Genovese Trainas

[B.]

There were two brothers in the Genovese Family's Brooklyn faction, Nicola "Dick" Traina and Joe Traina. They were born with the spelling Traino to a father named Giovanni and active in hijacking.

Doesn't seem like they were related to the well-known Trainas of the Gambino Family given the true spelling of the name but JD posted years ago that they were related via marriage to Garofalo crew members Giovanni Salica and his son Louis. Giovanni was an old time Palermitano while Louis was a well-known boxing champion who followed his father into the life. There is an FBI report identifying Dick and Joe as Gambino members but they were actually Genovese.

Dick died relatively young in the 1960s, not sure about Joe. The FBI struggled with the various Trainas and not a lot of detailed info is available on them. I'm not sure where they trace their heritage or which captain they were under.

Anyone have anything?

[PolackTony]

I know very little about these two. I’ve seen a couple of files that referred to “Diamond Dick” and Joseph “Red” Traina, you’ve probably already seen these. One CI who I saw claimed that they were both “button men”, but nephews of Giuseppe Traina. Another CI was quoted as stating that Joseph “Red” Traina was the son of Giuseppe Traina, so either him or the FBI were confusing him with Mario “Red” Traina. Another source stated that Joseph “Red” Traina was an executive of a trucking company in BK, a member of the Provenzano-controlled IBT Local 707, and a major loan shark. Clearly this was the Genovese Joe Traina, and I’d think that both the FBI and some guys on the street conflating him and his brother as relatives of Giuseppe Traina (if Joseph Traina actually had the nickname “Red”, that would make it even easier to mix him up with Mario Traina).

You said that Dick Traina died “relatively young” in the 60s. That matches a Nick Traina who died in 1963 and was born in 1913 under the name “Nicolo Traino”. This wouldn’t seem to match the Nick and Joe Traina whose dad was named Giovanni/John. That Nick Traina was recorded as only 3 months old in the 1915 census. From what I can tell, the one born in 1913’s dad was named Ralph Traina. Maybe I’m wrong, but just wanted to make sure that I have the right guy here. Do you know the birth year of the Genovese member Joe Traina? Both the 1913 and 1915 Nick Trainas had brothers named Joseph, of course.

If I’m right about the 1913 Nick Traina, then the parents of the brothers in question were Raffaele Traina of Palermo (unclear if city or just province) and Giovanna Alfano of Villabate. In 1930, they lived on 3rd Ave near the border of Park Slope and Sunset Park, and Raffaele worked as a longshoreman. His apparent origin in Palermo would be consistent with the link to the Salicas. From what I understood, at least in later decades, 707 was a Colombo controlled local. But if Joe Traina’s mother was from Villabate, maybe there’s some deeper history there?

I will say also that if the spelling of the surname was actually *Traino* (rather than a spelling error of Traina), I’d guess that they were not Sicilian. Traino is an almost wholely Campanian surname, apart from a cluster across the border in Foggia also.

[B.]

I know Dick Traina died in 1963 but I'm not sure his exact birth year. I was basing the father being Giovanni off of this informant:



The source seems to have personal knowledge of these Trainas and knew their father to be Giovanni, which would match the Giovanni Traino who had sons named Nicola/Nicolo and Joseph. The source got their Family affiliation wrong, though that is easier to confuse than their father's name if the source personally knew them.

Though the connection is very indirect through a brother-in-law's associations, Jimmy Scianna of the Colombos was from a Palermitano background so if the Genovese Trainas were related to the Salicas it adds to them coming up around Brooklyn Palermitani.

Earlier sources were often confused about the Gambino Giuseppe Traina's son who was a member. Giuseppe Traina's father was named Giuseppe back in Belmonte Mezzagno as was his eldest son, who was not a Gambino member. His second son, Mariano "Mario", was a Gambino member who succeeded his father as captain. I'm not sure if Giuseppe's sons Joseph and/or Mario went by "Red" or if it was only the Genovese member who used the nickname and informants got it confused but the source who knew Dick and his brother Joe called the latter "Joe Red".

The Gambino Giuseppe Traina also had a first cousin named Giuseppe Traina who had a brother Salvatore that associated with early NYC mafia figures though I'm not sure if he himself was a member, full-on associate, or was just socially/familially connected.

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LE struggled with the Trainas. To make it more confusing, the FBN's background info on Giuseppe Traina mistook him for another Giuseppe Traina who was from San Giuseppe Jato. The Giuseppe Traina from SGJ was also a mafioso who was part of the local mafia's ruling Pulejo-Termini-Troia clan and he and his brother Vincenzo were identified as mafiosi in the 1920s Mori-led investigation.

Some of these Trainas also moved to Brooklyn where Vincenzo Traina became an undertaker and lived in the Williamsburg/Bushwick area. He was also the godfather of Vincenzo Troia's stepson Joseph and both Vincenzo and Joseph Troia were waked at Vincenzo Traina's Brooklyn funeral home after they were killed in Newark. It shouldn't be surprising that Vincenzo Traina also spent time living in Springfield, Illinois.

We can be sure many of the mafia figures identified in 1920s SGJ were made members but it's not certain whether Vincenzo Traina was or not. His relatives Antonino Pulejo, Santo Termini, and Vincenzo Troia were bosses or sostituti and Vincenzo's brother Giuseppe Traina was likely a member. In the US, Vincenzo Traina associated with Tony Riela who joined the Bonannos and Traina's cousin Troia was very close to the Bonanno Family even though he didn't join them so if he had mafia affiliation in Brooklyn those connections and his residence in Williamsburg/Bushwick should have put him with them at least as an associate. Later we see the Jatino Giuseppe Ganci closely associated with the Bonannos (Sicilian member who was probably "on record" with them) and the Sancipirellese Pietro Licata as a Bonanno captain.

Gets confusing to type out too because Giuseppe and Vincenzo Traina were relatives of Giuseppe and Vincenzo Troia, who had a stepson named Joseph/Giuseppe Troia, and we know Vincenzo Troia was involved in high-level politics with the Gambino Giuseppe Traina in the early 1930s.

[PolackTony]

Yes, I’ve seen a couple of files that refer to “Diamond Dick” Traina and Joe “Red” Traina, and also files that state that Mario Traina was also known as “Red”. It’s unclear to me
If both guys actually went by this nickname or if informants were conflating them yet again.

Nice find on the Giovanni-as-father source. Still seems odd to me as it doesn’t match up with what I’ve seen regarding the Nick Traina who died in 1963, who from what I’ve looked at very much seems to have been born in 1913 to Raffaele Traina and Giovanna Alfano. Now, what would help would be to know his brother Joe’s birth/death dates. I wasn’t able to find anything when I tried looking. FWIW, the Nick who was the son of Raffaele Traina had a younger brother named Joseph (b. ~1919), while the Nick who was the son of “John Traino” (they lived on W 39th St in Manhattan as of 1915) had an older brother named Joseph (b. ~1910).

[Pmac2]

Diamond Dick traina Mayne the greatest mob nickname ever who was this guy. Need a picture haha

[bn]

Nicola Traina was a Gambino member under Giuseppe Traina.