Profaci Carinesi Faction / Carini Connections

[B.]

Known for the dominance of its Villabatesi membership under Joe Profaci and its metro Palermitani roots under the leadership of Manfredi Mineo and Salvatore DiBella, the Profaci family had a somewhat mysterious but heavily influential faction of members from Carini, on the western side of Palermo.

Only a small interconnected group of men from Carini have been confirmed as Profaci members, but this small group was heavily represented in leadership positions. Not only were these men interrelated, but Joe's son Salvatore J. Profaci would also marry into this clan, showing solidarity between this faction and the Villabatesi leadership.

This thread isn't meant to go deeply into biographical info or activities related to these men, only to list out members and potential members of this group, show connections between them, and discuss their role in mafia history.

As always, please feel free to add info or offer corrections.

Profaci-Era Carinesi Faction:

- Giuseppe Buffa, Profaci's consigliere until his 1959 death. It's unknown when he was elected to the position and I've never seen anything on predecessors. FBI tapes in NJ during the 1960s revealed that DeCavalcante boss Nick Delmore and his underboss had attended Buffa's funeral, adding to his alleged stature. Following Buffa's death, the official consigliere position was not filled until 1964.

- Frank Buffa, brother of Joe. Frank's daughter married Salvatore J. Profaci, son of Joe Profaci, and Frank would later move to San Jose, where he was identified as a made member under the Villabatese Joe Cerrito, whose father had been an early Profaci member. San Jose was heavily tied to the Profaci family both in terms of transfers and relation. It's likely Frank Buffa was originally a Profaci member like his brother. Son-in-law Profaci spent time in the Bay Area staying with Buffa and allegedly considered moving there.

- Salvatore Badalamenti was married to Frank and Joseph Buffa's sister. Badalamenti was a Profaci capodecina by the early 1960s, likely earlier, and became the family's acting consigliere during this period; as mentioned above, the official position had not been filled following his brother-in-law's death. Demoted by Joe Colombo in the mid-1960s and died by suicide in 1967.

- Joseph Badalamenti, brother of Sam. An obscure figure who has been nonetheless linked to Profaci family activities and is believed to have had membership.

- Benedetto D'Alessandro and Giuseppe Buffa were married to sisters, surname Pecoraro. D'Alessandro maintained close ties to the Sicilian mafia and served as Angelo Bruno's host when Bruno traveled to Sicily in the early 1960s. Bruno was recorded telling Joe Magliocco that D'Alessandro's brother was introduced to him as "amico nostra" upon his arrival in Sicily and the D'Alessandro brothers took Bruno around Sicily introducing him to mafia figures. D'Alessandro was a member of Sam Badalamenti's decina and served as the acting captain when Badalamenti became acting consigliere. Upon Joe Colombo's 1964 election as boss, D'Alessandro was elected as the family's first official consigliere since his in-law Joe Buffa's 1959 death. D'Alessandro eventually stepped down and retired to Sicily.

- FNU D'Alessandro. Angelo Bruno's identification of D'Alessandro's brother as a made member doesn't specify a first name nor whether the brother was simply visiting Sicily like Benedetto D'Alessandro, or if the brother was a permanent resident of Sicily and therefore part of a Sicilian mafia family (Carini). Benedetto had at least two younger brothers who lived in NYC but we need more info to clarify which of his brothers was a made member and whether he resided in the US or Sicily. Regardless, he was a made member and served as a liaison between US and Sicilian mafia members.

- Like D'Alessandro, Vincenzo Randazzo had been in the decina of compaesano Salvatore Badalamenti. Randazzo might also be related to the Buffa-Badalamenti-D'Alessandro clan, as another sister of Frank and Joe Buffa married a Pietro Randazzo. Randazzo would be elevated to capodecina in the late 1970s following family unrest, with Randazzo taking in elder members like the Magliocco brothers, further evidence of solidarity between the old Profaci faction and the Carinesi. Randazzo died in 1987, possibly making him the last living member of this faction.

- Nicola Failla, a generation older than the above figures, was active with the mafia early on in Brooklyn, associating with Joseph Peraino. Failla was deported, later returning to the US where he was identified as a made member of the Profaci family. In the later years of his life Failla appears to have been inactive in criminal affairs and died in the 1960s. While he didn't hold a known leadership role and there is no known relation to the above clan of figures, Failla is important as he bridges a gap between an earlier Brooklyn Carinesi element and the above Profaci figures.

