Cocaine and the Mafia

[Antiliar]

There's a lot of documentation of the Mafia/Cosa Nostra being involved in the heroin trade going back to at least the 1930s, but who was big in trafficking cocaine to the U.S. before the Colombians and Cubans dominated?

[Wiseguy]

I'm not sure anyone was big in it because the trade itself wasn't big. Cocaine didn't really begin to catch on until starting in the 1970s and really exploding in the 1980s. And the Colombians and Cubans were the main traffickers at the time.

[Villain]

Antiliar your question is spot on.

I dont have the knowledge to speak regarding the whole US mob but as you already know that during the old days the Chicago family was involved in investing in opium fields in Mexico during the 1930s and 40s, and later on they were involved in the heroin trade, possibly until the late 60s or early 70s. BUT I have some infos that previous of that, some Outfit criminals were involved in the cocaine business or they were only using it for themselves, especially the ones who were involved in the prostitution business and as we all know, the Outfit was involved in the same racket since day one.

My opinion is that Chinese people brought it and the Irish gangsters were the first ones who began selling cocaine in different forms, for example Mickey Finn who was stationed in Chicago's Loop area at the time. Later according to some sources, during Prohibition in some of the brothels which were owned by Dennis Cooney and Victoria Shaw, many agents used to find a lot of white powder which later turned out to be cocaine, instead of heroin. Dont forget that the Chinese also brought white heroin, instead of the usual brown one which came out years later, and we also know that both Cooney and Shaw were previously connected to Colosimo and later to Torrio and Capone.

Regarding the late 50's and 60's, I have one Outfit associate who went by the name of Sheldon Teller who in turn was a corrupt cop who was heavily involved in the heroin trafficking, but he also dealt with weed and cocaine. His close associates were John Sullivan, Thomas Durso and Sam Canzoneri, all being corrupt cops at the time. Im not quite sure on who was Sheldon's connection to the Outfit, but all I know is that Durso was connected to Mad Sam, while Canzoneri was possibly with the North Side crew.

During the late 60s and early 70s, the Outfit was involved in the cocaine trafficking together with Pete Licavoli and sources say that Licavoli was behind the movement of large quantities of cocaine even to Anchorage, Alaska, and obviously many parts of the US and one of his partners at the time was allegedly Tony Spilotro. According to the FBI, the full extent of the operation was not known, but some government investigators had documents that the gang supplied a major portion of hard drugs for the Chicago market and possibly for some of the smaller Midwest cities.

During the same time we also have Armand D’Andrea who was the Outfit's rep in Arizona, who with the help of one Frank Mancini, brought his two bros Nick and Mario into the cocaine business. Story goes that Mancini was responsible for the connections to Colombian and Mexican drug cartels. and they transported the cocaine with the help of the old transporting method of stolen parts or whole cars between Arizona and Illinois.

During the early 70s the two main Outfit associates who were responsible for the transportation of large quantities of cocaine were Ora Curry and Robert Pronger. The interesting thing regarding both of them was that they had business relations n Central and South America and also all the way to the Middle East.

Later another crew was involved in the same business which included Ken Eto and Sam Sarcinell and story goes that during its peak, the group moved approximately 200 kilos of cocaine per month, mainly from the Miami area. According to the feds, the Colombian cocaine was distributed to points such Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, and also the Los Angeles area, where Sarcinelli kept one of his residences. During the late 70s Sarcinelli sold 14 pounds of cocaine to an undercover agent

During the early 1980s, James Tortoriello and his son Mark were also heavily involved in the cocaine business and they were both killed probably because of that.

So if you ask me, the Chinese were the first ones who brought it and later during the late 60s the North Side crew in Chicago were possibly the main players in the cocaine business, while during the 70s and 80s, the prize goes to the Chicago Heights faction.

[bert]

I'm not sure anyone was big in it because the trade itself wasn't big. Cocaine didn't really begin to catch on until starting in the 1970s and really exploding in the 1980s. And the Colombians and Cubans were the main traffickers at the time.

