1952 murder of Tommaso Matranga

[B.]

We were talking about Piana dei Greci in the Chicago origins thread but this doesn't necessarily tie-in with Chicago so starting a new thread.

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- In 1952, 70-year-old Tommaso Matranga was murdered at his "luxurious" villa in Piana degli Albanesi (Piana dei Greci) by machine gun-wielding assassins. His wife and a 13-year-old servant girl were also present and the servant, surname Cuccia, was also badly wounded. Italian authorities believed it was a mafia murder.

- Matranga had only recently returned to his native Piana degli Albanesi to retire the previous year after decades living in New York City, where he was a resident of the East Village area and self-employed as an olive oil importer. Matranga was reportedly very wealthy and described as a millionaire "by Italian standards".

- According to Italian authorities, Matranga was a "mafia member" who clandestinely entered the United States in 1926 after being accused of 16 mafia murders in Sicily, Matranga being a target of the Mussolini regime's widespread anti-mafia campaign. Note that Matranga claimed in his naturalization to have entered the US in 1931 after living in Montreal and two women named Zito served as witnesses.

- Authorities initially speculated that Matranga may have been killed for being an informant but this doesn't appear to have concrete basis and was just a theory. His murder was relatively swift after returning to live in Piana degli Albanesi, coming less than a year after he retired there. He had previously traveled overseas in the late 1940s. Authorities also speculated that the murder was a "vendetta" carried out in revenge for a killing he'd been involved with before leaving Sicily in the 1920s.

- Given Matranga spent at least 20 years in NYC (likely closer to 25) and was an alleged mafia member back in Sicily (he was in his 40s when he came to the US), there's a chance he was a member of an NYC Family while living there. I've never seen his name surface from any sources and his advanced age and 1952 DOD in Sicily make it unlikely later FBI sources would know of him. Similarly, I could find no references to mafia activity or association from Matranga and he was ostensibly a successful olive oil dealer.

- Early Morello Family admin member Giovanni Pecoraro was from Piana dei Greci and his son was made with the Gambinos while his nephew/son-in-law LiMandri was likely with the Luccheses or Gambinos prior to transferring to LA, there not being obvious patterns with PdG in NYC and his longtime residence in Lower Manhattan also doing little to clarify who he was involved with. There were Matrangas from PdG in the early LA and Chicago Families but it is a common Arbereshe name, especially in PdG, and I'm not sure if his father Francesco was related in any meaningful way to the others. His servant girl being named Cuccia brings to mind mafia connections as well, a longtime PdG boss / mayor being Francesco Cuccia, and both surnames surface in PdG family trees relevant to the mafia, but Cuccia like Matranga is a common name there.

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Curious if anyone can find other references to Matranga during his time in NYC or connections he may have had. Also feel free to add anything else about mafiosi from Piana dei Greci, or anything else you think is relevant.

[motorfab]

Not sure if it's related to Tommaso Matranga but:

Another Matranga from Piana dei Greci was Gaspare Matranga of the Los Angeles Crime Family. He was previously affiliated with the Chicago mafia under the name of "Joe Vitale" and moved during the "Cheese War" in San Diego.

Joe Cuccia former member of the Los Angeles Crime Family killed in 1906 was a relative of Joe Ardizzone and both were from Piana dei Greci. Cuccia was killed during the war with the Matranga faction, and these Matrangas were also from Piana dei Greci

[motorfab]

Here is a Google translation of an article mentioning Tommaso Matranga.

Vito Stassi was a socialist politician killed on April 28, 1921. Francesco Cuccia, the boss of Piana dei Greci and Stassi's political rival, is suspected of having ordered the murder.

It was apparently because of a denunciation of this murder that Cuccia and Matranga were targeted by the Mussolini regime.

[PolackTony]

Here is a Google translation of an article mentioning Tommaso Matranga.

Vito Stassi was a socialist politician killed on April 28, 1921. Francesco Cuccia, the boss of Piana dei Greci and Stassi's political rival, is suspected of having ordered the murder.

It was apparently because of a denunciation of this murder that Cuccia and Matranga were targeted by the Mussolini regime.

Very interesting. As I’ve noted before, PdG was one of then main centers of tension and conflict around land reform and a node of the Fasci Siciliani, with slaves of resulting political violence from the 1890s to 1920s, as land owner and mafia interests backed the Liberal Democrats against the Socialist reform movement of Nicola Barbato.

The account that I’ve read before was that Cicciu Cuccia had a personal beef with Mussolini due to a dispute that erupted during the latter’s visit to PdG in 1924, though this story may well be apocryphal. The account was that Cuccia had gone to welcome Mussolini to the town but was offended at Il Duce’s large police escort, telling him that he didn’t need to have protection like that on Cuccia’s home turf. When Mussolini then declined to dismiss his escort, Cuccia retaliated by ordering the townsfolk to not attend Mussolini’s rally in the piazza of PdG. Mussolini was allegedly furious at this move and subsequently directed Cesare Mori to aggressively target Cuccia.

Both accounts could well have been true, of course; either way, having a mayor who was a well-known mafioso like this was going to attract the attention of the Fascist crackdown. I believe that Mussolini also singled out Cuccia for condemnation in a speech a few years later, after the latter had been jailed, further suggesting that there was indeed a personal angle.

[B.]

Another Matranga from Piana dei Greci was Gaspare Matranga of the Los Angeles Crime Family. He was previously affiliated with the Chicago mafia under the name of "Joe Vitale" and moved during the "Cheese War" in San Diego.

Yep, Gaspare "Jasper" Matranga was one of the Chicago connections I was thinking of when I mentioned the Matranga name from PdG connecting there. I suspect Jasper had ties to the Sicilian mafia in Piana dei Greci as living alongside him in Tijuana was Giuseppe DiCarlo from Piana dei Greci, who Bomp identified as a member of the Sicilian mafia. Murdered Carlisi in-law Tommaso Petrotta from Piana dei Greci is another California / Chicago connection I recently mentioned as he fled from Chicago to the PdG colony in Sacramento.

Gambino member Mike Pecoraro was born in San Cipirello but his father was from Piana dei Greci and he ended up in California too alongside in-laws the LiMandris (from San Cipirello too but clearly tied to Piana dei Greci as they were blood relatives of Giovanni Pecoraro in addition to the marriage). Might not be a coincidence that these guys with PdG ties ended up in California given there was such a strong Pianese foundation throughout the state.

Be interesting if Tommaso Matranga was a Genovese member given some of the patterns we see with their early membership.

[B.]

Also great find on the article, Fabien. The wording seems to suggest Matranga was someone of prominence in the local Family alongside Cuccia.

[motorfab]

Tony, I actually mistranslated the article I had: Mussolini's famous visit to Cuccia is actually due to the fact that a politician from Piana dei Greci named Pasquale Bennici wrote a letter to Mussolini in December 1923 to warn him that the people on Cuccia's list were mainly mafia members.

Mussolini's visit took place in May 1924, the following July Cuccia was arrested.

Not directly connected with Stassi's murder, but ultimately, I'm not far off, as it's indeed a denunciation

But my bad for the confusion.

B., indeed according to the wording, Matranga seemed to be an important guy with Cuccia