Other Early Brooklyn Figures

- Giuseppe Mannino was a close associate of Joseph Peraino who, like Peraino, was killed in 1928. Joseph Mannino was from Carini, like Peraino's other close associate Nicola Failla. Given that Failla was later identified as an older Carinese member of the Profaci family and Peraino's sons would become Profaci members, it is likely Joseph Mannino was affiliated with the same organization. Another one of Joe Buffa's sisters was married to a Mannino from Carini. Though I cannot confirm the relation to Joseph Mannino, the prevalence of mafia ties in Buffa's relations would suggest a possible connection. A Giuseppe Mannino from Carini, about ten years younger than this one, is listed in the FBN book as a mafia figure in Sicily involved in international heroin trafficking.

- Giuseppe Peraino's records state he was from "Palermo" and a return visit to Sicily showed that the Perainos stayed with his wife's relatives in the heart of metropolitan Palermo. There is no info suggesting Peraino himself was Carinese, but his association with early Brooklyn Carinesi figures Nicola Failla and Joseph Mannino and the proximity of Mannino's murder to Peraino's own murder suggests that Peraino was influential with the Carinesi faction, possibly a leader over them, and it can't be definitively stated that Peraino himself did not have some personal tie to Carini. We are lacking definitive info on Peraino's membership and exact status, but virtually all sources agree he was a high-ranking mafia figure in Brooklyn by the late 1920s and he associated with other high-ranking members of different NYC families. Given his close ties to the Carinesi and his sons' membership in the Profaci family, I believe Peraino was a member of the future Profaci family. A non-member informant who was nonetheless knowledgeable about the inner workings of the Profaci family later told the FBI that Peraino's son Anthony, a made member, was close to capodecina Salvatore Badalamenti, suggesting Peraino's son(s) maintained a relationship with the Carinesi, most of whom were old enough to have known the elder Joe Peraino.

- There is no information identifying Croce Pecoraro as a mafia member or criminal, but at least two of his daughters married influential Profaci members from Pecoraro's hometown of Carini, Giuseppe Buffa and Benedetto D'Alessandro. Given his son-in-law D'Alessandro's strong Sicilian mafia ties and that both sons-in-law would become official consiglieri, it lends itself to the possibility that Pecoraro was an elder part of this Carinesi mafia element. He may have a connection to the above mentioned Joseph Mannino, too, as Mannino's mother was a Monterosso and Pecoraro's immigration listed his departure contact in Carini as a relative named Monterosso. Pecoraro lived in Brooklyn with his daughter and mafioso son-in-law Benedetto D'Alessandro prior to his death in the 1940s. If Pecoraro was a mafia member, his age (b. 1864) would make him the oldest known Carinese mafioso in this immediate group and his DOB/DOD would also obscure him from later sources who identified Profaci members. Another daughter of Pecoraro married a Balsamo, a surname that connects to the Profaci family and early NYC Palermitani, though not sure there is a relation to the other Balsamos. Regardless of his membership status, Pecoraro was an elder Brooklyn Carinese deeply immersed in the mafia subculture.

Even Earlier NYC Carinesi

- Vito LaDuca was an early prominent mafia figure from Carini in NYC. Like his mafia compaesani, he operated in Brooklyn, which is significant given the above figures' presence in Brooklyn. He was closely associated with capo dei capi Giuseppe Morello and surrounding figures during the early 1900s, later being murdered in his hometown of Carini in 1908. Prior to leaving the US, LaDuca was accused of kidnapping an Antonio Mannino. It might be no coincidence that Mannino is a popular Carinesi surname with mafia ties, as evidenced above, and it was not uncommon for mafia figures to prey upon their own compaesani. LaDuca is alleged by some researchers to have been a Morello family member, though I'm not sure if CI Salvatore Clemente explicitly identified him as a member of this family. LaDuca was linked to Bagherese NYC mafia figure Giovanni Zarcone.

- Tommaso Petto, a contemporary of LaDuca, was also from Carini and operated in Little Italy. In fact, Petto was identified as a suspect in a 1904 kidnapping connected to compaesano Vito LaDuca. Some online accounts say the kidnapping was of LaDuca himself, but the timeline fits with the Mannino kidnapping LaDuca was accused of, so I suspect there is confusion on someone's part. Either way, it appears these compaesani were closely involved, with both men suspected in the 1903 barrel murder as well. Petto moved to Pittston where he was murdered in 1905.

- Giuseppe Fanaro, another early NYC Carinese mafia leader. Fanaro lived on the Lower East Side and like LaDuca and Petto, was a suspect in the 1903 barrel murder of Benedetto Madonia. We know that future mafia murders were often carried out by members of the same family or crew, so this could suggest these three Carinesi were affiliated with the same family if not decina. Fanaro and brother-in-law Antonio Ganci were suspects in the 1908 murder of Salvatore Marchiani in Brooklyn, yet another Carinese figure and another example of violence among compaesani. Ganci was a counterfeiter and given his relation to Fanaro may have been from Carini or was otherwise closely affiliated. Fanaro was identified as an associate of Salvatore D'Aquila after D'Aquila's ascent to boss and was murdered in 1913.

