Frank Scalise's correspondence w/ Sicilian Mafia

[B.]

Came across this in the post-Apalachin senate hearings. Letters between Frank Scalise and Sicilian mafia leaders show that Scalise (and by proxy, the US mafia) continued to receive updates on Sicilian mafia families and their activities up until the time of his death. The government also believed these letters were used to arrange narcotics deals. Below is the unedited excerpt from the senate hearings, with the letter contents in bold.

Mr. Kennedy. Yes. Can you give us some of the correspondence on Frank Scalise?
Mr. Pera. Well, I have the translation of the hearings, and if I could simply read them into the
(At this point, Senator Curtis entered the hearing room.)
Mr. Kennedy. Is there anything particularly we can listen for in these letters that you are going to read ? Mr. Pera. I think, in order to get the meaning of them, I will make
a few comments in the course of reading them, if that is permissible.
The Chairman. You read them and those points in the letters that
have significance you may point out and elaborate upon.
Mr. Pera. This is a letter signed by Frank Scalise. It is dated September
10, 1956. It is to one Nino in Italy. The Nino we believe to be
Nino Torres.
Mr. Kennedy. His first name?
Mr. Pera. Nino, which is a diminutive of Antonino.
Mr. Kennedy. Who is he ?
Mr. Pera. He is a notorious hoodlum in Italy.
I was very happy to receive your letter and I can assure you that I would like to know you. Perhaps in the near future I will have the pleasure of meeting you in person to express my fraternal respect which attracts me to you. I did not write you sooner because I did not have your address, and I had to get it. I am enclosing a copy of the letter, the original of which was sent to the friend, Signor Nicoletti, of the factory, in Pallavicino. Interrupting here, I would draw attention to the reference to the fraternal respect, the fraternal respect within the organization.
"Signor Nicoletti of the factory of Pallavicino," that refers to the
Mafia leader in 1 particular area. The factory in Pallavicino is a code for reference to the organizationin Pallavicino.
Mr. Kennedy. The Mafia organization in that city?
IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR FIELD 12237
Mr. Pera. Yes. (Reading) : I don't know what the relationship is between you and the above mentioned,
but I am obligated because of our friendship to inform you of anything that occurs here in order that you and my fraternal friend can form your opinions.
Surely you know the differences that have come up between Grito and his godfather,
and in case you will be called to trial you will know what to do.
Mr. Kennedy. What does that mean?
Mr. Pera. Would you allow me to go on ?
Mr. Kennedy. Excuse me.
Mr. Pera (reading) : All told it is not a matter of honor or irreparable things but matters which
could have been straightened out easily. I hope that you will excuse me for troubling you. Give my regards to Orlando Finazzo. Assuring you of my
availability for anything that you may need ; regards and kisses from the friends and relatives here. Signed, Frank Scalise.
The trial that he is talking about would not be a trial in the face of
authorities. We feel that it is a trial within the organization, because
he mentions that it is not a matter of honor or irreparable things but
matters which could have easily been straightened out, a reference, we
think, to an internal dispute within the organization. If it was a matter of honor, then someone would have to go. We have another letter. I mentioned that that letter was addressed to Nino. We do not know
whether that is Nino Torres. I would like to correct that. We don't
know the Nino that that particular letter is addressed to. I have this one confused with another one. But this particular letter we do not know the Nino. Here we have a letter, the second one, dated Palermo, February 10, 1956. It reads
:
Dear Don Ciccio
—
the diminutive of Frank, and the letter is intended for Frank Scalise.
In replying to your kind letter, please excuse me for not having answered
sooner. However, in regard to copy of letter which I received, I understand what it is all about, but since Signor Nicoletti for the present is being sought by Uncle Angelo
—
and here I will interrupt ; the Uncle Angelo they refer to as the police
under the code of Uncle Angelo.
We have been unable to talk him personally.
I have now, however, sent him the letter so that he knows that I have been informed by you to take care of this matter. Since Nino Marsiglia
—
that is, the chief of the factory in Palermo
—
is at present in Ustica
—
and I interrupt here to mention thai Ustica is an island where many
of the Matia people have been exiled to, serving prison terms or in
exile.
Mr. Kennedy. Once again, the reference to the chief of the factory.

