THE ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, FAMILY
On October 8,
1963, famous Mafia defector Joseph Valachi, in his lengthy testimony given
before the McClellan Committee, spent a few lines on Mafia activity in the city
of Rochester, New York. He identified two Rochester
brothers, Costanze “Stanley” and Frank Valenti, as members of New York City’s Bonanno Family, and their
pictures were pinned on one of the charts used during the hearings. Valachi
stated he had met the brothers “one time or another” through an intermediary.
But his testimony was confusing and contradicting. By identifying the Valenti
brothers, the recognized leaders of Italian organized crime in the Rochester area, as Bonanno Family members, he indicated
the Rochester
rackets were under control of a New York City Family. But having previously
testified that the Mafia in Buffalo, only 65 miles west of Rochester, supervised the entire area from Buffalo up to Utica and
into Ontario, Canada, Valachi contradicted
himself.
Adding to the
confusing was the fact that in an earlier session of the committee, Valachi had
answered “nothing in Rochester”
to the question whether there was any Cosa Nostra presence in that city. When
asked about these discrepancies, Valachi replied; “Senator, I don’t know the
difference between Rochester and Buffalo. I call Rochester
Buffalo. To me they are the same.” Although Valachi with this answer clearly
meant that it was in fact the Buffalo Family that the Valenti brothers belonged
to, he did not retract his earlier statement that the Valentis were members in
the Bonanno Family. It was all Valachi had to say about the Valentis or Rochester in general.
Exactly why
Valachi would classify the Valentis as Bonanno members, despite Rochester’s geographical closeness to Buffalo, is unclear. Truth is the Valentis
were members of the Buffalo Mafia, at the time headed by Stefano Magaddino. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation had the information to prove it, but remained
silent. Informants much closer to the Valentis then Valachi had identified the
brothers as Magaddino underlings and wiretaps placed in Magaddino’s business in
Niagara Falls clearly showed the influence the Buffalo mob wielded over the Rochester rackets. Valachi could have been
simply confused, or did not know exactly what he was talking about. But more
assumable, Valachi overestimated the influence of New York’s
Bonanno Family in Rochester,
which it did turn out to have.*
*More then a decade after Valachi’s testimony,
these ties became clear when several Rochester Mafia members sought the support
and advice of the Bonanno Family when the Rochester
group was facing internal leadership issues. To seek this support the Rochester mobsters must
have been already familiar with at least some Bonanno Family members. But it
would also indicate the approval of the Bonannos was necessary for the
Rochester Mafiosi to make changes in their leadership, or at least the
Rochester Mafioso felt so.
It is not exactly
clear how both the Bonanno and Magaddino Families gained their influence in the
Rochester area.
For Buffalo, it could have been a simple matter
of proximity, considering the authority Magaddino held in most of western New York. This however,
does not explain how the Bonannos wound up having influence in the area. One
character that could have played a role in the development of these ties is
Vincenzo “Black Jim” Colletti. Colletti, the Mafia chieftain in Colorado, was like the
Valenti brothers wrongly described as a Bonanno soldier during the Valachi
testimony. His direct ties to the Bonanno mob were clearer though; with Joseph
Bonanno, he was a partner in the Colorado Cheese Company.
During the later
part of the 1910s, Colletti lived in Rochester
and, apparently, in other parts of the New York
state and New Jersey.
Reportedly, Colletti only moved to Colorado
somewhere around 1940. According to a Federal informant, Colletti was “one of
the organized criminal element who opened up Rochester for the mob in the middle and late
1920s.” The same informant advised that Colletti was related through marriage
to an alleged Rochester Mafia member. This informant could provide no
additional information about Colletti and his link with the Rochester Mafia,
making Colletti’s associates and operations during this period unclear.
Another figure
that possibly is of interest in regard with developing ties between the Mafia
in Rochester and both the Bonanno and Magaddino
Families is one Calogero Arena, a suspected Rochester blackmailer. Being arrested in
October 1919 on behalf of Detroit authorities, Arena was wanted there as one of
the shooters of Salvatore Giannola, one of Detroit’s reigning Mafia bosses.*
Arrested a few days after Arena, in Arena’s Rochester home, was John Macalizzi,
a confederate in the shooting. Both Arena and Macalizzi were identified by
witnesses as the gunmen. Despite their identification, both escaped conviction
on the Giannola murder charge. Macalizzi however, was jailed for another
homicide only a short time later. Arena found himself on the receiving end of
gang vengeance, being murdered in Rochester
on December 29, 1924.
*During the 1920s, there have been several
other instances that tied the cities of Rochester
and Detroit
together. One was the Giannola murder. Another was murder of Angelo LaFata in Detroit in November
1925????????? In addition to Leo Cellurra, a notorious Detroit Mafia figure,
four men who had just arrived from Rochester
were taken into custody. Another would be Frank Cremaldi, an organized crime
figure active in Rochester, Chicago
and Detroit.
Finally, there was Angelo LoVecchi, a Detroit Mafia member and suspected with
several other prominent Detroit Mafiosi in the murder of radio commentator
Gerald Buckley, shot too death in Detroit
in July 1930. LoVecchi had been a former Rochester
resident who had been implicated in a string of robberies committed in the
city.
In August 1921,
several men were arrested in Brooklyn and Manhattan,
New York. Among them was Stefano
Magaddino, the future Buffalo mob boss, who at
the time made his home in Brooklyn. The men
were arrested after one of their gang, Bartolo Fontano, had confessed his sins
and that of the gang to police. The gang, Fontano claimed, was known as “The
Good Killers”, and had been responsible for various murders in New York and Detroit.
One of the Detroit
murders Fontano stated was committed on the orders of the Good Killers was that
of Salvatore Giannola, the murder Arena and Macalizzi had been charged with two
years earlier.
Although some of
Fontano’s claims can be questioned, Fontano did know his way around in Detroit crime circles. He
became associated with the Good Killers gang in the motor city and stayed with
the group for several years. He then moved to New York City, quickly aligning himself with
the Good Killer branch of that city. The Good Killers gang was in fact (a part
of) the Castellammarese Mafia clan, of which Magaddino at the time was a
ranking member. The New York City Castellammarese clan would eventually develop
into the Bonanno Family. Fontano also revealed the headquarters of the gang was
in Buffalo.
Magaddino, in a trap laid by police, was arrested when he was about to board a
train to Buffalo
with Fontano to meet the leader of the band, according to Fontano’s later
statements.*
*This however, is one of those claims Fontano
made that can be questioned. For a detailed explanation, see the chapters ??NYC
early years, ??Bonanno, ??Buffalo
If the Giannola
murder was indeed committed by the Good Killers gang, as Fontano stated, Arena
and Macalizzi were acting on their orders. Arena and Macalizzi then were either
members or associates of the Good Killer mob, giving an explanation to the long
standing ties between the three Mafia groups. Arena, police reported, had
formerly lived in Detroit,
where he had become acquainted with a Black Hand gang. Apparently, this was the
same gang Fontano was affiliated with. But as with Colletti, Arena’s exact
scope of associates remains unclear. Both have most assumable figured in
developing relationships between the Rochester Mafia and its counterparts in New York City and Buffalo,
but due to a lack of more detailed information the extent of their involvement
remains unknown.
But despite the
influence of out-of-town crime syndicates, most of Rochester’s Italian organized crime scene was
home-grown. When the Italian immigrant colony in the city began to take form by
the late 1890s, early 1900s, Rochester
was no exception to other American cities with an Italian population. While
most of the Italian immigrants worked hard to build up a life in their new
home, a very small percentage turned to crime. Black Hand extortionists made a
regular appearance within the Rochester Italian community. As is seen with
Black Hand extortion in almost every city the tactic was in practice, in most
cases the crimes were committed by small, disorganized bands of criminals. More
often then not, these bands concentrated on one victim before being disbanded,
whether voluntarily or by interference of law enforcement.
Rochester’s first
Black Hand incidents of prominence, not only receiving the attention of local
newspapers, but also of many other New York state publications, were the cases
surrounding Frank Randazzo. Randazzo was the operator of a Rochester saloon, who in August 1906 was
visited by three men demanding money in the name of the Black Hand society.
Reaching for his cash register, Randazzo grabbed his gun instead of the
demanded money, and shot one of the Black Handers through the heart. He died
instantly, while the others fled the saloon. The dead man was identified as
Antonio Reggitano. One of his companions was thought to be one Lelajoine
DeCome, a Rochester
baker in whose house Reggitano boarded.
Randazzo had been
hounded by the Black Hand, according to his own statements. He formerly lived
in Cleveland,
where he also had been the subject of Black Hand extortionists. Fleeing that
city and settling in Rochester,
he opened a saloon and became relatively wealthy. Not long after he opened his
saloon, Randazzo again became the subject of Black Hand threats, which
eventually resulted in the shooting of Reggitano. Although police suspected
there might be more to the case then Randazzo claimed, their sympathy lay with
the saloonkeeper. Held on murder charges for only a few days, Randazzo was
released after he had been acquitted of any wrongdoing.
In January that
following year, Randazzo again received visitors in his saloon that demanded
money under the threat of the Black Hand. Again Randazzo grabbed his pistol,
and shot at the men. He wounded one of them; another again fled the place. This
time, Randazzo had a lot more trouble convincing law enforcement of his
innocence. Randazzo’s place turned out to be a disorderly house, and he was
taken into custody. He would eventually be convicted of shooting the alleged
Black Hander, identified as Giuseppe Grecco, and was sentenced to Auburn
prison. Randazzo’s claim that the victim was a Black Hand agent attempting to
extort money was disregarded. After Randazzo’s would be released in 1911, he
kept maintaining that the man he shot was a Black Hander.
Although both
Randazzo cases made for spectacular reading in the local newspapers and various
other New York and Pennsylvania newspapers showed interest in
the fact that an extortion victim had shot his assailants, the cases itself
proved of little importance. Despite speculations of the media, no evidence
pointing to the existence an organized extortion ring was uncovered. Both of
the extortion attempts, if it were in fact extortion attempts as Randazzo
claimed, appear to have been nothing more then efforts to “earn” some easy
money. While these efforts proved fatal for one and painful for another Black
Hander, it did not stop others from using the same methods. Many similar extortion
attempts, not addressed to Randazzo, followed. Some were successful, some not.
During the same
period, the city was also slowly coming to the attention of organized Italian
criminal elements. In the summer of 1907, Rochester
for the first time figured in a case involving a highly organized Italian
criminal society. It centered around Hillsville and Newcastle, Pennsylvania,
were a network of Italian extortionist stood trial for their crimes. Called a
Black Hand gang in the media, the group appears to have been connected with the
criminal clans of Calabria.
One of the supposed leaders of the gang was Giuseppe Joti, operating from Youngstown, Ohio.
Joti was said to have been a lieutenant of Giuseppe Mussolini, who at the time
was called “the dreaded bandit king of Italy”. In his era, Mussolini was
among the most powerful gang bosses in Calabria,
being a leader of what Italian police at the time described as “Picciotteria”,
allegedly a forerunner of the N’drangheta.
The Rochester angle in the
case came with the arrest of Ferdinando Surace, better known as Fred Serace,
late in July 1907. Surace had been a former resident of the Hillsville
district, were he was said to be among the leaders of the local Black Hand
organization. When arrested, Surace had only recently moved to Rochester, but had already invested in
several pieces of real estate in the area. He had build up a reputation of good
standing within the local Italian community, many of them supporting him in his
fight against extradition to Pennsylvania.
When this failed and Surace was extradited, some followed him to support him
during the trial that followed.
Surace would
eventually be convicted in the case, and was sentenced to fifteen years for his
part in the string of crimes the Black Hand organization was accused of.
Surace’s sentence was the highest given, but he served only six years. In 1913,
he was released from prison and returned to the Rochester area. He would live there for the
rest of his life, passing away in 1967. After his release from prison, Surace
managed to keep a clean record with the Rochester
police department, despite one arrest for bootlegging during prohibition, for
which he was eventually acquitted. Despite his prior involvement with the
Hillsville Black Hand organization, there is nothing that indicates Surace
picked up his old criminal contacts after having been released, nor that he
build up any new ones.*
*Surace’s eldest son, Dominick, would
eventually operate within the sphere of the Rochester Italian underworld, when
in ???, at age ???, he was arrested and charged with being a major bookmaking
figure.
Soon after
Surace’s arrest in 1907, several Pennsylvania
newspapers claimed the Hillsville
organization had a branch in Rochester.
Their findings were based on the arrests of several Rochester Italians
described as Black Handers. While the Pennsylvania
papers announced those arrested were linked to Surace and wanted by Hillsville
police, the Rochester
media made no mention of any such link. Neither did the Rochester police department that made the
arrests. In fact, both spend very little attention to Surace, devoting most of
their time to the local Black Hand outrage. It evolved around the Lodato family
and Luigi DiVito. And despite what the Pennsylvania
newspapers made believe, it had nothing to do with the Hillsville case.
The ball started rolling
due to DiVito, who walked into a police station within days of the Surace
arrest. He complained he had been fired upon by one Charles Lodato. When Lodato
was placed under arrest and told his side of the story, the case turned into a
complicated story of assault, threats and an alleged local Black Hand
syndicate. Charles Lodato and his brother Joseph stated that not DiVito, but
the Lodato family was the victim in this case. According to the brothers,
DiVito had arraigned for one Angelo Rossi, a Canandaigua Italian and alleged
member of the Rochester Black Hand, to kill Charles. Rossi made an attempt, in
which Lodato’s face was slashed.
Lodato would have
been killed whether it was not for a police officer, who reached the scene of
the violent struggle right at the moment Rossi was about to plunge his razor
into Lodato’s chest. Therefore, the police were aware the Lodatos spoke the
truth, or at least partially. They were also aware of DiVito’s prior record,
having been arrested on Black Hand activities in May. According to the Lodatos,
the attack upon DiVito, in which none of the shots hit the intended target, was
in self defense. The story of the Lodatos, the officers argued, made sense.
DiVito was taken into custody, and with several companions was charged with the
assault of Lodato.
After the charges
had been handed down, the case itself slowly disappeared from the newspapers. Some
of those involved however, would make re-appearances in later years. Most
notable of these was Joseph Lodato, the brother of Charles, who had claimed
their family had been marked for extermination by the DiVito’s Black Hand gang.
Lodato himself was convicted for using Black Hand extortion methods in 1913.
After having served three years in prison for his crime, he would grow out to
become one of the leading Italian organized crime figures during prohibition.
Within a year of
DiVito’s arrest, another noteworthy Black Hand ring was exposed. Early in July
1908, several men were caught after having extorted several Rochester area farmers. They were eventually
sentenced to prison. The case itself was far from spectacular and received only
minor attention from the local press. Within three years however, it was
prominently measured out during a string of events starting with the February
1911 murder of Antonio Ollis. A brother of one of the Black Handers convicted
in 1908, Antonio was suspected of having a hand in many recent crimes within
the local Italian community. Letters found in Ollis’ possession, according to
investigators, indicated he had connections with the Mafia in Sicily.
Little more then
half a year later, on October 30, 1911, a barrel was found alongside a road just
outside of Rochester.
Closer examination of the barrel revealed a chopped up body inside. The body
was identified as Francesco Manzella the next day. Manzella was another of the
Black Hand members arrested in July 1908 and had been released from prison only
five months earlier. The murders of Ollis and Manzella were quickly linked
together. Manzella, according to police, was somehow involved in the murder of
Antonio Ollis, despite him still being in prison at the time, and was murdered
by Ollis’ friends in revenge.
Arrested for the
Manzella murder were two brothers, Giuseppe and Domenico Galbo. Domenico was
the son-in-law of Sam Ollis, a well known Rochester
fruit merchant, known as “king of the bananas”. Sam Ollis was a brother of
Giuseppe Ollis, who in turn was the father of Antonio and Paul.* The Galbos,
police alleged, had murdered Manzella as a favor to Domenico’s father-in-law.
Witnesses had seen the Galbo brothers driving a wagon on the road alongside
which the barrel containing Manzella’s body was found. More importantly,
witnesses claimed the wagon carried a barrel similar to the one later found. It
also became clear the Galbos were no strangers to Manzella, who had worked for
Sam Ollis until shortly before his murder. Manzella’s immediate boss during
this work was Domenico Galbo.
*The Ollis family, whose spelling of their
surname was originally Allesse or Allessi, has played an important role in the
early annals of Rochester
organized crime. While Sam Ollis, the banana merchant, was a respected
businessman in the Rochester Italian community, the impression left during the
Manzella murder trial lead to another conclusion. Various other Ollis family
members had regular brushes with the law. In addition to Antonio and Paul,
their father had served time in prison, having murdered one Giuseppe Lombardo
in Rochester in
1899.
Domenico Galbo,
eventually charged with Manzella’s murder, was put on trial in July 1912. During
the trial it became evident that bad blood existed between the senior Ollis
brothers. The possibility was there that it was actually Sam Ollis who was
behind the murder of both Antonio, his nephew, and Manzella. Antonio was not
only Sam’s nephew, but also his business rival. Authorities now believed
Manzella, a known friend of both Antonio and Paul Ollis, was out to get revenge
for Antonio’s death and was killed to prevent him from doing so. This theory
was crushed, or at least legally, when Giuseppe Ollis showed up in court, and
testified on behalf of Galbo.
A month prior to
his testimony, Giuseppe had lost another son. Paul, the Black Hander, was
fatally shot in an apparent quarrel over money. But rumors it was again the
banana king who was behind the murder started to surface almost immediately.
Nevertheless, Giuseppe, in typical Sicilian tradition, appeared in court and
pleaded there was no way his brother or the Galbos could have hurt his sons or
Manzella. His pleas were to no avail. Galbo was found guilty of the murder and
was sentenced to twenty years in prison. He was granted a new trial in 1916, in which he was
acquitted. It was believed Galbo could not have committed the violent act
against Manzella; he had two artificial legs.
After Galbo’s
conviction, it remained quit around the Ollis family. Some family members
continued to engage in criminal activity, but the violence and intrigues
connected with them during the early 1910s disappeared. The most serious charge
an Ollis family member would be convicted of in later years was burglary, when
Anthony J. Ollis was sentenced to prison for this offense in the mid 1930s.
Anthony, a direct relative of the Antonio murdered in February 1911, was the
family member that would be most involved in criminal activities despite the
lack of a further criminal record. He became a close associate of Rochester mob boss Frank
Valenti during the 1950s and 1960s, acting as his chauffeur at various times.
While the Galbo
case played out in court, Black Hand outrages continued to terrorize Rochester’s Italian
inhabitants. But more and more, the interest in these cases faded. Authorities
had a difficult task making arrests. Victims and witnesses remained silent more
often then not. Solving Black Hand cases became a rarity. The media also
reported less and less on crimes within the Italian quarter. It almost seemed they
grew tired of the apparently endless string of crimes. When Luigi DiVito shot
to death another alleged Black Hand figure and was convicted of this crime in
February 1913, the newspapers made an exception, as they would do with Lodato’s
conviction that same year. In contrast, the murder of Frank LaVerde in November
1917, was announced in an article of only a few lines. LaVerde was no small fry
however; convicted with Lodato in 1913, he was known as a notorious criminal
ever since.
But that little
had changed became painfully clear in March 1919, when an alleged Black Hand
member shot and killed Rochester
police man James H. Upton. Upton was shot in cold blood by Luigi Guadagnino,
after the latter and several companions were caught by the officer while trying
to set fire to a fruit store, no doubt because the owner of the fruit store had
failed to give in when money had been demanded from him. Luigi escaped, but
three of his companions were arrested. Rochester
police searched desperately for the killer of their colleague, but would not
find him until more then two years later. In May 1921, Guadagnino was arrested,
put on trial and quickly convicted after he pled guilty to second-degree
manslaughter.
As an outgrowth of
Guadagnino’s conviction, Rochester would face its last high profile Black Hand
case.* Early in July 1922, a
short time after Guadagnino took his plea, Rafaele Greco, a brother-in-law of
Guadagnino and alleged to be a leading figure in the Black Hand, was arrested
for extortion, together with half a dozen accomplices. Greco, it was rumored,
had taken it upon himself to collect a defense funds for his brother-in-law, so
his conviction could be fought. Greco’s way to gain this funds was by a method
both he and his brother-in-law were familiar with; Black Hand extortion. Greco
had been successful in several attempts, but his efforts to collect enough for
Guadagnino’s defense obviously failed with his arrest.**
*Although police
were quick to dub the Greco gang a Black Hand organization, and several of its
members indeed were known to have used the extortion method, the group appears
to have been more. The Greco gang was well organized, and not only was involved
in extortion, but in a variety of crimes. Greco’s possession of lottery tickets
when arrested indicates involvement in the gambling racket. And with Calogero
Arena, Greco was at least associated with a Mafia figure. In addition, when
Guadagnino shot Officer Upton in 1919, he and two of his companions not only
carried revolvers, but had permits for them. It was not unusual for Mafia
affiliated figures to have gun permits during this time, but simple Black Hand
extortionists seldom had one.
**Interestingly,
when the police searched Greco’s belongings upon his was arrested, they found
several books of lottery tickets. Arrested with an even bigger amount of the
same lottery ticket books later that month and held for running the lottery,
was Calogero Arena, who has been discussed previously.
The arrest of
Greco and his henchmen did not deliver any convictions. Although Greco himself
was sentenced to six months in prison, this was because of a weapon law
violation, for which he had previously received a suspended sentence. The
others, all held in high bonds, appear to have escaped being indicted; two of
them figured in a murder case within a year of their arrest on the extortion
charges. This concerned the April 1923 murder of Giuseppe Capello, who was shot
to death in a quarrel.* Greco himself, having been released after having served
his sentence for weapon law violations, was held as a material witness in the
same case. But even with their ineffective prosecution and their continuing
involvement in criminal activities, the gang at least dropped their use of
Black Hand extortion.
*The Capello murder again linked Greco to a
Mafia figure. Another of the persons arrested as a witness, in addition to
Greco, was Greco’s friend Michele LoQuasto from Pittston. Michele was the
brother of Luigi LoQuasto, father of Pittston Mafia member Modesto LoQuasto.
The Greco gang was
not alone in leaving the writing of extortion letters behind. During the early
and mid 1920s, Black Hand activity in general ceased to exist. Not only in Rochester, but across the United States the Black Hand
extortion method was a dying phenomenon. This had little to do with
interference of law enforcement. Although the Rochester police department, as well as many
others across the nation, was fierce in dealing with Black Handers and
responsible for many convictions, the real reason behind the disappearing
method was simple. Another opportunity, one that had the ability to yield more
profit, while being considered a lesser violation of the law, had developed.
That opportunity was bootlegging.
With the
prohibition law coming into effect on a Federal level on January 29, 1920,
criminal gangs all around the country quickly muscled themselves into control
of the illegal alcohol trade. These gangs were of all kinds of ethnic
backgrounds and mixtures, often bound to their own specific neighborhoods.
Unintentionally, prohibition was in many cities the direct cause of bringing
various crime syndicates to power, a position they would often hold on to for
many years after prohibition had already been repealed. The city of Rochester was no
exception. During and right after this period, Rochester’s Italian underworld was consolidated
into the form as it would be known for many years to follow.
