More Colorado family political figures

[JoePuzzles234]

Outside of Louis Boschetto, here are some additional Italian politicians connected to the Colorado family that I’ve come across

Trinidad Area:
John Charles Cha (05/12/1898 – 05/30/1997)
POB: El Moro, Las Animas
Father: Giuseppe “Joe” Cha
Mother: Maria Micca
- Both from Piazzo comune of Torino, Piedmont

Cha was a bootlegger connected to the Carlino brothers and was also later convicted with Robert V. Dionisio in a corruption scandal.

Long involved with the Democratic party and Trinidad City Council, he was eventually its mayor in the 1960s and then later involved in other council projects.

Not on the 1950 FBN list, listed on the Denver PD chart under the “Southern Colorado Faction” section.

I wrote about Cha in further detail here. I believe he was probably a member of the family.

Talico Micheliza aka “Tal” (10/27/1910 – 08/31/1990)
POB: Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia
Father: Giovanni “John” Micheliza
Mother: Teresa DeBellis

Elected to the Trinidad City Council in November 1949.

At that time, local politician James E. Donnelly required a favourable council vote to continue as mayor. Donnelly was also a Democratic State Senator and later was a close political associate of John Cha.

Present on the 1950 FBN list and also listed on the Denver PD chart under the “Southern Colorado Faction” section.

Denver Area:
Paul Joseph Villano aka “Big Paulie” (03/19/1900 – 01/25/1988)
POB: Denver
Father: Angelo Villano
Mother: Gaetana “Daisy” LNU
- Both from Potenza comune of Basilicata

His brother Michael was married into the Smaldones and his nephew, Paul Clyde (Fat Paulie), was a member and eventually the last Colorado boss. Big Paulie was a councilman in his Denver district (elected May 1951) and was involved with the local crew in its activities, later arrested with Checkers Smaldone.

Not on the 1950 FBN list, listed on the Denver PD chart.

Aguilar, CO:
Salvatore Brocato (Brancato?) aka “Sam” (07/12/1899 – 09/22/1975)
POB: Census records list Brazil

I wasn’t able to find details about his parents but others are better equipped for that. He was a tailor and married a Carmela Cozzetto/Cozzetti/Cozzetta in September 1925.

In February/March 1932, a Joseph Roma associate was arrested and on his person was a cashed 300-dollar cheque that had been endorsed by Brocato.

He was Aguilar’s mayor from 1940 until 1948 and was beaten for re-election in 1948 and 1950.

Not on the 1950 FBN list but listed on the Denver PD chart under the “Southern Colorado Faction” section.

[B.]

Great work. It would make sense they had relationships to or even inducted politicians in Colorado and not just backwater Rock Springs, Wyoming.

With Cha coming from Piedmont, it brings to mind Rock Springs underworld figure Pietro Zanetti who came from Piedmont. I'd need to double-check where specifically Zanetti came from in Piedmont. I don't believe an ostensibly legitimate politician from an Austria-controlled far-Northern Italian region was the only member inducted in Rock Springs, Zanetti and John Anselmi being the two other names I suspect of membership. Anselmi was from a nearby part of Northern Italy as Boschetto and the two families were close. I doubt they had more than two or three members there, though.

In 1969 Scotty Spinuzzi told Bomp that he was the only capodecina in the Family and there were only "a few" members left. "A few" is hard to measure without names but it would be interesting if any of these guys you found were members as they were still alive then.

These names add to the fact that despite the core of the Family being Western Sicilian, their network and maybe even membership brought in a diverse group of Italians who could help extend their influence.

[PolackTony]

Great work.

Denver had a strong community of Potentini, anchored by the Società Nativi di Potenza (today called the Potenza Lodge) and they still hold a Feast for San Rocco there today. Unsurprising that this community would have a political big shot representing them in local politics and that he would be closely tied to his paesani/in-laws, the Smaldones.

[JoePuzzles234]

Great work. It would make sense they had relationships to or even inducted politicians in Colorado and not just backwater Rock Springs, Wyoming.

