The Philadelphia Mafia before Salvatore Sabella, c.1919
From Celesta Morello
Reports from the U.S. Department of Justice and her research
obtained especially from Mafia member Harry Riccobene, the relatives of Mafiosi and others disclosed the names of some of the
early representatives or "bosses" of the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia Family. Once deceased, a member's identity in the
American Mafia, or "La Cosa Nostra" (LCN) can be disclosed. Among those named as bosses of the local Family were Frank "Cheech" Bar-
rale, Michael Maggio and George Catania. Presumably, they held short tenures in the years from about 1905 to 1920 when it was affirmatively known that Salvatore Sabella became the boss.
The noted bosses represent the majority of Mafiosi in Philadelphia from towns in western Sicily where the "Honored Society"
(as it is called there) had been a part of the culture for centuries. By far, the least number of local Mafiosi were from Campobello di Mazara, Province of Trapani. Their route to the citywas through some brief settlement in Bristol, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Michael Maggio(1889-1959) came to the United States in 1905 and by 1910 had established himself as a grocer, then an Italian cheese manufacturer in Philadelphia.4 He became a benefactor of the Roman Catholic Church, various charitable causes and a civic
leader. Only a few of his paesani, including relatives, were in the Philadelphia-South Jersey Family.
George Catania (1877-1928) had arrived in 18975 and led a large group of Mafiosi from his hometown of Caccamo, Province of
Palermo. Catania would be the first of three bosess from Caccamo to represent the local Family. Like others in the pre-1920, or
"Prohibition" on-set by which law enforcement had based their definition of "organized crime" $0 prosecute, Catania remained unknown until his death--fifteen bullets to his body in July of1928--which was a suspected retaliatory action against Salvatore Sabella, the boss of Philadelphia during the 1920s.
The Caccamese colony in Philadelphia had already been reported in a previous paper, and the Mafiosi from this group were
unidentified mostly because they were retired(or "inactive") and unknown to members who informed the FBI of members who were only
active. Because of the lack of criminality, few records place Caccamese Mafiosi with the violent members of later years.
The most eminent Mafiosi locally were from Belmonte Mezzagno in the Province of Palermo. It is a rural, feudal village almost bordering the edge of Palermo, still with formidable members. Francesco Barrale (1882-1958),one of the most feared of this group, lived in Rosenhayn, in the farming
area of South Jersey, not far from Philadelphia. Along with Bridgeton, a neighboring town, the Belmontese Mafiosi living there and travelling, or having a second home in the city, created the hyphenated "Philadelphia-South Jersey" label for this Family with urban and rural residences. The Belmontesi are especially noteworthy for the dynastic model of successive Mafiosi in the U.S. that to date, extends to four generations with the Scafidi men, beginning with Gaetano Scafidi (1883-1958), Barrale's brother-in-law from Belmonte. Gaetano's brothers Michael, Joseph and Andrew
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The federal definition of "organized crime" includes violence, extortion, illegal activities with the intent to produce income-offenses arising during the illicit alcohol era.
Riccobene confirmed Catania as a member--Riccobene was initiated in the local Family in 1927, just before Catania's death. Catania's
immediate family also knew and heard from Mafiosi that George was a member.
Barrale's name has various phonetic spellings in the FBI reports.
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and his sons Salvatore "Sam" and Rocco were active members. (Gaetano's great-grandsons, Salvatore "Tori" and Gaetan "Tommy"
Scafidi would be active, highly-publicized members in the 1980s.) The repetition of names within the Scafidi family is typically a
Sephardic tradition adapted by Sicilians, with the first-born son named after his paternal grandfather, the second son after his
maternal grandfather; same occurred with daughters. Thus, not only did local law enforcement become confused with the same names
within the Scafidi family, but it was more confusing with the Casella family from Belmonte. There was an Antonio Casella who was
found dead in Philadelphia in 1927. "Anthony" Casella born in Philadelphia in 1916;another Anthony Casella apparently in South
Jersey.
The strength in numbers of the Belmontesi Mafiosi aided Salvatore Sabella to become boss of Philadelphia and South Jersey.
These local Mafia members, who along with New York City-based Joseph (Giuseppe) Traina, their paesano from Belmonte, guaranteed Sabella's rise to rapprisentanti of the Family before he turned 30.
These members associated well with the Mafiosi from Castrogiovanni, whose numbers exceeded those from Castellammare del
Golfo, Province of Trapani. Among the first from Castellammare were Leonardo Galante (1849-1932) and his son Alexander (1885-1937)
whose entire family would be re-united in Philadelphia by 1911.
Salvatore Sabella of Castellammare would find them in short time,
wanting to see friends of his family. Sabella's arrival was without proper passage when he landed in New York City in 1912.
One of the earliest federal records on Sabella was in the 1940s by Immigration staff inquiring about Sabella's illegal entry and stay in the United States. Sabella appeared personally to respond to inquiries and his words were recorded in writing.
