Bonanno - Newark Connections ?

[JoelTurner]

Newark member Charles Matranga’s naturalization was witnessed by Benedetto Grippi, son of Bonanno member Salvatore Grippi and boss Nichola Schiro’s nephew


(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... ction=view)

It was mentioned in the original post that, in 1934, Salvatore Grippi & Charles Matranga had been arrested together on liquor charges. However, their family’s Bonanno connections didn’t stop there:

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Matranga’s BIL Giacomo LoPiccolo and sister Mary Matranga had their naturalizations witnessed by Bonanno member Thomas Scardino and his wife Concetta respectively.


(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... ction=view)


(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... ction=view)

The Matrangas & Scardinos were from Camporeale while LoPiccolo was from Monreale.

Based of his 1923 immigration, Giacomo LoPiccolo’s father was Giuseppe & he had a brother Filippo.
(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... ction=view)

At a glance he doesn’t appear to have been related to the other LoPiccolo mobsters:

-Bonanno member Stefano LoPiccolo’s parents were Antonino LoPiccolo & Anna Lococo

-Chicago narcotics man Joseph LoPiccolo’s parents were Filippo LoPiccolo & Margaret Viso (While this Filippo also had a father named Giuseppe, he probably wasn’t Giacomo’s brother as he was living in Chicago by 1917)

[HairyKnuckles]

August 22 1935- Vincenzo Troia and his group are gunned down by Leonard Cipolla, Bonanno member from Partinico.

Joel, Is this Leonard Cipolla the same guy as the early. reputed New Orleans Mafia boss? Has it been confirmed that Leonard Cipolla was an early Bonanno member?

[B.]

It's the same Cipolla as the New Orleans one -- he was also the brother-in-law of LA boss Vito DiGiorgio from adjacent Borgetto and they spent time in NO together.

There's no confirmation of Cipolla's Bonanno membership but it's highly probable. Lived in Williamsburg where his paesani were important Bonanno leaders at the time, moved to New Orleans where he immediately became a leader (maybe an early example of the "house of Schiro" phenomenon), secretly fled back to Williamsburg by the early 1920s and is then murdered in the 1940s. In the 1930s he and his wife also traveled to Italy with Nicolo Schiro -- along with Schiro being related to Partinicese mafiosi, Cipolla's wife was from Camporeale like Schiro's maternal side and other early Bonanno leaders.

Given a source said Joe Bonanno was directly involved in the Troia murder/aftermath, Cipolla seems to have been another Bonanno member involved in the affair. By then Schiro was living in NJ and Cipolla had relatives in Newark so there may be a couple angles linking him to it. As a suspected ex-boss of NO and close friend of Schiro his possible involvement in the murder is intriguing as is his own murder. Several important Bonannos from Partinico/Borgetto were killed during the early era of Joe Bonanno's reign: Mangiaracina, Rappa, Cipolla.

[HairyKnuckles]

Thanks for the response B.

[JoelTurner]

Cipolla's wife was from Camporeale like Schiro's maternal side and other early Bonanno leaders.

I’m pretty sure that Cipolla’s wife Maria Saladino was related to Thomas Scardino’s wife Concetta Saladino

Not only were they both from Camporeale and had the same maiden name, Concetta also witnessed her naturalization:



(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... ction=view)


Also, Maria was born to Francesco Saladino & Antonia Todaro; I wonder if she was related to any of the Todaros either in Newark or New Orleans. The latter would make a lot of sense

[B.]

Yeah, Camporeale has always had strong ties to San Cipirello / San Giuseppe Jato so there could be something there with Todaro.

The Scardinos were connected to Antonino Governale when they arrived to NYC, Governale being early US patriarch of the Schiro-Orlando clan and someone we suspect of being an early member if not leader. These Camporealesi were tightknit.

[ShotgunTheRifle]

Sorry if this is the wrong spot to ask. But was there a Newark family and Decavalcante family operating in New Jersey before the 60s? Or did the Newark family essentially become the Decavs when they got disbanded. I started to read some of "what do we know about the Newark family" thread but it's pretty lengthy. Assume mynasnwer is somewhere in there.

[B.]

Sorry if this is the wrong spot to ask. But was there a Newark family and Decavalcante family operating in New Jersey before the 60s? Or did the Newark family essentially become the Decavs when they got disbanded. I started to read some of "what do we know about the Newark family" thread but it's pretty lengthy. Assume mynasnwer is somewhere in there.

Newark was a separate Family that was disbanded in the mid-late 1930s. The members then joined NYC Families. It is possible some DeCavalcantes were originally with Newark but there isn't much info suggesting it and we see different patterns with the members.

The DeCavalcantes' early history is obscure even within obscure mafia history so we lack confirmation on what exactly was going on with them pre-1950s but high-ranking members of three Families, including two DeCav captains, believed they were one of the oldest Families and there are other references that suggest they'd been around for decades by the 1960s. They were most likely formed in NYC by immigrants from Ribera and neighboring villages then as most of them migrated to Elizabeth that became their base of operations. Very few DeCavalcantes lived/operated in Newark proper, their members living in Peterstown and South suburbs.

[ShotgunTheRifle]

Sorry if this is the wrong spot to ask. But was there a Newark family and Decavalcante family operating in New Jersey before the 60s? Or did the Newark family essentially become the Decavs when they got disbanded. I started to read some of "what do we know about the Newark family" thread but it's pretty lengthy. Assume mynasnwer is somewhere in there.

Newark was a separate Family that was disbanded in the mid-late 1930s. The members then joined NYC Families. It is possible some DeCavalcantes were originally with Newark but there isn't much info suggesting it and we see different patterns with the members.

The DeCavalcantes' early history is obscure even within obscure mafia history so we lack confirmation on what exactly was going on with them pre-1950s but high-ranking members of three Families, including two DeCav captains, believed they were one of the oldest Families and there are other references that suggest they'd been around for decades by the 1960s. They were most likely formed in NYC by immigrants from Ribera and neighboring villages then as most of them migrated to Elizabeth that became their base of operations. Very few DeCavalcantes lived/operated in Newark proper, their members living in Peterstown and South suburbs.

Thanks