General Mob Questions

[Nasabeak]

Two questions:

Outside of the Gotti propaganda, was there any real fear, that any files have demonstrated, either on the part of the overall Gambino Family, OR, on the part of other Families, that Castellano would cooperate?

Secondly, is it known for certain whether Castellano knocked down Nino Gaggi from Capo - and was potentially marking him for murder as Sammy claims, or was it Gotti who knocked him from Capo, as other sources claim?

[Bontade]

Are Corsicans still conducting their operations in Marseille, or is this already history?

[motorfab]

Are Corsicans still conducting their operations in Marseille, or is this already history?

Although they are mainly active on the island of Corsica since the mid-1980s, the Corsicans are still active throughout France as well as in Africa and South America where they have various interests (casinos are one).

And they are still allied with various mafia groups in Italy

[Bontade]

Thanks bro

[motorfab]

Anytime

[JeremyTheJew]

Two questions:

Outside of the Gotti propaganda, was there any real fear, that any files have demonstrated, either on the part of the overall Gambino Family, OR, on the part of other Families, that Castellano would cooperate?

Secondly, is it known for certain whether Castellano knocked down Nino Gaggi from Capo - and was potentially marking him for murder as Sammy claims, or was it Gotti who knocked him from Capo, as other sources claim?

Was gaggi taken down before going to prison?? Did not know he was taken down at all

[JoeNGallo]

Can anyone confirm that this Joe Massino (right) with John Gotti (left)? This is the first time I have seen this surveillance picture.

It is from the new History Channel documentary: American Godfather: The Five Families (2024) (narrated by Michael Imperioli)

We all know the story, but the documentary is worth a watch for the video footage (Especially of Valachi, which I haven't seen personally)

[Roose]

Here’s my question, why were Camorra clans typically bigger than Sicilian mafia families? What influenced the smaller size of Sicilian mafia groups?

[johnny_scootch]

Here’s my question, why were Camorra clans typically bigger than Sicilian mafia families? What influenced the smaller size of Sicilian mafia groups?

Classic Camorra clans had a major and a minor society. Cosa Nostra is organized very differently but in Camorra terms you could say it’s made up entirely of a major society.

[Roose]

Here’s my question, why were Camorra clans typically bigger than Sicilian mafia families? What influenced the smaller size of Sicilian mafia groups?

Classic Camorra clans had a major and a minor society. Cosa Nostra is organized very differently but in Camorra terms you could say it’s made up entirely of a major society.

Is minor society the street level stuff or a way of dividing the clans into two different levels of importance?

[johnny_scootch]

Is minor society the street level stuff or a way of dividing the clans into two different levels of importance?

Both of those are true. The minor society was made up of the younger newer members who couldn't yet be trusted with more important secrets or responsibilities.

You should check out the Substack called American Camorra by Angelo Santino who is a member of this board. It's all about the spin off Camorra organization that formed here in the United States but was very similar to the organization in Italy.

[antimafia]

From the earliest days of the borgate in the United States, was there ever a rule that a member could not be on the payroll of a racketeer who was not a mafia member?

What I mean by "be on the payroll" is to actually receive a regular salary, e.g., weekly, for committing illicit activity at the behest of the racketeer.

[B.]

From the earliest days of the borgate in the United States, was there ever a rule that a member could not be on the payroll of a racketeer who was not a mafia member?

What I mean by "be on the payroll" is to actually receive a regular salary, e.g., weekly, for committing illicit activity at the behest of the racketeer.

A mafioso could work for or with non-mafiosi in an operational context and there is no issue. Obviously his loyalties are first and foremost to the mafia but I'm not aware of any rule, historic or otherwise, preventing a mafioso from earning money by providing assistance to a non-member.

[antimafia]

From the earliest days of the borgate in the United States, was there ever a rule that a member could not be on the payroll of a racketeer who was not a mafia member?

What I mean by "be on the payroll" is to actually receive a regular salary, e.g., weekly, for committing illicit activity at the behest of the racketeer.

A mafioso could work for or with non-mafiosi in an operational context and there is no issue. Obviously his loyalties are first and foremost to the mafia but I'm not aware of any rule, historic or otherwise, preventing a mafioso from earning money by providing assistance to a non-member.

A thoughtful response. Thanks, B.

Calogero Bordonaro was on the payroll of Rocco Perri in the 1920s. During that period, Perri's partner (romantic; business), the Canadian Jewess Besha (Bessie) Starkman, advanced significant sums of money to Bordonaro for drug deals.

Stefano Magaddino and Perri enormously profited during Prohibition; they needed each other. Each made enough money early on that they never would have had to "work" another day in their life.

But Perri was Magaddino's archenemy. Bordonaro, Antonio Papalia, and Frank Silvestro ("Sylvestro") were Perri loyalists at least up until the end of the 1930s -- the latter two were thus anti-Magaddino. At Perri's invitation, Bordonaro even accompanied him to a wedding in Calabria. By all appearances they were friends.

But eventually Papalia, Silvestro, and even Bordonaro withdrew their loyalty to Perri. We've come to know Silvestro and Bordonaro as Buffalo Family members, with Silvestro being the biggest heroin dealer in Canada in the 1950s.

Bordonaro might have pledged his loyalty to Magaddino in the 1920s and been made by the latter; maybe not on both counts, at least not that early. Of course it's quite possible that Magaddino wanted Bordonaro to spy on Perri.

But if Bordonaro were made by Magaddino in the 1920s, then Magaddino had no problem with the former being on Perri's payroll. I thought that this fact could have precluded Perri from being made by Magaddino while Bordonaro was paid a salary by Perri.

[antimafia]

precluded *Bordonaro from being made by Magaddino while Bordonaro was paid a salary by Perri