What was the Combaneesh?

[Angelo Santino]

The more I try to delve into this topic, the more I realize that what we consider the Camorra in the USA had nothing to do with the honorable society in Naples. The American Camorra, like the American Cosa Nostra, was a system that united gangsters from all parts of mainland Italy. Each faction of the American Camorra had its own ceremonial or name, like the Calabrian Societa Camorra de Lucre in White Plains.

It depends on the case, but yes I quite agree.

I don't think the Navy Street Gang had people from elsewhere of the province of Naples, but if you take the "Combaneesh" or even the Calabrian Societies of White Plains or Hillsville there were Calabrian elements & Neapolitans. + in Chicago and NY people like Torrio from Basilicata or Ricci from Puglia could be considered Camorristi (or at least well connected to some Camorristi).

In addition to Naples, the Camorra had branches in Calabria, Abruzzo, Puglia or even in Sicily, so ultimately it is not too surprising that a mix of organizations in America was formed.

Speaking of Sicily and the Società Camorra de Lucre, I read an article a few years ago that a cop named Giovanni Leopoldo from NY was inducted in Palermo into this Camorra Society. His mission was cut short when he received a note warning him that his identity had been discovered, but the fact that he was inducted into a Camorrist society in Palermo intrigued me when I read it. The article appeared in several newspapers in 1915

For those who want to read it here is a link to the image https://zupimages.net/up/24/06/aftg.jpg

Thank you for posting this. If you have any other articles with interesting graphics and images I could use them and will cite you.

It's a very interesting article but I am somewhat hesitant on the Camorra in Palermo in 1815. My research indicates it was started in prison after 1820 but no later than 1835. According to Monnier who interviewed people in Naples, he couldn't find anyone who recalled such a sect existing before the 1830s. I'm not dogmatic about it but I have done alot of research, if I'm wrong then I'm wrong. And I will thank you for finding things I have not.

There's a story that a certain Pasquale Capuozzo formed the Camorra in 1820, you will see his name on a list of capintesta in Naples. This comes from Vittorio Palioti who wrote a book in 1978 about the Camorra's history. His citation for Capuozzo was Antonio Nisco who says no such thing. Capuozzo was born around 1830 and was an 1860s contemporary who left the Camorra and Antonio Mormile signed off on a death sentence. The author is still alive (he's in his 90s) so I tread respectfully but what he says didn't happen. There was a Pasquale Capozzi in the 1820's but he was sentenced to life in prison, he wasn't murdered by his wife in 1824 like Palioti's version suggests. And don't even get me going on Michele Aitollo which is likely bullshit as well.

As you know, I'm starting a new podcast and substack relating to the American Camorra. I have alot to share but I want credit for it. Which is why I'm marketing my name next to the project. Once I have more content created I'll release it but the first bit of stuff will be Italian-side related leaving some to ask, "OKayyyyy, so when do we get into the American Camorra." I need to go through the early stuff for it all to make sense.

There was Camorra in Messina in the late 1860s that's documented. I suspect there was a presence in Palermo but that's based on everything I've seen on the macro and no direct evidence.

For people interested in this niche of a niche, I was going to add more stuff before announcing it but for here, I'll do a "quiet opening." Here's my first two articles on the subject, article 3 is in the works and after that I need to make some YT videos John-Pennisi style.

I appreciate any and all feedback- https://americancamorra.substack.com/

(Also, thanks to JCB, Eric and Tony whom I've conversed with about this subject and they've kept it under wraps out of respect for me. It's taken me awhile to get to this and comes a point where my wanting the credit is slowing the pace of discovery to new information through multidisciplinary evaluation. I am a Camorra guru but that doesn't mean I know everything. For every thing I know there's 100 things I do not.)

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[B.]

Yes, Angelo has been working on this project for I believe ten years and is an amazing resource on the Camorra. We have been discussing it privately for years and a lot has been kept under wraps but I believe his work will open a whole new dimension. Many of the questions some of you have had will be addressed in his work.

[chin_gigante]

Subscribed! Looking forward to reading those articles.

[Angelo Santino]

Yes, Angelo has been working on this project for I believe ten years and is an amazing resource on the Camorra. We have been discussing it privately for years and a lot has been kept under wraps but I believe his work will open a whole new dimension. Many of the questions some of you have had will be addressed in his work.

