)
DOB: May 28 1920
POB: Waterbury, CT
F: Leonardo Laselva
M: Maria Louisa
W: Margaret Reynolds
Occupation: Manufacturing
Address: 150 Seymour St, Waterbury, CT
Previous Addresses: 119 Scoville St, Waterbury, CT
FBI #: 282622E
Death: Sep 6 1995
Family from Calabria

GAETANO LASELVA
(Tommy Buff, Kay)
DOB: Feb 2 1911
POB: Waterbury, CT
F: Leonardo Laselva
M: Maria Louisa
W: Mary Santamaria
Address: 175 Monroe St, Waterbury, CT
Previous Addresses: 119 Scoville St, Waterbury, CT
FBI #: 386767
Death: Apr 23 1993

[B.]

Great job.

- Sam DeCavalcante was also the acting boss at this time.

- Have you seen anything confirming Alfonso LaRasso? I agree he was a likely member but the closest I've seen is a reference to his funeral on the DeCavalcante tapes.

- There's a report from 1963 that says Frank Cocchiaro was already a capodecina. I know it's believed the captains were all appointed by Sam DeCavalcante but that report predates him becoming boss. Deceased captains were Frank DeCavalcante and Lorenzo Giacobbe, so there were earlier captains for sure. Since captains are technically demoted when a new boss takes over maybe some of the confusion comes from Sam reappointing people, not sure.

- Possible member is Pietro Colletti. Met with Sam on the FBI tapes and Sam referred to him as an "old mustache". The meeting was related to loansharking. Likely from Ribera like the other Collettis.

- FBI had the Marsala brothers in NYC as suspected members, Accursio and Lorenzo Marsala from Caltabellotta. They worked for Local 394 and attended the wedding of Frank Majuri's daughter.

- DeCavalcante tapes ID'd "Joe Patrino" (ph) as a member related to NY-based member Pietro Galletta. Possibly from Ribera given the Galletta relation. No idea who it is.

- Another mysterious person ID'd as a member was "Jerry Perrone" (ph), whose son Frank was married to the daughter of member Nick Quarino.

- Vincenzo LaBarbera and John LaMela were members. Looks like both were born in Tampa to families from Alessandria della Rocca.

- Dominic Rizzo of Staten Island ID'd by the FBI as a suspected member in 1969, so if he was a possible member that would be true in 1963 as well. No idea if this is a relative of the Rizzo DeCavalcantes but some of Sam's relatives used the original Rizzo name.

- Other members were Anthony Carubia (NYC, family from Ribera), possibly Marco Carubia (NYC, though he was possibly w/ the Gambinos), Vincenzo DiMaria (Ribera I believe), Joseph Guerriero (CT), Louis DiGiovanna (CT, family from Agrigento), Larry Schiro (NYC), Frank Carbone (CT), Carmen LNU, and "Maddiani" (ph). "Maddiani" could be Joseph Mariani of Orange NJ who owned a bar in Camden and was ID'd as an associate of Sam DeCavalcante.

- Family reportedly had a consiglio that included capodecina Giacomo Colletti and soldier Salvatore Caterinicchia a few years later. If it existed in 1963 they were probably already on it given they already had stature.

EDIT: These are from my notes. Need to double-check to see if "Joe Patrino" and "Jerry Perrone" were definitely confirmed as members or just suspected but I had them down as members.

[B.]

Not worth including them on the chart since they were dead and their roles can't be confirmed, but these guys were likely early members if not leaders:

- Michele and Giuseppe Merlo. First known Riberesi in Elizabeth and co-founders of the Ribera Club. Stango said Joe Merlo Jr.'s ancestors "started this whole thing" and were the "root of the tree". I don't believe they started the Family itself, which may have began in Manhattan, but they very well could have been the first NJ leaders.

- Carmelo Giacobbe. NYC-based uncle of Phil Bacino and elder brother of capodecina Lorenzo Giacobbe. Bacino arrived to him when he came to the US.

