Bonanno - Newark Connections ?

[JoelTurner]

A Frank LoMedico from Detroit also traveled back from Italy with the powerful early Bonanno member Stefano LoPiccolo in 1932. LoPiccolo was from the Pioppo frazione which is halfway between Monreale and Partinico. This LoMedico is listed as exactly 10 years younger than the Detroit member and I can't find any record of one that fits so I suspect the age was an error and it's the same guy.

In 1929 LoMedico traveled back from Italy with his compaesano Salvatore Vitale of Detroit as well as a Partinicese from New York named Salvatore Leto. Detroit leader Bill Tocco was with them but didn't board the ship back from Italy. These four are the only ones listed on their page of the manifest and we can infer Leto was an NYC mafia figure but I've never heard of him.

I don't know the relation but Bompensiero said Salvatore LoMedico of Detroit was in contact with Frank Coppola and that Salvatore's brother Vito LoMedico was a Sicilian mafia member, presumably the Partinico Family.

In 1947, Frank LoMedico returned from Italy with future Bonanno boss Paul Sciacca.

(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 3A2452-6ZB)

Also, Stefano LoPiccolo was a Bonanno member? I thought he was an early Gambino capo. I know that he was Salvatore Mangiaracina’s cousin.

[B.]

Huh, so LoMedico had many ongoing ties to important Bonannos.

Dave Critchley said LoPiccolo was part of the "Gambino network" and Bill Feather's blog calls him a Gambino but I'm not aware of any sources who placed him with that Family. He was most likely a Bonanno, as Maranzano held important wartime meetings at LoPiccolo's Ridgewood home, LoPiccolo told Magaddino about Maranzano's plan for the post-war Chicago meeting, and Bonanno figures worked under him in a major bootlegging operation -- the operation did include Gambino members Paolo Gambino and Jack Scarpulla as partners but LoPiccolo managed clients for Vito Giallo from CDG and Paolo Palmeri of Buffalo was another partner. Then there is the Mangiaracina relation (he arrived to loPiccolo multiple times) and his hometown of Pioppo which he shared with Giuseppe Trifiro who was a Bonanno member and key Maranzano aide before transferring.

[JoelTurner]

Obscure Bonanno figures Vincenzo Signorelli and Salvatore Ippolito were both from Gibellina and lived in the Newark area before moving to NYC. Both of them were old enough to have been Newark members too.

A possible early Newark-Bonanno member could have been Giovanni “John” Zummo. Born Apr 4 1885 in Gibellina to Calogero Zummo and Antonina Rizzuto, he was married to Maria Lombardino, sister of Colombo member Salvatore Lombardino. A criminal with several arrests, he lived at 296 S6th St, Newark, NJ. He died Mar 25 1944.

Outside of the Lombardinos, the Gibellinese members in the NYC area appear to have been with the Bonanno family; notably, current member Damiano Zummo and his zip father, Paolo.

[JoelTurner]

Figured out how Vincenzo Morsellino and Sam Accardi were related

— Settimo Accardo was born to Salvatore Accardo and Francesca Avila

— — Francesca Avila was born to Giuseppe Avila and Pietra Morsellino

— — — Pietra Morsellino was born to Giuseppe Morsellino and Francesca Agueli

— — — — Giuseppe Morsellino was born to Vito Morsellino and Pietra Maiorana.

— Vincenzo Morsellino was born to Giuseppe Morsellino and Antonia Adamo

— — Giuseppe Morsellino was born to Ignazio Morsellino and Sebastiana Palmeri

— — — Ignazio Morsellino was born to Vito Morsellino and Pietra Maiorana.

Giuseppe Morsellino’s brother was Ignazio Morsellino. Simplified, Vincenzo Morsellino was Sam Accardi’s 2nd cousin once removed.

————————-

I also figured out how the Morsellino bros mentioned by @thekiduknow were related to Sam Accardi. They listed his father Salvatore as an uncle.

— Pietro, Rosario, Leonard were born to Giuseppe Morsellino and Rosa Vanella

— — Rosa Vanella was born to Leonardo Vanella and Pietra Palmeri

— — — Leonardo Vanella was born to Giuseppe Vanella and Giuseppa Senia

— — — — Giuseppa Senia was born to Leonardo Senia and Maria Placenza

— Settimo Accardo was born to Salvatore Accardo and Francesca Avila

— — Francesca Avila was born to Giuseppe Avila and Pietra Morsellino

— — — Pietra Morsellino was born to Giuseppe Morsellino and Francesca Agueli

— — — — Francesca Agueli was born to Francesco Agueli and Maria Senia

— — — — — Maria Senia was born to Leonardo Senia and Maria Placenza

Giuseppa Senia was Maria Senia’s sister.

—————————-

I believe that they probably also related through the Morsellino side but I wasn’t able to find out how.

Some other figures who were also probably related whom I haven’t looked at yet are Bonanno captain Benny Restivo’s BIL who was a Morsellino and Mike Adamo, said to be Vincent Morsellino’s cousin.

[West Coast1]

Not really on topic as usual but for people who didn't grow up around there...
There was some Bonannos in Hudson County. Parts of Hoboken or Jersey City or Bayonne are 5-10 miles from Newark or even closer
There was 100% crossover just due to proximity

[Woofinator]

This may or not be of interest about an arson for insurance...

An article from pages 1 and 12 of the 29 March 1934 edition of the Cranford Citizen (Union Co. New Jersey):

Salvatore Grippi store fire 29 March 1934 Cranford Citizen pg. 1.jpg

Salvatore Grippi store fire 29 March 1934 Cranford Citizen pg. 12.jpg

With a later development of John Quartuccio Sr and John Quartuccio Jr. being arrested for multiple insurance fires in northern New Jersey as part of a larger scheme...

