DeCavalcante Admin Succession

[Angelo Santino]

This is pretty insightful. I did some rearranging of the original document.

http://mafiamembershipcharts.blogspot.c ... bel/Newark

THE NEWARK FAMILY.

We know a Cosa Nostra Family existed in Newark, because several sources tell us so. Bonanno , Gentile and Valachi all mention this, but very little else is known about the founding, membership or geographical layout of the Cosca. What we do know is that it was active during the 1920-30’s, and appeared to cover most of Northern New Jersey. There is some support for the belief that the Elizabeth faction was a separate Family at this time. But most researchers believe it was one organization, with its HQ in Newark. The first known Head of the Family was Stefano Badami, although as he only arrived in 1927, he was probably not the original founder. During the late 1920’s the Family were in conflict with a Neapolitan gang operating in Newark’s first ward, and headed by Ruggiero Boiardo. As they had the support of Joseph Masseria, NYC Mafia boss, Badami sought the help of Salvatore Maranzano, Masseria’s rival. Badami was forced to step down in 1931-2, for supporting the losing side in the “Castellammarese War”.
Gaspare D’Amico from Villabate, succeeded him and ruled until 1937. At that point he seems to have come into conflict with his fellow townsman Joseph Profaci, the Head of one of the 5 NYC Families. D’Amico survived an assassination attempt that killed his father, and fled the country. At this point the Commission decided to disband the Family, with the Elizabeth faction becoming an independent Family. The surviving members were allowed to join other Families, mostly in NYC. The Commission then proclaimed Newark, and most of Northern New Jersey, open territory, with the southern part allocated to the Philadelphia Family.
One of the problems with both Badami and D’Amico, was that they recruited only Sicilians into the Cosca. But they faced strong competion from non-Sicilian groups, even within Newark. As well as the Boiardo gang, there was a strong organization in the 5th ward headed by Abner "Longy" Zwillman. While elsewhere in the state, Guarino [Willie] Moretti led a affiliate group of the NYC Masseria Family, operating from Patterson. Within a few years several important New Jersey based non-Sicilians, like Boiardo, Catena,DeCarlo, ect., were inducted.
The following list is an attempt to identify the original members of the Newark Family, and show how they realigned to the new circumstances.

PROBABLE MEMBERS.
Vita, Trapani
Accardo-Settimo [ Big Sam Accardi] -1902 Vita, Trapani - USA 1910's - Relatives - Joseph[Bro], F.Decavalcante[Unc] - Lived - Bloomfield - Capo - Record - from 1926 - Lucchese Family.
Accardo-Giuseppe [Joseph Accardi] - 1900 Vita, Trapani - USA 1921 -Relatives - Settimo [Bro], F.DeCavalcante[Unc] - Lived - Livingstone - Sol - Record - 1933 - Lucchese.
Pizzolato-Biagio [Penooks] - 1896 Vita, Trapani - USA 1912 - Lived - Newark - Relations - Vito [Bro] - Sol - Lucchese Family.


Ribera, AG
Amari-Filippo [Big Phil] - 1899 Ribera, Agrigento - USA 1921 - Lived - Raritan Township - Capo - No Record - Elizabeth Family.
Coletti-Giacomo [Jake] - 1900 Ribera, Agrigento - USA 1905 - Relatives - Joseph [Son] - Lived - ? - Sol - Elizabeth Family.
Corsentino-Carmelo - 1895 Ribera, Agrigento - USA 1913 - Lived - Elizabeth - Sol - Elizabeth Family.
Galletta-Pietro - 1896 Ribera, Agrigento - USA 1907 - Lived - NYC - Sol - Elizabeth Family.
Riggi-Emmanuele - 1903 Ribera, Agrigento - USA 1907 - Relatives - John [Son] - Lived - Elizabeth - Sol - Elizabeth Family.

Corleone
Badami-Stefano [Don Steve] - 1888 Corleone, Palermo, Sicily - USA 1927 - Lived - Orange - Head - No Record - Retired.

Villabate, PA
Cammarata-Emanuele [Nello] - 1903 Villabate, Palermo - USA 1910 - Lived - W.Orange - Sol - Record - 1927 - Colombo Family.
D'Amico-Gaspare - 1886 Villabate, Palermo - USA 1913 - Lived - Newark - Head - Record - unknown - Fled / Retired.

