Buffalo/Ontario Mob Acitivity

[Slumpy]

Re: Violi,

One thing I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around is how an Underboss in Canada would be useful to Buffalo?

You ever seen a map?

Yes. Do you realize you can't cross the border with a criminal record?

[OcSleeper]

Re: Violi,

One thing I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around is how an Underboss in Canada would be useful to Buffalo?

You ever seen a map?

Cheech you're now doing what you just gave Wiseguy shit for


@Slumpy I think it could be a few reasons. One reason might be to strengthen the ties between Buffalo and their Canadian faction. Or something entirely different like others have touched on if Buffalo is just remnants maybe it wasn't for Buffalo but instead for Violi to elevate his status within the underworld. Formely he was technically just a associate and there's no evidence he was recognized as a Ndranghetisti even though on both sides of his family he comes from Ndrangheta clans.

[antimafia]

NickleCity just recently posted in the Cleveland Crime Family thread two images from a file/report that are relevant to the discussion here -- go to viewtopic.php?f=29&t=6510&p=187919&hili ... rs#p187919.

If the source providing details is correct, some possible interpretations of "there is no family in the Toronto area that could make members" are

1. territorial control of all of Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto was established long ago by the Buffalo Family or the Commission (remember what Valachi said: "Buffalo and Canada is all one. When I say Canada I mean Toronto.");

2. no other American LCN family is allowed to have members living and operating in Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto specifically (which means there could be no Bonanno Family members living and operating in Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto);

3. although no other American LCN family is allowed to have members living and operating in Ontario, such members could live and operate in Ontario, some parts of Ontario, or Toronto specifically -- even if they were made on the sneak -- but only because such members were already established.

So if it's true that Albert Iavarone was made into what still remains of the LA Family, why didn't it consult with the Buffalo Family? If Buffalo would have been okay with Iavarone being made into the LA Family and living and operating in the area* -- just as long as Joe Todaro Jr. was informed about the proposed membership -- why weren't protocols followed by LA? And if the Luppinos and Violis knew that Iavarone was being proposed for membership, did they forget to tell Todaro Jr.?

Because the Bonanno Family conducted an initiation ceremony in Hamilton, the Bonannos must have or should have consulted Buffalo about holding the ceremony in Buffalo's territory.

If what Domenico Violi and paid RCMP police agent Vincenzo Morena discussed about Todaro Jr.'s power and control is true, then Joe Violi would have had to move if he finally chose to be made into the Bonanno Family -- which may or may not have have suited Joe Violi if it meant moving to Quebec; which might help us make sense of why he felt pressure to choose between being made into the Buffalo Family or the Bonanno Family. I think that he either was made into the Buffalo Family or, if he had the choice, stayed unmade.

*"The mobsters [Domenico Violi and paid RCMP police agent Vincenzo Morena], the documents allege, were clear that Todaro held the reigns [sic] of power within the re-emergent Buffalo organization; the men said that nobody became a member without going through Todaro first. They said a mobster in the area was either under Todaro or they needed to pack their bags and leave." (Source: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/sh ... falo-mafia)

[Slumpy]

Re: Violi,

One thing I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around is how an Underboss in Canada would be useful to Buffalo?

You ever seen a map?

Cheech you're now doing what you just gave Wiseguy shit for


@Slumpy I think it could be a few reasons. One reason might be to strengthen the ties between Buffalo and their Canadian faction. Or something entirely different like others have touched on if Buffalo is just remnants maybe it wasn't for Buffalo but instead for Violi to elevate his status within the underworld. Formely he was technically just a associate and there's no evidence he was recognized as a Ndranghetisti even though on both sides of his family he comes from Ndrangheta clans.

ahh I know Cheech, he's just busting my balls.

Thanks, though, that makes sense.

[johnny_scootch]

2. no other American LCN family is allowed to have members living and operating in Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto specifically (which means there could be no Bonanno Family members living and operating in Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto);

Source indicated individuals from other LCN families could do things in Toronto, but it would be necessary for them to obtain permission from Buffalo.

[NickleCity]

Are these from the same investigation or two separate investigations?

Either way we have at least two investigations in different countries that have identified Joe Todaro Jr. as the boss of Buffalo. First the Morena investigation and now these investigations into local Buffalo area figures.

The agent’s comment is from an HSI report mentioned in the pretrial motions for the Bongiovanni case. The other is from a prosecutor’s comments in a transcript from the detention hearing for Joseph Bella’s 1st indictment, ...if I remember correctly. I believe all these cases are from what US Attorney James Kennedy described as “a larger ongoing investigation into organized crime in Buffalo” during his press conference when Bongiovanni was first indicted.

[B.]

