Youngstown's Naples (Pittsburgh) & Carabbia (Cleveland) War

[FriendofHenry]

No, I know Bobby, but wrong one. How 'bout the Bobby that ran the daily crap game on Federal in an empty store front next to Home Savings?

[coldshoulder]

No, I know Bobby, but wrong one. How 'bout the Bobby that ran the daily crap game on Federal in an empty store front next to Home Savings?

I got nuthin' !

Although I always wondered about that empty store front you speak of. It never made much sense back in the day.

[Tonyd621]

Speaking of Carabbia here is an opinion piece I found titled The Last of the Old School Mafioso by Chris Anderson HeraldTribune.com
I couldn't get our of the firewall long enough to post it. If someone else can be my guest

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.herald ... 9087357002

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.herald ... 9087357002

[Ivan]

got some nice pictures of some of these guys from that weird one-eyed Indian reporter dude, first mugshots of several prominent guys and then young Lenny Strollo

Great photo of Strollo

OK I'm late with this, but anyway I just found out this was from his 1963 counterfeiting bust. Lenny had a press set up to crank out fake ten dollar bills and got caught, hence the mugshot.

[FriendofHenry]

got some nice pictures of some of these guys from that weird one-eyed Indian reporter dude, first mugshots of several prominent guys and then young Lenny Strollo

Great photo of Strollo

OK I'm late with this, but anyway I just found out this was from his 1963 counterfeiting bust. Lenny had a press set up to crank out fake ten dollar bills and got caught, hence the mugshot.

Nice try - No Cigar! You'd think that $10.s would pass easy. Who looks at $10.s? Obviously the Feds

[Ivan]

Nice try - No Cigar! You'd think that $10.s would pass easy. Who looks at $10.s? Obviously the Feds

Well a ten back then was about the same as a hundred bucks today, so tens were a bigger deal back then. Counterfeiting ones back then would be like counterfeiting tens now.

[FriendofHenry]

Nice try - No Cigar! You'd think that $10.s would pass easy. Who looks at $10.s? Obviously the Feds

Well a ten back then was about the same as a hundred bucks today, so tens were a bigger deal back then. Counterfeiting ones back then would be like counterfeiting tens now.

"Back then" wasn't that long ago. I was in business in Youngstown "back then" and $10's went through pretty easy.

[Stroccos]

Nice try - No Cigar! You'd think that $10.s would pass easy. Who looks at $10.s? Obviously the Feds

Well a ten back then was about the same as a hundred bucks today, so tens were a bigger deal back then. Counterfeiting ones back then would be like counterfeiting tens now.

"Back then" wasn't that long ago. I was in business in Youngstown "back then" and $10's went through pretty easy.

So what’s the scam you take the ten to a store and buy a pack of gum or something cheap and you basically profit the change ?
Probably pretty profitable

[FriendofHenry]

Nice try - No Cigar! You'd think that $10.s would pass easy. Who looks at $10.s? Obviously the Feds

Well a ten back then was about the same as a hundred bucks today, so tens were a bigger deal back then. Counterfeiting ones back then would be like counterfeiting tens now.

"Back then" wasn't that long ago. I was in business in Youngstown "back then" and $10's went through pretty easy.

So what’s the scam you take the ten to a store and buy a pack of gum or something cheap and you basically profit the change ?
Probably pretty profitable

Or take them to a bar and buy a beer

[JCB1977]

Yes, the "supreme overlord" as described in the article
Looks like perhaps only the first page comes up when you click the attachment. I'll have to try to link the rest of the pages.

The Supreme overlord at that time was Vincenzo “Brier Hill Jimmy” Prato, nephew of longtime boss Dominic “Big Dom” Mallamo. Naples was Prato’s protege along with Lenny Strollo.

[JCB1977]

Not so sure about that.
Lonardo along with Licavoli supposedly gave the go ahead to Naples and Prato to take out Charlie Crab, which did happen. Almost like he (Lonardo) was giving up and foreshadowing the beginning of the end, later flipping and giving this statement to the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (a subcommittee of the Committee on Governmental Affairs) on April 15, 1988.

Former Cleveland Mafia underboss Angelo Lonardo testified before the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (a subcommittee of the Committee on Governmental Affairs) on April 15, 1988.

Copied from: http://mafiahistory.us/maf-invl.html

Source info:
 Hunt, Thomas, "Cleveland Mafia insider Lonardo testifies," The American Mafia, mafiahistory.us, last revised 19 Jun 2021, accessed 19 Jun 2021.

Copyright © 2021, Thomas Hunt

Angelo Lonardo had several meetings in New Kensington with Kelly Mannarino and John LaRocca. They gave Charlie several chances to stop running his mouth but he couldn’t help himself once he started drinking the booze. Naples wanted them out of the way much sooner but Angelo kept stepping in for Charlie and going directly to Big John and Kelly.

