Enzo and Piddu's Excellent Adventure

[B.]

What's crazy about the Cleveland meeting is there was a newspaper article at the time that said it was a meeting of the mafia's "Grand Council". It probably was a meeting of the "Gran Consiglio" (as Gentile described this body), so I wonder if something slipped or was overheard during the arrests? Maybe the article coincidentally used the phrase, but I was surprised to see that wording given it would be many years before Gentile revealed that the "Gran Consiglio" was a national ruling body that settled/discussed national political disputes under the capo di capi.

Gentile describes Traina attending an earlier meeting of the Gran Consiglio as D'Aquila's sostituto in the mid-1920s, so even though D'Aquila was dead Traina was probably presiding over this meeting just as he had done for the previous decade (going back to at least 1919/1920 in Philadelphia for the election/appointment of Salvatore Sabella).

There is no way to confirm this, but I wouldn't be surprised if Giuseppe Traina was acting boss of the family during the interrim between D'Aquila's murder and Mineo's transfer/election as new boss, not unlike Joe N Gallo in the 1980s. I don't think there's any info on exactly when Mineo became boss of the D'Aquila family, only that he was boss by the time the Castellammarese War broke out. We know sometimes when a boss is murdered there is a waiting period before someone becomes official boss, especially following a murdered boss, and even Carlo Gambino is said to have been acting boss for a significant length of time before being confirmed as official.

Adding to this is that Gentile's account of Traina during the war suggests Traina was seen as an equal to the "rappresentanti" (bosses) when forming the peace commission/committee. While Traina was probably "just" the consigliere at the time, it shows how he was regarded. The informant from the Arcuri file who is likely referring to Traina when he says "Don Peppino" was "Carlo Gambino before Carlo Gambino" (Gambino was boss at the time the informant said this) tells us a lot about how Traina was regarded even in the 1960s.

It also raises the question of when Masseria was officially named capo dei capi. Was it relatively soon after D'Aquila's murder or was there a provisional "acting" capo dei capi for a time? We know from Gaspare Messina that they were willing to have a temporary capo dei capi when needed, so entirely possible there was a waiting period befoe D'Aquila was replaced.

[bronx]

great synopsis B.. Ill add ,daquila's guys were not content with him being killed and mineo as boss, how long did mineo and massaria last after he was killed? squeeze in maranzano ,who i believe only came to u.s. in 25? not sure ..from what i understood those two plus a few others had to be killed before they settled on peace.

[B.]

What makes it less cut and dry is that D'Aquila was supporting Mineo's brother-in-law Antonino Grillo in Sicily who was a Palermo boss during the mid-1920s Sicilian warfare. Mangano and Traina's trip to Sicily was probably related to this and it's known D'Aquila sent financial resources and allegedly even gunmen to Palermo to support Grillo's faction. Grillo had much earlier traveled to NYC with his brother-in-law Mineo.

Mineo must have had support within the D'Aquila famly when he became boss. I'm guessing Mineo and D'Aquila were not openly feuding at the time of D'Aquila's murder, which likely helped Mineo ease into the new position. Depending on when Mineo became boss of the D'Aquila family, close to two years went by before the pro-D'Aquila faction moved against him and even then they did so quietly after outside agitators influenced them to oppose Masseria/Mineo.

--

Off the top of my head, here are some of the key players in the two factions:

Pro-D'Aquila Faction:
Giuseppe Traina
Jimmy DiLeonardo (very close to D'Aquila / Traina and his decina included D'Aquila's brother-in-law)
Frank Scalise (the most aggressive anti-Mineo figure; probably included the Riccobonos and other relatives; there was a whole clan)
Gambino-Castellana clan (Maranzano told Valachi that associate Paolo Gambino was one of their spies / allies)

Pro-Mineo Faction:
Stefano Ferrigno
Vincenzo Mangano (Traina said Mangano would not turn on Masseria and this presumably applied to Mineo, too)
Nicola Gentile (not a formal D'Aquila member yet, but he would be after the war and was heavily involved with this family)
Sciacchitani crews (Gentile described Masseria's entire faction as the "Sciacchitani", a term he also used for D'Aquila's multiple Agrigentini decinas; Gentile was a member of this faction)

Like every mafia conflict, there were probably more fence-sitters and opportunists than full-on faction loyalists. For example, we hear about how large the Orena and DiGregorio factions were in relation to the Persico and Bonanno factions during their respective wars, but the reality is most guys swayed with the wind and were trying to take the path of least resistance.

