Some DeCavalcante Family Info (1980s-1990s)

[LcnBios]

Ah, thanks for clearing that up about Alessi. I think he died of heart complications and I associated it with the heart attack story. So he was a Schiro guy then. Any idea if Schiro was under D'Amato and/or Cocchiaro at some point?

How the NY crew(s) were structured and ultimately split up is something that still needs to be figured out. Farone and Rotondo were associates in Frank Cocchiaro's crew, and after Farone and Rotondo are made captains John D'Amato turns up as a Soldier in Rotondo's crew. So just going by what's currently available most of the New York guys can be traced back to Cocchiaro's regime, and later on new crews were put together. There was probably a captain based in Manhattan as well.

[Rocco]

Very interesting. I've begun delving into the DeCavalcante's myself although I haven't received any files as of yet. I've made several FOIA requests to the FBI. I am interested in more recent history but am hoping to learn more about their early days, most particularly why they were allowed to remain a free-standing family while Newark was disbanded (according to Tumac Accetturo). Also their ties to Ribera, SIcily.

Great stuff JD!

From what I remember the Decavalcantes didn't have a huge presence in Newark. Just a few guys and Majuri sr came from there. The rest were in the small enclave of Peterstown Elizabeth. The Majuris were close to several Newark guys like Tumac. I believe Majuri was either best man to Tumac or Godfather to his kid! I forget which. Wether the Majuris were from Ribera and that was their ties to Peterstown and the Decavs..I don't know.

The Majuris paternal side is from Corleone, but I found something a while back suggesting possible Ribera heritage as well, just can't verify it.

As for the Majuris being from Newark proper, you've said that a number of times over the years but it's not the case. Where does that info come from? They lived in Elizabeth going back to at least the 1930. I'm not sure when they left NYC, but they were in Union county from the time Frank was old enough to associate with the DeCavalcantes, if not earlier.

The Majuris likely knew other Corleonesi in NYC and Calogero "Charles" may have been a mafioso, who knows, but something brought them to Elizabeth. Was his wife from Ribera and had relatives/friends in Elizabeth? Did Frank marry a girl with Ribera heritage given that he grew up in Elizabeth and associated with the DeCavalcante family? Those are just some things I've considered.

I think thier heritage brought them to Elizabeth. I am not sure if the Majuris lived in North Newark but I know that Frank and Charles Majuri have always had rackets in Newark going back to Frank. I am assuming it was these rackets that brought the in to contact with Tumac and other Newark's guys. The rest of the family really didn't seem to have much contact with the Newark guys. Pollozi was Newark based but didn't have interaction with Newark LCN guys. I would imagine Charles would make a play for top spot . with both Riggi and Majuri on the street now should be interesting.

Did they give any info on the Rotondo hit?

[B.]

Ah, thanks for clearing that up about Alessi. I think he died of heart complications and I associated it with the heart attack story. So he was a Schiro guy then. Any idea if Schiro was under D'Amato and/or Cocchiaro at some point?

Any idea where Schiro was from? When Nicola Schiro fled NY, he went to Jersey.

No idea where Larry Schiro's family is from. I've never come across much about him, but I thought he was a New York guy. If there is a connection to Nicola Schiro that'd be something.

I've always wanted to know how Frank Polizzi got hooked up with the DeCavalcantes. From San Giuseppe Jato and connected to the mob there, plus he was very close to Tony Riela also of San Giuseppe Jato, who may have been a member of the Newark family (which had several ties to SGJ) before joining the Bonannos. You'd expect Polizzi to be with the Bonannos, and it doesn't help that he worked closely with Bonanno members in the Pizza Connection.

How the NY crew(s) were structured and ultimately split up is something that still needs to be figured out. Farone and Rotondo were associates in Frank Cocchiaro's crew, and after Farone and Rotondo are made captains John D'Amato turns up as a Soldier in Rotondo's crew. So just going by what's currently available most of the New York guys can be traced back to Cocchiaro's regime, and later on new crews were put together. There was probably a captain based in Manhattan as well.

Yeah, most of the well-known NY members have a background with Cocchiaro's crew, which included NYC, NJ, and Florida. The other NY members/operations are a mystery. Joseph LoLordo lived in Queens but no idea if his crew was based there... it's likely he had guys in different places.

[B.]

I think thier heritage brought them to Elizabeth. I am not sure if the Majuris lived in North Newark but I know that Frank and Charles Majuri have always had rackets in Newark going back to Frank. I am assuming it was these rackets that brought the in to contact with Tumac and other Newark's guys. The rest of the family really didn't seem to have much contact with the Newark guys. Pollozi was Newark based but didn't have interaction with Newark LCN guys. I would imagine Charles would make a play for top spot . with both Riggi and Majuri on the street now should be interesting.

Did they give any info on the Rotondo hit?

\

I can tell you that the Majuris lived in Elizabeth from at least 1930. Frank lived in Plainfield for a time after that, but returned to Elizabeth. I'm sure they had rackets in Newark, but I've never found anything about either of them living there. Like a number of DeCavalcante members, they ended up moving farther south, to Linden and Rahway. Maybe Charlie Majuri spent time farther up north, not sure.

Majuri's connection the Luccheses is something I'm definitely interested in, as his father was from Corleone and Frank used the alias "Gagliano" which sounds like more than a coincidence.

I haven't found their actual marriage record, but Frank was a good 13 or 14 years older than his wife and she was already married to him in 1940, when she was seventeen and he was thirty. So I guess he liked them young.

[Pogo The Clown]

Estimated to be at least a dozen DeCav members who died between 1990 and 1999.

Here is a list I've compiled for the members who died during this period. I count 10.
If we add Louis LaRasso and John D'Amato, both killed in 1991, that would make a dozen. Any idea if there are any others?