With Cha coming from Piedmont, it brings to mind Rock Springs underworld figure Pietro Zanetti who came from Piedmont. I'd need to double-check where specifically Zanetti came from in Piedmont. I don't believe an ostensibly legitimate politician from an Austria-controlled far-Northern Italian region was the only member inducted in Rock Springs, Zanetti and John Anselmi being the two other names I suspect of membership. Anselmi was from a nearby part of Northern Italy as Boschetto and the two families were close. I doubt they had more than two or three members there, though.

Not sure if it's of any relevance but there was a land assessment in July 1919 for a Vincent Mortellaro in Cheyenne, Wyoming, about 4 hours away from Rock Springs. This might have been the same Vincent Mortellaro who was killed in 1932 in a shooting apparently ordered by Joseph Roma.

His brother Frank (1886-1960) appeared on the 1950 FBN List and might have been an old-time member of the family - he was wounded in the shooting and I wonder if this led to Roma's murder in 1933 along with other possible tensions. Frank was a grocer and connected to a lot of familiar names while active during Prohibition in Denver. They were from Bivona, Agrigento.

We also see another prominent Northern Italian member in Pueblo with Thomas "Whiskers" Incerto, who was a close associate of underboss Charles Blanda.

In 1969 Scotty Spinuzzi told Bomp that he was the only capodecina in the Family and there were only "a few" members left. "A few" is hard to measure without names but it would be interesting if any of these guys you found were members as they were still alive then.

These names add to the fact that despite the core of the Family being Western Sicilian, their network and maybe even membership brought in a diverse group of Italians who could help extend their influence.

The January 1969 meeting between Spinuzzi and Bompensiero does actually mention some names - Joseph Salardino, Charles Blanda and the Smaldone brothers (seemingly only Eugene & Clyde, though it’s possible Clarence and Paul Villano were made by this time), all identified in the report as LCN members.

I think Scotty is only referring to active members of the family by this time, since outside of him failing to mention consigliere Gus Salardino, these were the guys that managed family activities in Pueblo and Denver.

From Eugene Smaldone’s FBI files, we know that Spinuzzi was the member that attempted to resolve the issues between Clyde and Checkers in March 1968. Clyde had made the trip to Pueblo to request assistance in this matter but I don’t think it was clear who he met with.

Given that Spinuzzi went to Denver to meet with the brothers and not Gus Salardino (despite him being the consigliere), it might indicate that he wasn’t overly involved in family affairs and was then not considered active by Spinuzzi when talking to Bompensiero.

I believe his "only captain" comment is in reference to Robert V. Dionisio dying in 1967, who I suspect was a captain based in Trinidad. Spinuzzi being quick to label James Colletti as "80 years old", despite him only being around 10 years older than him is also a pretty telling detail in my opinion.

As such, I wonder if he is simply dismissing the people who could’ve been members in Trinidad (like John Cha, Tal Micheliza, Paolo Surace and maybe Robert J. Dionisio) because they were fairly elderly (Micheliza being the youngest at 59) and were likely not criminally active.

Colletti was very much inactive though - I believe him being disconnected from the family even led to an issue between the Denver crew and Pueblo members in June 1966 over barbuit territory, when he gave permission to the Smaldones to operate in Pueblo.

Great work.

Denver had a strong community of Potentini, anchored by the Società Nativi di Potenza (today called the Potenza Lodge) and they still hold a Feast for San Rocco there today. Unsurprising that this community would have a political big shot representing them in local politics and that he would be closely tied to his paesani/in-laws, the Smaldones.

Paul J. Villano was an officer of the Potenza Lodge. Attached is a photo of him with its members in January 1979 (he is in the back row with the greyish sweater, red tie, grey hair & glasses). I don't know that the Smaldones themselves were society members but they were famously involved with the Feast of Saint Rocco, an event that the Potenza Lodge also supported.

potenza lodge jan 1979 paul j. villano.jpg

[B.]

Okay, that's right Spinuzzi did name some people. I'm reluctant to believe he was making a distinction between criminally active members and retired members though. Members are members and outside of CIs telling the FBI who is criminally active or involved in Family affairs (the only details relevant to criminal prosecution), you don't tend to see them categorize members that way within the organization. Bomp is also relating what Spinuzzi told him so it isn't verbatim but if Spinuzzi told him there were only a few members left I would expect he was referring to members in general. "A few" could mean anything even though he did name some names. There were no doubt some sleepers in addition to those named and Spinuzzi said too he had proposed his nephew for membership so new people may have come in after 1969.