The pro-D'Aquila faction appears to have quietly resented the new leadership and only seems to have acted on their resentment once Maranzano and Gagliano recruited them for the war, even then only serving as non-violent supporters and "spies". Seems even D'Aquila's loyalists were willing to accept the new leadership until outsiders created an opportunity, which isn't surprising, as in the Reina family a total outsider like Joe Pinzolo is believed to have had majority support (or at least ambivalence/indifference) from within the Reina family when he took over, as Valachi says it was at first only a small secretive group that opposed Pinzolo. Sounds like a similar deal in the former D'Aquila group.

According to Gentile, Traina was not aggressive in opposing Mineo but did resent D'Aquila's murder and was happy to move against Masseria/Mineo. Though he went against that faction, Traina would remain a key peacemaker during the war and was tasked with forming the peace committee which included bosses from around the country. If he was consigliere this makes sense, as it would have been his obligation to act in everyone's interests. Even if he felt differently, he had to maintain this facade.

--

Stefano Ferrigno is believed to have been Mineo's underboss, but his brother Bartolo would show up later as a Profaci member. Gentile mentions "Fanuzzo" (i.e. Stefanuzzo Ferrigno) as part of the top Masseria faction leadership along with Mineo and Masseria himself, both bosses, which has led some of us to wonder if Ferrigno may have been the Profaci boss at the time. This would mean that between 1928 and 1931 the family had Mineo, Ferrigno, DiBella, and Profaci as bosses, not even accounting for figures like Joe Peraino who may have also held a leadership role (underboss? captain?). Remember too that Joe Profaci had high status by 1928, where he appears to have represented this family in Cleveland alongside his aide Magliocco.

Stefano Ferrigno moved from Brooklyn to the Bronx, though, which is more in line with the D'Aquila family Palermitani and we don't see this from Profaci leaders. For example, Salvatore D'Aquila moved from Brooklyn to the Bronx, too, and Carlo Gambino did the reverse, starting out in the Bronx and moving to Brooklyn. Paolo Gambino stayed in the Bronx for decades but had a presence in Brooklyn. There was a strong Palermitani pipeline between the Bronx and Brooklyn and you can even see this later, where "Joe from the Bronx" Gambino had Brooklyn soldiers in his Bronx-based decina. This Bronx-Brooklyn pipeline that Ferrigno appears to have similarly participated in is overwhelmingly a D'Aquila/Gambino phenomenon.

What makes Ferrigno different from the other Bronx/Brooklyn Palermitani is that he was "all in" with Mineo and died with him. Did Ferrigno's brother transfer or get made with Profaci because the Ferrignos were persona non grata with the post-Mineo leadership? Not necessarily, as Mangano was a Mineo loyalist and was the new boss, so Bartolo Ferrigno should have been safe under Mangano. The Sciacchitani faction remained under Mineo despite their alliance with Masseria/Mineo and were in fact given their own "sostituto" (Gentile) to manage their affairs. Why did Bartolo Ferrigno not remain with Mineo, too?

This raises the question of the Ferrignos originally being members of Mineo's first family (the future Profaci family), who like Mineo could have transferred to the D'Aquila family sometime after 1928. It would make sense that Mineo brought some loyalists from his old family with him and didn't transfer alone. It would also explain why Bartolo Ferrigno ended up back with the Profacis, maybe like Tommy Lucchese trying (in vain) to get Valachi back with the Gagliano family after his time with Maranzano during the war. The war caused a great deal of chaos and some guys may have settled back down where they originally started afterward. All speculation.

--

It's probable that some Palermitani transferred between the D'Aquila and Mineo families at various points, maybe as a result of conflict. While we are lacking definitive information, it's currently believed that Villabatesi leader Giuseppe Fontana was a high-ranking D'Aquila member at the time of his murder in the 1910s. Yet by the late 1920s all of the Villabatesi were under Mineo. Did the Villabatesi under D'Aquila transfer and did the pipeline of Villabatesi immigrants shift to Mineo? The latter is definitely true, but the question is what happened between Fontana's death and the arrival of many Villabatesi in the 1920s.

