Colorado family: Dionisio clan info & New Mexico

[JoePuzzles234]

Niotta says Desimone was only acting in LA? Because he stepped down, or does he have intel for it? Some of these authors do great research but I'm not always sure what their understanding of the formal org is.

DeSimone is described as an interim leader in the Los Angeles Underworld pictorial, my understanding is that it means acting boss.

Not sure what source was used but he has a ton of federal documents related to the Dragnas, so it might be from there.

Roma is a good question. Certainly possible a Calabrian could have become boss in the early 1930s as that was happening around the country at that time and we know he associated closely with the Carlinos but offhand I'm not sure if anyone ever identified him as boss apart from outsider reports of him as the Colorado "mob boss" when he was killed.

Roma's ID as boss seems to mostly be from secondary accounts, it doesn't seem like members ever discussed who he was or anything like that.

The closest is probably Clyde Smaldone being interviewed in the 1990s, who said that Roma's shooting didn't "bother him" despite their previous association.

I looked into Frank Bacino some years back because of Phil Bacino of the Chicago Family. Didn't see anything that indicated a relation but even though Phil was from Ribera his heritage originally came from Burgio which as we know was intertwined with nearby Lucca Sicula and Phil also had relatives from there as well.

There was also a Frank Pacino in Colorado who was close to Chicago member (possible capodecina) Sam DiGiovanni, who initially arrived to Colorado from Palazzo Adriano. Pacino stayed in contact with DiGiovanni even later and I believe he ended up in LA. When I came across him I was wondering if it was a misspelling of Bacino but indeed his name was Pacino and he was Palazzese. Phil Bacino was coincidentally very close to DiGiovanni in Chicago Heights.

Very cool Chicago links, strangely they don't appear to have really interacted with Colorado in later years - in comparison to St. Louis and Kansas City.

Bacino's friend Joe Lolordo of the Chicago and DeCavalcante Families married a woman from Lucca Sicula in LA, surname Cascio. In your original post I noticed you found Cascios from Lucca Sicula involved with the CO Family -- I don't know of Lolordo's in-laws being in CO as they bounced between Linden NJ and LA then ended up in NYC but maybe there's a relation.

Regarding Carl Cascio, he is a pretty interesting figure. His mother was a D'Azzo but I was unable to find if she was related to Robert V. Dionisio's mother but both families were from Lucca Sicula regardless.

His WW1 draft card lists New York as his POB and his siblings were born in New Rochelle, Westchester County. He also lived and worked in Newark for a time.

Two of his brothers later lived in Los Angeles and on top of that, his home was listed in an address-book seized in a 1950 raid from a "Dragna lieutenant." I have wondered if this wasn't maybe Los Angeles member Giovanni Cascio (brother-in-law of Thomas Palermo) because of the shared last name but all I can find for the LA guy is that his POB was "Palermo, Italy."

Joe Riggio's brother-in-law was also a mafioso active in local "black hand" activity -- Alfonso "Rei". Not sure if that's the true spelling or if it may have been Raia. Riggio's other in-laws Giovanni and Calogero Mule were also active in these activities along with Vito LaRocca and brothers Gaetano and Paolo D'Anna. I'm guessing Giovanni/John and Calogero/Charles could be the same John and Carlo you said were related to the Bacinos but you never know w/ these recurring names. Something to remember with the Carlinos and D'Annas is these people are almost always close until they aren't.

I had never heard about Riggio's brother-in-law, great info.

His son-in-law Calogero/Carlo/Charles (married to Riggio's daughter Catherine) and his brother Giovanni are the same Mulés as the apparent Bacino relatives. They had changed their name to Mulay at some point and the Sylvia married to Frank Bacino also did the same, which seems to make her their sister but I haven't been able to 100% confirm that yet.

Riggio's store in Walsenburg was where many of these guys held meetings and allegedly Riggio shot a guy to death and dismembered him with an axe in the store. Everything in the late 1910s investigations pointed to Riggio as the central figure and there was also another Joe Riggio involved with these guys as a bootlegger and "black hander" in Trinidad but the leader was the Walsenburg one related to the Collettis, Carlinos, and Mules.

Accounts seem to differ here as to whether it was his store or home when it comes to the Nahra/Naher murder, though the family might've lived above it or something like that.

I was looking into this again last night and found that there was a Joseph Riggio incarcerated at Cañon City Penitentiary in September 1920, due for release in October. They don't specify his age unfortunately but they do say he was convicted of murder in Huerfano County (Walsenburg is the county seat there), so it appears that this was the suspected boss.

