Youngstown/Pittsburgh Connections

[JCB1977]

It dawned on me how my hometown of Youngstown, OH seems to be connected to Hollywood or attracts national headlines, both good and bad, all over the globe.

The Sopranos- Pauly Walnuts was locked up in Youngstown and it was mentioned several times throughout the series.

Ironically, Joey Naples was connected to Joseph "Demus" Covello of the NJ Faction of the Gambino's. He laid off all heavy action on Demus. Even more ironic is that on August 19, 1991, the night Joey Naples was assassinated he was driving Frank "Tookie" DiLeo's white convertible mustang. Frank was a Larimer Ave Italian who was a bookmaker that went to Hollywood, became Michael Jackson's longtime manager and played "Tootie" in Goodfellas. Frank owned his primary home a few miles down the road from Joey.

Frank "Tookie" DiLeo Obit:

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/ ... 1109010404

http://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Frank%20DiLeo

Goodfellas mentions the Pittsburgh connection who was actually Eugene Gesuale who just died and the last scene of the movie, Ray Liotta picks up "The Vindicator" newspaper which is the hometown newspaper, confirmed by Scorsese.

http://spiritualmutt.blogspot.com/2009/ ... n.html?m=1

Great article on Eugene Gesuale and the Goodfellas connection to Henry Hill

http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/ ... ormond-bar

Youngstown native Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini made a low budget mob movie called Turn of Faith (Tony Sirico aka Pauly Walnuts was in it). My dad's firehouse helped with rain scenes by using the fire hose on the trucks. I met Tony Sirico at my friend's restaurant while he was in town filming. Ironically, as he mentioned in The Sopranos that he was going to visit Dean Martin's hometown of Steubenville, he actually did that while in Youngstown filming Turn of Faith. The basis of that movie was the story behind he and his brother Lenny Mancini. Lenny "collected" debts and was shot and killed one night.

http://www.vindy.com/news/2002/sep/22/s ... own/?print

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0250790/

Dino Crocetti aka Dean Martin, born and raised in Steubenville, got his start at the infamous Jungle Inn Casino in Youngstown filling in for an acts who couldn't make it...he was dealing craps there a few nights a week as well. His first performance was at Craig's Beach at Lake Milton which is a few miles north of Youngstown. Dean got his start under Steubenville's two top guys, Vincenzo Tripodi and Cosmo Quattrone, both Calabrians.

http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2016/ ... artin.html

Ed O'Neil is born and raised in Youngstown and has gone into detail in interviews about the car bombing 1960's. The day Charlie Cavallaro was blown to pieces, my dad was in class with Ed who sat in front of him. Ed was a year older than my dad.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=UZgrXAzH4t0

Warner Bros settled in Youngstown where they opened their first theatre in the U.S. They then became the most powerful studio in Hollywood and always referred to Youngstown as home.

http://ohiowins.com/warner-bros/


There are many many more...Ohio and Western PA guys, please add some connections...

[The Greek]

Great post!
a YSU grad from New Castle, PA

[Pogo The Clown]

The federal morgue in Youngstown was where Jason Voorhees was taken after the feds blew him up in Jason Goes to Hell.


Pogo

[FriendofHenry]

Federal Morgue in Youngstown? Maybe McKelvey Lake where there's so many cars, guns and bodies thrown in you can walk across it

[JCB1977]

The federal morgue in Youngstown was where Jason Voorhees was taken after the feds blew him up in Jason Goes to Hell.


Pogo

Freddy Kruger was there as well

[JCB1977]

Great post!
a YSU grad from New Castle, PA

I have quite a bit of family in the Hillsville/New Castle area.

[JCB1977]

Amil Dinsio, one of the nation's best bank burglars according to the FBI and responsible for the 1972 heist in Laguna Niguel, CA where they knocked over Richard Nixon's bank has a script and is being turned into a movie called Youngstown Boys.

http://www.filmofilia.com/invincibles-e ... oys-47891/

[JCB1977]

Paul Mazzei, Pittsburgh mob associate and one of the key drug dealers for Chucky Porter and Eugene Gesuale was also a major player in the NCAA Boston College point shaving scandal. Mazzei became a federal informant.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid= ... 1157&hl=en

http://www.pittsburghsportsreport.com/PSR/node/2033

http://www.boston.com/sports/untagged/2 ... _take_down

http://espn.go.com/espn/chalk/story/_/i ... ng-scandal

http://espn.go.com/core/espn/page2/stor ... ick/070727

[JCB1977]

Eddie DeBartolo Jr., former owner of the San Francisco 49ers and real estate billionaire is being enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this weekend was also no stranger to organized crime around the country. His father, Ed Sr., sent criminal defense lawyer Carmen Policy out to San Francisco to "keep an eye" on his 30 year old son. Carmen Policy was the lawyer for Youngstown's most notorious gangsters and later became President of the 49ers as well as part owner of the Cleveland Browns when their franchise came back to the NFL in 1999.

http://www.brasscheck.com/stadium/moldea.html

http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/ch ... id=2137159

http://www.si.com/vault/1990/09/10/1225 ... cisco-49er

[FriendofHenry]

I understand that Eddie's having a party the night before HOF Enshrinement Ceremony at a rather posh Country Club in Canton, Ohio.
Eddie throws parties like only a billionaire can afford to sponsor. Best of everything and he's a great host to boot. Good time for all

[JCB1977]

I understand that Eddie's having a party the night before HOF Enshrinement Ceremony at a rather posh Country Club in Canton, Ohio.
Eddie throws parties like only a billionaire can afford to sponsor. Best of everything and he's a great host to boot. Good time for all

Glenmoor Country Club?

[FriendofHenry]

How would I know

[JCB1977]

If you're there, say hello to my cousin Nicolette and Angelica, my Uncle Nicky's daughters...I know they're spending the weekend with the family.

[FriendofHenry]

My pleasure.

[JCB1977]

Great article called Christmas in Murdertown (regarding the attempted assasination of newly elected Prosecutor Paul Gains, another episode in Youngstown that made national news).

http://americanmafia.com/feature_articles_3.html