Boston 80s?

[davidf1989]

I think after the death of Raymond Senior and the arrest of Angiulo, his brothers and Zannino. Their replacements found it very hard to fill their shoes because Billy Grasso was killed by the renegade faction and the ceremony in Medford which was meant to restore peace was wiretapped thanks to Sonny Mercurio, Flemmi and other informants which led to the arrest of Raymond Junior, Ferrara and Russo. Maybe that situation suited Whitey and Stevie to have the LCN weakened.

[davidf1989]

Maybe one of the informants for the Medford Induction Ceremony was Anthony St. Laurent according to these articles

https://gangsterreport.com/saint-of-new ... der-probe/

http://mattofboston.com/america-we-hard ... ump-94625/

[cavita]

I didn't have much luck posting this on its own so I thought I'd put it in a more specific post:

In looking through the 1980s FBI files of Rockford LCN underboss Frank Buscemi, the attached excerpts indicate that in September 1983 Buscemi was contacting a “ranking Boston Sicilian Maffia figure.” At the time, Buscemi was being investigated for extortionate business practices and his connection to a narcotics distribution network which included Boston, Buffalo, Canada, Sicily, Australia and other U.S. cities and countries. These calls to the Boston figure were in relation to the narcotics network and surprisingly lists the telephone number. I suspect that this ranking Boston figure was capo Salvatore Giglia who, like Buscemi, was born in Aragona, Sicily.

Is there any way somebody can confirm, perhaps through a Boston city directory or other resource, that this phone number does indeed belong to Giglia? This would be a nice connection for me to make.

[Southshore88]

I didn't have much luck posting this on its own so I thought I'd put it in a more specific post:

In looking through the 1980s FBI files of Rockford LCN underboss Frank Buscemi, the attached excerpts indicate that in September 1983 Buscemi was contacting a “ranking Boston Sicilian Maffia figure.” At the time, Buscemi was being investigated for extortionate business practices and his connection to a narcotics distribution network which included Boston, Buffalo, Canada, Sicily, Australia and other U.S. cities and countries. These calls to the Boston figure were in relation to the narcotics network and surprisingly lists the telephone number. I suspect that this ranking Boston figure was capo Salvatore Giglia who, like Buscemi, was born in Aragona, Sicily.

Is there any way somebody can confirm, perhaps through a Boston city directory or other resource, that this phone number does indeed belong to Giglia? This would be a nice connection for me to make.

Cavita, another Aragona/Boston native is Biaggio DiGiacomo. I think he went back to Sicily at some point but believe he could be another name worth investigating

[cavita]

I didn't have much luck posting this on its own so I thought I'd put it in a more specific post:

In looking through the 1980s FBI files of Rockford LCN underboss Frank Buscemi, the attached excerpts indicate that in September 1983 Buscemi was contacting a “ranking Boston Sicilian Maffia figure.” At the time, Buscemi was being investigated for extortionate business practices and his connection to a narcotics distribution network which included Boston, Buffalo, Canada, Sicily, Australia and other U.S. cities and countries. These calls to the Boston figure were in relation to the narcotics network and surprisingly lists the telephone number. I suspect that this ranking Boston figure was capo Salvatore Giglia who, like Buscemi, was born in Aragona, Sicily.

Is there any way somebody can confirm, perhaps through a Boston city directory or other resource, that this phone number does indeed belong to Giglia? This would be a nice connection for me to make.

Cavita, another Aragona/Boston native is Biaggio DiGiacomo. I think he went back to Sicily at some point but believe he could be another name worth investigating

Yes, I've researched Biagio DiGiacomo a bit and I'm confident he's related to the DiGiacomo members in Rockford. I don't think Buscemi was contacting Biagio in 1983 though because the FBI file said it was a ranking member of the Boston LCN and I don't believe Biagio achieved capo status until 1985/1986. Giglia, however, was a capo in 1983.

