Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by toto »

Compare means friend or comrade. It looks it means somebody who wants to join Cosa Nostra.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by Antiliar »

Literally compare means "co-father." Padrino is "godfather." The godfather is the sponsor of the baby getting baptized, the compare is the relationship between the sponsor/padrino and the baby's father. It's supposed to be a spiritual bond and a commitment, so a compare is almost like a brother. In the context of the Cosa Nostra it usually means a "brother" member. Because the old name for the Cosa Nostra was the Fratellanza ("fraternity" or "brotherhood"), a fellow member was a fratello ("brother"), but compare was used then also.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by B. »

I'm very familiar with the term "compare" when it's used informally, but sometimes it's used in a more formal way within the organization that doesn't fit with the usual mob lexicon.

For example, here they are saying that this Longo wants to become a "compare" seemingly in San Giuseppe Iato and he (or his advocates) are trying to get Buffalo to support the decision. Buffalo, however, feels that it should be a local matter within San Giuseppe Iato, i.e. they should make him "compare" on their own without Buffalo getting involved. My first thought was that they were using "compare" to mean "member" in the sense that Rick mentioned above, but I'm not so sure. They must be using "compare" to mean boss or member, though. Not many options given the context.. I am leaning toward it being a leadership role since "compare" would suggest seniority.

There is also a "compare" or "godfather" that is chosen in some making ceremonies. I made a topic about it a while back... basically, it's someone who is randomly chosen during a making ceremony to act as a new recruit's "godfather", but this person is not the sponsor, crew leader, etc. Joe Valachi had Joe Bonanno randomly chosen as his "compare", then twenty years later in Philly Rocco Scafidi had Dominic Pollina randomly chosen as his "compare", though his uncle Joe Scafidi was his sponsor/capo. Not every family has done this, but we know of these two examples in different cities. It doesn't appear this relates to Charlie Longo of San Giuseppe Iato, though.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by AG777 »

If they don't mean an authoritative position like a boss or skipper then it seems like they mean "a man of respect" or someone held in high regard by others. Maybe that person has a duty like you said and oversees whatever they need done. But that's just a guess. I'll look into it and ask a couple people who speak Italian. Not sure if I'll get any answers.

I bet Chris Christie has a few thoughts on this. He might know.

Antiliar, very nice post.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by FriendofHenry »

Chris hasn't been around for a while. Hopefully he's ok.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by Antiliar »

Grazie, AG. Chris said he's taking a break from the OC stuff. Guess he'll come back when he's ready.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by B. »

- In October 1964, Steve and Peter A. Magaddino met with Joe Falcone and Sam Grio of Utica. This is a great discussion that includes references to heroin operations, mediating between the Calabrese and Sicilian factions in Philly, issues Magaddino had with Philly boss Joe Ida, and Magaddino's relationship to Willie Moretti and Frank Costello.

- Magaddino talks about Dominick Romeo, a Calabrese "boy" in the area, who he is fond of. Falcone says Romeo "had the endorsement from the folks at 'Cartapedana'", whatever that is. I believe he is the same Dominick LNU who was recorded talking to Magaddino another time.

- Magaddino describes Romeo as a "picciotto" and a "nice kid", says that Romeo asked him "not to believe all the bad talk about him". Romeo was a suspected member of the Buffalo family.

- Dominick Romeo apparently wanted to go to NYC but Magaddino refused the request, which saved Romeo's life as someone in NYC wanted to kill him. Apparently Romeo disobeyed these orders and went to Sam Rangatore about something.

- As a result of the Romeo situation, Magaddino contacted Lucchese and met with him in Brooklyn. There was an issue with "the merchandise" which was "faked", "no good", and had been "fished out of the water" in a burlap bag that had been tampered with. Apparently this corresponds with a load of drugs that had been dumped off of a boat around this time, a story that was in the papers. This situation related somehow to a Magaddino man in Canada, possibly Johnny Pops who is referenced a short time later. At this time Papalia and another Magaddino member in Canada had fallen into disfavor with Magaddino. He says the operation they were involved with came from Italy straight to New York and a "Joe Perna" and "Tony Suoni" (ph) were involved. A "Bordinaro's son" was involved and sent someone to Spain. The "merchandise" then arrived into the US and "they" got one half. Falcone asks if it was then taken to "this fellow from Canada", which Magaddino says "of course" and says "they would send it to Canada" where the "local boys would pay Peppino (Joe Bonanno)". He is clearly talking about a heroin operation and the last part is about the Cotroni crew, who we know were central to the international heroin trafficking operation Magaddino is discussing. What's amazing about this is that Magaddino is clearly saying that Joe Bonanno received drug profits from his Montreal decina.

