Antiliar wrote:I wonder if Salvatore Chiri was confused with Tata Chirico. Bill Bonanno points out that Chirico lived in the Bronx, and the only one who fits was Silvestro Chirico, who was born in Bari in 1885 and died in 1943. Chiri was a New Jersey guy. Rosario "Charles" Dongarra, by the way, died in 1973. He was mentioned as a captain in the Gambino Family in the 1963 reports and that Joe N. Gallo was in his crew. Both Joe Biondo and Dongarra were closely associated with Umberto Valenti (the mobster killed in 1922 by Masseria and possibly Lucky Luciano).
There was a Salvatore Chirico born 1911 who lived in Newark and died in CT in 2003, whose father Felice was settled in NJ by 1905, but probably no connection.
I have Chiri as born 1888 and living in Palisades Park by the early 1940s which is near Ft. Lee where Anastasia and everyone hung out. He was naturalized in NY but I don't know the year. Have to assume he wasn't so much a Jersey guy but an NY guy who moved there like other high-ranking members.
I was asking a little while back about the origins of the Gambino NJ crew(s) since it's still a bit of a mystery how their first members there got recruited. Some have speculated that Antonio Paterno was first a Newark member which seems as possible as anything else.
Antiliar wrote:I wonder if Salvatore Chiri was confused with Tata Chirico. Bill Bonanno points out that Chirico lived in the Bronx, and the only one who fits was Silvestro Chirico, who was born in Bari in 1885 and died in 1943. Chiri was a New Jersey guy. Rosario "Charles" Dongarra, by the way, died in 1973. He was mentioned as a captain in the Gambino Family in the 1963 reports and that Joe N. Gallo was in his crew. Both Joe Biondo and Dongarra were closely associated with Umberto Valenti (the mobster killed in 1922 by Masseria and possibly Lucky Luciano).
There was a Salvatore Chirico born 1911 who lived in Newark and died in CT in 2003, whose father Felice was settled in NJ by 1905, but probably no connection.
I have Chiri as born 1888 and living in Palisades Park by the early 1940s which is near Ft. Lee where Anastasia and everyone hung out. He was naturalized in NY but I don't know the year. Have to assume he wasn't so much a Jersey guy but an NY guy who moved there like other high-ranking members.
I was asking a little while back about the origins of the Gambino NJ crew(s) since it's still a bit of a mystery how their first members there got recruited. Some have speculated that Antonio Paterno was first a Newark member which seems as possible as anything else.
I did some additional follow up on Chiri. In 1940 he lived in Palisade, Fort Lee, NJ, and had moved there in 1937. In the mid-1930s he lived in Yonkers, and in the 1930 census he lived in the Bronx. In 1917/18 for the World War I draft, he lived in Manhattan and was working for a Riccobono on 14th Street. In the 1930 census says he immigrated in 1901, but the FBI says 14 January 1908 on the SS Nord America. The Nord America actually arrived the next day, on the 15th. There was no passenger named Salvatore Chiri, but there was an 11-year-old passenger named Salvatore Chirico from Trabia. So Chiri stole the identity of the boy who was nine years younger, making it likely that Chiri's real name was Chirico and he also was from Trabia. Bonanno, however, says that the November 1951 Commission meeting was held at Chirico's palatial home in Pelham Bay in the Bronx. That rules out Silvestro Chirico since he died in 1943, and it couldn't be the home that Chiri had in 1930 since that was a $150 a month rental.
EDIT: I looked up the brother of Salvatore Chiri, Joseph Carl Chiri. He came from Palermo in 1903 under the name Giuseppe Chiri, so there's no indication of them being from Trabia or their surname being Chirico.
Last edited by Antiliar on Tue Nov 29, 2016 3:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
HairyKnuckles wrote:I don´t think that the Family was divided during when Anastasia was still alive, but after his death. It appears some crew leaders, right after Anastasia´s death, were influenced by Rava and sought his guidance rather then Gambino´s. But who they were exactly and how many they were in this group is impossible to know. And like you said, the number of 10-12 captains could be an inaccurate statement made by Magaddino. I believe that Robilotto was Rava´s right hand man, his closest confidant, in this faction, which made Magaddino describe him as "his underboss".