- Salvatore Marchiani's Carini background and presence in Brooklyn, plus a note found on his corpse from a Cantaldo in Palermo giving regards to Giuseppe Fanaro and warning the recipient to take caution are indications that Marchiani was associated with the mafia in Brooklyn and Sicily. Not to mention his murder at the hands of compaesani mafiosi.

- There very well could have been more early members from Carini in NYC at any point from 1900s-1950s. Our knowledge of them does not begin to take shape until later, when even the known Carinesi Profaci members were considerably older. Giuseppe Buffa is an obscure figure rarely mentioned by sources despite being consigliere of an NYC family through the end of the 1950s. If someone like Buffa could remain so obscure, various soldiers could have easily slipped under the radar.

Early Affiliation?

- There is no evidence the future Mineo (i.e. Profaci) family existed at the time LaDuca and Petto were active in NYC during the early 1900s and this family is believed to have split off from the Lupo family, which has only recently been identified by researchers as distinct from Morello. If some earlier unknown incarnation of the Mineo family did not exist at the time and Clemente did not identify LaDuca and Petto explicitly as Morello members, I would place them in the Lupo family. Giuseppe Fanaro's association with D'Aquila, Lupo's former family, adds to the idea that the Carinesi were Lupo members.

- The possibility of Fanaro being under D'Aquila and not Mineo in the 1910s is interesting. Villabatese mafia leader Giuseppe Fontana is believed to have been a ranking member of the D'Aquila family and both Fontana and Fanaro were murdered in November 1913. Both the Villabatesi and Carinesi would later be identified as leading members of the Mineo/DiBella/Profaci family, suggesting a possibility that these factions were originally with D'Aquila and transferred membership to Mineo later. Given that Mineo is believed to have later transferred to D'Aquila's family in order to become boss, it lends itself to the idea that these factions transferred to Mineo earlier on, possibly due to political fallout after the murders of these leading figures. We don't know how common it might have been for members or groups of members to transfer membership within NYC families pre-1931, though we know from Joe Valachi's account it happened during the so-called "reorganization" after the Castellammarese War in 1931.

- If the Carinesi and Villabatesi were under D'Aquila and not Mineo originally, Mineo/DiBella would have been missing a major chunk of their later membership and it opens the question of who was under Mineo in the early 1910s if these significant factions weren't with him. Our information on this era is limited and it's possible the Carinesi and Villabatesi, or parts of them, were under Mineo yet maintained friendship with D'Aquila. I do not believe it is a coincidence that Carinese and Villabatese leaders were killed around the same time and that the Carinesi and Villabatesi would end up forming the future leadership of the Profaci family, but the exact route these men took before taking over the Mineo group is one of many unknowns we can't answer.

Leadership Roles and National Connections

- While the Villabatese Charles LoCicero held the position of acting consigliere following Joe Buffa's death, it is interesting that the next two men to serve as acting and then official consigliere were Carinesi figures related to deceased consigliere Buffa. This was not limited to the Profaci/Magliocco leadership, but also after Joe Colombo became boss. Given that consigliere was an elected position, it would seem the membership themselves viewed the Carinesi as suitable leaders, particularly in the neutral position of consigliere.

- Vincenzo Randazzo's promotion to captain in the 1970s was described as a political move to pacify senior members. Despite his elderly age and the lack of Carinesi in the family by this time, it appears a figure like Randazzo still held political weight, perhaps as a holdover from this earlier influential faction.

- John Scalish of Cleveland was part of a minority Carinesi group in his family and attained the rank of boss. Cleveland member Stefano Randazzo was from Carini and his daughter married Carmen Milano, the son of underboss Tony Milano. Randazzo lived in Florida and had a close relationship to Tampa boss Santo Trafficante, serving as a liaison between Cleveland and Tampa.

- Detroit member Salvatore Buffa was from Carini and according to one source was given control of Bay City by Joe Zerilli. It's not known if Buffa held a rank above soldier, but he appears to be yet another example of a minority Carinese member of a family gaining stature/influence. Detroit was closely tied to the Profaci family and San Jose.

- Not sure if there is a direct relation between the Randazzos in Cleveland and New York, or the Buffas in Detroit and NYC/San Jose. The Randazzos in Cleveland, however, were related to Buffas from Carini who lived in Cleveland.

- The proximity of influential Carinesi to mafiosi from towns like Villabate, Bagheria, and Terrasini stands out, as all of these Palermo "suburbs" appear to have created an upper class of mafiosi, with these towns "overrepresented" in US mafia leadership.

