The Vincenzo Troia murder

[cavita]

I would definitely say he was an important person within the Sicilian Mafia before he came to the U.S. There's a whole world of connections that earlier writers missed, like Salvatore Maranzano being the boss of the Trapani province before he emigrated in 1925, or the Morello's connection with Corleone, the Profacis and Villabate, and D'Aquila and the Gambinos with Palermo. I wouldn't date if there's an old case file gathering dust in the archives of Palermo or Rome that concerns Troia and could shed more light to what we already know. Thanks to Professor Salvatore Lupo we now know that there was a rivalry between D'Aquila and Manfredi Mineo in Palermo. So who knows how the events in Rockford, Springfield and Newark related to what was occurring in Sicily. Of course by that time Benito Mussolini was in power, yet Vittorio Coco in his book Relazioni Mafiose shows that the Mafia in Palermo was still active during his rule. You should go through this book because his name is in there:

https://books.google.com/books?id=m9f1K ... ia&f=false

Good reference material.... do you know who the other bosses were offhand of the various mafia strongholds in Sicily from 1910-1920? That may shed light on the alliances in the U.S. cities and those ever-present connections that seemed to have spanned state lines

That's a murky period. Vittorio Coco's book covers the 1930s and mentions some of the bosses during the 1910-20 period, but not all of them. I know the bosses of Corleone. JimmyB might know exactly who the Castellammarese bosses were, but that still leaves a lot of gaps. Anyway, San Giuseppe Jato would have been closest to San Ciparello, Balestrate, Camporeale, Partinico, Terrasini, and Alcamo. Couldn't really tell you who ran those cities.

Antiliar- I was browsing through some of the pages of the book online- it seems that some of the men of honor in and around San Giuseppe Iato were:
Vincenzo Troia formerly of Madison, Wisconsin
Gaspare Calo, who ended up being underboss of Rockford, originally from Casteldaccia
Filippo Zito, brother of Frank, boss of Springfield and Joe, consigliere of Rockford
Salvatore Immordino, early Rockford member and close ally of the Zitos while he lived in Rockford. He first lived in Frankfort, NY before moving to Madison, Wisconsin and then Rockford.

The first Rockford boss was Antonino Musso who hailed from Partinico and lived in Madison, Wisconsin. To be boss over these men early on I wondered if Musso was a man of honor in Sicily first but then I realized that he immigrated to the U.S. in 1912 when he was only 19 years old. He had a cousin Vincenzo Finazzo in Detroit but had strong ties to St. Louis as well. By 1924 he was in Madison, Wisconsin and was a powerhouse there in the bootlegging business. I can't figure out how Musso lorded over these men when they were older and already established in Sicily before coming to the U.S. Any thoughts?

[Antiliar]

cavita, you may have to purchase the book to get the rest of the story. Just from what's online it's filling in gaps of information. To answer your question, I would guess that he did well in bootlegging and acted as a padrone to bring his Mafia brothers over. Since he was already established and probably had local connections, he was elected to be a boss. I'm not sure exactly when Musso became boss, but during that time period he would have to have been approved by the capo dei capi -- either Toto D'Aquila or Joe Masseria I would assume -- if he was boss by 1930. So in my opinion, his success in the Midwest made more of a difference that whatever he may have done in Sicily. Perhaps he also had relatives or friends sponsoring him. It would be useful to find out if he had any important relatives in Partinico.

This is the only book on the Mafia in Partinico that I can recall, but it's an old book and devoid of the names of the leaders except for a few like Frank Coppola: https://books.google.com/books?id=jygEA ... gQ6AEITTAH

There might be a newer book in Italian, but I'm not sure. I'll look.

[HairyKnuckles]

Was the Newark family the forerunner of the DeCavalcantes?

No, it was a seperate Family, created by Masseria in or around 1928 and disbanded in the mid 1930s.

[Lupara]

Was the Newark family the forerunner of the DeCavalcantes?

