Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Discuss all mafia families in the U.S., Canada, Italy, and everywhere else in the world.

Moderator: Capos

Post Reply
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

B. wrote: Tue Dec 27, 2022 9:53 pm Here's an interesting guy:

- Joseph Romano of Youngstown was described as the Sicilian facton's leader before surviving a 1960 shotgun attack then moved to Chicago. He spent time in Sharon PA after that where he associated with "members" previously involved with Sal Marino who by then was in San Jose.

- It looks like this is a Joseph Romano born in Altavilla Milicia in 1900 and living in Youngstown circa 1950 but died in Chicago in 1969. His wife was the sister of Angelo LaMantia of Chicago, who in turn was married to the sister of Milwaukee member Vito Aiello. The Aiellos' mother was the sister of Milwaukee boss Vito Guardalabene and their father Isidoro Aiello was a likely Milwaukee member.

Anyone familiar with Romano or seen other references to him? He appears to have been a Pittsburgh member but was obviously tied in with the Milwaukee and Chicago Families. He apparently spent the last 9 years of his life in Chicago.
Agreed that he's an interesting case.

Haven't seen any other mention of Joe "Stoneface" Romano apart from the same Youngstown FBI files that we discussed recently, which don't mention anything beyond what you've summarized here. Hopefully, JCB knows more about him.

Given that he was Miliciotto, totally unsurprising that Romano would have close connections to Chicago still later in life. Angelo LaMantia is another guy that I suspect was a possible Chicago member under Aiello who then transferred to Milwaukee (we know from Gavin that he was named as one of the guys allegedly running Milwaukee's Racine interests in the early 30s, IIRC).
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

Joseph Victor "Kong" Calato was born in 1950. At the time of his arrest in 1984 on gambling charges with Caesar DiVarco and Ronnie Ignoffo, it was noted that Calato lived in River Grove. This matches a 21-year-old Joseph Calato residing in River Grove mentioned in a (non-crime-related) 1971 Tribune article. Based on this info, Joe Kong's parents were Filippo "Phillip" Calato and Carmella "Carmen" Luglio.

Carmella Luglio was born in 1910 in Chicago to parents from Capizzi, Messina, also the hometown of he LaPietras. As with their other paesani and the larger community from neighboring Nicosia, Enna, the Luglios settled in Chinatown (in the Luglio's case, at 24th Pl & Stewart).

Filippo Calato was born in Chicago in 1901 to Gaetano Calato and Fortunata Calato (her maiden name) of Vicari, Palermo province. The couple arrived in Chicago in 1900. In 1901, Filippo was baptized at the Blessed Assumption Italian Parish on the Near Northside, with Vincenzo Nuccio and his wife Angelina Bucaro, both of Vicari, as his godparents. As it turns out, Fortunata Calato was the older sister of Maria Calato. mother of Chicago member Dominic Nuccio. In turn, Vincenzo Nuccio was the younger brother of Filippo Nuccio, Dom Nuccio's father and the husband of Maria Calato. Thus, Dom Nuccio, was Joe Kong's first cousin once removed. Possible that these Nuccios were also related to Maria Diadora Macaluso, mother of Chicago member Tony DeMonte, as she seems to have been from Campofelice di Fitalia (which neighbors Vicari) and her mother was a Nuccio. Also worth noting that Fortunata and Maria Calato's mother was a Farina, while their brother Francesco Calato married a Farina from Vicari in Chicago; the Marsalas, who controlled the mafia in Vicari for decades in the 20th century, are intermarried with Farinas. Further, the Calatos in Chicago have Pecoraro in-laws from Vicari, and Chicago boss Michele Merlo's wife was Maria Pecoraro from Vicari.

At some point, the Calatos returned to Vicari; while Filippo returned to Chicago (possibly in 1928), his parents and siblings remained in Vicari. After marrying Carmella in Chicago in 1939, the couple lived in the Homan Square neighborhood on the Westside, where they owned a six-flat apartment building at 3229 W Harrison, and Filippo worked as a building contractor and an employee of the Metropolitan Sanitation District of Greater Chicago.

