"NY 1839:" the FBI's first Mafia informant

[Ed]

My new Rat Trap article explores the identity of a Lucchese Crime Family member who gave up organizational details pre-Apalachin, but FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ignored it.

Ten years later, Special Agent Anthony Villano reactivated the informant under the alias "Rico Conte."

If Hoover had acted on the Intel initially, events in the New York underworld might have unfolded differently.

https://mafiahistory.us/rattrap/infisabella.html

[johnny_scootch]

Great article, thanks Ed.

[Villain]

Ed my man, you managed to hit the spot, again. Thanks.

[dack2001]

Excellent article. Great work.

[CornerBoy]

Ed, can you write more of those pls?

[Clark]

As usual, amazing job! I really look forward to these write-ups. Wonderful work.

[motorfab]

Excellent work Ed !

[Ed]

Thanks. I appreciate everyone's comments. I've said this before, I write for a broad audience, but I value this group's opinion/feedback most.

[Villain]

The Moretti/Chicago and the Siegel/Roselli information was priceless.

Wonder about that Moretti being eastern rep for the Ricca family....

[Antiliar]

Fantastic job, Ed. I've encountered Isabella's revelations many times over the years, but you finally attached a name to this mysterious informant. Added bonus on discovering more about his story in Joe Pantoliano's autobiography. Your detective skills make Sherlock Holmes look like an amateur.

[PolackTony]

Excellent work, as always, Ed, I can only echo some of the accolades that others have expressed.

Interesting to note that Isabella echoed Taglialatella’s claim that the Luccheses were conducting verbal-only inductions at this time.

I can also add, as another potential layer to Isabella’s close ties to Roselli and Genovese, that all three men were paesani. Florio’s father, Giuseppe Isabella, was from Alvigliano, which today is in Caserta province but at the time was in Terra di Lavoro, where both Genovese and Sacco/Roselli were from.

[Ed]

Villain,
Maybe Roselli knew about Siegel's murder in advance but maybe not. It could be an empty brag. On the other hand, perhaps they consulted Roselli about who might be qualified to manage the casino after Siegel's death. Before Isabella's disclosures, I never really thought about Roselli's role, if any, in the building of the Flamingo.


Rick,
Isabella was staring into our faces for years. I was convinced that "Rico Conte" was dead by the publication date of Villano's memoir because he revealed Conte's family affiliation. As you might recall, Villano didn't mention "Julio" affiliation because Scarpa was still alive. That proved to be untrue.

I was also confused by the prison break comment. Carmine Taglialatella, another Lucchese informer, was also involved in a prison break. What a coincidence! For a while, I thought Conte was a conflation between NY 1839 and SF 3208. Later on, I zeroed in on Edward D'Argenio (his wife testified in the acid attack), but he was dead when NY 1839 was reactivated in 1966. I love these puzzles.


Tony,
Thanks for the genealogical information. I tried looking into it but didn't get very far using family search. It goes a long way to explain Roselli/Genovese friendship with Isabella. If I have your permission, can I use it with acknowledgment?

Thanks again guys.

[B.]

Phenomenal. I know that you've been working on this one for a long time and am excited to see it come to fruition. Rat Trap continues to be one of the best resources on this subject.

[JCB1977]

Awesome job Ed

[The Greek]

Excellent Ed!