We have to factor Sicily in here. Villabate boss Giulio D'Agati was a relative of the Profacis and he was killed during the Palermo wars that D'Aquila sent resources toward and mediated in. Was D'Agati aligned with Grillo and D'Aquila's allies, or part of another faction? It seems Mineo would have been aligned with his bro-in-law Grillo, too, so if the Villabatesi were with Mineo by this point you'd think they'd be on the same page. Joe Profaci's older brother Domenico Profaci was also killed during this period, I believe in connection to the same conflict. Whatever the case, all of this factored into NYC politics as much as it did Sicily.

What's interesting is the path sort of reversed decades later. With the death of Joe Profaci and many other Villabatesi dying or retiring, plus their allies in Villabate being killed or cut off due to a terrible mafia war in the 1950s, the pipeline between the Profaci family and Villabate was damaged during this 1950s/60s period. Then look what happens in the late 1960s, where the Napoli brothers from Villabate end up aligned with the Gambino family upon their arrival to NYC. Even in recent years Villabate mafia leader Nicolo Mandala came to the US and met with Frank Cali of the Gambino family. So the Palermitani pipeline continues to exist but just as Villabate appears to have started with D'Aquila and shifted to Mineo/Profaci, we see the remnants of it shift back to the Gambinos when it was cut off from the Profacis. Few things in the mafia are a coincidence and the same patterns repeat.

[Antiliar]

Just a few things to add:
- Vincenzo Mangano was the informant on D'Aquila's coroner's report, so that suggests they were close.
- Alfonso Attardi, who was a member of the D'Aquila Family, said that D'Aquila was killed by his own underboss, Salvatore Mambrao. Some people assume that Mambrao was Mineo, but maybe not. Mineo certainly wasn't his underboss.
- Toto Chirico, whom we assume was Salvatore "Charles" Chiri, was probably a capodecina who supported the Mineo/Masseria side. No idea what he was or who he supported previously.
- Evidence suggests that Bonaventura "Joe" Pinzolo was previously a D'Aquila guy who was connected with the Riccobonos.

[B.]

- I don't think it's a coincidence that Jimmy DiLeonardo and Paolo Palmeri of the Buffalo family went to Sicily together in late-1924, then Giuseppe Traina and Vincenzo Mangano went there together in mid-1925. Palmeri would have represented the Buffalo leadership, while DiLeonardo represented D'Aquila. Traina and Mangano would have again represented D'Aquila on their trip. Political conflicts were building in Palermo that D'Aquila was actively mediating and three top leaders of D'Aquila's family went to Sicily during this period.

- Paolo Palmeri's brother Angelo is believed to have been the underboss to Joe DiCarlo Sr. prior to DiCarlo's death. Not sure Angelo's position under Magaddino (who was boss by 1924), but the Palmeris remained influential and were well-connected given their Castellammarese heritage. Salvatore Maranzano up to this point had been the capoprovincia of Trapani and lived in Palermo. Dr. Melchiorre Allegra, who told us his view of the Palermo political conflict of the mid-late 1920s also told us about Salvatore Maranzano's direct involvement in Palermo politics during the same period DiLeonardo and Palmeri visited Sicily.

- Something that isn't talked about much is what Salvatore Maranzano's relationship to D'Aquila was. D'Aquila was actively mediating in high-level Palermo affairs at a time when Maranzano was a capoprovincia living in Palermo and involved in similar if not the same affairs. The men knew of each other, if nothing else, and we can't say for sure what they thought of each other but we have some room to speculate.

- While Maranzano was no doubt an opportunist who had his own reasons to wage war against Masseria and Mineo in 1930, these were D'Aquila's killers and it's been well-established that Maranzano used D'Aquila's murder to gather support from the Palermitani against Masseria-Mineo. D'Aquila's remaining loyalists trusted Maranzano with their lives and bought into his "revenge for D'Aquila" narrative, which could lend itself to Maranzano having mutual interests or even an alliance with D'Aquila when Maranzano was living in Palermo (we also don't know if there was contact between them in NYC between 1925 - 1928; very possible). They both had an interest in the intense Palermo politics of the time, so there were shared interests and from Maranzano's relationship to the D'Aquila loyalists in 1930-1931 we can assume he wasn't an enemy of D'Aquila in Palermo or NYC.

