Congratulations to all authors who contributed to the last edition of The Informer on Nicola Gentile.
Very well researched and written. I enjoyed the anecdote about Gentile visiting and working for a while inQuebec with his friend Cuccuzzella, a fact I did not know.
Great job !
Mafia history and Nicola Gentile
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Re: Mafia history and Nicola Gentile
I appreciate the acknowledgment.antimafia wrote: ↑Sun Nov 01, 2020 3:28 pm Antiliar,
Does the issue contain the research about the Gentiles that B. compiled in the thread of which the post below is an example of the research?
viewtopic.php?f=29&t=4246&hilit=Gentile&start=20
Specifically, does the issue mention the discovery made by B. of the relationship between Nicola Gentile and nephew Joe Gentile of Vancouver?
I want to tweet a link to http://informer-journal.blogspot.com/se ... er%20issue so that the Twitterverse is aware of the various formats available — found at the bottom of that page — of the issue. In my tweets, would tag you and Thomas Hunt, and either tag B. if he’s on Twitter or credit B. for making the connection between Nicola and Joe.
There looks to have been a colony from Siculiana in Quebec much earlier on than I realized, too. I have found records that suggest it was a destination for Siculianesi by the 1910s. Have you seen anything about the history of the Siculianesi in Montreal and how far back they go?
Nick Gentile went to Quebec with a man from Ribera circa late 1910s and he usually traveled to places that had a strong Agrigento or Siculiana mafia connection. I wonder if there were mafia members living in Quebec when he visited. If so and they were from Siculiana and neighboring towns, it's another indication the Bonannos didn't randomly pull together a Montreal crew in 1952, but may have absorbed or re-organized something that existed in Montreal earlier.
Looking forward to reading the new Informer issue.
Re: Mafia history and Nicola Gentile
Finally went through the Gentile Informer issue. A great resource for anyone who has yet to read Gentile on their own, with a lot of great follow-up research even for those of us who have.
Notes I made while reading:
- Interesting they believe Joe l'Alcamese could be Giuseppe Adragna. Given his age (b. 1866) he might have also been involved with the "Adragna gang" of Trapani province who were mentioned in the 1896 Castellammare investigation, with CDG leaders the Ingaglias said to have hid the "Adragna gang" on their property. Joe Adragna's sons would be members in the Bonanno, Pittsburgh, and San Jose families, so I suspect Adragna was a Bonanno member given his residence in Williamsburg. It would make sense if he had his own ties to Pittsburgh as well given two of his sons did, ala Joe l'Alcamese.
- Was already familiar with the 1952 Tony Messina murder in Baltimore, but had no idea he was Vincent Mangano's cousin. Have to wonder if Anastasia had him killed as a follow-up to the Mangano murders. Gentile saying Settimo Accardo did it adds a strange dimension... Accardo's mafioso brother Giuseppe came to the US on the same ship as Manfredi Mineo.
- Francesco Coppola's 1970s interview where he describes Gentile as a great advisor who younger bosses should have listened to... while a lot of Gentile's details have been corroborated, this is the first time I'm aware of that another mafia figure (Coppola being an important one) acknowledges what Gentile said about himself as a great mediator/advisor in the early mafia.
- Gentile said Phil Amari was in contact with Salvatore Luciano and Joe Adonis Doto after his return to Italy. Shows that Gentile was familiar with the DeCavalcante family. The DeCavalcantes had been represented on the Commission by the Genovese family so interesting he reached out to deported Genovese leaders.
- The Vincenzo "LoLaddo" in Montreal from Gentile's address book might be Vincenzo LoLordo (b. 1876) from Siculiana who lived in Montreal.
- Amazed how much of his address book is guys from WNY. Most of the WNY names are unfamiliar except the Utica Falcones and Sam Scro. Also Angelo D'Acquisto might be Buffalo underboss Angelo Acquisto. Amedeo Sciortino in Auburn could be a relative of Patsy Sciortino of Auburn, from Cattolica Eraclea, so another Agrigento connection. The address books appear to be filled with Agrigentini.
- Having Joe Cateriniccha's address in Birmingham is yet another confirmation that he was an important figure in the Birmingham family and the Birmingham Riberesi were part of the Agrigentini network Gentile was part of.