[JCB1977]

Not so sure about that.
Lonardo along with Licavoli supposedly gave the go ahead to Naples and Prato to take out Charlie Crab, which did happen. Almost like he (Lonardo) was giving up and foreshadowing the beginning of the end, later flipping and giving this statement to the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (a subcommittee of the Committee on Governmental Affairs) on April 15, 1988.

Former Cleveland Mafia underboss Angelo Lonardo testified before the United States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (a subcommittee of the Committee on Governmental Affairs) on April 15, 1988.

Copied from: http://mafiahistory.us/maf-invl.html

Source info:
 Hunt, Thomas, "Cleveland Mafia insider Lonardo testifies," The American Mafia, mafiahistory.us, last revised 19 Jun 2021, accessed 19 Jun 2021.

Copyright © 2021, Thomas Hunt

I have this thing about Lonardo's lack of knowledge of things. For the Youngstown mob murders this is Lonardo's testimony:

12/3/78 CHARLES GRISHAM: I have no knowledge of Grisham. I did not authorize or participate in any matters relating to him.

1/11/79 JAMES CONONICO: I have no knowledge who Connonico was. I did not authorize or participate in any matters relating to him.

4/12/79 ROBERT FUREY: I have no knowledge of who Furey was. I did not authorize or participate in the shooting.

7/25/79 JOHN TOBIN: I did not know Tobin. I have no knowledge of him. I did not authorize or participate in the shooting.

1/6/80 JOHN MAGDA: I have no knowledge of Magda.

2/13/80 ROBERT DE CERBO: I have no knowledge of De Cerbo.

5/14/80 JOSEPH DE ROSE. JR: The shooting was by the Youngstown Group who were at that time under the control of Pittsburg.

10/2/80 DOMINIC SENARINO: I have no knowledge.

Besides DeRoss and Senzarino Who were affiliated with the Carabbia faction in Cleveland, the rest of the guys that got hit were tied to Joey Naples. And I wouldn’t imagine that Angelo had any knowledge of those since they were sanctioned by Joey.

[JCB1977]

As you probably know, I'm a Pittsburgh kinda' guy and don't know whole lot about Cleveland people other that Tony Delsanter. A hell of a guy that was smart enough not to be Boss. If you're telling me that Lonardo wasn't the sharpest pencil in the box, so be it.

Hi Henry, obviously I know you're the Pittsburgh expert. I've had this issue with Lonardo for years. His lackluster testimony in cases. He's literally a courier in the Las Vegas Strawman cases. He never testifies about anything in Detroit. He's constantly claiming he didn't know anything about what was going on with so many murders/drug dealing in Cleveland. Even the Greene war his testimony is mainly based on things he heard. It's really weird. He really does come across as the guy who liked being called the underboss and liked hanging out at the local Italian social club in Little Italy on the Hill. Very much like Natale.

Is it fair observation to say that Angelo was not upfront about everything. On top of that, he was the highest ranking member in the United States mafia to turn states evidence at that time. It was unprecedented and his close friendship with Tony Salerno in New York and his entire family turning their back on him was almost too much to handle. Once he came back to Ohio, he lived in an apartment building in Gates Mills two doors down from my best friend. His wife never let him come back to the home however they stayed married. On top of that, he testified against his brother-in-law Milton Rockman. Prior to his testimony, he served five decades and was one of the most well respected mobsters in the country at that time. You can’t take everything he said in court testimony as factual. I’ve read those transcripts 1000 times and there is no question about it he was downplaying his role

[JCB1977]

I find the Cleveland-Pittsburgh Youngstown war fascinating. What I find most interesting is that Cleveland seems almost to have been totally in the dark about it. Angelo Lonardo barely knew anything about it, but that fits with him seeming to not know too much about anything going on with Cleveland even though he was the underboss.

they werent mob hits, why he care about some low level guys in youngstown ?

Exactly

[JCB1977]

Cleveland did stop getting a cut eventually, yes? Probably after the Licavoli convictions?

I can't really picture Cleveland getting a cut in the Strollo era.

Of course no one gets a cut anywhere now. Probably not a bad time for independent bookies & sharks in the Valley.

Tronolone got it when he became boss, don’t know when it ended probably in the late 80’s early 90’s if I had to guess

Per Charlie Imburgia’s aka Charlie Murgie’s FBI file, He was still splitting cuts with Cleveland in the mid to late 90s and Tronolone would visit him down in Deerfield beach Florida on a regular basis until his death in 1991. After Tronolone died, Bookmaker Joe Perfette handled Cleveland’s cut and worked very well with Charlie.