Random historic info

Discuss all mafia families in the U.S., Canada, Italy, and everywhere else in the world.

Moderator: Capos

Post Reply
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Random historic info

Post by B. »

Most of this is nothing new, but was going through some files and thought it was worth throwing them into a thread to see if it provokes discussion.

Image

- We know it goes back further than the turn of the century in the US. Interesting they linked early NYC's origins to Mulberry/Mott but not surprising.

- The mafia exploited people and committed crimes in Sicily long before this, but the early Sicilian and US mafia had many more ostensibly legitimate members, professionals, etc. Italian authorities reported how there was an "alta mafia" and "basso mafia" (who together formed the whole of the organization), the former having upper class mafiosi and the latter having bandits and street criminals. This report plays into the idea that the mafia became more of a "basso mafia" over later generations in the US, recruiting more from the criminal factions as the "alta mafia" element declined. This would have made the organization appear more outwardly criminal even though it always included crime.

- Stands out that the early US mafia may not have allowed even American-born Sicilians to join, later relenting to allow them. Reminded again of Giuseppe Morello saying Cascio Ferro and Enea broke a rule by not contacting a proposed member's compaesani / hometown in the early 1900s. The process of Americanization appears to have roughly gone: Inducted in Sicily -> Sicilian-born -> American-born Sicilian -> Calabrian / Neapolitan (could well have happened at the same time, though there are indications Calabrians were initially preferred) -> Italian-Americans (any heritage).

- Stands out too it was felt a decina was once strictly kept at ten members. Indicates it was named a "decina" not as a generality but because they were explicitly referring to 10 members under the captain. The Sicilian mafia also required new Families to have 10 members in order to qualify for recognition as a Family, so maybe the same was true for crews.

Image

^ This comes from Augie Maniaci I believe unless there was another Milwaukee member informing(?). He had incredible knowledge on the hierarchy going back to the early 1900s but seems he knew it went back further.

Image

- Not sure the source. This one confirms members had to be Sicilian (not exactly new insight), but claims "birth or heritage" unlike the source who felt early membership had to be born in Sicily itself.

- They definitely made non-Sicilians before the 1920s but it at least tells us the source understood this was a later development. Wording indicates they didn't simply open the doors to all Italian-Americans, but it first expanded to include another specific Italian ethnicity at first (Neapolitan in this example).

Image

- This comes from Joe Valachi's FBI interviews. Very interesting Valachi thought the books had been closed between 1909-1929. There is good reason to doubt this but we don't have a lot of info on inductions during that period either. I personally don't believe Valachi 100% invented this idea, as he must have heard something, but like a lot of info he may have gotten it slightly wrong or it got distorted.

- While membership may not have been closed for 20 continuous years before 1929, it tells us the later trends of long-term book closing has a long history. This would roughly coincide with the Morello/Lupo case which was a disaster both in terms of publicity and internal politics. We see the books were closed in 1931 after the Castellammarese War and an influx of new members, and then in 1957 after Apalachin, high-profile powerplays, and a huge influx of new members. Stands to reason that pre-1909 there was a huge influx of members coming from Sicily as well as making new members, so this combined with Lupo/Morello coul have led to a similar decision. Joe Bonanno wasn't made until around 1929 too.

- The last part about members made in other cities to get around the books is important too. Valachi left the streets and reported this close to a decade before Allie Persico was sent to another city to get made and then transferred to the Colombos. He says this was rare but it must have happened 1931-1945 given Valachi knew of it happening.

Image

- This is Dr. Melchiorre Allegra recalling how the structure was explained to him when he was made into the Pagliarelli Family around WWI, so 1910s.

- Makes sense smaller Families didn't have capodecina given we know entire Families could be as small as ten men (or less through attrition).

- Plays into the informant who said the mafia used to be strict about having ten members per decina. Sounds like Allegra is saying something similar. Also interesting he called it "capo della decina", as the 1870s and 1880s investigations showed they used the term "capo di decina".

- Refers to Families in Marseilles, Tunisia, and possibly others on the European continent.

- Explicitly says the consigliere ("advisor") would stand in as acting boss. We have other indications of this in Sicily and the US.
bronx
Full Patched
Posts: 2298
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 1:02 pm

Re: Random historic info

Post by bronx »

nice summary t.y.
User avatar
Angelo Santino
Filthy Few
Posts: 6564
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 8:15 am

Re: Random historic info

Post by Angelo Santino »

Grisafi joining the D'Aquila Gang-

By 1912 at least (we know it was likely earlier) that before a member joined his name was passed around the other groups in NYC.
CIMG5471 Grisafi 4 gangs D'Aquila.JPG
CIMG5472 members & 4 gangs.JPG
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
bronx
Full Patched
Posts: 2298
Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2014 1:02 pm

Re: Random historic info

Post by bronx »

nice Chris
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Random historic info

Post by B. »

Proves Valachi couldn't have gotten it 100% right, for sure. He didn't get the exact years the books were closed after 1931 right either, as he said they opened in 1954 but we know they opened in the mid-1940s including for the Genovese Family he was in. I'm sure he was more prone to error for the 1910s-1920s given he wasn't around then.
davidf1989
Sergeant Of Arms
Posts: 722
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:33 pm

Re: Random historic info

Post by davidf1989 »

B. wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 7:00 pm Proves Valachi couldn't have gotten it 100% right, for sure. He didn't get the exact years the books were closed after 1931 right either, as he said they opened in 1954 but we know they opened in the mid-1940s including for the Genovese Family he was in. I'm sure he was more prone to error for the 1910s-1920s given he wasn't around then.
Wasn't one of Valachi's mentors Alessandro Vollero a member of the Camorra? The article below mentions him and talks about the early witnesses such as Abe Reles who talked about the Mafia's structure

https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs ... ph-valachi
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Random historic info

