TMA: The Camorra's Influence on American Cosa Nostra

[Angelo Santino]

Article 4: Codex

Modern 'ndrangheta keeps getting caught with written codes, rules, regulations, very much unlike the LCN which we all know and love. Well, the 'ndrangheta's origins are on full display in the camorra which also made use with written documents.

https://americancamorra.substack.com/p/4-codici

The American Camorra is coming soon, I promise. But all the pieces of the puzzle matter.

[Proletarian187]

Interesting fascination with numbers it seems. 24-48-96 etc..

Almost like they're into numerology. I guess it's the heritage and inspiration from freemasonry?

[Angelo Santino]

Interesting fascination with numbers it seems. 24-48-96 etc..

Almost like they're into numerology. I guess it's the heritage and inspiration from freemasonry?

It goes back to carbonari which is just a branch off of Freemasonry. I'll be covering this in Article 5 which explores the Camorra's true origins within the prison system between 1820 and 1830. All the rumors of it being "the oldest mafia" which dates back to the 1700's is all fable. Essentially, the camorra is a criminal carbonari or freemasonry. We don't know if the founders were former carbonari themselves or if they just "borrowed" their system.

[Proletarian187]

Very interesting. Knew nothing about Carbonari so thanks for that rabbit hole ..

The dynamic of political activism that goes rogue and become intertwined with criminal activity always interests me. Parts of the corsican mafia has always had a nationalistic flair to it as well.

Not to mention Brigate Rosse of 70's Italy and many more. Not that they were OC but they were robbing banks, kidnapping people and performing assassinations. And when they went to prison started recruiting criminals and making connections with all kinds of groups.

The brazilian Comandos were also formed by political prisoners who started recruiting hardcore criminals and morphed into serious OC powerhouses.

[motorfab]

Parts of the corsican mafia has always had a nationalistic flair to it as well.

Not really. It has happened that Corsican "mafiosi" have had links with the independence activists, like Charles Pieri who was associated with Francis Mariani of the "Brise de Mer" gang, but this type of relationship ends there. We can't really say that Corsican gangsters have a real patriotic fiber, like most of the mobsters, they mainly serve their own interests.

But it is true that an individual like Pieri had mafia methods and practiced extortion. Moreover, these methods + Pieri's relations with Mariani probably led to the murder of François Santoni in 2001, another independentist dissatisfied with Pieri. But this type of example remains very marginal.

The situation in Corsica is not easy to explain and it has always been like that ...

[Angelo Santino]

I do find the so-called battle cry to be something to note:

Noi non siamo cravunari
noi non siamo realisti
Ma facimmo i camurristi
Fammo in c... a chilli e chist

We are not Carbonari
We are not realists
But we are Camorrists
And we f*ck this and that

Clearly, they are distancing themselves from the Carbonari but it raises questions. We know the camorra in prison was documented showing favoritism to political prisoners (we also have examples of the opposite). Before 1819 the prisons were under the control of incarcerated Carbonari. But we have very little documentation between 1820 and 1850. Once we get into the 1850's we have recounts written later by former political prisoners and government reports. Whatever was going on in prison during the crucial decade of the 1820s gave birth to a cult-like criminal sect which 200 years later is regarded as one of the world's most powerful OC groups.

What surprised or amazed me about all of this was just how widespread and diversified the camorra was by 1850, both inside and outside of Naples and how it took on localized characteristics. It's very similar to the Mafia if one were to compare the Family of Cleveland to the Family of the NY Gambinos, they are the different branches of the same organization with the same structure who share a mutual recognition but their activities, operando and makeup is different. As this relates to the American Camorra, Campanians who came from places and a culture containing camorra likely would have had the right qualifications that the mafia would recruit once initiating mainlanders became normalized in the mid to late 1910's. I bring this up because there is a lingering stereotype that the mafia was more sober while the camorra more thuggish. In this case the stereotype is true but that's based on limited information. We have very limited intel on the camorra in the provinces, we know it was there and quite influential but almost all sources always focused on Naples. Which, I'd argue that's like focusing only on the Mafia in NY. It makes sense why people do that, it was and remains the epicenter but mafia existed/exists as a national network and not just a localized one.

As I might have said before, the majority of American Napolitani members weren't actually from Naples but mostly the province. So while the Naples model helps, it might not fit 100% what was going on in the province in terms of operations and there's evidence to suggest that it didn't. Seems like many of these Provinciali made their way into the Genoveses (60% by 1963), followed by the Gambinos (30-40% by 1963). We can't verify with any degree of accuracy how many were former camorristi but we can say that they came from their own criminal subculture parallel to the mafia. And many of these Naps were distinguished members, accepted as amico nos just like any Sicilian, not simply recruited to be thugs or strong arm men. Granted that existed but that's not the entire picture. Which sort of makes the Genovese Family one of a kind, the half-child of the Provincial mala vita.

Rant over to no one in particular.

[PolackTony]

I do find the so-called battle cry to be something to note:

Noi non siamo cravunari
noi non siamo realisti
Ma facimmo i camurristi
Fammo in c... a chilli e chist

As a note, the last line is “famm’ ‘n culo a chill’ e chist’” (up the ass of everyone). Censored for obvious reasons in the 19th century sources for this (it was recorded as early as 1858). Like the Siciiian mafia, the Camorra would at times use politics for strategic and opportunistic reasons, but as a whole had no ideology beyond advancing the agenda of its membership. While for the partisans and secret political sects of the Risorgimento, “patria” (the fatherland) referred to the dream of a unified Italy, Camorristi used “patria” to denote the collective membership of their organization; ie, the Honored Society was their only “fatherland” to which they owed patriotic allegiance.