The then-former boss admitted to a criminal record of arrests in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey--all causes for deportation. A
report made in February of 1940 from the "Acting Supervising Customs Agent" in New York City wrote what may have been the first law enforcement report that identified Sabella as the "former head" of the Philadelphia-South Jersey Family. Also noted were Sabella's
"demotion," and the "1928" (really was 1927) double homicides. This information had to have come from Sabella and the Philadelphia Police. More importantly, the information did not associate Sabella, or his in-laws, the Galantes of Philadelphia--with Buffalo, New York boss Stefano Magaddino (1891-1974).
Salvatore Sabella supposedly had said to an INS clerk in the 1950s: that Maria Galante Sabella, his wife, was a "cousin" of Magaddino.
The timing of this alleged statement, in the 1950s, was appropriate for law enforcement. The televised Kefauver congressional hearings on organized crime focussed on foreign-born gangsters with eastern and southern European ancestries, naming any "Jewish Mob" or "Mafia" member. In short time, the vocabulary of words alluding to the urban underworld became household banter in American homes because the mobsters were believed to be "un-American." Deportation was supposed to resolve the problem of their illegal activities and many individuals were eligible to return to their
lands of birth. Sabella too, was deemed to be one of them, with his past conviction on manslaughter (committed when he was four-
teen years old), and his illegal entry in 1912. His case would be closed because his children were born here and "health" issues.
When Sabella died in 1962, his death did not interest law enforcement at all. While the presumed "Magaddino blood kinship" was recorded as the Kefauver, then McClellan hearings and Mafia meeting at Apalachin (1957) proceeded, Sabella's FBI file had not been assembled until after his death, by about 1964. It is in this file, where the "cousin" matter was shown not to have been pursued until 1965, and it was through Sabella's brother-in-law, Leonard Galante.
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Leonard Galante(1905-1978) was identified as a member of the local Family. Born in Castellammare, Sicily, he migrated as a
child with his mother and siblings in about 1911. ESP Records. "Leonard Galante, dD2492iCased5437," Pennsylvania Historical &
Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Penna. FBI File &92-1489.
Salvatore and Maria Galante Sabella's children had denied a blood relationship also to Carmine Galante, New York-born of Castellamarese
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Salvatore Sabella was chosen by members of the Philadelphia-South Jersey Family, with final approval from the New York Five Families. The exact year when Sabella became boss was sometime after his marriage, or after January of 1919. Sabella was not yet thirty years old, but had proven himself capable of representing the Family, with the recommendation of the strong faction of Belmontesi, including their paesano in New
York, Giuseppe (Joe) Traina. Riccobene explained that members had to know the qualities of leadership in order for them to vote for a member under whom they would have to obey and respect. Mafia criteria for rising in rank are dependent upon actions, in
how they accomplish "jobs" (income-producing feats, murders, etc.... for the Family) and how that member exhibits guile, fearlessness and willingness to defend the Family. Sabella would have had to live and work locally to be chosen by fellow members who saw in him the leadership needed to represent the Family. Therefore, Sabella had not been "groomed" in New York[Brooklyn, nor was he an "apprentice" outside of Philadelphia for an outside member.
Pre Sabella's
Moderator: Capos
Re: Pre Sabella's
I will probably add more later, but this is interesting. Thanks for sharing.
I would question the part about Maggio but I don't know necessarily what her sources were. He does seem to have had at least an unofficial position of influence throughout his life and some references point to him possibly being an early consigliere pre-Rugnetta.
Barrale would of course end up a capodecina over the family's South Jersey Sicilian faction and she mentions in one of her books that he was an early "boss" in South Jersey, though at the time I read it, I interpreted that to mean he was simply a "leader". His farm was used for large family meetings when he was alive.
One informant (a non-member) claimed that when he was a child he heard there were several distinct groups (families) in the Philly area. This would match some theories that I've bounced around with C.Christie and I lean toward it being the case, with the modern family being consolidated under Salvatore Sabella under D'Aquila's direction.
Like I was saying in the # of families topic, some Sicilian source(s) said that a group originally required 10 members to be designated its own family. It seems reasonable that the early Philly area had several different groups around these sizes that became unified later as the US model steered toward larger groups than their Sicilian counterparts.
I would question the part about Maggio but I don't know necessarily what her sources were. He does seem to have had at least an unofficial position of influence throughout his life and some references point to him possibly being an early consigliere pre-Rugnetta.
Barrale would of course end up a capodecina over the family's South Jersey Sicilian faction and she mentions in one of her books that he was an early "boss" in South Jersey, though at the time I read it, I interpreted that to mean he was simply a "leader". His farm was used for large family meetings when he was alive.
One informant (a non-member) claimed that when he was a child he heard there were several distinct groups (families) in the Philly area. This would match some theories that I've bounced around with C.Christie and I lean toward it being the case, with the modern family being consolidated under Salvatore Sabella under D'Aquila's direction.
Like I was saying in the # of families topic, some Sicilian source(s) said that a group originally required 10 members to be designated its own family. It seems reasonable that the early Philly area had several different groups around these sizes that became unified later as the US model steered toward larger groups than their Sicilian counterparts.
Re: Pre Sabella's
Eline2015, could you provide a link to this article?
