Is there any doubt Mags is a beefer?

[Frank]

What does il comparello mean? Does Gentile describe Ricca as boss and what time period is he talking about. Does he say anything about Nitti. Was Nitti made.

[Villain]

What does il comparello mean? Does Gentile describe Ricca as boss and what time period is he talking about. Does he say anything about Nitti. Was Nitti made.

I really dont know what the hell means maybe its a bell, maybe its a compartment lol maybe a companion who knows and so heres the doc and no he doesnt describe him as boss but instead more as a main contact between Chi and NY and as Als cosest associate and i dont think that he ever mentioned Nitto but maybe Antiliar knows more than me since he also posses a lot of knowledge regarding the NY mob. In addition this doc is not the original statement of Gentile but it comes mostly from his words..

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... camparello

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... comparello

[Frank]

That is really some good information. I wonder how long these 10 made men were tied to NY. I would assume that ended with Masseria's death.

[Dwalin2014]

By the way, the U.S. federal government did try to deport Ricca. He had good attorneys to fight it, claimed illness, and even cut out news stories of his crimes and mailed them to the embassies of other countries. Italy refused to accept him back. (I don't know how it could, since he was born there, that's what happened.) He was under a deportation order when he died.

Interesting information. Such typical bureaucratic hypocrisy by many countries, leaving others to deal with the criminals they themselves "provided" and could help a lot against, like in this case, Italy refusing to take Ricca off the streets...Although every country does that, I think (except for some that refuse to extradite their citizens no matter what they had done, to avoid "losing international prestige"...USA and Russia still do that, maybe some others too; Ricca wasn't a citizen though, as I understand). But why did the Italians bother to convict him for murder if then they didn't want him to serve the time when the USA could handle him to them "on a silver plate"? Or did only the king's authorities and later the Fascists want him, while the post-war republic didn't?

[Antiliar]

What does il comparello mean? Does Gentile describe Ricca as boss and what time period is he talking about. Does he say anything about Nitti. Was Nitti made.

compare - means "co-father" (similar to a godfather, but means the relationship between the godfather and the father of the child being baptized, sort of like a brother, but within the church); outside of the church used to mean a close companion. In the early Mafia, members would call each other "fratello" (brother) or compare.

-ello - is a diminutive suffix, so diminishes the word it attaches to.

comparello - means "little compare." It is similar to "little brother," except one does not have to be related.

Gentile doesn't mention Nitto (not Nitti). Nitto was probably made. I'm guessing he was probably a capo over a crew. Frank Bompensiero, who was an informant, said that Ricca was a boss and Nitto wasn't. Bill Bonanno, who got the info from his father, said that the Chicago representative on the Commission in the 1930s and 40s was Ricca. Gentile named the members of the Commission to U.S. government officials in Italy in 1940, and named Ricca as one of them.

[Antiliar]

By the way, the U.S. federal government did try to deport Ricca. He had good attorneys to fight it, claimed illness, and even cut out news stories of his crimes and mailed them to the embassies of other countries. Italy refused to accept him back. (I don't know how it could, since he was born there, that's what happened.) He was under a deportation order when he died.

Interesting information. Such typical bureaucratic hypocrisy by many countries, leaving others to deal with the criminals they themselves "provided" and could help a lot against, like in this case, Italy refusing to take Ricca off the streets...Although every country does that, I think (except for some that refuse to extradite their citizens no matter what they had done, to avoid "losing international prestige"...USA and Russia still do that, maybe some others too; Ricca wasn't a citizen though, as I understand). But why did the Italians bother to convict him for murder if then they didn't want him to serve the time when the USA could handle him to them "on a silver plate"? Or did only the king's authorities and later the Fascists want him, while the post-war republic didn't?

I guess the Christian Democrats were in charge at the time. Don't know how they could deny Ricca's return since he was born in Naples, but they did. Don't know how they could get away with it either. There's probably some documents about it in Italy somewhere.

[Villain]

By the way, the U.S. federal government did try to deport Ricca. He had good attorneys to fight it, claimed illness, and even cut out news stories of his crimes and mailed them to the embassies of other countries. Italy refused to accept him back. (I don't know how it could, since he was born there, that's what happened.) He was under a deportation order when he died.

Interesting information. Such typical bureaucratic hypocrisy by many countries, leaving others to deal with the criminals they themselves "provided" and could help a lot against, like in this case, Italy refusing to take Ricca off the streets...Although every country does that, I think (except for some that refuse to extradite their citizens no matter what they had done, to avoid "losing international prestige"...USA and Russia still do that, maybe some others too; Ricca wasn't a citizen though, as I understand). But why did the Italians bother to convict him for murder if then they didn't want him to serve the time when the USA could handle him to them "on a silver plate"? Or did only the king's authorities and later the Fascists want him, while the post-war republic didn't?