Mr. Pera. It refers to the chief of the organization at Palermo. I will repeat
:
Since Nino Marsiglia, the chief of the factory at Palermo, is at present in Fstica, even I have been dispersed, as have been most of the rest of the chiefs of the factories.
Incidentally, I mentioned before that because of the murders in- volved with the food exchange, the Italian Government had done a tremendous crackdown, since 1955. This letter is dated February
1956, reflecting the activity of the Italian Government in dispersing
this group.
Even I have been dispersed, as have almost the rest of the chiefs of the factories.
Therefore, I beg you to wait a little while longer until we can get
together to discuss what you have written me. For the present, Uncle Angelo
is carrying on worse than in 1925. I will interrupt here again to say that in 1925 there was a concerted
effort by the police to round up the hoodlums in Sicily.
You can imagine how we have been disbanded. Hoping that this letter finds you
in the best of health, as I assure you I am, I extend the affection and embraces
to you, Nino, and all the other friends, and embraces to your brothers as well as from our friends. Your fraternal friend. That is Nino Torres of Palermo, Italy.
Mr. Kennedy. Could you summarize what those letters mean to you?
Mr. Pera. Well, to us they are particularly significant because for once these are letters seized from an individual we know to be of high
stature within the organization, and for once we have documentary
proof of their interrelationship and of the organizational structure. Much of the other information
Mr. Kennedy. You say their organizational structure. Mr. Pera. The Mafia, specifically. Much of the other information we have to combine by word of mouth and by the activities of undercover
agents. But this is a letter that was seized from a person that was in there. Mr. Kennedy. And it would indicate, would it, that the leaders of
the Mafia here in the United States are closely in contact with the
leaders of the Mafia there ? Mr. Pera. There is a definite strong interrelationship and even an
exchange of activity on either side ; yes, sir. Senator Goldwater. How do they communicate ?
Mr. Pera. By mail. Many times they send the letters to mail drops.
For instance, they might not send it to the man's address, but they
might send a letter for him in care of some relatively unknown person,
let's say an immigrant that has come here in the last few years, or someone that is relatively unknoAvn, or perhaps a business address.
They are relatively safe in communicating by mail.

[B.]

Sorry, the text is kind of a mess as I copied it from a rough PDF. These letters are very similar in style to those sent between Giuseppe Morello and other mafia leaders decades earlier, showing that as late as the mid-1950s the two organizations were still communicating this way.

[B.]

Also, to confuse things, the first letter references the factory (family) in Pallavicino -- this is between Genoa and Milan further north on the mainland. The second letter is from Palermo, but does anyone have any insight into mafia activities (Sicilian or not) in Pallavicino?

[Cheech]

good post, thanks B.

[bronx]

great stuff ,thanks

[felice]

Pallavicino is an area of Palermo, that family is now called Partanna Mondello. Some old timers still call it Pallavicino family anyway. That area was very "mafiosa" and it is believed the mafia in Palermo originally started there.

[B.]

Pallavicino is an area of Palermo, that family is now called Partanna Mondello. Some old timers still call it Pallavicino family anyway. That area was very "mafiosa" and it is believed the mafia in Palermo originally started there.

Excellent info -- that makes more sense. Are you familiar with any Sicilian leader named Nicoletti active in that area circa 1956? How about Orlando Finazzo, Nino Marsiglia, and Nino Torres (the latter being from Palermo)?

Also curious if anyone knows of an issue with a "Grito" during this time, who this apparent "trial" was for. These would not be phonetic interpretations, but Scalise's handwriting may not have been fully legible or spelled correctly, so hard to say.

edit: Bill Feather has Nino Marsiglia as a former Detroit member who was later killed in Sicily.

[felice]

yes Vincenzo Nicoletti was Partanna Mondello family boss until he was killed in 1974
Antonino Marsiglia was Palermo Centro family boss. Indeed he is indicated as member of "Palermo factory"

Partanna Mondello, Tommaso Natale and San Lorenzo are all familes of western Palermo and there have been several Scalici's as members. Probably Scalise was actually coming from that area. If I remember correctly he had several brothers and one or two were living in Palermo

Torres was once indicated by Buscetta as an early boss. I don't know more

[Angelo Santino]

yes Vincenzo Nicoletti was Partanna Mondello family boss until he was killed in 1974
Antonino Marsiglia was Palermo Centro family boss. Indeed he is indicated as member of "Palermo factory"

Partanna Mondello, Tommaso Natale and San Lorenzo are all familes of western Palermo and there have been several Scalici's as members. Probably Scalise was actually coming from that area. If I remember correctly he had several brothers and one or two were living in Palermo

Torres was once indicated by Buscetta as an early boss. I don't know more

I believe this was one entity "Piana Dei Colli" until 1910 when it broke up 3-5 ways. Same with "Olivuzza" which splintered several ways in 1910, one of them was Palermo Centro Family.