- John Papalia took a taxi all the way to Buffalo and the FBI was waiting for him. Magaddino, who was angry with Papalia already, invited the FBI agents to have coffee and told them he was not a friend of Papalia.

- Magaddino says Joe Valachi was connected with John Papalia and some "other cuckold" from Canada (probably one of the Agueci brothers).

- Falcone asks Magaddino what Valachi could "sing about" related to Magaddino. $5000 is mentioned and a "matter of Maranzano" and the police. I believe this may be a reference to the info Valachi gave where he got in trouble with Maranzano for participating in robberies and hid out with Magaddino in Buffalo, where I think Magaddino may have given him money ($5000?).

- Magaddino arranged a meeting with Dominick (Romeo), Raffaele LNU, Alberto (Agueci?), and Joe Rugnetta, and he had told Dominick to "keep quiet", because "after these things are arranged, nobody must discuss them any more". It sure sounds like he's talking about a drug deal and from other Magaddino conversations it sounds like there were heroin deals involving John Papalia and Joe Rugnetta, which was probably the same operation/deal as this one.

- This Raffaele LNU was "the spy around Joe Aida (Ida)" and was telling him everything. He then says the guy was spying on Ida and telling someone called "Tempesta" (who is referenced in other Magaddino conversations as well -- "tempesta" translates to "Storm", so it's a nickname. I believe it may be Vito Genovese). He then says this Raffale was "spying on all of us."

- A group of men gathered because someone was going to Italy, as well as another guy going to Italy. The men got together to eat for this occasion and "nothing more". Magaddino says "two brothers", who he calls his "compare Loranno" and "compare Loniddu". He makes it clear this was purely a social occasion. However, he says "Johnny Malette" (ph) made a phone call to "Tempesta" to tell him about the gathering. It sounds like Joe Bonanno was also at this gathering, so it doesn't seem "Tempesta" is Bonanno. Magaddino goes on to say the gathering was because "Ciccino" was going to Italy. Seems pretty clear this is Frank Garofalo, who Magaddino calls "Ciccino" in other conversations and moved to Italy prior to this.

- After hearing of the gathering, "Tempesta" came "running" and asking why the men were gathered, etc. Apparently it became very heated and "Alberto" (Anastasia?) and "Joe Aida" (Ida) got involved, the latter of whom had a discussion with Magaddino. He says this happened before Apalachin. After this, Magaddino lost respect for Joe Ida, who he had previously had the "highest respect" for.

- Magaddino asked Joe Ida whether they were in "wartime" or "peacetime" and said he felt Joe Ida had behaved as if they were at "war" and when questioned Joe Ida told Magaddino they were at "peace". All of this is became "Tempesta" had told Ida something. As a result "Ferrini" forced "us" (Buffalo?) to "take him in". Magaddino says he did not want "Ferrini" and wanted to "Reject him" even though it is "not his fault". He says "I do not want your Johnny" (Ferrini?). He then says that "Frank was unable to say anything" and that he (Magaddino) told "Joe" (Ida?) that "you are responsible because you were Johnny's boss all along." This could be Johnny Simone, who came up as an associate in Niagara Falls/Buffalo before becoming a Philadelphia captain in Trenton.

- There is reference to a "Buzzoni" who MAgaddino has "good relations", "excellent relations" with. An "Alberto" is brought up again and Falcone mentions "the cousin" who "came to America directly from Italy" with "Peppino". "Peppino" may be a reference to "Joe Ida", as Bruno/Magliocco call him "Peppino" in another conversation.

- The conversation stays on Philadelphia, with Magaddino saying that he was told something about "all Calabrese picciotti". Someone named Tony "was supposed to say nothing to Philadelphia" and "they were all in peace" and "there should be no bloodshed". Magaddino says this was because of the "confidence they had in me" and how they "trusted me so well". He says he had been responsible for "settling all things". Magaddino says he "directed all my efforts toward a settlement with him and his Calabrese picciotti". He makes a reference to police informants having "no business here". Magaddino seems to believe someone thinks he deceived them and says "what you think exists between Calabrese and Sicilians does not exist. What you think exists between Calabrse and Sicilians does not exist. I will prove it to you in black and white. These things do not exist." He then makes reference to the "compare Bonanno". It sounds like Magaddino was involved in keeping the peace during the regime change in Philadelphia circa 1958-1960 and helped mediate issues between the Calabrese and Sicilian factions. It also sounds like someone was trying to play up the issues between the factions which Magaddino said was BS.