By the mid 1920s, Rochester’s most powerful
Italian bootleg syndicates were those led by Joseph Lodato, the former Black
Hander, and by Alfio Boscarino, known as the “King of the Bootleggers”. Various
other Italian bootleg gangs were active within the city, most of them somehow
aligned or associated with either the Lodato or Boscarino outfit. Of the two, Boscarino appears to have been
most active, having a record of many liquor law violations dating back to June
1920, when a huge still was discovered in a barn owned by him. Lodato’s record
only showed one entry for liquor violations, a conviction on ale smuggling in
May 1926.
While the Italian
bootleg trade in Rochester
had a relatively peaceful start, hostilities between the various factions began
to arise somewhere around 1926. At the center of it stood Boscarino. The
shootings started in the night of April 13, 1927, when Boscarino was ambushed
and shot. The police hauled in two brothers as suspects, Vincenzo and Antonio
Infantino, the latter dividing his time between Rochester
and Buffalo,
were he conducted a grocery store. Both however, were released due to
insufficient evidence. Boscarino remained silent, and the shooting was left
unsolved. The Infantinos had formerly been aligned with Boscarino, but had
ended the cooperation a short period before Boscarino’s shooting.
Less then a month
after the Boscarino shooting, on the first of May, his main competitor, Joseph
Lodato, was shot to death. Lodato was said by police to have been one of the
leading bootlegging racketeers in Western New York.
Boscarino, according to police a known enemy of Lodato, and several of his
associates were questioned. Seven of Lodato’s associates were arrested as
material witnesses. Among them was Pasquale Amico, better known as Patsy. Amico
had been a partner with Lodato in the bootlegging business, and was among
Lodato’s co-defendants in his 1926 liquor trial. He had risen quickly among the
ranks of the Lodato group, and would become an important figure in the
Rochester Mafia in years to come.
Both Lodato’s
enemies and his associates were unable, or better said unwilling, to shed any
light on the murder. While the police were certain the Lodato murder was
related to the ongoing feud in Rochester’s
Italian bootlegging circles, they were unable to prove anything. But while the
investigations into both the Boscarino shooting and the Lodato murder stood
still, the feud didn’t. Boscarino was wounded in a shooting again in July,
while leaving the business of one of his associates.* Again the Infantino
brothers were arrested. Boscarino identified Anthony as the shooter and ended
up testifying in court against him. The trial did result in a conviction, but
Infantino was released after a successful appeal.
*Interesting enough, the business place
Boscarino left when shot was the restaurant of Angelo Alessi, at 191 Clifford Avenue.
Alessi was yet another member of the extensive Ollis family, although his exact
relationship to Giuseppe and his sons Antonio and Paul is unclear.
Boscarino’s
decision to testify in court apparently made him loose some amount of respect
from his associates, since police shortly thereafter heard rumors that
Boscarino was no longer referred to as king of the bootleggers. However,
Boscarino continued to operate as a large bootlegging force. By 1930, despite
being physical broken, he felt strong enough to face the Anthony Infantino
again. This time, the element of surprise would be on his side. Traveling to Buffalo with a bodyguard,
Boscarino shot down Infantino in front of a police station on September 12,
1930. He would die of his wounds a few days later, and Boscarino was charged
with his death. Having gained the nickname of “Lucky” due too the many attempts
on his life he survived, Boscarino lived up to his moniker; he was never
prosecuted.
With Boscarino’s
apparent downfall, other bootlegging gangs became prominent. By now, Pasquale
Amico, together with his close associate Vito Piccaretto, were among Rochester’s most powerful
liquor racketeers. Alleged to have taken over the former operations of Joseph
Lodato, both Amico and Piccaretto managed to stay insulated from most of the
violence that had occurred, and was about to occur. Both managed to gain a
lengthy arrest record, and together they were picked up in a murder
investigation, but both were never formally charged with a serious violent
crime. Their subtle ways of conducting business, eventually brought them on top
of the Rochester Mafia.
Another powerful
bootleg outfit was headed by two Morreale brothers, Angelo and Salvatore. The
Morreales had been arrested various times on liquor law violations, and were
apparently loosely connected with the Infantinos; Angelo Morreale had figured
in the July 1927 shooting of Boscarino, and had been held as a material witness
for several days. Taking a different
path then Amico and Piccaretto, they were one of the driving forces behind much
of the bootleg related warfare during the last years of prohibition; by 1928, a bitter feud had erupted
between the brothers and a mid level bootlegger named Sam Spitale.
Spitale conducted
a speakeasy across the street of one operated by Angelo Morreale’s. When
Morreale’s place was raided by prohibition agents and Spitale’s place was left
alone, Morreale accused Spitale of informing on him. While the Morreales and
Spitale already had a known dislike for each other, it was Morreale’s suspicion
that made the brewing feud escalate. With the help of two of his bootlegging
associates, Angelo Morreale, according to police, started to plot Spitale’s
demise. And although Sam Spitale survived the two murder attempts that would
follow and would die of old age years later, the feud would completely destruct
his life.
On November 14,
1928, Morreale and his confederates carried out their plot. Police stated one
gunman lay in wait before Spitale’s home that night, and Morreale and the third
conspirator were waiting nearby in a car. When Spitale, accompanied by his
sixteen year old wife, returned for their home and were about to enter the
driveway, the gunman took aim and fired several shots. Spitale, walking a short
distance before his wife, managed to reach the door and escape inside. His wife
didn’t. She was cut down by the gunfire, and died the following day in the
hospital. Arrest warrants were issued for the three, all of them already having
vanished from their usual haunts.
With their three
suspects having disappeared, police had yet another open, and thus an unsolved,
homicide. But due to the death of Spitale’s wife, the former Angelina Merlo,
they were able to close down another case, one that had remained an open file
since it was committed in January of 1926. It came with the arrest of the
girl’s father, Antonio Merlo, having come to Rochester to avenge his daughter’s death, he
proclaimed when apprehended. Merlo had been
sought since he had fled Rochester
after having shot to death his brother and wounded his own wife. After Merlo’s long sought
arrest was announced, detectives gave the additional comment: “There are the
Morreales, the Spitales and the Merlos, and underneath the constant whisper of
the Mafia vendetta.”
After the first
attempt on Spitale’s life, he was left grief-stricken by the death of his young
wife. But with Angelo having left the area, Spitale appears to have felt
relatively safe. He did not leave the Rochester
area, nor did he appear to have been extra cautious. Sam Morreale, apparently
the less violent of the brothers, continued his own bootlegging operations, but
left Spitale alone. Spitale too, continued his illegal liquor operations. Rochester’s Italian
bootleg scene remained unstable, but as far as the 1920s concerned, had seen
its most violent period. In the early 1930s however, the old feuds flared up
again.
With the new
decade only a few days old, Vincenzo Infantino lost his wife and daughter in an
attempt on his own life. Naturally, Boscarino was blamed, although it is
uncertain whether he really was behind the shooting. As mentioned above,
Vincenzo’s brother Tony was shot a few months later, an act Boscarino was
certainly responsible for. The Morreale/Spitale feud also made a comeback, when
in September 1931, Angelo Morreale was finally arrested in Denver, Colorado,
were he had fled after the murder of Spitale’s wife. In Colorado, Morreale had remained active in
bootlegging, which eventually led too his capture; his arrest took place in a
bootleg establishment.
Morreale was
charged with the murder of Angelina Spitale and was convicted in December, only
three months after he was apprehended. Within five months of Morreale’s
conviction, the second attempt on Sam Spitale’s life was made. Spitale had
given lengthy testimony during Morreale’s trial, greatly attributing to a conviction.
In May 1932, Spitale’s car exploded as he was about to start it. Seven sticks
of dynamite had been placed under the car. Spitale only survived because six
sticks had fallen off the car, and did not explode. “It was the Morreale mob”,
police immediately announced. However, this time they failed to make definitive
arrests, and the case remains unsolved.
After the Spitale
bombing, the Rochester
liquor feuds slowly ceased, the end of prohibition coming in sight. When it did
end in December 1933, many of the prominent bootlegging figures, including
Spitale and the Morreales, had faded away from view. Others, such as Amico,
Piccaretto and Boscarino, continued their involvement in criminal activities.
Bootlegging remained a profitable business, due to the heavy taxes on legal
liquor. But the demand was not as high as during prohibition, causing a
decrease of income for the former bootleggers. Those who chose to continue to operate
on the wrong side of the law started looking into other criminal activities.
Gambling,
counterfeiting, burglaries and robberies were among those activities, although
these were certainly not new. Several Italian organized crime figures had been
involved similar crimes years before prohibition had been repealed. The
lifeblood of the old Black Hand gangs, extortion, was another important source
of income. Although the tactics used by the Black Hand gangs had almost
completely disappeared, there were other methods. Organizing certain
professions into associations, to which members had to pay in order to benefit
from certain privileges, was one of them. The privileges the members of these
associations got were often simple. They were allowed to operate, while those who
refused to join were driven out of business, or worse. That this method was
being used in Rochester,
even when the prohibition laws were still in effect, became clear in July of
1932.
On the 28th of
that month, Domenico DiVincenzo, a wealthy baker, was shot while standing in
the doorway of his own bakery. DiVincenzo, police learned, was killed due to
his refusal to join a racketeer dominated baker association.* On two prior
occasions, bombs had been detonated outside of DiVincenzo’s home, with DiVincenzo
and his family escaping without serious injuries on both instances. But not
that day in July; DiVincenzo died instantly. Two of his assailants were
arrested, one only minutes after the shooting with the help of a butcher who
chased the fleeing gunmen, the other the following day. Eventually, the first
was convicted, the latter was found not guilty.
* An interesting side note is that Ignazio
Lupo, with Giuseppe Morello New York’s
most notorious Mafia bosses in the 1900s, was involved in a similar racket in
the mid 1930s.
A third person was
arrested in the case, although not charged with the murder itself. This was
Joseph Fiannaca, a well known police character. Fiannaca and several of his
relatives had long been associated with Italian organized crime in both Rochester and Chicago,
Illinois. Fiannaca’s own record
included an arrest for his alleged participation in the 1927 bombing of the
home of Charles J. Mondo, a District Attorney prosecuting one of Fiannaca’s
friends. Three years later Fiannaca was himself
on the receiving end of gangster violence, when he was slightly wounded in a
shooting in Chicago,
while apparently acting as a bodyguard for Philip Gnolfo. Gnolfo, a former
Mafia power aligned with the Genna brothers, did not survive the attack.
How Fiannaca
gained his contacts with the Chicago Mafia is unclear. A good possibility is
that he continued with associations a few of his relatives had built up. Three
of Fiannaca’s cousins, Giovanni, Vincenzo and Salvatore, had been active in Chicago. As early as
1912, Giovanni Fiannaca had been arrested as a suspected bomb maker and had
been linked to Black Hand extortion on several occasions. On November 30, 1918,
Giovanni was murdered in what police described as a feud over control of the
grape market. Several months after Giovanni’s murder, an attack was made upon
his widow and to escape the wrath of their enemies, the family moved to Rochester.
But Rochester did not prove
to be much safer. Exactly a year after Giovanni’s murder in Chicago, Vincenzo was shot to death. The last
brother, Salvatore, left Rochester and
reportedly returned to his native Italy, in the hopes of finding a
safe hiding place. At the time of Joseph Fiannaca’s 1927 arrest for bombing the
Mondo home, police claimed he was the sole survivor of the Fiannaca family,
with his last cousin, Salvatore, having been assassinated in Italy after his
return there. The police greatly exaggerated their claim, but with the three
murdered brothers, the family certainly had been decimated.*
*Newspaper reports claim the children of
Giovanni were also killed in the feud, but there are no records that can
confirm this.
After his release
in the DiVincenzo case, Joseph Fiannaca managed to avoid attention of both law
enforcement and the media and disappeared from view. His Chicago Mafia contacts
appear to have died with Gnolfo; there is nothing that indicates Fiannaca, or
any other Rochester organized crime figure, was in contact with Chicago
mobsters after this period.* Due to their activities in both Rochester and
Chicago, the Fiannacas are certainly noteworthy and of interest to organized
crime historians. But the family had practically no role in the overall
development of the Mafia in either city.
*Before the 1930s however, Rochester
crime figures were involved in the Chicago
rackets on several occasions. Frank Cremaldi, a Rochester
crime figure and one time leader of a notorious gang known as the Wolves,
popped up in Chicago
as a Capone ally in the mid 1920s, and was murdered there in 1926. Frank
Granata, another Rochester crime figure,
relocated to Chicago after a long career in Rochester
By the mid 1930s,
the Italian underworld in Rochester
appeared relatively stable. The bootlegging feuds had disappeared with the
repeal of prohibition, and the various factions seem to have operated alongside
each other without any significant troubles. Whatever caused this change is not
entirely clear, although there are several possibilities. One is that a mutual
agreement had been made among the organized crime bands operating within the
city, another that the activities of each band simply did not interfere with
each other. Yet another would be that one overall leader had stood up, sizing
control of the organized Italian underworld and effectively ending the old rum
feuds.
If such a leader
indeed existed, the person that fits the description best was Pasquale Amico.
Already a veteran mobster, Amico appears to have had the support of Buffalo’s Magaddino mob; in September of 1931, he had been
arrested in Buffalo
while leaving the house of Angelo Palmeri, a powerful Buffalo Mafia figure.
Arrested with Amico were two other Buffalo
mobsters, one being Joseph DiCarlo Jr, like Palmeri a ranking figure within the
Buffalo Family and at one time labeled Buffalo’s
Public Enemy number one. Amico remained
a leading figure in the Rochester Mafia until his passing in 1947. He kept
himself in the background during most of his later career. Three of Amico’s
sons would follow in their father’s footsteps.
The stature Amico
held within the Rochester Mafia did not go unnoticed by law enforcement. The
Federal Bureau of Narcotics, who in contrast to the FBI believed in the
existence of Mafia bands operating in the United States prior to the 1957
Apalachin Meeting,* had been informed of his reputation. He was named as
Rochester Mafia member in a top secret file supplied to the Kefauver
Investigation Committee in 1950, this despite his passing three years earlier.
The file named a handful other alleged Rochester Mafia members,** but none
appear to have been of the same prominence as Amico, nor did they enjoy his Buffalo contacts.
*The FBN was one of
the only national law enforcement agencies that were aware of the existence of
various Mafia groups operating throughout the United States. The Secret Service
was another. The FBI however, denied such an existence until being confronted
with its misjudgment in 1957.
*The file concerned a list naming alleged
Mafia members in the United
States. There were eight identified as Rochester residents.
Named in alphabetical order were Domenico and Giuseppe Aida, Patsy Amico,
Robert Brucato, Joseph Cavallaro, Tony D’Agortino, Rocco Pelligrino and a R.
Della Ventura. Tony D’Agortino was listed as living in East
Rochester. Although the list was a good effort of the FBN to
identify the leading Mafia figures in the US, it contained several
inaccuracies. When looking at the eight Rochester residents listed, one was a
woman, one most assumable was a Genovese Family capo operating and living in
White Plains, NY, and of two, the Aidas, there is absolutely no proof of they
even ever lived in Rochester, nor were they ever arrested by Rochester
police.
From somewhere
around the late 1920s, early 1930s, Amico’s closest associate and apparent
right hand man was Vito Piccaretto. Like Amico, Piccaretto had long been active
in Rochester
crime circles. Together, they were arrested and questioned in the 1931 slaying
of Vincenzo Chiarmonte, a partner of the mobsters in a speakeasy. Both however,
were released due to insufficient evidence, despite Piccarreto having been seen
by witnesses covered in blood. As Amico had done with three of his sons,
Piccaretto would raise his son to become a mob member. And like Amico,
Piccarreto died in 1947.
If Pasquale Amico
was indeed Rochester’s
leading Mafia figure, which is no unreasonable assumption, Piccaretto without
doubt would have been his second in command. With the passing of both in 1947,
the mob was left leaderless. Although it can be assumed a successor was either
quickly elected or appointed, it remains unclear who this person was.
Information on this period is simply lacking. It was still ten years before the
Apalachin Meeting, and thus ten years before the FBI started its active
investigations into the activities of the Mafia. And although in later years
several Rochester Mafia members would cooperate with authorities, none were
able to provide any information relating to this period.
Rochester’s Italian underworld itself remained in the background during most
of this period, making the identification of any possible leaders even harder.
Although there were various arrests of Mafia affiliated figures, authorities
failed to uncover any links to an organized criminal network. Even when in 1950 a two million a year
lottery operation involving elements of the Mafia in Rochester,
Utica and Baltimore
was broken up, no such link was made and as a result, no investigations were
undertaken to identify any crime bosses behind the operation. Rochester’s underworld hierarchy during this
period remains in anonymity.
There is one
figure that, although never identified as such, appears to have played an
important role in Rochester’s
Mafia during the late 1940s and early 1950s, namely Erasmo Mutolo. The only evidence
that exists for this allegation is the fact that his name appeared in an
address book seized in 1950 from Girolamo Adamo, at that time the underboss of
the Los Angeles Mafia. The seized book contained some fifty names, of which
Mutolo was the only Rochester
resident. All other names listed were of persons who (eventually) were
identified as high ranking Mafia members. Of Mutolo himself little is known. He
appears to have died somewhere in the 1950s.
Only in 1957, ten
years after the passing of Amico and Piccarreto, Rochester’s
alleged leading Mafia figures would be positively identified, the Apalachin
meeting being responsible. The Valenti brothers, discussed above, were the two Rochester residents in
attendance. Costanze, although the younger of the two, was claimed by law
enforcement to be in control of the Rochester rackets, with his brother Frank
acting under his supervision. Although it is possible Costanze was in control
of the local crime scene since the death of Amico and Piccaretto, this appears
unlikely, since he was only twenty one years old at the time. Frank, fifteen
years older, also was an unlikely candidate for a position of authority the
late 1940s and early 1950s; he had only recently arrived from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The attention the
Valenti brothers received from both law enforcement and the media after their
detection at Apalachin brought them into legal difficulties. After both had
refused to answer questions before a Grand Jury investigating the reasons
behind the underworld meeting, they were jailed for contempt in August 1958.
Frank was released within a year. Costanze was held longer, gaining his release
after sixteen months in prison. Although both free again, the Valentis were
unable to hold on to their control of Rochester
underworld activities. Costanze was under constant surveillance by law
enforcement, while Frank had made himself scarce in Rochester for similar reasons.
Shortly after his
release from prison, Frank Valenti was indicted for unlawfully having registered
to vote in 1957, prior to his attendance at Apalachin. Valenti was not permitted to register due to
his criminal record, but had ignored this matter. He managed to keep out of the
hands of law enforcement for a period of time, but eventually turned himself
in. In April 1961, Frank Valenti was sentenced to three years in exile from Rochester. He returned to
Pittsburgh,
where he had spent most of his adult life. With Frank gone, and Stanley unable
to move without Federal agents knowing it, somebody else was left in charge of
the Rochester Mafia.
Alleged to have
taken over control of the Rochester
mob after the jailing of the Valentis in 1958, Jacomino Russolesi was
identified as the new head. Better known as Jake Russo, Russolesi was a long
time Rochester
organized crime figure, with an arrest record stretching back to 1938. Although
Russolesi did have the backing of the Buffalo Family, various sources have
claimed he had a weak personality. He did not have enough authority to keep his
underlings in line, and his own superiors in Buffalo doubted he would hold himself when
under pressure. Nevertheless, Russolesi was looked upon as the new head of
Magaddino’s Rochester
branch.
Russolesi did have
one advantage; he was not named Valenti. With the brothers getting most of law
enforcement’s attention, Russolesi was able to remain in the background. The
mob quietly continued operations as it had in the late 1940s and most of the
1950s. When on November 23, 1961, the mutilated body of Canadian mobster and Magaddino
underling Alberto Agueci was found in a field just outside of Rochester, little attention was given to
Russolesi and the local Mafia. While Russolesi, according to underworld
sources, was involved in the torture slaying ,investigators were convinced the
murder had been carried out by the Utica Falcone mob.* But despite his ability keep both himself and his
underlings away from attention, Magaddino kept skeptical about him.
*The Utica based Falcone mob, for long controlled by the
Falcone brothers, Salvatore and Joseph, was like the Rochester mob a branch of the Magaddino
Family. The Agueci murder, according to law enforcement, had been committed as
a favor to Magaddino. This however, seems implausible. With Agueci had
threatened to inform on Magaddino and his murder was without a doubt ordered.
Near the end of
1963, during the major publicity the Mafia in almost every city it was active
in received due to the cooperation of Joseph Valachi with the McClellan
Committee, Russolesi had completely fallen out of favor with Stefano Magaddino.
A federal informant had advised his handling agent that Magaddino, now that it
became more and more plausible Russolesi would be called for an investigative
body, feared his Rochester
representative might think of testifying about the Agueci murder. According to
this informant, Magaddino had instructed one of his underlings to contact
Russolesi’s brother, and relay the message that if Russolesi would not stand up
well during questioning, both he and his brother would be killed.
Magaddino’s threat
proved effective. Russolesi never cooperated with any law enforcement agency.
But that did not make Magaddino’s grudge disappear. As soon as he got the
opportunity, Magaddino gave his approval for Russolesi’s demise. That opportunity
came in September 1964, in
the form of Frank Valenti. Having completed his exile, Valenti returned to Rochester, eagerly
seeking to regain control of the local underworld. As mob protocol required, he
turned to Magaddino, who threw in his support. The days were numbered for
Russolesi. .
Around November of
1964, Frank Valenti made it known that he was the new boss of the local Mafia.
He threw two giant parties, attended by almost the entire local gambling scene,
as well as some of Valenti’s out of town associates. There was one big absentee
however. Russolesi was not among Valenti’s guests, having mysteriously
disappeared a few days before Valenti’s first party. He has never been found.
Several rumors surround his disappearance, one that he went to Florida, where he was claimed to have been seen several
times after he had vanished from his Rochester
haunts. The belief of law enforcement was more assumable; Valenti had secured
his new position with Russolesi’s murder.
Although Valenti
was now recognized as Rochester’s
new crime boss, he himself must have had mixed feelings about this particular
period. His prominent position had made him into a trophy for law enforcement
agencies, watching every of his movements. The same counted for the media. Where
Russolesi had kept a relatively low profile and stayed out of the newspapers
during his reign, Frank Valenti with his flamboyant behavior was another story.
But Valenti’s attitude was not the only factor attributing to his regular
appearance in the media. He had already been the subject of previous headlines,
with both his presence at Apalachin in 1957 and his identification as a Mafia
member by Valachi in 1963. But he also had the bad luck of wrestling control of
the local gambling scene at a time one of Rochester’s
leading papers ran a detailed investigative series on it.
Starting on
November 29, 1964, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle published a series
profiling Rochester
residents in the possession of a federal gambling stamp. This stamp enabled
persons to accept a certain amount of bets. Although the stamp was certainly
not a free ticket to start a major gambling operation, it did help out if an
arrested bookmaker was in possession of one. The Democrat and Chronicle started
their investigation into the local gambling scene after they had noted the city
had the most “stamped gamblers” of the entire state, twenty-nine in total. By
way of illustration, Niagara Falls
was the runner-up, with six. New York
City only had one.
