Interesting 60's Pittsburgh / Cleveland MF FBI File tidbits:

[FriendofFamily]

I just want for you to consider that when placing this chart together that some information in the MF file/FBI File is not correct. Certain informants were deliberately giving out false and misleading information to the FBI so to protect the hierarchy of the organization. I think there are some of us know a certain thing or two that is true and that the FBI was mislead into believing something else. Overall I don't think it will affect the Chart too much but in other detailed discussions it does. Just my Opinion

[FriendofHenry]

I just want for you to consider that when placing this chart together that some information in the MF file/FBI File is not correct. Certain informants were deliberately giving out false and misleading information to the FBI so to protect the hierarchy of the organization. I think there are some of us know a certain thing or two that is true and that the FBI was mislead into believing something else. Overall I don't think it will affect the Chart too much but in other detailed discussions it does. Just my Opinion

I totally agree with FoF. Good luck trying yo find any FBI doc that says that henry was made let alone being a Capo. JCB and I have discussed this at length. We are sure that although he resisted that "thing" for decades that he had to be made and then immediately be upped when Michael put him over Lenny. No way Henry could have been over Lenny and not being a made guy. I know that Michael made Henry!

Additionally, Michael always avoided being his own front man. After Chucky Porter got busted and there were concerns that he could or would flip, Michael needed a Capo to speak for him. Henry was now his guy' Besides, because of Henry's cancer, he needed money more than ever.

[Stroccos]

Hell Kelly kelly mannarino was talking openly with the FBI as did many others .

But as to informants with out knowing who they were it's hard to judge there information .

[JCB1977]

Pittsburgh operated differently than most families. They had more of a Camorra structure where they put one boss in over a specific geographic territory and members and associates of that specific area answered to the boss:

Ripepi- Washington/Fayette County
Mannarino- New Kensington/Westmoreland County
Amato- Braddock, Turtle Creek, East Pittsburgh (By 1937, Amato operated in Braddock but he let Louis Volpe run East Pittsburgh)
Regina- Johnstown, Cambria County
Mike G- East Liberty, city of Pittsburgh
Sica- Penn Hills

[JCB1977]

Per 1990 PA Crime Commission Report as well as SA Roger Greenbank Report. This gives you information on how LaRocca and Amato operated in "strict territories"

Operating Style
First, as is true of other LCN families,
the Pittsburgh Family is hierarchical,
with a boss, top lieutenants,
soldiers, and associates. Charles
Porter functions as the "underboss"
while Joseph Sica serves as the
consigliere. Itis Genovese's "management"
style to have direct and frequent
contacts with some of his chief
lieutenants, as well as with soldiers
and associates who are good moneymakers.
During LaRocca's regime,
when Genovese and Mannarino were
LaRclcca's chief lieutenants, they
were as powerful as the designated
underboss Joseph Pecora.
Second, Genovese, as boss, and his
top lieutenants typically go through
channels and have buffers between
them and the actual criminal activity.
At the street level, are the soldiers
and the many associates who report
to the Family hierarchy. Genovese is
in control of all members. Each
member, in turn, has a number of
associates who are required to report
to him. Furthermore, many of these
associates run their own operations
and have associates who report to
them.
Third, the Pittsburgh Family has
fewer "made" members than most
other LCN families. it has a network
of ambitious associates who benefit
from the resources and reputation of
the Family and, interestingly, consider
themselves a part of, or as belonging
to, the" organization." Some associates
may even believe that they are
"made" members, a status achieved
not by way of formal rites of initiation,
but by long-standing loyalty and
money-making prowess for the Family.
This belief is encouraged by the
Family hierarchy.
Fourth, while the Family may be
hierarchical and heavy-handed, its
money-making activities are decentralized
and entrepreneurial. A member
or associate has responsibilities to
make money for the Family (often
with his captain as conduit); but he
is not an employee, nor does he have
a supervisor in the conventional sense
of that word. A member's or associate's
stature in the Family is
based largely on his ability to make
money for himself and for the Family
by whatever means possible. In turn,
members and associates of the
LaRocca/Genovese Family have their
own, often interlocking, networks of
criminal associates and supporters.
Fifth, the Family typically receives
"tribute" of one kind or another on
the varied criminal enterprises which
take place within the territories occupied
by the Family. The hierarchy
"licenses" such criminal enterprises
and receives payments for restricting
market entry or for other services.
The Family also has mechanisms for
settling disputes (including the "sitdown"
meeting), whether these
occur between Family members or
with members or associates of other
LCN Families. Finally, in some instances,
it uses simple extortion, e.g.,
the "street tax" assessed on gambling
operators.
These organizational features have
allowed a comparatively "small" crime
family to exert a great deal of influenc&
and amass considerable wealth
in Western Pennsylvania.

