"They all used to be under Mike. Vito made them caporegimes."

[quadtree]

On wiretaps, Eddie McGrath talked about how he and Alo "came up together" under Joey Rao. Take it for what it is worth, but McGrath and Alo were extremely tight from the beginning of their lives right until the end.

Considering Alo started out in East Harlem, it sounds plausible that he started out with Rao. I wonder if it was because of his Calabrian origin that he was transferred to Rocco Pellegrino?

Returning to Frasca. Does anyone have any information as to whether Frasca's crew was split into Manhattan and Brooklyn sections? Contaldo could lead the Brooklyn fragment of the crew, and Cappolla the Manhattan one.

[HairyKnuckles]

bn last year published an excerpt from the FBI file on Toddo Marino. It was reported that in 1953, that the 'captain' who is supposed to be the head of the Fourth Avenue mob in Brooklyn, has stepped down from that position. He was replaced by a man whose last name is unknown and whose first name/nickname (redacted) was about 13 characters long.

I think I found the unredacted excerpt you are talking about. It´s not Frasca though who is mentioned but George "Lefty" Rizzo.

Lefty.png

In this particular case, informant is actually describing Rizzo taking over some of Licata s rackets, not crew. As you can see here in the following snippet, informant described Rizzo being a "button man".

Lefty 2.png

Rizzo was a member of Frasca s crew.

[quadtree]

Here's what bn posted:
In December 1953 informant stated:

...that the 'captain' who is supposed to be the head of the Fourth Avenue mob in Brooklyn, has stepped down from that position. [Informant] said TODDO MARINO who would normally have taken taken over the job as the head of the mob, was in trouble with INS and consequently was passed over and another person named [Redacted, about 13 characters] (LNU) was taking over the Captain's job.

"Captain's job" can be interpreted in different ways, but it seems to me that this is an allusion to taking a captain's position or working as an acting captain of the crew.

It would be interesting to know who the informant is. I would like to point out that the edited 13-character captain is not known by his full name ("LNU"), so "Cosimo Frasca", while ok, would quickly lead to his identification. Curious: "Georgie Lefty" is 13 characters, including space. But I don’t think that he is meant, although the fact that he received part of Licata’s rackets may be another indirect confirmation that Licata’s crew inherited Frasca.

Note that for Toddo Marino to "normally" take on the job of captain, does that mean he's already been captain before? Or acted for whom?

[HairyKnuckles]

Here's what bn posted:
In December 1953 informant stated:

...that the 'captain' who is supposed to be the head of the Fourth Avenue mob in Brooklyn, has stepped down from that position. [Informant] said TODDO MARINO who would normally have taken taken over the job as the head of the mob, was in trouble with INS and consequently was passed over and another person named [Redacted, about 13 characters] (LNU) was taking over the Captain's job.

"Captain's job" can be interpreted in different ways, but it seems to me that this is an allusion to taking a captain's position or working as an acting captain of the crew.

It would be interesting to know who the informant is. I would like to point out that the edited 13-character captain is not known by his full name ("LNU"), so "Cosimo Frasca", while ok, would quickly lead to his identification. Curious: "Georgie Lefty" is 13 characters, including space. But I don’t think that he is meant, although the fact that he received part of Licata’s rackets may be another indirect confirmation that Licata’s crew inherited Frasca.

Note that for Toddo Marino to "normally" take on the job of captain, does that mean he's already been captain before? Or acted for whom?

Ok. Then that is two seperate things what I posted and what bn posted. What bn posted probably have nothing to do with the Licata/Frasca crew. At first glance, it looks like the captain who stepped down is Joe Adonis. He had legal trouble around this time (1953) and was facing deportation.

[B.]

That would fit. One report says Toddo Maiorana was connected to Augie Carfano and later with Joe Adonis.

[quadtree]

So, let's summarize.
* The crew in Brooklyn, which could not be led by Toddo Marino (although he was the most suitable and expected candidate), was led by another person. The original capodecina was stepped down.
* This person could be Adonis. And Majorana could have been in his crew.
* There is also a version that Frasca and Smurra were in the crew of Adonis, so Smurra ended up in Alo's crew in Valachi's diagram. The FBI believed that Alo was Adonis' successor.
* There is also one more fact in favor of this version. Frank Galluccio in Valachi's diagram is in Alo's crew, but he could be in Majorana's crew. Galluccio was Yale's man and it was he who gave Capone his famous scars. If Galluccio was on the Adonis crew, this proves that at least part of the Adonis crew comes from the Yale crew.
* There are people from Brooklyn in the Licata/Frasca crew; they could have moved to the Frasca crew from the crew of Adonis, who stepped down at that very time.
* In Alo's crew there were people from Brooklyn - Lantosca and Ricci, they could have been in Adonis' crew initially. Valachi's chart assigns soldiers from other crews to him, all of whom have ties to Brooklyn. There are no more connections between Alo and Adonis.
* Majorana's successor was Tomas Contaldo. He was closely related to him, but was a member of the Frasca crew. Later he transferred to Majorana. Another former soldier of Adonis?
* If the captain retired in 1953 was Adonis. The question remains: who replaced Adonis, who is this mysterious captain with 13 characters in his name? Lanza? Carfano? Frasca? Mike Clemente? Patsy Del Duca? Jimmy Blue Eyes?