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Angelo Santino
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Re: Pre Sabella's
Eline, thanks for posting the link, I didn't realize there was more. Salut
EDIT:
Apart from the first part, there's very little on pre-Sabella, it pretty much serves as a rebuttal to the works of Hunt, Antona and Critchley. She appears peeved that her work was misrepresented and pretty much conjures up a refute of some things. She's a South Philly purebread who packs a mean south paw when she's not salivating over Salvie Testa's dreamy eyes. That aside I enjoy all of her work, I have some disagreements as we all do. Could be less bashful. She's burnt alot of bridges, including with George Anastasia for really no good reason. You disagree with someone, ok, but don't throw accusations out.
David Critchley, Thom Hunt and Mike Antona "had nothing that I considered of value and I sensed that their understanding of the mafia was immature." That's harsh and completely overstated. I'm no fan of Dave Critchley, not at all, but he's been at this since Carmine Galante's murder in '79, guy knows his shit, you have to give him that much. One could argue that he opts to see the mafia as more of a gang and less of a criminal culture, the same could be said for myself on the opposite end of the spectrum. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.
"The Critchley book failed to credit my work..." A few of us know what that's like, among us it's known as getting Critchley'd.
Page 4 she lists the excerpts which got her knickers in a bunch and I do find myself agreeing with some of the points she makes, no evidence that Sabella was ever "groomed" by Traina, he lived in Williamsburg around the Bonannos and his brother Mimi was the capo who Bonanno told to fuck off allegedly before being made.
Page 6: "Traina was labeled by Gentile as 'sostituto' and not the "chief lieutenant." THANK YOU! He susbstituted for one meaning, one! Nothing to indicate it was a permanent position, maybe D'Aquila was sick that day and didn't feel like traveling to deal with the Scaglia bullshit. Sostituto can be used in multiple ways and its meaning has changed before becoming obsolete. In 1890's Palermo, Sangiorgi by way of Siino provided the hierarchy as Caporione, Sostituto and affiliati, in 1920's there's the Traina example and then in the 1930's Gentile was a Mangano "sostituto" for the Sciaccatani crews in NYC... So Traina could have been Under, could have been Consig or could have just been a Capo... But we're splitting hairs and arguing over the same thing. Fact is Sabella's rise was aided by Traina who was part of D'Aquila's gang, we're disagreeing over terms that's accuracy is lost to history.
Page 6: No evidence of Sabella ever lived in NY. Really? I'd have to recheck my notes, but I believe he was.
Page 15: Sabella was a D'Aquila disciple.. She makes a good point to show how the goalpost keeps getting moved. All of this out of the FBI files which briefly states Traina was responsible for Sabella's ascension.
Much of the rest of her refuting the connections between Sabella and the Magaddino blood families.
B. Antiliar, curious as to your thoughts?
EDIT:
Apart from the first part, there's very little on pre-Sabella, it pretty much serves as a rebuttal to the works of Hunt, Antona and Critchley. She appears peeved that her work was misrepresented and pretty much conjures up a refute of some things. She's a South Philly purebread who packs a mean south paw when she's not salivating over Salvie Testa's dreamy eyes. That aside I enjoy all of her work, I have some disagreements as we all do. Could be less bashful. She's burnt alot of bridges, including with George Anastasia for really no good reason. You disagree with someone, ok, but don't throw accusations out.
David Critchley, Thom Hunt and Mike Antona "had nothing that I considered of value and I sensed that their understanding of the mafia was immature." That's harsh and completely overstated. I'm no fan of Dave Critchley, not at all, but he's been at this since Carmine Galante's murder in '79, guy knows his shit, you have to give him that much. One could argue that he opts to see the mafia as more of a gang and less of a criminal culture, the same could be said for myself on the opposite end of the spectrum. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses.
"The Critchley book failed to credit my work..." A few of us know what that's like, among us it's known as getting Critchley'd.
Page 4 she lists the excerpts which got her knickers in a bunch and I do find myself agreeing with some of the points she makes, no evidence that Sabella was ever "groomed" by Traina, he lived in Williamsburg around the Bonannos and his brother Mimi was the capo who Bonanno told to fuck off allegedly before being made.
Page 6: "Traina was labeled by Gentile as 'sostituto' and not the "chief lieutenant." THANK YOU! He susbstituted for one meaning, one! Nothing to indicate it was a permanent position, maybe D'Aquila was sick that day and didn't feel like traveling to deal with the Scaglia bullshit. Sostituto can be used in multiple ways and its meaning has changed before becoming obsolete. In 1890's Palermo, Sangiorgi by way of Siino provided the hierarchy as Caporione, Sostituto and affiliati, in 1920's there's the Traina example and then in the 1930's Gentile was a Mangano "sostituto" for the Sciaccatani crews in NYC... So Traina could have been Under, could have been Consig or could have just been a Capo... But we're splitting hairs and arguing over the same thing. Fact is Sabella's rise was aided by Traina who was part of D'Aquila's gang, we're disagreeing over terms that's accuracy is lost to history.
Page 6: No evidence of Sabella ever lived in NY. Really? I'd have to recheck my notes, but I believe he was.
Page 15: Sabella was a D'Aquila disciple.. She makes a good point to show how the goalpost keeps getting moved. All of this out of the FBI files which briefly states Traina was responsible for Sabella's ascension.