When the series
had run a few issues, accompanying articles detailing the overall gambling
scene in Rochester
were published added. By the start of December, with Valenti only in control of
the Rochester
mob for a few weeks, the paper pointed its attention towards him. There was
little on Frank Valenti the newspaper did not comment on. Detailed were among
other things his former criminal endeavors, his thrown parties for his
associates and his forged driver’s license. Law enforcement reacted on the
articles with a series of gambling raids, placing under arrest several Valenti
connected gambling operators. Although Valenti himself was not touched by the
raids, the period must have been at least uncomfortable for him.
The series ran
until the end of December. Within two months of the publication of the last
part, Valenti was back into the headlines, when he was linked to the slaying of
a well known gambling figure. On February 24, 1965, the body of Dominick
Allocco was found. With an arrest record stretching over thirty years, Allocco
had long been active on the fringes of the Rochester Mafia. Information
surfaced that Allocco’s welcome had ran out, and was murdered on the orders of
Frank Valenti. He was suspected of informing and his death was a message of the
syndicate. Valenti himself was conveniently out of town at the time. Although
authorities hauled him in a few days after the killing, they were unable to
prove anything against him, or against anybody else. Valenti was at the heights
of his power.
Most of Rochester’s gambling
scene was now either paying off to Valenti or under his direct control. Many of
his underlings had also firmly established themselves in a wide variety of both
legal and illegal businesses. The only obstacle still in his way was the law.
Bribery would be the solution, Valenti argued, and in May 1965, he held a
meeting with two members of the Vice Control Unit of the Rochester Police
Bureau. The meeting took place only three days after the bureau’s constant
surveillance of Valenti had been stopped. A little more then a year later, an
investigative commission concluded this meeting was “certainly not for any
legitimate law enforcement purpose or for the carrying out of any lawful and
proper police function”. It was only the first of a series of corruption
scandals and strange behavior surrounding Rochester
law enforcement agencies.
The meeting
however, did not help Valenti much. Both officers were suspended after the
findings of the investigative commission and Valenti’s surveillance continued.
Gambling, seen as Valenti’s main source of income, was among the top priorities
of both local and state police. Raids resulting in indictments were a common
phenomenon. Several of Valenti’s close associates were arrested for gambling
related crimes during the 1960s and early 1970s. And although these arrests
seldom had serious consequences for those involved, it seriously disrupted the
mob’s gambling operations. Little results were booked on other fields however.
The Family’s infiltration of unions was left untouched. Equally poor successes
were made with the solving of Rochester’s
three apparent gangland slayings in the later part of the 1960s.
Most mysterious of
these slayings was the August 4, 1969 shooting of Samuel C. Russotti, a nephew
of Samuel J. Russotti, Valenti’s reputed consiglieri. The other two murders, of
Norman Huck in December 1967 and of Enrico Visconte in March 1969, were of low
level crime figures and could be traced to their criminal activities. But
Russotti, police investigators stated, was a “clean, hard-working man” and no
motive for his death was found. Other then him being the nephew of a high
ranking Mafia figure, there was nothing that tied the slain man to any
underworld activity. Even his exact cause of death was unclear. Although shot
in the head two times, and witnesses had come forward claiming to have heard as
much as four shots, suicide was not ruled out. All three slayings remain
unsolved.
Of the three
murders, Russotti’s is the most implausible too have been carried out with the
knowledge of Valenti. Until today, no reason for his murder has been
established. The other two, authorities alleged, had been carried out by the
organized criminal element. Both Huck and Visconte appeared to have fallen out
of favor with their former criminal associates shortly before their demise.
Neither Valenti nor any of his close associates were ever officially suspected
in the murders. The victims had simply been too far down the crime ladder to
link them directly to the mobsters.
February 1970
would bring yet another gang murder, but this time the links with the upper
elechon of the Rochester
mob were perfectly clear. The victim, William Lupo was found slumped behind the
wheel of his car. He was described as one of Valenti’s closest associates and
at the time of his death was under federal investigation in connection with
loansharking. The investigation into Lupo’s murder, as well as an unrelated
investigation into gambling junkets to Las
Vegas, brought Valenti and his Mafia cronies to the
full attention of law enforcement. Valenti decided something had to be done in
order to distract this attention, and plotted a move that, he thought, would
relief them of the law for a considerable time. In a conspiracy that showed
Valenti’s true face as a violent and vicious individual willing to harm
innocent people to save his criminal organization, he ordered a series of
bombings on public buildings.
On October 12, 1970, a total of five bombs
exploded, causing major damage to two black churches, the Federal Building, the
County Office Building, and a union’s official’s home. Fifteen days later, two
bombs were detonated outside two synagogues, and six days later another
synagogue was targeted. On December 15, 1971, the home of a Monroe County Court
judge was bombed. Police were clueless. There was absolutely no pattern in the
bombings, and evidence that could lead to the identification of a suspect was
missing. As Valenti had suspected, the attention of law enforcement was now
primarily focused on solving the bombings, without having the slightest idea it
was Valenti who was behind it.
It remains the
question if Valenti’s Buffalo
superiors would have approved his bombing actions. These however, had other
problems on their mind. In November 1968, during a raid on the home of Peter
Magaddino, the son of Stefano, the FBI discovered two suitcases containing a
total of more then half a million dollar. Several of Magaddino’s underlings
were infuriated when they learned of the discovery; Magaddino, federal
informants stated, had recently announced his members would not receive their
annual cash bonuses with Christmas because he lacked the proper financial
resources. Buffalo’s
Mafia, having been a relatively stable group since the late 1930s, fell apart into
various factions.
Valenti, it is
alleged, had taken the opportunity to declare the independence, of the
Rochester Mafia, although there is little to no evidence the group was ever
recognized as such by either the Buffalo
organization or the national Commission. Law enforcement sources have labeled
the Rochester Mafia as independent since the 1970s, with a hierarchy accepted
as common for regular Families.* The internal difficulties within the Buffalo
mob made it possible for the Rochester branch to operate without their
interference, opening the way for Valenti to carry out his bombing attack.
*Law enforcement charts of this period
depicting the Rochester Mafia list a boss, underboss and consiglieri, capos and
soldiers. This hierarchy is typical for independent Families.
It would take
almost five years before police learned who were really responsible for the
bombings, known as the Columbus Day Bombings. But despite this little
“success”, the plot did not have the effect Valenti had hoped for. Within two
weeks of the October 12 bombings, Rochester
police raided a mob controlled gambling establishment, arresting two operators
and several patrons. The bombings were definitely a top priority to the various
law enforcement agencies, but obviously, Valenti and his associates were not
out of the picture completely. This became even clearer in December 1970, when
Valenti was linked to yet another gangland homicide.
Whether it was the
lack of proper results, or the viciousness and thoughtlessness of the bombings,
Valenti’s underlings slowly began to resent their leader. Valenti’s underboss
and consiglieri, Rene Piccaretto, and Samuel Russotti respectively, were among
the main figures who grew tired of Valenti’s behavior. Piccaretto was the son
of former Rochester Mafia power Vito. Russotti was another veteran of the Rochester organization,
with a criminal record starting in 1938. Valenti however, was still recognized
as Rochester’s
leader by Mafia figures from other cities, making it difficult to either oust or
kill him without the possibility of repercussions.
Although the
relationship with Buffalo
had cooled down, it had not entirely disappeared. In addition, Valenti still
had strong connections with the Pittsburgh Mafia. Not only had Valenti himself
been a member of that Family prior to his coming to Rochester,
his brother had married the daughter of a powerful Pittsburgh capo. Russotti and Piccarreto knew
they could not act against the Valentis without support of their own. When they
were feeling confident enough to make their move, they began lobbying.
Piccaretto, who by now appears to have had close contacts with New York’s Bonanno
Family, reportedly sought their backing, but was advised that due to the
connection the Valenti brothers had with the Pittsburgh Family, their murder
would not be sanctioned.
Frank Valenti was
confronted on several occasions by his underboss and consiglieri, urging him to
step down. Accused of keeping certain earnings for himself, Valenti confirmed
his accusation, but refused to step down. Warned by the Bonanno Family to
undertake any action against the Valentis themselves, Piccaretto and Russotti
sought another solution. The decision was made to take out one of Frank
Valenti’s more loyal underlings. In the night of May 5, 1972, Dominick Chirico
was shot to death in a drive-by shooting. When Valenti again was confronted, he
gave in and promised to leave the city. In October that same year, Valenti
moved to Phoenix, Arizona.
Although
unwilling, Valenti made several trips back to Rochester that same year. With the moving of
his household, Valenti had transported four guns over state lines, a crime for
which he was indicted. Valentis troubles started piling up. He was already out
on bail pending an appeal on a conviction stemming from his refusal to
cooperate with a Grand Jury investigating organized gambling, and under
indictment in an unrelated extortion case. In December 1972, he was convicted
on the extortion charges, and eventually received a twenty year prison
sentence. In March the following year he was convicted on the gun charges, which
added another five years.
Convicted in the
extortion case with Valenti was one Joseph Zito, a Batavia
crime figure associated with the Binghamton
branch of the Pittston Family, then under leadership of Russell Bufalino. Zito
faced a twelve year prison sentence, and was certainly not planning to sit it
out. In April 1973, the FBI announced that Zito had become a cooperating
witness, and had provided a wealth of information on Mafia operations in the Western New York. Zito explained that in a joint
operation, mobsters from Rochester and Binghamton had attempted to gain control of the vending
machine business in and around Syracuse,
New York, by eliminating
competitors. Various other mob controlled operations were also bared by Zito.
Zito’s cooperation
resulted in a string of arrests of Mafia figures associated with the Families
in Rochester, Pittston and Buffalo. Among the twenty-four eventually
charged in various indictments were Russell Bufalino and his Binghamton representative Anthony Guarnieri,
and Frank Valenti. A massive trial followed, with Zito as the prosecution’s
star witness. The damaging amount of information exposed during his extensive
testimony proved to be the biggest concern for the mobsters; in the end, all
escaped conviction. For Valenti, the outcome made little difference; his prison
sentence on extortion charges had already effectively removed him from the Rochester crime scene.
Upon Valenti’s involuntary
department from Rochester,
Salvatore Russotti seized control of the Family. Piccaretto’s position was
shifted from underboss to consiglieri. Salvatore Gingello, a relatively
newcomer, was identified as the new underboss. Remaining Valenti loyalists were
either forced out of town, or joined Russotti’s new regime. Stanley Valenti,
having been a capo during his brother’s reign, was demoted. He moved to Victor
and disassociated himself from the affairs of the crime Family. The influence
the Valentis held over the Rochester
underworld for the better part of two decades, had ended.
Russotti’s reign
would not be much different then Valenti’s. He would eventually end up in
prison. His downfall started in November 1973, when Rochester Mafia member
Vincent “Jimmy the Hammer” Massaro turned up dead, found in the trunk of his
car. Russotti, it was learned later, had ordered Massaro murdered after the
latter had complained about the behavior of the current Family hierarchy. It
would not be until 1975 that Russotti and some of his underlings were indicted
for the crime. Russotti had been suspected of having a hand in the murder ever
since the body was found, but until his indictment, evidence was missing.
The Massaro murder
had created a desire within law enforcement agencies to destroy the local crime
Family. Their brake came in December 1974, with the arrest of William
Zimmerman. A local fence, Zimmerman had dealings with various Mafia figures,
and shortly after his arrest began telling all he knew about them. Zimmerman
himself was a low level crime figure, who himself had very little knowledge on
the Mafia’s structure and operations, But his cooperation did result in the
arrest of several persons on theft-related charges. Among them was Charles
Monacchino, the brother of Rochester Family soldier Angelo Monacchino.
Charles proved an
important catch. Like Zimmerman, he started to provide police with information.
But Monacchino did have knowledge of the workings of the Rochester mob. He told all he knew, including
the involvement of his brother Angelo in a 1970 gangland slaying. When arrested
for the murder, Angelo followed his brother’s lead. Joseph Lanovera, another
Rochester Mafia member, started cooperating with law enforcement not long after
Angelo Monacchino. The information the Monacchinos and LaNovara provided was of
tremendous value, and resulted in a string of indictments. Among the crimes
cleared was the murder of Massaro. But more astonishing was the revelation of
the truth surrounding the bombings that had terrorized Rochester in 1970 and 1971, until then
attributed to left-winged radicals. Another almost unbelievable revelation was
a plot of a handful of mobsters to kill then Sheriff William Lombard
Charged with
Massaro’s murder were Russotti, Piccaretto and Gingello, as well as several
others. The information provided by the cooperating witnesses was collaborated
with extensive surveillance reports of the Monroe County
sheriff department. The case against the mobsters was strong, and in November
1976, resulted in the conviction of almost all of the original defendants.
Russotti, Piccaretto, Gingello and three others received lengthy prison
sentences in January 1977. It was the first major success against the Rochester mob since
Valenti’s conviction.
But the success
would not last long. In September that same year, rumors started to surface
indicating several members of the sheriff’s department had committed perjury
during the Massaro murder trial, and a federal investigation followed.
Surveillances that were said to have been conducted turned out to be
fabricated. When in January 1978
a sheriff department detective admitted to this in
Federal Court, the convictions of Russotti and his confederates were
immediately overturned. On February the first, all were released from prison,
after having served a little more then one year. The actions of the sheriff’s
department would have consequences for several of its own members.
The actions also
had its effect on the Rochester Mafia. When convicted in January 1977, Russotti
had left an underling, Thomas Didio, in charge of his underworld operations.
Didio, related to Russotti capo Thomas Marotta, had helped Russotti with
ousting Valenti in the early 1970s. Russotti wrongly believed Didio could be
easily controlled, but turned out to have his own agenda. Instead of helping
the families of the convicted mobsters, Didio principally helped himself.
Halfway 1979, while still in prison, Russotti wanted Didio removed as acting
boss. Didio refused. For the second time during the 1970s, factions of the
Rochester Mafia lined up against each other.
In an attempt to
strengthen his position, Didio reportedly sought the advice of Stanley Valenti,
who in turn consulted his brother. Frank saw the split as an opportunity to
regain his former power upon release from prison. Didio was advised that the
Valentis were behind him. But even with Russotti and his most loyal followers
in prison, Didio’s entourage was small. Towards the end of 1977, Didio and his
followers were forced into hiding. Both law enforcement and the media had
followed the developments with interest. The main players of the factions were
quickly identified, and popularly dubbed the “A-Team”, those loyal to Russotti,
and the “B-Team”, the Valenti and Didio supporters. The inevitable struggle
that would follow therefore became known as the “Alphabet War”.
When Russotti and
the others were released from prison in January 1978, it appeared order was
restored quickly. Russotti wasted no time in regaining control of the Family,
and Didio seemed to offer no resistance. But it was far from the truth. B-Team
members, dissatisfied with the return of the established leadership, had begun
plotting the removal of the Family’s underboss, Salvatore Gingello. After
several failed attempts, they succeeded by blowing up Gingello’s car in April
1978, with Gingello and two bodyguards inside. Gingello did not survive, but
his two bodyguards, Thomas Torpey and Thomas Taylor, miraculously survived the
attack, escaping with only minor injuries.
The Gingello
murder did not have the effect Didio had wished; Russotti refused to give in.
The B-Team continued its efforts to oust him. On May 19, 1978, Didio loyalists
bombed a social club functioning as a gambling parlor, which was connected to
Russotti. Four days later, another Russotti controlled gambling parlor was
bombed. But still Russotti refused to subdue to Didio, and was quick to
retaliate. On May 25, only six days after the first bombing, Rosario Chirico, one
of the leading figures of the B-Team was shot by a sniper. The brother of
Dominick Chirico, gunned down in 1972 because of his loyalty towards Frank
Valenti, Rosario
was among the first to put his support behind Didio. Knowing Russotti was
behind his brother’s murder, he had a good reason for his dislike towards the
formal leader. Surviving the shooting, he had another.
In July 1978, the
second fatal victim of the struggle fell. It was B-Team leader Thomas Didio who
was shot to death with a submachine gun, only five days after two B-Team
figures had been arrested with a load of dynamite in their possession. Didio’s
murder was quickly followed by the non-fatal shooting of Rodney Starkweather,
another B-Team affiliate, and one of the two arrested with the explosives.
Starkweather had been publicly named as a suspect in the murder of Salvatore
Gingello, and as it later turned out had been involved in the bombings on the
Russotti linked gambling parlors. Facing various indictments on the one side,
and possible death on the other, Starkweather weighted his options and decided
to cooperate with law enforcement in February 1979.
With the death of
Didio and the loss of one of their main enforcers, the B-Team had been dealt a
severe blow. With the B-Team unable or unwilling to continue their grab for
control of the Rochester
mob, the violence ceased after the shootings. But the struggle had received
tremendous attention from both local and national media. Law enforcement
agencies, recently having been faced with the misconduct of various members of
the sheriff’s department, were determined to break the warring factions.
Investigations were conducted not only into the bombings and shootings, but
also into gambling, loan sharking, extortion, arson and various other mob
influenced rackets. Mobsters were frequently stopped in their cars, and on more
then one occasion, were arrested for carrying weapons.
The B-Team
received the first hits. In a string of indictments, eight members of the
Valenti faction were charged on a variety of allegations including the bombings
of the Russotti gambling parlors. Among them were Rosario Chirico, Angelo
Vaccaro and Sonny Celestino, two alleged leaders of the B-Team, and Stanley
Valenti. Frank Frassetto was another. Frassetto at first had been identified as
a member of the A-Team, but as it turned out acted as an inside source for the
Valenti group. His cover was blown in July 1978, when he was arrested with
B-Team figures after a high speed car chase. Of the eight named in the original
indictment, all except Stanley Valenti were put on trial. In January 1980, all
seven were found guilty.
But this victory
for the law must have been overshadowed by the various cases evolving around
persons involved in the prosecution of the Massaro murder case defendants. The
detective admitting his guilt in January 1978 had brought the ball rolling. A
Monroe County Grand Jury investigation was started in February, almost
immediately after the detective’s guilty plea. No time was wasted; that same
month, four detectives and three deputies were indicted on charges ranging from
burglary to perjury. Eventually, all but one were convicted. More indictments
followed in April 1979, after a Federal Grand Jury had concluded its
investigation. A second Federal Grand
Jury was conducted, ending up charging five in December.
Named in the
December 1979 indictment were Raymond E. Cornelius, Patrick J. Brophy, William
C. Mahoney, John E Kennerson and Joseph Robortella, the latter three also named
in the indictments returned in April. Mahoney, Kennerson and Robortella were
all formerly employed by the Monroe
County sheriff’s
department. Cornelius, at the time of his indictment Monroe County Family Court
judge, was a former first assistant District Attorney responsible for the
Massaro murder prosecution. Brophy was an assistant District Attorney in the
prosecution of an unrelated case. The five were charged with violating the
civil rights of at least sixteen persons. Eventually, Cornelius, Brophy,
Mahoney and Robortella were hauled into court, with the trial starting in
September 1980. Kennerson had pled guilty in February and appeared as a witness
against his former colleagues.
Of the four,
William Mahoney received the most negative attention. A former detective of the
Rochester police department, Mahoney became
chief of detectives of the Monroe
County sheriff’s
department in January 1974. He was known as a rough enforcer of the law,
responsible for hundreds of arrests during his twenty four year career. He was
among those responsible for bringing in the Monacchinos as government
witnesses. But Mahoney had another side. He had some kind of association in a restaurant
business with William Lupo, the Valenti’s lieutenant murdered in 1970 and in
1977 he was suspended because he had used a prisoner for personal benefit. He
resigned four months later.
In December 1980, a verdict was reached
in the civil rights case. Cornelius and Robortella were both cleared of all
charges. Mahoney and Brophy were convicted, Mahoney on three charges, Brophy on
one. Both would eventually receive fines. A year later, Mahoney died of a heart
attack, broken by the last years of his life. In the end, the sentences
received by both those who had gone to trial and those who had plead guilty
were minor. But the whole episode was humiliating for all Rochester law enforcement departments.
Despite successful convictions of Mafia figures like Frank Valenti and most of
the B-Team, it was the acquitted Russotti, Piccaretto and their confederates
that dominated the headlines.
Russotti came out
the real winner, at least for the moment being. He and his closest associates
were out of prison, and back in control of the Rochester Mafia. Frank Valenti,
having been released from prison in June 1980, had little to no support left in
Rochester, and went back to Phoenix. Stanley, having escaped trial in the B-Team
case, would remain in the area, but again disassociated himself from his former
criminal life, this time for good. Obviously, Russotti did not think of Stanley as a threat,
since no attempts on his life were ever made despite his backing of the B-Team.
He died of natural causes in 2001,
in Victor, little more then sixteen miles south-east of Rochester. Frank died
seventeen years later, in a Texas
nursing home.
But Russotti soon
faced a new rebellion. In December 1981, after a relatively quit year, John
Fiorino, an alleged capo under Russotti, was shot to death upon leaving a
restaurant in Irondequoit, a Rochester suburb.* Four days after Fiorino’s
murder, the first suspect was indicted. Louis DiGullio, a low level associate,
was accused of being implicated in the murder. A second suspect, John Joseph
Sullivan, was arrested in February 1982. Those having ordered the murder would
not be known until June that year, when DiGullio signed statements identifying
two other men involved in the slaying. They were Thomas Torpey and Thomas
Taylor, the bodyguards of Gingello who had escaped unharmed when their boss was
blown to pieces.
*Fiorino was shot
while leaving the Blue Gardenia Restaurant, operated by Benjamin Managazze,
better known as Ben Manning. Manning was a minor gambling figure linked to the
A-Team. His restaurant had been a notorious meeting place for hoodlums and had
been the scene of the attempted bombing of Gingello by the B-Team in March
1978.
The core of the
group responsible for the Fiorino slaying were Torpey and Taylor, with several other
figures aligned with them. Although most had been associated with various
Mafiosi, none of the group were known to have been initiated members of the
Rochester Mafia. As DiGullio would later explain, Taylor, Torpey, Sullivan and himself planned
to overthrow the local mob with the murder of Fiorino and Richard Marino, the
Family’s alleged underboss. Obviously, Marino was not found. With the removal
of Fiorino and Marino, the quartet planned to take over the city’s rackets. The
crime Family had been weakened by the internal struggles of the 1970s and
Torpey and Taylor thought the time was ripe for a take over. Their faction
became known as the C-Team.
Some time after
the Fiorino slaying, the C-team felt strong enough to start intimidating Mafia
operated gambling parlors. In March 1982, Taylor, Torpey and Michael and Thomas
Pelusio entered a social club and beat a man into the hospital. The beating was
a clear insult to Russotti, who was linked to the club. Russotti retaliated the
following month by ordering, through Piccarreto, the execution of members of
the insurgent faction. Nicholas Mastrodonato was murdered that same month,
followed by the murder of Gerald Pelusio in August. Gerald was a brother of
Michael and Thomas, and police suspected he had been mistaken for one of them.