I guess the Christian Democrats were in charge at the time. Don't know how they could deny Ricca's return since he was born in Naples, but they did. Don't know how they could get away with it either. There's probably some documents about it in Italy somewhere.

Ricca’s lawyers had written letters to more than 40 nations in Europe, and South and Central America, purportedly asking refuge there but in reality with each letter they added press clippings detailing Riccas crime syndicate connections. All of countries immediately replied that he wasn't welcome and the only one country which said that would take Ricca was Monaco but only as temporary guest. Later the government decided to act again and quickly and so one day, in less than an hour before Ricca was to be placed into a plane bound for Italy, his lawyers acted faster and field a petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals and so Ricca was safe again. Story goes that the lawyers acted within minutes after the federal district court had denied Ricca’s plea for a stay of the deportation order and a writ of habeas corpus.

Also thanks for the detailed info on the meaning of il comparello

[Dwalin2014]

By the way, while there have been discussions about who was formally in charge after Capone, whether it was Nitto or Ricca, even if Ricca took over immediately after Capone went away, what about the period when Capone was free an in full power? Because, while (unlike Nitto) Capone was known for sure to have been official boss, but he was quite dumb, even other mafiosi said so when comparing him and Accardo (unless this quote was made up too), so, although back then (during Prohibition) he could allow himself the luxury to be dumb and still be a boss, unlike Gotti in the 80sm who was jailed after a relatively brief period as boss, but Ricca being a cleverer leader, a sort of "master manipulator" etc, did he ever try to control Capone as advisor? Why no word about him during Capone's period as boss? Did Ricca show no ambition and never tried to interfere before Capone was imprisoned?
Also, I found that quote I mentioned earlier, that said that initially the 3 main Capone’s assistants were Ralph Capone, Jake Guzik and Frank Nitto. It’s from the same book that mentioned Ricca’s arrest with Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky in 1932. It’s “After Capone” by Mars Eghigian, mostly focused on Frank Nitto’s biography, but includes other details too, also about the Capone period though, even if it’s called “After Capone”. Unfortunately, it’s not available in electronic format, so I couldn’t copy + paste, I copied it manually, but checked for mistakes, so here I post the exact text from the book:

As George Murray noted, Capone already had “found and surrounded himself with men needed to head great – if illegal – business enterprises.” Capone maintained Torrio’s vision of a highly organized, tightly knit crime administration. One insider thought Big Al’s idea was similar to a corporate setup, “something like General Electric or the Ford Motor Corporation.” In the event of Capone’s absence, the enterprise “would be carried on at least to the point where it could be left to the direction of less skillful hands” than his own, thus ensuring continuity and survival. What he established was not a true board, in the sense of making appointments or electing officers, but something more like a corporate board composed of the leaders in their fields who would carry out the day-to-day administration of their respective areas and report the results to the boss, while Capone himself would retain the ultimate authority to make strategic decisions.
Once firmly established, the board would come to enjoy a lion’s share of the gang’s profits: one-sixth of the profit went to each of the four key leaders, with the remaining one-third of revenues set aside in a general revenue fund reserved for paying regular employees, chauffeurs, bodyguards, and the like. According to one of their suburban gambling cashiers, the “Big Four” were, besides Capone, Al’s brother Ralph who spearheaded beer distribution, longtime money man Jake Guzik, responsible for gambling collections and the distribution of most payoffs, and, in charge of collections in the alcohol racket, Frank Nitto.
Of course, their respective duties evolved as the corporation changed, and they also ran small concerns independent of their own specialty. For instance, Nitto, like Ralph and Guzik, was given portions of gambling collection, just as these two collected on large booze ventures. In the event of Capone’s absence, he could receive information from and relay orders to any of the three, who provided for the board a mixture of longtime immeasurable trust, wide-ranging experience and the brains to implement directions.
Paul Ricca remained at Nitto’s side, as did Louis Schiavone. Another of the quiet business types brought on board by Nitto as well as a gunman who rarely flaunted weallth, he assisted Nitto’s alcohol deals through his Midwest Drug and Chemical Company. He also helped maintain discipline in Little Italy and lost an eye in the process. Scalise and Anselmi joined him after they were released.

So here I don’t understand: if Ricca was that important from the very beginning, why didn’t they include him in that “privileged” group of 4 that took the biggest profit? Or is this information unreliable? It says at the beginning of the chapter (number 8) that this structure was formed in about 1925 or 1926, so maybe initially Nitto had more privileges but was overpowered by Ricca in a later period?