[Southshore88]

I didn't have much luck posting this on its own so I thought I'd put it in a more specific post:

In looking through the 1980s FBI files of Rockford LCN underboss Frank Buscemi, the attached excerpts indicate that in September 1983 Buscemi was contacting a “ranking Boston Sicilian Maffia figure.” At the time, Buscemi was being investigated for extortionate business practices and his connection to a narcotics distribution network which included Boston, Buffalo, Canada, Sicily, Australia and other U.S. cities and countries. These calls to the Boston figure were in relation to the narcotics network and surprisingly lists the telephone number. I suspect that this ranking Boston figure was capo Salvatore Giglia who, like Buscemi, was born in Aragona, Sicily.

Is there any way somebody can confirm, perhaps through a Boston city directory or other resource, that this phone number does indeed belong to Giglia? This would be a nice connection for me to make.

Cavita, another Aragona/Boston native is Biaggio DiGiacomo. I think he went back to Sicily at some point but believe he could be another name worth investigating

Yes, I've researched Biagio DiGiacomo a bit and I'm confident he's related to the DiGiacomo members in Rockford. I don't think Buscemi was contacting Biagio in 1983 though because the FBI file said it was a ranking member of the Boston LCN and I don't believe Biagio achieved capo status until 1985/1986. Giglia, however, was a capo in 1983.

Thanks for the clarification - I knew Biaggio became a captain in the 80’s but was unsure of the timeline. As a MA native, the Patriarca’s are always of interest to me - but Giglia is one I’m unfamiliar with so look forward to anything you find on him!

[B.]

"Ranking Boston Sicilian Mafia Figure" could just mean a member of importance. I've seen "high-ranking member" used to describe key soldiers in FBI reports. Either way it is most likely DiGiacomo or Giglia. I've mentioned before that DiGiacomo's naturalization was witnessed by a Buscemi from Aragona who lived outside Boston.

[Dapper_Don]

Maybe one of the informants for the Medford Induction Ceremony was Anthony St. Laurent according to these articles

https://gangsterreport.com/saint-of-new ... der-probe/

http://mattofboston.com/america-we-hard ... ump-94625/

i thought it was proven the source for those rumors on St.Laurent was his rival - Bobby DeLuca who himself started those rumors that St.Laurent was bad because St.Laurent accused him of being an informant (later proven right) hence why St.Laurent was so pissed with Bobby and approached somebody to take him out (which was later recorded)

[cavita]

"Ranking Boston Sicilian Mafia Figure" could just mean a member of importance. I've seen "high-ranking member" used to describe key soldiers in FBI reports. Either way it is most likely DiGiacomo or Giglia. I've mentioned before that DiGiacomo's naturalization was witnessed by a Buscemi from Aragona who lived outside Boston.

Yes I considered that as well and felt that Buscemi as an underboss wouldn't be contacting just a soldier and knowing Giglia was a more senior member and a capo from Aragona as well that he was the more likely candidate.

[B.]

Giglia is utterly mysterious, shows we are missing some info about early Boston. Boston had a large population from Agrigento but not many known examples of members. Meanwile Giglia was a sleeper member for likely fifty years before surfacing as an elderly captain. It isn't mentioned in the LCNBios article but Giglia was arrested in 1940 as part of a huge bootlegging ring that stretched to Portland, Maine. One of the guys arrested with him was Antonino Brando from the island of Lipari in Messina but I'd like to know if any Aragonesi were associated with him back then, seems strange it would just be Giglia then fifty years later DiGiacomo joins under Giglia with nobody else in between.

Biagio DiGiacomo's naturalization witness Maria Caramazza Buscemi was his wife's sister who was married to Raimondo Buscemi, Raimondo's parents being Salvatore Buscemi and Giuseppina Cacciatore, and he had a brother named Rosario. Frank Buscemi was reportedly a cousin of Alfonso DiGiacomo and Salvatore Galluzzo was related to a bunch of DiGiacomos as well as a Caramazza. Wish we had the records needed to confirm/deny relationships between all the recurring surnames.