Spinuzzi did say the remaining members wanted Colletti to step down and Bompensiero encouraged them to hold a meeting where Colletti would abdicate his position and Spinuzzi would be elected the new boss. The FBI later learned that Colletti did step down and Spinuzzi became the boss. Spinuzzi had also said Joe Bonanno passed through Colorado some time earlier but made no contact with local members and that the Family members actually had no idea Bonanno had been removed as boss and weren't supposed to recognize him anyway. So they were way out of touch with the national network.

This is very telling as Colletti was a former Bonanno member with a close relationship to Bonanno and small bosses around the country were in the loop on the Bonanno affair yet Colletti either didn't know or didn't communicate it with his members (Cleveland held a Family meeting to discuss it, in contrast). Bomp met with Spinuzzi again in 1974 and learned Bonanno had reached out to him for help being reinstated (Bonanno did this with Buffalo too). Bomp also met with Joe Salardino a short time later and learned he too was in contact with Bonanno.

I'm sure you've seen all that and can clarify some things but it's interesting to get that window into a dwindling Family's internal politics and interactions.

--

Cheyenne is definitely a place I suspect of having had members as it is much closer to Denver. The Smaldones were active there at one point and these guys from Agrigento are a stronger indication they once had members there in addition to the Smaldones' extensive bootlegging operations. Dionisio was tied to Wyoming as well -- he was married there if I remember right.

[JoePuzzles234]

Okay, that's right Spinuzzi did name some people. I'm reluctant to believe he was making a distinction between criminally active members and retired members though. Members are members and outside of CIs telling the FBI who is criminally active or involved in Family affairs (the only details relevant to criminal prosecution), you don't tend to see them categorize members that way within the organization. Bomp is also relating what Spinuzzi told him so it isn't verbatim but if Spinuzzi told him there were only a few members left I would expect he was referring to members in general. "A few" could mean anything even though he did name some names.

Very fair points, my perspective is mostly speculation but I think there is merit to both angles. It's unfortunate there was never a local member-informant, it would have been so valuable in understanding the family.

There were no doubt some sleepers in addition to those named and Spinuzzi said too he had proposed his nephew for membership so new people may have come in after 1969.

Definitely, someone like Tom Incerto is an "easier" name to throw in the mix but there was a few old-timers like Carl Cascio and maybe Tony Spinuzzi who could have been members in Pueblo for example.

I think you might switching Spinuzzi and Joe Salardino, Joe was the one who mentioned to Frank Bomp that he was considering proposing a nephew for membership. I am of the opinion that no new members were brought in past Paul C. Villano and Clarence Smaldone personally.

Spinuzzi did say the remaining members wanted Colletti to step down and Bompensiero encouraged them to hold a meeting where Colletti would abdicate his position and Spinuzzi would be elected the new boss. The FBI later learned that Colletti did step down and Spinuzzi became the boss. Spinuzzi had also said Joe Bonanno passed through Colorado some time earlier but made no contact with local members and that the Family members actually had no idea Bonanno had been removed as boss and weren't supposed to recognize him anyway. So they were way out of touch with the national network.

This is very interesting as well, since Charles Blanda (who appears to have been the underboss) died like a month after Spinuzzi met with Bompensiero. Wish we knew how his death effected this process, did it delay it further or did it expedite Spinuzzi's efforts given that he just lost a prominent supporter?

This is very telling as Colletti was a former Bonanno member with a close relationship to Bonanno and small bosses around the country were in the loop on the Bonanno affair yet Colletti either didn't know or didn't communicate it with his members (Cleveland held a Family meeting to discuss it, in contrast).

I think it's possible that he wasn't even aware of the ongoing Bonanno issues, Spinuzzi does say that he was out of touch despite being an active member and Colletti was clearly disconnected himself.

Bomp met with Spinuzzi again in 1974 and learned Bonanno had reached out to him for help being reinstated (Bonanno did this with Buffalo too). Bomp also met with Joe Salardino a short time later and learned he too was in contact with Bonanno.

