Harlem 1930s-1970s

[Stroccos]

Question:
With Harlem being such a Corleonesi stronghold, how did the Luciano Family come to dominate the area (as far as the rackets)? At least it appears that way. Wouldn't the Gagliano/Lucchese's have had a headstart? Was Ciro Terranova not apart of the same Corleone network?

The Luciano family was able to dominate this territory because it itself included Corleonesi elements, the same ones that formed the core of the Morello family. Ciro Terranova and Giuseppe Morello himself were co-founders of the Masseria family/Luciano family/Genovese family, it was the attempt of Morello and his brothers to seize power in the Morello family after Morello's return from prison that led to a civil war in the family, and subsequently those who were Morello loyalists formed the Masseria family. Some of the Corleonesi in Harlem joined the Masseria family, and Ciro Terranova was appointed captain over this crew. That is, whoever was in power here in the 1900s remained in the 1920s, but the family began to be called differently. The people are about the same.

I know that the moblore says that Terranova was demoted for an alledged cowardice as a getaway driver during a hit and subsequently to take control of the artichoke business but do we know it ethno-politics played a part in his lose of power as well? Was the 116th street crew Corleonese dominated during Trigger Mike Coppola's reign as caporegime?

I'm not sure about the veracity of the story about the Terranova driver, although I don't rule it out.

After Terranova's demotion, the influence of the Corleonesi in the crew seems to be weakening. The main crew members in the 1960s were not Corleonesi. Fat Tony Salerno was from San Fratello, Messina, Benny Squint Lombardo was apparently from Marsala, Trapani. Joseph Stracci was also from San Fratello, Messina, Frank Livorsi was from Nicosia, Enna. Michael Coppola himself was not Sicilian. However, there were Corleonesi in the crew. This, for example, is the grandfather and namesake of the current Genovese boss, Liborio Bellomo.

The father of Liborio Bellomo, the current boss, Salvatore Bellomo, was probably also a soldier in this crew. He was close to Fat Tony and before he died, he asked him to look after Barney Bellomo. Barney Bellomo was adopted into the family and rose to the rank of captain of the 116th Street crew in a short time. Then he will become the acting boss, and by 2014 the official boss. Bellomo is a Corleonesi, and led a family founded by the Corleonesi.

Bellomo's grandfather, Liborio, was likely related to Morello himself when he was boss. And now this family is headed by the grandson Liborio. I'm not sure if his Corleone origins played a role in Barney Bellomo's rise, but as a rule, young leaders in the mafia have a long history of their family's involvement in mafia affairs. We see many other members with very deep roots in the mafia who achieve high positions. So the Corleonesi, no matter how surprising it may be, have not yet completely disappeared from the Genovese family, although there are very few of them left.

you got anything on a guy name lanza , the fbi stated in the court filings for the trial in the mid 80's with rockman and tronolone from cleveland that Salerno reported to a guy named lanza before he become a upper ranks .
the only lanza i see wiht a quick search is joe socks lanza ,

[Brovelli]

Question:
With Harlem being such a Corleonesi stronghold, how did the Luciano Family come to dominate the area (as far as the rackets)? At least it appears that way. Wouldn't the Gagliano/Lucchese's have had a headstart? Was Ciro Terranova not apart of the same Corleone network?

The Luciano family was able to dominate this territory because it itself included Corleonesi elements, the same ones that formed the core of the Morello family. Ciro Terranova and Giuseppe Morello himself were co-founders of the Masseria family/Luciano family/Genovese family, it was the attempt of Morello and his brothers to seize power in the Morello family after Morello's return from prison that led to a civil war in the family, and subsequently those who were Morello loyalists formed the Masseria family. Some of the Corleonesi in Harlem joined the Masseria family, and Ciro Terranova was appointed captain over this crew. That is, whoever was in power here in the 1900s remained in the 1920s, but the family began to be called differently. The people are about the same.