- Going back to DiLeonardo and Palmeri's trip to Sicily, it's not just that Palmeri was from Castellammare and related to the Buffalo leadership, but remember that Maranzano had property in Hamilton and one of the Magaddino tape transcripts implies that Maranzano may have been a Buffalo member himself for a time, with Magaddino accusing him of flip-flopping between the organizations in NYC and Buffalo when it suited him. The Palmeris were not strangers to Maranzano.

- One of Maranzano's close friends was Vincenzo Troia, boss of San Giuseppe Iato during the period Maranzano lived in Palermo. While the two men would butt heads during the Castellammarese War when Troia attempted to be a peacemaker, they were nonetheless established allies, with the implication that the two men had an existing relationship in Sicily. Troia would sit on the peace committee with Giuseppe Traina during the war, with Traina himself nominating Troia. Troia's relationship to Maranzano and Traina might suggest that he, too, had been on good terms with D'Aquila or at least a neutral party. Like Maranzano, Troia's position as a Palermo boss until the mid-1920s virtually guarantees a relationship to D'Aquila.

- D'Aquila's representative Jimmy DiLeonardo did not randomly decide to travel to Sicily with Castellammarese Buffalo member Paolo Palmeri. Palmeri represented his brother Angelo Palmeri, their boss Stefano Magaddino, and the US side of the Castellammarese-Trapanese network. As the capoprovincia of Trapani, Salvatore Maranazano was the highest-ranking Castellammarese member in Sicily before he left for the US. DiLeonardo and Palmeri's companionship on this trip is an indication that the D'Aquila Palermitani and Castellammarese were allies by this time, at, least with regards to Sicily, and the later alliance between these groups during violent warfare in 1930-1931 NYC is consistent with this theory.

Of coure things do change. Schiro had issues with D'Aquila earlier on and as we know Mineo and D'Aquila seem to have had an off-and-on feud. However, I don't think I'm off base in seeing DiLeonardo and Palmeri's relationship and trip as part of a larger trend between 1924 and 1931 that can't be separated from the massively influential leaders at the heads of these networks at the time, namely D'Aquila and Maranzano, and the US and Sicilian matters they were involved in. That their trip was followed by a trip by Traina and Mangano adds to this.

--

DiLeonardo and Palmeri may have had other indirect connections:

- DiLeonardo was close to Vito Cascio Ferro. As I've shared before, when Italian police raided Cascio Ferro's home they found a letter from Jimmy DiLeonardo circa 1909 asking for "news" (likely about the Petrosino murder) and Michael DiLeonardo was told that Cascio Ferro sent his great-grandfather Antonino and grandfather Jimmy to the US. The DiLeonardos were close to Cascio Ferro, no question.

- The Palmeris had a marital relation to Joe DiCarlo, who in turn was related to Pasquale Enea, one of Cascio Ferro's close friends in both NYC and Sicily. In one of Giuseppe Morello's letters he discusses Cascio Ferro and Enea together, saying how they violated induction protocol by inducting member(s) without consulting the inductee's Sicilian hometown. Enea and Cascio Ferro's names often show up together, including as conspirators in the Petrosino murder that DiLeonardo may have asked Cascio Ferro about via letter in 1909.

- Does this mean that DiLeonardo and Palmeri met up and said, "My father's friend Cascio Ferro is friends with your marital relative's marital relative Enea?" Maybe, maybe not. I highly doubt it had anything to do with their trip to Sicily, but these relationships aren't a coincidence either and these connections are what fuels the mafia network. This was a long overseas voyage, so DiLeonardo and Palmeri may well have talked about who they are related to, who they know, etc.

[B.]

Just a few things to add:
- Vincenzo Mangano was the informant on D'Aquila's coroner's report, so that suggests they were close.
- Alfonso Attardi, who was a member of the D'Aquila Family, said that D'Aquila was killed by his own underboss, Salvatore Mambrao. Some people assume that Mambrao was Mineo, but maybe not. Mineo certainly wasn't his underboss.
- Toto Chirico, whom we assume was Salvatore "Charles" Chiri, was probably a capodecina who supported the Mineo/Masseria side. No idea what he was or who he supported previously.
- Evidence suggests that Bonaventura "Joe" Pinzolo was previously a D'Aquila guy who was connected with the Riccobonos.

Thanks for the notes. Great detail about Mangano on D'Aquila's coroner report. As more info comes out revealing his close relationship to D'Aquila, what's so interesting is that he became such a hardline Masseria-Mineo supporter unlike D'Aquila's other friends. Maybe it was to his advantage and/or he was simply following the rules -- there's a new boss and that's where your loyalty now lies, especially when it also involves the new capo dei capi.