This is what I have as upper echelon of the Gambino Family, right before Anastasia´s death.
Boss - Anastasia
Underboss - Salvatore Chiricho
Acting underboss - Nino Conte (position previously held by F. Scalise)
consigliere - Carlo Gambino
Capt - Joe Riccobono (succeeded by S. Armone after Riccobono´s elevation to consigliere)
- Joe Traina
- Domenico Arcuri
- Tommy Russo
- T. Anastasio
- Frank Castellano (succeeded by Paul Castellano in 1959)
- Peter Stincone
- Joe Zingaro
- Dave Amodeo (old Scalise crew, split with Arthur Leo after the Scalise murder according to informant)
- Paul Gambino
- Joe Colozzo
- Terry Zappi
- Joe Franco (died Nov 1957, succeeded by Lombardozzi)
- Jimmy Squillante
- John Robilotto (succeeded by Alfred Eppolito in 1958; the Eppolitos were suspects in Robilotto´s killing)
- Tommy Rava (crew split between Dellacroce and Anthony Rizzo sometime after Rava´s death)
- Jerry D´Aquila (?)
- Rocco Mazzie
- Joseph Paterno
- Frank Perrone (split of from A. Paterno´s crew according to informant)
Biondo doesn´t seem to have held any high position at this point. It looks like he was demoted by Anastasia. Morici may have split of from Franco´s crew and made a captain of the Baltimore members. That would explan why former members of Franco´s crew (Lombardozzi and possibly others) attended Pasquale corbi´s funeral.
I dont know in what part of the tread we talked about Johnny robert and im sorry if im derailing the tread, but maybe on of the soldiers who was under Roberts than with Eppolito was ANDREW ALBERTI...? The crew that merged with Castellanos.
He was listed as criminal associate with Eppolito in FBN book.
Great research. This guy's a real shadowy one. These possible stolen identities confuse the hell out of me. One thing I don't get though is why you think it's likely that his real name is Chirico and he was from Trabia because he stole the identity of another Chirico from Trabia. Was there anything in particular that led you there?
B. wrote:Great research. This guy's a real shadowy one. These possible stolen identities confuse the hell out of me. One thing I don't get though is why you think it's likely that his real name is Chirico and he was from Trabia because he stole the identity of another Chirico from Trabia. Was there anything in particular that led you there?
That was based on my experiences of other OC figures who stole identities in the past. Anyway, if you read my edit, that guess turned out wrong.
AlexfromSouth wrote:
I dont know in what part of the tread we talked about Johnny robert and im sorry if im derailing the tread, but maybe on of the soldiers who was under Roberts than with Eppolito was ANDREW ALBERTI...? The crew that merged with Castellanos.
He was listed as criminal associate with Eppolito in FBN book.
B. wrote:Great research. This guy's a real shadowy one. These possible stolen identities confuse the hell out of me. One thing I don't get though is why you think it's likely that his real name is Chirico and he was from Trabia because he stole the identity of another Chirico from Trabia. Was there anything in particular that led you there?
That was based on my experiences of other OC figures who stole identities in the past. Anyway, if you read my edit, that guess turned out wrong.
Ah, thanks.
Then of course there is the modern Gambino member Joseph Chirico who doesn't appear to have any connection to any previous Chiricos/Chiris. but I guess it can't be ruled out.
AlexfromSouth wrote:
I dont know in what part of the tread we talked about Johnny robert and im sorry if im derailing the tread, but maybe on of the soldiers who was under Roberts than with Eppolito was ANDREW ALBERTI...? The crew that merged with Castellanos.
He was listed as criminal associate with Eppolito in FBN book.
It's frustrating because Nicola Gentile and Joe Bonanno both mention Toto/Tata Chirico being an important person in the Castellammarese War, then Bill B. adds that a Commission meeting was held in his house in the Bronx in 1951, but I can't find anyone who fits.