By the 1960s, the Calatos had moved to River Grove, where Carmella died in 1967; Filippo died in River Grove in 1983, a year before Joe Kong was pinched in the Northside crew gambling case. Later addresses for Joe Calato were in Elmwood Park and Melrose Park (current). Given his relation to Dom Nuccio, it's unsurprising that Joe Kong was working under Northside crew guys like DiVarco and Pudgy Matassa in the 80s; given his residence, however, it's also unsurprising that he seems to later of been linked to West 'burbs guys like Buddy Ciotti, Joey DeVita, Angelo Volpe, and Carmine Bastone (per Joe Fosco).
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
funkster
Full Patched
Posts: 1410
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 5:52 pm

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by funkster »

He's younger than I realized.
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

Antonio "Mops" Volpe was born in 1892 in Santa Fe, Argentina, to Tomasso Volpe and Maria Perri of the frazione of Casenove in the comune of Decollatura, Catanzaro. The family returned to Calabria, as younger brother Domenico Volpe (who died in Cicero in 1948) was born in Decollatura. Later accounts stated that Mops Volpe arrived in the US illegally in 1906; his family can be located in Chicago by 1908, when eldest sister Fortunata Volpe married Gennaro Pellegrino, of Sambiase, Catanzaro (the hometown of the Rubertos and Liparotas/LaPortes) at Holy Guardian Angel Parish in the Taylor St Patch. In 1910, the Volpes were living with Gennaro and Fortunata in an apartment at Ewing (today Cabrini St) at Jefferson; Mops stated that he was working at a factor at this time. It's worth noting that probable mafioso Peppino Gambino, of Mazara del Vallo, who was murdered in 1910, was located close by at Jefferson and DeKoven. Gambino's son-in-law was a Francesco "Frank LaPorte" Liparota who was from Sambiase and may have been a cousin of the more famous Francesco Liparota of Chicago Heights. Like Mops Volpe, the Gambino/Liparota family was involved in the bloody mob wars of the 1920s in the Taylor St Patch.

viewtopic.php?p=222582#p222582

Antonio Volpe first appeared in the papers in 1916, already sporting the moniker "Tony Mops", when he was noted as operating a pool hall at Taylor and Blue Island (in coming years to be infamous as Genna/Trapanese Ground Zero) and accused of killing two men (Antonio "Joe/Pooch" Romagnono [sic] and Rocco "Hops" Carbone in a local gunfight (Mops claimed self-defense). Police claimed that Tony Mops was the head of local gang and that Pooch and Hops were members of a rival group. One of the alleged members of Volpe's group who was arrested with him at this time was noted in the papers by his nickname, "Nickelodeon"; Antiliar has stated that this was later Chicago member "Nicky Dean" Circella. It seems that a grand jury failed to indict Mops on the murder charges, as in 1917 he was shown as living at Taylor and Blue Island with his wife, Sara Johnston (who Mops married in 1915), and operating his pool hall; that same year, their son, Thomas Volpe, was born.

While in 1910, father Tomasso Volpe had been working as a street laborer, in a few years things were looking up for the Volpes. In 1917, Tomasso was operating a tavern at Taylor and Blue Island, near Mops's pool hall; eldest son Phillip Volpe (born in 1890 in Argentina; died in Chicago in 1947) was working for Tomasso as a bartender. I'm not positive, but this may have been the same tavern where Mops had engaged in the above gun battle. Another son, Giuseppe Volpe (born in 1893 in Argentina), had died in Chicago in 1911. By 1930, Mops's parents were living in Cicero at 19th & Cicero, just over the border from the city, with their youngest son Domenico. Tomasso Volpe died in 1948, while his wife Maria Perri Volpe died in 1953.

In 1921, the Tribune noted that Tony Mops was the secretary of Chicago member and Taylor St bigshot Diamond Joe Esposito; later articles would describe Mops as Esposito's "lieutenant", as well as Esposito's brother-in-law, though I wasn't able to verify a marriage connection between their families myself. Esposito was 20 years Mops's senior and his wife, Carmella Marchese, was born in Chicago to parents from San Fili, Cosenza (her mother was a Cesario, and thus it's possible that she was related to later Chicago member Sam Cesario, whose parents were also Cosentini).

In 1924, Mops Volpe was arrested with Messinese mobster Santo Gemelli and Cook County fire investigator Ben Newmark in a $1,000,000 war stamp counterfeiting ring. In 1928, Newmark was murdered after leaving prison, and the police questioned associates of Corleonese Chicago mafioso Giuseppe Nicolosi with regard to the killing (viewtopic.php?p=241488#p241488). In 1925, the Tribune reported that a "Tony Volpe", "brother" of "Mops Volpe" was arrested for connections to a large Chicago narcotics distribution ring (this may have been brother Phillip Volpe).