But the insurgent
mobsters turned out to be the least of Russotti’s problems. Rochester’s law enforcement agencies were
doing everything they could to stop the mob and its accompanying violence. With
the humiliating Massaro case still fresh in their minds, extensive
investigations were conducted carefully; another fiasco was the last thing they
needed. On November 10, 1982, Russotti, Piccarreto and eight others were named
in a racketeering indictment charging them with a wide variety of crimes,
including murder. The indictment, as well as the legal troubles that by now
were piling up for Taylor and Torpey, caused the ongoing feud to cease. But
only temporarily.
All of the ten
mobsters indicted made bail and were soon back on the streets. So were Taylor
and Torpey, and it did not take long for the feud to start brewing again. In
April 1983, Thomas Marotta, another of Russotti’s capos, was shot but survived.
The murder of Dino Tortarice in August that same year was thought to have been
Russotti’s reprisal. Tortarice’s involvement with the C-Team appears to have
been minor, having been described by a police informant as “a possible
associate of Thomas Pelusio”. His family and friends described him as a
well-liked character, with absolutely no involvement with organized crime.
However, at the time of his slaying Tortarice had been under investigation by a
Federal Grand Jury in connection with the shooting of Marotta four months
earlier. Marotta would be shot at again in November, and again survived.*
*In 1989, the FBI
revealed that it was not the C-Team, but Rene Piccarreto who had ordered the
shootings of Marotta, although they failed to give a further explanation. Three
years later, a mob hitman pled guilty to the murders of the three C-Team
figures, as well as the two attempts on Marotta’s life.
After the November
shooting of Marotta, the struggle came to a halt. Taylor and Torpey were
focusing their attention on their legal troubles. Russotti, Piccarreto Marotta,
who was indicted with Russotti, and their seven confederates were doing the
same. Taylor and Torpey had been indicted for the Fiorino slaying after
DiGuillio’s confessions. Testimony in their trial started on November 7, 1983,
after eight weeks of jury selection. On January 3, the jury announced it was
deadlocked, after six days of deliberation. A mistrial was declared, and both
Thomases escaped conviction. Up to then, the trial was not only the county’s
longest, but also its costliest. The mistrial was only a delay of the execution
however. In August 1985, both received lengthy prison terms after a second
trial on the charge had been concluded.
The racketeering
trial for Russotti and the nine other defendants started in September, 1984. A wide variety of
witnesses was called by the defense, including Angelo Monachino and Anthony
Oliveri, a member of the Rochester
mob who had been cooperating with authorities since 1980. Testimony in the
trial was a chronology of violence and crimes. The gathered evidence was
strong, as it has been in Russotti’s earlier trial. But now nothing had been
fabricated. In October, the jury had reached a verdict. Salvatore Russotti was
found guilty, as well as Piccarreto, Marotta and four others. Despite the acquittal
of three, the outcome of the trial was a major victory for law enforcement, a
victory they needed after the humiliating affairs of almost four years earlier.
With Russotti’s
and the rest of the Family’s hierarchy send to prison, again the Rochester Mafia
was left leaderless. Senior members left on the streets were either unable or
unwilling to take over the reigns and leadership fell into the hands of a
younger generation of mobsters. Having stepped up as acting boss, according to
informants, was Angelo Amico. He was aided by Loren Piccarreto. Both were sons
of former Mafia leaders. Angelo the youngest of the late Pasquale, Loren the
only son of the jailed Rene. It made them familiar with the workings of the
local mob, a “quality” they could use in rebuilding its former operations. Due
to both the internal strife and the successful prosecutions of several members
and associates, the Family’s influence had waned tremendously. There was still
a big portion of the gambling operations under the dominance of the mob, but an
even bigger portion operated independently.
While Amico and
Piccarreto struggled to hold on to their criminal operations, the law was
closing in on them. Electronic listening devices had been installed on various
locations, providing a wealth of information on Amico and his associates.
Suspicions that it were indeed Amico, Piccarreto and Joseph LoDolce, one of the
three acquitted in the 1984 trial, who had taken over the reigns after
Russotti’s conviction were confirmed. The wiretaps also gave insight in the
extensiveness of the mob’s gambling operations, and of Amico’s plans on how to
regain the Mafia’s influence over the remaining gambling elements:
“We’re sitting
back here and letting everybody do what they want to do. To me, it’s absolutely
wrong. I will put up with it until we find out about the appeals. If they come
home, fine. If they’re not coming home...”
The conversation,
recorded on December 14, 1985, clearly indicates (at least a part of) the
gambling scene operates without paying the mob a percentage, as it had done in
previous years. It also indicates Amico was waiting for a verdict in Russotti’s
appeal, before taking any violent actions. Possibly, Amico was either ordered
or advised by the jailed leaders to hold back until it was definitive that they
would remain in prison. Amico’s last statement, although he never finished his
sentence, clearly states that when Russotti’s appeal would be turned down, he
would take immediate action and force gambling operators to start paying off
again.
Russotti would not
come back, and died in prison in 1993. But Amico, upon learning in June of 1987
that there was no change Russotti would return to Rochester and reclaim his former title, had
little time to carry out his threats. In October of that year, Amico,
Piccarreto, LoDolce and Joseph Geniola, another of those acquitted in the 1984
trial, were charged in yet another indictment aimed at Rochester’s Mafia hierarchy. Also charged in
this indictment was Donald Paone, already convicted in the 1984 case. The five
were accused of running a criminal enterprise and of multiple acts of
extortion. Piccarreto, LoDolce and Geniola were released on bail totaling
$250.000. Amico, largely due to his own words, was ordered held without.
During bail hearings,
tape recorded conversations collected over a two and a half year period were
released, on which Amico prominently figured. When bail was denied for Amico,
the presiding judge, who described the tapes as “startling”, stated they were
the major reason for his decision. One conversation, in which Amico tells an
alleged bookmaker how he can strike fear into people without saying anything,
was one of those decisive tapes. The tape, according to one of the prosecutor’s
team, showed it was likely for Amico to threaten witnesses if out on bail. The
conversation, recorded on November 17, 1985, at an illegal gambling club, went
as follows:
“Ya know when it
counts when you’re terrifying somebody? I’ll tell you when it counts. Really,
when you walk in there with a smile on your face and ya don’t say anything ta
anybody, and they get terrified like I can do… They see me walk in some place
and they know there’s something wrong, and they know I’m not hollerin’ and
screamin’, they get terrified, ‘cause they know something might be happing or
might be getting ready”.
Two other
conversations were equally damaging. In one, Amico was heard complaining how he
wished “there (was) somebody else who could just take over”, and how “everybody
in town was talking that I’m the boss of this town and I don’t need that”. In
the other, Amico is talking with a brother-in-law of B-Team figure William
Barton, who had just been released from prison. Wanting to return to Rochester, Barton had
sent his brother-in-law to ask Amico for permission. Through his
brother-in-law, Barton was advised that there “was no way he could stay” in Rochester, and if he
“chooses to do so, something might be happening to him”.
When the trial
started in October 1988, Amico was not among the defendants appearing in court.
He had previously pleaded guilty to both the extortion charges and to being a
member of a criminal organization. Despite immediate speculation by both the
media and the defense attorneys of the remaining three defendants,* Amico had
not agreed to testify against his associates. In December, Piccarreto, LoDolce
and Geniola were found guilty of conspiracy charges relating to control of
organized gambling. Piccarreto and Geniola were also found guilty of
racketeering, a charge LoDolce was acquitted on. Amico would eventually receive
fourteen years in prison, Piccarreto and LoDolce seven and Geniola four.
*Donald Paone, the
fifth man indicted, who was already serving a prison term, had also pled guilty
before the trial started.
The convictions of
their leaders dealt a severe blow to the Rochester Mafia. Although there were
certainly still members and associates not in legal difficulties, none were
willing or capable to assume the throne left by Amico. The once relatively well
established Rochester Mafia organization was crumbling. But in reality, the mob
was already on its last legs when Amico was still in control. Before he himself
was indicted, a string of arrests had taken down several members and
associates. Among them Charles Indovino, identified as a member, who was
convicted of his involvement in a 1981 truck bombing. Another was Dominic
Taddeo, suspected of murdering C-team members Nicholas Mastrodonato, Gerald
Pelusio and Dino Tortarice. Taddeo, arrested in 1987, became the subject of a nation
wide man hunt of two years after he failed to appear in court.
Three months after
Piccarreto, the last of the five to receive his sentence, was shipped off to
prison, another ten Rochester Mafia figures were arrested. In what law
enforcement described as the breaking of the backbone of organized gambling,
the ten were accused of running several gambling operations and meanwhile
bribing police officers to do this without interference. One of those arrested,
Anthony Falzone, was also charged with having tried to influence the outcome of
the trial of Angelo Amico. Falzone, in a desperate attempt to regain freedom
for his leader, had taken four law enforcement officials on a trip to Las Vegas. Obviously,
Falzone’s attempt proved useless. Although the case would not bring any serious
sentences for any of the defendants, it had again greatly disrupted the local
mob.
With the start of
the 1990s, the Rochester Mafia was reduced in both size and influence to little
more then a street gang. Members and associates still alive and out of prison
were either inactive or seemingly lacking supervision. Gambling and several
other rackets still flourished in the Rochester
area, but were no longer controlled or influenced by one organization. The various
law enforcement departments in Monroe
County had succeeded in
what little of their colleagues had. They had, despite an unfortunate start, almost completely destroyed the
local Mafia organization with successful prosecutions. But as the years carried
on, it became evident that a close watch was still needed.
In October 1993, Rochester
police raided three gambling parlours. It were not the raids itself that raised
eyebrows, since similar raids were common in the city. It were some of the
persons involved that made people wonder if Rochester’s Mafia was making a comeback.
Among those arrested was Anthony Gingello Jr., the nephew of Salvatore
Gingello, and himself involved with the Rochester
mob in the 1980s. Louis Santonato was another. Having been one of those
arrested in the 1989 bribery case, Santonato was also a familiar figure, as was
Robert Silveri, who with his wife was charged in 1988 with operating Mafia
controlled gambling operations.
Despite the involvement of figures at least formerly aligned with the
Rochester Mafia, police did not believe in a resurgence of the mob. Except the
suspicion that some of the raided sites double-functioned as a place where
stolen goods were handled, nothing indicated the existence of any other illegal
ventures. Gingello Jr. himself waived the theory of Mafia involvement off as
nonsense. He stated he was a young man fond of late nights and gambling,
burdened with a name that linked him to a mobster uncle killed fifteen years
earlier.* But Gingello Jr. rapped no word about his father, who also had a
history of Mafia association. The case, as so many before, would have no
serious consequences for those involved.
*Interestingly, Robert Silveri could also be tied to
Salvatore Gingello. It was Silveri’s car that Gingello used when he was blown
up in April 1978.
Drug related crimes and major gambling operations not under the control
of the local mob now became law enforcement’s top priority. Asian and
Middle-Eastern crime rings became more prominent, and dominated headlines for
most of the 1990s. After the arrests of Gingello Jr. in 1993, no other Mafia
related cases would occur for the remainder of the decade. But both police and
the FBI were well aware the Mafia had not disappeared altogether. Although the
existence of a structured Family was steadily denied, Mafia members and
associates were still residing in the area. The arrival of several old time
mobsters released from prison was therefore watched upon with suspicion.
In July 1996, Thomas Marotta received his parole, having served more
then eleven years of his 1984 sentence. In 1997, Frank Frassetto was released
on parole, having been convicted in 1980 for his involvement with the B-Team.
Dominic Celestino, another B-Team member convicted in 1980, also returned to Rochester after having
served his sentence. All three were kept
under close investigation, due to the fear of law enforcement either one could
be trying to re-organize the Family. None of the three made this attempt, but
it turned out the fear was not entirely ungranted. All three ended up returning
to their former life of crime.
Frank Frassetto was the first to take the fall, getting arrested in
February 2000 on charges of selling more then one kilogram of heroin. Frassetto
made a plea agreement and the charges were dismissed. Still, Frassetto was
returned to prison for parole violations. In April 2004, he was named in
another indictment, being charged with conspiring to steal some $100.000 from a
New York bank. Indicted with him was his former partner in crime Dominic
Celestino. Frassetto’s problems did not end there, as in June that same year, a
new indictment was unsealed charging him and his two sons with a variety of
drug related crimes. After another guilty plea, not only to the narcotics
charges but also to the robbery plot, Frasetto was sentenced to another fifteen
years in prison.
Thomas Marotta, the former Russotti capo, ran afoul of the law again in
June of 2001, when he was arrested for his involvement in a conspiracy to
traffic cocaine. Marotta was granted a $200.000 bail a week after his arrest,
which was posted a day later by five of Marotta’s friends. Interestingly, one
of them was Anthony Gingello Jr., while another was Richard Fabrizzi, the
brother-in-law of William Barton who appeared on the Angelo Amico tapes. But
authorities were determined to return Marotta to prison and more and more
charges were brought against him. In May 2004, Marotta pled guilty to charges
involving narcotics, stolen food stamps, money laundering and car theft, and
was send back to prison.
Mainly responsible for Marotta’s unplanned return to prison was Anthony
Delmonti, a former associate of Cleveland,
Ohio, Mafia figures. Delmonti had
met Marotta while both were in prison together, and after both had been
released, Delmonti would eventually look up Marotta in Rochester. Unbeknownst to Marotta however,
Delmonti was sending in his direction by the FBI, having become a federal
informant prior earlier. Another federal informant, Anthony D’Agostino, had
already been in contact with Marotta before Delmonti’s arrival. Since Marotta
would only become involved with criminal activities again after being
approached by these informants, it remains the question whether he would have
done the same if he never met the men.
Delmonti, who was “initiated” into the Rochester Mafia in a phoney
ceremony by Marotta, with FBI agents listening in, was responsible not only for
Marotta’s return to prison, but also for the solving of a gangland style
slaying and a ten million dollar armoured car heist pulled of in 1990. Although
Marotta had little to no knowledge of both affairs, he was implicated by
Delmonti in a money laundering scheme with the main players. They were Albert
Ranieri, who performed the heist, and Anthony Leonardo Jr., a former criminal
lawyer. Leonardo, as it would become clear, was behind the slaying.
Anthony Leonardo, who in his career had defended many Rochester mobsters, as well as detective
William Mahoney in the civil rights trial, was charged with cocaine
distribution in December 2000. Eight months earlier, he and Ranieri conspired
to murder of Anthony Vaccaro, one of Leonardo’s partners in a nightclub.
Vaccaro was gunned down in Greece,
a Rochester
suburb, in May 2000. Leonardo also plotted the demise of his other partner in
the night club venture, but the plan was never carried out. Due to information
provided by Delmonti, Leonardo soon faced charges of two murder conspiracies
and money laundering in addition to the pending narcotics case. Eventually,
Leonardo received a twelve year prison sentence in return for his testimony
against two Buffalo
brothers involved in the cocaine case and Ranieri, who ended up getting a
thirty year stint.
As of today, the Rochester
mob is considered gone, having slowly ceased to exist after the successful
convictions in the 1980s. Those few members and associates still alive and not
in prison are reported to be either retired or inactive. Federal investigations
point out that traditional organized crime is still active in the area, but no
longer controlled by a local Mafia organization. Unconfirmed reports claim
there are currently some members and associates of the Buffalo Mafia Family
active within the city, but it remains unclear in what kind of operations they
are involved in.
members/associates
Abbott, James B. -
*indicted in
October 1971 in
connection with credit card fraud
Accorso, Josephine -
*wife of Sam
Accorso
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Accorso, Raymond -
*born approx. 1942
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Accorso, Sam J. “Pony” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons, including his wife Josephine
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
Afeno, Thomas -
*arrested in November 1923 as suspected member of
truck burglary ring, with Frank and Rose Agno, Cosimo Giordano, Patsy Amico and
Joseph Longo
Agnello, Antonio “Tony
Spitale” -
*early Rochester
Mafia figure
*arrested April
25, 1922, on counterfeiting charges, together with Tony Infantino and Felippo
Vitello from Cleveland, Ohio.
*formerly aligned
with Alfio Boscarino, later with Infantinos
*arrested in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in July 1935, in connection with the 1927 Boscarino
shooting, but not extradited to Rochester
*murdered in Rochester, Pennsylvania,
in March 1938, supposedly as a result of Agnello’s involvement in bootlegging
and counterfeiting
Agno, Frank -
*arrested in November 1923 as suspected member
of truck burglary ring, with Patsy Amico, his wife Rose Agno, Cosimo Giordano,
Thomas Afeno and Joseph Longo, with the Agnos being charged with receiving
stolen property
Aida, Dominico -
*identified by FBN
as Rochester Mafioso, but no trace of a person with this or a similar person
can be found as having resided in or near Rochester
Aida, Giuseppe -
*identified by FBN
as Rochester Mafioso, but again no trace of a person with this or a similar
name in the area. However, Giuseppe Aida was a known alias of Philadelphia mobster and Apalachin attendee
Joseph Ida. Stefano Magaddino, in tape recorded conversations, refers to the
Philly boss as Joe Aida.
Aiello, John -
*arrested in
connection with forgery of drivers’ licenses in September 1975, together with
Richard Marino, James Cannarozza and Lawrence Masters
Alaimo, Crispino –
*born approx. 1880
*Black Hand/early
Mafia figure
*shot and severely
wounded on March 2, 1918
*involved in
murder of policeman James H. Upton in March 1919. Arrested
*in possession of
gun permit
Alaimo, Samuel F. -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
*beaten by C-Team
as warning to Mafia inside the 44 Club in March 1982
Albanese, Giuseppe
“Giuseppe Albano” -
*Black Hand figure
*active in NYC
before coming to Rochester in late 1911 or early 1912.
*murdered on July
7, 1912, allegedly by Luigi and Antonio DiVito
Aleveri, Carmelo -
*friend and
associate of Sam Spitale
*arrested in
December 1928 when threatening Sam Morreale with a gun in the Morreale’s
grocery store
Alexander, Raymond -
*arrested on
robbery charges with Joseph Ollis and George Morio in August 1928
Alfano, Angelo -
*arrested in March
1971 gambling bust, fined $200 in April 1972
Alfano, Christopher -
*indicted by Grand
Jury in October 1970 on charges of first degree perjury, charges dismissed in
June 1971
Allen, Peter -
*arrested in
connection with large scale bookmaking operation in July 1974
Allocco, Dominick -
*Rochester mob figure
*lengthy arrest
record dating back to 1929, when arrested on charges of assault
*murdered on
orders of Frank Valenti on February 24, 1965
Alongi, Anthony -
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*partner in
gambling operation with Angelo Amico and Louis Santonato, according to Santonato’s
testimony during 1988 racketeering trial
*had already died
at time of testimony
Alongi, Joseph -
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1971 with Nick DiNardo and George Kunz
Amato, Vincenzo -
*supposed Rochester bootlegging
figure
*sought in August 1928 in connection with
operation of four huge stills
Amico, Angelo -
*son of Pasquele,
brother of Samuel and Michael
*partner in Mato
Flyers Club, Inc., involved in junkets to Las
Vegas
*arrested in June
1970 on gambling charges
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*indicted on
racketeering charges in October 1987, pled guilty and in February 1989 received
a fifteen year prison sentence
Amico, Joseph John -
*born approx. 1914
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*arrested in
November 1985 on gambling charges
Amico, Michael –
*son of Patsy
*born approx. 1918
*arrested on
bootlegging charges in August 1944 with Sam Piazza, Sam Pizzo and Angelo Cometa
*arrested for
operating a lottery in October 1948
*partner in Mato
Flyers Club, Inc., involved in junkets to Las
Vegas
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested on
gambling charges in April 1971
*arrested in April
1973 in
gambling raid
*implicated by
Joseph Zito as one of operators of illegal gambling club in April 1973, among
the others being Sam and Tony Gingello
Amico, Michael –
*arrested on
robbery charges in 1924
*arrested for
operating a lottery in August 1948
*arrested on
gambling charges in January 1972 with several others
Amico, Pasquale “Patsy” -
*born in Caltanissetta, Sicily
*identified by FBN
as Rochester Mafioso
*father of Angelo and Samuel
*assumed capo of Rochester Mafia in the period
1920s-1940s
*linked to Angelo Palmeri and Joseph DiCarlo in early
1930s
*arrested in November 1923 as suspected member of
truck burglary ring, with Frank and Rose Agno, Cosimo Giordano, Thomas Afeno
and Joseph Longo
*arrested in May 1926 for liquor smuggling with Joseph
Lodato, Anthony Misseri, Larry Ranieri, Joseph Micheluso and Dominic Gattalaro
*arrested as material witness in May 1927 Lodato
murder
*suspect with Vito Piccaretto in 1931 murder of
Vincenzo Chiarmonte, bootlegging partner of both Amico and Piccaretto
*arrested in May 1933 after hitting someone with a
chair during an argument
*denied citizenship in 1930, 1935 and 1938 due to his
criminal record
*died November 9, 1947, in Rochester
Amico, Samuel J. -
*son of Pasquale,
brother of Angelo
*identified in
1983 as a Bonanno soldier residing in Rochester
*figured in
lottery arrests in June 1963
*convicted of
gambling charges in April 1969, ordered to jail in April 1970
*questioned in
1970 Lupo slaying
*while serving
April 1970 sentence, was temporarily released from jail to marry
*arrested in
December 1979 gambling raid netting more then 40
Angarano, John A. -
*indicted in
October 1971 in
connection with credit card fraud
Angelino, Anthony -
*bootlegging
figure employed by Boscarino
*arrested July 1922 in Boscarino saloon,
where he was employed as bartender
Angelo, Victor A. -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
Ansiuni, Sam –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Antinarelli, Albert J. -
*arrested in
December 1973 on gambling charges, acquitted in March 1974
Anthopoulos, Kyriakos C.
“Carlos” -
*boorn approx.
1952
*arrested on
gambling charges on July 1985
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1986
Ardito, Frank -
*arrested in October
1927 with Antonio Pesci and Frank Piccaretto on bootlegging charges
Arena, Anthony -
*member
*indicted in April
1976 on arson charges
Arena, Calogero -
*early Mafia
figure
*arrested on
October 24, 1919, on behalf of Detroit
authorities. Identified as being one of the gunmen in the murder of Sam
Giannola, Detroit Mafia power, on October 2, 1919. Interestingly, the Giannola
murder was one off the murders attributed to the Good Killers gang. Reported to
have formerly lived in Detroit,
were he had become acquainted with a Black Hand gang (??Good Killers, like
Fontano??)