AlexfromSouth wrote:
I dont know in what part of the tread we talked about Johnny robert and im sorry if im derailing the tread, but maybe on of the soldiers who was under Roberts than with Eppolito was ANDREW ALBERTI...? The crew that merged with Castellanos.
He was listed as criminal associate with Eppolito in FBN book.
HK posted that Alberti was always under the Dongarra crew, by the way.
Oh okay, I appologize than, my bad.
No need to apologize at all. Glad you're interested in this stuff, man.
Rick -- I didn't realize that Joe Bonanno used the name Chirico for him. I figured only Bill mentioned him (which would have come via his dad anyway). All of the guys who Gentile mentions Chirico with (Anastasia, Mangano, Biondo) were high-ranking Gambino members by the end of the war, so you have to assume this Chirico held rank after the war as well. Chiri fits the best with all of this, but then you have the whole name issue. Just weird.
Very good HK, thanks for the chart. I have to ask, who were captains Tommy Russo and Frank Castellano and where were they based? Was Frank the uncle of Paul Castelanno?
Tommy Russo is Gaetano Russo, a captain based out of Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Died in 1970. Crew probably disbanded after his death. Frank Castellano was Paul´s uncle.
Yes Gaetano russo, remmember we discussing the guy. Tell me HK do you happen to know where was Frank Castellano from and based? Bensonhurst or South Bklyn? Thanks.
Thats a Link to Gaetano Russos FBN page, dont know how to put a picture as whole or whatever. Is it know who some of the made men under him were and maybe what happened to his crew?
Great research Antilliar. You guys really make this forum worthwhile. I never actually considered the case of stolen identities when it comes to these mobsters, but thinking about it now, I assume it happened quite often, when guys came over from Italy. That brings along a whole different aspect of possibilities when it comes to identifying lesser known, but at the time influential, mobsters.
AlexfromSouth wrote:
I dont know in what part of the tread we talked about Johnny robert and im sorry if im derailing the tread, but maybe on of the soldiers who was under Roberts than with Eppolito was ANDREW ALBERTI...? The crew that merged with Castellanos.
He was listed as criminal associate with Eppolito in FBN book.
HK posted that Alberti was always under the Dongarra crew, by the way.
Oh okay, I appologize than, my bad.
No need to apologize at all. Glad you're interested in this stuff, man.
Rick -- I didn't realize that Joe Bonanno used the name Chirico for him. I figured only Bill mentioned him (which would have come via his dad anyway). All of the guys who Gentile mentions Chirico with (Anastasia, Mangano, Biondo) were high-ranking Gambino members by the end of the war, so you have to assume this Chirico held rank after the war as well. Chiri fits the best with all of this, but then you have the whole name issue. Just weird.
Again I derailed the tread with the question about Gaetano Russo, so sorry once again. Just that I dont want to start a new tread because of it.
In relation to Maggadino as a whole, sorry if this is somewhat off topic. In the FBN book theres a James V. La Duca, it's said that he was Stefano's son-in-law, and that he'd eventually replace Magaddino and run the Buffalo family. He also was an attendant of the Appalachin meeting and went with his father-in-law and Antonio Maggadino. What isn't mentioned is the fact that La Duca & Antonio Maggadino were among 27 people indicted for trying to lie about the purpose of the Appalachin meeting. And that he and Antonio Maggadino went missing and were presumably never heard from again, at least to my immediate knowledge. Were they ever rediscovered or popped back up ala Dominic Lonardo, or were they most likely killed? And if so, was it ever discussed in this file or others, about why Maggadino would allow the murders of his brother and son-in-law whom he was grooming to one day replace him?
correct hairy ..great research all.louie d ran 18th ave before nino naploi and the gambino bros.. louie 's gambling ruined him..could have been a captain..great guy ..tough and funny his son nicky , tough guy..got heavy into drugs ruined himself of he would have been made