Post by B. »

Yeah, he was schooled by Vollero in prison. He doesn't mention it in his book but in his Senate testimony he said Vollero's advice about Sicilians influenced him to transfer out of the Bonannos to the Genovese.
davidf1989
Sergeant Of Arms
Posts: 722
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:33 pm

Re: Random historic info

Post by davidf1989 »

B. wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 7:45 pm Yeah, he was schooled by Vollero in prison. He doesn't mention it in his book but in his Senate testimony he said Vollero's advice about Sicilians influenced him to transfer out of the Bonannos to the Genovese.
Thanks and what did happen to Vollero later in life B?
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Random historic info

Post by B. »

Valachi says he got out of prison and was worried the mafia still wanted to kill him, so Valachi went to Vito Genovese who assured him it was old history by that time. Valachi attended a dinner with Vollero and his family where they showed gratitude for his help, though it doesn't sound like Valachi had to do much for him.
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Random historic info

Post by B. »

Valachi says he was proposed for membership by Dominick Petrilli when Joe Pinzolo was Lucchese boss. Pinzolo looked him over then asked Valachi to get him girls -- Valachi was offended as he felt Pinzolo treated him like a pimp. May have been an ethnic component to that since Neapolitans were often pimps whereas Sicilians had a rule against it. Of course Sicilians had no rule against being a John haha.
davidf1989
Sergeant Of Arms
Posts: 722
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2021 7:33 pm

Re: Random historic info

Post by davidf1989 »

Al Capone was a Neapolitan and how was he perceived by Luciano and the other New York mobsters? I guess they would've been annoyed by the St Valentine's massacre being in the papers.
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Random historic info

Post by B. »

Too much to go into here, but like the excerpts in the original post say (and tons of other evidence) they brought in qualified Neapolitans over time. Some groups were more open to it than others.
User avatar
Antiliar
Full Patched
Posts: 4368
Joined: Sat Oct 25, 2014 12:08 pm
Contact:

Re: Random historic info

Post by Antiliar »

davidf1989 wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 8:02 pm Al Capone was a Neapolitan and how was he perceived by Luciano and the other New York mobsters? I guess they would've been annoyed by the St Valentine's massacre being in the papers.
Luciano and Capone were good friends. Luciano probably thought Capone did what he had to do and that it was just business. He was also friends with Frank Costello.
User avatar
PolackTony
Filthy Few
Posts: 5827
Joined: Thu May 28, 2020 10:54 am
Location: NYC/Chicago

Re: Random historic info

Post by PolackTony »

If it were the case that Calabresi were initially favored early on as compared to Nalolitani, linguistic and cultural factors may have been at play. Most Calabrian dialects are variants of Sicilianu, so the cultural divide may have been less of an issue there.
"Hey, hey, hey — this is America, baby! Survival of the fittest.”
B.
Men Of Mayhem
Posts: 10692
Joined: Mon Oct 27, 2014 10:18 pm
Contact:

Re: Random historic info

Post by B. »

PolackTony wrote: Thu Feb 10, 2022 9:52 pm If it were the case that Calabresi were initially favored early on as compared to Nalolitani, linguistic and cultural factors may have been at play. Most Calabrian dialects are variants of Sicilianu, so the cultural divide may have been less of an issue there.
This is what Morello member Nino Cecala told Calabrian counterfeiter Antonio Comito in the early 1900s:

"'Good! You are an intelligent man, and that is why I and all my
friends like you Calabrians, because you are secretive and are never
corrupted.
I knew a Calabrian who was arrested with counterfeit notes
on him, once, and the policemen made him all kinds of promises and
even punched him, in their effort to learn from him who had given him
the counterfeit money to exchange; but he never told a word. He never
squealed.'


--

According to Comito one of the members "Zu Vincenzo" also told him he would propose him for membership in the mafia, though he may have simply been trying to appease him given Comito was constantly disgruntled:

"'What do you do to live?'

"'You are too young to know certain things,' he explained with a
veiled glance. 'When you have become well interested in the affairs of
our society you will know how to live without work.'

"'Then you belong to some society which gives you money?' I inquired,
feigning stupidity.

"'Yes, but not like your societies. When you leave your societies
and join ours you will feel better.'

"'And what is the price of initiation?'

"'Nothing.'

"'How will I be admitted then?'

"'We must try you with a courageous deed requiring secrecy.'

"'And what is this society of yours called?' I asked.

"'It has no name.'

"'Is it a mutual aid society?'

"'No.'

"'Where are its headquarters?'

"'In all parts of the world.'


"'In Italy?'

"'Yes, in Italy.'

"'Then it must be the Masons?'

"'What, the Masons? Pooh-pooh! my friend. Ours is a society that
never ends and is bigger than the Masons.'

"'And when will you allow me to enter?'

"'I must school you first,' he grumbled, eyeing me suspiciously. 'And
when you become known to the heads, and are respected, then we will
christen you.'

"'You will christen me?' I exclaimed.

"'Yes.'


"'How is that? I have already been baptized in the Roman Catholic
religion, and now you would baptize me again?'

"'Certainly!' he grinned. 'But it is not a matter of religion. You are
christened into the society. We give you a title that you will bear in
secret, a title that will make you obeyed and respected in all parts
of the world.'


"'I am curious to attend a meeting of your society.'

"'In time you will attend; but first, I would have to ask the
superiors.
'
Post Reply