- Falcone asks Magaddino about "Scebebbe" (ph) who Magaddino says had died. I believe they are referring to Gaetano Scafidi, Sicilian leader who died in 1958.

- Someone named "Amico" (Michael Amico? From context it sounds like it might be Pollina) was involved who Magaddino said was a dishonored wretch. Angelo Bruno "consorts" with this "Amico" but Bruno "has not believed him either". Because things were "so fouled up", Magaddino had "them" contact Joe Rugnetta and his people to tell him that Magaddino is an honest person. Seems Magaddino is saying when he was mediating the issues in Philly, he had someone reach out to the Calabrese faction so that they would trust Magaddino. Magaddino says he was not trying to help one side against the other, but only help them reach an agreement.

- Magaddino says that the Calabrese "piccioti" were "looking up" to Joe Ida and that he let them down, with them telling Ida that they had been "left right on the street, out in the cold". The Calabrese faction felt that Joe Ida wasn't there when they needed him, while on the other hand they were happy and "more than satisfied" with Angelo Bruno. This apparently meant Joe Ida's "defeat" (I thought Ida stepped down, so not clear why he would be "defeated"). Magaddino says that Ida expected his "paesani" (the Calabrians) to stand behind him but they told him "to his face" that "we have been left, left out, right in the cold. When we needed you, you left us out" and told him they were satisfied with Bruno as bos.

- Magaddino praises Joe Rugnetta, saying he is a "good man", a "man of reason", and a "peacemaker". A "man who has his head on his shoulders, in the right place." He continues to gush about Rugnetta. He also mentions "Ferrini" again, "the one who was here". Reference is also made to someone called "Gimamma" (ph), who "had been shown the door". Magaddino says "It doesn't matter. He was killed" and Sam Grio says "You know, he was shot." Not sure who this is offhand.

- Magaddino says "all of them had come from Italy" and that he "respected them all". He says he "did them a very good turn" and "set them on the right road". They had apparently been involved with prostitutes and Magaddino couldn't "go along" with them and told them "I am a married man. I have children" and didn't want to go with them. Not clear if he's still talking about Philly or what. He brings up "Della Morra" (ph. who is reference on other Magaddino transcripts). Magaddino asked "Della Morra" if he was "touched" in the head and how he was "swine". Apparently thia "Della Morra" was going out in search of "loose women" by himself when he should have been going in pairs (this interpretation by the FBI is confusing). Magaddino says his brother was having a "good time" with this guy but that they "frown upon these things" and "frown upon these piccioti". He had loaned him $30,000 and "set him up in a nice place". "Della Morra" tried to pay Magaddino, but Magaddino refused to take any money from him.

- Magaddino then brings up "Tempesta" again and says he was supposed to receive a cut of some partnership with "Della Morra" and "Tempesta". He again says he was "in business" with them. He mentions someone named Ernesto. Sam Grio makes reference to a "Rochester incident" involving "Vincenzo Dellamora" (ph) but apparently this was in Sicilian which Grio does not speak very well, so he may have misspoke.

- Concerning "Della Morra", Magaddino says "Alberto" (Anastasia) was 100% "in accord with Frank Costello". Magaddino seems to say something about a man who was sent to "the trial" and references Vincenzo Magaddino but the context isn't clear. He talks about ousting somebody. Magaddino says he can't get along with someone because their character is different asnd they "can't click". "We can't get along".

- Magaddino felt that "the two of them" got into "one corner" and plotted, then claimed Magaddino was also present in order to make him responsible along with themselves even though he refused to be be involved.

- Falcone suggests that "Vitone" (Genovese, probably) was getting someone drunk and duping him. However, Magaddino disagrees and says "do you know who killed him? Frank Costello killed him, and Dellamora too". Magaddino says Vitone asked him to "probe things" and that Frank Costello wanted him (Magaddino) to take over "his employment contract". He says "I spoke with him three days before he died. He was not crazy. He was not crazy at all." It's become clear that "Della Morra" is Willie Moore Moretti, wbo Magaddino is saying wasn't crazy like people said. We know from other Magaddino transcripts that it was Frank Costello who proposed to the Commission to kill Moretti (probaly after being pressured by Genovese and others).

- Magaddino says "he used to mnow only English but he learned Italian" and "learned Italian from my brother" and Magaddino says lately "he was talking better than I." I believe Moretti came to the US at a young age, so sounds like Moretti learnes Italian from Magaddino's brother when Moretti lived in Buffalo.