I know that the moblore says that Terranova was demoted for an alledged cowardice as a getaway driver during a hit and subsequently to take control of the artichoke business but do we know it ethno-politics played a part in his lose of power as well? Was the 116th street crew Corleonese dominated during Trigger Mike Coppola's reign as caporegime?

I'm not sure about the veracity of the story about the Terranova driver, although I don't rule it out.

After Terranova's demotion, the influence of the Corleonesi in the crew seems to be weakening. The main crew members in the 1960s were not Corleonesi. Fat Tony Salerno was from San Fratello, Messina, Benny Squint Lombardo was apparently from Marsala, Trapani. Joseph Stracci was also from San Fratello, Messina, Frank Livorsi was from Nicosia, Enna. Michael Coppola himself was not Sicilian. However, there were Corleonesi in the crew. This, for example, is the grandfather and namesake of the current Genovese boss, Liborio Bellomo.

The father of Liborio Bellomo, the current boss, Salvatore Bellomo, was probably also a soldier in this crew. He was close to Fat Tony and before he died, he asked him to look after Barney Bellomo. Barney Bellomo was adopted into the family and rose to the rank of captain of the 116th Street crew in a short time. Then he will become the acting boss, and by 2014 the official boss. Bellomo is a Corleonesi, and led a family founded by the Corleonesi.

Bellomo's grandfather, Liborio, was likely related to Morello himself when he was boss. And now this family is headed by the grandson Liborio. I'm not sure if his Corleone origins played a role in Barney Bellomo's rise, but as a rule, young leaders in the mafia have a long history of their family's involvement in mafia affairs. We see many other members with very deep roots in the mafia who achieve high positions. So the Corleonesi, no matter how surprising it may be, have not yet completely disappeared from the Genovese family, although there are very few of them left.

Whether true or not that guy frank fiordilino claimed he met Barney in prison who asked him about being Sicilian and Barney told him he was born in corleone

[Brovelli]

Question:
With Harlem being such a Corleonesi stronghold, how did the Luciano Family come to dominate the area (as far as the rackets)? At least it appears that way. Wouldn't the Gagliano/Lucchese's have had a headstart? Was Ciro Terranova not apart of the same Corleone network?

The Luciano family was able to dominate this territory because it itself included Corleonesi elements, the same ones that formed the core of the Morello family. Ciro Terranova and Giuseppe Morello himself were co-founders of the Masseria family/Luciano family/Genovese family, it was the attempt of Morello and his brothers to seize power in the Morello family after Morello's return from prison that led to a civil war in the family, and subsequently those who were Morello loyalists formed the Masseria family. Some of the Corleonesi in Harlem joined the Masseria family, and Ciro Terranova was appointed captain over this crew. That is, whoever was in power here in the 1900s remained in the 1920s, but the family began to be called differently. The people are about the same.

I'm very uneducated on the Morello civil war as you call it. Was it a faction led by Reina that split from Morello leadership?

I highly recommend giving our own mob archeologists a listen.

https://youtu.be/TIbB4Q6x-f8?si=gyWwlQs2lWklv3C0

This video goes into detail on the split of the Morello/Corleonesi into the Genovese and Lucchese family.

I’ve watched all the videos so almost certainly seen this but wil give another watch!

[Don_Peppino]

I'm not sure about the veracity of the story about the Terranova driver, although I don't rule it out.

After Terranova's demotion, the influence of the Corleonesi in the crew seems to be weakening. The main crew members in the 1960s were not Corleonesi. Fat Tony Salerno was from San Fratello, Messina, Benny Squint Lombardo was apparently from Marsala, Trapani. Joseph Stracci was also from San Fratello, Messina, Frank Livorsi was from Nicosia, Enna. Michael Coppola himself was not Sicilian. However, there were Corleonesi in the crew. This, for example, is the grandfather and namesake of the current Genovese boss, Liborio Bellomo.

The father of Liborio Bellomo, the current boss, Salvatore Bellomo, was probably also a soldier in this crew. He was close to Fat Tony and before he died, he asked him to look after Barney Bellomo. Barney Bellomo was adopted into the family and rose to the rank of captain of the 116th Street crew in a short time. Then he will become the acting boss, and by 2014 the official boss. Bellomo is a Corleonesi, and led a family founded by the Corleonesi.