Giuliana, PA
Battaglia-Camillo [Little Carmine] - 1896 Giuliana, Palermo - USA 1902 - Lived - Newark - Sol -No Record - Genovese Family.
Campisi-Pietro - 1876 Giuliana, Palermo - USA 1899 - Lived - Newark - Sol - Record - unkown - Retired.

Misc
Amoruso, -Nicholas [Nick Delmore] - 1888 Nicosia, Sicily - USA 1898 - Lived- Long Branch - Sol - S.DeCavalcante [Nephew] - Elizabeth Family.
DeCavalcante-Francesco - 1890 Monreale, Palermo - USA ? - Relatives - Simone [Son] - Lived - Trenton - Sol - Record- -unknown - Elizabeth Family.
Giallombardo-Pietro [Peter Lombardi] - 1886 ? - USA 1913 - Lived - Trenton - Sol - Record - 1932 - ?
Lombardino-Salvatore [Blubber] 1891 Ghibellina, Trapani - USA 1907 - Relatives - Andrew [Nephew] - Lived - Newark - Sol - Record 1909 - Colombo Family.
Monaco-Salvatore [Sam Monia] 1893 ? - USA 1905 - Lived ? - U/Boss - Killed 1931.
Paterno-Antonio [Bade Noste] 1893 Catania, Sicily - USA 1911 - Relations - Joseph [Son] - Lived - Newark - Sol - Gambino Family.
Russo-Luigi - 1892 ? - USA ? - Lived - Newark - Consig. - Killed 1931.

Possible members.

Ribera, AG
Bacino-Filippo [Tony Bello] - 1902 Ribera, Agrigento - USA 1923 - Elizabeth - Chicago Family.
Caternicchio-Salvatore - 1904 Ribera, Agrigento - USA ? - Elizabeth Family.
LaRasso-Alfonso - 1890 Ribera, Agrigento - USA 1914 - Elizabeth Family.

Misc:
Calandriello-Thomas - 1907 ? - Lived - Red Bank, Monmouth - ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Cavalieri-Amedeo - 1886 Ragusa, Sicily - USA 1908 - Lived - Paterson - ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Chiri-Salvatore [Charles Cluco] - 1888 Villa Scalia, Palermo - USA 1908 - NYC [1910-20's] + NJ [1930-40's] - Genovese Family. May be "Tata Cherico" of the Gambino Family.
Colletta-Joseph [Colletti ?] - Lived - Newark - Salvatore ? -Source 1950 FBN Report.
Colletta-Salvatore [Colletti ?] - Lived -Newark - Joseph ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Forgione-Joseph - 1900 - Born + Lived in Newark - Sol - Genovese Family ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Genovese-Ralph - Lived - Newark -No other record - Source - 1950 FBN Report.
LaPadura-Angelo - 1891 San Cataldo, Sicily - USA 1905 - Lived - Garfield - Genovese Family - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Lombardino-Andrew - 1905 Born + Lived in Newark - Colombo / Genovese Family ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Leonardi-Giuseppe - ? - Lived Patterson - Possibly to Italy - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Licari-Joseph - ? - Lived - Trenton - ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Mangiaracina-Baldassare [Benjamin] - 1884 ? - USA ? - Colombo Family.
Palermo-Rocco - ? - Lived - Newark - ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Pamicci-Joseph - 1891 Lucca Sicula, Sicily - USA 1910 - Lived - Newark - ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Paterno-Thomas - ? - Lived - Newark - ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.
Russo-Michael [Valentino] - 1893 Cerda, Sicily - USA 1906 - Lived - Iselin, NJ - Lucchese Family ? - Source 1950 FBN Report.

Other Possibles.
A man called Vincenzo Troia, also named Lorenzo Salvatore + Elia Costanza, could have been a member of the Newark Family. Born in 1875 in S.G.Iato, Palermo, his various names show-up in Newark during the 1910-20's. However, he was most active in Rockford, Springfield and Madison in the 1920's. During the" Castellammarese War" he supported Maranzano, and relocated to Newark about early 1931. As Badami was also a Maranzano supporter, he could have been invited to join the Family. After Badami stepped down as Family Boss,Troia ignored the new leader D'Amico and tried to take-over the local lottery racket. In 1935 he, his son and bodyguard were all killed in his lottery office in Newark. One of his followers, Antonio Riela later joined the Bonanno Family.