- Magaddino told someone (Costello?) that "you don't know Della Morra as well as I do. You'd better be careful. Do not speak with anybody." Magaddino says "he" (again, Costello?) started to cry and pleaded with Magaddino not to say anything. Magaddino says he didn't want Magaddino t sya anything in order to save face before the Commission. Magaddino told this person he cannot be his teacher and to "go tell Tempesta you've become a pupil". Whatever that means, it seems to be negative according to Magaddino.

- Magaddino says someone was trying to make him look bad. He says "Della Morra" was called to "present himself" at the office of "Massacagliano" ("Masi" Gagliano), "may his soul rest in peace". They tried to "butter up" Magaddino with "nice words" but they were "souncdrels" who made Magaddino lose face because of what he "did not know". They said that Frank Costello was annoyed with Magaddino because of "Della Morra". Magaddino says he was fond of "Della Morra" and considered him "like a brother". He told "Della Morra" not to cross Costello or else he would "find a pitchfork in your side" and references "Della Morra" being rich but also dying rich if he messes with Costello. He says he told "Della Morra" this three or four years before he died. All of this continues to point to it being Moretti. However, it seerms that Moretti's death had more to due with issues between Moretti and Costello than anything with Genovese as is commonly believed. Magaddino seems to become upset when discussing "Della Morra's" fate and there is silence and audible sighs at this point.

- Magaddino talks about "Della Morra" having a beautiful home filled with electronics. Sam Grio seems to think he was killed due to jealousy, but Falcone questions that bewcause "they" (Costello and Moretti) were "such close friends". Magaddino says the murder was because of "pressure from Alberto (Anastasia), the cops, fear, an effort to protect the honor."

- Magaddino says they (the Commission?) "accused" him of something and said that Costello was annoyed with him, and how Costello and "Alberto" (Anastasia) had said that Magaddino didn't extend his congratulations to Costello.

- Apparently Vitone (Genovese) was asking Magaddino for favors and doing everything the wrong way, but didn't seem to care that he was doing things wrong.

- Magaddino feels that the Commission needs a "new life" and it should make all decisions unanimously. He says if decisions aren't unanimous, there should be "nothing". Magaddino feels the Commission has never had any peace.

- Magaddino says he wasn't sure if he was "under suspicion for the episode" of something called "Centomannate" (ph) where Magaddino was a "mallevadore" (someone offering a guarantee), and this involved Costello and "his cousin". Falcone asks if "Alberto" was also "on it".

- Magaddino says he knows Frank Costello very well and that it took him "years and years before he became our friend". In another transcript, Magaddino mentions knowing Costello before he was a made member. Seems like Costello may not have become a member until later than expected. We know for example from Valachi that Tony Bender was promoted to captain almost immediately after he was made (which would have been 1930/31) so not crazy to think Costello was similar.

- Magaddino apparently feels that "Alberto" corrupted Cosstello and used him. They "smeared" Magaddino, probably related to the situation mentioned earlier with "Della Morra". He again mentions "Ferrini" (ph) who tied to "instigate" Costello.

- Magaddino mentions a situation in the past where he accidentally called a man named Amari (Phil Amari no doubt) "Lamari", which Amari was very upset about. Pretty rare to see a reference to Phil Amari out in the wild like this.

Link: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=95157
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by Pogo The Clown »

Many thanks B. For putting up all these MF tidbits. You no doubt put a lot of work into it so thanks. 8-)


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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by B. »

No prob. I enjoy combing through the transcripts and trying to make sense of them.

Does anyone who is more familiar with Buffalo / Canada / Etc. have info on Dominick Romeo? Despite being described as a younger Calabrese, Magaddino seems to have had a very high opinion of him and as you can see shared a lot of top level info with him. Being a Calabrese with the name Romeo, I have to wonder if he was related to the other Romeos from Calabria who settled in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Romeos were some of the most prominent Calabrese mobsters in their day.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by Antiliar »