Also Phil Bacino was in Chicago long before 1930.

[PolackTony]

Also Phil Bacino was in Chicago long before 1930.

Bacino was definitely in Chicago by 1928 at the latest, which is when he filed his naturalization there (tangential to this topic, but worth noting that one of his witnesses was a guy from Piane Crati, Cosenza, who lived near the LoLordos/DeGeorges/Dianas; Piane Crati was where Rocky Infelise’s family was from). While we know that Bacino arrived to Carmelo Giacobbe in NYC in 1923, so far as I’m aware there’s no record that actually shows him living in NYC. He could’ve stayed for a couple of weeks, or months, or years. He doesn’t appear in the NYC public records that I’ve seen for 1924-1925, at least, though I’d imagine that these failed to capture many people actually resident in the city.

[JoelTurner]

- Have you seen anything confirming Alfonso LaRasso?

No he’s not actually confirmed.

- There's a report from 1963 that says Frank Cocchiaro was already a capodecina. I know it's believed the captains were all appointed by Sam DeCavalcante but that report predates him becoming boss. Deceased captains were Frank DeCavalcante and Lorenzo Giacobbe, so there were earlier captains for sure. Since captains are technically demoted when a new boss takes over maybe some of the confusion comes from Sam reappointing people, not sure.

That makes a lot of sense. I found it hard to believe that they wouldn’t have captains when they were so spread out.

- Another mysterious person ID'd as a member was "Jerry Perrone" (ph), whose son Frank was married to the daughter of member Nick Quarino.

Nick Quarino had 2 daughters: Margaret Muhlenforth and Virginia Luce.

Virginia may have been married several times as her sons are named Gerard Ricciardelli and Anthony Tittanegro.

As far as I can tell, neither of Quarino’s daughters were married to a Frank Perrone.

For what it’s worth, the Gambino-Newark capo Frank Perrone was married to a Messsina Fiasconaro

[B.]

Thanks Joel -- I need to see about the actual transcript, as I think it came from one of the books about the tapes.

[B.]

Follow-up...

- Re: Patrino, the "Sam the Plumber" book says "Joe Patrino" was a "member of Sam's Family" whose son had been causing trouble. "Patrino" was in Italy and Sam requested that the father take the son with him. It doesn't have the actual transcript so I don't know if the recording explicitly ID'd "Joe Patrino" as a member or if the book's author assumed that. As mentioned above, the Patrinos were relatives of Pietro Galletta who Sam met with about the issue and Sam apparently was responsible for helping the son out even though he was disrespectful which might be further indication "Joe Patrino" was a member.

- The Perrone reference is also from the "Sam the Plumber" book and again is not the actual transcript. It says Frank Perrone was married to Quarino's daughter and having marital issues, with Sam and LaRasso commenting that both Frank Perrone and his father Jerry were "rotten" and disliked. The book says both Jerry Perrone and Nick Quarino were DeCavalcante members. It says Jerry Perrone's brother-in-law was named "Roccamonte" and was not a Cosa Nostra member but well-liked and Sam wanted Roccamonte to help with the issue. It's evident this "Frank Perrone" is not the Gambino one, as they were under Sam's authority and he was willing to hurt them if Perrone didn't do the right thing in his marriage.

- In an earlier section, Sam met directly with Jerry and Frank Perrone, it saying Frank was married to Jean Quarino and Sam was acting as the girl's father while Nick Quarino was in jail. Nick's wife Emma Quarino was the one who complained to Sam about Frank Perrone's conduct toward their daughter. However later in this section the book confuses Jerry and Frank's names, saying Jerry Perrone was the son, however the book more consistently refers to Jerry as the father who was made with Sam's Family.

- Pete Colletti who was called a "mustache Pete" by DeCavalcante met with Sam so that Sam could loan out shylock money on Colletti's behalf. Colletti should def be included as a suspected member in my opinion as mentioned above.