The agent’s comment is from an HSI report mentioned in the pretrial motions for the Bongiovanni case. The other is from a prosecutor’s comments in a transcript from the detention hearing for Joseph Bella’s 1st indictment, ...if I remember correctly. I believe all these cases are from what US Attorney James Kennedy described as “a larger ongoing investigation into organized crime in Buffalo” during his press conference when Bongiovanni was first indicted.

So three cases have identified Joe Todaro Jr. as the boss of the Buffalo family. Two of those cases might be part of the same investigation on the US side.

2. no other American LCN family is allowed to have members living and operating in Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto specifically (which means there could be no Bonanno Family members living and operating in Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto);

Source indicated individuals from other LCN families could do things in Toronto, but it would be necessary for them to obtain permission from Buffalo.

Yep, this is what the Bonannos did with Morena and apparently what LA did not do.

However...

2. no other American LCN family is allowed to have members living and operating in Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto specifically (which means there could be no Bonanno Family members living and operating in Ontario, a sizable part of it, or Toronto);

3. although no other American LCN family is allowed to have members living and operating in Ontario, such members could live and operate in Ontario, some parts of Ontario, or Toronto specifically -- even if they were made on the sneak -- but only because such members were already established.

This was Magaddino's complaint on the January 1965 recording with the two Bonanno representantives. Magaddino complained that Joe Bonanno had conducted an unauthorized induction of more Canadian members than the 10 allotted in Montreal, including members in his (Magaddino's) territory, Ontario. This may have been the Canadian induction they reference that was presided over by Joe Notaro.

I'm treading on territory you and I have talked about, but it's worth repeating, that the FBI knew of an Ontario-based faction of the Bonanno family as of the early 1970s and referenced this faction alongside the Montreal faction, with Phil Rastelli and Nick Marangello listed as liaisons to "both" Canadian groups (I assume they all were technically under Montreal).

Now, if Joe Bonanno allowed an unauthorized induction in Ontario that we know pissed off Magaddino, what became of this? The Bonanno family appears to have maintained contact with this mysterious group into the 1970s and the Montreal decina would be aware of them, but we have mixed messages from the administration. Sal Vitale expected ten Montreal members (consistent with Magaddino's reference to what was originally authorized) during his visit, and found nineteen. So the Massino-Vitale leadership either had the wrong info or there was a miscommunication -- it appears Rastelli, Marangello, and presumably Gerlando Sciascia knew there were more than ten Canadian members and at some point this would have included men in Ontario, though it's unclear if that was the case in 1999-2001.

One question is whether any of the nineteen men Sal Vitale met lived in Ontario. Some of the men alluded to in the January 1965 Magaddino transcript could have been dead by the time Sal Vitale visited, which would then bring up the question of ongoing recruitment in Ontario by the Bonanno Montreal crew.

If the Bonanno family conducted unauthorized inductions in Magaddino's territory, why did nothing substantial come of it? Did Buffalo refuse to recognize their membership? Was there any violence that could be attributed to this, or were there already enough problems with Bonanno in-fighting in NYC? The Bonanno war was a political catastrophe for the entire North American mafia and Buffalo may have wanted to avoid further issues. The Magaddino tapes reveal during this period that Magaddino was extremely disturbed by the Agueci-Papalia-Valachi situation and was avoiding even his own Canadian membership.

By the time the Bonanno war is waning in 1968, the Buffalo/NF leadership under Magaddino was arrested and turmoil began in Buffalo, with a significant faction turning on Magaddino. Rochester would create their own unsanctioned family around this time. It's possible if not likely that Magaddino never had the chance to properly address the Bonanno family's crime of inducting unauthorized members in Ontario. It appears the Bonanno leadership had inconsistent knowledge/contact with this element as well and we don't know who any of these Ontario members were.

So if it's true that Albert Iavarone was made into what still remains of the LA Family, why didn't it consult with the Buffalo Family? If Buffalo would have been okay with Iavarone being made into the LA Family and living and operating in the area* -- just as long as Joe Todaro Jr. was informed about the proposed membership -- why weren't protocols followed by LA? And if the Luppinos and Violis knew that Iavarone was being proposed for membership, did they forget to tell Todaro Jr.?

I didn't get the impression the Violi-Luppinos would deliberately keep Todaro out of the loop on something like another family inducting an Ontario-based member. We need the full transcript of those tapes, but Morena's knowledge of Iavarone drawing Todaro's ire no doubt came from Violi. Unless Todaro was angry at Violi, I suspect the Iavarone situation was done behind the entire Buffalo-Ontario group's back. That is speculation of course.

