Frank Costello as a Member/Representative

[Angelo Santino]

Frank Costello falls into the annuals of lore like Capone and Luciano in that you have The Man and the Legend. The latter we are all familiar with- major political connections "he carries around in his pocket," national gambling ventures, "Prime Minister of OC" etc.

Joe Bonanno described Costello as Boss and also the "Leader of the Liberal Faction" on the commission. This right here, the description of him as a political leader among leaders in the Mafia, would strongly imply that he was very much a part of and connected to the world. He wasn't "just a racketeer" who "didn't care about all that greaseball hogwash." I recall one article where the writer claimed he could not envision Costello ever having gone through a ceremony and that no books ever described it. That's a false logic and I'd argue that how he functioned as a boss is just as unknown as Tom Gagliano's tenure.

Valachi doesn't cover Costello much, upon first read I got the idea that Costello was an absentee boss who left the administration duties to the captains, that he was thrust into the position due to Luciano and Genovese's absence and that his old might have been weak, especially after Moretti's removal which paved the way for Genovese to take over. Scrap all that.

There was a recent find which described Costello pushing for a Napolitan to take over New England, there are also reports of both he and Anastasia connected or in contact with mainland criminal bosses. Another report explained that Anastasia was trying to allow non-Mafia mainlanders to be able to "transfer" to the American LCN.

I would argue that the Genovese Brugad of the 70's and 80's was likely more influenced by Costello's tenure from 1937 until 1957 than Genovese from 1957 5o 1959. Genovese took over/inherited the ship for two years that Costello steered previously for two decades. We see, in 1963, that the family was primarily of mainland extraction. There are Sicilians, even Sicilians connected to Sicily, who are members but they are in the minority and seem scattered, there isn't a Sicilian decina in 1963.

If Costello was paesani-oriented it would make sense for him to be connected to New England, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago and at least lend his political backing to those he felt were like-minded ie "liberal" which in that world translated to a non-traditional Sicilian.

[motorfab]

Frank Costello falls into the annuals of lore like Capone and Luciano in that you have The Man and the Legend. The latter we are all familiar with- major political connections "he carries around in his pocket," national gambling ventures, "Prime Minister of OC" etc.

Joe Bonanno described Costello as Boss and also the "Leader of the Liberal Faction" on the commission. This right here, the description of him as a political leader among leaders in the Mafia, would strongly imply that he was very much a part of and connected to the world. He wasn't "just a racketeer" who "didn't care about all that greaseball hogwash." I recall one article where the writer claimed he could not envision Costello ever having gone through a ceremony and that no books ever described it. That's a false logic and I'd argue that how he functioned as a boss is just as unknown as Tom Gagliano's tenure.

Valachi doesn't cover Costello much, upon first read I got the idea that Costello was an absentee boss who left the administration duties to the captains, that he was thrust into the position due to Luciano and Genovese's absence and that his old might have been weak, especially after Moretti's removal which paved the way for Genovese to take over. Scrap all that.

There was a recent find which described Costello pushing for a Napolitan to take over New England, there are also reports of both he and Anastasia connected or in contact with mainland criminal bosses. Another report explained that Anastasia was trying to allow non-Mafia mainlanders to be able to "transfer" to the American LCN.

I would argue that the Genovese Brugad of the 70's and 80's was likely more influenced by Costello's tenure from 1937 until 1957 than Genovese from 1957 5o 1959. Genovese took over/inherited the ship for two years that Costello steered previously for two decades. We see, in 1963, that the family was primarily of mainland extraction. There are Sicilians, even Sicilians connected to Sicily, who are members but they are in the minority and seem scattered, there isn't a Sicilian decina in 1963.

If Costello was paesani-oriented it would make sense for him to be connected to New England, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago and at least lend his political backing to those he felt were like-minded ie "liberal" which in that world translated to a non-traditional Sicilian.

I often read in books by Antonio Nicaso that according to the Italian police, Frank Costello & Albert Anastasia had connections with the boss of Siderno Antonio Macri, and would have facilitated the incursion of the Siderno Group in Ontario.