Much of the rest of her refuting the connections between Sabella and the Magaddino blood families.
B. Antiliar, curious as to your thoughts?
Re: Pre Sabella's
My thoughts: Sounds like she wants a war LOL. I just started reading it, and it will probably take a few days to read the rest. We also have records that do show that Salvatore Sabella was in New York and Buffalo up to 1920 (at least), so she needs to put some of her arrogance aside. One FBI file connects him to Buffalo through his wife, Maria Galante. Her brother Leonard was a made member and a cousin of Magaddino. So that's two places where she's in error. We can appreciate her work, but there's no reason to be so defensive. She's not perfect and accuses others of the same mistakes she does, except when others make mistakes they're intentional. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
BTW, thanks Eline for sharing the link. It was a good find. I went to that site but missed this gem of a document.
BTW, thanks Eline for sharing the link. It was a good find. I went to that site but missed this gem of a document.
Re: Pre Sabella's
At the risk of sounding sexist, almost all of her writing is very "emotional". I've benefited a ton from her work, which is a great combo of hands-on and academic research, but she clearly starts out with a specific agenda/conclusion and does what she can to make her research fit that narrative.
Sabella definitely lived in Brooklyn and was tapped into the Schiro family. Even if some of the relations DaveC mapped out aren't true (I believe they are accurate myself), he was still a Castellammarese who had lived in Brooklyn with ties to that group. I have no f'n idea why Morello needs to make him out to be some kind of "Philly exclusive", though that tends to be how she approaches everything.
CC's analysis above of Traina's role is great. One thing, though, is that we have a lot of information on Traina's ongoing relationship to Philly and we can use that to try and understand what his overall role was with that family.
- He is said to have helped install Sabella as boss around 1919/1920. We know from other information that Traina was very close to D'Aquila and was his "sostituto" or representative at other non-Philly meetings related to national mob politics, so we can safely assume whatever Traina's role was in Philly was on capo dei capi D'Aquila's behalf. Therefore, Traina didn't install Sabella, but D'Aquila did.
- Traina's paesani from Belmonte were Cheech Barrale (mentioned by Morello as an early boss of a Philly group, later a Sabella capodecina) and the Scafidis, who represented arguably the most significant single Sicilian faction in the Philly family. In addition, early Philly captain Giovanni Cappello Sr. from Belmonte lived in North Jersey and I believe NYC before heading to Philly. I believe Cappello Sr. was also a business partner of Traina. So Traina had personal connections to the close-knit Belmonte Mezzagno group, which was a factor in family politics well into the late-1960s and arguably beyond, as Joe Scafidi held a captain position until the 1980s.
- Traina served as mediator in the early 1950s in a family hearing over the fate of soldier Rocco Scafidi, who was accused of an unsanctioned murder and swindling money. Due to his intervention, Scafidi's was not killed, but shelved. Traina no doubt had a personal stake given Scafidi's Belmonte Mezzagno heritage and Traina's presumed close relationship to Scafidi's father/uncle/etc. but it shows that he was still involved in high-level Philadelphia matters.
- In the late-1960s, Traina was again consulted by the Philly family due to a dispute between Angelo Bruno and the Calabrian faction over a proposed making ceremony. The Calabrians were upset that they did not have a candidate for the ceremony and also did not wish to travel to South Jersey (Belmonte/Sicilian faction territory) for the ceremony. The Belmonte faction had proposed Joseph Perrella (an in-law of Joseph Scafidi) for membership. Traina basically told them to compromise and then go forward with the ceremony. This debate over the ceremony continued at least through 1969.
I may be missing a couple of little bits, but based on this info alone, we know Traina was involved in high-level Philadelphia affairs from 1919/1920 through 1969, close to 50 years. We know that he was a captain for most of this time, and given the level of influence he had in Philly as a captain later on, he could have also been a captain in 1919/1920 when he served as "sostituto" for D'Aquila. Or he could have been an admin member, and even though he was "demoted" later, his pivotal role in Philly earlier was reason to keep him as the liaison indefinitely. The question is, why was Traina such an authority over the Philly family? The Belmonte factor is big, but given that he was said to have helped install Sabella as boss, it seems that he had been cemented early on in Philly mob politics and was seen as a neutral, senior figure who could be trusted to help mediate disputes. There is nothing to suggest he favored the Sicilians over the Calabrese, for example. While he helped saved Scafidi's life (a mistake, as Scafidi would become an informant), he doesn't seem to have been overly biased toward the Sicilian/Belmonte group from the limited info we have and these guys naturally try to save people close to them when possible.
Morello is right to question Sabella's supposed "close relationship" to Traina, but there is no denying that Traina was arguably the most significant non-Philadelphia member in matters concerning the Philadelphia family for around 50 years. By the 1970s, he was very old and his son Mario was running his crew and there's no info I know of where Mario Traina interacted with Philly. Despite constant references to factionalism and many serious issues in the Philly family over several administrations, the Philly ship seems to have sailed pretty smoothly when Traina was in this position. It was after his death that the Philly family dissolved into murderous warfare, though I'm not suggesting his death directly impacted this.