By the late 1970s, because of
advancing years and ill health, LaRocca
had yielded much of the family
leadership to Gabriel Mannarino,
Joseph Pecora, and Michael
Genovese. Pecora was convicted of
gambling in 1979, and Mannarino
died in 1980. Michael Genovese, 71,
then became the boss of the
Pittsburgh Family in 1985, with
Pecora staying on as underboss until
his death in March 1987.
As boss, Genovese continued
LaRocca's low profile style of running
115
the crime Family, but noticeable shifts
soon emerged in the Family's power
strLcture and in the scale of its criminal
activities. Charles Porter, current
underboss, emerged as Genovese's
chifif lieutenant and narcotics trafficking
assumed more status as a major
money maker for the Family.
The Pittsburgh LeN had become
somewhat lethargic under LaRocca.
No new members were added for a
number of years and drug trafficking
was, at least formally, prohibited.
Some members were involved in
narcotics, but without LaRoc'ca's
consent. For many members and
associates of the Family, Genovese
was a "breath of fresh air." The
Family became more active and aggressive
both in reasserting its dominancu
in the Pittsburgh area and in
expclnding into new territories in Ohio
and Erie. New members and associates
were added to the Family's
membership rolls. While remaining
firmly entrenched in traditional criminal
activities including gambling and
loansharking, the Family moved into
the video poker market and expanded
its n.arcotics business.
Under Genovese, there is also less
strict adherence to the concept of
"territories" as the sole province of
specific Family members. Prior to
LaRocca's death, Family members
operated in designated areas in Western
Pennsylvania. For example,
LaRocca operated in the City of Pittsburgh;
Gabriel Mannarino, and later
Thomas Ciancutti, had New Kensington;
Joseph Sica, and later Louis
Raucci, were in the Penn Hills area;
and Frank D. Amato, Jr., had the
eastern suburbs such as Braddock
and North Versailles.
Territories still exist under Genovese
but are not as strictly defined, and
one member's territory often overlaps
that of another member. For example,
Porter and Raucci share the
areas of Monroeville, Verona, and
Penn Hills. Primo Mollica, a major
bookmaker from Glassport and a close
associate of Porter, oversees gambling
operations throughout parts of
Western Pennsylvania.

[Snakes]

Pittsburgh operated differently than most families. They had more of a Camorra structure where they put one boss in over a specific geographic territory and members and associates of that specific area answered to the boss:

Ripepi- Washington/Fayette County
Mannarino- New Kensington/Westmoreland County
Amato- Braddock, Turtle Creek, East Pittsburgh (By 1937, Amato operated in Braddock but he let Louis Volpe run East Pittsburgh)
Regina- Johnstown, Cambria County
Mike G- East Liberty, city of Pittsburgh
Sica- Penn Hills

Did not know this was a Camorra way of structuring a family. Perhaps this explains Chicago's organizational structure, as most of the early members of that family were Neapolitan, with certain members exerting bigger influence at different times. Was there a "top" boss in the structure listed above?

[JCB1977]

Pittsburgh operated differently than most families. They had more of a Camorra structure where they put one boss in over a specific geographic territory and members and associates of that specific area answered to the boss:

Ripepi- Washington/Fayette County
Mannarino- New Kensington/Westmoreland County
Amato- Braddock, Turtle Creek, East Pittsburgh (By 1937, Amato operated in Braddock but he let Louis Volpe run East Pittsburgh)
Regina- Johnstown, Cambria County
Mike G- East Liberty, city of Pittsburgh
Sica- Penn Hills

Did not know this was a Camorra way of structuring a family. Perhaps this explains Chicago's organizational structure, as most of the early members of that family were Neapolitan, with certain members exerting bigger influence at different times. Was there a "top" boss in the structure listed above?

Frank Amato Sr until 1956 and John LaRocca took over

[JCB1977]

We need to include Giuseppe Rosa, who was deported back to Italy. He was a powerhouse. His son was Frank Rosa, son in law to Joe Sica. Giuseppe Rosa was the paternal grandfather to infamous Pittsburgh rat Joey Rosa. Frank Rosa, a Capo, died of cancer in 1982. He was convicted in 1975 under the Hobbs act with his father in law, Joe Sica.

[Snakes]

Thanks. So these territorial bosses were essentially semi-autonomous?

[Frank]

Somebody told me once the same thing about Chicago,but I don't agree. Aren't all the American La Cosa Nostra captains semi- autonomous.

[JCB1977]

Chris - Maybe you should include Gab Mannarino as one of John's "Right Hand" men?

Gabe Mannarino was the youngest son of Giacinto & Domenica Rugiero. His brother Sam's name was Salvatore. When his father came to this country, he changed his name to George Mannarino. The family emigrated from Amatea, Cosenza Region, Calabria, Italy around 1908.

[JCB1977]

Thanks. So these territorial bosses were essentially semi-autonomous?

No. Frank Amato Sr was the boss...they all reported to him until 1956. Then Big John LaRocca. Pittsburgh set up their family with territory bosses. The territory bosses reported to the administration. This was done when Gianni Bazzano aka John Bazzano Sr was boss.

[JCB1977]

Thanks. So these territorial bosses were essentially semi-autonomous?

Frank Amato Sr. ran the family where he put his top guys in as territory bosses and they called "all the shots" within their assigned territory. Each boss had a handful of made guys and hundreds of associates.

[Frank]

Here is the thread about Pittsburgh Family structure and maybe has a connection to the Capo Squadrone.

[Villain]

Here is the thread about Pittsburgh Family structure and maybe has a connection to the Capo Squadrone.

Thanks buddy