Pre Sabella's

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

Let me know what people think of this type of chart. I kinda think it'd be great for Chicago projects.

I could potentially do one for 1940's and on the plus side would be more simplified: Sicilian and Calabrian factions. By that time more members had moved to Jersey.

philadelphia-1920-map.gif

Thanks again Chris!
Interesting way to look at the data.
Is a chart like this possible with current
memebrs?

[Angelo Santino]

One informant claimed Sabella was deposed in the late 1920s and the same one actually says Avena had been deposed and replaced by Bruno prior to Avena's murder but most info conflicts with that. Either way Joe Bruno didn't succeed Sabella, it was John Avena. There is no real disagreement on the succession: Sabella>Avena>Bruno>Ida. Interesting how it goes Western Sicilian>Messinese>Messinese>Calabrese, almost like a gradient.

It does seem possible that the family's central and even northern Jersey roots go back to Bruno and Ida, who both lived in New Brunswick as bosses, though we don't know of any full-on crews or even made members in those areas aside from a couple of exceptions. What we know of as the Trenton/Simone crew though seems to have been based around a very close group of friends/relatives which started and more or less ended with Simone's arrival in Trenton and later his death. When he was still living in Buffalo in the 1930s he was visiting future crew members in Trenton, like the Cammarota brothers, Ippolito, etc. as documented by a 1935 car accident where this group of guys were traveling between NYC and Trenton supposedly to attend a dance.

Yes I know, I'm just curious what truths can be garnered from this angle. See Morello wrote the series with a focus on the western Sicilian aspect, she overlooks and ignores the general makeup of people from Messina and the mainland, writing them off as ruffians holding their beaks up like birds chirping to get made. I actually think they have their own history independent of Morello's western Mafiosi, the exact early details will never be known unless something new comes out, but they did leave some residue behind. And they- guys like Quaranta, Caminiti, Romeo and others seem to be connected as far back as the 1910's. They didn't meet while being associated with the organization we call the Philadelphia mafia, their association goes further back.

There needs to be a George Fresolone Blood Oath for the early period: a Philadelphia Family book that doesn't take place in Philly or focus on the main cast of characters. We both speak of Gentile and how he seems to live in a Sicilian bubble throughout his time in the USA, Morello's Books 1-3 exist in that same bubble. And I can say with certainty that guys like John Scopelliti, Festa, Rugnetta, Ida etc weren't sitting around like Henry Hills hoping the Sicilians change the rules.

In fact, taking this a step deeper inside the Sicilian-Calabrian thing: after Pollina the only western Sicilian boss with roots I believe is John Stanfa. Bruno, Testa, Merlino (not sure what Natale is, does it matter even?) were all Messinesi or of descent. Kinda like the Genoveses it hasn't been a Sicilian-Tradition dominant operation for a long time. So arguably only half the story is told. It may have been the Sicilians that brought the Mafia to Philadelphia and South Jersey, but it was the mainlanders who took it to Bristol and Newark. I'd say Trenton but I'm really not sure, Trenton was more western Sicilian dominant and may have come in with the mainlanders. You've looked into this more so if you see things differently then steer me straight on this.

I reckon I'll catch some rays and reread Books 1-3 with a new perspective, one that admires Morello's work (there is much to be admired) but recognizes she has tunnel vision when it comes to certain things. Agree with her or not, she did take the first step and it's easy for me to criticize.

Thanks again Chris!
Interesting way to look at the data.
Is a chart like this possible with current
memebrs?

I wouldn't know how. If someone had the info I'd make a chart just as so long as exact addresses are hidden. Wouldn't want people showing up at George Borgesi's house asking for signatures.

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

"Wouldn't want people showing up at George Borgesi's house asking for signatures."
That would not be good. lol

[Angelo Santino]

This is from 1921 involving Sicilians in Trenton, it may not be mafia related but they were definitely involved in these type of rackets:

https://books.google.com/books?id=vM07A ... on&f=false

[Angelo Santino]

Giovanni Diego Scopelliti, b1891-6-5, just says Reggio Calabria city.
Arrived 1907-6-29 to brother-in-law Paolo Baffe or Raffe at looks like 9th St, Philadelphia.
Naturalized in March of 1919, witnesses were Joseph Del Rossi (700 Fulton St) and Tony Paladino (709 Segal? St)

In the 1920's he's said to be a leading member, often ID'd as the boss and not Sabella, but after the 1930's he all but disappears.