More thoughts later no doubt.
Sabella definitely lived in Brooklyn and was tapped into the Schiro family. Even if some of the relations DaveC mapped out aren't true (I believe they are accurate myself), he was still a Castellammarese who had lived in Brooklyn with ties to that group. I have no f'n idea why Morello needs to make him out to be some kind of "Philly exclusive", though that tends to be how she approaches everything.
CC's analysis above of Traina's role is great. One thing, though, is that we have a lot of information on Traina's ongoing relationship to Philly and we can use that to try and understand what his overall role was with that family.
- He is said to have helped install Sabella as boss around 1919/1920. We know from other information that Traina was very close to D'Aquila and was his "sostituto" or representative at other non-Philly meetings related to national mob politics, so we can safely assume whatever Traina's role was in Philly was on capo dei capi D'Aquila's behalf. Therefore, Traina didn't install Sabella, but D'Aquila did.
- Traina's paesani from Belmonte were Cheech Barrale (mentioned by Morello as an early boss of a Philly group, later a Sabella capodecina) and the Scafidis, who represented arguably the most significant single Sicilian faction in the Philly family. In addition, early Philly captain Giovanni Cappello Sr. from Belmonte lived in North Jersey and I believe NYC before heading to Philly. I believe Cappello Sr. was also a business partner of Traina. So Traina had personal connections to the close-knit Belmonte Mezzagno group, which was a factor in family politics well into the late-1960s and arguably beyond, as Joe Scafidi held a captain position until the 1980s.
- Traina served as mediator in the early 1950s in a family hearing over the fate of soldier Rocco Scafidi, who was accused of an unsanctioned murder and swindling money. Due to his intervention, Scafidi's was not killed, but shelved. Traina no doubt had a personal stake given Scafidi's Belmonte Mezzagno heritage and Traina's presumed close relationship to Scafidi's father/uncle/etc. but it shows that he was still involved in high-level Philadelphia matters.
- In the late-1960s, Traina was again consulted by the Philly family due to a dispute between Angelo Bruno and the Calabrian faction over a proposed making ceremony. The Calabrians were upset that they did not have a candidate for the ceremony and also did not wish to travel to South Jersey (Belmonte/Sicilian faction territory) for the ceremony. The Belmonte faction had proposed Joseph Perrella (an in-law of Joseph Scafidi) for membership. Traina basically told them to compromise and then go forward with the ceremony. This debate over the ceremony continued at least through 1969.
I may be missing a couple of little bits, but based on this info alone, we know Traina was involved in high-level Philadelphia affairs from 1919/1920 through 1969, close to 50 years. We know that he was a captain for most of this time, and given the level of influence he had in Philly as a captain later on, he could have also been a captain in 1919/1920 when he served as "sostituto" for D'Aquila. Or he could have been an admin member, and even though he was "demoted" later, his pivotal role in Philly earlier was reason to keep him as the liaison indefinitely. The question is, why was Traina such an authority over the Philly family? The Belmonte factor is big, but given that he was said to have helped install Sabella as boss, it seems that he had been cemented early on in Philly mob politics and was seen as a neutral, senior figure who could be trusted to help mediate disputes. There is nothing to suggest he favored the Sicilians over the Calabrese, for example. While he helped saved Scafidi's life (a mistake, as Scafidi would become an informant), he doesn't seem to have been overly biased toward the Sicilian/Belmonte group from the limited info we have and these guys naturally try to save people close to them when possible.
Morello is right to question Sabella's supposed "close relationship" to Traina, but there is no denying that Traina was arguably the most significant non-Philadelphia member in matters concerning the Philadelphia family for around 50 years. By the 1970s, he was very old and his son Mario was running his crew and there's no info I know of where Mario Traina interacted with Philly. Despite constant references to factionalism and many serious issues in the Philly family over several administrations, the Philly ship seems to have sailed pretty smoothly when Traina was in this position. It was after his death that the Philly family dissolved into murderous warfare, though I'm not suggesting his death directly impacted this.
More thoughts later no doubt.
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Angelo Santino
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Re: Pre Sabella's
Yes, but the Traina argument here isn't his level of importance but rather how others misconstrued the available information out there regarding the Sabella and Traina relationship. What we have is a fact with no further explanation as the specifics and people have tried to make it such. I do see credence to her annoyance but she's guilty of her own mistakes. She quotes Gentile as the source for "all old-world bosses being forced to step down to make way for newer Americanized LCN bosses." He never said that and he certainly never made any distinction between mafia and cosa nostra as separate organizations before and after 1931.
On Traina, I have no agenda and certainly nothing to gain on him being or not being something. I just see a lack of facts needed to make that final leap to give him a label. Notice all the examples you just cited above in 1950-1970, all that was while he was "just" a capo. So if D'Aquila was ultimately responsible for Traina's actions then so was Mineo, Scalici, Mangano, Anastasia and Gambino during their tenures. But Traina was a conduit, we can call him a caretaker but the guy would not have the authority to independently go to Philly and start rearranging the hierarchy. So what do we call him in regards to that Family, a messenger, arbitrator, an intermediary? Whatever it was, it was an informal role and outside the traditional mob hierarchy.
