Los Angeles odds & ends

[MightyDR]

When he testified at the Kefauver Hearings, Rosselli mentioned his “uncle” Anthony D’ACunto. He said he introduced Rosselli to Paul Ricca when Rosselli was a kid and also to Joe Esposito later on.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id= ... up&seq=391

[PolackTony]

Here's the info I have for D'Acunto. Per his death index entry, the Anthony D'Acunto who died in LA in 1930 was born about 1877. This should be the same guy who was listed as "Antoney G. D'Acunto" when he married his wife (Jane Beggs, of AR) in LA in 1917. The marriage document states that his father was Matteo D'Acunto and his mother "Carmela Victri". Anthony D'Acunta also registered for the draft in LA in 1917 (living with his wife Jane) and in that document stated that he was born in March, 1876, in Italy. In the 1920 census, Anthony D'Acunta was living in LA and stated that he arrived in the US 1896. An Antonio D'Acunto and a Matteo D'Acunto both arrived in NYC via Naples in 1896 and the Antonio D'Acunta was the right age (states born 1878 in the passenger list). This Antonio D'Acunta apparently was from Minturno, in the extreme south of Lazio on the border with Campania. A bunch of immigrants from around Minturno also settled in New England, so a Boston connection wouldn't be far off. As I noted above, there was an Antonio D'Acunto naturalized in Chicago in 1903, but his date and place of birth (beyond "Italy") were not given. Piscopo told the Feds that Roselli was Neapolitan like himself, but per an 8-page outline of his life that Roselli drafted for immigration authorities cited in a 1977 NY Times article following Roselli's death, he was born in Esperia, a small comune in Frosinone, Lazio (not that far from Minturno). EDIT: Per documentary evidence, Roselli was indeed born in Esperia, in 1905, to Vincenzo and Maria Sacco. Roselli arrived in the US as Filippo Sacco in 1911 via NYC. Vincenzo Sacco died in 1918 in Boston, but I was unable to verify Roselli's "stepfather" cited below).

While one has to take Roselli's account of his own past here with a grain of salt, this is an excerpt from the Times article describing Roselli's early career:

He dropped out of school after the seventh grade, later went to New York for three months where he took the name John Morgan, and then drifted to Chicago.

In Chicago he made contact with the Mafia and was told that if he wanted to become a member he would have to have a more Italian name than John Morgan. He chose to call himself John Rosselli after Cosimo Rosselli “who finished the Sistine Chapel after Michelangelo,” he wrote in the outline. “I read the name in the encyclopedia.”

The Chicago bosses impressed with the young man's acuity, sent him to Los Angeles, where he did well for them and himself until he went to prison in 1943 for extorting money from movie studios and theater chains. When he was released from jail in 1947, Mr. Rosselli began spending more time in Las Vegas.

Eventually he became known as the head fixer in the gambling capital, but though he gained prestige his bosses back in Chicago became dissatisfied and sent him to Los Angeles.

[B.]

Thanks guys. Fun to have everyone chip in.

So D'Acunto appears to have married a non-Italian, par for the course with some of the mafia connections we're seeing. If he married his wife in November 1917, it's not far from his elderly wife's recollection of meeting him in 1918. Courtship may have been short and they were married late in the year.

There is a newspaper reference to an Anthony D. D'Acunto (different middle initial) being admitted to a sanitarium near Los Angeles in 1929, the year before "our" Anthony D'Acunto died. Curious if the middle initial was a mistake and he had a deteriorating condition that resulted in hospitalization before he died.

If both D'Acunto and Roselli were from Lazio that would add to the affinity they had for each other, i.e. "uncle".

[B.]

While one has to take Roselli's account of his own past here with a grain of salt, this is an excerpt from the Times article describing Roselli's early career:

He dropped out of school after the seventh grade, later went to New York for three months where he took the name John Morgan, and then drifted to Chicago.

In Chicago he made contact with the Mafia and was told that if he wanted to become a member he would have to have a more Italian name than John Morgan. He chose to call himself John Rosselli after Cosimo Rosselli “who finished the Sistine Chapel after Michelangelo,” he wrote in the outline. “I read the name in the encyclopedia.”

The Chicago bosses impressed with the young man's acuity, sent him to Los Angeles, where he did well for them and himself until he went to prison in 1943 for extorting money from movie studios and theater chains. When he was released from jail in 1947, Mr. Rosselli began spending more time in Las Vegas.

Eventually he became known as the head fixer in the gambling capital, but though he gained prestige his bosses back in Chicago became dissatisfied and sent him to Los Angeles.

In Last Mafioso, Fratianno says Roselli took orders from "Chicago boss" Frank Nitti, but says when Roselli was released from prison in 1947 he "rejoined" Jack Dragna, implying he had previously been with Dragna. Whether this means he simply met back up with Dragna after his prison sentence or he had an earlier history of transferring back and forth between LA and Chicago isn't clear.

What is consistent in all of these accounts is that Roselli was subservient to Chicago but that doesn't necessarily mean he was officially affiliated with them, as we see similar relationships in other families. These politics are always of interest to me.