Bellomo's grandfather, Liborio, was likely related to Morello himself when he was boss. And now this family is headed by the grandson Liborio. I'm not sure if his Corleone origins played a role in Barney Bellomo's rise, but as a rule, young leaders in the mafia have a long history of their family's involvement in mafia affairs. We see many other members with very deep roots in the mafia who achieve high positions. So the Corleonesi, no matter how surprising it may be, have not yet completely disappeared from the Genovese family, although there are very few of them left.

Based on what you layed out here, it appears the power in the Genovese Family comes out of the 116th street crew historically?

[Don_Peppino]

Lightbulb moment on the Gambino/Lucchese alliance

Along with both being from Palermo, they likely formed their relationship when Gambino lived in the Bronx.

Another lightbulb moment. I saw in one of the other threads about the Gambino brothers origins in the Bronx but never looked too deep into it. But it makes alot of sense seeing as Frabk Scalise had a power base in the Bronx. Did did the Arthur "Chink" Leo crew come out of the Scalise crew?

[Don_Peppino]

Question:
With Harlem being such a Corleonesi stronghold, how did the Luciano Family come to dominate the area (as far as the rackets)? At least it appears that way. Wouldn't the Gagliano/Lucchese's have had a headstart? Was Ciro Terranova not apart of the same Corleone network?

The Luciano family was able to dominate this territory because it itself included Corleonesi elements, the same ones that formed the core of the Morello family. Ciro Terranova and Giuseppe Morello himself were co-founders of the Masseria family/Luciano family/Genovese family, it was the attempt of Morello and his brothers to seize power in the Morello family after Morello's return from prison that led to a civil war in the family, and subsequently those who were Morello loyalists formed the Masseria family. Some of the Corleonesi in Harlem joined the Masseria family, and Ciro Terranova was appointed captain over this crew. That is, whoever was in power here in the 1900s remained in the 1920s, but the family began to be called differently. The people are about the same.

I know that the moblore says that Terranova was demoted for an alledged cowardice as a getaway driver during a hit and subsequently to take control of the artichoke business but do we know it ethno-politics played a part in his lose of power as well? Was the 116th street crew Corleonese dominated during Trigger Mike Coppola's reign as caporegime?

I'm reading Valachi's stuff now and just read around that time period. I think Terranova still held power for a while after the murder event. Dutch Schultz was with him and they held huge power in the numbers. Schultz was killed 1935 and Terranova died I think 1936 maybe. The numbers I believe ended up being with Fat Tony eventually so I guess it stayed with that crew. Not sure what politics led to Schultz murder and Terranova being taken down

Here's some articles on on Terranova and Schultz from 1935

[quadtree]

I'm not sure about the veracity of the story about the Terranova driver, although I don't rule it out.

After Terranova's demotion, the influence of the Corleonesi in the crew seems to be weakening. The main crew members in the 1960s were not Corleonesi. Fat Tony Salerno was from San Fratello, Messina, Benny Squint Lombardo was apparently from Marsala, Trapani. Joseph Stracci was also from San Fratello, Messina, Frank Livorsi was from Nicosia, Enna. Michael Coppola himself was not Sicilian. However, there were Corleonesi in the crew. This, for example, is the grandfather and namesake of the current Genovese boss, Liborio Bellomo.

The father of Liborio Bellomo, the current boss, Salvatore Bellomo, was probably also a soldier in this crew. He was close to Fat Tony and before he died, he asked him to look after Barney Bellomo. Barney Bellomo was adopted into the family and rose to the rank of captain of the 116th Street crew in a short time. Then he will become the acting boss, and by 2014 the official boss. Bellomo is a Corleonesi, and led a family founded by the Corleonesi.