On Traina, I have no agenda and certainly nothing to gain on him being or not being something. I just see a lack of facts needed to make that final leap to give him a label. Notice all the examples you just cited above in 1950-1970, all that was while he was "just" a capo. So if D'Aquila was ultimately responsible for Traina's actions then so was Mineo, Scalici, Mangano, Anastasia and Gambino during their tenures. But Traina was a conduit, we can call him a caretaker but the guy would not have the authority to independently go to Philly and start rearranging the hierarchy. So what do we call him in regards to that Family, a messenger, arbitrator, an intermediary? Whatever it was, it was an informal role and outside the traditional mob hierarchy.
Re: Pre Sabella's
Yeah, I don' have any issue with your points and agree. When I say "role", I mean his functional role and he must have been seen as a representative of the Gambino leadership through the different eras. Whether or not he had to consult with the boss/admin or made his own decisions is anyone's guess.
It should be pointed out, too, that when the family was in crisis in the late 1950s, Stefano Magaddino apparently stepped in on the Commission's behalf to mediate disputes and prevent problems from escalating. Since this involved the selection of a new boss and a potential war, it would make sense that a higher power than Traina would have stepped in, though he may still have been involved in some capacity since we know he had stepped in the years before and after.
It should be pointed out, too, that when the family was in crisis in the late 1950s, Stefano Magaddino apparently stepped in on the Commission's behalf to mediate disputes and prevent problems from escalating. Since this involved the selection of a new boss and a potential war, it would make sense that a higher power than Traina would have stepped in, though he may still have been involved in some capacity since we know he had stepped in the years before and after.
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Angelo Santino
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Re: Pre Sabella's
I agree with all. I like that Morello made that point I just don't like how she made it. She displays an arrogance that gives "the researchers" a bad stereotype. But back to pre-Sabella, what are your thoughts on her new info. She seems to make the indication that it was one group as early as 1905.
Our line of thinking that we floated but haven't concluded as factual is the possibility that different factions from different areas- Sciacca-Norristown, Caccamo-Philly, Belmonte-S. Jersey began as independent units and then were combined at some point. One thing to note is that all of these factions, if in NYC, would have fallen under the Gambinos, which may or may not explain the connections early on. I actually could see Philly as being an offshoot of sorts as members moved from NYC to that area. Philly's Sicilian pop amounts to just 10% of the Ital pop in 1900, given the small numbers they relied on NYC. In the 1960's there was a secondary smaller migration and Philly got Siggied up a little bit.
One more observation is that, in her book, she cited the FBI as having (I believe) 19 members in Sabella's Family. Even if that number is off by half, it's still a very small amount considering you're covering Chester, Norristown, Philly and South Jersey.
Our line of thinking that we floated but haven't concluded as factual is the possibility that different factions from different areas- Sciacca-Norristown, Caccamo-Philly, Belmonte-S. Jersey began as independent units and then were combined at some point. One thing to note is that all of these factions, if in NYC, would have fallen under the Gambinos, which may or may not explain the connections early on. I actually could see Philly as being an offshoot of sorts as members moved from NYC to that area. Philly's Sicilian pop amounts to just 10% of the Ital pop in 1900, given the small numbers they relied on NYC. In the 1960's there was a secondary smaller migration and Philly got Siggied up a little bit.
One more observation is that, in her book, she cited the FBI as having (I believe) 19 members in Sabella's Family. Even if that number is off by half, it's still a very small amount considering you're covering Chester, Norristown, Philly and South Jersey.
Re: Pre Sabella's
She even attacked those who published on Arcadia and History Press, I believe on page 40.
Re: Pre Sabella's
Good stuff GovernorChris Christie wrote: ↑Fri Mar 16, 2018 7:42 pm I agree with all. I like that Morello made that point I just don't like how she made it. She displays an arrogance that gives "the researchers" a bad stereotype. But back to pre-Sabella, what are your thoughts on her new info. She seems to make the indication that it was one group as early as 1905.
Our line of thinking that we floated but haven't concluded as factual is the possibility that different factions from different areas- Sciacca-Norristown, Caccamo-Philly, Belmonte-S. Jersey began as independent units and then were combined at some point. One thing to note is that all of these factions, if in NYC, would have fallen under the Gambinos, which may or may not explain the connections early on. I actually could see Philly as being an offshoot of sorts as members moved from NYC to that area. Philly's Sicilian pop amounts to just 10% of the Ital pop in 1900, given the small numbers they relied on NYC. In the 1960's there was a secondary smaller migration and Philly got Siggied up a little bit.
One more observation is that, in her book, she cited the FBI as having (I believe) 19 members in Sabella's Family. Even if that number is off by half, it's still a very small amount considering you're covering Chester, Norristown, Philly and South Jersey.
"I figure I’m gonna have to do about 6000 years before I get accepted into heaven. And 6000 years is nothing in eternity terms. I can do that standing on my head. It’s like a couple of days here."
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Angelo Santino
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Re: Pre Sabella's
The article has since been removed probably due to a liable concern.