[HairyKnuckles]

Those guys who had been under Miranda and who were made captains in or around 1962/1963 were acting captains some years before. So Vito Genovese made them acting captains sometime before he was taken to trial and official captains later. The exception is Frasca, who seems to have been acting captain or very possibly official captain already in the early 1950s. Frasca was made captain (official or acting I´m not sure) when Tommy Licata died in 1952. That´s the information I have seen.

That's interesting to know! Where does the information come from that they were made official around 1962/3 and had been acting before? I tried looking on MaryFerrell but couldn't find anything about them being acting before that.

On Frasca, would it be safe to assume then, considering we have multiple member sources talking about how Genovese made him a captain, that he was only acting after Licata died?

Chin, it took me some time but I found my note. There is no mention of these guys being acting captains, I must have assumed it because I have seen that piece of information about the "Five colonels", dated in 1962 thinking ok, that s when they were made official captains then. The note says "Vito Genovese promoted Carillo, Tieri, Defeo and Celano before he went away." And I have the year 1959 in brackets as a side note. So I assumed they were only made acting captains. No mention of Celambrino or Frasca. I don t know if the actual snippet that was sent to me was dated 1959, I doubt it, the info could have reached the FBI later but 1959 was when Genovese was sent away.

Frasca, was made captain (official or acting I don t know) right after Licata died, that I know for sure.

Very interesting original post Chin! That helped me clear up some things.

[chin_gigante]

Those guys who had been under Miranda and who were made captains in or around 1962/1963 were acting captains some years before. So Vito Genovese made them acting captains sometime before he was taken to trial and official captains later. The exception is Frasca, who seems to have been acting captain or very possibly official captain already in the early 1950s. Frasca was made captain (official or acting I´m not sure) when Tommy Licata died in 1952. That´s the information I have seen.

That's interesting to know! Where does the information come from that they were made official around 1962/3 and had been acting before? I tried looking on MaryFerrell but couldn't find anything about them being acting before that.

On Frasca, would it be safe to assume then, considering we have multiple member sources talking about how Genovese made him a captain, that he was only acting after Licata died?

Chin, it took me some time but I found my note. There is no mention of these guys being acting captains, I must have assumed it because I have seen that piece of information about the "Five colonels", dated in 1962 thinking ok, that s when they were made official captains then. The note says "Vito Genovese promoted Carillo, Tieri, Defeo and Celano before he went away." And I have the year 1959 in brackets as a side note. So I assumed they were only made acting captains. No mention of Celambrino or Frasca. I don t know if the actual snippet that was sent to me was dated 1959, I doubt it, the info could have reached the FBI later but 1959 was when Genovese was sent away.

Frasca, was made captain (official or acting I don t know) right after Licata died, that I know for sure.

Very interesting original post Chin! That helped me clear up some things.

Thanks for having a look for the document, that helps consolidate a few pieces of information.

I think it's really valuable to keep re-evaluating what we know and what we think we know over time, comparing sources. Going forward I'm going to include full references more and more in my big posts because I think it is really helpful to keep in mind exactly where information is coming from precisely for these circumstances.

[Antiliar]

I don't think we can be certain that Galluccio was in Yale's crew. As far as I know, this information comes from William J. Balsamo, whose books are full of fictional dialogue and made up stories. During Thomas Dewey's investigation of Murder Incorporated in the 1930s and 40s he was named as the person who cut Capone, but little else. Now, he may very well have been a member of Yale's crew, but there's nothing to confirm it so it's speculation, and since it's speculation it can't be used to establish a connection between Yale and Adonis.

[Antiliar]

In 1930 Vito Genovese, Anthony Appierto, Salvatore (could be an error for Generoso) Del Duca and Jerry Bruno sent an airplane to drop flowers over the grave of Antonio Miranda, the brother of Michele Miranda:

Miranda, Antonio funeral.jpg

This indicates that they were connected to each other at a very early date. This was while Joe Masseria was still the boss of his crime family and Charlie Lucky was a captain.

[B.]

Excellent find. I'm sure "Salvatore Del Cuca" is Del Duca given his nickname was Toddo.

Haven't heard of Jerry Bruno.