Previously I was always looking him up as "Joe Riggo" or "Giuseppe Riggio" and not always as "Joseph Riggio", so I didn't come across this article until now. Strangely, I can also only find newspapers talking about the murder charges being dismissed against him, his son and his wife in May 1919 but clearly the guy was eventually some doing time (2-4 years) for the Naher killing.

We know it's not the other Joe Riggio because he had done time for bootlegging in 1918 already and the "boss Riggio" had not ever been convicted of anything before the murder (at least according to newspaper accounts). Riggio being incarcerated might explain why Scaglia was the boss then.

The relation to Jim Colletti came through Riggio's wife, who was sister of Jim's father Vito Colletti. Interestingly just like the Riggios had the other surname Mortellaro, the Collettis had also used the surname Forti/Forte.

I had seen that as well and wasn't really sure what to make of it, seems like it was lost by the time the family was in the US. One of Jim's uncles, Francisco, was spelling his name as Colletta during his immigration.

Also might be worth noting that Colletti's grandmother was a D'Azzo as well.

[PolackTony]

Very cool Chicago links, strangely they don't appear to have really interacted with Colorado in later years - in comparison to St. Louis and Kansas City.

There were a number of early links between Chicago and CO, some of which I’ve discussed in one of the Chicago threads previously. These ties are to be expected, given that the same Sicilian paesani groups active in the Pueblo area also had colonies in Chicago. Denver’s Italian community, on the other hand, was heavily made up of immigrants from Potenza, while Chicago also has a large Lucano community. Apart from mafia ties, there was general contact and movement between Italians in CO and Chicago due to hometown and familial networks, as well as labor recruitment patterns (many Italian men in Chicago in the early 20th century would be recruited to work on railroad and mining gangs in the West seasonally and then return to their families in Chicago). Given these broader patterns, it can be assumed that there were more LCN connections at play than those that we have documented thus far.

And there were ties at least into the 1960s between Chicago and CO LCN. In 1967, the FBI reported that Joe Salardino was serving as a “money man” for Chicago member Frank Fratto, apparently acting to identify potential clients in Colorado for Fratto’s juice loan operation. Salardino had reportedly undertaken several trips in the 1960s to Chicago to meet with Fratto. An informant told the Feds that Fratto and his brother Lou Fratto had significant influence over “La Cosa Nostra activities” in the Denver area at this time, and that both Clyde Smaldone and Joe Salardino where in close contact with Lou Fratto who was residing in Des Moines, IA, until his death in 1968. Chicago member Felix Alderisio was busted on extortion charges in 1965 for threatening to murder Denver attorney Robert Sunshine over an unpaid debt to Ruby Kolod, an associate of Alderisio in Vegas. While I’m not aware that CO LCN affiliates were ever explicitly identified as being connected to that case, it was very likely that Alderisio had been in contact with affiliates of the CO Family as Alderisio was personally very close to the Frattos (it may or may not be relevant here that Alderisio, like the Smaldones, was Lucano).

I’m really glad that you’re delving into CO at this level of granularity, as it was a very interesting Family and I suspect that there will be more ties to other Families that will emerge with further research. Very much enjoying this thread.

[B.]

It appears Carl Cascio was the brother of Joe Lolordo's wife. I haven't dug into all the records but when you said he was connected to LA and NJ, I thought there must be a connection and a FamilySearch tree has him as Anna Cascio Lolordo's brother. I already wondered if Lolordo's father-in-law Vito Cascio was an elder DeCavalcante member but if his son was a presumed Pueblo member and son-in-law was a Chicago / DeCavalcante member it further points to it. It would also mean Carl Cascio got his start around the DeCavalcantes as they were living in Linden when he was coming up as a young man.

I believe LA member John Cascio was from Corleone so probably no relation. That surname is common in various comuni in the Western Sicilian interior.

Doesn't look like there is an immediate relation between the Cascio-related D'Azzas and Colletti's mother but could be cousins to some degree. Jim's cousin Joe's Bonanno decina was very close to the DeCavalcantes so these circles all overlap in multiple places.

Re: Riggio. The one who was incarcerated in 1920 was indeed the one we're talking about. He was sentenced to 2 to 4 years for the murder and it appears he moved to the San Jose area sometime after his release. I agree it would make sense if Scaglia took over due to Riggio's incarceration. Speaking of which, are you sure the one arrested in 1930 was him or was it the Trinidad one?