Anyway, I have two big contentions with Morello's work and here's one of them:
Notice there's 3 sentences, each sourced.
1 First source about Gentile describing the Mafia's state is correct, (she loves to include the original Italian to show off.)
2 Gentile never said this. If you go to the source she provides the page numbers and no. Gentile does say Maranzano reorganized New York, A. he did not say anything about the whole country; B. there was certainly no mass exodus of bosses nationally; and C. a Commission was not put in place until after Maranzano was killed. She attributes all of this to Gentile (notice she doesn't include the original Italian passage) and respectfully, she's wrong.
She goes further to reference Bonanno, aside from Scalici he makes no mention of a mass national retirement and in fact counters much of her narrative. Reread JB, aside from the commission he doesn't allude to severe changes within the Mafia and neither does Gentile.
3 She sources Riccobene for Sabella being forced to step down for Avena. Since we're not privy to their conversations we can't argue this any further. I'm trying to think of how this could fit and maybe Sabella stepped down due to his close alliance with Maranzano a la Scalici, but there was no mass exodus. Imagine going to Buffalo to see Steve Magaddino and telling him he's gotta step down because their gonna have an American Cosa Nostra.
Anyway, I have two big contentions with Morello's work and here's one of them:
Notice there's 3 sentences, each sourced.
1 First source about Gentile describing the Mafia's state is correct, (she loves to include the original Italian to show off.)
2 Gentile never said this. If you go to the source she provides the page numbers and no. Gentile does say Maranzano reorganized New York, A. he did not say anything about the whole country; B. there was certainly no mass exodus of bosses nationally; and C. a Commission was not put in place until after Maranzano was killed. She attributes all of this to Gentile (notice she doesn't include the original Italian passage) and respectfully, she's wrong.
She goes further to reference Bonanno, aside from Scalici he makes no mention of a mass national retirement and in fact counters much of her narrative. Reread JB, aside from the commission he doesn't allude to severe changes within the Mafia and neither does Gentile.
3 She sources Riccobene for Sabella being forced to step down for Avena. Since we're not privy to their conversations we can't argue this any further. I'm trying to think of how this could fit and maybe Sabella stepped down due to his close alliance with Maranzano a la Scalici, but there was no mass exodus. Imagine going to Buffalo to see Steve Magaddino and telling him he's gotta step down because their gonna have an American Cosa Nostra.
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Angelo Santino
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Re: Pre Sabella's
Before Bruno Book 1, compare with Book 2's except above.
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Angelo Santino
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Re: Pre Sabella's
I do love her Before Bruno series, so all my arguments/criticisms are still a form of flattery. That being said, some things need picked apart:
download/file.php?id=3732&mode=view
(Numbers coincide with imagine numbers)
1 What she says in Box 1 about him "voluntarily" stepping down conflicts with her Book 2 claim about Sabella was forced to step down due to a national reshuffling. She provides no sources for his stepping down and in fact uses
2 "may have" which in her own words, are used by people who don't have the facts.
3 First, 80 years including New Orleans, 50 for Philly; Second, Gentile's bitchings about loss of honor coincides with just about everyone who ever wrote a book. You never heard anyone write that the life was improving. So to use Gentile's words as a blank check to further her claim that the mafia was "obsolete culturally and philosophically can easily be countered by Joe Bonanno who had a totally different experience at the time. But notice for him the life went bad in the 1960's and everyone became degenerates then. Gravano said the same in 1994, Francesco Siino said the same in Palermo 1890. For Uncle Nick, the Mafia degenerated when he was broke and no one was giving him money, ingraziati.
4 Coincides with Example 1, conflicting with book 2. Did Sabella step down "gracefully and no one was uncomfortable" or was there "silent indignation" over him being forced to step down?
5 Is not sourced. And I'm always hesitant when someone tries to "get into the mind" of what the Mafioso was thinking 80 years ago. And if you could you'd be probably be greatly disappointed.
6 Again, who the fuck knows what Sabella was thinking. There's no sources for this, none to indicate that all these Calabrians weren't members earlier. I can just as easily argue that Calabrese Scoppeliti was considered a boss of that same group when they were arrested in 1927, so maybe Sabella wanted him to become boss but settled on D'Avena. Maybe Joe Traina came down and put in D'Avena. Without sources none of this means shit.
7 Family's income-producing activities changed? Oh the blasphemy! Because the Mafia was such a wonderful organization before all these mainlanders stained it. She shows her true Mafia-apologist self here by making the Sicilian Mafia out to be some benevolent organization taken over by mainlanders. Mafiosi were scumbags in Palermo and they were scumbags in Philadelphia, they didn't need mainlanders for their degenerate behavior. Forward, Sicilians didn't live in some bubble outside of the rest of the Italian and American population that suddenly got it's bubble burst in 1931, there was a degree of Americanization going on at all levels of culture. Gambling and later on narcotics were underworld trends and the Mafia is an underworld organization so the shoe fits.
8 Look at the sources and compare that with all the inside juicy info on what Sabella's thinking, it's clear it didn't come from there. She's got some nerve to attack others when key parts of her thesis are razor thin, unsourced and misinterpreted.