B, great job. Really appreciate the work you put into it, and congrats on figuring out Della Morra. I hadn't thought about it being a corruption of Willie Moore. Moretti was born in New York, by the way. It make sense that Moretti and Magaddino were close, probably going back to when Moretti was a member of the Buffalo borgata. Tempesta being Genovese is another great interpretation. It seems that if Magaddino didn't like someone he'd use a nickname or euphemism, and obviously he didn't care for Don Vitone. I thought the same thing as you about Dominick Romeo, that he must be connected to one of the other Calabrian Romeos. Without more info it's impossible to identify him. I checked ancestry and there were a lot of them in upstate NY. Cartapedana had my head scratching too. There are cities in western NY with similar names, but it could also be a name in Pennsylvania, Ohio or Italy. It looks like Cartagena, but we know that's not it LOL. There was a Dominick Romeo from Castallanta, Italy, who lived in Rochester, but who knows? Maybe there's something in Fulton Post Cards. Gimamma looks like Giammona, and there were members with that surname in the Gambino, Los Angeles and San Francisco borgatas. This piece also puts the lie to the claim that they weren't into drugs, when they were up to their eyeballs in it.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

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B. wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 2:35 am- Magaddino refers to Bonanno recruiting "this young fellow" in Montreal, who Dominick says is "Paolo Viola" (Violi), which Magaddino confirms. Magaddino says he "made him cross the ocean as a stowaway" and that his "mother was sent for and settled in Montreal." He seems to be saying that Violi was recruited overseas to join the Montreal family? Strange.
Paolo Violi's mother was Annunziata "Nancy" Condina, b. March 7, 1907, d. April 5, 2000. I will check Ancestry.ca at some point to see what I can find regarding her immigration to Canada and/or the US, as well as her places of residence in the former. But anyone should feel free to go ahead and search for answers themselves.

According to a number of books and newspaper articles, Giacomo Luppino and Paolo's father, Domenico, knew each other back in Calabria. Presumably, Luppino knew the young Paolo Violi; if not, it's conceivable that Magaddino may have used Luppino to recruit men for various reasons. Many of us have read that Magaddino was upset both at Luppino and Violi at various times in the 1960s, especially about Violi's having fallen into the orbit of Vic Cotroni in Montreal. Then again, some of us have read that Luppino sent or encouraged Violi to go to Montreal so that Violi and John Papalia wouldn't butt heads. Paolo Violi had six brothers and one sister. I once read somewhere that the brothers who were or wanted to be involved in organized crime planned to follow him to Canada and did so, whereas those uninvolved settled in the US.
B. wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 2:35 am- Magaddino continues by saying "At that step, we have a man by the name of Littogrande (ph)". Who Dominick says "was going with Louie Grey, who was there" and how "they sold their support and took money from Paolo". Littogrande could very well be Lilo Galante from the context and phonetics. Louie Grey is probably Louis Greco, while Paolo would be Violi.
I couldn't find the word "Grey" in the Mary Ferrell file, but my searches were limited because I'm not a member. If "Louie Grey" is a transcription error or a transcription that was guessed at, the name could definitely be Louis Greco. If "Louie Grey" appears in the file as a definitive nickname for Greco that no one was ever aware of, what's interesting to me is that grey is the Canadian spelling of the colour.
B. wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 2:35 am- They start talking about a "Paul", who I am guessing is Paolo Violi again, as Magaddino says he sent for him but "they brought him to New York and gave him $50,000 and sent him to Haiti" to gamble. Magaddino says he is "Calabrese, Calabrese, Calabrese, and Calabrese -- a dog".
Could "Paul" be Paul Volpe? Recall that Volpe was under the criminal tutelage of Vito De Filippo of the Bonannos before becoming a part of the Buffalo Family, had hid out in New York at various times in the late 1950s (but maybe not in the '60s) when he was escaping the wrath of Papalia and others in Hamilton, and had casino interests in Haiti with De Filippo.