Of course, by 1928 Mops Volpe was appearing in the papers as a top "bodyguard" and " chief lieutenant" of Capone, along with fellow Taylor St Allstars Frank Nitto and Frankie Rio. In 1929, Mops was one of 54 men pinched in a major raid of a "Capone gang" gambling operation at 2200 S Michigan Ave, reportedly headed by Charlie Fischetti. In December of 1930, Mops was arrested at his home at 1500 N Menard (at Lemoyne) in the Austin neighborhood on the Westside on a vagrancy warrant. After seizing him, the Feds attempted to deport Mops, on the grounds that as a non-citizen, he had re-entered the US within 5 years of committing a crime of "moral turpitude" (his 1925 counterfeiting conviction) when he arrived from Cuba at FL on a 1928 trip with fellow passengers then-City Sealer Dan Serritella (later State Senator; also described as a "Capone lieutenant" by the papers), former Alderman Al Prignano (murdered by the outfit in 1936), then-Alderman Billy Pacelli, Rocky Fischetti, and Jake Guzik. Mops had had his prior naturalization status as a US citizen revoked in 1920 by a judge, leaving him open to deportation. After months of diplomatic back-and-forth in 1931, a deportation order by the Secretary of Labor was thwarted when both Argentina and Italy refused to accept Volpe. Another deportation attempt in the 1944 failed for different reasons. This time, Volpe had been arrested with Jimmy Belcastro for reputed use of "terrorist" tactics to control a violent election for Republican Committeeman in the 25th Ward. The FBI got involved, and the US unsuccessfully ordered Volpe deported to Italy, where it was reported that he had been naturalized as a citizen as a child; now that Mussolini was out of office, the Feds knew that the US-backed post-War Italian government would play ball. Years of legal battles ensued, however, while Mops remained in the US in limbo; meanwhile, little brother Domenico Volpe hung himself by a trowel in a Cicero hotel room in 1947. Finally, in 1949 Mops was freed on a writ of habeas corpus referencing an earlier ruling by an appeals court judge that the 1920 recension of his citizenship had been performed improperly. in 1953, the Feds again attempted to deport Mops by stripping him of his citizenship, and again failed.

After these citizenship battles, tony Mops disappeared from the local papers, until his death from a heart attack while dining at a Cicero restaurant in 1965. At the time, Mops worked as a baker and was living with wife Sarah in a two-flat at 1255 N Menard (at Potomac) in the Austin neighborhood. The Tribune reported that his funeral was attended by only a very small number of family and friends.

Marriage of Fortunata Volpe and Gennaro Pellegrino at Holy Guardian Angel Parish in 1908:
Image
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
User avatar
Antiliar
Full Patched
Posts: 4365
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:08 pm
Contact:

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by Antiliar »

Great writeup
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by B. »

Amazing stuff, didn't know he was Calabrian. So DeRose's belief that he was a former New Yorker with the Five Points gang doesn't seem to have any substance.
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

B. wrote: Tue Jan 17, 2023 6:37 pm Amazing stuff, didn't know he was Calabrian. So DeRose's belief that he was a former New Yorker with the Five Points gang doesn't seem to have any substance.
Nope. I think the papers were probably not wrong when they described him as the "protege" of Diamond Joe. DeRose, I'd imagine, had probably heard some stuff about some Capone guys having connections to the "Five Points" thing and perhaps erroneously identified Mops as one of them.
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

Also worth posting the reminder here that when CPD raided the Taylor St home of “Cavaliero” Spano in 1925, they found correspondence with Capone and documents showing that Spano had been making collections for the Genna brothers. Receipts were found specifically for Samuzzo Amatuna, Orazio Tropea, Henry Spingola, Frank Rio, and Mops Volpe.
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

One challenge to contemporary genealogists of mafia affiliates is the fact that the territorial assignments of some Italian comuni have changed since the period of the “First Wave” of Italian immigration to the US, roughly from the 1880s to 1920s. While some comuni have been merged to form new comuni (as with Erice in Trapani or Lamezia Terme in Catanzaro), in other cases, the borders of provinces and even regions have changed over time.

For example, the province of Enna was carved out of the original territory of Caltanissetta province in 1927, under Mussolini’s Fascist regime. At this time, the newly minted provincial capital of Castrogiovanni/Castrujanni was renamed Enna to match the province, Enna being derived from Henna, the Greek name of the area in the Classical period (the Fascists played some other name games, like changing the presumably too Arabic-sounding Sambuca Zabut to Sambuca di Sicilia). For this reason, immigrants who arrived from comuni that are today in Enna province — like Nicosìa, Pietraperzia, and Villarosa — may have stated that they were from “Caltanissetta” on some of their documents, which was true during that time.