No, it was a seperate Family, created by Masseria in or around 1928 and disbanded in the mid 1930s.

Interesting.

[Pogo The Clown]

No, it was a seperate Family, created by Masseria in or around 1928 and disbanded in the mid 1930s.

Any idea why and how Masseria made this new family? Thanks.


Pogo

[HairyKnuckles]

No, it was a seperate Family, created by Masseria in or around 1928 and disbanded in the mid 1930s.

Any idea why and how Masseria made this new family? Thanks.


Pogo

Probably it was a small number of groups who where put together under Masseria´s guidance, its leader selected by the factions/appointed by Masseria and then recognized as a LCN Family by Masseria. I think Masseria did this to gain an ally on the General Assembly or Grand Council.

[Pogo The Clown]

Thanks HK.


Pogo

[Antiliar]

Do we have confirmation that Newark was put together by Masseria? I recall Bill Bonanno make that claim but has anyone else?

[cavita]

cavita, you may have to purchase the book to get the rest of the story. Just from what's online it's filling in gaps of information. To answer your question, I would guess that he did well in bootlegging and acted as a padrone to bring his Mafia brothers over. Since he was already established and probably had local connections, he was elected to be a boss. I'm not sure exactly when Musso became boss, but during that time period he would have to have been approved by the capo dei capi -- either Toto D'Aquila or Joe Masseria I would assume -- if he was boss by 1930. So in my opinion, his success in the Midwest made more of a difference that whatever he may have done in Sicily. Perhaps he also had relatives or friends sponsoring him. It would be useful to find out if he had any important relatives in Partinico.

This is the only book on the Mafia in Partinico that I can recall, but it's an old book and devoid of the names of the leaders except for a few like Frank Coppola: https://books.google.com/books?id=jygEA ... gQ6AEITTAH

There might be a newer book in Italian, but I'm not sure. I'll look.

I have to wonder if Francesco Coppola may have had a hand in seeing to it that Musso became boss. Number one, he was from Partinico as was Musso and number two, he was active in a large extortion/kidnapping ring in north central Illinois that included some Chicago guys as well as future Rockford LCN member Phil Priola. Coppola was using the alias Angelo Vota and had immigrated first to Detroit (as did Musso) in 1926.

[B.]

I would definitely say he was an important person within the Sicilian Mafia before he came to the U.S. There's a whole world of connections that earlier writers missed, like Salvatore Maranzano being the boss of the Trapani province before he emigrated in 1925, or the Morello's connection with Corleone, the Profacis and Villabate, and D'Aquila and the Gambinos with Palermo. I wouldn't date if there's an old case file gathering dust in the archives of Palermo or Rome that concerns Troia and could shed more light to what we already know. Thanks to Professor Salvatore Lupo we now know that there was a rivalry between D'Aquila and Manfredi Mineo in Palermo. So who knows how the events in Rockford, Springfield and Newark related to what was occurring in Sicily. Of course by that time Benito Mussolini was in power, yet Vittorio Coco in his book Relazioni Mafiose shows that the Mafia in Palermo was still active during his rule. You should go through this book because his name is in there:

https://books.google.com/books?id=m9f1K ... ia&f=false

Just got home from Los Angeles and wiped out, so no time to get too deep into it, but Vincenzo and Giuseppe Troia are repeatedly referred to as "capi maffia" in San Giuseppe Iato during the period 1918-1925. Another brother, Gaetano Troia, sounds like he may have been a member there as well. Vincenzo is specifically referred to individually as "capo maffia latitante" for the same period, which would translate to "absconding mafia boss". Seems clear to me that Vincenzo Troia was the boss of San Giuseppe Iato when he absconded to the US (for reasons that may relate to what was posted earlier in this topic, i.e. murder)... or since both he and his brother Giuseppe are referred to as "capi maffia", maybe one of them (Vincenzo) was a capomandamento while the other was boss of the city SGI.