*eventually
extradited to Detroit
authorities, charged with murder and put on trial, but not convicted
*John Macalizzi,
other suspect in Giannola slaying, arrested in Arena’s home on October 28, 1919
*operator of a
billiard room in early 1920s
*arrested July 27,
1922, for running a lottery in Italian district
*found shot to
death on December 29, 1924
Arena, John E. -
*arrested on
gambling charges with Thomas Asenato in December 1948
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
Arena, Leo -
*born approx. 1922
or 1931
*indicted in July
1977 for attempting to extort dealers of pornographic material on behalf of
Rochester Mafia
Ascarella, Angelo -
*alleged Black
Hand figure connected with Rafaele Greco
*held as a
material witness in Capello shooting
Ascarella, Nicholas -
*alleged Black
Hand figure connected with Rafaele Greco
*held as a
material witness in Capello shooting
Ascarella, Salvatore -
*alleged Black
Hand figure connected with Rafaele Greco
*held as a
material witness in Capello shooting
Asenato, Thomas -
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1948
Asito, John -
*arrested in
January 1970 on gambling charges, as operator of gambling establishment on
behalf of Salvatore Gingello
Baldasaro, Marcello -
*arrested in
gambling raid in January 1971
Baldo, Diego –
*born in Grotto, Sicily, on March 3, 1896
*bootlegging
figure
*indicted in
September 1934 for operating stills with Sam Piazza and Peter Montana
*died in May 1984
Baldo, Joseph P. -
*bodyguard for
Boscarino
*supposed to be
Boscarino’s nephew
*arrested for
bootlegging with Michael Salvaggio in February 1927
*married daughter
of Boscarino in September 1931
*died August 5, 1948, in Rochester
Barber, Thomas M. -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
Barco, William J. -
*arrested in
October 1970 gambling raid with 26 others
Baron, John -
*arrested in February
1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester
gambling figures
Barone, Joseph S. -
*born approx. 1963
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
Barone, Robert P. -
*born approx. 1954
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*wounded in
shooting in March 1985
*testified on
behalf of prosecution in 1967 racketeering trial of Loren Piccarreto and others
after charges of extortion and coersion charges aginst him had been dropped
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Bartolletta, Louis -
*arrested in
August 1928 on arson charges with Angelo Cometa and Vincenzo Grizzardi
Barton, William Bruce
“Billy” -
*associate
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito.
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings
*shot Daniel
Bookless in December 1975, charged after Bookless identified him, but Bookless
refused to identify him court
*indicted in late
1970s mob war as B-Team member, sentenced to 10 years in March 1980
Bates, James D. “Carlos” –
*associate,
aligned with B-Team in late 1970s underworld war
*starting
cooperating with law enforcement in March 1979, for unknown reasons; Bates
wasn’t even arrested at the time
*confessed to
involvement of bombings of gambling parlors the previous year
*indicted in
connection with mob war in April 1979
Battaglia, Vincent -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Bellassai, John -
*born approx. 1956
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1986
*indicted on
gambling charges in November 1987
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Belva, Joseph –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Belviso, Giacomo “Jack” -
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*brother of Joseph
*operated speakeasy
in late 1920s, early 1930s
*arrested for
liquor law violations in April 1930
*murdered on
September 24, 1930, in
an argument in his speakeasy
Belviso, Joseph –
*born December 1, 1889, in Grotto, Sicily
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*grocery store
raided in February 1929, in
connection with bootlegging
*arrested in
August 1929 when found to have a gun in his possession
*arrested with
Charles Bertolino in bombing of home of Samuel Zucco, a bootlegging rival, in
October 1929
*wounded when his
car exploded in July 1930, after a bomb had been placed under the car’s
driver’s seat, in a bootleg feud
*arrested in 1935
on bootlegging charges, sentenced to prison
*paroled,
re-arrested in April 1937
*ordered deported,
second stay of execution ended in January 1939
Belviso, Stefano Giuseppe
“Steve Belviso” –
*born approx. 1884 in Grotto, Sicily
*brother of Joseph
and Jack
*arrested in April
1928 in
connection with operation of huge still
*arrested in April
1930 on liquor law violations
Benedetto, Randy -
*born approx. 1960
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1985
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Benincasa, Robert A. -
*born approx. 1941
*arrested in July
1985 on gambling charges, sentenced in April 1986 to six months and a fine of
$1,000
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*became an
informant, and carried a body wire on several occassions in Rochester gambling clubs
*testified on
behalf of prosecution during racketeering trial of Piccerreto, Geniola and
LoDolce in 1988
*during trial, the
disgust Benicasa had for the defendants became clear, leading defence attorneys
to claim Benincasa lied on the stand
*claimed to have
searched foor thug to beat up and possibly kill Joseph Grock, suspected by the
local mob to be a police informant
*received
probation for a charge of lying to a Grand Jury in February 1989
Berman, Norman “Jerome
Miller” –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*holder of
gambling stamp
Bertolino, Charles -
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*father of Paul
*associated with
Belviso in liquor racket in late 1920s
*suspected with
his son Paul in bombing of Belviso’s car n July 1930
Bertolino, Paul -
*son of Charles
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*suspected with
his father of bombing Belviso’s car in July 1930
Bianchi, Sylvio -
*born 1921
*indicted by Grand
Jury in October 1970 on gambling charges
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1985
Blakely, Harold -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Blanda, Andrew J. -
*arrested in
August 1970 in
gambling raid as a result of the Grand Jury investigation of that year
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*indicted on gambling
charges in February 1972 with Raymond Steed and Chester Palozzi
*arrested on
gambling charges in September 1973
*arrested on
bookmaking charges in December 1973
*arrested in
connection with large scale bookmaking operation in July 1974
*arrested in October
1979 on gambling charges
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1979, charges dismissed in January 1986
Blandino, Michael F. -
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Block, Herman -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Bocchetta, Rocco –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Bonacci, Frank -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Bonacci, Joseph -
*born approox.
1908
*indicted in
November 1989 on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly
organized operation, charged with bribery
Bongiovanni, Frank -
*arrested in March
1825 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
John Didio, Lorenzo Didio, John Lanzalaco, Vincenzo Lanzaldia, Joseph Spagnola,
Frank LaPlaca and Salvatore Calrome
Bookles, Daniel L. -
*associate
*shot in the head
in December 1977 by William Barton, survived
*linked to C-Team
in early 1980s mob war
*reportedly send
by Toorpey and Taylor to locate Fiorino on the night of his slaying
Borelli, Paul Peter -
*chaged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Borelli, Maryan -
*wife of Paul
*chaged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Borelli, Peter -
*Rochester gambling figure
*arrested in March
1962 on gambling charges after series of raids staged by Rochester city police and Treasury agents
*owner of gambling
stamp
*arrested with his
wife Hazel in march 1969 on gambling charges, fined 2,000 dollars in June 1970
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in
August 1970 gambling raid
Borregine, Joseph -
*born approx. 1933
*arrested in
October 1979 on gambling charges, charges dismissed in January 1986
Boscarino, Alfio “The Lucky”
-
*early Mafia
figure
*born in Grotto, province of Agrigento, in approx. 1887
*leading
bootlegging figure during prohibition
*first figured in
bootlegging case when in June 1920
a still was discovered in a barn next to his home.
*shot at on
January 6, 1921. Police suspected cider feud or robbery
*operated a saloon
which was closed by court order on July 21, 1922
*sued by one
Bernard Gondell after Boscarino allegedly mistook him for a robber and caused
his arrest. Boscarino denies guilt, claiming Gondell was one of a party of
robbers, in January 1923
*arrested as head
of major bootlegging operation in August 1926
*wounded in
shooting with Tony Infantino in April 1927
*wounded again in
July 1927, Infantino brothers arrested
*charged with
liquor conspiracy after Pagano brothers’ arrest in April 1929
*figured in
bankruptcy case of Tripi company in late 1920s, early 1930s
*another (fifth)
attempt on life made in August 1930
*mortally wounds
Tony Infantino in a Buffalo
shooting on September 12, 1930
*facing loss of
citizenship in February 1932
*arrested in
August 1944 on bootlegging charges
*died on March 9, 1961, in Rochester
Boscarino, Anthony -
*defense witness
at trial of Richard Marino (first Massaro murder trial), during cross
examination by prosecution was asked about his involvement in loansharking
Boscarino, Bartola (maiden
name Palermo) -
*born in Grotto, province of Agrigento
*related to Joseph
Santogiacomo
*figured in August
1926 Boscarino bootlegging ring
Bovenzi, Augustine -
*arrested in March
1962 on gambling charges after series of raids staged by Rochester city police and Treasury agents
Brenner, John J. “Jake” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
Broccolo, Felix “Foot” -
*born approx. 1940
*arrested in July
1985 on gambling charges, fined and oordered to Monroe County Sheriff’s
Department work program in April 1986. Sentences of Broccolo and his five
co-defendants were lifted the following day
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*testified on behalf
of defense in 1988 racketeering trial, trying to discredit Robert Benincasa,
the most damaging prosecution witness
Broide, Abraham –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Brown, Edward -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Brucato, Roberto -
*member, listed in
1950 FBN report
*born in Petralia
Sottana, province
of Palermo
*associated with
Pasquale Amico and Joseph Lodato in bootlegging business
*questioned in
Lodato murder in May 1927
*died on January
17, 1963, in
Rochester
Brucato, Robert R. -
*son of Roberto
Brucato
*apparent
associate
*operator of car
dealership
*sold cars to
Rochester Mafia figures under assumed names
*appeared before
Grand Jury investigations, in which he was allegedly guided by Richard Marino
*charged with
lying to Grand Jury in April 1983, sentenced to
3 years in prison in March 1984
Bruno, Pleasant –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Bucciarelli, Frank Sr. –
*boorn apprx. 1931
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*arrested in July
1985 on gambling charges, sentenced in April 1986 to 60 days in jail and three
years probation
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
Bucciarelli, Michael A.
“Bootsy” –
*born approx. 1952
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
*arrested in
August 1978 on gambling charges
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Burchell, Mark –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Burdulis, Charles F. –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Buscemi, Carlo “Carlo
Ceravino” -
*supposed Black
Hand figure
*murdered Paul
Ollis on June 7, 1912
*when placed under
arrest immediately after the murder of Ollis, tries to shoot arresting officer
when he wrestled his gun in the struggle
Buscemi, Leonard A. -
*plead guilty to
gambling charges in August 1948,
in case involving among others Rene Piccaretto
*arrested in
October 1968 in
connection with string of burglaries, linked to Buffalo Mafia figure John Sacco
Buscemi, Nardo –
*father of Leonard
Cacia, Anthony “Tony the
Rattler” -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
Calabrese, Sammy –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Callari, Louis D. -
*born approx 1935
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*indicted in July 1987 on gambling charges
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Callari, Michael –
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
Calrome, Salvatore -
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
John Didio, Lorenzo Didio, John Lanzalaco, Vincenzo Lanzaldia, Joseph Spagnola,
Frank LaPlaca and Frank Dongiovanni
Camiolo, Serafino -
*possible member
*born in
Valguarnera Caroppe, province
of Enna
*Arrested on
August 28, in
connection with car theft. With Luigi Nucci, claimed to have been leaders of
stolen car ring
*arrested in April
1940 with Vito Piccaretto on counterfeiting charges
*arrested in
September 1950, on gambling charges, alleged to have acted as Rochester agents
for a major Western New York lottery operation involving among others Utica
mobster John Melito
*died October 8, 1970, in Columbus, Ohio
Cammarata, Frank -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Camp, Alphonse -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Campanella, Salvatore
“Sammy Camps” -
*member
*indicted in July
1959 on charges of robbery, grand larceny and assault, charges eventually
dismissed
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*indicted by Grand
Jury for perjury in October 1970, plead guilty and placed on probation
*charged in 1975
with Massaro murder, charges eventually dropped
Canito, Alphonse J. -
*born approx. 1936
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*indicted on
gambling charges in November 1987
Cannarozzo, James “Joseph
Cannarozzo” -
*arrested January
1975 on charges of possession of stolen property, charges dismissed due to
failure to prosecute
*convicted in 1961
for counterfeiting
*arrested in
connection with forgery of drivers’ licenses in September 1975, together with
Richard Marino, Lawrence Masters and John Aiello
Cannon, David R. -
*born approx. 1944
*arrested in July
1985 on gambling charges, fined and oordered to Monroe County Sheriff’s
Department work program in April 1986, released from sentence the following day
Canzano, Anthony J. -
*associate
*indicted in
August 1974 on fraud charges in connection with Las Vegas junkets organized by
Mato Flyers Club Inc
Capello, Giuseppe -
*born approx. 1888
*Black Hand figure
*figured in July
1908 Black Hand case of Ollis, Marino and Manzella. Hired by Black Handers to
poison dogs of Antonio Lorenzo, and blow up his building. Cooperated with
police.
*allegedly
connected to Rafaele Greco in early 1920s
*shot death in Rochester on April 15,
1923, by Pietro Ribellino
Capizzi, Joseph -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Capone, John -
*arrested in July
1940 on bootlegging charges with among others Frank Dimino and Joseph Conti of Jamestown
Capuano, Salvatore S. -
*born approx. 1929
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*indicted on
gambling charges in November 1987
Carapezza, Frank Jr. -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
Carbone, Charles -
*arrested on
gambling charges in January 1972 with several others
Cardone, Allen J. -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Carfi, Nicholas –
*arrested in April
1928 on charges of operating a lottery
Carll, Clifford -
*arrested in March
1971 gambling bust, fined $150 in April 1972
Cariola, Samuel A. -
*arrested in
connection with large scale bookmaking operation in July 1974
Carlotta, Michael –
*Boscarino aligned
bootlegger
*figured in August
1926 Boscarino bootlegging ring
Carson, Henry “Hank” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*owner of gambling
stamp
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Caruso, Victor -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
Casey, Thomas F. -
*associate
*figured in case
in which a gun was found in the luggage of his traveling partner
Castania, Charles -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons, including his wife Patricia
Castania, Patricia -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons, booked on felony gambling counts
Castellano, Ignatzio -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested with
among others Orlando Paone and Ignatzio Castellano in December 1970 gambling
raid
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*arrested on
gambling charges in October 1972
Catagina, Giovanni -
*Black Hand figure
*arrested November
13, 1913, for Black Hand extortion,
together with Joe Lodato and Frank LaVerde
Cataldo, Joseph P. -
*arrested in
counterfeit plot in November 1929,
in which were figuring: George Miles, James Buscemi,
Anthony Fetto, Sam Cartonia Joseph Bartolotta, Ignazio Calabrese and Harry
Emerson of Buffalo and Angelo Michiche and Guido
Laurenti of Rochester
Cavagrotti, John “Johnny
Broadway” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*arrested in March
1962 on gambling charges after series of raids staged by Rochester city police and Treasury agents
*disappeared and
presumed murdered in September 1967
Cavagrotti, Salvatore
“Sam” -
*brother of John
*Rochester gambling figure
*owner of gambling
stamp
Cavallaro, Joseph -
*member,
identified in 1950 FBN list
*in 1950, address
reported to be
Celestino, Dominic “Sonny”
-
*member
*arrested on
gambling charges in October 1972
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
*indicted in July
1975 for Columbus Day bombings of 1970, charges dismissed in January 1978
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*aligned with so
called B-Team in underworld struggle of late 1970s
*arrested in June
1978 with Frank Frasetto, and charged with having in his possession a dangerous
weapon (switchblade)
*indicted in
connection with mob war in April 1979, sentenced to 30 years in March 1980
*indicted in plot
to steal 90 million dollars in April 2004
Cerone, Alexander -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*arrested in
connection with large scale bookmaking operation in July 1974
Cervasi, Russell -
*arrested in
October 1979 on gambling charges
Chiarmonte, Vincenzo -
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*associate and
partner of Vito Piccaretto and Pasquale Amico
plead not guilty
to charge of assault in July 1924, after having fired a gun at his
father-in-law Charles Battaglia
*speakeasy raided
April 1926
*shoots to death
one Philip Prophet during an argument in May 1931
*found murdered on
November 4, 1931, with Amico and Piccaretto figuring as prime suspects,
although never charged in the crime
*involved in scam
in Buffalo,
were he posed as Feruccio Ferrari, an artist
Chiazzese, Joseph Raymond
–
*Infantino drove
Chiazzese’s automobile when shooting Boscarino in July 1927
Chirico, Anthony -
*born approx. 1952
*son of Rosario
*associate
*aligned with
B-Team during late 1970s Alphabet War
*arrested in June
1978 with Rodney Starkweather, having explosives in their possession
*arrested in
August 1978 with two shotguns and a mask in his car
*indicted in
November 1978 in
connection with ongoing mob war, sentenced to 15 years in March 1980
Chirico, Dominick -
*member
*sometimes driver
for Frank Valenti
*arrested in
January 1970 on gambling charges, involving junkets to Las Vegas, found not
guilty in September 1971
*shot to death on
June 6, 1972, a
move by Russotti faction to oust Frank Valenti
Chirico, Rosario -
*member
*brother of
Dominick
*convicted of
counterfeiting in 1962
*one of leaders of
so called B Team in late 1970s underworld struggle
*wounded when shot
on May 24, 1978
*indicted on
loansharking charges in July 1978, found guilty in July 1979, sentenced to 1 to
3 years in prison in September that same year
*suspected of
heading a $400,000 numbers operation in late 1970s
*indicted in
November 1978 in
connection with ongoing mob war, sentenced to 25 years in March 1980
Cira, Ronald F. -
*born approx. 1939
*arrested in
December 1979 gambling raid netting more then 40
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Cira, Salvatore F. -
*arrested in
October 1970 gambling raid with 26 others
Cirilla, Gerald J. -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Cirilla, Louis -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
Ciulla, Santo R. -
*arrested in
October 1970 gambling raid with 26 others
Cocilava, James -
*born approx. 1956
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1986
Cocilava, John -
*born approx. 1960
*arrested on
gambling charges on July 1985
*charged with aidfing
Taddeo as a fugitive in April 1989
*indicted on
narcotics charges in February 1991, together with Dominic Taddeo
Cocilava, Richard Jr. -
*charged with
aidfing Taddeo as a fugitive in April 1989
*indicted on
narcotics charges in February 1991, together with Dominic Taddeo
Cocilava, Richard J. Sr. -
*born approx. 1955
*father of John,
Richard and Robert
*indicted in July 1987 on gambling charges
Cocilava, Robert C. -
*born approx. 1959
*arrested in
November 1985 gambling raid, charged with selling liquor withoout a license
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1986
*charged with
aidfing Taddeo as a fugitive in April 1989
*indicted on
narcotics charges in February 1991, together with Dominic Taddeo
Coco, Charles -
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*posted bail for
one of Boscarino liquor ring defendants in August 1926
*still located at
Coco’s address blown up by bomb in alleged bootlegger’s war in January 1927,
Coco placed under arrest for operation of a still
*operator of
stills, arrested in December 1929
Cohen, Irving B. -
*arrested on
bookmaking charges in December 1973
Coia, Mario -
*born approx. 1931
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1985
Colangello, Dominick -
Colangello, Nicholas J. Jr. -
*born approx. 1942
*arrested in
December 1979 gambling raid netting more then 40
*arrested in March
1982 on charges of selling liquor without a license
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*implicated with Thomas Marotta in
money laundering scheme in 1999/2000
Colline, John -
*Rochester gambling figure
*record dating
back too 1949
*holder of
gambling stamp
Colombo, Anthony –
*arrested on
charges of assault with Rene Piccarreto in March 1982, after having beat one
Charles Joseph Perotti III after Perotti had greeted Piccarreto
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982, sentenced to
40 years in prison in December 1984
*arrested in March
1979 on weapon charges, after allegedly staking out Angelo DeMarco in order to
shoot him
*at the time of indictment,
stewart of Local 398
Comella, John M. -
*indicted in
October 1971 in
connection with credit card fraud
Cometa, Angelo -
*Rochester Mafia
figure
*arrested in June
1928 on arson charges
*arrested on
bootlegging charges in August 1944 with Michael Amico, Sam Pizzo and Sam Piazza
Cometa, Joseph -
*arrested in
January 1975 in
connection with large gambling operation, cooperated with authorities
Comfort, Frank -
*arrested in
October 1970 gambling raid with 26 others
Comfort, Paul -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested on
gambling charges in January 1972 with several others
*together with several
others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a variety of
crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by Joseph Zito.
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*aligned with
C-Team in early 1980s mob struggle
*arrested in March
1982 on weapon charges with Raymond Sampson, sentenced to one year in August
1983
Comfort, Robert R. “Bobby”
-
*escaped Monroe County
jail with five other inmates in November 1959
*was with Norman
Huck the night he was killed, claimed to have dropped Huck off at nightclub
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
*involved in 1972
robbery of Hotel Pierre in New York,
taking an estimated $4,000,000 in jewelry, securities and cash
*with Gerald
Pelusio when he was gunned down on August 27, 1982
Comunale, James -
*arrested in March
1971 gambling bust, fined $200 in April 1972
Conchelos, Sam J. –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Constable, William T. -
*associate of
Frank Valenti
*involved with Bar
Mon Construction
*shot to death in
December 1970, body found December 19
*When in January
1975 Charles Monachino began cooperating with police, he stated his brother
Angelo, Frank Valenti, Albert DeCanzio, Vincent Massaro and two other men were
responsible for his death, with Angelo and DeCanzio haven actually having shot
Constable
Contreras, Ralph -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Cordaro, Joseph -
*plead guilty to
gambling charges in August 1948,
in case involving among others Rene Piccaretto
Cordaro, Norman -
*arrested with
Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg in February 1971 on gambling charges
Cordaro, Thomas -
*associate
*figured in case
in which a gun was found in the luggage of his traveling partner
Cordello, Samuel -
*arrested in December
1979 gambling raid netting more then 40
Corey, Donald -
*born approx. 1938
*operator of
Corey’s Tavern
*arrested in
October 1979 on gambling charges, charges dismissed in January 1986
Cortina, Frank V. -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*one of operators
of Caserta Social and Political Club, better known as the 44 Club, a notorious
gambling joint
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Costa, Alex -
*arrested in
October 1970 gambling raid with 26 others
Costanzo, Anthony -
*arrested in
October 1970 gambling raid with 26 others
Costelli, Michael -
*one of the
suspected shooters in Vincenzo Infantino murder attempt resulting in the deaths
of Infantino’s wife and daughter in January 1930
Costello, Helen -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Costello, Anthony J. -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
Cottone, Vincenzo
“Captain” -
*identified by
Angelo Monachino as member of Rochester Mafia
*subpoenaed before
August 1977 Grand Jury investigating Rochester
organized crime activities
Cremaldi, Frank “Dago
Frank” -
*one time leader
of Wolves gang
*several minor
arrests in Rochester before relocating first to Detroit, then to Chicago
*in Chicago, allegedly worked
for Al Capone
*murdered in Chicago on May 22, 1926
Cringoli, Anthony “Sabu” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
Croseta, Henry J. -
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
Culotta, Louis -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Cusumano, Anthony -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
Cutaia, Salvatore “Sam” -
*born approx. 1941
*indicted in
November 1989 on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly
organized operation, charges dismissed in October 1990
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Cutali, Louis F. –
*head of Imperial
Products Company
*arrested in
August 1926 as member of Boscarino liquor ring
D’Agortino, Anthony -
D’Agostino, Anthony “Tony
Daggs” –
*Rochester crime figure during 1990s, close to
Tom Maroota after Marotta’s 1996 release from prison
*FBI informant, suposedly assigned t
keep an eye on MArotta’s movements
*involved in cocaine trafficking
with Marotta and Murray Kufeld, a Bonanno Family associate from New York City,
apparently D’Agostino was the instigator of the crime
*eventually dismissed by FBI as an
informant
*died in 2001
D’Agostino, Philip -
*born approx. 1930
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
*arrested with
among others Orlando Paone and Ignatzio Castellano in December 1970 gambling
raid
*indicted on
gambling charges in November 1987
D’Ambra, Leo -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
D’Ambrosia, Albert -
*indicted in
connection with large gambling operation in March 1975, the result of his
arrest with several other in January earlier that year
*arrested in
October 1979 on gambling charges
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1979, charges dismissed in January 1986
D’Amico, John –
*arrested in April
1928 on charges of operating a lottery
Darzinski, Steve H. -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
DeCanzio, Albert -
*associate
*bodyguard for Frank Valenti
*implicated by Charles Monachino in December 1970 murder of William
Constable, eventually cooperated with authorities
*indicted in
connection with Constable murder in April 1975
*indicted in murder
of Ernest White Jr.