[trafficante]

I didn't have much luck posting this on its own so I thought I'd put it in a more specific post:

In looking through the 1980s FBI files of Rockford LCN underboss Frank Buscemi, the attached excerpts indicate that in September 1983 Buscemi was contacting a “ranking Boston Sicilian Maffia figure.” At the time, Buscemi was being investigated for extortionate business practices and his connection to a narcotics distribution network which included Boston, Buffalo, Canada, Sicily, Australia and other U.S. cities and countries. These calls to the Boston figure were in relation to the narcotics network and surprisingly lists the telephone number. I suspect that this ranking Boston figure was capo Salvatore Giglia who, like Buscemi, was born in Aragona, Sicily.

Is there any way somebody can confirm, perhaps through a Boston city directory or other resource, that this phone number does indeed belong to Giglia? This would be a nice connection for me to make.

FWIW, 617 is the area code for the City of Boston and some of its immediate suburbs. 781/339 is the area code for Waltham (where Giglia lived). Could be though that Giglia had a 617 number in Waltham or even that this is a call to a business he had ties to in Boston.

Boston had a large population from Agrigento but not many known examples of members. Meanwile Giglia was a sleeper member for likely fifty years before surfacing as an elderly captain. It isn't mentioned in the LCNBios article but Giglia was arrested in 1940 as part of a huge bootlegging ring that stretched to Portland, Maine. One of the guys arrested with him was Antonino Brando from the island of Lipari in Messina but I'd like to know if any Aragonesi were associated with him back then, seems strange it would just be Giglia then fifty years later DiGiacomo joins under Giglia with nobody else in between.

There's a good number of Aragonese in Waltham, hence why Giglia lived there. If I recall there's an "Aragonese Mutual Society" in the town.

[mike68]

https://lcnbios.blogspot.com/2022/03/sa ... ember.html

I found this blog online. It's the most I"ve ever found on Giglia. An internet search indicates that Waltham MA was definitely an area where people from Aragona immigrated from. There is still an Aragona Realty there apparently.

[B.]

Yeah that is JD's blog, old time member of the forums.

Waltham along with Rockford were definitely the major Aragonese colonies, not sure where else they may have ended up but offhand the only Aragonese LCN members I'm aware of were in Rockford and NE. Guys from nearby towns show up in other Families around the US though.

[PolackTony]

Yeah that is JD's blog, old time member of the forums.

Waltham along with Rockford were definitely the major Aragonese colonies, not sure where else they may have ended up but offhand the only Aragonese LCN members I'm aware of were in Rockford and NE. Guys from nearby towns show up in other Families around the US though.

Along with Rockford and Newton/Waltham, Chicago was a prime destination for Aragonesi, as with nearby comuni like San Biagio Platani and Sant’Angelo Muxaro (I recall reading something once that men from Aragona were stereotyped back in the day in Chicago as having stopped shoulders from having worked in the sulfur mines as youths). Obviously, there were and are many close ties between the Aragona colonies in Rockford and Chicago. Chicago had two Aragona Societies, one on the Northside, for those from Little Sicily, and one on the Southside, for those who settled in Chinatown/Armour Square. At some point they were merged and the Aragona Society was active as late as the 90s; not sure if it’s still operating today.

Chicago affiliate Salvatore Faruggia, who died in 1990, was Aragonese on his father’s side (mother was from Cefalà Diana). One FBI report that I have seen specifically identified him as a Chicago LCN member; while obviously many Chicago member IDs are questionable due to quality of sources, he was at least a suspected member. His brother James “Jimmy Hot Dogs” Faruggia, incidentally, was the founder of Jimmy’s Red Hots, an iconic Westside hot dog stand that’s something like a landmark today.

[B.]

Ah, you've mentioned Faruggia before. Makes sense Chicago had a colony given the proximity to Rockford.

Aragona is like a lot of Sicilian mining towns in that many people have left as industry dwindled. I know there are a good chunk of them in other parts of Europe, particularly Belgium. Biagio is connected on social media to DiGiacomos all over, interestingly many of them live on the Italian mainland including Campania, Lazio, Veneto, and Abruzzo. Switzerland as well. I don't know if these are actual relatives / Aragonesi or if he just added a bunch of people who share his surname but given the large diaspora of Aragonesi I imagine many of them are relatives or paesans.