[Antiliar]

We have to remember that the Outfit, just like every other Cosa Nostra crime family, is supposed to be secret. Law enforcement and the press often came to the wrong conclusions because they had limited information and often mismatched the pieces of their puzzles. When the FBI got involved and started making secret recordings and developing informants the information improved. However, associates didn't have the same quality information that made members had. A drawback of informants is that they can supply false information too. So the more informants, the better the information they will have. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the insiders just weren't there. The IRS placed Mike Malone to work undercover, and he was able to access some information, but he operated only a matter of months, so the quality of his info wasn't as good as someone high up in the organization.

As for Capone being "quite dumb," I disagree. He was very intelligent and his conversations reveal someone who took time to educate himself. He moved up quickly under Torrio to succeed him, and once in charge his men were dedicated to him. Someone who's "quite dumb" wouldn't have been that successful. The quote about Accardo having "more brains before breakfast" than Capone had "all day" was attributed to Ricca, but was made public by reporter (for the Chicago American) George Murray, who didn't give a citation. Even if the quote is true, it doesn't mean that Capone was stupid, but that Accardo was extremely intelligent.

[Dwalin2014]

As for Capone being "quite dumb," I disagree. He was very intelligent and his conversations reveal someone who took time to educate himself. He moved up quickly under Torrio to succeed him, and once in charge his men were dedicated to him. Someone who's "quite dumb" wouldn't have been that successful. The quote about Accardo having "more brains before breakfast" than Capone had "all day" was attributed to Ricca, but was made public by reporter (for the Chicago American) George Murray, who didn't give a citation. Even if the quote is true, it doesn't mean that Capone was stupid, but that Accardo was extremely intelligent.

That's interesting to know. To be honest, I thought that Capone was more like Gotti, but stayed "on top" because he acted in a time period when the law enforcement was more inept against organized crime and (especially in Chicago) even the most "unqualified" boss could get away with murder (and most other crimes too). So I must say that Capone being a clever enough boss is new to me, probably he got too "stereotyped" in movies and even history books eventually, which I watched and read before I started being seriously interested in the mafia / antimafia subject.

[Frank]

I got the impression Capone was pretty smart but too smart for his own good. I think the nose candy and the VD did him in. Maybe to out there in public,with violence and other things. Put together a pretty good organization at young age.

[Antiliar]

The "nose candy" story came from biography Lawrence Bergreen, and a lot of his claims have been debunked. There's no evidence that Capone was into coke. He may have tried it once or twice, but that's a guess and nothing more. He may have never tried it. In that same book, Bergreen claimed that Capone secretly answered to Frank La Porte, which makes no sense at all. La Porte was under Jimmy Emery, who was under Dominic Roberto. A better bio of Capone is Robert Schoenberg's "Mr. Capone."

[Frank]

Thanks Antiliar. All the people that watched Making of the Mob we're very misinformed. Not only about the coke habit but Accardo, rise to power was depicted to early in his career. Also not one mention of Campagnia or Rio and others

[Villain]

The "nose candy" story came from biography Lawrence Bergreen, and a lot of his claims have been debunked. There's no evidence that Capone was into coke. He may have tried it once or twice, but that's a guess and nothing more. He may have never tried it.

It would be great if we had his whole medical record during his stay prison, since some say that on those same records it was allegedly written that he has shown signs of dope addiction during his first few months. In other words he was allegedly suffering from withdrawal symptoms but I could be wrong since it could be just a myth. Anyways i wrote it down in my piece lol Also there are some rumours that even Luciano suffered from the same symptoms when he also went to prison and we all.know that those two guys were both young and rich and allegedly were quite close. On top of that, some guys around Al were pure dope addicts and held high positions, like Heeney and the DeGrazias for example. In other words it was normal even then to be a mobster and at the same time to snort coke or smoke opium and i strongly believe that guys like them did not feel traditional at all but instead they looked upon themselves as pure American gangsters, which later might be one of the main reasons for guys like Humphreys to really hate drugs

[Confederate]

Mags hasn't been "in the know" about anything recent since the early 2000s, and any crime he could beef about would have already passed the statute of limitations. Do you think any made guy would trust him after everything he's said online in the past several years? He's publicly criticized the DiFronzos, talked about he and Jackie Cerone used to go after other people's wives (including made members), and made it known that Albie Vena is a dangerous guy. Only a person who is done with the Outfit would go on record about those things, and no current member would have anything to do with him except for maybe saying "Hi" and "Bye."

There is no statute of limitations on murder.