DeCarolis, Robert
-
*born approx. 1952
*assoociate of
Rochester Mafia figure, acting a enforcer, during 1980s
*leader of “the
Brotherhood”, a motorcycle gang
*accused of
bombing a Greece
town house in 1984, in
order to intimidate the woman living there (former girlfriend of DeCarolis)
*arrested in
connection with cocaine distribution in October 1988
*received a 3 years prison sentence in August 1989 for the boombing of
his former girlfriend’s residence, and 2 and a half year for operating a
gambling club
Decker, Al Jr. -
*arrested in June
1963 for his involvement in lottery operations
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
*arrested on
bookmaking charges in December 1973
*arrested in
connection with large scale bookmaking operation in July 1974
DeFiore, Andrew P. -
*associate
*in February 1979
figured in case in which he tried to get a gun aboard of a plane while
traveling with two companions, all three were identified as Rochester Mafia
associates
DeFrancesco, Eugene “Gene”
-
*member
*charged with
variety of charges, including extortion, in May 1972 with Frank Valenti, Harry
Riso and Joseph Zito, a self proclaimed Bufalino Family member who eventually
started cooperating with the FBI
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito.
*arrested on
loansharking charges in February 1975, eventually sentenced to 18 months in
prison
*indicted in
connection with Constable murder in April 1975
*charged with the
1973 Massaro murder in June 1975, found guilty in November 1976 and sentenced
to prison, but after it became known evidence was fabricated the conviction was
overturned
*indicted in July
1975 for Columbus Day bombings of 1970, sentenced to 14 years in prison in
March 1978, released in December 1983
*indicted in April
1976 on arson charges
DelConte, Vincent -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
DeLettera, Joseph -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
DelGuerico, Anthony -
*arrested in Gingello
linked gambling operation in June 1970
DellaVentura, Rose -
*identified in
1950 FBN list as Rochester Mafia member. Listed as R. DellaVentura. However,
she was a woman
DeLorm, Robert -
*born approx. 1952
*arrested in
August 1978 on gambling charges
DelVecchio, Michael C. -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
DeMarco, Angelo “Oskie” -
*Rochester gambling power
*partner in Mato
Flyers Club, Inc., involved in junkets to Las
Vegas
*one of operators
of Caserta Social and Political Club, better known as the 44 Club, a notorious
gambling joint
*William Hamill,
then Deputy Police Commissioner, allegedly handed DeMarco evidence in upcoming
gambling trials in July 1970, eventually resulting in a scandal and a Grand
Jury investigating organized gambling and possible police corruption
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*indicted by Grand
Jury on gambling charges in October 1970
*implicated by
Joseph Zito as one of operators of illegal gambling club in April 1973, among
the others being Sam and Tony Gingello
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1974
*arrested in
January 1975 in
connection with large gambling operation, fined $750 in July 1977
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
September 1978 on gambling charges with sixteen others
*died on April 4,
2005
DeNoto, Christopher -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
DeRenzo, August “Augie” -
*implicated by
Joseph Zito as one of operators of illegal gambling club in April 1973, among
the others being Sam and Tony Gingello
DeRosa, Salvatore –
*arrested on
bootlegging charges in August 1944 with among others Michael Amico, serving as
repairman for stills
Dettman, Ruth -
*arrested on
gambling charges in September 1973
Diamond, Peter W. -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
*arrested in
January 1975 in
connection with large gambling operation, fined $750 in July 1977
DiCesare, Patsy “Dang
Dang” -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1974
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
September 1978 on gambling charges with sixteen others
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*indicted on
gambling charges in July 1987
DiCiaccio, Cosmo -
*born approx. 1933
*indicted in
November 1989 on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly
organized operation, charged with bribery
Didio, John -
*early Mafia/Black
Hand figure, member of Wolves gang
*arrested August
28, 1922, together with John Mollica, on connection with Camiolo/Nucci stolen
car ring
*arrested in October 1924 with Gabriel Sciortino in
kidnapping case of Josephine Gugliuzza
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
Frank Dongiovanni, Lorenzo Didio, John Lanzalaco, Vincenzo Lanzaldia, Joseph
Spagnola, Frank LaPlaca and Salvatore Calrome
*arrested on
robbery charges in March 1930
Didio, Lorenzo –
*born approx. 1891, in Valguarnera, Sicily
*brother of John
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
John Didio, Frank Dongiovanni, John Lanzalaco, Vincenzo Lanzaldia, Joseph
Spagnola, Frank LaPlaca and Salvatore Calrome
Didio, Thomas -
*member
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
*arrested on
gambling charges in October 1972
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito.
*indicted in July
1975 for Columbus Day bombings of 1970, charges dismissed in January 1978
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling, charged with refusing to
testify before Grand Jury
*among leaders of
so called B-Team in underworld struggle of late 1970s
*machine gunned to
death on July 6, 1978, allegedly by Anthony Colombo, at the heights of the so
called Alphabet War
DiFilippo, Luigi -
*born approx. 1938
*indicted in
Indovino linked counterfeiting case in January 1987
DiGaetano, Samuel -
*identified as
member of Rochester Mafia by Angelo Monacchino
*criminal
attorney, defending many crime Family members during 1970s
*charged in June
1975 with plot to murder Monroe County Sheriff figures William Lombard and
William Mahoney
DiGiuseppe, Pasquale -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
DiGuilo, Louis Albert –
*associate
*aligned with
C-Team in early 1980s mob struggle
*charged in
connection with Fiorino murder, due to cooperation received a sentence of 5 to
10 years in prison in February 1984
*started
cooperating with authorities in June 1982, after having spend six months in
jail, due to failure of Thomas Torpey and Thomas Taylor to provide him and his
family with help. Based on DiGuilio’s confessions, arrest warrant signed for
Taylor and Torpey
DiMarco, Angelo “Blackie”
-
*member of Wolves,
a notorious gang aligned with John Mollica
*reported first
lieutenant of Gabriel Sciortino
*arrested in
August 1924 for harassment of a Rochester
girl
*shot to death by
Mollica on November 23, 1924,
in alleged dispute over spoils
DiMarco, Joseph -
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
Dimino, Andrew -
*brother of Frank
*operated
speakeasy padlocked in December 1928
*arrested in May
1937 on bootlegging charges
Dimino, Frank “Frank
Domino” -
*arrested in July
1940 on bootlegging charges with among others Joseph Randazzo and Joseph Conti
of Jamestown
Dimino, Robert -
*associate
murdered Eugene
Ragland in order to collect victim’s life insurance with backing of Charles
Indovino, in November 1981
*died in November
1987
DiNapoli, Philip -
*born approox.
1941
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*arrested in
November 1985 on gambling charges
DiNardo, Nicholas -
*arrested in March
1962 on gambling charges after series of raids staged by Rochester city police and Treasury agents
*holder of
gambling stamp
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1971 with George Kunz and Joseph Alongi
DiPilato, Frank -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
DiPolito, Joseph -
*born approx. 1922
*indicted in 1989
on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly organized
operation, charges dismissed in October 1990
DiPolito, Pat “Pat DePew”
-
*gambling partner
of Oskie DiMarco
*implicated by
Joseph Zito as one of operators of illegal gambling club in April 1973, among
the others being Sam and Tony Gingello
*one of operators
of Caserta Social and Political Club, better known as the 44 Club, a notorious
gambling joint
DiPolito, Rocco “Rocky
DiPolito” -
*linked to 44 Club
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
DiPonzio, Frank -
*arrested in March
1962 on gambling charges after series of raids staged by Rochester city police and Treasury agents
DiPrima, Edward “Fast
Eddie” -
*born approx. 1937
*indicted in
November 1989 on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly
organized operation, charged with bribery
DiRosa, Frank -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
DiSalvo, Joseph -
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
DiSano, Vincenzo -
*member of arson
gang dubbed a Black Hand operation by police
*murdered within a
week of a failed explosion causing the death of Frank Iacona, another member of
the arson gang, in August 1922
DiVito, Antonio -
*brother of Luigi
*arrested for
assault with razor upon Joseph LaFace on July 7, 1908. Feud first believed to
have grown out of supposed rivalry between Sicilians and Calabrians, but turned
out to have been because of LaFace’s interest in DiVito’s wife.
*Sentenced to Auburn for no more then
twenty years, for his part in the murder of Giuseppe Albanese. Entered prison
on February 7, 1913
DiVito, Luigi “Sam Lima” -
*brother of
Antonio DiVito
*arrested on May
26, 1907 for Black Hand extortion. Alleged to have extorted one Salvatore
Bonafide. Accomplices were Joseph LaScala and Frank LaChuisa
*attended alleged
Black Hand banquet at Angelo Mark residence in July 1907
*supposed to have
been present when Augustino Rossi attacked Charles Lodato. A week later, files
complaint against Lodato after the latter fired five shots in his direction.
Eventually himself arrested after having threatened Alexander Eliott, Rochester policeman
involved in many Black Hand arrests
*involved in
murder of Giuseppe Albanese in July 1912. Eventually arrested in Texas and extradited to Rochester. Convicted
Dominick, Charles –
*Rochester gambling figure
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*involved in
bookmaking out of Chuck’s Cigar Store with Anthony Donofrio
*holder of gambling
stamp
*arrested in
January 1979 on gambling charges
Domizio, Ralph G. -
*born approx. 1949
*arrested in
August 1978 on gambling charges
Dongiovanni, Frank -
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
John Didio, Lorenzo Didio, John Lanzalaco, Vincenzo Lanzaldia, Joseph Spagnola,
Frank LaPlaca and Salvatore Calrome
Donofrio, Anthony T.
“Tubbie” –
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*involved in
bookmaking out of Chuck’s Cigar Store with Charles Dominick
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in
gambling raid in January 1971
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*arrested in
October 1974 on gambling charges
*arrested on
gambling charges in January 1976
*arrested in
January 1979 on gambling charges
Donovan, Clement G. –
*founder of
Don-O-Lac Company
*arrested in
August 1926 as member of Boscarino liquor ring
Donovan, Raymond J. –
*founder of
Don-O-Lac Company
*arrested in
August 1926 as member of Boscarino liquor ring
Downey, Edward (possibly Downing) -
*born approx. 1953
*inside Donald
Paone’s gambling club when the place was bombed in June 1978, during the late
1970s mob struggle known as the Alphabet War
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1978, with Donald Paone and Frank Pagelli
D’Urbano, Carl N. -
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
Edwards, Lionel “Mickey” -
*arrested for
operating a lottery in December 1970
*arrested in May
1975 on charges of bribery
*arrested in May
1975 on extortion charges, being accused of attempting to take over the numbers
operation of Joseph Lippa, one of the biggest independent numbers operators in
the area, convicted in 1977, appeal filed, conviction upheld in December 1979
Einsfield, Earl -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Encao, Anthony -
*arrested in
December 1938 on counterfeiting charges with among others Louis Spitale
Engelbert, Eugene -
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito.
Fairmont, James W. -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Falzone, Anthony J. -
*alleged member
*holder of
gambling stamp
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*files a false
arrest suit in connection with November 1971 arrest in February 1972, claiming
the arrest had damaged his name and reputation, despite seven earlier gambling
related arrests
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
*indicted in
November 1989 on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly
organized operation, charged with bribery
*while bribery
charges for others figuring in this case were in connection with buying
protection from local police, Falzone was charged with trying to influence the
outcome of the Angelo Amico racketeering case, charges dismissed in October
1990
Falzone, Mike -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
Farren, Edward -
*charged in
December 1981 for smashing up a bar, with among others Thomas Torpey
Farren, Howard –
*charged in
December 1981 for smashing up a bar, with among others Thomas Torpey
Farrone, Angelo -
*arrested with
among others Orlando Paone and Ignatzio Castellano in December 1970 gambling
raid
Feldman, Joseph -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Fenicchia, Laurence -
*born approx. 1953
*nephew through marriage
of Charles Indovino
*indicted in
Indovino linked counterfeiting case in January 1987
Ferrara, Frank -
*arrested on
gambling charges in January 1972 with several others
Ferrara, Joseph R. -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
Fiannaca, Charles “The
Sheik” -
*arrested in
November 1933 after threatening one Jake Marino with a gun
*arrested in
Peoria in September 1954, released and re-arrested within 24 hours, when it was
learned Fiannaca was sought on extortion charges in Rochester, after having
threatened the life of bookmaker Charles Dominick
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Fiannaca, Joseph -
*early Mafia
figure
*born in
Realmonte, province
of Agrigento
*family involved
in underworld feud resulting of shootings of two relatives in Chicago, one in
Rochester and supposedly one in Sicily (Giovanni Fiannaca, shot to death on
November 30, 1918, in
Chicago, attempt on life of John’s widow in March 1919, James Fiannaca, shot
dead in Rochester on November 30, 1919)
*arrested in
connection with October 1927 bombing of home of Charles Mondo, then assistant
DA prosecuting one of Fiannaca’s friends on robbery charges
*himself wounded
in Chicago gangland shooting of Filippo Gnolfo, ranking Mafia figure, while
acting as Gnolfo’s bodyguard, in May 1930
*figured in July
1932 murder of Vincenzo DiDomenico, a baker refusing to join a baker’s
“association”
*Leonard Cumbo and
Lorenzo Gallea, charged with the murder, lived with Fiannaca at the time of the
murder
*in Cumbo trial,
in which Fiannaca testified on behalf of the defense, admitted he was involved
in bootlegging
Fico, Joseph -
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Fico, Michael –
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
Fiorantino, Woodrow -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Fiorella, A. Richard -
*father of Michael
*arrested in March
1971 gambling bust, fined $1,000 in April 1972
Fiorella, Michael -
*arrested in March
1971 gambling bust, fined $5,000 in April 1972
*arrested in
connection with large scale bookmaking operation in July 1974, found not guilty
in May 1976
*arrested in
October 1979 on gambling charges, charges dismissed in January 1986
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1979
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1984
*testified during
1988 racketeering trial to making pay offs to local Mafia
Fiorino, John –
*born February 6,
1937
*member
*with Gingello in
March 1978, when bomb exploded near Blue Gardenia
*murdered on
December 17, 1981, on orders of Thomas Torpey and Thomas Taylor
*John Joseph
Sullivan, a New York
organized crime figure, eventually arrested and charged with murder
Fosco, Nicholas “The Bugster,
the Fence”” –
*born approx. 1936
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
*implicated with Marotta in sellinmg
stoolen food stamps in 1999/2000, ordered to pay his restitution and fines
totalling $27,000 and sentenced too four months of home confinement in June
2004
Fowler, Michael -
*boorn approx.
1953
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1984
Fox, John P. –
*arrested in massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Frasetto, Betti -
*indicted in
November 1978 in
connection with ongoing mob war, sentenced to 2 years in March 1980
*indicted with
husband in February 1980 on insurance fraud, sentenced in June 1980 to 1 year
and 1 day in prison
Frasetto, Francesco
“Frank” -
*alleged member
*during late 1970s
struggle among two factions of Rochester Mafia, Frasetto acted as spy for so
called B-Team until his cover was blown in June 1978, when he was arrested with
Dominic Celestino after a high speed car chase.
Both were charged with weapon charges. The attempted escape, it was
learned, was to try to keep Frassetto’s ties to the B-Team unknown to their
rivals
*indicted in
November 1978 in
connection with ongoing mob war, sentenced to 30 years in March 1980
*indicted with his
wife on charges of insurance fraud in February 1980, sentenced in June 1980 to
10 years running concurrently with bombing conviction, and 5 years to serve
after bombing sentence had been completed
*indicted in plot
to steal 90 million dollars in April 2004
*indicted on charges of distributing cocaine,
heroine and marijuana in June 2004, sentenced to ten years in prison in
September 2006
Frasetto, Frank P. -
*born approx. 1970
*son of Frank,
brother of Philip
*indicted on
charges oof distributing cocaine, heroine and marijuana
Frasetto, Philip M. -
*born approx. 1974
*son of Frank
*indicted on
charges oof distributing cocaine, heroine and marijuana
Frederico, Edward Eugene Jr. -
*Rochester contractor
*moved to Lake Havasu, Arizona
in 1973
*in Lake Havasu,
was head of Italian-American Anti Defamation League and owner of area’s only
asphalt and concrete plant
*after reporter
Don Bolles, investigating reporter for the Arizona Republic, was murdered in
June 1976, due too his investigation into Arizona organized crime, a team of
reporters started “The Arizona Project” a series of newspaper articles focusing
on that what killed Bolles. During the project, Frederico was mentioned as
being a former Rochester
resident with ties to the mob. His concrete company employed two other former Rochester residents, also
tied to Mafia activities by the reporters
Frederico, Edward Sr. -
Frisciano, Charles -
*early Mafia/Black
Hand figure
*arrested in
connection with July 1927 Boscarino shooting
*arrested in
February 1931 on bootlegging charges
*suspected shooter
in Vincenzo Infantino murder attempt resulting in the deaths of Infantino’s
wife and daughter in January 1930
*arrested in July
1937 on bootlegging charges
Furioso, Dennis -
*charged in November
1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Fury, John A. ”Johnny the
Boxer” -
*longtime Rochester organized crime
figure
*arrested in
December 1936 on robbery charges with Anthony J. Ollis and Frank J. Miller
*arrested in 1964
on gambling charges
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Fustiano, James A. -
*indicted on
gambling charges in July 1987
Fustiano, Joseph P. -
*Rochester gambling figure
*owner of gambling
stamp
Galbo, Domenico -
*brother of
Giuseppe
*arrested in connection
with Frank Manzella murder in 1911
Galbo, Giuseppe -
*brother of
Giuseppe, son-in-law of Sam Ollis
*arrested in
November 1911 in
connection with Frank Mazella murder
*sentenced to
twenty years in prison to life in July 1912, sentence reversed in May 1916,
after it was found there was little evidence, as well as Galbo’s difficulty to
have Manzella murdered, since he had two wooden legs
Gangemi, Lillian -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Gangemi, Sebastian -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*held when
refusing to testify before May 1987 Grand Jury investigating gambling,
sentenced to six months in prison for contempt in March 1988
Gangi, Joseph -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
*arrested with
among others Orlando Paone and Ignatzio Castellano in December 1970 gambling
raid
*arrested on
gambling charges in October 1972
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1974
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Gangi, Samuel -
*arrested in March
1962 on gambling charges after series of raids staged by Rochester city police and Treasury agents
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Gattalaro, Dominick S. -
*arrested in
October 1936 for posing as a policeman and extorting money from tavern keepers
*arrested in May
1926 for liquor smuggling with Joseph Lodato, Anthony Misseri, Larry Ranieri,
Joseph Micheluso and Patsy Amico
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Gattalardo, Patrick -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*arrested in
January 1975 in
connection with large gambling operation, fined $750 in July 1977
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
Gautheir, Bernard R. Jr. -
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
Genecco, Francis -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Geniola, Joseph R. –
*alleged member
*subpoenaed before
August 1977 Grand Jury investigating Rochester
organized crime activities
*indicted on
racketeering charges in October 1987, sentenced to 4 years in June 1989
*chastised in
December 1986 due to violation of Geniola’s curfew in connection with the 1988
racketeering trial
Gennarino, Bernard -
*born approx. 1952
*arrested on
gambling charges on July 1985
Gennarino, Edmund -
*born approx. 1957
*arrested on
gambling charges on July 1985
Geraci, Sam J. –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Gerber, Norbert -
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
Giamarva, Adelle -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Giannavola, August -
*member
*arrested at age 17 in July 1938, for throwing
objects from a car
*arrested in
December 1970 on gambling charges, with Louis Mancuso
Giardino, Felix -
*brother of John
*arrested in
October 1927 in
connection with Mondo bombing, others arrested being Joseph Fiannaca, Frank
Giullambardo from Brooklyn and Anthony Gagliano from Utica
Giardinoo, Samuel G. -
*born approx. 1925
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1986
Gingello, Anthony Jr. -
*associate
*son of Anthony
Sr.
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Gingello, Anthony Sr. -
*brother of
Salvatore
*father of Anthony
Jr.
*implicated by
Joseph Zito as one of operators of illegal gambling club in April 1973
*arrested in
December 1974 for soliciting Zeke Zimmerman to commit a crime
*indicted in July
1975 for Columbus Day bombings of 1970
Gingello, Salvatore -
*member
*son of James
Gingello
*home raided in
July 1969 in
which gambling records were seized
*convicted in
October 1969 on disorderly conduct charge after he and four associates had
blocked several police cars
*in December 1969,
Gingello claimed a suitcase containing more then $100,000 was stolen from his
home, the money being from gambling junkets to Las Vegas
*questioned in
1970 Lupo slaying, being a neighbor of Lupo
*involved in Mato
Flyers Club, Inc., involved in junkets to Las
Vegas
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito. Eventually acquitted
*implicated by
Joseph Zito as one of operators of illegal gambling club in April 1973
*arrested in
January 1975 for soliciting Zeke Zimmerman to commit a crime, charges dismissed
in June 1975
*arrested in May
1975 on extortion charges, being accused of attempting to take over the numbers
operation of Joseph Lippa, one of the biggest independent numbers operators in
the area
*charged with the
1973 Massaro murder in June 1975, found guilty in November 1976 and sentenced
to prison
*freed in January
1977, after it became known evidence in the Massaro case was fabricated, a
revelation which eventually resulted in a major scandal and civil rights
violation lawsuits by several of the mobsters
*indicted in July
1975 for Columbus Day bombings of 1970
*among leaders of
so-called A-Team in late 1970s underworld struggle
*bomb either
intended for Gingello or meant as message to him exploded outside of Blue
Gardenia Restaurant in March 1978
*murdered with car
bomb on April 23, 1978, by members of so called B-Team, bodyguards Thomas
Taylor and Thomas Torpey surviving the attack, being only slightly wounded
Gingello, Vincenzo “James”
-
*associate
*father of
Salvatore and Anthony
*arrested in
October 1931 on robbery charges with Joseph Imburgia and Louis Sinare
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1978, together with Louis Santonato, charges
dismissed in November that same year
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
Ginsberg, Julius “Whitey”
-
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
Giordano, Alfred -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
September 1978 on gambling charges with sixteen others
Giordano, Cosimo -
*early Mafia
figure
*arrested in July
1922 for assault (beating during strike of shoemakers. Victim wrongly thought
to have been a strike breaker
*arrested in November 1923 as suspected member of
truck burglary ring, with Frank and Rose Agno, Patsy Amico, Thomas Afeno and
Joseph Longo
*arrested in December 1925 on charges of criminally
receiving stolen property with Charles LaPlaca. During trial that follows the
prosecutor receives death threats on at least one occasion
Giordino, Michele -
*arrested July 7,
1922, for blackmailing, in scheme allegedly set up to raise money for Luigi
Guadagnino
Giunta, Salvatore -
*arrested July 7,
1922, for blackmailing, in scheme allegedly set up to raise money for Luigi
Guadagnino
Glasgow, James Sturat Jr.