- Alfonso Attardi's mother was a Contrera. Also a Cleveland Contrera is listed in Gentile's address book. Given where Attardi was from in Agrigento, this is probably a variation of Cuntrera.
- Domenico Catalano of Chicago stood out, as he was from Ciminna. The infamous Salvatore Catalano of the Bonanno family was from Ciminna and his cousins Onofrio and Salvatore Catalano were men of honor in the Ciminna family, with Onofrio becoming boss. Could be a relation.
- This came out in the FBI files section, but Nino Cucuzzella was a cousin of the Chicago/DeCavalcante LoLordos and his son lived in Delaware where he had a gambling arrest, remaining in contact with relative Joseph LoLordo. Given Nino Cucuzzella lived in New York for a period, he could have been an early DeCavalcante member given his Riberese heritage. His son could have been a DeCavalcante figure in Delaware for all we know, too.
- I don't think the KC Vincent Mangiaracina was the "Salvatore Mangiaracina" mentioned by Gentile as a Castellammarese War peace committee member. Seems more likely it was Bonanno member Salvatore Mangiaracina from Partinico (b. 1886) who was a relative of Stefano LoPiccolo. Stefano Magaddino ran into LoPiccolo on the train ride to Chicago at the end of the Castellammarese War, so he may have been involved in high-level mafia politics himself, and in the Bonanno movie they make Mangiaracina out to be a figure of importance. Mangiaracina was also a frequent traveler back and forth to Sicily, which is typical for figures of influence back then.
- Doesn't mention Gentile's nephew Giuseppe Gentile being a mafia figure in Vancouver in later decades. As far as I know, Antimafia and I discovered this connection, so on an ego level I'm glad it wasn't mentioned haha. I did learn that Giuseppe's father Gerlando Gentile lived in NYC for a period, so it's possible Gerlando and Giuseppe's official mafia affiliation dates back to this connection. We know Giuseppe Gentile was closely linked to the Bonanno Montreal crew despite his Vancouver location.
--
Highly recommend this issue to anyone whether you have read Gentile's memoirs or not.
Notes I made while reading:
- Interesting they believe Joe l'Alcamese could be Giuseppe Adragna. Given his age (b. 1866) he might have also been involved with the "Adragna gang" of Trapani province who were mentioned in the 1896 Castellammare investigation, with CDG leaders the Ingaglias said to have hid the "Adragna gang" on their property. Joe Adragna's sons would be members in the Bonanno, Pittsburgh, and San Jose families, so I suspect Adragna was a Bonanno member given his residence in Williamsburg. It would make sense if he had his own ties to Pittsburgh as well given two of his sons did, ala Joe l'Alcamese.
- Was already familiar with the 1952 Tony Messina murder in Baltimore, but had no idea he was Vincent Mangano's cousin. Have to wonder if Anastasia had him killed as a follow-up to the Mangano murders. Gentile saying Settimo Accardo did it adds a strange dimension... Accardo's mafioso brother Giuseppe came to the US on the same ship as Manfredi Mineo.
- Francesco Coppola's 1970s interview where he describes Gentile as a great advisor who younger bosses should have listened to... while a lot of Gentile's details have been corroborated, this is the first time I'm aware of that another mafia figure (Coppola being an important one) acknowledges what Gentile said about himself as a great mediator/advisor in the early mafia.
- Gentile said Phil Amari was in contact with Salvatore Luciano and Joe Adonis Doto after his return to Italy. Shows that Gentile was familiar with the DeCavalcante family. The DeCavalcantes had been represented on the Commission by the Genovese family so interesting he reached out to deported Genovese leaders.
- The Vincenzo "LoLaddo" in Montreal from Gentile's address book might be Vincenzo LoLordo (b. 1876) from Siculiana who lived in Montreal.
- Amazed how much of his address book is guys from WNY. Most of the WNY names are unfamiliar except the Utica Falcones and Sam Scro. Also Angelo D'Acquisto might be Buffalo underboss Angelo Acquisto. Amedeo Sciortino in Auburn could be a relative of Patsy Sciortino of Auburn, from Cattolica Eraclea, so another Agrigento connection. The address books appear to be filled with Agrigentini.