An article from pages 1 and 4 of the 25 June 1935 edition of the Plainfield Courier News:

Quartuccios arrest The_Plainfield Courier_News_Tue__Jun_25__1935_ pg. 1.jpg

(the forum is only allowing me to attach 3 items to a post so, I'll attach page 4 in a new post)

[Woofinator]

Here's page 4 from my above post:

Quartuccios arrest The_Plainfield Courier_News_Tue__Jun_25__1935_ pg. 4.jpg

I also have a question a John Quartuccio, who was the same age as the younger John Quartuccio was arrested along with Frank "the bear" Basto in 1974. Does anybody here know enough about Basto and his people to know if the two John Quartuccios are the same person?

Here's a May 17, 1974 article from the Herald News about Basto's arrest which mentions Quartuccio:

The_Herald_News_Fri__May_17__1974_.jpg

[Woofinator]

Wait wait, never mind about Basto. It's way too early in the morning and I did my math wrong and there's nearly a decade differences in ages of the two men. I'm an idiot.

[JoelTurner]

This is great stuff. The name “Quartuccio” is ringing a bell, but I can’t remember where I’ve heard it before.

At a quick glance, Giovanni Quartuccio’s other son, James had a son named John Quartuccio born in ~1929. This lines up with the one arrested with Frankie the Bear Basto.

Giovanni Quartuccio (1867-1957) and his son John (1909-1992) were the arsonists.

[JoelTurner]

On Jan 16th 1926; Sam Monaco, Frank Garofalo, and James Plumeri were indicated together for their roles in a liquor ring.



—————
Olivet Distribution was officially a fragrance company but was running some of the largest stills in NYC.

The leader of the this group was said to be Frances Cannistraci aka The Bootleg Queen. Considering that this operation had multiple important mafia members, I don’t know how accurate this was.

An interesting aspect is that this was the same alliance as the Castellammarese War: Bonanno - Lucchese - Newark

[B.]

Nice!

It adds to the idea that Monaco was killed because of his loyalty to Maranzano but I wish we had someone who could clarify. Valachi believed Badami was part of Maranzano's conspiracy to keep killing rival bosses after the war but why he was spared and Monaco killed, then much later Monaco's brother likely killed Badami complicates it. Maybe Badami threw Monaco under the bus.

[Tasker]

Gerlando Sciascia Aka George From Canada moved from Montreal to Newark in 1961. He lived and worked there for a brief period before settling in the Bronx.

This is according to “The Sixth Family.” Shiascia immigrated to the US in 1958, but then quickly headed up to Montreal with the Rizzutos. He returned to the US a few years later, first landing in Newark.

Per the book:
“Back in America, Sciascia moved first to Newark, New Jersey, and worked at Ridoni Gardeners in nearby Summit and Como Pizzaria on Broadway in Manhattan.”

It doesn’t mention what brought him to Newark or what connections he may have had, but I’m guessing he must have known someone there.

[B.]

Bonanno member Nicolo Buttafuoco lived in North Jersey -- he was a paesan of Sciascia and according to one of the Canadian books, Buttafuoco mentored Nick Rizzuto during the period Rizzuto spent in the US.

Sciascia also probably would have associated with Angelo Salvo, Nino Busciglio, and that crowd. Their paesan Giovanni Ligammari later lived in North Jersey and was close to Sciascia.

[JoelTurner]

Nice!

It adds to the idea that Monaco was killed because of his loyalty to Maranzano but I wish we had someone who could clarify. Valachi believed Badami was part of Maranzano's conspiracy to keep killing rival bosses after the war but why he was spared and Monaco killed, then much later Monaco's brother likely killed Badami complicates it. Maybe Badami threw Monaco under the bus.

Here’s my take:

1) Rather than being a staunch Maranzano loyalist, Monaco could have been “protected” by his ties to the Bonanno Family. When Maranzano gets killed, Badami is free to hit him.

2) The absurdly brutal way (head smashed, throat cut, sodomized with an iron pipe) that Monaco was killed points to a more personal issue than simply having backed Maranzano.

In turn, Badami’s own murder was pretty rough. He was stabbed 38 times. It makes more sense if it’s viewed as retaliation for the Sam Monaco hit rather than a beef in the numbers racket which was what was suggested at the time.

3) Valachi thought that Tom Gagliano was in on Maranzano’s plot too. Yet his underboss Lucchese was involved in setting him up. Considering Badami’s pre-existing ties to his paisan Gagliano, I think he could have been aligned via him instead.

———

Essentially, Badami was probably closer to Gagliano than to Maranzano. He kills Monaco once the Bonanno Family isn’t able to protect him.

[JoelTurner]

Gerlando Sciascia Aka George From Canada moved from Montreal to Newark in 1961. He lived and worked there for a brief period before settling in the Bronx.

This is according to “The Sixth Family.” Shiascia immigrated to the US in 1958, but then quickly headed up to Montreal with the Rizzutos. He returned to the US a few years later, first landing in Newark.

Per the book:
“Back in America, Sciascia moved first to Newark, New Jersey, and worked at Ridoni Gardeners in nearby Summit and Como Pizzaria on Broadway in Manhattan.”

It doesn’t mention what brought him to Newark or what connections he may have had, but I’m guessing he must have known someone there.

That’s interesting

I wonder if the author knew that he was specifically in Newark or used to refer to North Jersey in general.

Angelo Salvo & Anthony Busciglio were in Hackensack while Nick Buttafuoco was in North Arlington; all three in nearby Bergen County, NJ