The Chicago Cheese War

[B.]

I forgot, do we know if Mike Merlo is related to the New Jersey. Merlos

It's possible there is some distant relation, but probably not. Merlo was from Sambuca di Sicilia which is about an hour drive from Ribera today. In that part of Agrigento you see many of the same last names in different villages and sometimes intermarriage between villages, though it's not that common to find direct relation in available records.

However, we have found that Phil Bacino had relatives from Burgio / Lucca Sicula and Pasquale Lolordo's wife was from Caltabellotta. Both Burgio / Caltabelotta are closer to Merlo's hometown Sambuca than Ribera. This could lend itself to the idea that the Riberesi had ties to other towns, too, like Sambuca, but I haven't seen anything.

The Merlos were one of the first Riberese families established in Elizabeth and I have no doubt Pasquale Lolordo and Phil Bacino knew of them when they lived in NYC. If there was a connection to Mike Merlo, they would have known it. Either way, these guys were all part of the tight-knit Agrigento network.

I think you make a good point, and like I wrote I personally think that Glimco and Coli were made. I still want to put his information out there because he is still a knowledgeable source. While we don't always agree, we still ought to carefully consider what he says.

This is a wise approach to research that I enjoy seeing. It's what I call "part of the discussion" -- it might not be the truth, but it deserves to be mentioned if it comes from a reputable source.

[Villain]

I forgot, do we know if Mike Merlo is related to the New Jersey. Merlos

It's possible there is some distant relation, but probably not. Merlo was from Sambuca di Sicilia which is about an hour drive from Ribera today. In that part of Agrigento you see many of the same last names in different villages and sometimes intermarriage between villages, though it's not that common to find direct relation in available records.

However, we have found that Phil Bacino had relatives from Burgio / Lucca Sicula and Pasquale Lolordo's wife was from Caltabellotta. Both Burgio / Caltabelotta are closer to Merlo's hometown Sambuca than Ribera. This could lend itself to the idea that the Riberesi had ties to other towns, too, like Sambuca, but I haven't seen anything.

The Merlos were one of the first Riberese families established in Elizabeth and I have no doubt Pasquale Lolordo and Phil Bacino knew of them when they lived in NYC. If there was a connection to Mike Merlo, they would have known it. Either way, these guys were all part of the tight-knit Agrigento network.

Thanks for this. It adds a lot to the information that after Merlo's death, same as Lombardo, the Lolordos and Bacino were just another "delegation" sent to Chicago to keep the peace but obviously failed. I think later Salvatore Loverde belonged to some type of "national peace commission" but in the end he was killed also

[Villain]

Another interesting thing to note is that we all know that in 1947 Nick DeJohn was allegedly the last victim of the conflict between the Northsiders and the rest of the Outfit, but theres a possibility that there was one more victim the following year in 1948.

Peter Granata was associated with the Sicilian Mafia from the old 19th Ward since the days before Prohibition, and used to work as precinct captain for Mafia boss Tony D'Andrea. So it is possible that during the 30s and 40s Granata was still closely associated to remnants from the old Mafia like O'Neglia, DeJohn etc and remained influential in Chicago politics.

In October 1948, the election for the 2nd district began and so Granatas brother William, the Republican candidate, was running against State Representative James Adduci. Previously Adduci was with Dago Mangano who in turn was killed back in 1944, and so it seems Adduci completely gave his loyalty to Ricca, Campagna, Accardo and Giancana.

Story goes that the Granata bros also refused to trade votes that they controlled on the West Side for the benefit of the Outfit but why? Were they mad or disappointed from all of the previous eliminations of their former buddies and also from Adducis alleged betrayal? Were they also part of the rebelion?

William Granata’s attempt to unseat Adduci proved to be fatal because that same year (1948) while returning home, armed assassin with a meat cleaver crept from behind on Granata as he entered his building. Later Granata was found with his skull split wide open.