I don't know if everything is true in there, but I always thought it made sense, and it gives weight in any case to your post

[Pogo The Clown]

Frank liked to worry so he paid off the cops.


Pogo

[PolackTony]

There was a recent find which described Costello pushing for a Napolitan to take over New England, there are also reports of both he and Anastasia connected or in contact with mainland criminal bosses. Another report explained that Anastasia was trying to allow non-Mafia mainlanders to be able to "transfer" to the American LCN.

If Costello was paesani-oriented it would make sense for him to be connected to New England, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago and at least lend his political backing to those he felt were like-minded ie "liberal" which in that world translated to a non-traditional Sicilian.

From a paper by Anna Sergi. I've seen other citations in Italian sources on the 'Ndrangheta that state that Italian LE/Rome had intel that Costello and Anastasia were meeting/coordinating with 'Ndrangheta leaders in Italy, Canada, and Australia.

If Costello was paesani-oriented it would make sense for him to be connected to New England, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago and at least lend his political backing to those he felt were like-minded ie "liberal" which in that world translated to a non-traditional Sicilian.

Funny thing is that Bonanno never mentioned Chicago as part of Costello's "liberal faction". You'd think he'd take any opportunity to paint Chicago as adversarial to his interests (though by the '70s we know that Bonanno was also making overtures of friendship to Chicago to regain his LCN recognition and his guys in AZ seem to have been working with Chicago guys there). Bonanno otherwise says that Chicago enjoyed a "quasi-independent status" vis-a-vis NYC politics (which I read as them having domain over their affairs and that of Families that they represented, while not embroiling themselves in the political fighting within the NYC Families unless asked to) and that Chicago would endorse the majority opinion reached by the NYC bosses (I would strongly assume that this was the case when it was NYC-related stuff before the Commission, not matters that directly affected Chicago and its client Families). The other Families you mentioned I'd think during the Costello/Anastasia period were probably in their "liberal" camp, though. We know from the Accardo-Giancana wiretap that Patriarca and Joe Ida were on the Commission in the '50s. So was Zerilli, but given what we can glean about Costello and Anastasia, they may have been stacking the Commission with their loyalists (2 to 1 in their favor for new seats, presumably). There's also a comment reported from Kelly Mannarino that seems to state that Pittsburgh had a seat on the "Grand Council", though Accardo didn't mention them in the wiretap.

With Chicago, my picture has been that they were closer to Vito than to Costello, but there's really so much that we don't know. My suspicion is that they probably had good relationships with both and, again, my guess is that Chicago typically kept its distance from internal NYC politics when possible (they stayed out of NYC's internal affairs and likewise, for the most part, is my guess). Another figure who I'd really wonder about in relation to Costello and Anastasia would be Dom Ruberto, as he was an American Calabrese LCN member deported back to Italy. There's an apparent photo of Ruberto with Luciano in Naples, and later CI accounts stated that Ruberto kept very close ties from back in Italy with his cousin Frank LaPorte in Chicago Heights. I'd assume that Ruberto was still considered a Chicago member overseas, but who knows what he was doing in Italy. As you and I both are well aware, the Ruberto surname was a very important one in their area of Catanzaro province with respect to the history of the 'Ndrangheta. If it was actually the case that Anastasia wanted to transfer Mainlanders into American LCN a la Sicilian mafiosi, then I really wonder what Ruberto was doing vis-a-vis the local Calabrian mafia and if it had any connections to Costello and Anastasia's apparent maneuverings.

[Angelo Santino]

Good question.

From 1931 until 1957 we're really in the dark in terms of the membership protocol. We are under the impression that "the books" were largely closed until the 1950's and then closed again. We don't know if the caps existed back then, whether or not deceased members could be replaced. We know there's examples of it happening.

Another factor is family switching. According to Ray Patriarca he was made by Costello and transferred to New England and was backed politically by him for boss later on. We know this was used as a way to get around the ban, Alphonse Persico was made in Scranton and then transferred to the Colombos at a time when there weren't any open slots for membership.