[PolackTony]

Not to create a tangent away from the excellent Colorado discussion, but LA member Giovanni Cascio was indeed from Corleone, confirmed by his WW2 draft card. I have his father as Leoluca Cascio (I believe that he died in 1940 in Lake Charles, Louisiana) and his mother as Rosa Rizzo. Note that on his naturalization in Los Angeles, John Cascio stated that he also used the names Collura and Rizzo (Collura being a surname that is common in the area around Prizzi and Corleone. He also claimed that he entered the US at NOLA in 1924, for which I was able to find no record. Maybe the record was lost, but I've seen enough of these funny little name games that -- particularly given the apparent late year of his arrival to the US -- I suspect Cascio had entered the US under an assumed name and later falsified his documents. His naturalization also just gave his place of birth as "Palermo", further suggesting that he wasn't keen on having his actual origins discovered.

[PolackTony]

It appears Carl Cascio was the brother of Joe Lolordo's wife. I haven't dug into all the records but when you said he was connected to LA and NJ, I thought there must be a connection and a FamilySearch tree has him as Anna Cascio Lolordo's brother. I already wondered if Lolordo's father-in-law Vito Cascio was an elder DeCavalcante member but if his son was a presumed Pueblo member and son-in-law was a Chicago / DeCavalcante member it further points to it. It would also mean Carl Cascio got his start around the DeCavalcantes as they were living in Linden when he was coming up as a young man.

I believe LA member John Cascio was from Corleone so probably no relation. That surname is common in various comuni in the Western Sicilian interior.

Doesn't look like there is an immediate relation between the Cascio-related D'Azzas and Colletti's mother but could be cousins to some degree. Jim's cousin Joe's Bonanno decina was very close to the DeCavalcantes so these circles all overlap in multiple places.

Re: Riggio. The one who was incarcerated in 1920 was indeed the one we're talking about. He was sentenced to 2 to 4 years for the murder and it appears he moved to the San Jose area sometime after his release. I agree it would make sense if Scaglia took over due to Riggio's incarceration. Speaking of which, are you sure the one arrested in 1930 was him or was it the Trinidad one?

Really excellent discovery here.

[B.]

Not to create a tangent away from the excellent Colorado discussion, but LA member Giovanni Cascio was indeed from Corleone, confirmed by his WW2 draft card. I have his father as Leoluca Cascio (I believe that he died in 1940 in Lake Charles, Louisiana)

The Desimones were also in Lake Charles. When Rosario returned from a trip to Sicily in 1910, he was heading to Pueblo but he was with his brother Vincenzo (former Pueblo resident) who was heading to Lake Charles where their other brother Pasquale was living.

[JoePuzzles234]

And there were ties at least into the 1960s between Chicago and CO LCN. In 1967, the FBI reported that Joe Salardino was serving as a “money man” for Chicago member Frank Fratto, apparently acting to identify potential clients in Colorado for Fratto’s juice loan operation. Salardino had reportedly undertaken several trips in the 1960s to Chicago to meet with Fratto. An informant told the Feds that Fratto and his brother Lou Fratto had significant influence over “La Cosa Nostra activities” in the Denver area at this time, and that both Clyde Smaldone and Joe Salardino where in close contact with Lou Fratto who was residing in Des Moines, IA, until his death in 1968. Chicago member Felix Alderisio was busted on extortion charges in 1965 for threatening to murder Denver attorney Robert Sunshine over an unpaid debt to Ruby Kolod, an associate of Alderisio in Vegas. While I’m not aware that CO LCN affiliates were ever explicitly identified as being connected to that case, it was very likely that Alderisio had been in contact with affiliates of the CO Family as Alderisio was personally very close to the Frattos (it may or may not be relevant here that Alderisio, like the Smaldones, was Lucano).

I had forgotten that report, was one of the informants there Louis Fratto himself? It stands out as particularly strange because one of the sources relayed that the Smaldones were not LCN members at that time.

The Alderisio stuff is entirely new to me (not really that familiar with Chicago). It might be worth noting for Las Vegas that the Colorado family did notable affiliates in that area, with both Scotty Spinuzzi and Joe Salardino having sons that lived and worked there at various points.

It appears Carl Cascio was the brother of Joe Lolordo's wife. I haven't dug into all the records but when you said he was connected to LA and NJ, I thought there must be a connection and a FamilySearch tree has him as Anna Cascio Lolordo's brother. I already wondered if Lolordo's father-in-law Vito Cascio was an elder DeCavalcante member but if his son was a presumed Pueblo member and son-in-law was a Chicago / DeCavalcante member it further points to it. It would also mean Carl Cascio got his start around the DeCavalcantes as they were living in Linden when he was coming up as a young man.

Awesome find on that connection. I had suspected that if he was connected in New Jersey that would be the DeCavalcantes but wasn't sure if he could also maybe be linked to the Newark family - outside of the more recent Elizabeth developments, these guys are very foreign to me.