I think this is the earlier confusion with Spinuzzi/Salardino (or maybe it's a report I haven't come across, my apologies if that is the case) - Scotty was serving time in Pueblo County Jail on gambling charges when Bompensiero and Salardino met in August 1974 and discussed Buffalo issues, Clarence Smaldone being made a captain and the unidentified nephew who Salardino said was "not yet in the Colorado LCN."

This is also the meeting where Salardino made a telephone call to Bonanno, where he requested Bomp to in put a good word with the Chicago family for his "reinstatement."

I used to think the nephew was George Joseph Salardino (1928-?, notably, he was born in Rock Springs) but he was apparently actually Joe's son, who appears on the DPD chart with a Las Vegas PD arrest number. Not sure if he was involved with the family to any real degree.

Salardino's brother Gus (the consigliere) was married to a non-Italian and doesn't seem to have had children so that rules out a nephew from that side but he did have a sister that married a Joseph Peter Mulay (Freemont County 1937) - not sure if he was related to the Mulès where Giovanni (k. 1923) was a member but it's something worth noting.

Joe Mulay (1909-1968) worked in the steel mills and had a son John G. Mulay, born 1942 who might be the nephew that Salardino is talking about, though he appears to have been living in Los Angeles in 1971.

Cheyenne is definitely a place I suspect of having had members as it is much closer to Denver. The Smaldones were active there at one point and these guys from Agrigento are a stronger indication they once had members there in addition to the Smaldones' extensive bootlegging operations. Dionisio was tied to Wyoming as well -- he was married there if I remember right.

I had heard about the Smaldones being connected to Wyoming but never realised that Dionisio was married there, really cool detail.

[motorfab]

Great job & article Joe

[B.]

You're right it was Salardino's nephew, not Spinuzzi's. Looks like Mule might well be the candidate and it'd be interesting if he's related to the early one.

I double-checked and the report about Bonanno trying to reach out to Spinuzzi cites January 1974 as when the info started being supplied but doesn't clarify exactly when Bonanno may have tried to reach out to Spinuzzi. It says Spinuzzi had thus far done nothing to help Bonanno. It doesn't appear the info came direct from Spinuzzi but from a redacted Denver-based member (almost certainly Salardino).

--

This is a historic tangent but I found it interesting:

When Jim Colletti arrived to the US he joined his uncle Giuseppe Riggio in Pueblo before soon moving to NYC then Rochester, followed by NYC again. In Manhattan's East Village he lived with a Joseph Accomando, same surname as early Pueblo member Francesco Accomando who Gentile said transferred to Kansas City along with members Luca Colletti and Mariano Scaglia after their relative Pellegrino Scaglia was killed. Accomando was from Palazzo Adriano while Luca Colletti and Scaglia were from Burgio. Jim Colletti and his uncle Riggio were from Lucca Sicula, these areas all nearby of course.

Interestingly, Colletti's uncle Riggio was identified in 1919 police reports as a CO "black hand" leader involved in bootlegging and murder. Riggio's daughter, Colletti's cousin, also married Pete Carlino, brother of Sam, who is believed to have become boss and was killed in Denver later. One of Pete Carlino's young aides was a different Jim Colletti, though I don't know the relation to "our" Jim. Riggio moved to San Jose sometime in the 1920s and remained there. At that time, the San Jose boss was Alfonso Conetto from Alessandria della Rocca which is near Lucca Sicula. Riggio was certainly a mafioso so it seems likely he transferred to San Jose, maybe due to the rampant warfare at the time that also caused the Scaglia relatives to flee to KC. I believe the Riggio-Carlino-Colletti clan were allies of the Scaglias. A picture also emerges that Jim Colletti was not simply a paesan of the Colorado Family's formative members but related to a leading clan in that his uncle Riggio, Riggio's son-in-law Carlino, and Colletti himself were all top figures at different times.

