Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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FriendofHenry
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

Post by FriendofHenry »

Although smaller LCN families are not of great interest for most of you, this may or may not be relevant.
My personal experience living through the change of leadership with the Pittsburgh LCN when John LaRocca died was somewhat different than others.

John's first choice to succeed him was Jo Jo Pecora. Joe was much like John in-so much as he was a man of the people. All of that changed when John died in 1984 and Joe was on probation.Leadership then fell to Michael Genovese with Jo Jo being his Under Boss. Michael's thirst for dollars led to infatuation with Chuckie Porter and his appointment as Under Boss.
This was the beginning of the end to the Pittsburgh LCN. Once it became known that Chuckie was ratting out anyone and everyone, Michael made changes, abet too late to save the family.
Michael upped John Bazzano Jr. to Under Boss when Chuckie was sentenced in 1990. A less know fact is that he quietly upped Henry Zottolo to Capo to supervise their Youngstown interests.
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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phatmatress777 wrote:I'm not as laid back as you fellas lol


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Ivan
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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FriendofHenry wrote:A less know fact is that he quietly upped Henry Zottolo to Capo to supervise their Youngstown interests.
Oh wow thanks for that. I didn't know Zebo was an official capo, I just though he was a soldier that Genovese used as a buffer because he didn't want to personally deal with Youngstown craziness.

What's funny is that most people think Strollo was a capo, when he was a soldier.
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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FriendofHenry wrote:Although smaller LCN families are not of great interest for most of you, this may or may not be relevant.
My personal experience living through the change of leadership with the Pittsburgh LCN when John LaRocca died was somewhat different than others.

John's first choice to succeed him was Jo Jo Pecora. Joe was much like John in-so much as he was a man of the people. All of that changed when John died in 1984 and Joe was on probation.Leadership then fell to Michael Genovese with Jo Jo being his Under Boss. Michael's thirst for dollars led to infatuation with Chuckie Porter and his appointment as Under Boss.
This was the beginning of the end to the Pittsburgh LCN. Once it became known that Chuckie was ratting out anyone and everyone, Michael made changes, abet too late to save the family.
Michael upped John Bazzano Jr. to Under Boss when Chuckie was sentenced in 1990. A less know fact is that he quietly upped Henry Zottolo to Capo to supervise their Youngstown interests.
Though I know very little about Pittsburgh / Youngtown, it's awesome you're willing to share information and one of a kind photos.
Pogo The Clown wrote:Thanks for the info on Fran DeCavalcante. Any idea who some of the other early DeCavalcante Capos were?
Nick Delmore is a good candidate. We barely know who early members are, so there is even some guesswork even with basic membership. Some of the important guys' older relatives like Giovanni Riggi (John's grandfather), Alfonso LaRasso, and Calogero Maiuri (Majuri) are decent candidates for membership so maybe some of them held positions. Hard to say, really mysterious family.
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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Ivan wrote:
FriendofHenry wrote:A less know fact is that he quietly upped Henry Zottolo to Capo to supervise their Youngstown interests.
Oh wow thanks for that. I didn't know Zebo was an official capo, I just though he was a soldier that Genovese used as a buffer because he didn't want to personally deal with Youngstown craziness.

What's funny is that most people think Strollo was a capo, when he was a soldier.
What started out as Henry being Michael's buffer to keep him out of the line of fire in dealing with Youngstown craziness, aka. Lenny, led to Henry accepting being Made. I know from my personal relationship with him that he always avoided that "Thing" because it only brought on more heat. He needed to be made if Lenny was going to listen to him. Make no mistake, Lenny was a Made Man. Hell, no Made man would ever take orders from any associate.

I also know for a fact that Zebo never made any "real" money until Michael took over. When he realized that had Cancer, he needed real money to pay for a bone marrow transplant, his only hope. He finally stared to make some money when to took on the responsibilities that came with Youngstown. When Chuckie "flipped" Micheal upped him to Capo so there was no questions about now about who was in charge of Youngstown. Unfortunately I also think that Henry had other responsibilities ;) However there's none of us that wouldn't do whatever if it meant living or dying.