[Villain]

My personal opinion is that Roselli either started as associate for Outfit or as some type of soldier, and then he was transferred to LA as official member. After the Hollywood case or in 1957, he transferred his membership to Chicago. Similar story was with Pinelli who started in Chicago and later or in 1945 landed in LA but in 1952 he was brought back under the Outfit as their capo in Indiana. By 1964/65 Pinelli officially transferred his membership to the LA fam.

[Villain]

....in addition, i forgot to mention that after the Hollywood case (1943-1947) Roselli was still with the LA fam (for almost ten years) but Giancanas reign in 1957 changed his membership and Roselli joined the Outfit. When Giancana fled the country, by 1967 Roselli was under LaPortes jurisdiction, the boss of the Chi Heights group.

After the Hollywood case, it is possible Roselli knew that some heads were going to roll and so it seems he stayed with Dragna until the smoke cleared in Chicago. Also dont forget that it was Roselli who introduced Giancana to the CIA.

[B.]

Good take. We know bosses were much more permissive of transfers earlier on as long as formal rules were followed. That was what they used against Fratianno later -- claimed he didn't follow proper protocol (along with other behind the scenes issues, but these guys often justify decisions using the formal rules even if there is more to it).

A guy like Roselli probably wasn't too different from Nick Gentile where he was close to bosses in multiple families and may have been able to choose where he wanted to belong depending on the politics of the day, though Roselli wasn't as nomadic as Gentile. Seems his 1950s transfer was easy while Fratianno's was not. "Your reputation will become your currency."

We can see what happened when Roselli lost his reputation, too. They gave him a different kind of "transfer".

[Ed]

I just checked and the source who said Moretti was the "Eastern representantive for the Ricca family" is the same Lucchese member who told the FBI that Roselli had acted as "sottocapo" (his term) in LA. So it is an NYC member source saying Moretti held this relationship with Chicago. Not that his info is 100% correct but his alleged membership gives him more weight.

This is of interest to Los Angeles:

On August 19, 1966 NY 1839-C-TE, an admitted member
of the LUCHESE 'family" of LCN, advised SA ANTHONY R. VILLANO
of the following information concerning subject.

Informant advised that he first met ROSSELLI many
years ago and was aware that ROSSELLI was originally from
Chicago and had an uncle who was an old time Mafiosa.

According to informant, ROSSELLI started in "the rackets" at
the age of 15 and was at an early age associated with AL
CAPONE. Informant said during the mid 1940s ROSSELLI received
a 10 year sentence for extortion in connection with the movie
industry and that also involved in this extortion was PAUL RICCA,
JOE DIAMOND (deceased), CHARLIE JOY (deceased), and LOUIS
COMPAGNA (deceased).

Informant said previously ROSSELLI was sent to
Los Angeles by RICCA, acted as a "sottocapo" and took over
Los Angeles and extended his influence to Las Vegas.

Again it's not necessarily fact, but good to get a perspective on Roselli from a Lucchese guy who says he served time with Roselli in Atlanta between 1943 and 1946/47. He said Roselli kept a girlfriend in NYC and was close to Frank Costello, Tommy Lucchese, and Vito Genovese. The informant met with Roselli in NYC. Roselli was also in contact with Lucchese member Pete Beck DiPalermo.

As in the excerpt Antiliar posted, he describes Moretti as "Eastern representantive" for Chicago and "contact man" for Roselli. Roselli became upset because Moretti was telling people about his contacts with Roselli. He says Roselli was also close to Genovese figures Mike Coppola and Tony Salerno. A lot of Genovese/Chicago connections swimming around Roselli, giving an impression he helped facilitate contact between them. Roselli's contact with Tommy Lucchese and DiPalermo could come through his affiliation with LA, who were represented by Lucchese.

I know Rat Trap has been eager to uncover this informant for years but his identity still mysterious. He was serving time in Atlanta from at least 1943-1947 and may have been a member before that. As of now his info is def not throwaway, though, and could give us insight into some of these relationships.

I have a strong candidate in mind. I need to confirm his date of death first, though.

[Villain]

According to one file, Roselli was allegedly introduced by Esposito to the Capone gang. Esposito was allegedly a member of the old Mafia in Chicago, possibly the D'Aquila regime... just my two cents...

[motorfab]

Good infos guys,

I always wondered who really sent Roselli to California.

I didn't know about Esposito, if the info is true.