Some have said Jim Colletti's inclusion as a Bonanno member on the Valachi charts was an error, and it was by that time, but along with Colletti living in the East Village for decades where his cousin Joe Colletti was a Bonanno captain and remaining close to the Bonannos after moving to Colorado, I saw a report from a later NYC source who said Jim Colletti had once been an NYC member who frequented Angelo Caruso's Manhattan Social Club, Caruso being Joe Colletti's brother-in-law. That crew also had Leo Carlino as a member -- his family was from Burgio, not Lucca Sicula like the CO Carlinos, but again these towns are very close. So we can be certain Jim Colletti was a one-time Bonanno member if there was any doubt.

It's believed Pellegrino Scaglia was boss by the time he was killed in 1922 but he had bounced around, living in NYC early on and also fleeing to St. Louis for a period where his paesans were important (his paesan Miceli was later boss). I'd be curious if Giuseppe Riggio may have been an earlier boss given the reports of him as a leader by 1919 and his son-in-law and nephew both becoming bosses. Another thing, with Riggio moving to San Jose when Conetto from AdR was boss -- a later captain of the Bonanno Colletti crew was Angelo Salvo from AdR so we can see Lucca Sicula alongside AdR in the Bonanno Colletti crew as well as in San Jose.

[JoePuzzles234]

You're right it was Salardino's nephew, not Spinuzzi's. Looks like Mule might well be the candidate and it'd be interesting if he's related to the early one.

I double-checked and the report about Bonanno trying to reach out to Spinuzzi cites January 1974 as when the info started being supplied but doesn't clarify exactly when Bonanno may have tried to reach out to Spinuzzi. It says Spinuzzi had thus far done nothing to help Bonanno. It doesn't appear the info came direct from Spinuzzi but from a redacted Denver-based member (almost certainly Salardino).

I've often wondered if Salardino's relationship with Bonanno developed when he was the Colorado underboss. We know from Colletti's interview that [Sebastiano] Rosario Dionisio (1873-1949/1950) was connected to various Bonanno figures and his nephew Robert had been a Bonanno member for a time while in NYC.

S. R. Dionisio was almost certainly the family's boss during the period that Salardino was the underboss, so maybe he helped facilitate those connections and they remained intact pretty much forever from that point foward.

This is a historic tangent but I found it interesting:

When Jim Colletti arrived to the US he joined his uncle Giuseppe Riggio in Pueblo before soon moving to NYC then Rochester, followed by NYC again. In Manhattan's East Village he lived with a Joseph Accomando, same surname as early Pueblo member Francesco Accomando who Gentile said transferred to Kansas City along with members Luca Colletti and Mariano Scaglia after their relative Pellegrino Scaglia was killed. Accomando was from Palazzo Adriano while Luca Colletti and Scaglia were from Burgio. Jim Colletti and his uncle Riggio were from Lucca Sicula, these areas all nearby of course.

Interestingly, Colletti's uncle Riggio was identified in 1919 police reports as a CO "black hand" leader involved in bootlegging and murder. Riggio's daughter, Colletti's cousin, also married Pete Carlino, brother of Sam, who is believed to have become boss and was killed in Denver later. One of Pete Carlino's young aides was a different Jim Colletti, though I don't know the relation to "our" Jim. Riggio moved to San Jose sometime in the 1920s and remained there. At that time, the San Jose boss was Alfonso Conetto from Alessandria della Rocca which is near Lucca Sicula. Riggio was certainly a mafioso so it seems likely he transferred to San Jose, maybe due to the rampant warfare at the time that also caused the Scaglia relatives to flee to KC. I believe the Riggio-Carlino-Colletti clan were allies of the Scaglias. A picture also emerges that Jim Colletti was not simply a paesan of the Colorado Family's formative members but related to a leading clan in that his uncle Riggio, Riggio's son-in-law Carlino, and Colletti himself were all top figures at different times.

Some have said Jim Colletti's inclusion as a Bonanno member on the Valachi charts was an error, and it was by that time, but along with Colletti living in the East Village for decades where his cousin Joe Colletti was a Bonanno captain and remaining close to the Bonannos after moving to Colorado, I saw a report from a later NYC source who said Jim Colletti had once been an NYC member who frequented Angelo Caruso's Manhattan Social Club, Caruso being Joe Colletti's brother-in-law. That crew also had Leo Carlino as a member -- his family was from Burgio, not Lucca Sicula like the CO Carlinos, but again these towns are very close. So we can be certain Jim Colletti was a one-time Bonanno member if there was any doubt.