There's a ton of John Scopelliti's, New York, NJ, Pittsburgh etc but there's one John Diego Scopelitti that died in Atlantic City on 1943-8-31 who claims to have been born 1892-7-15. If that's the same guy and the birth date is just off by one year, 1 month and 10 days then he was in AC pretty early.

And yes, Arcangelo Gobbo on Federal St was from Frosinone which falls in the Abruzzi region. Still cannot find anything linking him to anything but there is that.

[Angelo Santino]

Looking at the immigration patterns, Philadelphia's Calabresi demographic seems to hail from the Tyrrhenian coast west of the Aspromontes. They would have had paesani in the Bronx, pockets of Brooklyn and St Paul, MN. There's Scopelliti's in these areas but that's as far as I can take it. Interestingly Mammola is to the east, across the Aspromontes on the Ionian coast, the Scarfos and Piccolos most likely had more paesani in parts of Brooklyn, northwestern PA and WIndsor/Toronto, CA. You said the Rugnettas and Piccolos were related? Was that in the US or Italy? Because based on regional origin alone I'd divide them into Tirrenici and Ionici Calabrians, but it's not an exact science.

Palmi and Mammola aren't very far but the mountain range made travel impossible unless you knew routes and passages. It made it difficult for local trade so the coast enjoyed fish regularly but 5 miles inland it was a rare delicacy reserved for holidays. Today infrastructure is far improved and the Aspromontes have gone the way of the Appalachian mountains, a century of erosion makes them less of a human obstacle than they once were.

[Angelo Santino]

In 1923, Salvatore Sabella and Giuseppe Girgenti of Bridgeton, NJ were arrested for the bombing of Michele Maggio's store on 9th st. Maggio declined to press charges because "they meant no real harm" and paid for their bail, 1500.00 each, said both men were distant relatives. Sabella was godfather to M. Maggio's son Peter who would go on to become made. While on trial for the Zanghi/Coccuza murders, Sabella openly testified that Maggio was his godfather. M. Maggio was Bruno's sponsor decades later.

Re this 1923 bombing I wonder if it was perhaps insurance fraud.

[Angelo Santino]

Scopelliti:

Scopelitti was arrested in Atlantic City and his identification of the revolver in his car. This came out during the 1927 trial of the "Greaser gang" aka "Scop's Mob" which included John Scopelitti, Salvatore Sabella, John Avena, Dominick Festa, Antonio Pollina, Luigi Quaranta.

Screen Shot 2018-04-21 at 8.24.30 PM.png

Screen Shot 2018-04-21 at 8.30.04 PM.png

In June of 1928, there was an attempt on Scopelitti's life with a shotgun, doesn't get any more mafioso than that. This occurred one year after the Zanghi murder. Explains why he moved to AC and you never hear about him again.

Screen Shot 2018-04-21 at 8.12.40 PM.png

I'll be breaking down the Zanghi stuff once I've compiled everything but I believe he may have been a member. He was born in NYC of Messinese descent. He would fit right in with Scopelliti, Festa, Bruno, Avena, Quaranta who were part of the same faction of Calabrian and Messinesi Sicilians.

[Angelo Santino]

We've managed to find a few things on Scopelliti and even Festa but very little on Pinnestri. In 1936 he was implicated in a prostitution ring. Isn't he thought to have been Underboss at this time?

Screen Shot 2018-04-22 at 7.44.12 AM.png

[Angelo Santino]

Given Morello's conflicting information regarding the reasons behind Sabella's departure, let's go back to the basics of what's been said:

sabella traina.png

1 Claims Philadelphia "originated as a result of Traina" who "appointed" Sabella "Boss."
2 Claims only a handful of members in 1920, "among them" names 11 members, 3 of which aren't Sicilian.

sabella demoted.png

1 Seems uncertain of Sabella's tenure.
2 Claims he was demoted for the botched 1927 Zanghi murder.

Which makes more sense to me than being told to step down to make way for Americanization.

One thing that's overlooked is that Sabella was virtually absent for almost the entire 1930's. He served a quick jail sentence (only his family visited him) but didn't reappear until the 1940's where it then became a daily habit of going to South Philadelphia. Maybe he was shelved for 10 years? This family has history of doing that (Scafidi).

[B.]

Peter Casella (cousin of the infamous one) was also shelved and later reinstated in the mid-1960s, though we don't know when he was shelved, only that it was for sharing too much info with his wife. Seems possible for Sabella as well with the little info we have. If I remember right, the source who said Sabella was "demoted" was a non-member and the same informant claimed Avena had been demoted/deposed before his murder as well. I don't believe either of these statements has been corroborated by other sources but I could be wrong.