Coke became ver big a decade earlier, but was looked on by many as harmless. It was in the 1980's that the effects of it became apparent, and that combined with Columbian gangs shooting and killing openly on the streets of New York showed it was a threat. There were public murders in New York of a Columbian journalist, and one killing of baby done on purpose to send a message. Celebrities like George Carlin and others started talking about the dangers of it. By then the Columbians had too strong a foothold here to do anything, The Cubans have always been second to them, except in parts of Jersey and Florida.

[Villain]

Back in the old days, Europe was flooded with cocaine from China, not South America since by that time many of them never heard about that continent before lol So it is possible that the Chinese or maybe some Eruopeans were the first ones who also brought it to the New World and later we all know the story regarding the arrival of the Latin criminals. In fact, cocaine used to be ancient Chinese medicine along with the opium. The US was known for its famous and numerous brothels before, during and after Prohibition, which in turn also sold all of the available drugs on the market, including cocaine. The Irish, Jews and Black criminals, they all sold it but the roots came from China at the time. I also think that people in those days were partying in the same manner as the 70s and 80s or maybe even better lol but the thing is that the law and media were different during those days so I think that the whole "80s cocaine" thing was more of a government/media thing at the time or some type of awakening i dunno lol

[Stroccos]

Wasn’t Germany and Japan big producers I tjink it was Merck who’s as using it legally in there medicines

https://www.narconon.org/drug-informati ... eline.html

[Villain]

Wasn’t Germany and Japan big producers I tjink it was Merck who’s as using it legally in there medicines

It was until the 1800's, when German chemist known Heinrich Dreser invented the heroin powder, but still all of his substances came from Asia and the Middle East. At the time, cocaine was already known as being made into powder and it was used in all kinds of medicine treatments and also it was given to army soldiers

http://time.com/5530597/trump-china-drug-problem/

[DPG]

Pick up a copy of Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography. Will teach you anything ya need to know bout the drug.

[UTC]

Lyrics from Cole Porter's 1934 song "I Get A Kick Out of You":
Some get a kick from cocaine
I'm sure that if
I took even one sniff
That would bore me terrif-
Ically, too
Yet, I get a kick out of you

Sinatra did it in 1952.

[Antiliar]

Pick up a copy of Cocaine: An Unauthorized Biography. Will teach you anything ya need to know bout the drug.

I have it (at least from a library), but it doesn't cover everything. It is a very good book though.

In the 1910s and early 1920s Neapolitan and Calabrian Cammoristi were selling it, and Waxey Gordon trafficked in it in the 20s and 30s. Don't know who their connections were since it had to imported from producers in Bolivia, Peru and Java (it was brought there and later all the crops were destroyed). Then there's a gap until some Cuban, Bolivian, Chilean started getting into it in the late 1960s, along with Griselda Blanco and Alberto Bravo of Colombia. Yet people were still getting cocaine. Miles Davis started using coke in the late 1940s. He played with Charlie Parker who was the first serious heroin abuser in jazz. Until coke spread to rock and folk musicians in the 1960s, it was mostly limited to jazz musicians.

At any rate, I've seen books claim that the Mafia was distributing coke before the Colombians really got into it in the 1970s, but I haven't seen any evidence for it.

[bert]

I didn't realize how far back coke use went. This site has it being used. in the 1500's. Sigmund Freud was an addict. This site has all of that, here is a history of the drug from 1900-today. Note the New York Mag article from 1974 saying it's harmless recreation.


https://www.narconon.org/drug-informati ... 1990s.html

[Frank]

Was it really in the original Coke A Colo

[bert]

Was it really in the original Coke A Colo

Yes, up till 1903.

[Etna]

Well, considering the Frank Cali murder and the $22 million shiplent in nyc - there may be more we find out about it.

[Stroccos]

Well, considering the Frank Cali murder and the $22 million shiplent in nyc - there may be more we find out about it.

He rat out the shipment and get clipped ?