In the case of the area known for centuries as “Terra di Lavoro”, an entire province was dissolved and later a new one created, with multiple border shifts and territorial reassignments in the 20th century. In 1927, Mussolini broke up the Terra di Lavoro province of the region of Campania and partitioned its territory to the neighboring provinces of Benevento, Avellino, and Napoli in Campania, as well as reassigning portions to the neighboring regions of Molise and Lazio. Following the defeat of the Fascists, the post-War Italian government in 1945 created a new province of Caserta out of the central portion of the old Terra Di Lavoro, though the other territories of the Terra di Lavoro remained in the political units to which they had been reassigned in 1927. Caserta City had previously been the provincial capital of the Terra di Lavoro, hence it forming the core of the new, reduced, Caserta province.

Thus, an old unit of Campanian political and cultural identity (dating back to the invasion of the Mainland South by Ruggiero II, Norman King of Sicily, in the 12th Century) is not captured by contemporary maps and territorial units, but was very much a reality from which many Campanians emigrated to the US. Thus, Acerra, today in Napoli (hometown of Joe Esposito and many other Chicago guys, as well as the D’Iorios, practically the only known Mainland Detroit members), Pizzone, today in the region of Molise (hometown of the Foscos), Cervinara, today in Avellino (hometown of some early Melrose Park mobsters as well as Joe Valachi’s dad and Lucchese member Saverio Valente), Maddaloni, today in Caserta (hometown of Newark mobsters Aniello Santagata and Luigi Russo), Santa Maria a Vico, today in Caserta (parental hometown of Neil Migliore), Nola, today in Napoli (parental hometown of Romeo Nappi), Marigliano, today in Napoli (childhood home of Ruggiero Boiardo), Scisciano, today in Napoli (hometown of the Ebolis and Ariolas), and Roccarainola/Tufino, today in Napoli (hometown of Vito Genovese as well as Frank Amato and Mike Genovese of Pittsburgh), were all part of the same province when these men or their forebears emigrated to America.

Also in Terra di Lavoro province were large sections of what today are the provinces of Latina and Frosinone in the region of Lazio. This Southern section of Lazio was 100% Campanian for centuries, and was grafted on to the culturally distinct Central Italian Lazio (itself the legacy of the old Papal States, rather than the Mezzogiorno) in 1927. Thus, when Sal Piscopo described Johnny Roselli to the Feds as “Neapolitan” like himself, he was correct, as Roselli was born in Esperia, which today is in Frosinone but at that time was in Terra di Lavoro, Campania. Same as when Ray Patriarca, who is described as Napolitan’, which would seem to be incorrect in that his father Eleuterio was from a town that today is in Lazio. But Eleuterio Oarriarca was from Arce, Frosinone, then in Terra di Lavoro, and stated that he was from “Naples” when he arrived in the US, in the way that many Campanians identify as “Napolitan’” even when they aren’t from the city of Napoli. When Roselli lammed it to LA from Boston with his buddy, former Chicagoan Tancredi Tortora, the two were paesani, as Tortora was from Acerra. When they arrived in LA, they were allegedly mentored by Antonio D’Accunto, who seems to have been from Minturno, which today is in the province of Latina, Lazio, but back then was in (you guessed it), Terra di Lavoro. This is part of the reason the FBI had trouble pinpointing if Roselli was from Avellino, or Caserta, because the province he was from no longer existed (in the 60s), and parts of it wound up in Avellino as well as the new Caserta province.

So when we see guys with ancestry from Frosinone, like the Magnafichis, Obie Frabotta, and Marco D’Amico in Chicago, Gambino member Harry Arduini, or early Philly mobster Arcangelo Gobbo, one has to keep in mind that they were all from Campania and thus considered “Neapolitan”, not people from Lazio. Apart from their actual home comune, immigrants from Terra di Lavoro may have stated that they were from “Caserta” (the provincial capital) or “Napoli” (the regional capital), and neither of these would be been inconsistent or conflicting at the time, time despite the location of those comuni today.
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
Villain
Filthy Few
Posts: 5890
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:17 am

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by Villain »

Damn this thread got quite big lol bravo
Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God - Corinthians 6:9-10
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

PolackTony wrote: Fri Jan 20, 2023 10:02 pm One challenge to contemporary genealogists of mafia affiliates is the fact that the territorial assignments of some Italian comuni have changed since the period of the “First Wave” of Italian immigration to the US, roughly from the 1880s to 1920s. While some comuni have been merged to form new comuni (as with Erice in Trapani or Lamezia Terme in Catanzaro), in other cases, the borders of provinces and even regions have changed over time.