- Louis LaRasso was direct with Sam DeCavalcante.

- According to CT captain Mickey Puglia, member Joe Guerriero's father-in-law was involved with them in gambling, possibly in connection w/ Boston. Any idea who Guerriero's father-in-law was?

--

Random side note, but while looking through "Sam the Plumber", Sam and LaRasso talk about how the books were closed in NYC, Philly, and Buffalo but not closed in Pittsburgh or Los Angeles.

John Riggi also talked to Sam about how the old timers in the Family resented Sam's "liberal rule" and once tried to convince Nick Delmore to kill DeCavalcante. However Riggi said under Sam's leadership the old timers had more respect and could speak more freely than they had been able to for 40 years (an indication the Family existed back in the early-mid 1920s).

[B.]

^^^
Since it says Quarino's daughter who married "Perrone" was named Jean and confirms her mother was Emma, she is likely Virginia Luce as her obituary says she went by Ginny which lends itself to Jean. Not familiar with the Luce surname but the marital issue with her husband "Frank Perrone" involved Perrone cheating on her and leaving his wife twice to run away with another woman. Could she have been married twice, with Robert Luce being a second husband if "Perrone" ran out on her? According to the book their marital problems were serious enough that Sam threatened "Frank Perrone" with violence and it was an ongoing issue.

As for Jerry Perrone's bro-in-law "Roccamonte", there was an Alfonso Roccamonte living in Linden (suburb of Elizabeth popular w/ DeCavalcantes) at one point. He and his wife are the only NJ Roccamontes I found. The Roccamonte mentioned in the book is explicitly said to not be a Cosa Nostra member despite being highly respected and Alfonso's wife may have been named Elsie (probably Elizabeth/Elisabetta) but I can't trace them well enough to identify a possible "Perrone" relation. It's possible Perrone is only a phonetic interpretation.

[thekiduknow]

- Re: Patrino, the "Sam the Plumber" book says "Joe Patrino" was a "member of Sam's Family" whose son had been causing trouble. "Patrino" was in Italy and Sam requested that the father take the son with him. It doesn't have the actual transcript so I don't know if the recording explicitly ID'd "Joe Patrino" as a member or if the book's author assumed that. As mentioned above, the Patrinos were relatives of Pietro Galletta who Sam met with about the issue and Sam apparently was responsible for helping the son out even though he was disrespectful which might be further indication "Joe Patrino" was a member.

- The Perrone reference is also from the "Sam the Plumber" book and again is not the actual transcript. It says Frank Perrone was married to Quarino's daughter and having marital issues, with Sam and LaRasso commenting that both Frank Perrone and his father Jerry were "rotten" and disliked. The book says both Jerry Perrone and Nick Quarino were DeCavalcante members. It says Jerry Perrone's brother-in-law was named "Roccamonte" and was not a Cosa Nostra member but well-liked and Sam wanted Roccamonte to help with the issue. It's evident this "Frank Perrone" is not the Gambino one, as they were under Sam's authority and he was willing to hurt them if Perrone didn't do the right thing in his marriage.

Is there an approximate date on when those conversations took place? I have the transcripts so I can try and find them and see if there's any more info/context.

[Angelo Santino]

Thank you for starting this.

Unfortunately I didn't hit save and my laptop restarted so I have to do half of Milwaukee again. Excel used to automatically save and have a recover feature but doesn't seem to be the case for me. Once I re-finish Milwaukee, I'll dive into this one.

Joel, you're a great addition here. Your interest and knowledge of NJ is amazing.

[Angelo Santino]

Phil Bacino is an interesting situation given that he never lived in Elizabeth. Maybe he was voted in as an absentee/traveling boss? As we know, a Rappresentante isn't an on-the-scene director, his job is a represent his group politically. I don't see any reason why Bacino couldn't do that from afar. It would be a very rare occurrence and the closest examples we have of that is Maranzano who was Trapani Provincial boss who lived in Palermo and John Tronolone in Florida who never lived in Cleveland and retired from Youngstown I believe to Florida in the 1960's and was made boss/representative in the 1980's. Joe Bruno and Joe Idea could be other examples but they weren't too far from Philly.