The 1950 FBN Report.
The report was produced for the Kefauver Committee, by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1950. The FBN, unlike the FBI, had been investigating the Mafia for a long time and had good information. The New Jersey list contained 42 names, all living and operating in NJ. Apart from those already listed above, the rest are discounted as Newark Family members for the reasons stated below.
Affiliated to the Philadelphia Family.
Nick Amato - Camden.
Phillip Attardi - Camden.
Felix Boccichio - Camden.
Bruno Dellia - Belina [listed as Bellia].
John DeTullio - Camden.
Frank Failla - Passaiac.
Passquale Massi - Camden.
James Profita - Passaic.
Marco Reginelli - Camden.

Non-Sicilian's + Masseria Associates.
Ruggerio Boiardo - Masseria ally.
Joseph Bongiorno - Moretti associate.
Angelo DeCarlo - Boiardo assoc.
George Gillette - Zwillman assoc.
Ernest Lazzara - Boiardo assoc.
Paul Lombardino - too young.
Guarino Moretti - Masseria member.
Antonio Sabio - Moretti assoc.
Carmine Sangiacomo - Zwillman assoc.
Charles Tourine - Boiardo assoc.

Paul Palmieri - a Buffalo member living in NJ.

Oddities.
Jalen[John] DeRobertis - Lived N.Bergen.
Charles Monchino - Lived Patterson.
Jolie Samaritana - no address.
No records to connect these to any Family.

Not on FBN Report.
Several possible associates of the Newark Family were later "made" into NYC Families after the Newark Family was disbanded. Listed below are some possibles : -
Lucchese Family
Joseph Abate.
Leonard Pizzolato.
Vito Pizzolato.

Genovese Family.
Albert Barrasso.
Peter Marino.

Colombo Family.
Salvatore Cammarata.

Elizabeth Family.
Pietro Giaccobe.
Joseph Lolordo.
Frank Majuri.

[B.]

He's a solid researcher but there's no info out there connecting Elizabeth to Newark that I know of. Lolordo and Bacino attended the 1928 Cleveland meeting which was attended by possible Newark members, but there were no Elizabeth guys in attendance. All info on Newark has them disbanding and being spread among other families, but no mention is made of some of the guys staying in NJ as their own family -- that would kind of go against the idea of Newark disbanding.

Attached is what Angelo Bruno said about the Newark family in a taped meeting.

"Tony, who used to live in Jersey City" must be Tony Riela, as he was likely a Newark member and the Bonannos are noticeably absent from the list (despite not having much of a Jersey presence back then).

"The old guy" wouldn't be Boiardo since Vito Genovese was already mentioned. Must be Profaci, though it could also be Nick Delmore. I don't think so, though, as the Profacis are the most obvious group that inherited Newark members and Bruno seems to be listing the NY families + Philly.

[B.]

Also here is Manny Riggi. Don't have photos of the other guys you need unfortunately.

[Pogo The Clown]

Here is a picture of Paparatto. Originally uploaded by B.


https://www.google.com/search?q=frances ... eO1IdxM%3A

[Angelo Santino]

He's a solid researcher but there's no info out there connecting Elizabeth to Newark that I know of. Lolordo and Bacino attended the 1928 Cleveland meeting which was attended by possible Newark members, but there were no Elizabeth guys in attendance. All info on Newark has them disbanding and being spread among other families, but no mention is made of some of the guys staying in NJ as their own family -- that would kind of go against the idea of Newark disbanding.

Attached is what Angelo Bruno said about the Newark family in a taped meeting.

"Tony, who used to live in Jersey City" must be Tony Riela, as he was likely a Newark member and the Bonannos are noticeably absent from the list (despite not having much of a Jersey presence back then).

"The old guy" wouldn't be Boiardo since Vito Genovese was already mentioned. Must be Profaci, though it could also be Nick Delmore. I don't think so, though, as the Profacis are the most obvious group that inherited Newark members and Bruno seems to be listing the NY families + Philly.

The Bonannos had associates or at least one in Jersey City connected with the Good Killers in 1920, although it's been half a decade since I delved into this, I'll end it with I believe with a key emphasis.

[sdeitche]

Will have some input on this thread as I'm working on my NJ mob book now, but just one minor correction for earlier in the thread. Stefano's last name is Badami with an 'a'. Bedami is the last name of a Tampa-based mob 'family'.