Too modest. As a subject, one who can teach it is a true master. I taught this aspect of the subject to you. But you being you came up with your own questions and looked at the same sources I have and had original takes separate from my own that made me wonder how I missed that. You're a master at this in your own right and you've taught and continue to teach me things including this very subject. Plus you're a better articulator than I am, the ability that you have to express and describe shit, they don't teach in college and I know. What I'm putting out, while carefully written, is open to evaluation. I welcome it. Even if I'm wrong or mistaken, at the very least I created the conversation.

Up to this point, you, Tony, Rick, JCB have held back on publicly discussing this aspect of the subject out of respect for me. As you said, it's been 10 years and the World Trade Center didn't take that long to build. So, that's done. If any of you beat me to something, well, I had 10 years so a salut. It's not like there's any money to this.

Anyways, I'm curious about this 1815 Camorra in Palermo business. If there's a document from 1815, or anything before 1860- anything, that describes camorra as a criminal sect, I need to see it. Natura ed origine della misteriosa setta della Camorra on everything, was said to be published in 1850, but in the book it describes the 1860 uprising meaning it had to have been published as least a decade after.

But once we get onto the American side I can back that up more with transcripts, photos, articles, SS and FBI documents. That'll be more tangible, I promise.

[Angelo Santino]

Subscribed! Looking forward to reading those articles.

Thank You for subscribing.

And to someone who has taught me alot of this stuff and has been a friend over the years. Do you have any suggestions as to what you'd like to see focused on? I need to get through the Italian shit first, but then I'll focus on the United States and there's alot to cover. So much so that long after I'm done, people will be finding more things I haven't.

[PolackTony]

Yes, Angelo has been working on this project for I believe ten years and is an amazing resource on the Camorra. We have been discussing it privately for years and a lot has been kept under wraps but I believe his work will open a whole new dimension. Many of the questions some of you have had will be addressed in his work.

Too modest. As a subject, one who can teach it is a true master. I taught this aspect of the subject to you. But you being you came up with your own questions and looked at the same sources I have and had original takes separate from my own that made me wonder how I missed that. You're a master at this in your own right and you've taught and continue to teach me things including this very subject. Plus you're a better articulator than I am, the ability that you have to express and describe shit, they don't teach in college and I know. What I'm putting out, while carefully written, is open to evaluation. I welcome it. Even if I'm wrong or mistaken, at the very least I created the conversation.

Up to this point, you, Tony, Rick, JCB have held back on publicly discussing this aspect of the subject out of respect for me. As you said, it's been 10 years and the World Trade Center didn't take that long to build. So, that's done. If any of you beat me to something, well, I had 10 years so a salut. It's not like there's any money to this.

Anyways, I'm curious about this 1815 Camorra in Palermo business. If there's a document from 1815 (published before 1860- anything, that describes camorra as a criminal sect, I need to see it. You'll fuck up my whole narrative and I'll say fuck you but thank you at the same time. I did the best I could.

But once we get onto the American side I can back that up more with transcripts, photos, articles, SS and FBI documents. That'll be more tangible, I promise.

The article that Fab posted was from 1915; it was an Ital-American detective from NY who travelled to Palermo as part of the investigations into the Società di Camorra di Lucre in Westchester and claimed that he was inducted into the “Camorra” following a duel.

[chin_gigante]

Subscribed! Looking forward to reading those articles.

Thank You for subscribing.

And to someone who has taught me alot of this stuff and has been a friend over the years. Do you have any suggestions as to what you'd like to see focused on? I need to get through the Italian shit first, but then I'll focus on the United States and there's alot to cover. So much so that long after I'm done, people will be finding more things I haven't.

Personally I'm increasingly interested in the Genovese decina in Springfield, Mass. The bulk of my knowledge in that area is rooted in the 1990s and 2000s, but I'm intrigued to learn more about the history. If you know about any camorra activity in Springfield in the early 20th century I'd be very interested in that.