[B.]

His brother Luciano Bacino was ID'd as one of the leaders of the Ribera Family in the 40s/50s under Ciccio Montalbano. Don't know anything about Bacino's father but his brother's role and relation to the Giacobbes indicates his family probably had stature in the Ribera mafia clans before he came here. If there's any truth to him as a young short-term rappresentante it could have come from his family's reputation in Ribera. He was involved with the NJ Ribera Club from Chicago through the 1940s and his son married an Elizabeth girl he met at the wedding of Frank Majuri's daughter.

I agree we shouldn't limit ourselves to geography when trying to understand their history. The Manhattan/Queens crews were called the "old faction" by an informant and that's where the Riberesi were arriving by 1892 including surnames that produced members like Galletta and Carubia. Merlos arrive and head to Elizabeth by 1907, the Ribera Club is started in NJ in the 1920s and an informant says it's in the 1920s that the Riberesi really start to congeal in Elizabeth. Before that the Ribera Club (or what evolved into it) was said to hold their meetings in NYC.

The mystery of the Connecticut crew's origin is more or less solved in my mind, as a Ribera colony existed there by the 1910s and Lorenzo Giacobbe lived there before returning to NYC. Informant later said Giacobbe remained a point of contact for the CT guys. The crew's leaders later were non-Sicilians though, probably locals recruited by the early Riberese colony. An early power pre-LaSelva was said to be a guy named John Grande, dead by 1963.

Is there an approximate date on when those conversations took place? I have the transcripts so I can try and find them and see if there's any more info/context.

The meeting with the Perrones was March 29, 1965. The other references to Patrino and the Perrones are from mid and late June 1965. There is also another reference to Patrino somewhere but I'm having trouble finding it.

--

The member only identified as Carmen LNU could be Carmen DeAngelo, a Business Agent for a different union who met directly with Sam. No idea though

[JoelTurner]

- Other members were Anthony Carubia (NYC, family from Ribera)

Are you sure that he was with the DeCavs?

The New York Mafia site has an article saying he was a little-known Gambino member.

(https://theblackhand.club/anthony-carubia/)

[JoelTurner]

New York

ANTHONY CARUSO
(The Fox)
DOB: Aug 19 1898
POB: Sicily, IT
F: Angelo Caruso
M: Margarita Di Santi
W: Mary Marsiello
Occupation: Secretary-Treasurer of Full Front Garage
Address: 239 Park St, Manhattan, NY
FBI #: 1065429
Death: Apr 2 1968 [possibly wrong, he's on the 1983 documents]

---------

GIOVANNI LAMELA
(John, John Lonello)
DOB: Nov 15 1908
POB: Tampa, FL
W: Mildred
Occupation: Garbage hauling - Lamela Sanitation
Address: 91 Ridge rd, Marlboro, NY
FBI #: 904110
Death: Apr 1987

---------

Connecticut

JOSEPH GUERRIERO
(Pippy)
DOB: Aug 2 1916
POB: Hartford, CT
F: Sebastiano Guerriero
M: Josephine Lombardo
W: Rose Beatman
Occupation: Janitor
Address: 81 Nelton ct, Hartford, CT
Previous Address: 172 Temple St, Hartford, CT
Death: Apr 6 1993
Family from Priolo Gargallo, Syracuse, IT

[JoelTurner]

- According to CT captain Mickey Puglia, member Joe Guerriero's father-in-law was involved with them in gambling, possibly in connection w/ Boston. Any idea who Guerriero's father-in-law was?

Guerriero's father-in-law was Morris Beatman. Obviously not a member, but he does seem to have been involved in crime. An article in 1920 says he was on probation when he picked another charge.