It's believed Pellegrino Scaglia was boss by the time he was killed in 1922 but he had bounced around, living in NYC early on and also fleeing to St. Louis for a period where his paesans were important (his paesan Miceli was later boss). I'd be curious if Giuseppe Riggio may have been an earlier boss given the reports of him as a leader by 1919 and his son-in-law and nephew both becoming bosses.

Really cool info about Jim Colletti's early years, all I really knew was that he was a Bonanno member and that his cousin was a captain.

Not sure if you've read Sam Carlino's book but the other Vincenzo Colletti was "Charlie" and he identifies both of them as cousins of the Carlinos.

Excerpt from the book re. Charlie Colletti:

He is not to be confused with Vincenzo “Black Jim” Colletti. Although they are both Pete’s cousins with the same name, “Black Jim” Colletti lived in New York at the time and was in Sicily during the time of the murder. He was visiting his mother in Lucca Sicula.

Of further note about the Riggios is that Robert V. Dionisio (aka Rosario Vito/Big Bob) was married to Antonina Riggio - though I'm not sure if she was related the clan, her father was Giacomo "Jack" (1874-1949).

Antonina's brother Nicola (1903-1987) was on the Denver PD chart under the Southern Colorado Faction section. No clue about his status (I suspect just an associate) but he was listed alongside Nicolo Bisulco (1896-1975, Palazzo Adriano) who the FBN identified as a Dionisio associate.

Also, when talking about the Dionisios, it is also worth mentioning the DiGrado family, also of Lucca Sicula:

S. R. Dionisio was married to a Jennie DiGrado, whose grandmother was a Carlino. Her father Salvatore was a grocer in Trinidad.

I'm not sure of their relation (cousins?) but there was a Giachino "Jack" DiGrado (1896-1965) who was the driver in the murder of D'Anna faction figure Joe Spinuzzi (no relation to Scotty as far as I know) along with Vincenzo "Charlie" Colletti. He might have been a member, given his involvement in the factional violence.

Jack DiGrado was married to a Anna Dionisio and his sister Orsola married Vincenzo "Charles" Guardamondo (1883-1966, Lucca Sicula), a rancher and cousin of the Carlino brothers according to Sam Carlino. Pietro Carlino was arrested on his farm while hiding out at one point and was later killed while on his way from Guardamondo's ranch to Cañon City. I would hesitate to label him as a member but he was connected it seems.

[JoePuzzles234]

Great job & article Joe

Thank you

[B.]

Looks like Dionisio's wife's father Jack Riggio was from Palazzo Adriano while her mother was from Lucca Sicula. Could be a relation to Giuseppe Riggio since Palazzo/Burgio/Lucca Sicula were all so intertwined but I can't find anything at a glance. The surname was evidently important when it shows up in these circles.

I know Robert Dionisio is listed on the Bonanno "Valachi" chart with Colletti, but did he actually live in NY or NJ at any point? I wasn't sure if he was included because of the cheese company or if like Colletti he did spend time living in the NYC area.

Palazzo Adriano is near the Corleone area but borders Agrigento and for whatever reason fell more into what I'd call the national Bonanno network. The Bonannos had other guys with heritage in Palazzo Adriano like Ciro Gallo and Tony Canzoneri who were both directly related to the LoBurgio name -- there were LoBurgios from Palazzo in Southern Colorado and it looks like Canzoneri's great-uncle named LoBurgio lived in CO for a time before joining them in Upstate NY. Both Gallo and Canzoneri were also tied to the Newburgh/Marlboro area where the Colletti-Caruso-Salvo crew had a presence so I've wondered if they were associated with that crew at some point although we know Canzoneri was a captain himself for a time. With Giuseppe Riggio ending up in San Jose, it brings to mind Ciro Gallo's brother Joe who ended up a member there. I suspect there were other older Palazzesi in the Bonanno Family, possibly Canzoneri's father "Don Giorgio", but these guys are incredibly obscure.

Great additional names you've added. Will try to look into them when I have time. That 1920s-30s period is overwhelming given the number of names active in the various conflicts and bootlegging activities. I'm sure not all of them were members but you do get the impression the Family was once much bigger.