One thing that has really stuck out to me when looking at the players in Springfield in the 2000s is how alive the roots were to Bracigliano and Quindici. Looking back at obituaries for early Italian settlers in the South End, I keep finding familiar surnames like Scibelli, Tranghese, Santaniello, and Manzi. From doing a quick look myself (if I've found the right man), the Scibelli brothers' father Giuseppe was among these early settlers, arriving in 1904 and going on to be the founding president of the Our Lady of Grace Society.

[Eline2015]

The more I try to delve into this topic, the more I realize that what we consider the Camorra in the USA had nothing to do with the honorable society in Naples. The American Camorra, like the American Cosa Nostra, was a system that united gangsters from all parts of mainland Italy. Each faction of the American Camorra had its own ceremonial or name, like the Calabrian Societa Camorra de Lucre in White Plains.

It depends on the case, but yes I quite agree.

I don't think the Navy Street Gang had people from elsewhere of the province of Naples, but if you take the "Combaneesh" or even the Calabrian Societies of White Plains or Hillsville there were Calabrian elements & Neapolitans. + in Chicago and NY people like Torrio from Basilicata or Ricci from Puglia could be considered Camorristi (or at least well connected to some Camorristi).

In addition to Naples, the Camorra had branches in Calabria, Abruzzo, Puglia or even in Sicily, so ultimately it is not too surprising that a mix of organizations in America was formed.

Speaking of Sicily and the Società Camorra de Lucre, I read an article a few years ago that a cop named Giovanni Leopoldo from NY was inducted in Palermo into this Camorra Society. His mission was cut short when he received a note warning him that his identity had been discovered, but the fact that he was inducted into a Camorrist society in Palermo intrigued me when I read it. The article appeared in several newspapers in 1915

For those who want to read it here is a link to the image https://zupimages.net/up/24/06/aftg.jpg

Thank you for posting this. If you have any other articles with interesting graphics and images I could use them and will cite you.

It's a very interesting article but I am somewhat hesitant on the Camorra in Palermo in 1815. My research indicates it was started in prison after 1820 but no later than 1835. According to Monnier who interviewed people in Naples, he couldn't find anyone who recalled such a sect existing before the 1830s. I'm not dogmatic about it but I have done alot of research, if I'm wrong then I'm wrong. And I will thank you for finding things I have not.

There's a story that a certain Pasquale Capuozzo formed the Camorra in 1820, you will see his name on a list of capintesta in Naples. This comes from Vittorio Palioti who wrote a book in 1978 about the Camorra's history. His citation for Capuozzo was Antonio Nisco who says no such thing. Capuozzo was born around 1830 and was an 1860s contemporary who left the Camorra and Antonio Mormile signed off on a death sentence. The author is still alive (he's in his 90s) so I tread respectfully but what he says didn't happen. There was a Pasquale Capozzi in the 1820's but he was sentenced to life in prison, he wasn't murdered by his wife in 1824 like Palioti's version suggests. And don't even get me going on Michele Aitollo which is likely bullshit as well.

As you know, I'm starting a new podcast and substack relating to the American Camorra. I have alot to share but I want credit for it. Which is why I'm marketing my name next to the project. Once I have more content created I'll release it but the first bit of stuff will be Italian-side related leaving some to ask, "OKayyyyy, so when do we get into the American Camorra." I need to go through the early stuff for it all to make sense.

There was Camorra in Messina in the late 1860s that's documented. I suspect there was a presence in Palermo but that's based on everything I've seen on the macro and no direct evidence.

For people interested in this niche of a niche, I was going to add more stuff before announcing it but for here, I'll do a "quiet opening." Here's my first two articles on the subject, article 3 is in the works and after that I need to make some YT videos John-Pennisi style.

I appreciate any and all feedback- https://americancamorra.substack.com/

(Also, thanks to JCB, Eric and Tony whom I've conversed with about this subject and they've kept it under wraps out of respect for me. It's taken me awhile to get to this and comes a point where my wanting the credit is slowing the pace of discovery to new information through multidisciplinary evaluation. I am a Camorra guru but that doesn't mean I know everything. For every thing I know there's 100 things I do not.)

IMG_0538.JPGIMG_0537.JPG

subscribed! please watch my old videos about the Camorra if you have time. I want to know if I developed this idea in the right direction.
https://youtu.be/lfGEzdD-zPA?si=yioDlUqwNXXDzgi5
https://youtu.be/dqe4glm4GRE?si=Fx4mtqhY-vX0wFRH

[B.]