Nick Gentile speaks of Masseria making members and trying to install them into other families to form a parliament (my words) that would politically support his BOB tenure. I'm wondering if the Gens continued this "subversive" behavior under Costello. Him supporting/transferring mainlanders into other families isn't too different than Schiro supporting/transferring CDG members transferring into other Families. Granted Schiro's guys seemingly walked into leadership positions, the dynamic is still similar but perhaps on a more subtler level.

[PolackTony]

Good question.

From 1931 until 1957 we're really in the dark in terms of the membership protocol. We are under the impression that "the books" were largely closed until the 1950's and then closed again. We don't know if the caps existed back then, whether or not deceased members could be replaced. We know there's examples of it happening.

Another factor is family switching. According to Ray Patriarca he was made by Costello and transferred to New England and was backed politically by him for boss later on. We know this was used as a way to get around the ban, Alphonse Persico was made in Scranton and then transferred to the Colombos at a time when there weren't any open slots for membership.

Nick Gentile speaks of Masseria making members and trying to install them into other families to form a parliament (my words) that would politically support his BOB tenure. I'm wondering if the Gens continued this "subversive" behavior under Costello. Him supporting/transferring mainlanders into other families isn't too different than Schiro supporting/transferring CDG members transferring into other Families. Granted Schiro's guys seemingly walked into leadership positions, the dynamic is still similar but perhaps on a more subtler level.

With the Masseria thing, the obvious examples were Capone and LaMare, with Masseria apparently promising to recognize both of them as bosses of their respective target families once they took out his opposition (with Capone, that didn’t wind up happening until after Masseria’s death, presumably because he wasn’t successful in wiping out Aiello until later; difference between Schirò and Masseria’s maneuvering was that the latter was doing it while in the process of careening the mafia into a major war). Obviously both Mainlanders, and like you’ve I’ve been wondering whether this set a precedent for the Genovese (which I guess might be more historically accurate to call the Costello Family, as I agree that Costello likely had a bigger impact in shaping that Family as we’ve come to understand it) to continue these sorts of maneuvers later.

[Antiliar]

My opinion is that Chicago basically rubber stamped whatever the Genoveses said on the Commission. I would guess Chicago enjoyed a good relationship with the Bonannos until the late 1950s when he was "planting flags." The 1932 kidnapping case involving "Dago" Lawrence Mangano and Angelo Caruso, for example.

We see later that Anthony Carfano, the powerful Brooklyn capo who succeeded Frankie Yale, was a Costello loyalist. I suspect Joe Adonis might have been also, until he was deported in 1951 (if I recall the year correctly). Adonis was considered a big shot who was connected to Murder Incorporated. Of course Willie Moretti was a major Costello supporter. So by the time Costello was shot he had lost at least two of his biggest supporters.

Other sources besides Valachi say he was aloof to his own men, and we see at least two members who almost got physical with him despite Costello being a boss. It all suggests Vito was more popular inside his own brugad.

[Boatdrinks]

Just done some quick checks to verify some dates.
Joe Aiello died in October 1930.
Joe Masseria died in April 1931.
Joe Adonis was deported in 1956.

[PolackTony]

Just done some quick checks to verify some dates.
Joe Aiello died in October 1930.
Joe Masseria died in April 1931.
Joe Adonis was deported in 1956.

When I said that Capone didn’t “wipe out” Aiello until “later”, I meant later than 1928 when Masseria made Capone into his Family with the apparent promise of recognizing him as boss of Chicago if he killed Lombardo and Aiello, not that Aiello was killed subsequently to Masseria. Presumably, if Capone had killed both Lombardo and Aiello in 1928, Masseria — once D’Aquila was out and he was BoB — would have then been able to have Capone installed as Chicago boss at that point. At least this seems to have been their plan, though obviously things worked out a bit differently.

[PolackTony]

My opinion is that Chicago basically rubber stamped whatever the Genoveses said on the Commission. I would guess Chicago enjoyed a good relationship with the Bonannos until the late 1950s when he was "planting flags." The 1932 kidnapping case involving "Dago" Lawrence Mangano and Angelo Caruso, for example.