If what Domenico Violi and paid RCMP police agent Vincenzo Morena discussed about Todaro Jr.'s power and control is true, then Joe Violi would have had to move if he finally chose to be made into the Bonanno Family -- which may or may not have have suited Joe Violi if it meant moving to Quebec; which might help us make sense of why he felt pressure to choose between being made into the Buffalo Family or the Bonanno Family. I think that he either was made into the Buffalo Family or, if he had the choice, stayed unmade.

*"The mobsters [Domenico Violi and paid RCMP police agent Vincenzo Morena], the documents allege, were clear that Todaro held the reigns [sic] of power within the re-emergent Buffalo organization; the men said that nobody became a member without going through Todaro first. They said a mobster in the area was either under Todaro or they needed to pack their bags and leave." (Source: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/sh ... falo-mafia)

While Morena was not a member of the Buffalo family, the attendance of Violi at his induction and his ongoing relationship with Violi shows that Morena was authorized by Buffalo to operate in that area and the Bonanno family followed proper protocol. I don't think the quote implies that every non-Buffalo member has to "pack their bags and leave," only that members not authorized by Todaro are not welcome. This has serious implications with Iavarone -- could he have been killed for violating this protocol? I don't know, but it can't be ruled out.

This goes back to Joe Violi -- I don't think it should be taken literally that non-Buffalo members had to leave town. Joe Violi's option of joining the Bonanno family would have been authorized by both the Buffalo and Bonanno leadership, so he could have stayed in Ontario as a Bonanno member much like Morena did. While the mafia is territorial, there is little to no precedent for forcing someone to leave an area because of his membership -- so long as his membership is authorized by the local power. The biggest question to me with Joe Violi is still which element of the Bonanno family was willing to induct him and who his sponsor would be -- an NYC crew, like Morena, or Montreal? If an NYC crew was willing to sponsor and induct Joe Violi, then the situation is more interesting than we even imagined.

The way Dom Violi explains it, it sounds like Joe Violi's route into the Bonanno family was distinct from Morena's, which makes me think he would have been made into the Bonanno Montreal group, perhaps through the three Montreal figures Dom Violi offered to introduce Morena to. This circles back to the beginning of my post, where we know there is some kind of earlier Bonanno Ontario element but it remains shrouded in mystery and its legitimacy (in terms of mafia protocol) remains murky. Morena is proof that Buffalo will allow a Bonanno member in Ontario if protocol is followed -- and in Morena's case, he wasn't simply grandfathered in, but newly inducted under the explicit approval of Buffalo.

[B.]

I double-checked, and Paul Sciacca tells Stefano Magaddino on the January 1965 tape that Joe Bonanno apparently inducted 7 men in Magaddino's area (Ontario) and 2 more men in Montreal. Assuming there were still 10 authorized members in Montreal at this time, that would bring the total Canadian Bonanno members (authorized and unauthorized) in January 1965 to around 19, with 7 living in Ontario.

Another curious bit:



Magaddino is saying members of the Buffalo family in Ontario are related to members of the Bonanno family in Montreal. We know Paolo Violi was by this time a Montreal-based Bonanno member and it appears Giacomo Luppino was by this time an Ontario-based Buffalo member, but that's 1:1. Maybe Magaddino is generalizing to make a point, but his phrasing is plural which suggests there could be multiple relations between the Buffalo-Ontario and Bonanno-Montreal membership.

Given our lack of quality intel on Canadian membership and therefore the full background of the membership, we can't assume he is referring to the Luppino and Violi marriage alone, though no doubt that is included. We can't assume a relation is limited to Calabrians, either, as the Sicilian element in both Buffalo-Ontario and Bonanno-Montreal come from Agrigento province. Bonanno capodecina Nick Alfano was from Racalmuto and had ties to Buffalo-Ontario leader Calogero Bordonaro from Racalmuto (where the Scibettas were from as well), but as Antimafia has mentioned, Nick Alfano appears to have a relation to the Cattolicensi in Montreal. Could there be a connection between the Buffalo-Ontario Racalmutesi and those from Siculiana / Cattolica Eraclea in Montreal? Maybe, maybe not, but something to consider in this dizzying web of connections known as the mafia.

[CabriniGreen]

The convo is finally going in the right direction....

[CabriniGreen]

Just as an aside, I stumbled across this while trying to read more on the above report. Last month, it was reported Palermo investigators had recorded two mafiosi in Agrigento Province discussing an emissary from the Gambino family who had visited in search of a financially troubled company they could launder money through. The Gambino guy wasn't identified but he was reportedly accompanied by two Russian individuals and the name of "Dominique D'Acquisto" came up in the conversation. One could assume they were talking about Gambino captain Domenico Acquista.

https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2 ... 285890907/

Wiseguy, I made a whole thread about this.... yall crack me up with this shit..... NO ONE WAS INTERESTED!!!