[Antiliar]

My take is that Rosselli was made into the Los Angeles brugad and remained with L.A. until he transferred to Chicago after Dragna died. Based on a timeline of events he was in Chicago for a few months sometime between 1922 and early 1924. Capone wasn't the boss yet, Torrio was at that time. He apparently didn't meet Capone until 1927. He apparently met Joe Esposito and Paul Ricca before he met Capone. By 1925 he was with Tony Cornero doing bootlegging and then worked for Jimmy Costa (the same Jimmy Costa that Joe Bonanno visited when he vacationed in California). Maybe Costa sponsored him to be made (he could have been made under Ardizzone or Dragna), and then was direct to Dragna. In the Hollywood studios he was under Pat Casey, and Dragna often met with him in his office. The Hollywood extortion scheme was a cooperative venture between Chicago, Los Angeles, the Lucky Luciano Family, Kansas City, and the Jewish leaders Meyer Lansky, Lepke Buchalter, and Longy Zwillman. Frank Nitto ran the scheme and he was responsible for Willie Bioff. Rosselli was in the scheme for the Los Angeles Family, and in the scheme he operated under Nitto. However, there was at least one time that Willie Bioff tried to extort one of Rosselli's producer friends (I think it was Harry Cohn) and Rosselli threatened Bioff (which shows that when Chicago's interests conflicted with L.A.'s, he defended L.A.).

As for Anthony D'Acunto, I think he was an associate at best.

[InCamelot]

Guys,

After Benjamin Sigel did any Genovese members have direct contact with criminal associates in LA? (not counting those who reported to the Outfit)

[B.]

Great breakdown and insight, Antiliar. I have to agree about Roselli though I have no clue about D'Acunto. D'Acunto was employed as a "broker" and his wife said he was dignified, while she said at that time Roselli was more rough and crass. Roselli later had a rep for being dignified and polished himself so maybe she gives us a rare look into the evolution of Roselli from street hoodlum to mafioso.

-

A good question would be when Los Angeles opened up to members from non-Sicilian or non-traditional backgrounds. San Francisco and San Jose were more traditional and Sicilian (San Jose did promote some Calabrians from Pittsburgh later), but Jack Dragna in LA gravitated toward non-Sicilians like Roselli and Fratianno, among others.

What's interesting is Dragna had roots with the Corleonese in NYC and the Lucchese family also moved away from traditional recruitment quicker than comparable families. Maybe they shared the same outlook or were just doing what they felt was necessary to grow the organization.

Fratianno said he was told by Dragna himself that Dragna became a made member in 1914. That's the same year Dragna came back to the US from Corleone, so he could have been made in Sicily right before he left or in the US right after he returned.

[Antiliar]

Great breakdown and insight, Antiliar. I have to agree about Roselli though I have no clue about D'Acunto. D'Acunto was employed as a "broker" and his wife said he was dignified, while she said at that time Roselli was more rough and crass. Roselli later had a rep for being dignified and polished himself so maybe she gives us a rare look into the evolution of Roselli from street hoodlum to mafioso.

-

A good question would be when Los Angeles opened up to members from non-Sicilian or non-traditional backgrounds. San Francisco and San Jose were more traditional and Sicilian (San Jose did promote some Calabrians from Pittsburgh later), but Jack Dragna in LA gravitated toward non-Sicilians like Roselli and Fratianno, among others.

What's interesting is Dragna had roots with the Corleonese in NYC and the Lucchese family also moved away from traditional recruitment quicker than comparable families. Maybe they shared the same outlook or were just doing what they felt was necessary to grow the organization.

Fratianno said he was told by Dragna himself that Dragna became a made member in 1914. That's the same year Dragna came back to the US from Corleone, so he could have been made in Sicily right before he left or in the US right after he returned.

Rosselli could have very well been the first non-Sicilian made into the L.A. Family. If Dragna waited until 1947/48 (the book has 1947, but in a deposition Fratianno was less certain of the year) to make anymore, that's a pretty long wait. I think every New York borgata had several non-Sicilians by 1931. Eugene Ubriaco could have been the first in the Genovese Family in the 1910s.

[InCamelot]

My take is that Rosselli was made into the Los Angeles brugad and remained with L.A. until he transferred to Chicago after Dragna died. Based on a timeline of events he was in Chicago for a few months sometime between 1922 and early 1924. Capone wasn't the boss yet, Torrio was at that time. He apparently didn't meet Capone until 1927. He apparently met Joe Esposito and Paul Ricca before he met Capone. By 1925 he was with Tony Cornero doing bootlegging and then worked for Jimmy Costa (the same Jimmy Costa that Joe Bonanno visited when he vacationed in California). Maybe Costa sponsored him to be made (he could have been made under Ardizzone or Dragna), and then was direct to Dragna. In the Hollywood studios he was under Pat Casey, and Dragna often met with him in his office. The Hollywood extortion scheme was a cooperative venture between Chicago, Los Angeles, the Lucky Luciano Family, Kansas City, and the Jewish leaders Meyer Lansky, Lepke Buchalter, and Longy Zwillman. Frank Nitto ran the scheme and he was responsible for Willie Bioff. Rosselli was in the scheme for the Los Angeles Family, and in the scheme he operated under Nitto. However, there was at least one time that Willie Bioff tried to extort one of Rosselli's producer friends (I think it was Harry Cohn) and Rosselli threatened Bioff (which shows that when Chicago's interests conflicted with L.A.'s, he defended L.A.).

As for Anthony D'Acunto, I think he was an associate at best.

Who represented the Luciano family in the Hollywood extortion scheme?