Virgil Alessi (1998)
Giaciano "Jake" Amari (1997)
Carlo Corsentino (1998)
Sam DeCavalcante (1997)
Paolo “Paul” Farina
Rudolph “Rudy" Farone (1998)
Pietro Galleta (1998)
Frank Majuri (1999)
Dominick Rizzo (1990)
Pietro Vitabile (1995)

[B.]

Estimated to be at least a dozen DeCav members who died between 1990 and 1999.

Here is a list I've compiled for the members who died during this period. I count 10.
If we add Louis LaRasso and John D'Amato, both killed in 1991, that would make a dozen. Any idea if there are any others?


Virgil Alessi (1998)
Giaciano "Jake" Amari (1997)
Carlo Corsentino (1998)
Sam DeCavalcante (1997)
Paolo “Paul” Farina
Rudolph “Rudy" Farone (1998)
Pietro Galleta (1998)
Frank Majuri (1999)
Dominick Rizzo (1990)
Pietro Vitabile (1995)

Mickey Poole of the CT crew might be another.

[LcnBios]

Estimated to be at least a dozen DeCav members who died between 1990 and 1999.

Here is a list I've compiled for the members who died during this period. I count 10.
If we add Louis LaRasso and John D'Amato, both killed in 1991, that would make a dozen. Any idea if there are any others?


Virgil Alessi (1998)
Giaciano "Jake" Amari (1997)
Carlo Corsentino (1998)
Sam DeCavalcante (1997)
Paolo “Paul” Farina
Rudolph “Rudy" Farone (1998)
Pietro Galleta (1998)
Frank Majuri (1999)
Dominick Rizzo (1990)
Pietro Vitabile (1995)

Joseph 'Pippy' Guerriero (CT crew) (1993) and Joseph Merlo Sr. (1999) are definites. Some probable members would be Joseph LaSala (1994) from NJ and the LaSelva brothers Anthony (1995) and Thomas (1993) also from Connecticut. LaSala was at least proposed by the mid-1960s and is listed in the New Jersey State hearing as a soldier.

That same hearing also lists John Giordano (1997) from Trenton but I haven't seen him mentioned elsewhere.

Are you sure about Paul Farina? He was a retired member by the early 1990s but I hadn't seen an obituary or anything confirming he died.

[Pogo The Clown]

Thanks for the additional names.


You are right on Farina. I forgot he was survailled attending Sam DeCavalcante's wake in 1997 so he probably didn't die during this time period.


Pogo

[felice]

great info JD, thanks for sharing that.

about paparatto, since it was me who exposed him as acting boss of the decavalcante family I must say and I always said that it was coming from a tape between gennaro sortino and his son emanul and it took place in italy. sortino was just coming back from the usa, he lived in new jersey for more than 20 years and he was officialy recognized as made man although he was made in ribera.

sortino say to his son:

E A chi ci devi mandare --- who's gonna go there?
G A PAPARATTA
E E PAPARATTA che ha da fare? --- what paparatta has to do?
G Tutte cose ha da fare --- he has to do everything
E Ma che è messo in mezzo pure? --- is he involved?
G Ma di più di in mezzo . . . tutte cose lui comanda --- more than involved, he heads everything
E Come comanda lui tutte le cose? --- how does he head everything?
G Ah come comanda lui .. . --- ah how he heads (like repeating his son's sentence)
E Ma se lui non è fatto la .. come fa? . . . io (bestemmia) non ne capisco niente più --- but he's not even made there, how can he?... I (blasphemy) don't understand anything more

[Dwalin2014]

sortino was just coming back from the usa, he lived in new jersey for more than 20 years and he was officialy recognized as made man although he was made in ribera.

Is it the same Gennaro Sortino who was involved in the "Santa Barbara" trial in the Agrigento province after the police interrupted the summit in Gelando Messina's house where Cesare Lombardozzi was to be made capofamiglia? But did Sortino report to SImone Capizzi from Ribera or was it Capizzi who reported to him?

[Tag]

sortino was just coming back from the usa, he lived in new jersey for more than 20 years and he was officialy recognized as made man although he was made in ribera.

Is it the same Gennaro Sortino who was involved in the "Santa Barbara" trial in the Agrigento province after the police interrupted the summit in Gelando Messina's house where Cesare Lombardozzi was to be made capofamiglia? But did Sortino report to SImone Capizzi from Ribera or was it Capizzi who reported to him?

Yes, that's him.

Are you talking about Gerlando Messina, Antonino's son?

[Dwalin2014]

Are you talking about Gerlando Messina, Antonino's son?

I am not sure whether it's Antonino's son. I only know it's the older brother of Arturo Messina who died in prison in 2008. Arturo and Gerlando were from Villaseta, but I am not sure whether they were relatives of the Messina family from Porto Empedocle.

[Tag]

Are you talking about Gerlando Messina, Antonino's son?

I am not sure whether it's Antonino's son. I only know it's the older brother of Arturo Messina who died in prison in 2008. Arturo and Gerlando were from Villaseta, but I am not sure whether they were relatives of the Messina family from Porto Empedocle.

Arturo and Gerlando were brothers and the sons of Antonino (capo of Porto Empedocle). Gerlando was killed by Stiddari, but they were from Porto Empedocle.

[Dwalin2014]

I have a small photo of Gerlando on a page of a magazine "FuoriRiga", could try to post it, so you could tell me whether he's the same person but with increasing the image's size, the quality of the photo will worsen. I normally scan the photos from magazines and books, there aren't many on internet, at least those of characters already active before the 90s.

[Dwalin2014]

Tag, does your account have a PM option? I wanted to ask about that documentary.