For example, the province of Enna was carved out of the original territory of Caltanissetta province in 1927, under Mussolini’s Fascist regime. At this time, the newly minted provincial capital of Castrogiovanni/Castrujanni was renamed Enna to match the province, Enna being derived from Henna, the Greek name of the area in the Classical period (the Fascists played some other name games, like changing the presumably too Arabic-sounding Sambuca Zabut to Sambuca di Sicilia). For this reason, immigrants who arrived from comuni that are today in Enna province — like Nicosìa, Pietraperzia, and Villarosa — may have stated that they were from “Caltanissetta” on some of their documents, which was true during that time.

In the case of the area known for centuries as “Terra di Lavoro”, an entire province was dissolved and later a new one created, with multiple border shifts and territorial reassignments in the 20th century. In 1927, Mussolini broke up the Terra di Lavoro province of the region of Campania and partitioned its territory to the neighboring provinces of Benevento, Avellino, and Napoli in Campania, as well as reassigning portions to the neighboring regions of Molise and Lazio. Following the defeat of the Fascists, the post-War Italian government in 1945 created a new province of Caserta out of the central portion of the old Terra Di Lavoro, though the other territories of the Terra di Lavoro remained in the political units to which they had been reassigned in 1927. Caserta City had previously been the provincial capital of the Terra di Lavoro, hence it forming the core of the new, reduced, Caserta province.

Thus, an old unit of Campanian political and cultural identity (dating back to the invasion of the Mainland South by Ruggiero II, Norman King of Sicily, in the 12th Century) is not captured by contemporary maps and territorial units, but was very much a reality from which many Campanians emigrated to the US. Thus, Acerra, today in Napoli (hometown of Joe Esposito and many other Chicago guys, as well as the D’Iorios, practically the only known Mainland Detroit members), Pizzone, today in the region of Molise (hometown of the Foscos), Cervinara, today in Avellino (hometown of some early Melrose Park mobsters as well as Joe Valachi’s dad and Lucchese member Saverio Valente), Maddaloni, today in Caserta (hometown of Newark mobsters Aniello Santagata and Luigi Russo), Santa Maria a Vico, today in Caserta (parental hometown of Neil Migliore), Nola, today in Napoli (parental hometown of Romeo Nappi), Marigliano, today in Napoli (childhood home of Ruggiero Boiardo), Scisciano, today in Napoli (hometown of the Ebolis and Ariolas), and Roccarainola/Tufino, today in Napoli (hometown of Vito Genovese as well as Frank Amato and Mike Genovese of Pittsburgh), were all part of the same province when these men or their forebears emigrated to America.

Also in Terra di Lavoro province were large sections of what today are the provinces of Latina and Frosinone in the region of Lazio. This Southern section of Lazio was 100% Campanian for centuries, and was grafted on to the culturally distinct Central Italian Lazio (itself the legacy of the old Papal States, rather than the Mezzogiorno) in 1927. Thus, when Sal Piscopo described Johnny Roselli to the Feds as “Neapolitan” like himself, he was correct, as Roselli was born in Esperia, which today is in Frosinone but at that time was in Terra di Lavoro, Campania. Same as when Ray Patriarca, who is described as Napolitan’, which would seem to be incorrect in that his father Eleuterio was from a town that today is in Lazio. But Eleuterio Oarriarca was from Arce, Frosinone, then in Terra di Lavoro, and stated that he was from “Naples” when he arrived in the US, in the way that many Campanians identify as “Napolitan’” even when they aren’t from the city of Napoli. When Roselli lammed it to LA from Boston with his buddy, former Chicagoan Tancredi Tortora, the two were paesani, as Tortora was from Acerra. When they arrived in LA, they were allegedly mentored by Antonio D’Accunto, who seems to have been from Minturno, which today is in the province of Latina, Lazio, but back then was in (you guessed it), Terra di Lavoro. This is part of the reason the FBI had trouble pinpointing if Roselli was from Avellino, or Caserta, because the province he was from no longer existed (in the 60s), and parts of it wound up in Avellino as well as the new Caserta province.