Volpe, born in Toronto, did not have Calabrian ancestry. Although James Dubro's Mob Rule... is part biography of Volpe, Dubro never mentions in the book from where Volpe's parents and ancestors descended. Dubro has previously told me that Volpe had northern Italian ancestry.
B. wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 2:35 am- It sounds to me like Buffalo was consulted about someone named Charlie Longo becoming boss of the San Giuseppe Iato family and that Longo has ties to Buffalo. However, it doesn't seem Magaddino knows this Charlie at all. Magaddino wonders if Longo is the son of someone named Franco Longo, but Dominick does not think so as he says Franco Longo's sons live in California. They determine that Franco's sons are named Georgio and Dominick. I wonder if Franco Longo is the same as Frank Longo, San Giuseppe Iato native who lived in Springfield before being killed in Jersey with Troia. I assume Franco Longo is from SGI as well, as Magaddino knows that Charlie Longo is from there when he's asking these questions. Either way, I wonder if there is a connection between Charlie and Frank Longo of Springfield/NJ given their shared hometown.
B. wrote: Thu Mar 30, 2017 2:35 am- John Bosena/Busena lives in Sarna, Ontario, Canada. Sarnia is near London, Ontario. Magaddino says they have "checked all societies" to locate Longo but haven't found him. By "societies", does he mean "families"? They then wonder if he's the son of a Dominick Longo and brother of Franco Longo. Dominick says he will find out if Dominick Longo has a son named Charlie.
I am very intrigued about this Franco Longo and his sons. In Adrian Humphreys's biography of Papalia, The Enforcer..., Humphreys respectively mentions or writes on two separate pages (pp. 151, 220) that Domenic Longo was a Papalia associate in Hamilton and that Dominic Longo (note the different spelling of the first name) "was interned along with the other mafiosi during the war [WWII] and was a long-time racketeer and bootlegger." The paragraph continues: "A very resourceful man, Longo left Canada virtually penniless and headed south, surfacing sometime later in California as the owner of the largest Toyota dealership in North America." Because the book's index has only the entry "Longo, Domenic 151, 220," I think there's confusion about whether Humphreys is discussing the same person. The different first-name spellings and/or the index entry may be errors that were not in Humphreys's control. I believe two people are being discussed.

Nevertheless, the Canadian mob researcher Jerry Prager, who specializes in writing about and researching the Calabrian crime group in Guelph, Ontario that has roots in San Giorgio Morgeto, Calabria, has argued that Humphreys got his facts mixed up--see http://morgeti.blogspot.ca/2009/01/dominic-longo.html. Make sure to read the comments too, as one commenter (Paul Longo) claims to be the son of the Dominic Longo who lived and worked in Southwestern Ontario.
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Although much has been written about Magaddino and Bonanno each wanting or claiming Montreal as its territory, and despite the fact we now have a better idea of when Vic Cotroni was made in the Bonanno Family (the 1950s), I still don't understand a lot of the politics regarding one borgata's claims to another borgata's territory--assuming that what has been written in books, articles, and law-enforcement documents (both public ones and those previously classified) is accurate.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by antimafia »

B. wrote: Fri Mar 31, 2017 2:30 pm Does anyone who is more familiar with Buffalo / Canada / Etc. have info on Dominick Romeo? Despite being described as a younger Calabrese, Magaddino seems to have had a very high opinion of him and as you can see shared a lot of top level info with him. Being a Calabrese with the name Romeo, I have to wonder if he was related to the other Romeos from Calabria who settled in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The Romeos were some of the most prominent Calabrese mobsters in their day.
Pierre de Champlain's 2014 book, Histoire du crime organisé à Montréal: de 1900 à 1980, seems to offer some information on p. 236.

This Dominick Romeo could be the individual Dominic Romeo (so spelled in the book) who accompanied Peter Joseph Magaddino in the car that was used to get to the the Hamilton residence of Giacomo Luppino on March 30, 1966. The Ontario Provincial Police had just surveilled Vic Cotroni and Paolo Violi entering Luppino's house when they then spotted the vehicle Magaddino and Romeo were in--the car stopped at Luppinos house. According to the book, Romeo was Magaddino's driver, and the purpose of the visit was to persuade Cotroni to ally himself with the Buffalo Family rather than the Bonanno Family. My reading of the paragraph in the book is that Romeo was also a visitor in Luppino's residence; however, I can't tell whether the meeting inside involved only Luppino, Cotroni, Violi, and Magaddino.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by faffy444 »

i believe paul volpe was of Apulian decsent.
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by antimafia »

faffy444 wrote: Mon Apr 03, 2017 7:42 am i believe paul volpe was of Apulian decsent.
Do you have a source?

I spoke with Dubro on the phone earlier because we were talking about current events. So once we finished, I asked him about Volpe's ancestry.

Dubro told me the reason he never indicated, in his book, from where the Toronto-born Volpe's parents descended in Italy is that he was never able to obtain definitive information, especially because Volpe's father's origins in Italy and travel to Canada were murky. Volpe's father also left the marriage once his wife had already given birth to a number of children who were still growing up at the time. Dubro does not dismiss the possibility that Volpe's father or both parents had ancestry from Puglia.
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HairyKnuckles
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Re: Revisiting the Magaddino transcript - names

Post by HairyKnuckles »

B, great job. Really appreciate the work you put into it.
Agreed. B is a dedicated poster who puts in a lot of work into this. I love his way of discovering, analyzing and explaining. These transcripts are not easy to go through. Respect!
There you have it, never printed before.
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