Since we don't know his exact position in the US, it seems possible to me that he was still the boss of San Giuseppe Iato at least during his initial years in the US. At that point in time the US mafia was still directly tired to the Sicilians and if his brothers or some other power base still had San Giuseppe Iato locked down, he may have kept his title as boss while a fugitive in the US. This could explain why he was able to go from city to city with a certain status despite not necessarily having the boss title in that particular city. Once he was more settled he may have become boss of a place like Springfield, but his exact status in the US is hard to know still. Seems clear to me that his real status came from his position in Sicily, much like Maranzano who had immense power and respect as a soldier... though that would be another question.. did Maranzano step down as boss of Trapani or was he otherwise deposed? His immigration to the US seems more voluntary (i.e. not fleeing a murder charge), so that would be one difference between him and Troia.

[cavita]

I would definitely say he was an important person within the Sicilian Mafia before he came to the U.S. There's a whole world of connections that earlier writers missed, like Salvatore Maranzano being the boss of the Trapani province before he emigrated in 1925, or the Morello's connection with Corleone, the Profacis and Villabate, and D'Aquila and the Gambinos with Palermo. I wouldn't date if there's an old case file gathering dust in the archives of Palermo or Rome that concerns Troia and could shed more light to what we already know. Thanks to Professor Salvatore Lupo we now know that there was a rivalry between D'Aquila and Manfredi Mineo in Palermo. So who knows how the events in Rockford, Springfield and Newark related to what was occurring in Sicily. Of course by that time Benito Mussolini was in power, yet Vittorio Coco in his book Relazioni Mafiose shows that the Mafia in Palermo was still active during his rule. You should go through this book because his name is in there:

https://books.google.com/books?id=m9f1K ... ia&f=false

Just got home from Los Angeles and wiped out, so no time to get too deep into it, but Vincenzo and Giuseppe Troia are repeatedly referred to as "capi maffia" in San Giuseppe Iato during the period 1918-1925. Another brother, Gaetano Troia, sounds like he may have been a member there as well. Vincenzo is specifically referred to individually as "capo maffia latitante" for the same period, which would translate to "absconding mafia boss". Seems clear to me that Vincenzo Troia was the boss of San Giuseppe Iato when he absconded to the US (for reasons that may relate to what was posted earlier in this topic, i.e. murder)... or since both he and his brother Giuseppe are referred to as "capi maffia", maybe one of them (Vincenzo) was a capomandamento while the other was boss of the city SGI.

Since we don't know his exact position in the US, it seems possible to me that he was still the boss of San Giuseppe Iato at least during his initial years in the US. At that point in time the US mafia was still directly tired to the Sicilians and if his brothers or some other power base still had San Giuseppe Iato locked down, he may have kept his title as boss while a fugitive in the US. This could explain why he was able to go from city to city with a certain status despite not necessarily having the boss title in that particular city. Once he was more settled he may have become boss of a place like Springfield, but his exact status in the US is hard to know still. Seems clear to me that his real status came from his position in Sicily, much like Maranzano who had immense power and respect as a soldier... though that would be another question.. did Maranzano step down as boss of Trapani or was he otherwise deposed? His immigration to the US seems more voluntary (i.e. not fleeing a murder charge), so that would be one difference between him and Troia.

Interesting observation... perhaps Troia had a hand in picking or recommending the first bosses in Madison (Benedetto DiSalvo), Rockford (Tony Musso) and Springfield (Frank Zito) in 1930. What I find curious is that the house he was rooming with Tony Riela in August 1930 was shot up by supporters of Paul Giovingo. Paul's brother Joe was murdered and the Giovingo faction suspected Troia was responsible. Troia had fled the city soon after the murder. I'm not sure if one as powerfully connected as Troia would have done the actual shooting regarding the murder of Joe Giovingo, but obviously those supporting the Giovingo group thought so.
I don't know where Benedetto DiSalvo hailed from but as said before, Musso was from Partinco. The Zito family was also from San Giuseppe Iato and because of that connection it is easy to see why Frank Zito was made boss then. His brother, Joe Zito, and their brother-in-law Gaspare Calo, who were established in Springfield by 1930 were probably members there, but by the time they moved to Rockford around 1932 they became consigliere and underboss, respectively. These early connections bear more research and as Antiliar stated before, the key is most likely the familial and LCN connections from Sicily.

