Info on Gambino Baltimore crew

[Etna]

These links below show addictional indictments in Baltimore after th Corbi crew was falling out. These involve Philadelphia and New Jersey families.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/ ... b3870a21b5

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1990-1 ... nt-rollman

[dave]

Great stuff Geekgang666 and Etna. Thanks!

[Geekgang666]

No problem dave

[Geekgang666]

Thanks Etna for sharing this links above

[Geekgang666]

George J. Santoni was a Baltimore, Maryland delegate who was involved in a drug conspiracy, mail fraud, and racketeering schemes in Maryland. Santoni was known to have business ties with La Costa Nostra mafia figures. Three separate indictments charged Santoni with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin, using the mails to carry out a prostitution racketeering enterprise and evading federal income taxes for 1983, 1984 and 1985. He also was named in an indictment under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, handed up in federal court in Newark. One of the Maryland charges alleged Santoni conspired to distribute illicit drugs with Sayon Sangvixienkit of Magnolia, Del., Palmer (Sonny) Brocco of Howell Township, N.J., Nicholas Massaro of Long Branch, N.J., and Carl Abernathy of Baltimore. Authorities said Santoni acted as the middleman in the deals. The indictment unsealed in Newark alleged Santoni was a member of "Vastola Organization," allegedly part of an operation run by DeCavalcante crime family member Gaetano "Corky" Vastola and engaged in various illegal activities, including narcotics, loan sharking and extortion.

[JCB1977]

When my great Uncle was killed in 1927, his widow (my great Aunt) married Tony Corbi, brother to Frank & Patsy. Tony was mixed up with West Virginia.

[B.]

When my great Uncle was killed in 1927, his widow (my great Aunt) married Tony Corbi, brother to Frank & Patsy. Tony was mixed up with West Virginia.

Thanks for the info, man. Do you know if the Frank Naples murdered by Patsy Corbi in WV was related to the more well-known Naples brothers? In my original post I mentioned that an informant was unsure of Patsy Corbi's affiliation and believed he was originally a member of a different group in WV; this is no doubt the "black hand" group he's been linked to there. I'm guessing this was a Camorra-esque group.

[Etna]

I recall an earlier article saying that the group was a mixture of Camorra, Mafia and Black Hand - I think the author thought that Black Hand was an actual organization.

[B.]

I recall an earlier article saying that the group was a mixture of Camorra, Mafia and Black Hand - I think the author thought that Black Hand was an actual organization.

Even Mike DiLeonardo referred to his grandfather and D'Aquila as being part of the "Black Hand". Both the street guys and authors seem to be mixed up on that. Everyone knows the real Black Hand is us, anyway.

[Etna]

What makes you think we will be learning about that?

Are you from the Baltimore area? I noticed you referenced the family ties to Corbi.

[JCB1977]

Seems that the Corbis were tapped in close to the Calabrian network that went through Pittsburgh, Ohio, WV, and other areas of the US (particularly midwest and interior east coast). The Pittsburgh end of this network that the Corbis were connected to can even be traced to Pellegrino of the Genovese family, who we know was an established Calabrian Camorra member before joining Cosa Nostra, and we know Vito Genovese, who was tied to the Camorra in NYC, had strong ties to remnants of the Camorra in Pittsburgh in the 1920s/30s. The Corbis married into this network as well. Appears Patsy Corbi was associated if not a member of the WV "Black Hand" group that was most likely a Camorra group, and another brother Tony Corbi settled in Youngstown which is of course tied to both Pittsburgh and Calabrians. I would be curious if the Frank Naples who was killed in WV (allegedly Pat Corbi participated) is related to the more infamous Naples brothers of Youngstown... would add another layer to this murky story.