I'm curious what Vincenzo Mangano's family background is. Many mafia leaders of the era were upper-middle or upper class and from multi-generation mafia clans. Just like in "normal" society, there was a class distinction between the leadership and standard membership, especially in Palermo and Trapani. Agrigento might be something of an exception, as noted by early Italian reports, but even then we see where the Contis of Pittsburgh were from Agrigento and one was a wealthy wholesaler and the other was a doctor and local politician, with Gentile identifying both brothers as rappresentanti of the Pittsburgh family.

Manfredi Mineo's brother was a doctor for example, suggesting he came from an upper class environment. I wonder if his brother, Dr. Corrado "Corradino" Mineo, is the same Palermo professor Corradino Mineo whose namesake grandson is today a famous politician from Partanna. I believe the grandfather's age would fit the same generation as Manfredi's brother with the same name and similar credentials. Those Mineos are from Palermo originally and I can't imagine there were many Dr. Corradino Mineos from that same time period in Palermo but who knows. Mineo's wife was living on the mainland before she joined him in the US (I think Rome, but may have been Naples -- have to check again). Another sign that he was upper class.

Intermarriage among the mafia leadership class is also common, as we see Mineo's brother-in-law Antonino Grillo was himself a Palermo boss. Vincenzo Mangano's brother married the daughter of an important NYC-Palermitani figure as you guys noted in your article. Another sign that the Manganos themselves may have been from the mafia leadership class.

--

Re: Mumbrao. I remember reading that. Very interesting, as the name is unique and Salvatore Mumbrao sounds almost nothing like Manfredi Mineo. Gentile called Mineo "Manfre" as you know but at least that is close to "Manfredi" and there is no mistaking who he is talking about in context.

--

I do wonder about Pinzolo. From Serradifalco, Caltanissetta, and arrived to a brother-in-law in Pittston, where the local mafia was dominated by men from that province. Moves to NYC where he works for a non-Sicilian crime figure (possibly a Camorrista), marries a Riccobono, with LiMandri as a witness. Disappears and shows up as a Lower Manhattan-based boss of the former Reina group, based in East Harlem/Bronx and made up primarily of Corleonesi, which makes zero sense.

When Dominic Petrilli proposed Joe Valachi for membership, he took him to meet Pinzolo who Valachi said was disgusting. Valachi wanted nothing to do with him, but Petrilli told him they were already planning to kill Pinzolo. Petrilli was part of the minority Gagliano faction, but we have very little info on who exactly supported Pinzolo only that the majority appears to have gone along with it.

I suspect Giuseppe Morello may have had a significant influence on Pinzolo's appointment/election. He was Masseria's underboss and had deep ties with the Reina group, it being a large element of his former family.

[Antiliar]

More items of interest:
- In 1925, Vincenzo Mangano travelled by ship with Antonio Cecala, who was one of the guys who were part of the Morello-Lupo counterfeiting operation and was sent to prison with them.

- According to one family tree I saw, the Manganos were distantly related to actress Silvana Mangano, Dino De Laurentis, and cooking celebrity (their granddaughter) Giada De Laurentis. Vincent Mangano also went by Jim, and ran a Democratic club in Brooklyn. This isn't the family tree chart that I saw years ago, but it still has useful information:
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mangano-54

[Antiliar]

I don't know if this will work. It's an older family tree that is hard to find.



/Vincenzo MANGANO
/Vincenzo MANGANO d: 1912-1918
| \UNKNOWN ROSALIA
Vincenzo MANGANO b: 14 Dec 1888 d: 15 Nov 1961
| /Vincenzo SIMONETTI
\Serafina SIMONETTI b: 11 Sep 1854 d: 18 Feb 1936
\UNKNOWN VENERA

• D: I30078749
• Name: Vincenzo MANGANO
• Sex: M
• Birth: 14 Dec 1888 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• Death: 15 Nov 1961 in Brooklyn, NY

Father: Vincenzo MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Mother: Serafina SIMONETTI b: 11 Sep 1854 in Carini, Italy