[Proletarian187]

We are not Carbonari
We are not realists
But we are Camorrists
And we f*ck this and that

At least they were subtle, huh?

[PolackTony]

We are not Carbonari
We are not realists
But we are Camorrists
And we f*ck this and that

At least they were subtle, huh?

Realisti here meant “royalists/monarchists”, the pro-Bourbon political movement (often called Sanfedelismo) that opposed the “Jacobin” republicanism advocated by the Carbonari during the period of Napoleonic occupation of the Kingdom of Naples in the early 19th century. The royalists also had secret societies, similar to the Carbonari. The song emphasizes that Camorristi had no political loyalties except to themselves.

[chin_gigante]

Managed to read article 4 today on the substack. Once again, very well written. It's been fascinating getting to learn so much about a subject I until recently knew next to nothing about.

[Stroccos]

Speaking of connections between Agrigento and the Calabrian Camorra, I posted this a while back but didn't elaborate because we were waiting to get deeper into this topic.

A Youngstown informant said there was a secret "inner group" (Camorra) within the Calabrian Mutual Aid Society in Youngstown and that Calogero Vizzini (native of Agrigento) had been one of the "instructors" of the "inner group" and "taught" men like Mallamo and the Romeos but was not permitted to attend meetings of the secret "inner group" because he wasn't Calabrese. Thanks to the other account of the Youngstown Camorra / 'ndrangheta induction, we can easily understand what the source was talking about even though he himself hadn't officially joined despite being invited.



It's pretty clear in this account that Vizzini was not a formal part of the local Camorra himself but mentored and very likely sponsored some of these Calabrian Camorristi into the Pittsburgh Family. It shows the close relationships that were at play and suggests that even if Vizzini was not a formal part of their Camorra group he was in a position of influence with them and may have helped them join the mafia. Vizzini was close to Pittsburgh member Charles Cavallaro in Youngstown who was also from Agrigento, possibly Villaseta. Based on a report from the early 1960s, it looks like Cavallaro was once in the Romeo decina alongside guys like Mallamo and other Calabresi. Mallamo also took over Cavallaro's interests after his murder.

You also see Caltanissetta in these Youngstown circles like Vincenzo Lupo and Joe DiCarlo Jr. from Vallelunga and Detroit member Francesco Cammarata from San Cataldo. Vizzini was very close to Cammarata.

There is def a pattern emerging of central Sicily (i.e. the eastern side of the mafia's historic sphere of influence) in connection with Calabrians and we see it in both North America and Italy.

Was Mallamo whole crew informants? , as far as i can tell most of them were , shows that they had no respect for mallamos camaroa

pinedellis son regarding the meeting with MIlano over the prostocution in mansfield ohio , at the meeting was Leo Moceri , ernest lasalle , tony delsanter and Jimmy Lafatch , along with Milano , Romeo and TOny MOliica (who spouse to in charge of mansfield ), Being as everyone there is alleged to have been made in the cleveland family , it sounds more of a Cleveland family figuring out the issue as opposed to a camora only issue,

[B.]

Yeah, after revisiting the Pindelli report I agree it wasn't necessarily related to "Calabrian organization" affairs. It is interesting though that the son of a Pittsburgh member associated with the Calabrian network was given assistance by Milano in connection with a prostitution-related dispute.

There were at least two and possibly three informants connected to Youngstown who had information on the Calabrian group, one that was initiated into the Camorra and another that simply knew about the organization and had relatives who were part of it. Neither was a made member of Cosa Nostra and as far as I can tell there were no LCN members cooperating in and around Youngstown.

[Stroccos]

Yeah, after revisiting the Pindelli report I agree it wasn't necessarily related to "Calabrian organization" affairs. It is interesting though that the son of a Pittsburgh member associated with the Calabrian network was given assistance by Milano in connection with a prostitution-related dispute.

There were at least two and possibly three informants connected to Youngstown who had information on the Calabrian group, one that was initiated into the Camorra and another that simply knew about the organization and had relatives who were part of it. Neither was a made member of Cosa Nostra and as far as I can tell there were no LCN members cooperating in and around Youngstown.

also interesting according to the pimp he first reached out to romeo , who sided with Mollica ,Then Milano stepped inafter word came from the pindellis dad , With all those cleveland guys allegegelly integrating Mollica and Romeo , does that point to Romeo being in the Cleveland family ? I dont see cleveland made guys integrating a Pittsburgh made man like this , assuming what the pimp says is accurate

the informant stated it was about 1958 , in 1958 there was with the new sheriff in richland county. rb Bliss , who interesting claimed he was cracking down on hookers in the county.

I am thinking there are four or five informants just in mallamos crew

[B.]

Paul Romeo was a Pittsburgh captain at that time and the other Romeos were with Pittsburgh so it makes sense the informant reached out to him first. Not hard to understand why informants in the area were confused about affiliation though.

[Angelo Santino]

It may be worth noting the difference between the Mafia and Camorra structure: Mafia had one degree of membership and so- in theory- was more selective and exclusive; Camorra on the other hand had 3 degrees, meaning they could bring anyone in and keep them at the bottom while moving up the promising members into the next two grades, which may be why law enforcement agents were able to infiltrate as members as noted in Naples and New York.

However, there's no evidence that Mallamo's "Calabrese Organization" had that structure by the 1960's, they might have or it may have degraded into a watered-down version. But regardless, the Calabrese between Cleveland and Pittsburgh at least seemed to have some unilateral cohesion/group between them that was not LCN despite many of the top Calabrians being LCN. One informant from his Calabrian vantage point in Youngstown stated that Milano of CL and Ripepi and Amato of Pittsburgh were the "real bosses." We know that's not true from a mafia organizational perspective that the Calabrese informant was in no position to know but from the Calabrese perspective, those guys were the leaders.