[CabriniGreen]

Just as an aside, I stumbled across this while trying to read more on the above report. Last month, it was reported Palermo investigators had recorded two mafiosi in Agrigento Province discussing an emissary from the Gambino family who had visited in search of a financially troubled company they could launder money through. The Gambino guy wasn't identified but he was reportedly accompanied by two Russian individuals and the name of "Dominique D'Acquisto" came up in the conversation. One could assume they were talking about Gambino captain Domenico Acquista.

https://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/2 ... 285890907/

Great find. Capeci said the elder Riccardo Cefalu was under Acquista so that would make sense given he oversaw a "zip" element.

So we have Sciacca and Castellammare connected to the Bonanno family, and now Favara and Palermo connected to the Gambino family all within the last couple years. As I've mentioned many times, Mannino's man Semplice comes from Porto Empedocle where he still has relatives and has traveled there in recent years -- it remains to be seen, but he could certainly be an emmisary to Agrigento. It doesn't seem to be him in this case, so curious about who this one is.

And here are a couple of documents that indicate LE and Prosecutors in Buffalo believe Todaro to be the boos of the family.

Are these from the same investigation or two separate investigations?

Either way we have at least two investigations in different countries that have identified Joe Todaro Jr. as the boss of Buffalo. First the Morena investigation and now these investigations into local Buffalo area figures.

I didnt think anyone cared about this shit at all.... maybe people just ignore my threads, lol... in the article the translation even fucked up Aquista, they called him Domenic Purchase, lol...


viewtopic.php?f=29&t=7288&p=183734&hili ... no#p183734

[CabriniGreen]

Interesting article, gives numbers on NYC and mentions Families all over the USA. I’m posting because it mentions the Caruana-Cuntrera are in Florida, from reading here Buffalo and Florida seem to part of a thread. Also, the Caruana-Cuntrera are also in Ontario, same as Buffalo via Violi?

Lastly, they mention Cammora business in Florida, as well linked to the Genovese, mix in the Zips and the Ndrangheta members in American with these Cammora if true, maybe it could represent some Hybrid thing?

Could there be a Commisson? If so, could if work with the Cuploa 2.0? Is this evidence of it?

https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2021-03 ... -11767557/

Interesting report. Some things seem more correct than others.

Regarding the map below, 121 seems a little high for the Luccheses but not out of the realm of possibility. Obviously they have a presence on Staten Island though not represented on the map. But maybe that was included under Brooklyn. Obviously the Colombos are present on Staten Island as well.

Not sure why it lists 100 "affiliati" for the DeCavalcantes and 30 "membri" for Philadelphia. They list the DeCavalcantes as "strong," which they're not; though their ties to the Gambinos is correct. I wonder if they mention the ties between the Genovese and Philly simply because Merlino was caught up in the 2016 bust.

When they mention the Gambino "famiglia" in Los Angeles, which isn't the first time we've seen that, it seems they are referring to the blood family, i.e. Rosario Gambino, Tommy Gambino, etc. The Italian syndicates having investments in South Florida isn't new.

Lastly, they list Buffalo but not Chicago?

120004026-971116a9-7cec-4845-a91c-d25539fd83f5.jpg

They didnt mention Chicago...

1. Chicago hasn't come up in any cases they have been following. Chicago has no connections currently with Italy.

2. This report is similar to Sergis, in that they use what information is availible to them. Its not going to be all right, or all wrong, they are in fuckin Italy. Ask an american journalist, or cop to get all the families in Palermo correct, all the members, I bet you money they cant. Dont hold them to such standards, you gotta be realistic....

[B.]

Yeah, it says Domenico Acquisto is from Castrofilippo, so he is from Agrigento himself. Very interesting the Sicilian mafia was talking about him and meeting with an emissary.

[Cheech]

Re: Violi,

One thing I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around is how an Underboss in Canada would be useful to Buffalo?

You ever seen a map?

Cheech you're now doing what you just gave Wiseguy shit for


@Slumpy I think it could be a few reasons. One reason might be to strengthen the ties between Buffalo and their Canadian faction. Or something entirely different like others have touched on if Buffalo is just remnants maybe it wasn't for Buffalo but instead for Violi to elevate his status within the underworld. Formely he was technically just a associate and there's no evidence he was recognized as a Ndranghetisti even though on both sides of his family he comes from Ndrangheta clans.

Ugh I dont think its the same. Maybe it is.
There is 300 pages of his answer. Glad you took the time to give him the clifnotes. Youre a better man than me

[Cheech]

Re: Violi,

One thing I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around is how an Underboss in Canada would be useful to Buffalo?

You ever seen a map?

Yes. Do you realize you can't cross the border with a criminal record?

Where do you live?