Joe Rugnetta was married to the Piccolos' aunt according to one FBI report (an interview with Joe or Mike Piccolo, going off memory) and helped out the Piccolos when they were younger after their father died. The FBN had him marrying a Lina Latorre on 3/18/1919 and says she died in 1945. Not sure how that fits in with the Piccolo connection. Leonetti via Scarfo said Nick Piccolo was inducted in the late 1940s, presumably with Rugnetta as sponsor, with his brothers and (second?) cousin/"nephew" Tony and nephew Nick Scarfo being inducted in the mid-1950s. A newspaper article at the time of Rugnetta's death claimed he (Rugnetta) became a captain in 1941 though I've never seen this highly specific year in any reports and wonder where the article got it. Piccolo is a captain by the early 1960s when Angelo Bruno is boss and Rugnetta is consigliere. I try not to assume direct succession with the Philly family captains, but it's likely Piccolo inherited at least part of Rugnetta's crew, though Rugnetta had a decina of his own reporting to him as well during at least part of his time as consigliere.

If Rugnetta did become captain in 1941 or around that time, the question would be where the crew came from and who the early Calabrian captains may have been. There has been speculation that they may not have had captains early on, but Sam Scafidi who was already made by the mid-1930s told his informant brother Rocco that their father Gaetano was a captain by that time, so we can assume they had other captains by then. We also know the Calabrians/mainlanders were somewhat if not completely separatists when it came to their decinas circa 1950s/60s, so we can also assume they had this mentality earlier on when ethnicities were even stronger. Again, I don't like to assume direct successions, but who did Rugnetta possibly take over for in 1941, or otherwise who were the Calabrian/mainland captains pre-1950s?

We have a pretty solid idea who the captains were from 1952 onward. There may be a name or two who held the position for a time 1952-1958 that may have been overlooked given the upheaval/changes during that time, but again the info we have is pretty solid. So let's look at who have been specifically mentioned as captains pre-1952:

Gaetano Scafidi (1930s-1950s)
Giovanni Cappello (pre-1952; arrived in Philly circa mid-1930s)
Francesco Barrale (?-1950s; presumably captain or higher since the 1930s or earlier)

That's three Belmonte Sicilians who likely held captain positions, all possibly around the same time before the early 1950s.

Domenico Festa
Demetrio Pennestri

Both Chester-based mainlanders who held underboss and captain positions in the 1930s, possibly to the mid-1940s, with Pennestri holding captain through the 1950s I believe. While we don't know everything about the succession of the Chester crew, it is pretty straightforward and these two seem to have kept the captain position occupied during the years in question. JD suggested that Giuseppe Perugina of Chester may have also been a captain, but later clarified that the wording only made him out to be a leading member in the area. I would guess he was simply a powerful soldier.

Giuseppe Rugnetta (1941?-late 1950s)
Anthony Carfagno (?-1940)

This might suggest that Rugnetta could have taken over for the Abruzzese Carfagno given the timeline, or at last part of his crew, but that would be a huge jump.Here are some other names to consider that I haven't seen explicitly named as captains:

Antonio Domenico Pollina (captain by 1952, probably earlier when put in context with other info)
John Scoppeliti
Giuseppe Ida
Marco Reginelli

Scoppeliti seems to have been one of the most prominent Calabrian members/associates by the 1920s, so it seems likely he would have held some kind of position unless he lost standing. He died in the early 1940s, so if he was in ill health he may have given up his position in the years leading up to his death, which could match up with Rugnetta.

Morello's book says that Ida sponsored Reginelli for membership and I'm not sure where she got this info, but we do know that they were very closely associated for many years and Ida later named Reginelli his underboss/street boss and met primarily with Reginelli and few other family members. I haven't seen any info confirming that Ida or Reginelli were captains before they respectively joined the admin, but Reginelli had a decina reporting directly to him as UB and several of his closest associates who were fellow Abruzzesi would become captains or higher. It seems possible that the Reginelli/Camden group originally came from Ida, who also lived in Jersey though a significant distance away. Given the close association between the Abruzzesi, we also have to wonder if Carfagno factored into this group of guys at all.

[Angelo Santino]

Peter Casella (cousin of the infamous one) was also shelved and later reinstated in the mid-1960s, though we don't know when he was shelved, only that it was for sharing too much info with his wife. Seems possible for Sabella as well with the little info we have. If I remember right, the source who said Sabella was "demoted" was a non-member and the same informant claimed Avena had been demoted/deposed before his murder as well. I don't believe either of these statements has been corroborated by other sources but I could be wrong.