Marriage 1 Carolina CUSIMANO b: 21 Nov 1891 in Italy
• Married: 1911 in Italy
Children
1. Serafina MANGANO b: 8 Jun 1912 in Brooklyn, New York
2. Vincent J. MANGANO b: 18 Jul 1913 in Brooklyn, New York
3. Grace MANGANO b: 1 Jan 1917 in Brooklyn, New York
4. Joseph MANGANO b: 23 Jun 1918 in Brooklyn, New York
• ID: I30078750
• Name: Filippo MANGANO
• Sex: M
• Birth: 9 Sep 1898 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• Death: 19 Apr 1951 in Brooklyn, New York

Father: Vincenzo MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Mother: Serafina SIMONETTI b: 11 Sep 1854 in Carini, Italy



Marriage 1 Agatha TROVATO b: 13 Aug 1905 in Brooklyn, New York (?)
• Married: in America
Children
1. Vincent Anthony MANGANO b: 6 Oct 1926 in Long Beach, New York
• D: I30078693
• Name: Vincenzo MANGANO
• Sex: M
• Birth: in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• Death: 1912-1918 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Father: Vincenzo MANGANO b: in Italy
Mother: UNKNOWN ROSALIA b: in Italy



Marriage 1 Serafina SIMONETTI b: 11 Sep 1854 in Carini, Italy
• Married: in Italy
• Note: _MENDDeath of one spouse
Children
1. Rosalia MANGANO b: 28 Feb 1876 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
2. Francesco MANGANO b: 1882 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
3. Venera MANGANO b: 6 Jan 1884 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
4. Lorenza MANGANO b: 1 Jan 1886 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
5. Vincenzo MANGANO b: 14 Dec 1888 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
6. Girolamo MANGANO b: 11 Nov 1892 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
7. Providenza MANGANO b: 19 Sep 1895 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
8. Filippo MANGANO b: 9 Sep 1898 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• D: I110548
• Name: Vincenzo MANGANO
• Sex: M
• Birth: ABT 1850 in Palermo, Sicily
• Death: 1909
• Reference Number: 110548


Marriage 1 Serafina SIMONETTI b: in Palermo, Sicily
Children
1. Rosalia MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily
2. Francesco MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily
3. Venera MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily
4. Lorenza MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily
5. Vincenzo MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily
6. Girolamo MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily
7. Providenza MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily
8. Filippo Philip MANGANO b: 1898 in Palermo, Sicily
• ID: I30078745
• Name: Serafina SIMONETTI
• Sex: F
• Birth: 11 Sep 1854 in Carini, Italy
• Death: 18 Feb 1936 in Brooklyn, NY

Father: Vincenzo SIMONETTI b: in Italy
Mother: UNKNOWN VENERA b: in Italy



Marriage 1 Vincenzo MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• Married: in Italy
• Note: _MENDDeath of one spouse
Children
1. Rosalia MANGANO b: 28 Feb 1876 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
2. Francesco MANGANO b: 1882 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
3. Venera MANGANO b: 6 Jan 1884 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
4. Lorenza MANGANO b: 1 Jan 1886 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
5. Vincenzo MANGANO b: 14 Dec 1888 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
6. Girolamo MANGANO b: 11 Nov 1892 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
7. Providenza MANGANO b: 19 Sep 1895 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
8. Filippo MANGANO b: 9 Sep 1898 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• D: I092
• Name: Francesco MANGANO
• Sex: M
• Birth: 1882 in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• Death: in Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Father: Vincenzo MANGANO b: in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Mother: Serafina SIMONETTI b: 11 Sep 1854 in Carini, Italy



Marriage 1 ROSINA b: in Palermo, Sicily, Italy
• Married: in Palermo, Sicily, Italy

[Antiliar]

Philip Mangano was married to the granddaughter of Joseph Trovato, who was probably a capodecina in Brooklyn who was killed in 1913. It's possible that Trovato succeeded the Giuseppe Catania who was murdered and left in a burlap sack in Brooklyn in 1902 for allegedly drinking too much and talking too much.

Providenza Mangano married Costantino Scannavino, who I believe was a made member.

[Morbid1]

Interesting observations and reading material. Thanks for posting.

[B.]

- So it was the granddaughter of Trovato who married Phil Mangano, not the daughter. Thanks for clearing that up. Still, intermarriage between important Palermitani mafia figures. Thanks for the other Mangano info, too.