And while I'm ranting, "Sabella was rappresentanti?" Should be with an E for singlular, with an I she called him 'bosses.' Ex: "I'm a capo of one of Carlo's decine, in my decina we mock the other capi and their decine, 2 of our soldati have gone onto become consiglieri but one fucked it up and got broken down from consigliere to soldato." We all use "capos" or "capodecinas" to try and correct it to "capi" doesn't have quite the same ring....... None of this matters. But these are mistakes someone fluent in Italian would not make anymore than we in English would say: "John Gotti became bosses of the Gambino Family." So perhaps her understanding of Gentile was lacking, which may explain why she got so many things incorrect. That or she just used him as a blank check to further her claims like she appears to do with Riccobene.
Lastly, I'm trying to keep an open mind and not be too dismissive. Some things may have occurred that were internal to Philly. If she's honest and Riccobene told her of this 1931 rebranding into LCN, it does kinda jibe with what Scafidi would say 20-25 years later about joing the mafia, being shelved and rejoining it as LCN. Another informant claims there were no captains before 1940, which makes me wonder how they coordinated back in 1900-1920-1930 between South Jersey, Philly, Chester and Norristown. And given that there were 4 separate Mafia factions- Sciacca, Cast, Caccamo, Belmonte you'd think captains would be beneficial, but that's my 0.00 cents.
download/file.php?id=3732&mode=view
(Numbers coincide with imagine numbers)
1 What she says in Box 1 about him "voluntarily" stepping down conflicts with her Book 2 claim about Sabella was forced to step down due to a national reshuffling. She provides no sources for his stepping down and in fact uses
2 "may have" which in her own words, are used by people who don't have the facts.
3 First, 80 years including New Orleans, 50 for Philly; Second, Gentile's bitchings about loss of honor coincides with just about everyone who ever wrote a book. You never heard anyone write that the life was improving. So to use Gentile's words as a blank check to further her claim that the mafia was "obsolete culturally and philosophically can easily be countered by Joe Bonanno who had a totally different experience at the time. But notice for him the life went bad in the 1960's and everyone became degenerates then. Gravano said the same in 1994, Francesco Siino said the same in Palermo 1890. For Uncle Nick, the Mafia degenerated when he was broke and no one was giving him money, ingraziati.
4 Coincides with Example 1, conflicting with book 2. Did Sabella step down "gracefully and no one was uncomfortable" or was there "silent indignation" over him being forced to step down?
5 Is not sourced. And I'm always hesitant when someone tries to "get into the mind" of what the Mafioso was thinking 80 years ago. And if you could you'd be probably be greatly disappointed.
6 Again, who the fuck knows what Sabella was thinking. There's no sources for this, none to indicate that all these Calabrians weren't members earlier. I can just as easily argue that Calabrese Scoppeliti was considered a boss of that same group when they were arrested in 1927, so maybe Sabella wanted him to become boss but settled on D'Avena. Maybe Joe Traina came down and put in D'Avena. Without sources none of this means shit.
7 Family's income-producing activities changed? Oh the blasphemy! Because the Mafia was such a wonderful organization before all these mainlanders stained it. She shows her true Mafia-apologist self here by making the Sicilian Mafia out to be some benevolent organization taken over by mainlanders. Mafiosi were scumbags in Palermo and they were scumbags in Philadelphia, they didn't need mainlanders for their degenerate behavior. Forward, Sicilians didn't live in some bubble outside of the rest of the Italian and American population that suddenly got it's bubble burst in 1931, there was a degree of Americanization going on at all levels of culture. Gambling and later on narcotics were underworld trends and the Mafia is an underworld organization so the shoe fits.
8 Look at the sources and compare that with all the inside juicy info on what Sabella's thinking, it's clear it didn't come from there. She's got some nerve to attack others when key parts of her thesis are razor thin, unsourced and misinterpreted.
And while I'm ranting, "Sabella was rappresentanti?" Should be with an E for singlular, with an I she called him 'bosses.' Ex: "I'm a capo of one of Carlo's decine, in my decina we mock the other capi and their decine, 2 of our soldati have gone onto become consiglieri but one fucked it up and got broken down from consigliere to soldato." We all use "capos" or "capodecinas" to try and correct it to "capi" doesn't have quite the same ring....... None of this matters. But these are mistakes someone fluent in Italian would not make anymore than we in English would say: "John Gotti became bosses of the Gambino Family." So perhaps her understanding of Gentile was lacking, which may explain why she got so many things incorrect. That or she just used him as a blank check to further her claims like she appears to do with Riccobene.
Lastly, I'm trying to keep an open mind and not be too dismissive. Some things may have occurred that were internal to Philly. If she's honest and Riccobene told her of this 1931 rebranding into LCN, it does kinda jibe with what Scafidi would say 20-25 years later about joing the mafia, being shelved and rejoining it as LCN. Another informant claims there were no captains before 1940, which makes me wonder how they coordinated back in 1900-1920-1930 between South Jersey, Philly, Chester and Norristown. And given that there were 4 separate Mafia factions- Sciacca, Cast, Caccamo, Belmonte you'd think captains would be beneficial, but that's my 0.00 cents.