In answer to Joel's original question, it is addressed in Angelo's intro: http://americancamorra.substack.com/p/introduction

"Combaneesh" (ph) was the FBI's phonetic transcription of Camorrist.

People have speculated over the years that they were referring to some other sort of group but they are clearly saying Camorrist and the reference to "degrees" along with the particular names mentioned as Camorristi should make it clear to everyone what was being referred to.

[Ivan]

Someone refresh my memory, was "the Calabrian organization" in Youngstown Camorra, or N'Drangheta, or some other thing, or what?

[Angelo Santino]

The article that Fab posted was from 1915; it was an Ital-American detective from NY who travelled to Palermo as part of the investigations into the Società di Camorra di Lucre in Westchester and claimed that he was inducted into the “Camorra” following a duel.

Ah 1915, not 1815. I misread. Yeah, 1915 makes sense. And I'd argue this is proof, even though its one source, that the camorra was possibly in Palermo. I always speculated it might have been because the prison camorra didn't consist only of Napolitans, there were Sicilian camorristi in Italy as well as in America, one was a Pittsburgh informant. I'll be getting into the prison camorra in article 4. But it followed the same pattern as US prison gangs a century later in that members took their affiliations home with them. Some outsiders might see the camorra in Palermo as an affront to the mafia but it never worked like that, not in America nor in northern Italy. They always seemed to be pragmatic with each other, either avoiding each other or engaging in quid pro quo. Wars were quite rare.

Someone refresh my memory, was "the Calabrian organization" in Youngstown Camorra, or N'Drangheta, or some other thing, or what?

Camorra and 'ndrangheta can be compared to a kitten vs a fully grown cat. The Camorra was not called camorra by its members, they simply called it the società, the top grade of membership was camorrista. In Reggio in the 20th century they began adding more grades of membership meaning the camorrista grade wasn't the top grade any longer. That's when the camorra evolved into what we know as 'ndrangheta. So the Calabrian Camorra in America one could say was an earlier rendition of 'ndrangheta. I'll be breaking down the structure in article 3 because trying to understand it through a "mafia lens" simply does not work.

subscribed! please watch my old videos about the Camorra if you have time. I want to know if I developed this idea in the right direction.
https://youtu.be/lfGEzdD-zPA?si=yioDlUqwNXXDzgi5
https://youtu.be/dqe4glm4GRE?si=Fx4mtqhY-vX0wFRH

Will do! Thank you for sharing.

[CabriniGreen]

Pretty interesting stuff. I believe it. Camorrista is still an Ndrangheta rank, I believe it's before Sgarrista.

And without looking back into history, just paying attention to contemporary developments like that Milan summit thing.... at the very top, the differences between the mafias seem more and more cosmetic....

This is a great project... good luck man!

[Ivan]

Someone refresh my memory, was "the Calabrian organization" in Youngstown Camorra, or N'Drangheta, or some other thing, or what?

Camorra and 'ndrangheta can be compared to a kitten vs a fully grown cat. The Camorra was not called camorra by its members, they simply called it the società, the top grade of membership was camorrista. In Reggio in the 20th century they began adding more grades of membership meaning the camorrista grade wasn't the top grade any longer. That's when the camorra evolved into what we know as 'ndrangheta. So the Calabrian Camorra in America one could say was an earlier rendition of 'ndrangheta. I'll be breaking down the structure in article 3 because trying to understand it through a "mafia lens" simply does not work.

Looking forward to your exegesis as this is Deep Ohio Lore with which I should be familiar but am not.

[B.]

Should note that both Nick Gentile and a later source (possibly Tony Lima) referred to the early Calabrians as the Camorra in the Pittsburgh area. Magaddino also referred to the Canadian Calabrians as Camorristi

[OmarSantista]

so Vito Genovese was a member of the camorra before?

I've seen him mentioned as a former Camorra member on other threads. There's also a story about how he visited a Camorra member who was imprisoned but I don't know the details on that.

Yes I remember coming across this somewhere, the prisoner was about to get the electric chair, indicating Vito went to see him 1 last time, I forget who it was.