I believe LA member John Cascio was from Corleone so probably no relation. That surname is common in various comuni in the Western Sicilian interior.

Having trouble quoting Tony's post about Cascio being from Corleone but did just want to chime in here about it making a lot of sense. Tommy Palermo's family was also from there.

I do still wonder who the "Dragna lieutenant" was with Cascio's details, hopefully that can come to light one day. With all that later California links, it could be interesting to see where that leads.

Re: Riggio. The one who was incarcerated in 1920 was indeed the one we're talking about. He was sentenced to 2 to 4 years for the murder and it appears he moved to the San Jose area sometime after his release. I agree it would make sense if Scaglia took over due to Riggio's incarceration. Speaking of which, are you sure the one arrested in 1930 was him or was it the Trinidad one?

I don't believe it was the Trinidad Riggio. While the media didn't identify which Riggio (via age) was grabbed in 1930, Trail of Shadows says it was Pete Carlino's "brother-in-law", with a sister "Gennie" that was married to Carlino.

Joe Riggio (boss guy) did not have any sons with the same name and Gennie is obviously his daughter, Giovanna/Jennie, who married Carlino in 1913. The book was apparently put together over the course of several decades, so earlier info probably wasn't as clear as today but I don't think they would have confused the two different Riggios.

Dale Kearney noted in his investigations that Riggio was also operating in Aguilar, so he can definitely could also be linked to the plotting around Kearney's murder.

[B.]

Hmm, sounds like there was confusion of some kind as Joe Riggio was referred to as Carlino's brother-in-law and not FIL. Carlino and his reported brother-in-law Jimmy Riggio had been accused of killing a husband and wife from New Mexico in Trinidad the year previous in 1929, the victims being named Solano which I'm sure will pique Tony's interest.

My understanding is Joe Riggio was already long-settled in California by 1930 and though he still no doubt was concerned with Colorado affairs given his relatives were still active there it'd be interesting if he returned and committed a murder. I'm also wondering if the account confused Joe with Jimmy Riggio given he was reportedly a brother-in-law involved with Carlino in a double murder a short time earlier.

[JoePuzzles234]

Hmm, sounds like there was confusion of some kind as Joe Riggio was referred to as Carlino's brother-in-law and not FIL. Carlino and his reported brother-in-law Jimmy Riggio had been accused of killing a husband and wife from New Mexico in Trinidad the year previous in 1929, the victims being named Solano which I'm sure will pique Tony's interest.

My understanding is Joe Riggio was already long-settled in California by 1930 and though he still no doubt was concerned with Colorado affairs given his relatives were still active there it'd be interesting if he returned and committed a murder. I'm also wondering if the account confused Joe with Jimmy Riggio given he was reportedly a brother-in-law involved with Carlino in a double murder a short time earlier.

There is actual more confusion to this whole situation.

The Pete Carlino in the Ralph/Mary Solano shootings was Peter Carlino (aka Rudolph Constantino after the 1929 issues), who was the first cousin of Pietro A. and Salvatore Carlino. He died in 1964 in Los Angeles - side note, the Carlino book really makes him seem like someone who could have been a member. Maybe he was another obscure transfer in Southern California.

Peter Carlino's wife Anna and brother-in-law James Riggio were both seemingly born in Las Animas to Joe (b. ~1880, not sure if this is a match to the Trinidad bootlegger) and Mary Riggio. I haven't been able to identify further details there. Jimmy Riggio also apparently fled to Los Angeles, per the Carlino book.

I don't think there would be confusion between Jimmy Riggio but rather between the two Joe Riggios previously identified. I still think it is likely that it was the Carlino in-law either way, maybe he was not fully relocated to California at that point.

[B.]

Ahh, of course there are two Pete Carlinos related by marriage to two different Riggio families haha, all of them involved in murders around the same time.

According to the 1930 Census, Joe Riggio was living in a house he owned in San Jose and was still a grocer. He was living with his wife, daughter, and a grandson "Joseph Riggio Jr."

Joe Jr. doesn't appear to be the son of the daughter they were living with as she is listed as born in CO while the grandson's mother is said to be born in Oklahoma. The grandson's use of the Riggio surname also suggests he is the son of a male child. I don't know if they listed him as "Junior" to differentiate him from his grandfather on this record or if the elder Joe Riggio did have a son named Joseph somewhere who would be the Joe Sr. to Joe Jr. but it looks like he is probably the son of Dan Riggio.

Interestingly Joe Jr. was born in Utah.

Joe Riggio the elder turned 68 in 1930.