Piscopo is another recurring name -- Jim Colletti married one but she died very young in 1924, coincidentally the same year a Joe Piscopo was killed in the Colorado warfare. Sam Carlino also married a Piscopo. Colletti was arrested in Denver in 1933 for disorderly conduct so he was spending time there as an NYC resident in the decade before he moved permanently to CO. Colletti was also reportedly active with the mafia in Rochester during the years he lived there, Rochester having its own Agrigento element.

[JoePuzzles234]

Looks like Dionisio's wife's father Jack Riggio was from Palazzo Adriano while her mother was from Lucca Sicula. Could be a relation to Giuseppe Riggio since Palazzo/Burgio/Lucca Sicula were all so intertwined but I can't find anything at a glance. The surname was evidently important when it shows up in these circles.

Great info.

I know Robert Dionisio is listed on the Bonanno "Valachi" chart with Colletti, but did he actually live in NY or NJ at any point? I wasn't sure if he was included because of the cheese company or if like Colletti he did spend time living in the NYC area.

If he did live there, it appears to have been somewhat brief as his WW1 draft info places him in Las Animas by 1917 already (immigration to Ellis Island in 1912, per FamilySearch).

It does seem like he was a Bonanno member though and given that Colletti often travelled it seems plausible that he did as well. Maybe Valachi/Scarpa/etc. met Dionisio on one such occasion. John Bonventre, outside of his ties to the Colorado Cheese Company, also gave a Rosario Dionisio's address in 1942 to his "New York City Selective Service Board" - the FBI determined that this was Robert Victor's address, not his uncle's.

Colletti also called him 6 days before Apalachin, seemingly indicating his importance within the family.

Palazzo Adriano is near the Corleone area but borders Agrigento and for whatever reason fell more into what I'd call the national Bonanno network. The Bonannos had other guys with heritage in Palazzo Adriano like Ciro Gallo and Tony Canzoneri who were both directly related to the LoBurgio name -- there were LoBurgios from Palazzo in Southern Colorado and it looks like Canzoneri's great-uncle named LoBurgio lived in CO for a time before joining them in Upstate NY. Both Gallo and Canzoneri were also tied to the Newburgh/Marlboro area where the Colletti-Caruso-Salvo crew had a presence so I've wondered if they were associated with that crew at some point although we know Canzoneri was a captain himself for a time. With Giuseppe Riggio ending up in San Jose, it brings to mind Ciro Gallo's brother Joe who ended up a member there. I suspect there were other older Palazzesi in the Bonanno Family, possibly Canzoneri's father "Don Giorgio", but these guys are incredibly obscure.

A lot of the Bonanno stuff is beyond me unfortunately but it might be worth noting that after the Carlino brothers were murdered, their families also fled to San Jose and still reside there in present times.

Great additional names you've added. Will try to look into them when I have time. That 1920s-30s period is overwhelming given the number of names active in the various conflicts and bootlegging activities. I'm sure not all of them were members but you do get the impression the Family was once much bigger.

It's certainly a rabbit hole and definitely does make the family seem a lot bigger than what was later positively identified. It's also complicated by seemingly fringe characters that could have been in important in reality.

Las Animas figure John Pricco (1887-1967 of San Martino Canavese, Torino, Piedmont), for example, does not appear to have ever been arrested but did operate a beverage company during Prohibition (indicating bootlegging involvement?) and was later called the state's "Mafia Leader" by the FBN. Where do his connections come from, where does he fit in with the D'Anna/Carlino issue or the later Roma conflict? etc. etc.

Piscopo is another recurring name -- Jim Colletti married one but she died very young in 1924, coincidentally the same year a Joe Piscopo was killed in the Colorado warfare. Sam Carlino also married a Piscopo. Colletti was arrested in Denver in 1933 for disorderly conduct so he was spending time there as an NYC resident in the decade before he moved permanently to CO. Colletti was also reportedly active with the mafia in Rochester during the years he lived there, Rochester having its own Agrigento element.

Joe Salardino was also familiar with Buffalo family members (per his meeting with Bompensiero) and Colletti was also contacting him from NYC in September 1957 as well as a week before Apalachin.