[B.]

Looks like the Troias are referred to as being gabellotti, which was a pretty typical role for mafiosi of their stature in Sicily then. Another part of the text Rick linked talks about a witness who would not testify against some men from Partinico and Borgetto who committed a murder because the witness was a relative of Vincenzo Troia who was an "assessore" and "capo maffia".

Here is a very interesting Google translation of info about Vincenzo Troia from the text, though not all of it was translated:

Vincenzo Troia, Deputy Mayor of the City of San Giuseppe Jato during sindacatura Ninu u Latru , as a child had been attrato the diplomatic career and a profound love for the poor defenseless animals. He had always been looking for un'associazone animal rights in which to enroll ; unfortunately , at the time , they did not exist . For these peculiar attitudes had been entrusted to the comptio organization mafia , to take over the stolen mules in the area, leading them to the port of Trapani and to avoid that the poor animals suffer the expatriation melancholy and seasickness , accompanied them up in Tunisia , where it was ascertained that they were delivered in good hands

So Vincenzo Troia was a deputy mayor and animal rights activist if I'm understanding correctly?!

[cavita]

It's very difficult to ascertain a direct translation when the language is kind of archaic, but perhaps Troia was in charge of these animals somehow and was entrusted as to their welfare. I find the Deputy Mayor title very interesting as well and I was able to gather that there was a reluctant witness that would not testify against him.
Interestingly, in one of the FBI files I've seen mentioning Troia it stated that Joe Troia that was killed along with him was his "stepson" which I'm confused about. I can't find any info on a wife for Troia or any children otherwise. Most, if not all the Troias in Madison were from San Giuseppe Iato so there has to be a family relation with them somehow. I would also like to know if his brothers ever made it to the U.S. as well.

[bronx]

any sicilians on here? if so translate troia.thanks

[B.]

It's very difficult to ascertain a direct translation when the language is kind of archaic, but perhaps Troia was in charge of these animals somehow and was entrusted as to their welfare. I find the Deputy Mayor title very interesting as well and I was able to gather that there was a reluctant witness that would not testify against him.
Interestingly, in one of the FBI files I've seen mentioning Troia it stated that Joe Troia that was killed along with him was his "stepson" which I'm confused about. I can't find any info on a wife for Troia or any children otherwise. Most, if not all the Troias in Madison were from San Giuseppe Iato so there has to be a family relation with them somehow. I would also like to know if his brothers ever made it to the U.S. as well.

The translation makes it sound like the lack of animal welfare organizations allowed the mafia in SGI to step into that role and take control of stolen mules, which they then sent to "good hands" (probably other mafiosi or associates) of their own choosing. Sounds like Troia was influential in arranging this given his political role/connections. Without more info it's just speculation, but I wouldn't be surprised if the mafia was enabling the mule thieves or even doing the stealing themselves, then in typical mob fashion stepping in to graciously advocate for the mules' welfare and take control of the mules for their own purposes.

I've seen Joseph Troia referred to as both Vincenzo's stepson and son. I've also seen him referred to as 25 and 30 at the time of his death. Anything could be possible with how shady this group seems to have been, but in one FBI report Gentile does say that Troia and his unnamed son were both involved in the takeover of D'Amico's Newark family.

Given that it sounds like Vincenzo Troia absconded to the United States and moved around so frequently, plus traveled extensively on mafia/criminal business when he was actually settled somewhere, it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't bring a wife/family to the US, if he had one. His known residences don't seem to support the idea that he had a wife and children in the US except for this supposed son/stepson Joseph.