- Today there is still a Club Dei Carinesi society in Brooklyn and the vice president is a Badalamenti, while the secretary is a Randazzo. The club was founded in 1959 and I haven't been able to find a leadership/membership list for their earlier years, though it should be noted similar Sicilian compaesani societies in NYC, NJ, and throughout the US included mafia figures among the membership and even in prominent positions.

[JoelTurner]

Piggybacking on this old thread to share some interesting information.

I spoke to Benedetto D'Alessandro’s granddaughter and she said that Joe Magliocco was the best man at his (Benny’s) wedding. Also, Salvatore J Profaci was her godfather

[B.]

Great to know. Makes sense given the other close relationships, including Sal Profaci marrying D'Alessandro in-law Frank Buffa's daughter.

If you speak with her again, I'd be curious if she knows of any relatives who lived in Philly given her great-grandfather Croce Pecoraro lived there for years before Brooklyn.

[sdeitche]

Ignazio Italiano, likely the first Mafia boss in Tampa, was born in Villabate. He was friends with Joe Profaci.

[Don_Peppino]

Ignazio Italiano, likely the first Mafia boss in Tampa, was born in Villabate. He was friends with Joe Profaci.

Was Ignazio Italiano related to Francesco Italiano of the early Bonanno Family? If so, do you know how?

[felice]

Francesco D'Agati, Villabate family member, in this interview talks about his cousins being member of the mafia and close to Joe Bonanno. As we know the D'Agatis in NY were made in the Colombo family
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf3jE00 ... YWdhdGk%3D

[B.]

Ignazio Italiano, likely the first Mafia boss in Tampa, was born in Villabate. He was friends with Joe Profaci.

Was Ignazio Italiano related to Francesco Italiano of the early Bonanno Family? If so, do you know how?

Francesco Italiano's real name was Sebastiano Manno and he came from Alcamo, so no relation.

Scott -- so Ignazio was from Villabate originally? Profaci said his father had known him in Sicily. I know you said the Tampa Italianos were from both Santo Stefano Quisquina in AG and Belmonte Mezzagno in Palermo.

Felice -- along with Giulio D'Agati being boss in the 1910s-20s, his brother Vincenzo D'Agati was ID'd as a member in Sangiorgi. Vincenzo's son was the Francesco who married the Magliocco sister.

[JoelTurner]

Another Carinesi member who was close to Salvatore Profaci Jr. was Gus “Buddy” Spatafora

While his father Salvatore Spatafora (Dec 21 1902 - Carini) was Italian, his mother was Austrian-Jewish.

He was a white-collar racketeer in Sal Profaci’s crew; his first arrest was with Anthony “Tony Ducks” Corelli in 1968.

[sdeitche]

Ignazio Italiano, likely the first Mafia boss in Tampa, was born in Villabate. He was friends with Joe Profaci.

Was Ignazio Italiano related to Francesco Italiano of the early Bonanno Family? If so, do you know how?

Francesco Italiano's real name was Sebastiano Manno and he came from Alcamo, so no relation.

Scott -- so Ignazio was from Villabate originally? Profaci said his father had known him in Sicily. I know you said the Tampa Italianos were from both Santo Stefano Quisquina in AG and Belmonte Mezzagno in Palermo.

Felice -- along with Giulio D'Agati being boss in the 1910s-20s, his brother Vincenzo D'Agati was ID'd as a member in Sangiorgi. Vincenzo's son was the Francesco who married the Magliocco sister.

He was. The other Italianos (e.g. Red) were from Belmonte and SSQ.

[sdeitche]

Ignazio Italiano, likely the first Mafia boss in Tampa, was born in Villabate. He was friends with Joe Profaci.

Was Ignazio Italiano related to Francesco Italiano of the early Bonanno Family? If so, do you know how?

I do not know if there was a relation there.

[motorfab]

Francesco Italiano was from Belmonte Mezzagno. I don't think they are relative, but the 2 cities are not far at all (11.5km/7miles) so why not

[B.]

Francesco Italiano was from Belmonte Mezzagno. I don't think they are relative, but the 2 cities are not far at all (11.5km/7miles) so why not

This is what kiduknow found:

Newspaper articles about the shooting of Italiano and Pasquale Dauria in October 1930, and Italiano's murder in 1935 noted that Frank Italiano was an alias, and eventually it was determined his real name was Sebastiano Mano. The police stated they were investigating Italiano/Mano for potentially entering the country illegally.

[motorfab]

Ah, problem solved then. Funny, I didn't remember it being mentioned in the articles I have about the Mano/Italiano murder, although I do remember both names being used in them. I'm going to have to get back into it.

Thank you B

[B.]

Yeah he appears to be from Alcamo which fits the Bonannos.

[Don_Peppino]

Here's some articles about the hit on the aforementioned Frank Italiano aka Sebastiano Mano.