Just as a side note: Zebo honestly felt that the Feds kept getting him knocked down the line of succession for a bone marrow donor. He always thought that if he answered their questions, which they frequently asked, that he would have his operation in time to save his life. In several different ways, he was one of a dying breed. Yes, I miss him dearly :(
"Never walk in a room unless you know your way out" - Henry Zottola
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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FriendofHenry wrote:Make no mistake, Lenny was a Made Man.
Do you know if Lenny ever personally "broke an egg"? I know he set up the Charlie the Crab hit with a phone call, and I know he went nuts in 1996 and had a bunch of different people shot, but I never heard of him doing any such work himself.
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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Ivan wrote:
FriendofHenry wrote:Make no mistake, Lenny was a Made Man.
Do you know if Lenny ever personally "broke an egg"? I know he set up the Charlie the Crab hit with a phone call, and I know he went nuts in 1996 and had a bunch of different people shot, but I never heard of him doing any such work himself.
The only person that knows for sure would be Lenny. "Breaking Eggs" was never a topic for discussion, thank God :D
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Ivan
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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FriendofHenry wrote:
Ivan wrote:
FriendofHenry wrote:Make no mistake, Lenny was a Made Man.
Do you know if Lenny ever personally "broke an egg"? I know he set up the Charlie the Crab hit with a phone call, and I know he went nuts in 1996 and had a bunch of different people shot, but I never heard of him doing any such work himself.
The only person that knows for sure would be Lenny. "Breaking Eggs" was never a topic for discussion, thank God :D
Hahaha yeah I wouldn't expect you to converse with him about that, I was just wondering if you ever heard anything about him personally doing something like that. I never have.
Cuz da bullets don't have names.
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FriendofHenry
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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Ivan wrote:
FriendofHenry wrote:
Ivan wrote:
FriendofHenry wrote:Make no mistake, Lenny was a Made Man.
Do you know if Lenny ever personally "broke an egg"? I know he set up the Charlie the Crab hit with a phone call, and I know he went nuts in 1996 and had a bunch of different people shot, but I never heard of him doing any such work himself.
The only person that knows for sure would be Lenny. "Breaking Eggs" was never a topic for discussion, thank God :D
Hahaha yeah I wouldn't expect you to converse with him about that, I was just wondering if you ever heard anything about him personally doing something like that. I never have.
As you know: Capital Crimes, "Breaking Eggs", has no statue of limitations.

As you may know he came up with Pat Ferruccio, thus he might know. However he's dead but I'll bet he wouldn't tell you ;)
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

Post by DPG »

I've always viewed a family as a crime org controlled by a small crew of loyal extortionist. The crew consisting of the boss and closest allies. Guys he came up in a crew with, the ub and consig may be part of the group depending on how they got in that position. Based on that I would say the capos and incoming members should be what changes are on the incoming bosses mind. No help but those are my thoughts.
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

Post by phatmatress777 »

On the street in Youngstown who would you say who had more real power Zebo or Lenny?


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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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[quote="phatmatress777"]On the street in Youngstown who would you say who had more real power Zebo or Lenny?

Without a doubt, most all would say Lenny.
"Never walk in a room unless you know your way out" - Henry Zottola
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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FriendofHenry wrote: Without a doubt, most all would say Lenny.
It's amazing the grip he had on the government in the Valley, and how recent that was. It was like something from the Capone era, but it was in the 1990s.
Cuz da bullets don't have names.
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Re: Changes in leadership when a new boss takes over

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Ivan wrote:
FriendofHenry wrote: Without a doubt, most all would say Lenny.
It's amazing the grip he had on the government in the Valley, and how recent that was. It was like something from the Capone era, but it was in the 1990s.
Political control over the Mahoning Valley started with the Democratic Party Chairman from the days of Prohibition thru 1950.
His control was so comprehensive that he was rewarded with the "Numbers Business" for all of the Valley.
"Never walk in a room unless you know your way out" - Henry Zottola
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