So when we see guys with ancestry from Frosinone, like the Magnafichis, Obie Frabotta, and Marco D’Amico in Chicago, Gambino member Harry Arduini, or early Philly mobster Arcangelo Gobbo, one has to keep in mind that they were all from Campania and thus considered “Neapolitan”, not people from Lazio. Apart from their actual home comune, immigrants from Terra di Lavoro may have stated that they were from “Caserta” (the provincial capital) or “Napoli” (the regional capital), and neither of these would be been inconsistent or conflicting at the time, time despite the location of those comuni today.
Forgive the typos in the above. I wrote it up on my phone and it was too late to edit by the time I re-read it.

It’s worth noting that Terra di Lavoro province was well-noted as a criminal hotbed during the early 20th century, with widespread Camorra activity reported in the province, including ubiquitous loan sharking, extortion, theft/highway robbery, trafficking in stolen goods, and procurement of prostitution. Further, under the Fascist government in the 1920s it was reported that political opponents of the regime in towns in Terra di Lavoro were using Cammoristi as muscle. Due to its size, political opposition, and rampant criminality, the Fascist regime dissolved the province, as noted above, but concurrent with this launched a major military crackdown deploying the carabinieri into Terra di Lavoro for mass arrests of members of criminal organizations in 1926-27, parallel to the Fascist offensive against the mafia in Sicily under Prefect Mori. In Terra di Lavoro, at least 20 distinct criminal organizations operating in the province were busted, with about 500 members arrested, in the offensive. A major hotspot for Camorra activity was the district of Nola, which included towns like Acerra, Marigliano, Scisciano, and Roccarainola. Along with rampant loan sharking and hijacking, investigations uncovered close associations between the Camorra in this district and those in the Vesuviano area to the south (eg, Ottaviano, Ricca’s hometown).
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

PolackTony wrote: Wed Nov 02, 2022 1:41 pm Worth noting that in 1957, Bruno was surveilled using the Montclair Funeral Home (Chicagoans will know this as one of the main Italian funeral homes in Chicago, where many connected families have had their funerals over the decades) on Belmont ave near the border with Elmwood Park as his apparent base of operations; Bruno was reportedly a close associate of Montclair owner Vincent Lucania, who the FBN was unable to connect to the heroin trade. Now, this is obviously an interesting surname, though I haven't been able to confirm any connections to the more famous Lucanias. Vincent Lucania was born in 1917 in Chicago to Giuseppe Lucania and Rosa Cali. While Rosa was from Villafrati, Giuseppe Lucania was from Castronovo di Sicilia, which borders Lercara Friddi where Charlie Lucky was born. Additionally, a number of family trees assert genealogies that put Giuseppe Lucania's father, also named Giuseppe Lucania (born about 1853; died in Chicago in 1913, parents given at this time as Giuseppe Lucania and Cristina Caruso) as born in Lercara Friddi and the elder brother of Lucky's father Antonino Lucania. As stated, I haven't been able to either confirm or disconfirm these genealogies myself, so who knows. Geographically, it's certainly at least possible. The Montclair-Lucania Funeral Home, so far as I know, is still owned by the Lucania family.
In 1963, Vincent Lucania was recorded meeting with Pat Marcy by the FBI bug in the 1st Ward office. Lucania was attempting to form an organization (a la Joe Colombo) to combat negative portrayals of Italians in the local press and police harassment of Italians (those Mick bastards). The “Tony” referred to was a guy who wanted to lead the organization but who both men agreed would be terrible because he could barely speak English (the FBI thought the surname was “Pucano”, which makes no sense, maybe Pagano). Interesting that Lucania seems to insinuate that he was “with” Ross Prio, as he refers to Prio as “my guy”. Evidently Prio was Lucania’s clout within the system. The Lucanias were from Little Sicily/the Near Northside, so this makes sense.

As noted above, Lucania was noted by the FBN as a close associate of major Chicago heroin trafficker Joe Bruno. It’s possible, though unconfirmed, that Vincent Lucania was a cousin of Charlie Lucky.

Image
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by B. »

Excellent work w/ Terra di Lavoro. Never even heard of it, almost like something from ancient mythology.

We really can't apply current provincial / regional boundaries to these guys from a century ago given the jurisdiction was so different in some places.
Villain
Filthy Few
Posts: 5890
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2014 12:17 am

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by Villain »

Great find and info Polack
Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God - Corinthians 6:9-10
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5821
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Chicago Outfit Places of Origin

Post by PolackTony »

Villain wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 12:40 am Great find and info Polack
Thanks buddy, appreciate it.
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
Post Reply