[davidf1989]

Okay, that's right Spinuzzi did name some people. I'm reluctant to believe he was making a distinction between criminally active members and retired members though. Members are members and outside of CIs telling the FBI who is criminally active or involved in Family affairs (the only details relevant to criminal prosecution), you don't tend to see them categorize members that way within the organization. Bomp is also relating what Spinuzzi told him so it isn't verbatim but if Spinuzzi told him there were only a few members left I would expect he was referring to members in general. "A few" could mean anything even though he did name some names. There were no doubt some sleepers in addition to those named and Spinuzzi said too he had proposed his nephew for membership so new people may have come in after 1969.

Spinuzzi did say the remaining members wanted Colletti to step down and Bompensiero encouraged them to hold a meeting where Colletti would abdicate his position and Spinuzzi would be elected the new boss. The FBI later learned that Colletti did step down and Spinuzzi became the boss. Spinuzzi had also said Joe Bonanno passed through Colorado some time earlier but made no contact with local members and that the Family members actually had no idea Bonanno had been removed as boss and weren't supposed to recognize him anyway. So they were way out of touch with the national network.

This is very telling as Colletti was a former Bonanno member with a close relationship to Bonanno and small bosses around the country were in the loop on the Bonanno affair yet Colletti either didn't know or didn't communicate it with his members (Cleveland held a Family meeting to discuss it, in contrast). Bomp met with Spinuzzi again in 1974 and learned Bonanno had reached out to him for help being reinstated (Bonanno did this with Buffalo too). Bomp also met with Joe Salardino a short time later and learned he too was in contact with Bonanno.

I'm sure you've seen all that and can clarify some things but it's interesting to get that window into a dwindling Family's internal politics and interactions.

--

Cheyenne is definitely a place I suspect of having had members as it is much closer to Denver. The Smaldones were active there at one point and these guys from Agrigento are a stronger indication they once had members there in addition to the Smaldones' extensive bootlegging operations. Dionisio was tied to Wyoming as well -- he was married there if I remember right.

Thanks for some interesting comments so how did Bomp know Scotty Spinuzzi and Angelo Marino?

[B.]

Joe -- in addition to San Jose being led by Alfonso Conetto from AdR in the 1920s, his underboss was also from Agrigento and the San Fran Family had an overlooked element from Agrigento as well, particularly Sciacca. Basically everyone from Western Agrigento knew each other and regarded each other as paesani. Gentile also spent a period in the Bay Area and he was close to early Colorado members like the Chiappettas and Rosario Desimone before they moved elsewhere, the Chiappettas from a nearby Trapani village but related by marriage to the Scaglias from Burgio and Desimone coming from another nearby Trapani town and marrying a woman from Lucca Sicula. Desimone was also part of the Schiro-Bonanno network even though he never lived in NYC, so the "Bonanno" connections likely go back long before Colletti, etc. It was also Gentile who represented Scaglia's relatives nationally and facilitated their transfer to Kansas City from Pueblo.

David -- Bompensiero knew people all over the country as he was made young and from the time Dragna became boss he groomed Bomp as an aide, taking him around the country. Bomp also had his own connections as a veteran Sicilian who was highly respected throughout the network as both a killer and leader.

[JoePuzzles234]

Joe -- in addition to San Jose being led by Alfonso Conetto from AdR in the 1920s, his underboss was also from Agrigento and the San Fran Family had an overlooked element from Agrigento as well, particularly Sciacca. Basically everyone from Western Agrigento knew each other and regarded each other as paesani. Gentile also spent a period in the Bay Area and he was close to early Colorado members like the Chiappettas and Rosario Desimone before they moved elsewhere, the Chiappettas from a nearby Trapani village but related by marriage to the Scaglias from Burgio and Desimone coming from another nearby Trapani town and marrying a woman from Lucca Sicula. Desimone was also part of the Schiro-Bonanno network even though he never lived in NYC, so the "Bonanno" connections likely go back long before Colletti, etc. It was also Gentile who represented Scaglia's relatives nationally and facilitated their transfer to Kansas City from Pueblo.

If the Scaglia accuser named by Gentile was Frank LaRocca, that's another Lucca Sicula native tied into the family as well