Bellomo's grandfather, Liborio, was likely related to Morello himself when he was boss. And now this family is headed by the grandson Liborio. I'm not sure if his Corleone origins played a role in Barney Bellomo's rise, but as a rule, young leaders in the mafia have a long history of their family's involvement in mafia affairs. We see many other members with very deep roots in the mafia who achieve high positions. So the Corleonesi, no matter how surprising it may be, have not yet completely disappeared from the Genovese family, although there are very few of them left.

Based on what you layed out here, it appears the power in the Genovese Family comes out of the 116th street crew historically?

Exactly. The founder of the family was Giuseppe Morello. Morello was the first known boss of the Corleonesi family in New York, but then he went to prison for counterfeiting and the family's power changed. After Morello was released from prison, he tried to regain his position as boss, but was sentenced to death by capo dei capi D'Aquila.

The Genovese family emerged as a legalized Morello rebel group after the end of the war between Morello and the capo dei capi. The 116th crew stands out among these Morello loyalists in that it was this crew that included his brother Ciro Terranova, and likely other Terranova brothers.

Vincenzo Terranova was an important figure in the early Genovese family, and Ciro was extremely influential and close to Masseria. Morello and this crew are almost synonymous.

So yeah, the 116th crew and that was the -- that's where the Genovese family started. Although there were probably other groups among Morello's rebels.

In this regard, the personality of a native of Sciacca, Accursio DiMino, is especially interesting. He was killed during this conflict, and subsequently his paesani Vincenzo Generoso had the nickname DiMino. In the 1960s, Generoso was listed as captain of the Genovese family. Was there an Agrigento faction in the early Genovese family?

[MichaelGiovanni]

In the May 2014 Informer article there is a sentence that reads "The New York Corleonesi were active in counterfeiting before Morello returned to the Big Apple." This is in reference to the time that Morello and the Terranova's lived briefly in Texas and Louisiana.

This has often made me wonder if there was a group of Mafia Corleonesi that were of prominence before Morello returned. I'm not implying there was a boss before Morello but i think it is safe to say there is a segment of the Corleonesi history that we are not aware of and names that have been lost to history that would add to this story.

[Don_Peppino]

Are there any forum members knowledgeable on the Jewish and Irish element coming into play in the teens and 20's? Curious to see how Arnold Rothstein, Owney Madden and Dutch Schultz fit into the equation before the Luciano (Genovese) Family took over their operations.

[Antiliar]

In the May 2014 Informer article there is a sentence that reads "The New York Corleonesi were active in counterfeiting before Morello returned to the Big Apple." This is in reference to the time that Morello and the Terranova's lived briefly in Texas and Louisiana.

This has often made me wonder if there was a group of Mafia Corleonesi that were of prominence before Morello returned. I'm not implying there was a boss before Morello but i think it is safe to say there is a segment of the Corleonesi history that we are not aware of and names that have been lost to history that would add to this story.

Salvatore Clemente, Stella Frauto and others were involved in counterfeiting in the mid-1890s and they came from Corleone.

[Don_Peppino]

In the May 2014 Informer article there is a sentence that reads "The New York Corleonesi were active in counterfeiting before Morello returned to the Big Apple." This is in reference to the time that Morello and the Terranova's lived briefly in Texas and Louisiana.

This has often made me wonder if there was a group of Mafia Corleonesi that were of prominence before Morello returned. I'm not implying there was a boss before Morello but i think it is safe to say there is a segment of the Corleonesi history that we are not aware of and names that have been lost to history that would add to this story.

Salvatore Clemente, Stella Frauto and others were involved in counterfeiting in the mid-1890s and they came from Corleone.

Antiliar, can you elaborate on the splinter that happens in the Corleonesi and how some become 116th street (Luciano) Genovese Family in harlem vs 107th street (Gagliano) Lucchese Family? I understand both group origins are with Morello.

[B.]