[JoelTurner]

Jerry Bruno looks like he was in interesting circles:

- Was born ~1896 // Was 40 in 1936 articles

- In the 1930 census, there's a Jerry Bruno. He was born ~1896 in Massachusetts to Italian parents and living at 241 E 21st St with a wife Annette and daughter Eleanor. This was near the East Village/Lower East Side where Luciano operated.

- 1936 - Arrested as part of Lucky Luciano's pimping case alongside Dave Petillo, Ralph "the Pimp" Liquori/Liguori, Jimmy Frederico, and Tommy Pennachio

- 1938 - Arrested alongside Gambino member Alfonso Attardi and Vincent Gentiluomo, both of Galveston, TX; and Charles Cassesa of NYC for narcotics. Living at 807 Riverside Dr, NYC, NY

- His nickname was Jerry the Lug

------------------

Angelo Iandosco who was listed as a deceased member of the Alo crew in 1963 also had the nickname Jerry the Lug

He was born Nov 22 1896 in Boston, MA to Francesco Iandosca and Stella Fiore

According to a Dec 1961 article, he had lived at 344 Upland St, Westbury, NY. A neighbor said that he had died the previous summer.

The nickname, age, and POB are a match. I don't know anything else about Iandosco to really say if it was the same guy but it feels like a lot to be a coincidence.

[B.]

Nice job. "Jerry Bruno" could have been a nickname or alias. A nickname for Angelo is "Jilly" (like the Colombo member) which comes from the "-gelo" part of the name, so maybe "Jilly" became "Jerry".

There was a high-ranking New England member named John Bruno who was in competition with Ray Patriarca to take over the Family but according to the Patriarca tapes Vito Genovese adamantly opposed Bruno becoming boss. Generic name so maybe there's no connection but because this Jerry Bruno was connected to both MA and Vito Genovese it came to mind.

[PolackTony]

Jerry Bruno looks like he was in interesting circles:

- Was born ~1896 // Was 40 in 1936 articles

- In the 1930 census, there's a Jerry Bruno. He was born ~1896 in Massachusetts to Italian parents and living at 241 E 21st St with a wife Annette and daughter Eleanor. This was near the East Village/Lower East Side where Luciano operated.

- 1936 - Arrested as part of Lucky Luciano's pimping case alongside Dave Petillo, Ralph "the Pimp" Liquori/Liguori, Jimmy Frederico, and Tommy Pennachio

- 1938 - Arrested alongside Gambino member Alfonso Attardi and Vincent Gentiluomo, both of Galveston, TX; and Charles Cassesa of NYC for narcotics. Living at 807 Riverside Dr, NYC, NY

- His nickname was Jerry the Lug

------------------

Angelo Iandosco who was listed as a deceased member of the Alo crew in 1963 also had the nickname Jerry the Lug

He was born Nov 22 1896 in Boston, MA to Francesco Iandosca and Stella Fiore

According to a Dec 1961 article, he had lived at 344 Upland St, Westbury, NY. A neighbor said that he had died the previous summer.

The nickname, age, and POB are a match. I don't know anything else about Iandosco to really say if it was the same guy but it feels like a lot to be a coincidence.

Great work here.

All of the other men named here were Campanian, and Iantosca is an Avellines’ surname. I believe that Angelo Iandosco’s parents were most likely from Montefalcione, Avellino. Del Duca was also Avellines’, from the Camorra stronghold of Lauro (also the hometown of the Mazzochis in Newark). Given the Springfield connection here with Antonio Miranda, also worth noting that Lauro borders the comuni of Quindici, Avellino, and Bracigliano, Salerno, that are key source towns in Springfield (eg, the Albano, Siniscalchi, Scibelli, Santaniello, families are all from this section).

Another thing to note is that Antonio Appierto was from Marigliano, the hometown of Boiardo as well (Bill Feather mistakenly had Appierto as being from the neighboring comune of Acerra, but confused him with another guy who immigrated to Chicago). Appierto was connected to Del Duca, and in Newark their respective paesani Boiardo and Mazzochi were connected to each other. Of course, Marigliano was also closely tied to Vito Genovese’s hometown of Roccarainola, both being in the Nola district of Terra di Lavoro/Caserta.

[B.]

Speaking of the Mirandas, in 1932 Mike Miranda and his wife traveled back from Italy with David Petillo and his wife. Petillo made other trips to Italy and reportedly owned property near his familial hometown in Salerno province. There are indications that the Mirandas had roots/connections with the Camorra and according to an informant Petillo was first made by Al Capone in Chicago, a confirmed Camorrista. Petillo was of course accused of pimping too, a Camorra activity Capone was also involved in that the Sicilians despised. Petillo was likely one of the Genovese members made into Capone's decina but moved back to NYC instead of staying in Chicago.

Just an interesting connection w/ Miranda here that also sheds light on Petillo's background.