[Angelo Santino]

I'm glad to see you here, Scott. Your presence is much appreciated and I generally hope you stick around.

Is there a connection with Stefano Bedami/Badami and the Bedami's of Tampa?

[Antiliar]

Hey Scott, welcome to the board.

If I were to guess, I see no evidence that Phil Bacino was a boss aside from the informant, and informants have been known to unintentionally put out mistaken information before. I couldn't find his 1930 census record (maybe it's under Tony Bello, a more common name than Bacino), and currently there are no Newark newspapers with online archives that we can access and do a search, so we have nothing to indicate that he ever lived in the Newark/Elizabeth area.

As for Badami being a boss of the Newark Family versus Elizabeth, that's just speculation since he and D'Amico seem to be contemporaries and we know that Elizabeth had a Corleone faction while we have no info that Newark had one. If they were contemporaries, both bosses could have worked with each other when Valachi came down. It's only an assumption, another speculation, that Badami was the Newark boss who stepped down to be replaced by D'Amico. Wish we had more to confirm or deny something, but we don't.

I also have the complete FBI Decavalcante transcripts and there's no mention of a boss before Amari. None of the FBI files I have mention Badami either, but some do have something about D'Amico. So the next step would be to request FBI files of older known Elizabeth Family members and see what turns up there. Majuri, for example, might be a good one.

[Angelo Santino]

Hey Scott, welcome to the board.

If I were to guess, I see no evidence that Phil Bacino was a boss aside from the informant, and informants have been known to unintentionally put out mistaken information before. I couldn't find his 1930 census record (maybe it's under Tony Bello, a more common name than Bacino), and currently there are no Newark newspapers with online archives that we can access and do a search, so we have nothing to indicate that he ever lived in the Newark/Elizabeth area.

As for Badami being a boss of the Newark Family versus Elizabeth, that's just speculation since he and D'Amico seem to be contemporaries and we know that Elizabeth had a Corleone faction while we have no info that Newark had one. If they were contemporaries, both bosses could have worked with each other when Valachi came down. It's only an assumption, another speculation, that Badami was the Newark boss who stepped down to be replaced by D'Amico. Wish we had more to confirm or deny something, but we don't.

I also have the complete FBI Decavalcante transcripts and there's no mention of a boss before Amari. None of the FBI files I have mention Badami either, but some do have something about D'Amico. So the next step would be to request FBI files of older known Elizabeth Family members and see what turns up there. Majuri, for example, might be a good one.

See what I posted on page two. Bacino had (on record) zero connections to New Jersey, only NYC and Chicago and Calumet. If Bacino "formed" the family or was a time period boss it was between 1923 and 1928 or after 1928, went to Elizabeth, clandestinely NJ under the radar and not appearing on any formal documentation as residing in the area, formed/bossed it and then returned back to Chicago by 1933. And such a scenario is extremely rare, most 'bosses' have longevity in the area- Morello 1890-1930; Schiro 1896-1930; D'Aquila 1906-1930 etc etc. All men who planned to reside in the area long term. The only guy I can think of who "walked" into the position was Mineo who had uber contacts with the Palermitan Mafia (so much as arriving with an established Mafia Boss dash bro-in-law in 1911 and resided in NY until his death in 1930). So given that I'm no NJ expert I opt to defer to people who know more; you, B., et al. However, his relation with the Giacobbes and Caterinicchio's are certainly auspicious to say the least, both are rare surnames that factored into this Elizabeth Family.

I'm dumbfounded, and at a loss.

As for the 1930 census, I found a "John Bellio" married to a Jennie on Curtis Avenue in Chicago, the age fits but I'm hesitant to issue a direct confirmation given that our Bacino married Jennie Maggio in 1933, so it's highly questionable and open to scrutiny if he listed a woman as his wife 3 years prior to the formal marriage ceremony itself.

[Antiliar]

Bacino founded an orphanage in Ribera with Phil Amari, and I think Bacino's son married Amari's daughter, but would have to double-check. James De George was also close to them and came from Ribera; he was the capo of the North Side crew before Prio.

[B.]

Hey Scott, welcome to the board.