You may be interested in this thread: viewtopic.php?t=12380

Most of the known Corleonesi ended up with the Luccheses and the following are the only known (to me at least) Corleonesi who ended up with the Genovese:

Giuseppe Morello
Ciro Terranova
Liborio Bellomo (probable)
Salvatore Bellomo
Liborio Bellomo (Barney)
Liborio Bellomo (cousin)
John Schillaci
Frank Amato (Dick)
Joseph Gagliano

The only ones who were old enough to transition from Morello Family membership to the Genovese were Morello, Terranova, Liborio Bellomo, and possibly Schillaci and Gagliano although they would have been 22 and 20 respectively so if they were made pre-1923 they weren't Morello members for long. Amato was close in age to them but Valachi confirmed he was sponsored for membership later by Terranova; interestingly he was related to the Bellomos.

Joe Gagliano's affiliation was confusing but it does look like he was with the Genovese under Mike Coppola. Gagliano's affiliation with the Genovese could mean his uncle Angelo Gagliano, who had been an important Morello Family figure, ended up with them as well but Angelo's daughter married future Lucchese consigliere Vincent Rao so he just as well could have been with them.

I recommend the thread I linked at the top though as even though the Lucchese took most of the true Corleonesi, there was a wider network from other interior and eastern Palermo villages that ended up with the Genovese.

[PolackTony]

Just to add an anecdote to illustrate some important neighborhood dynamics that I’ve thought is interesting. I have a close family friend who grew up and lived in East Harlem in the 1930s-1960s. Her family wasn’t connected in any organizational way, though her and her husband knew men like Vincent and Joey Rao very well, along with other prominent men like Vito Marcantonio. I once mentioned something to her about 107th St and she was like “oh, that was all Sicilians back then” (her family is from Avellino, so she made sort of a face lol). Whereas 116 for her was stereotyped as Napolitan’. This was just how she saw the micro-ethnic local dynamics in the community, not related to the mafia but, of course, that was where my mind went to immediately. What little I’ve learned about the genealogies of some of these guys in that neighborhood has confirmed this broad generalization. Apart from the Corleonesi, we also see a cluster of guys from Caltanissetta/Enna around the 107 Luccheses, centered residentially and socially around 107 and 2nd Ave. The blocks around 116th and First/Pleasant, on the other hand, had entire buildings full of paesani from towns in Salerno province (the Sarnese-Nocerino area, which was one of the primary hotbeds of the provincial Camorra in Campania). In the decades after 1930, at least, these granular differences in local settlement were reflected in the makeup of the 107 vs 116 networks. While Corleonesi started both groups, their networks soon grew to encompass their neighbors in these sub-communities within East Harlem.

[Antiliar]

In the May 2014 Informer article there is a sentence that reads "The New York Corleonesi were active in counterfeiting before Morello returned to the Big Apple." This is in reference to the time that Morello and the Terranova's lived briefly in Texas and Louisiana.

This has often made me wonder if there was a group of Mafia Corleonesi that were of prominence before Morello returned. I'm not implying there was a boss before Morello but i think it is safe to say there is a segment of the Corleonesi history that we are not aware of and names that have been lost to history that would add to this story.

Salvatore Clemente, Stella Frauto and others were involved in counterfeiting in the mid-1890s and they came from Corleone.

Antiliar, can you elaborate on the splinter that happens in the Corleonesi and how some become 116th street (Luciano) Genovese Family in harlem vs 107th street (Gagliano) Lucchese Family? I understand both group origins are with Morello.

In addition to what B and Tony wrote, I think it mostly comes down to allegiances. Some were Morello loyalists and others stayed with whomever succeeded Loiacano. We suspect that Tom Reina may have been his immediate successor, but we don't know that. We have a knowledge gap between 1920 and 1930 in the Lucchese Family. By the time that Lucky became boss in 1931 his borgata and the Mangano Family were the two largest, so it's possible that Morello had more loyalists than we give him credit for. We'll probably never know who they were except for a handful of names.

[Brovelli]

Different topic but does anyone know frank costello and Willie morettis crew/path? Were they linked to the Harlem/ Bronx calabrians like Alo, pellegrino, were they linked with terranovas or was this a whole other faction they were within?