What’s interesting is that in the same wiretap referenced above, Accardo advised Giancana that the votes that he could count on were Vito, Bonnano, Profaci, Ida, Maggadino, and Zerilli (he was saying this to illustrate that with these votes there would be a majority, as Accardo stated that the Commission consisted of 12 men and 6 votes would be a “stand-off”). So these seem to have been Chicago’s principal allies on the Commission. As Chicago had its own interests and Bonanno did not include them in the “liberal” faction, my guess is that they probably agreed to ratify whatever decisions regarding NY interests that the NY bosses came to agreement on (Bonanno says as much) but that when Chicago had its own matters at stake they had a coalition that may not have conformed to the liberal/conservative divide that Bonanno drew.

This was, of course, also the same conversation where Accardo subsequently flies into a rage and makes the “planting flags” claim after Giancana informed him of Bonanno’s latest maneuvering. We can see the beginning of a rift opening right in front of us in the transcript (one of several things that make it a remarkable and valuable document), and we know where that wound up heading. These guys were enemies, than friends, than enemies again, and than apparently friends again.

[antimafia]

Just corroborating what Fab and Tony wrote in their posts about Costello and Anastasia. These two mobsters had critical influence in trying to 1. shape the interaction between the American LCN and the ’ndrangheta in Ontario, and 2. mitigate the likelihood that the ‘ndrine in Ontario would come into conflict with one another.

We’ve discussed this before -- see viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4122&p=187093&hilit=Letizia#p18709, for example.

[Boatdrinks]

With regard to Joe Adonis, I was pretty sure of the 1956 deportation date. I checked that with the Joe Adonis biography on Thomas Hunt's 'MafiaHistory' internet site. This confirmed 1956. However, there were more details that I recalled, but I could not recall the source. I still cannot. I have just looked at the Wikipedia biography of Joe Adonis. This said Adonis was imprisoned in 1951, released in 1953, and in 1956 he left America of his own accord. This matches the memory I have of a source, though as said, I cannot recall the source.
Joe Adonis leaving America in 1956, and Vito Genovese making his move against Frank Costello in 1957, speaks for itself. These two events would seem to be linked, with one leading to the other.

[Boatdrinks]

With regard to Al Capone, the story of him becoming recognized as Boss of Chicago by Joe Masseria, is a story that Joe Bonanno himself said he heard. Bonanno says this as he describes the causes of the Castellammarese War, and he seems to find the offer to Capone as being astonishing.

[PolackTony]

With regard to Al Capone, the story of him becoming recognized as Boss of Chicago by Joe Masseria, is a story that Joe Bonanno himself said he heard. Bonanno says this as he describes the causes of the Castellammarese War, and he seems to find the offer to Capone as being astonishing.

As CC noted above, Masseria seems to have been intent on installing loyalists in other families to form a bloc indebted to him and thus a base of support (as CC also notes, Cola Schirò seems to have done the same with his loyalists earlier, and Gentile claimed that Maranzano “reorganized” the NYC Families with bosses that he wanted for the same reasons). Masseria seems to have put in LaMare, also a Mainlander like Capone, with the same aim in Detroit. What was ironic with Capone, things didn’t work out as Masseria apparently envisioned and Capone wound up becoming recognized as boss after setting Masseria up with Luciano and apparently putting himself in the position that Masseria had to deal with him in order to secure his own recognition as BoB.

[Antiliar]

With regard to Joe Adonis, I was pretty sure of the 1956 deportation date. I checked that with the Joe Adonis biography on Thomas Hunt's 'MafiaHistory' internet site. This confirmed 1956. However, there were more details that I recalled, but I could not recall the source. I still cannot. I have just looked at the Wikipedia biography of Joe Adonis. This said Adonis was imprisoned in 1951, released in 1953, and in 1956 he left America of his own accord. This matches the memory I have of a source, though as said, I cannot recall the source.
Joe Adonis leaving America in 1956, and Vito Genovese making his move against Frank Costello in 1957, speaks for itself. These two events would seem to be linked, with one leading to the other.

Thanks. I was out and didn't have access to my material and couldn't recall all the details, but we agree that there was a probable link.