If I were to guess, I see no evidence that Phil Bacino was a boss aside from the informant, and informants have been known to unintentionally put out mistaken information before. I couldn't find his 1930 census record (maybe it's under Tony Bello, a more common name than Bacino), and currently there are no Newark newspapers with online archives that we can access and do a search, so we have nothing to indicate that he ever lived in the Newark/Elizabeth area.

As for Badami being a boss of the Newark Family versus Elizabeth, that's just speculation since he and D'Amico seem to be contemporaries and we know that Elizabeth had a Corleone faction while we have no info that Newark had one. If they were contemporaries, both bosses could have worked with each other when Valachi came down. It's only an assumption, another speculation, that Badami was the Newark boss who stepped down to be replaced by D'Amico. Wish we had more to confirm or deny something, but we don't.

I also have the complete FBI Decavalcante transcripts and there's no mention of a boss before Amari. None of the FBI files I have mention Badami either, but some do have something about D'Amico. So the next step would be to request FBI files of older known Elizabeth Family members and see what turns up there. Majuri, for example, might be a good one.

Yeah, without more context the Bacino is hard to place. What makes it strange is that Rotondo was a teenager and his father wasn't even made when Bacino died in 1974, and the Rotondos weren't from Ribera, so someone put that name in his head sometime after the early 1980s. The part about the Corleone faction has about equal weight to me as Bacino being boss. It's something Rotondo said according to Felice's report, but there isn't much info to put it in context. With the location part, I've said before I don't think the early bosses (if they exist) of the DeCavalcantes had to have lived in Elizabeth or NJ. In the same way that later NY-based DeCavalcante captains/members had no obvious connections to Elizabeth, I believe the same could apply to bosses.

One reason I lean way from Badami being involved with this family is he lived in an area of Newark with no connections to the historical DeCavalcantes and Valachi mentions him in context with Newark members, then at the time of his death he was associating with the Lucchese NJ crew, which could have just been business, but it'd be pretty amazing if the boss of the DeCavalcantes had been murdered in 1955 and no informants or other sources commented on it (that we know of). Most of the known DeCavalcante leaders going back to the 1950s were very insular and almost all reports connect them to other DeCav members, even before it was known that they were their own family.

[Angelo Santino]

Bacino founded an orphanage in Ribera with Phil Amari, and I think Bacino's son married Amari's daughter, but would have to double-check. James De George was also close to them and came from Ribera; he was the capo of the North Side crew before Prio.

Just throwing this out- and you Chicago scholars can school me/correct me- but is it possible that when Capone and dash The Caponites took over Chicago, is there a chance there was a Ribera Family formed in Elizabeth following that? We know there was an exodus - figures uncertain- of mafiosi who left the area?

[B.]

Bacino founded an orphanage in Ribera with Phil Amari, and I think Bacino's son married Amari's daughter, but would have to double-check. James De George was also close to them and came from Ribera; he was the capo of the North Side crew before Prio.

Just throwing this out- and you Chicago scholars can school me/correct me- but is it possible that when Capone and dash The Caponites took over Chicago, is there a chance there was a Ribera Family formed in Elizabeth following that? We know there was an exodus - figures uncertain- of mafiosi who left the area?

There were Riberesi with well-known surnames in Elizabeth by ~1905. Phil Amari was there by the 1930 census, with an informant saying he came to Elizabeth from NY in the 1920s and brought others from Ribera with him from NY. Seems the family was there by the 1920s.

There was definitely a Riberesi colony in Illinois, but aside from Bacino, DeGeorge, and the Lolordos I don't know of any who may have been mafiosi. Joe Lolordo is the only one who fled.

[Chaps]

Not to muddy the waters any more than they already are but I recently received the FBI files of Frank Majuri. Found the following dated April 10, 1958:

P. AMARI, above, is identical with PHIL AMARI, who Union County Prosecutors RUSSELL MORSS described in December, 1957 as being the leader of the rackets in Union County, New Jersey. MORSS indicated that AMARI succeeded NICK DELMORE as racket king in Union County when DELMORE retired due to old age.

So, by this, it seems that Nick Delmore was boss, then Phil Amari, and then when Amari was forced out and returned to Sicily, Delmore came out of retirement temporarily until DeCavalcante took over. This, of course, contradicts everything we have learned thus far, that the succession went Amari, Delmore, then DeCavalcante.

It's also likely that the prosecutor, Morss, was mistaken.

[Antiliar]

Thanks Chaps. I was hoping his file would have shed more light, but you never know.