–
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
Goia, Samuel -
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
*at the time of
his arrest was a Rochester Fire Department lieutenant
Graconia, Vincent -
*arrested in July
1937 bootlegging case with Charles Frisciano and Frank Muciolo
Grana, Samuel –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*holder of
gambling stamp
Granata, Frank “Red” -
*early Rochester
Black Hand/Mafia figure
*brother-in-law of
Frank LaPlaca
*murdered one
Rosalino LoBue on April 11, 1915. Arrested, eventually pled guilty and
sentenced to prison. Served three years
*arrested in March
1920 for assault upon one George Pierce
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank
Dongiovanni, John Didio, Lorenzo Didio, John Lanzalaco, Vincenzo Lanzaldia,
Joseph Spagnola, Frank LaPlaca and Salvatore Calrome
*moved to Chicago in mid 1920s,
supposedly to work for Capone
*arrested in June 1929 in Rochester on suspicion of murder of Rose
Resso, believed to have been mistaken for Granata’s ex wife
*released on bond,
which he jumped
*found in Joliet, Illinois, prison
cell in October 1932, search by Rochester
police halted
Granite, Arthur –
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
Gray, Domenic “Digger” -
*born approx. 1949
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
Gray, Louis -
*arrested on
gambling charges in September 1973
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1973
Greco, Dominic -
*arrested in July
1940 on bootlegging charges with among others Frank Dimino and Joseph Conti of Jamestown
Greco, James -
*arrested in July
1969 on gambling charges with among others Salvatore Gingello
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Greco, Rafaele -
*early Mafia/Black
Hand figure
*born September
11, 1880
*arrested in 1921
for having in possession a gun and a stiletto
*arrested July 7,
1922, for blackmailing, in scheme allegedly set up to raise money for Luigi
Guadagnino
*at time of
arrest, lottery tickets were found in his possession. Within a month, Calogero
Arena was arrested for running the lottery
*held as material
witness in 1923 murder of John Capello
*his supposed
confessions were important in conviction of Ribellino
*arrested in May 1926
as suspected lookout in burglary
*suspect in a
February 1928 murder in DuBois, Pennsylvania, for which he was arrested in Rochester in January 1931
*held for
deportation in May 1932
Green, Arthur C. -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Grillo, Peter P. Jr. “The
Count” -
*born approx. 1931
*Rochester gambling figure
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 gambling raid netting more then 40
*arrested in March
1982 on charges of selling liquor without a license
*arrested in
February 1983 on charges of selling liquor without a license
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
Grizzarsi, Vincenzo -
*arrested in
August 1928 on arson charges with Angelo Cometa and Louis Bartolletta
Grock, Joseph R. “Snuffy”
–
*Rochester gambling figure
*numerous gambling
related arrests
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*arrested in
August 1970 gambling raid
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*sought for arrangement
in October 1970 on gambling charges, together with Andrew Blanda, turned
himself in a week later
*chaged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring, of which Grock was identified as leader
*schedeuled to
testify on behalf of prosecution in 1987/1988 racketeering trial of Loren
Piccarreto and others, but passed away before he was called oon November 3,
1988
Groetsch, Andrew A. –
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
Gruttaura, Michael -
*alleged Black
Hand figure connected with Rafaele Greco
*held as a
material witness in Capello shooting
Guadagnino, Luigi -
*early Mafia/Black
Hand figure
*born in
Sommatino, Province
of Caltanissetta
*shoots to death
policeman James Upton in March 1919, after the officer caught Guadagnino and a
few others trying to set fire to a grocery store
*allegedly lived
in Pennsylvania, W. Virginia
and Ohio after Upton slaying
*Placed under
arrest while in Ohio hospital for Upton murder on March 8, 1921. In hospital after a
stabbing affray a week earlier in East
Liverpool, Ohio.
Eventually plead guilty to avoid death sentence
Gublo, Leon G. -
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings
Guidice, Rocco “Rocky” -
*doorman at 44
Club
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1974
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
September 1978 on gambling charges with sixteen others
Gunther, Kenneth E. -
*arrested on
bookmaking charges in December 1973
Guth, Benedict -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust, being the only one not living in the Rochester area. Guth lived in Syracuse
Haak, Gary –
*associate,
aligned with B-Team in late 1970s mob war
*business partner
of Rosario Chirico
*cooperated with
authorities, stated he had made certain components for bombs used in 1978
bombings
Harris, Eddie -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Hart, James C. -
*arrested on gambling
charges in November 1972
Hatcher, David L. -
*arrested for
operating a lottery in December 1970
Heicklen, Louis -
*sought in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons, turned himself in several days
after massive arrests
Heinsler, Gary P. -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
Hertz, Charles J. -
*born approx. 1934
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1986
Hoffman, Norman -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
*charged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Howe, Elvin –
*charged in
December 1981 for smashing up a bar, with among others Thomas Torpey
Huck, Norman -
*low level
organized crime associate
*sentenced to
prison in February 1964 for assaulting policeman
*found murdered in
December 1967
Iacona, Frank -
*member of arson
gang dubbed a Black Hand operation by police
*died in explosion
went planting a bomb that went of early
Ignizzio, John R. -
*arrested in April
1973 in
gambling raid
Imburgia, John J. -
*born March 1,
1916
*plead guilty to
gambling charges in August 1948,
in case involving among others Rene Piccaretto
*arraigned on
extortion charges with Rene Piccaretto in April 1968
*Died July 18,
1971, before extortion case was completed, in Miami, Florida
Imburgia, Joseph J. -
*born December 16,
1914
*arrested in
October 1931 on robbery charges with James Gingello and Louis Sinare
*died February 17,
1995, in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Imburgia, Louis J.
“Tree-Top” -
*born December 13,
1914
*arrested in July
1949 raid on a vacant stoore in which weapons, ammunition, money order blanks,
gambling machines and a counterfeit postoffice stamp were seized. William
Terra, anotorious underworld character, sought in connection with raid
*claimed to have
dined with his son Louis Jr., his nephew Stephen and Sam Gingello in Miami in
November 1973, on a day he was suposedly seen by law enforcement officials in
connection with the Massaro murder plot in Rochester. Louis Jr. and Stephen testified in first
Massaro murder trial about this dinner
*died August 8, 1990, in Miami, Florida
Indovino, Charles “Charlie
the Ox” -
*member
*among leaders of
so called B-Team in underworld struggle of late 1970s
*allegedly ordered
shooting of Robert Barone in order to take over Barone’s gambling operation,
and bombing of Joseph DiBattisto, a witness in a murder Indovino associate
Robert Dimino committed in order to collect victim’s life insurance, eventually
recieved a 15 year prisoon sentence for the bombing (September 1987)
*figured in
counterfeiting case in 1986
Infantino, Antonio -
*early Mafia
figure
*brother of
Vincenzo
*arrested April
25, 1922, on counterfeiting charges, together with Tony Agnello and Felippo
Vitello from Cleveland, Ohio.
*alleged ranking
figure of Boscarino outfit before breaking away
*various arrests
for bootlegging
*arrested in July 1927 in connection with
Boscarino shooting, put on trial and sentenced to fifteen years. Sentence
eventually overturned
*mortally wounded
by Boscarino in Buffalo
on September 12, 1930
*dies of his
wounds September 24, 1930
Infantino, Charles -
*operated
speakeasy with his father Vincenzo, padlocked in December 1928
*arrested February
1930 with his father on bootlegging charges
Infantino, Philip –
*Rochester gambling figure
**arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
*holder of
gambling stamp
Infantino, Sam -
*operated
speakeasy with Charles and Vincenzo,
*fined in May 1930
for bootlegging charges after pleading guilty in order to get brother Charles
and their father off
Infantino, Vincenzo -
*brother of Tony
*father of Charles
and Sam
*arrested in July 1927 in connection with
Boscarino shooting
*operated
speakeasy padlocked in December 1928
*wife and daughter
killed in attempt on his life in January 1930
Ingoglia, Charles -
*brother of Joseph
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*arrested as
material witness in May 1927 Lodato murder
Ingoglia, Joseph -
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*arrested as
material witness in May 1927 Lodato murder
*arrested in
August 1928 on bootlegging charges
*subject of
attempted assassination in September 1929, when several shots were fired upon
him
Ingoglia, Joseph -
*born approx. 1941
*subpoenaed before
July 1977 Grand Jury investigating the Leo Arena extortion case, Ingoglia
having accompanied Arena when visiting extortion victim
Inzina, Charles -
*involved in bootlegging operation
broken up in May 1947 with among others Joseph LaNovara
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
Ippolito,
Salvatore S. -
*arrested in
October 1970 gambling raid with 26 others
Izzo, George -
*early organized
crime figure
*arrested in June
1922 on charges of possessing stolen property
*arrested in
October 1927 on counterfeiting charges
*sought on theft charges
in December 1939, eventually found in hospital after car he was driving had
crashed. Izzo’s companion, Angelo LaChuisa, also sought by police, died of his
injuries
Johnson, William H. -
*arrested for
operating a lottery in December 1970
Jordan, William -
*charged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Juliano, Joseph -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Juzwiak, Louise -
*arrested in
October 1974 with Anthony Donofrio on gambling charges
Kandris, Thomas G. –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Kandris, Tommy –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*indicted on
gambling charges in July 1987
Keable, Raymond -
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1973
Kearney, William G. –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Kelliher, Thomas -
*chaged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Kobryn, Charles -
*arrested in April
1973 in
gambling raid
Koch, Leonard -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Korpal, Edmund –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Koumoutos, Stefanos -
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Kunz, George -
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1971 with Nick DiNardo and Joseph Alongi
LaChuisa, Angelo “The
Squirrel” –
*crime figure associated
with George Izzo
*died in car crash
with George Izzo in December 1939
LaChuisa, Francesco -
*Black Hand figure
*arrested with
Luigi DiVito and Giuseppe LaScala for Black Hand extortion on May 23, 1907
*partner in saloon
with Joe LaScala
*figured in
October 27, 1907, murder of Allesandrio Caruso, as did LaScala. One Natale
Napoli accused of Caruso murder
LaMartina, Carl -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Lamentre, Frank -
*alleged leader of
arson gang dubbed a Black Hand operation by police
*gang responsible
for failed bombing resulting in death of Frank Iacona in August 1922
*evaded arrest by
escaping while fellow gang member Luigi
Scarlotta had been sentenced to seventy years on a similar charge in another
case, and several coconspirators were put on trial, eventually resulting in
withdrawing of charges in November 1922. Coconspirators were Calogero Agnello,
a grocery operator, Salvatore Barchieri
and three Palermo
brothers, Salvatore, Calogero and Cataldo, suspected of having hired the ring
LaMonica, Joseph Jr. “The
Blind Tiger” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Lang, Fred -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Lane, Tara -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
LaNovara, Joseph “Spike” -
*born approx. 1916
*involved in bootlegging operation broken up in May
1947 involving Lawrence Lucicano and Charles Inzina of Rochester and Pasco
Pirincin of Lima
*charged with the
1973 Massaro murder in June 1975
*started
cooperating with authorities in July 1975
*indicted in April
1976 on arson charges
*while he and
family were in witness protection program, his stepson was arrested and charged
with fraud in April 1979, for which he eventually received an 18 year prison
sentence
Lanzalaco, John -
*early Mafia/Black
Hand figure
*associate of
Frank Granata
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
John Didio, Lorenzo Didio, Frank Dongiovanni, Vincenzo Lanzaldia, Joseph
Spagnola, Frank LaPlaca and Salvatore Calrome
*indicted for
burglary in June 1926 with Sam Piazza and Carl Veale
*sentenced to
prison in 1928 on burglary charges, transferred to working camp in June 1930
*arrested in
November 1930 in
an Auburn bootlegging raid after having
escaped form a working camp
Lanzaldia, Vincenzo -
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
John Didio, Lorenzo Didio, John Lanzalaco, Frank Dongiovanni, Joseph Spagnola,
Frank LaPlaca and Salvatore Calrome
LaPlaca, Charles -
*early Mafia/Black
Hand figure
*arrested in
December 1925 on charges of criminally receiving stolen property, with Cosimo
Giordano
*accused of double
murder in 1932
LaPlaca, Frank -
*Black Hand/early
Mafia figure
*brother-in-law of
Frank Granata
*arrested on
January 5, 1914, for burglary and petit larceny
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
John Didio, Lorenzo Didio, John Lanzalaco, Vincenzo Lanzaldia, Joseph Spagnola,
Frank Dongiovanni and Salvatore Calrome
*arrested in June 1929 in Rochester on suspicion of murder of Rose
Resso, believed to have been mistaken for Granata’s ex wife
*arrested on July
12, 1931 as inmate of gambling house
*arrested in
January 1938 on theft charges
LaRocco, Sebastian -
*arrested in February
1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
LaScala, Giuseppe “Joseph
LaScala
*Black Hand figure
*arrested May 23,
1907, for Black Hand extortion of Salvatore Bonafide
*partner with
Frank LaChuisa in saloon
*figured in the October
1907 murder of one Allesandrio Caruso, victim supposed to have been in
LaChuisa/LaScala saloon prior to his murder
Latin, Thomas –
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
Latona, Salvatore Jr. -
*arrested July 7,
1922, for blackmailing, in scheme allegedly set up to raise money for Luigi
Guadagnino
*held as a
material witness in Capello shooting
Latona, Salvatore Sr. -
*arrested July 7,
1922, for blackmailing, in scheme allegedly set up to raise money for Luigi
Guadagnino
*John Capello shot
dead by Pietro Ribellino after leaving Latona’s house
*held as a
material witness in Capello shooting
*arrested with his
wife Rose on liquor charges in 1927
Laurenti, Guido -
*arrested in
counterfeit plot in November 1929,
in which were figuring: George Miles, James Buscemi,
Anthony Fetto, Sam Cartonia Joseph Bartolotta, Ignazio Calabrese and Harry
Emerson of Buffalo and Angelo Michiche and
Joseph Cataldo of Rochester
LaVerde, Frank -
*early Mafia/Black
Hand figure
*arrested November
13, 1913, for Black Hand extortion, together with Joseph Lodato and Giovanni
Catagina. Not convicted
*shot in the night
of November 15, 1917, died November 17.
*reported by
police to have been a much feared individual
LeCesse, Florence -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Leonardo, Anthony Jr. -
*born approx. 1947
*noted criminal
defense lawyer
*attorney for
William Mahoney in 1979-1980 civil rights trial
*opens Club Titanic in July 1999
with partners Anthony Vaccaro and David Cashion
*plotted to murder his partner in
a nightclub, Vaccaro, in March 2000,
gave Albert Ranieri key to club in order to ambush Vaccaro. Plot not carried
out, Vaccaro murdered some six weeks later
*allegdly also plotted with Ranieri
the murder of his other partner, David Cashion, but ploot also not carried out
*arrested in December 2000 on
charges of distributing cocaine
*plead guilty to charges of money
laundering, plootting to kill Anthony Vaccaro and conspiracy to distribute
cocaine in August 2001, agreed to testify against codefendants in exchange for
12 year prison sentence
LeStrange, Richard -
*born approx. 1950
*indicted on
narcotics charges in February 1991, together with Dominic Taddeo
Lipani, Frank J. -
*arrested in
Gingello linked gambling operation in June 1970
*testified during
1988 racketeering trial to making pay offs to local Mafia
Lipani, Michael -
*arrested in
Gingello linked gambling operation in June 1970
*arrested on
gambling charges in January 1972 with several others
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
LoCurto, Leonardo J. -
*born approx. 1907
*identified by
informant as capo during Frank Valenti reign
*part owner of New
Crown Beverages
*subpoenaed before
Grand Jury investigating Rochester
organized crime in August 1977
Lodato, Ignazio “Charles”
-
*Black Hand figure
*brother of Joseph
Lodato
*face slashed by
Augustino Rossi on July 26, 1907, supposedly because Lodato had divulged
secrets of a Black Hand society
*claimed by Luigi DiVito
to have fired five shots in his direction on August 2, 1907. Lodato later
claims DiVito was involved in the attack upon him a week earlier. Arrested,
released on $2,500 bail
Lodato, Guiseppe “Joseph,
Joseph Ross, Joseph Rossi” -
*Black hand/early Mafia
figure
*brother of
Charles Lodato
*figured in
Lodato/DiVito feud in July/August 1907
*arrested November
13, 1913, for Black Hand extortion of one John Petrossi. Arrested with him were
Frank LaVerde, accused of extorting one Joseph Marino, and Giovanni Catagina,
accused of extorting one Frank Valentino. All three said to have been leading
members of a Rochester Black Hand society. Sentenced to no less then three
years and three months and no more then seven years in prison on June 26, 1913
*arrested in May
1926 for liquor smuggling with Pasquale Amico, Anthony Misseri, Larry Ranieri,
Joseph Micheluso and Dominic Gattalaro
*shot to death on
May 2, 1927
LoDolce, Joseph -
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982
*at the time of
indictment, stewart of Local 398
*indicted on
racketeering charges in October 1987
*while on bail
awaiting his sentencing in 1988 rackettering case, was accused of sexually
abusing a 10 year old boy
*senteneced ti
seven years in June 1989 in
racketeering case
Longinotti, John J. -
*born approx. 1942
*arrested in July
1985 on gambling charges, fined and oordered to Monroe County Sheriff’s
Department work program in April 1986
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
Longo, Joseph -
*arrested in November 1923 as
suspected member of truck burglary ring, with Frank and Rose Agno, Cosimo
Giordano, Thomas Afeno and Pasquale Amico
Lotta, Joseph
A. -
*born approx. 1934
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*indicted on gambling charges in August 1987, alleged to be operator of
44 Club
LoVerde, Joseph -
*brother of Salvatore
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
LoVerde,
Salvatore “Sam” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
LoVullo, Angelo
J. –
*arrested in massive gambling crackdown in October
1959
Lucisani, Lawrence -
*involved in bootlegging operation broken up in May
1947 with among others Joseph LaNovara
Lumpo, Orlando -
*owner of building
in which the 44 Club was located
*building seized
in May 1987
Lupo, William “Billy” –
*member
*sometimes driver
for Frank Valenti
*found slain
gangland style on February 18, 1970
*a week before his
body was found, Lupo’s wife Jean had told police Lupo had threatened to kill
her
*Lupo’s estranged
wife Jean was placed in witness protection program after testifying Frank
Valenti had asked her too lie on his behalf in his 1972 gun trial in Arizona
Lynch, Jimmy –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Maddolina, Henry M. “Hank”
–
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
September 1978 on gambling charges with sixteen others
Maiorani, John -
*arrested in
December 1979 gambling raid netting more then 40
Malara, Robert -
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Malta, Charles -
*arrested in April
1973 in
gambling raid
Mancuso, Alfred R. -
*shoots dead one
Benjamin Oken on October 30, 1963
*arrested for Oken
shooting, put on trial, acquitted March 1964
*arrested on
extortion charges in March 1964 with Tom Taylor and Benny Morganti of Utica
Mancuso, Louis -
Rochester gambling figure
*numerous gambling
related arrests, many with his partner George Rosenberg
*arrested in
February 1970 during gambling raid
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in
December 1970 on gambling charges
*arrested two days
after his December 1970 with August Giannavola, again on gambling charges
*arrested with
Rosenberg and Norman Cordaro in February 1971 on gambling charges
*arrested in
August 1971 on gambling charges
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1971
Mandolini, Giovanni -
*Black Hand figure
*arrested in July
for Black Hand extortion, together with Paul Ollis, Frank Manzella and Frank
Marino
*Marino’s wife,
during the trial, shot Mandolini’s wife over an argument concerning the alleged
informing of Mandolini
Managazze, Benjamin “Ben
Manning” -
*owner of Blue
Gardenia Restaurant
*arrested on
gambling charges
Manza, Frank -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1973
Manzella, Francesco -
*Black Hand figure
*close friend and
associate of Antonio Ollis
*arrested in July
1908, for Black hand extortion, send to two and a half years in Auburn prison
*released in May
1911, returned to Rochester
*body found
murdered and hacked in a barrel on October 30, 1911
Marasco, Samuel A. -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*indicted on
gambling charges in July 1987
Margiotta, Joseph -
*associate
*linked to car
bombing of Joseph DiBattisto in July
1985 and shooting of Robert Barone in March 1985, recieved 20 year sentence in
September 1987 for his part in the bombing case (to run concurrently with
counterfeiting sentence)
*figured in
counterfeiting case with Charles Indovino in 1986, sentenced to 25 years in
September 1987
Marine, Morris -
*arrested in
connection with large scale bookmaking operation in July 1974
Marino, Francesco di Filippo -
*Black Hand figure
*arrested in July
1908, with Frank Manzella, Paul Ollis and Giovanni Mandolini for extortion of
Antonio Lorenzo
Marino, Lawrence “Skully” -
*early Mafia
figure
*arrested and
fined for causing disturbance in April 1917
*linked to Joseph
Lodato
*various liquor
law violations during prohibition
Marino, Richard “Dick,
Molly” -
*member of
Rochester Mafia
*Binghamton Press
reported that Dick Marino for four years had been a partner of Robert E. Fisher
in a trucking company. Fisher was a former Broome
County judge and at the time the head
of the New York State’s Organized Crime Task Force
*charged with the
1973 Massaro murder in June 1975, went on trial alone, eventually receiving a
prison sentence of 25 years to life, but conviction overturned in January 1976,
after it became evident that evidence had been fabricated
*arrested in
connection with forgery of drivers’ licenses in September 1975, together with
Lawrence Masters, James Cannarozza and John Aiello
*indicted in April
1976 on arson charges
*one of leaders of
so called A-Team in underworld struggle of late 1970s
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982, sentenced to
40 years in prison in December 1984
*in 1973, elected
first president of Allied Building Trades Council, representing 18 AFL-CIO
trade unions
*sentenced to i
year in prison on weapon charge in October 1983, resulting from an incident in
which Marino threatened a man with a weapon on December 15, 1981
*died on September
23, 2004
Mark, Angelo -
*Black Hand figure
*threw the alleged
Black Hand banquet were Charles Lodato first met Augustino Rossi
Marotta, Thomas -
*born in 1942 in Rochester
*member
*arrested on
gambling charges in October 1972
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
*charged in June
1975 with plot to murder Monroe County Sheriff figures William Lombard and
William Mahoney
*charged with the
1973 Massaro murder in June 1975, found guilty in November 1976 and sentenced
to prison
*freed in January
1977, after it became known evidence in the Massaro case was fabricated, a
revelation which eventually resulted in a major scandal and civil rights
violation lawsuits by several of the mobsters
*one of leaders of
so called A-Team in underworld struggle of late 1970s
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982, sentenced to
20 years in prison in December 1984
*shot, allegedly
by C-Team on April 12, 1983, and again on November 10, 1983, again survived
*After Dominic
Taddeo’s arrest in 1989, it was stated Rene Piccarreto had ordered both
shootings, in 1992, Taddeo would plead guilty to charges including the two
Marotta shootings
*paroled in 1996
*implicated ina variety of charges by Cleveland crime figure and FBI informant
Anthony Delmonti after release from prison
*”inititiated” Delmonti into
Rochester Mafia a phony ritual, with FBI agents monitoring the event in the
room nextdoor
*pleads guilty to charges of cocaine
distributing, money laundering (same scheme as Leonardo Jr.), transporting
stoolen cars and tarnsfering stolen food stamps in May 2002
Marrapese, David J. -
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
Marterano, Reigo J. -
*alleged member
Martin, Eddie -
*Gingello
associate
*arrested in
November 1930 after shoving a policeman and using abusive language
Marzurchak, Michael -
*arrested in December
1970 on gambling charges
Mascitti, Venanzio -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
Masita, Giuseppe -
*associate of
Antonio Ollis
*arrested with
Antonio Ollis for burglary in November 1908, escaped, never heard of again.