1 Technically book 2 more or less says the same thing: Sabella was "forced" down due to external reasons. Rather than immediately after 1927 but rather mid-1931 she (or Riccobene) claims it was due to LCN's formation.
2 The Sabella family provided proof that Sabella DID indeed live in NYC for 1930-1931.
If he was demoted in 1927 due the Zanghi stuff, it could explain his return to NYC and later on NJ. If he wasn't demoted in 1927 and indeed still a boss from 1930-1931 period it stands likely he would have been involved in mafia politics but there's no evidence anywhere that he was, aside from Morello's claims that he and 10 picciotti were roving the city for 2 years at Maranzano's behest.

A note on the "Castammaresi Wars of 1927-1931": the dates she provided were the dates Gentile gave for his departure and return from Sicily- 1927-1930, where he writes that during his absence "many men fell." Technically he said that but he wasn't saying a war went on for the entire duration of his absence. It'd be like me writing about my leaving the USA on May 1, 1995 and returning in 2002 and stating that "during that time I was away many people died during the 911 attack" and someone later misconstrues what I wrote and takes it as me saying 911 predates 2001 and extends back to May 1st, 1995.

Joe Rugnetta was married to the Piccolos' aunt according to one FBI report (an interview with Joe or Mike Piccolo, going off memory) and helped out the Piccolos when they were younger after their father died. The FBN had him marrying a Lina Latorre on 3/18/1919 and says she died in 1945. Not sure how that fits in with the Piccolo connection. Leonetti via Scarfo said Nick Piccolo was inducted in the late 1940s, presumably with Rugnetta as sponsor, with his brothers and (second?) cousin/"nephew" Tony and nephew Nick Scarfo being inducted in the mid-1950s. A newspaper article at the time of Rugnetta's death claimed he (Rugnetta) became a captain in 1941 though I've never seen this highly specific year in any reports and wonder where the article got it. Piccolo is a captain by the early 1960s when Angelo Bruno is boss and Rugnetta is consigliere. I try not to assume direct succession with the Philly family captains, but it's likely Piccolo inherited at least part of Rugnetta's crew, though Rugnetta had a decina of his own reporting to him as well during at least part of his time as consigliere.

Interesting. I was searching around in Chester and encountered quite a bit of Scarfo surnames living there. Not sure the connection if any but I did notice that Scarfo was later "technically" in that crew was he not?

If Rugnetta did become captain in 1941 or around that time, the question would be where the crew came from and who the early Calabrian captains may have been. There has been speculation that they may not have had captains early on, but Sam Scafidi who was already made by the mid-1930s told his informant brother Rocco that their father Gaetano was a captain by that time, so we can assume they had other captains by then. We also know the Calabrians/mainlanders were somewhat if not completely separatists when it came to their decinas circa 1950s/60s, so we can also assume they had this mentality earlier on when ethnicities were even stronger. Again, I don't like to assume direct successions, but who did Rugnetta possibly take over for in 1941, or otherwise who were the Calabrian/mainland captains pre-1950s?

The top Calabrian as we stated in Scopelliti but he was out of the picture by 1928 after an attempted murder on his life and moving to Atlantic City. The names we have are Domenico Festa, Joe Sciglitano Snr, Demetrio Pennestri and Giuseppe Perugino of Chester; Angelo Cherico, Frank Piccolo (not sure of/if a relation), Mike Romeo, Joe Rugnetta, Joe Ida and Rocco DiCondina. There's also Marco Reginelli who would have fallen under this faction. Also perhaps Ignazio Amato, Frank Greco and Frank Serno but I can't find records on them. Joe Caro was arrested in 1927 so I don't think the one from Stowe is the same guy. This Joe Caro appears to be involved early on, as do alot of these individuals. Arguably eastern Sicilians fell under this network too: John Avena, Joe Bruno, Eduard Caminiti, Luigi Quaranta. Who Avena made, others made I have no idea.

But interestingly: Zanghi's 1927 hitmen included Sabella (boss), Scopelliti (possible underboss), Avena (successor) etc etc pretty much everyone who was anyone until the 50's were in on that hit. They either didn't have crews to handle wet work or he was important enough to warrant the entire leadership's direct involvement. So my guesses would be Avena, Bruno, Festa, Maggio, Barrale, Reginelli as among those in admin positions. Not very helpful I know.