- Having Joe Cateriniccha's address in Birmingham is yet another confirmation that he was an important figure in the Birmingham family and the Birmingham Riberesi were part of the Agrigentini network Gentile was part of.
- Alfonso Attardi's mother was a Contrera. Also a Cleveland Contrera is listed in Gentile's address book. Given where Attardi was from in Agrigento, this is probably a variation of Cuntrera.
- Domenico Catalano of Chicago stood out, as he was from Ciminna. The infamous Salvatore Catalano of the Bonanno family was from Ciminna and his cousins Onofrio and Salvatore Catalano were men of honor in the Ciminna family, with Onofrio becoming boss. Could be a relation.
- This came out in the FBI files section, but Nino Cucuzzella was a cousin of the Chicago/DeCavalcante LoLordos and his son lived in Delaware where he had a gambling arrest, remaining in contact with relative Joseph LoLordo. Given Nino Cucuzzella lived in New York for a period, he could have been an early DeCavalcante member given his Riberese heritage. His son could have been a DeCavalcante figure in Delaware for all we know, too.
- I don't think the KC Vincent Mangiaracina was the "Salvatore Mangiaracina" mentioned by Gentile as a Castellammarese War peace committee member. Seems more likely it was Bonanno member Salvatore Mangiaracina from Partinico (b. 1886) who was a relative of Stefano LoPiccolo. Stefano Magaddino ran into LoPiccolo on the train ride to Chicago at the end of the Castellammarese War, so he may have been involved in high-level mafia politics himself, and in the Bonanno movie they make Mangiaracina out to be a figure of importance. Mangiaracina was also a frequent traveler back and forth to Sicily, which is typical for figures of influence back then.
- Doesn't mention Gentile's nephew Giuseppe Gentile being a mafia figure in Vancouver in later decades. As far as I know, Antimafia and I discovered this connection, so on an ego level I'm glad it wasn't mentioned haha. I did learn that Giuseppe's father Gerlando Gentile lived in NYC for a period, so it's possible Gerlando and Giuseppe's official mafia affiliation dates back to this connection. We know Giuseppe Gentile was closely linked to the Bonanno Montreal crew despite his Vancouver location.
--
Highly recommend this issue to anyone whether you have read Gentile's memoirs or not.
Re: Mafia history and Nicola Gentile
I'm providing some vital records for Nick Gentile's parents per one of my posts from yesterday in the Vancouver "mafia" under Joe Gentile thread.
Below is the death record for Antonino Gentile, father of Nick. I've gleaned from it that Antonino died January 18, 1908 in Siculiana when he was 65 years old. Other Ancestry users show him being born in Siculiana on September 21, 1842, but I don't have a birth record yet. Antonino's parents were Vincenzo Gentile and Isabella Modica Amore, both of Siculiana.
Below is the birth record for Maria Zarbo, mother of Nick. Maria was born in Siculiana on October 31, 1852. Her date of baptism is November 1, as it was typical at that time for baptisms to occur the day after birth. Her parents, Nicolo Zarbo and Giovanna Sciara, are identified on the record.
Below is the death record for Maria. Her date of death is July 2, 1934. She died in Siculiana at the age of 81. Again her parents are identified on the record -- both of them dead by now -- with the information that Nicolo must have predeceased Giovanna because the latter is identified as a widow.
Below is the death record for Antonino Gentile, father of Nick. I've gleaned from it that Antonino died January 18, 1908 in Siculiana when he was 65 years old. Other Ancestry users show him being born in Siculiana on September 21, 1842, but I don't have a birth record yet. Antonino's parents were Vincenzo Gentile and Isabella Modica Amore, both of Siculiana.
Below is the birth record for Maria Zarbo, mother of Nick. Maria was born in Siculiana on October 31, 1852. Her date of baptism is November 1, as it was typical at that time for baptisms to occur the day after birth. Her parents, Nicolo Zarbo and Giovanna Sciara, are identified on the record.
Below is the death record for Maria. Her date of death is July 2, 1934. She died in Siculiana at the age of 81. Again her parents are identified on the record -- both of them dead by now -- with the information that Nicolo must have predeceased Giovanna because the latter is identified as a widow.