- Any idea where the rumor started about Phil Mangano being the consigliere? Used to see that online but not sure if it was based on something (i.e. he's described as an "advisor" somewhere) or pure fan fiction. We know he was a top aide to his brother.

- I've referred to it before, but in early 1940 US authorities received a report from a "reliable" source with the Italian Treasury who said the "Grand Consul" of the mafia was as follows:

Joseph Traina
Vincent Mangano
Philip Mangano
Joe Bonanno
Joe Profaci
Paul Ricca
Stefano Magaddino
Al Polizzi
Frank Milano

^ We know this isn't the Gran Consiglio, which no longer existed by this time, but appears to be the Commission with a few extra figures added. Use of "Grand Consul" (probably a translation from Gran Consiglio or Consiglio Supremo given the source was in Italy) suggests the info came from someone whose knowledge of high-level mafia activity goes back pre-1931 and saw the Commission as a rough equivalent of the Gran Consiglio.

^ With the last statement in mind, when did Nick Gentile first begin giving info? This was 1940, after his 1937 arrest and return to Sicily, and the language ("Grand Consul") and the info itself is consistent with Gentile. He has said Cleveland was on the first Commission and in his book talks about Commission matters involving Ricca, Cleveland, and Mangano. The inclusion of three Mangano/Gambino leaders and two Cleveland leaders suggests too that the source was more familiar with those two groups, which is again consistent with Gentile. He was in Italy, so it would make sense it would be Italian authorities who received this info and forwarded it to the US.

^ If Gentile was the source, which appears likely, it would mean he became an informant to Italian authorities soon after returning to Italy, long before his memoirs. Would this be big news? I'm not sure what the timeline is for Gentile breaking "omerta" but it wouldn't be the only time someone secretly cooperated before they "officially" opened up.

^ Traina's inclusion isn't a surprise, as he did function as the Commission liaison for the Philadelphia family and had a history of performing similar national duties. He appears to have been a "messaggero" for the Commission for decades.

^ It's strange Phil Mangano is included, though. Other sources have said Commisson members could bring aides to meetings, so Phil Mangano may have been an aide to his brother in these matters but clearly the "reliable" source felt Mangano's stature deserved inclusion on this important list. The two Cleveland members were not "aides" to one another, but both leaders in their own right. It lends itself to the idea that Mangano was a power in his own right to be included alongide his brother and Giuseppe Traina.

- Mangano's murder alongside his brother in 1951 is another indication that he was a figure of consequence. It's actually quite rare for the brother of a mafia leader to be killed around the same time unless he does something to provoke it (i.e Joe Scalise), so that Anastasia made it a point to kill both brothers at once speaks again to Mangano's stature.

[Antiliar]

- Gentile started giving info in 1940. Including the Grand Council info. Gave it to the Legat at the U.S. embassy who sent it to the Treasury Dept. and FBN.

- I don't know about Phil being consigliere, but the old info was that Vincent and Phil were co-bosses. That appears to have come from Joe Valachi. He was either confused or misunderstood. Before that he was known as a Democratic leader, a waterfront boss, and one of the heads of Murder Incorporated.

[B.]

- Gentile started giving info in 1940. Including the Grand Council info. Gave it to the Legat at the U.S. embassy who sent it to the Treasury Dept. and FBN.

- I don't know about Phil being consigliere, but the old info was that Vincent and Phil were co-bosses. That appears to have come from Joe Valachi. He was either confused or misunderstood. Before that he was known as a Democratic leader, a waterfront boss, and one of the heads of Murder Incorporated.

Great, so the source is Gentile.

Seems Phil Mangano could have been his brother's "sostituto" or acting boss. As more info comes out, we have learned that acting positions aren't necessarily used just for long-term inconveniences like imprisonment or illness or living part-time in Florida, but sometimes simply to represent someone when they can't attend a meeting or are on short vacations, etc.

[Antiliar]

I believe Phil was a caporegime. Joe Biondo was the consigliere. Using his brother as acting boss might be seen as nepotism, so my guess is that he would have used a different capo as acting boss (assuming he ever needed one).

[PolackTony]

Wasn't Milano in Mexico at the time? This makes me wonder if Polizzi was acting as his sostituto (speaking here in terms of recognition in the Commission) while Milano was recognized as sitting in exile. If Phil Mangano was acting for his brother, then that could be a similar arrangement.

Can't help but notice also that Luciano and Costello are missing from the 1940 list.