Do you remember what was shared about Vito Corbi and Urso? Vito Corbi was the father of the more well-known Corbis and he did die in 1929 and I've seen indirect info about him being a "Black Hand" member or underworld figure, but I haven't been able to find any concrete info, only references on wiki type pages. It seems possible to me that the Corbis and other Calabrians/mainlanders in Baltimore emerged from a Camorra or similar group and were later incorporated into Cosa Nostra. Pasquale Corbi may have been the defacto leader of this Calabrian group, which is why he is referred to as a leader before his death (the informant specifically says Corbi was a better leader than his brother Frank, who at the time of the info was acting/defacto captain for Morici). In most families/crews that had a significant Calabrian / Sicilian dynamic, we almost always see a defacto leader of each group, so seems possible in Baltimore even though it was just a ~12 member decina.

However, I do wonder if the Palermitani like Morici, LaFata, and other Sicilians in Baltimore were affiliated with the Gambinos earlier. Antonio Messina may have been a Sicilian from the Palermo area, as there was an Antonio Messina in the right age range in Baltimore who fit that bill, though I'm not sure if I have identified the right Antonio Messina's record. If he had been close to Philip Mangano since the 1920s like it says in that article (anyone have info on the upstate NY murder Mangano and Messina allegedly committed together in the 1920s?), it seems very possible Messina was an associate or member of the D'Aquila/Mangano family by the 1920s or 30s. None of the info mentions Anastasia's motivation for the Messina and Zannino contracts, but the article seems to hint that Messina's murder is connected to the Mangano murder(s) and that seems possible given the timing and supposed ties between Mangano/Messina. Would be pretty interesting if the Messina/Zannino murders were in any way connected to the Mangano murders and Anastasia takeover.

You also have to figure that the D'Aquila family was heavily influencing the Philadelphia family by 1920, if not earlier, so not too crazy to think that they had planted some kind of flag in Baltimore by then. When Ignazio Lupo was in hiding in 1908-1909, he later claimed he spent part of it in Baltimore. My personal opinion on a lot of these "satellite crews" is that the connections, if not full-on members, were there much earlier than the ones we know about. For example, Maranzano's wife and children were sent to hide out in Montreal and there are other examples of the Bonannos having ties to Montreal before Galante went there in the early 1950s. Other examples are the NY and Decav crews in New England.

The Naples brothers from Youngstown real last name was Di Napoli

[JCB1977]

When my great Uncle was killed in 1927, his widow (my great Aunt) married Tony Corbi, brother to Frank & Patsy. Tony was mixed up with West Virginia.

Thanks for the info, man. Do you know if the Frank Naples murdered by Patsy Corbi in WV was related to the more well-known Naples brothers? In my original post I mentioned that an informant was unsure of Patsy Corbi's affiliation and believed he was originally a member of a different group in WV; this is no doubt the "black hand" group he's been linked to there. I'm guessing this was a Camorra-esque group.

To my knowledge, the Naples brothers parents and grandparents were hard working people never mixed up with OC. Naples was a common Americanized name for Napoli, Di Napoli, Napoleon etc. When my uncle was killed in 1927, he was referred to as the leader of organized crime/black hand in the greater Youngstown area. His widow later married Tony who my family accepted and became very close with. I didn't think Tony was in as deep as his brothers though.

Tony Ripepi was definitely in Baltimore when Corbi was shot. The details are murky but Ripepi allegedly drove down there and drove back home after he shot Corbi.

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

"This same informant goes on to discuss activities at Apalachin, which he attended, so it's clear this informant is Lombardozzi."
Was Carmine Lombardozzi an FBI informant?

[HairyKnuckles]

"This same informant goes on to discuss activities at Apalachin, which he attended, so it's clear this informant is Lombardozzi."
Was Carmine Lombardozzi an FBI informant?

Most likely yeah.

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

"This same informant goes on to discuss activities at Apalachin, which he attended, so it's clear this informant is Lombardozzi."
Was Carmine Lombardozzi an FBI informant?

Most likely yeah.

He was close to Don Carlo. The FBI must have had good
info on the Gambino's from him.