We have a pretty solid idea who the captains were from 1952 onward. There may be a name or two who held the position for a time 1952-1958 that may have been overlooked given the upheaval/changes during that time, but again the info we have is pretty solid. So let's look at who have been specifically mentioned as captains pre-1952:

Gaetano Scafidi (1930s-1950s)
Giovanni Cappello (pre-1952; arrived in Philly circa mid-1930s)
Francesco Barrale (?-1950s; presumably captain or higher since the 1930s or earlier)

That's three Belmonte Sicilians who likely held captain positions, all possibly around the same time before the early 1950s.

I didn't realize they were all captains at the same time. Seems to indicate expansion. I do noticed that more than a few ceremonies involved making 10 members at once.

Domenico Festa
Demetrio Pennestri

Both Chester-based mainlanders who held underboss and captain positions in the 1930s, possibly to the mid-1940s, with Pennestri holding captain through the 1950s I believe. While we don't know everything about the succession of the Chester crew, it is pretty straightforward and these two seem to have kept the captain position occupied during the years in question. JD suggested that Giuseppe Perugina of Chester may have also been a captain, but later clarified that the wording only made him out to be a leading member in the area. I would guess he was simply a powerful soldier.

Did you see the article above about Pennestri being involved in prostitution? That makes Bruno, Ida and Rugnetta.

Giuseppe Rugnetta (1941?-late 1950s)
Anthony Carfagno (?-1940)

This might suggest that Rugnetta could have taken over for the Abruzzese Carfagno given the timeline, or at last part of his crew, but that would be a huge jump.Here are some other names to consider that I haven't seen explicitly named as captains:

Antonio Domenico Pollina (captain by 1952, probably earlier when put in context with other info)
John Scoppeliti
Giuseppe Ida
Marco Reginelli

I know nothing about Carfagno so I can't comment. I'd like to know more.

Scoppeliti seems to have been one of the most prominent Calabrian members/associates by the 1920s, so it seems likely he would have held some kind of position unless he lost standing. He died in the early 1940s, so if he was in ill health he may have given up his position in the years leading up to his death, which could match up with Rugnetta.

Yes but he faded in 1928 with the attempt on his life. Potentially Sabella and Scopelliti may have been out of power in 1928 if one scenario is correct. I keep coming back to the Zanghi hit because I feel it has more significance than previously suspected. We may never know the true details, but there's something there. If there's any credence to Sabella and Scopelliti suffering reprisals as a result of this hit: it was either due to the heat and exposure, or Zanghi was significant enough and possibly even a member.

Morello's book says that Ida sponsored Reginelli for membership and I'm not sure where she got this info, but we do know that they were very closely associated for many years and Ida later named Reginelli his underboss/street boss and met primarily with Reginelli and few other family members. I haven't seen any info confirming that Ida or Reginelli were captains before they respectively joined the admin, but Reginelli had a decina reporting directly to him as UB and several of his closest associates who were fellow Abruzzesi would become captains or higher. It seems possible that the Reginelli/Camden group originally came from Ida, who also lived in Jersey though a significant distance away. Given the close association between the Abruzzesi, we also have to wonder if Carfagno factored into this group of guys at all.

Which if true means Ida was a member before 1930 (reasonable). Ida followed Bruno to Bristol so the two men were close. It appears under Bruno Reginelli was underboss.

Did you know in 1939 there was another internal Philadelphia mafia war? Anthony Piccarelli, Nicholas Bartilucci, Danny 'Day' Deodato and Frank Piccolo were casualties of this war. Riccobene claims he moved to Bristol with Bruno for safety. He never explains the reasons/background for this war. According to Morello after this war Joe Bruno was pretty much without power, leaving Reginelli and the captains free to do as they'd like until his death. Do you know any more about this?

[Antiliar]

Here's a document in Mary Farrell that may be helpful. It's info from (I believe) Harry Riccobene, but the print is faded. Maybe one of you can make this page and the next out better.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 6&tab=page

A list can be found here:

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

[Angelo Santino]

Here's a document in Mary Farrell that may be helpful. It's info from (I believe) Harry Riccobene, but the print is faded. Maybe one of you can make this page and the next out better.

https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.htm ... 6&tab=page

A list can be found here:

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

Thanks. I already posted an excerpt from that page as well as another FBI incerpt. (Mon Apr 23, 2018 6:46 am)

[Angelo Santino]

Oh yes, another thing: Riccobene claims that the ceremony he underwent in 1927 conducted by Sabella involved NO gun and knife. Considering he's Castellammarese and connected to Williamsburg before going to Philadelphia, what were you guys saying about the Bonannos not using a gun and a knife?