Massaro, Tony -
*Monaca, Pennsylvania,
bootlegging and counterfeiting figure associated with Agnello and Louis “Louis
the Carpenter” Tantalo
*murdered December
11, 1938
*Virgil Earl
Reynolds arrested for Massaro slaying, implicated Tantalo, and also confessed
to Agnello slaying
*some time after
the slaying rumored to have been Olean/Limestone bootlegging figure Tony
Massari, but the rumor was never proven
Massaro, Vincent Leon
“Vincent James Massaro, Jimmy the Hammer” -
*member
*connected to Bar
Mon Construction
*shot to death and
his body stuffed in the trunk of his car, found on November 28, 1973, reason
behind murder thought to have been because he was too talkative and had
complained about mob leadership
Masters, Carl -
*charged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Masters, Lawrence J. -
*associate
*Monroe County
Auto License Bureau manager when charged with involvement in robbery in January
1975
*arrested in
connection with forgery of drivers’ licenses in September 1975, together with
Richard Marino, James Cannarozza and John Aiello
Mastrodonato, Andrew
“Ollie” -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
*implicated by
Joseph Zito as one of operators of illegal gambling club in April 1973
*arrested in
September 1973 on gambling charges
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
September 1978 on gambling charges with sixteen others
Mastrodonato, James -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Mastrodonato, Joseph M.
“Big Joe”-
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Mastrodonato, Nicholas –
*linked to C-Team
durting early 1980s mob struggle
*shot to death by
Dominick Taddeo on May 25, 1982
Mastrolonardo, Michael –
*arrested on
bootlegging charges in August 1944 with among others Michael Amico, serving as
truck driver to the combine
Mastrosimone, Samuel -
*born approx. 1947
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Masucci, William “Willie
Hoppe” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*numerous gambling
related arrests since 1938
Mayer, Richard -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
*arrested in
August 1971 on gambling charges
McAfee, James –
*charged in
December 1981 for smashing up a bar, with among others Thomas Torpey
McAfee, Steven –
*brother of James
*charged in
December 1981 for smashing up a bar, with among others Thomas Torpey
McAvoy, Thomas -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
McCarthy, John –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
McGee, Willie -
*arrested in May
1975 on charges of bribery
McDonough, Thomas -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Mello, Ermalinda -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Merlo, Antonio -
*suspected early
Mafia member
*murdered his
brother Ernesto in January 1926, after Ernesto had laid eyes on his wife too
often
*after murder of
his brother, Merlo
evaded police for some two years
*father of
Angelina Spitali
*after Angelina
was shot down, Merlo sought revenge, and when
returning to Rochester,
was arrested for murder of Ernesto
*sentenced to
twenty years in Auburn
for Ernesto’s murder
Miccariella, Michael -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
Miceli, Jerry –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Micheluso, Joseph –
*arrested in May
1926 for liquor smuggling with Joseph Lodato, Anthony Misseri, Larry Ranieri,
Patsy Amico and Dominic Gattalaro
Michiche, Angelo -
*Rochester organized crime figure
*arrested March
21, 1929, on counterfeiting charges, with James Buscemi of Buffalo
Mihr, Norman C. -
*arrested in
Gingello linked gambling operation in June 1970
Miller, Mark J. -
*born approx. 1955
*arrested in
August 1978 on gambling charges
Minkoff, Sam –
*arrested in
January 1970 on gambling charges, involving junkets to Las Vegas, together with
Dominick Chirico and Angelo Vaccaro and Joe Todaro Sr. and Jr. from Buffalo,
found not guilty in September 1971
Misseri, Anthony –
*arrested in May 1926
for liquor smuggling with Joseph Lodato, Patsy Amico, Larry Ranieri, Joseph
Micheluso and Dominic Gattalaro
Misuraca, Angelo –
*brother-in-law of
Richard Marino
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*became business
agent for Local 398 after murder of Fiorino, the union’s former business agent
*barred from
holding union post after ties with Angelo Amico became known in March 1991
Mollica, John -
*arrested in April
1908 raid on Frank LaChuisa hotel, for carrying concealed weapon
*arrested February
1910 for assault of one Michael LaScala
*arrested June 6,
for carrying concealed weapons
*arrested August
28, 1922, together with John Didio, on connection with Camiolo/Nucci stolen car
ring
*arrested in
September 1922 for maintaining a gambling place with Frank Virgo
*shoots to death
Gabriel Sciortino and Angelo DiMarco, associates and members of Wolves gang, on
November 23, 1924
Monachino, Angelo -
*born approx. 1929
*member
*indicted in
connection with Constable murder in April 1975
*indicted in
connection with arson in June 1975, started to cooperate with authorities that
same month
*based upon
information provided by Monachino, 7 were charged with the 1973 Massaro murder
in June 1975
*provided information
about a plot of Rochester Mafiosi, including lawyer Samuel DiGaetano, to murder
Monroe County Sheriff William Lombard and his chief of detectives William
Mahoney
*provided the
information that lead to indictments in connection with the 1970 Columbus Day
bombings, as well as several others, which until then had been a mystery
*received a one
year suspended sentence in July 1978
in tax case brought to him while already cooperating
Monachino, Charles -
*born approx. 1937
*associate
*brother of Angelo
*indicted in
January 1975 on theft charges, connected with Zeke Zimmerman, started
cooperating with authorities in January 1975
Montana, Peter -
*indicted in
September 1934 for operating stills with Diego Baldo and Sam Piazza
Moon, Elizabeth (Maroon??)
–
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in March
1982 on charges of selling liquor without a license
*arrested on
charges oof illegal liquor sales in February 1983
Morio, George -
*arrested on
robbery charges with Joseph Ollis and Ray Alexander in August 1928
Morreale, Angelo “Carl
Vollo” -
*brother of
Charles
*various arrests
for bootlegging in Rochester
*arrested as
material witness in July 1927 Boscarino shooting
*suspected
orchestrator of failed attempt on life of Sam Spitale, in which Spitale’s wife
Angelina was shot dead, disappeared from Rochester
*fled to Trinidad, Colorado,
were he operated a shop which was a blind for bootlegging under the name Carl
Vollo
*arrested in Denver in September 1931 in bootlegging raid
and identified as fugitive from Rochester
*during Denver raid, Mike Malone, a Denver boxer, was seriously wounded by
prohibition agents
*found guilty of
second degree murder in Spitale death, sentenced to 20 years in prison
Morreale, Peter -
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*arrested July
1928 while unloading truck of liquor
Morreale, Salvatore “Sam”
-
*brother of Angelo
*threatened under
gunpoint after Spitale shooting in 1928
*speakeasy raided
in January 1929
Mortorano, Samuel -
*arrested July 7,
1922, for blackmailing, in scheme allegedly set up to raise money for Luigi
Guadagnino
Mosiello, Richard -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
Muciolo, Frank -
*plead guilty to
bootlegging charges in September 1939, in case involving Charles Frisciano and
Vincent Graconia
Muoio, Frank “Froggy” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*claimed to have
been inside gambling joint when it bombed when bomb threat was phoned in 1978
Muratore, Nicholas -
*arrested on
bookmaking charges in December 1973
Muriello, Frank Jr. -
*arrested in
October 1968 in
connection with string of burglaries, linked to Buffalo Mafia figure John Sacco
Mutolo, Erasmo -
*listed as only Rochester residents in
the address book of Momo Adamo, seized in 1950.
*born August 8, 1880, in Misilmeri, province of Palermo
*possible
Rochester Mafia leader 1947 - 1950s
Nalore, Joseph -
*chief or Rochester fire department
in early 1970s
*accused in 1975
of assisting Mafia figures in arson conspiracies, indicted in April 1976 with
among others Frank Valenti Rene Piccarreto
Nanna, Anthony -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Nardozzi, David -
*associate
*professional
burglar and safe cracker
*eventually became
an FBI informant
*in late 1990s,
tried to get Tom Marotta to give his approval for Nardozzi to shoot a police
officer, suposedly in an attempt to seduce Marotta into comitting a criminal
act
Natale, Anthony C.
“Anthony Natalie” -
*indicted with
Gene DeFrancesco and Peter Papaleo on loansharking charges in February 1975,
charges dismissed in November 1977
Needle, Harvey -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Nucci, Luigi -
*early Mafia
figure
*arrested with
Serafino Camiolo on July 28, 1922, on charges of car theft
Oberty, Jeffrey J. -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
Oliveri, Anthony -
*arrested in
December 1938 on counterfeiting charges with among others Louis Spitale
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*arrested in March
1979 on weapon charges, after allegedly staking out Angelo DeMarco in order to
shoot him
*started
cooperating with authorities in or around 1982, gave evidence in second Massaro
murder trial, as well as later trial of Angelo Amico and Loren Piccarreto
Olivero, Giovanni –
*bodyguard for
Boscarino at the time of September 1930 attack on Infantino
Oliveri, Pasquale “Patsy”
-
*officer of Local
1635, of which Tony Gingello was head
*sentenced in 1945
to 15 to 30 years in prison for manslaughter
*arrested in 1970
on weapon charges
Ollis, Angelo (real name
Angelo Allessi) -
*close friend and
associate of Alfio Boscarino
*Boscarino left
Allessi’s place when wounded in shooting in 1927
*arrested in
February 1929 for liquor law violations
Ollis, Anthony J. -
*arrested in
December 1936 on robbery charges with John “Johnny the Boxer” Fury and Frank J.
Miller
*identified as
sometimes driver for Frank Valenti
*treasurer of
Local 1635, of which Tony Gingello was head
Ollis, Antonio -
*Black Hand/early
Mafia figure
*arrested for
burglary in November 1908, with Giuseppe Masita
*involved in
mysterious shooting affair on October 31, 1910, with one Francesco Guelli
(Interestingly, the wife of Francesco di Filippo Marino was known as Rosa
Guelli.)
*found murdered on
February 26, 1911, allegedly murdered by Rosalino Ippolito, a brother-in-law
who was jealous of Ollis due to the latter’s friendship with their
father-in-law
*murder later
thought to have been part of a feud between Joseph Ollis and his brother Sam
*letters found in
Ollis’ possession indicated kinship with Sicilian Mafia
Ollis, Joseph -
*arrested on
robbery charges with Ray Alexander and George Morio in August 1928
*arrested in
October 1929 in
small time scheme in which $50 was extorted from two young girls
Ollis, Paul -
*Black Hand figure
*brother of
Antonio Ollis
*Arrested for
carrying metal knuckles, a gun, a knife and a razor. Fined $50 in police court for the gun, and on
February 23, 1907, was fined $50 and sentenced to 100 days in jail for the
knuckles, which was a federal offense.
*Arrested July 8,
1908, for Black Hand extortion, with Francesco Manzella, Giovanni Mandolini and
Francesco Marino
*sentenced to two
and a half years in prison
*released in March
1911
*murdered on June
7, 1912, by Carlo Buscemi
Ollis, Samuel -
*apparent
Rochester Mafia figure
*brother of
Joseph, who served time in Auburn prison after he murdered one Giuseppe Lombardo in Rochester in 1899
*known as “King of
the Bananas” due to his position as fruit salesman
*uncle of Antonio
and Paul Ollis, grandfather of Anthony J.
*father-in-law of
Giuseppe Galbo
*suspected of
having orchestrated killings of Antonio and Paul Ollis and Francesco Manzella,
although never formally charged with the crime
Pacheo, Israel -
*born approx. 1951
*indicted on
gambling charges in July 1987
Pagano, Anthony -
*bootlegging
figure employed by Boscarino
*arrested July
1922 with truck loaded with liquor
*arrested April
1929 with his brother Nick on bootlegging charges, a revolver also found in his
possession
Pagano, Nick -
*arrested in April
1929 on bootlegging charges with his brother, at the time working for Alfio
Boscarino
Pagelli, Frank -
*born approx. 1946
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1978, with Donald Paone and Edward Downey
Palermo, Phillip -
*arrested in
October 1968 in
connection with string of burglaries, and charged with possession of a
sawed-off shotgun
Palledino, Joseph –
*bootlegging
partner of Joe Lodato
*arrested in May 1927 in connection with
Lodato murder
Palma, Dominic P. -
*owner of building
in which Members Only club, a gambling place,
was located
*building seized
in May 1987
Palmiere, Robert -
*associate
*tried to obtain
through Samuel Dretto, a court stenographer instructor, transcripts of Grand
Jury investigation into Massaro murder, for which Dretto was indicted in July
1975
*aligned with
A-Team in 1970s mob war
*arrested in June
1978 with Joseph Trivigno and Joseph Trieste on weapon charges
Palozzi, Chester
John -
*indicted by Grand
Jury in October 1970 on gambling charges
*arrested in
gambling raid in July 1971
*arrested in
November 1972 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*indicted on
gambling charges in February 1972 with Raymond Steed and Andrew Blanda
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
*arrested in
January 1975 in
connection with large gambling operation, fined $750 in July 1977
*charged in
November 1977 with falsifying business records, perjury and evidence tampering
in connection with a landfill project. Also figuring in the case were Frank
DiMino, owner of a construction company and Kenneth Passero, an engineer and
former head of Public Works Department (from 1963-to 1971)
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1985
*testified during
1988 racketeering trial to making pay offs to local Mafia
*indicted in June
1993 on gambling charges
Pannucci, Steven -
*arrested on
gambling charges in September 1973
Paone, Donald -
*alleged member
*son of Orlando
Paone
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
*arrested on
gambling charges in April 1971
*arrested on
gambling charges in October 1972
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1974
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*aligned with so
called A-Team during late 1970s underworld war
*operator of
Social Club of Monroe, gambling joint bombed in May 1978 during so called
Alphabet War. An unexploded pipe bomb had been found in front of the club in
January that same year
*Club bombed again
in June 1978, while Paone, his father and Edward Downing were inside the
building
*arrested on
gambling charges in December 1978, with Edward Downey and Frank Pagelli
*arrested in
January 1982 on weapon charges, together with Joseph Rossi, sentenced to 1 year
in September 1983
*arrested in March
1982 for hindering police officers making arrests in social club
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982, sentenced to
20 years in prison in December 1984
*indicted on
racketeering charges in October 1987, in January 1988 sentenced to 3 more years
after pleading guilty
Paone, Orlando -
*father of Donald
Paone
*arrested in June
1963 for his involvement in lottery operations
*arrested in
February 1970 in
gambling raid
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested with
Ignatzio Castellano in December 1970 gambling raid
*inside his son’s
gambling club when the place was bombed in June 1978
*arrested in March
1982 for hindering police officers making arrests in social club
Papaleo, Peter -
*indicted with
Gene DeFrancesco and Anthony Natalie on loansharking charges in February 1975
Pascarella, Alphonse Sam –
*Rochester gambling figure
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
Patti, Antonio -
*one of suspects
in murder of Angelina Spitale
Paulino, Daniel F. Jr. -
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings
Pavia, Frank D. -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*arrested on
gambling charges in April 1971
*arrested on
gambling charges in September 1973
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
Pecora, Francis J. -
*low level
organized crime figure
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
*prominent due to
his role in 1975 - 1976 crackdown on Mafia, resulting in many indictments.
Pecora revealed to Sheriff Lombard his role in a Buffalo heist, resulting in Zimmerman arrest
and eventually in the cooperation of Monachino brothers and Joseph LaNovara
*after having
cooperated, was given a job cleaning the Sheriff’s Department, an obvious
mistake
Pecora, Nicholas -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Pedona, Croce “John” -
*sought in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons, turned himself in a few days after
massive arrests
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Pegelli, Frank -
*arrested on
gambling charges in April 1971
Pelitera, Christopher -
*born approx. 1960
*associate
*figured in
counterfeiting case with Charles Indovino in 1986
*linked to car
bombing of Joseph DiBattisto in July
1985 and shooting of Robert Barone in March 1985
Pellicone, Fred Jr. -
*arrested on
gambling charges in April 1971
Pellicone, Gloria -
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
Pelusio, Gerald –
*brother of Thomas
and Michael
*suspected
affiliate of so-called C-Team
*shot to death on
August 27, 1982
Pelusio, Michael –
*member of C-Team
in early 1980s mob struggle
*arrested within
hours of Gerald’s slaying carrying a shotgun in the car, sentenced to five
years in prison on weapon charges in May 1983
*charged with
assault in March 1982, after having beat Sam Accorso inside the 44 Club as a
warning to established Mafia, sentenced to 2 to 6 years in August 1983
*indicted on
assault charges in October 1983, the result of a bar fight
Pelusio, Thomas A. -
*arrested in
January 1982 on weapon charges, together with Thomas Taylor
*charged with
assault in March 1982, after having beat Sam Accorso inside the 44 Club as a
warning to established Mafia, sentenced to 2 to 6 years in August 1983
*identified as
leader of C-Team after arrests of Torpey and Taylor in June 1982
*arrested within
hours of Gerald’s slaying carrying a shotgun in the car, sentenced to five
years in prison on weapon charges in May 1983
*started
cooperating with authorities in July 1984
*according to
Pelusio’s confessions, he was aligned with A-Team during late 1970s mob war,
and could implicat several of the Massaro murder trial defendants in the Didio
slaying
Pesci, Antonio -
*arrested in
October 1927 with Frank Piccaretto and Frank Ardito on bootlegging charges
Petrillo, James -
*born approx. 1933
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1984
Phillips, Norton C. -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Piazza, Salvatore “Sam
Piazza, Sam Piazzo” -
*indicted for
burglary in June 1926 with John Lanzalaco and Carl Veale
*indicted in
September 1934 for operating stills with Diego Baldo and Peter Montana
*arrested on
bootlegging charges in August 1944 with Michael Amico, Sam Pizzo and Angelo
Cometa
*pleaded guilty to
possession of untaxed liquor in September 1947, within a year of having been
sentenced in the Boscarino ring
Piccarreto, Al -
*distant cousin of
Loren Piccarreto
*partner in
gambling operation with Joseph Grock and Richard Marino, according to testimony
released during the 1988 racketeering trial
Piccaretto, Fred -
*brother of Vito
*arrested for
liquor law violations in October 1930
Piccaretto, Frank -
*brother of Vito
*arrested on
bootlegging charges in February 1926
*arrested in
October 1927 with Antonio Pesci and Frank Ardito on bootlegging charges
Piccarreto, Loren -
*member
*son of Rene
*stewart in Local
435
*indicted on
assault charges in December 1982, after having slapped, chocked and threatened
a union member who spoke out against mob involvement in the union, no verdict
reached in March 1983
*arrested on
charges of illegal liquor sales in February 1983
*indicted on
racketeering charges in October 1987, sentenced to seven years in prison in
June 1989
Piccarreto, Rene James
“Rennie, The Painter” -
*member of
Rochester Mafia
*son of Vito
*plead guilty to
gambling charges in August 1948,
in case involving among others Jake Russo
*arraigned on
extortion charges with John J. Imburgia in April 1968
*arrested on
loitering charges in June 1970, with among others Joseph Fino and Roy Carlisi,
Buffalo Mafia members
*arrested in
August 1970 gambling raid
*owned residence
in California,
were he started a real estate company with several partners, among them Sam
Russotti, Sam Gingello and Joseph Tiraborelli
*arrested in May
1975 on extortion charges, being accused of attempting to take over the numbers
operation of Joseph Lippa, one of the biggest independent numbers operators in
the area
*charged with the
1973 Massaro murder in June 1975, found guilty in November 1976 and sentenced
to prison
*freed in January
1977, after it became known evidence in the Massaro case was fabricated, a
revelation which eventually resulted in a major scandal and civil rights
violation lawsuits by several of the mobsters
*indicted in July
1975 for Columbus Day bombings of 1970
*indicted in April
1976 on arson charges
*one of leaders of
so called A-Team in underworld struggle of late 1970s
*arrested on
charges of assault with Anthony Colombo in March 1982, after having beat one
Charles Joseph Perotti III after Perotti had greeted Piccarreto
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982, sentenced to
40 years in prison in December 1984
*target of C-Team
in Spring of 1982, according to confessions of Thomas Pelusio, plot never
carried out
*released from
prison in June 2007
Piccarreto, Vito -
*member, possible
underboss mid 1930s-1940s
*born in Corato, province of Bari
*brother of Frank
and Fred
*arrested in
August 1931 for carrying a weapon, driving without a license and illegal
parking
*supect with Pasquale Amico in 1931
murder of Vincenzo Chiarmonte, bootlegging partner of both Amico and
Piccaretto, but never charged
*arrested in April 1940 with
Serafine Camiolo for counterfeiting
*died on July 10, 1947, in Rochester
Pietrantoni,
Charles S. -
*arrested in
January 1970 on gambling charges, as operator of gambling establishment on
behalf of Salvatore Gingello
*arrested in June
1970 gambling raid
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1984
Pirincin, Pasco -
*involved in bootlegging operation
broken up in May 1947 with among others Joseph LaNovara
Pizzitelli,
Anthony -
*arrested in March
1971 gambling bust, fined $300 in April 1972
Pizzitelli, Beatrice -
*chaged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Pizzo, John -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Pizzo, Marvin -
*born approx. 1918
*associate
*linked to C-Team
in early 1980s mob struggle
Pizzo, Samuel -
*arrested on
bootlegging charges in August 1944 with Michael Amico, Sam Piazza and Angelo
Cometa
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
Pizzoli, Orazio “Jimmy” -
*arrested in
gambling raid in January 1971
*arrested on
gambling charges in January 1976
Poleto, Joe -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
Poleto, Louis -
*arrested on
gambling charges in July 1948
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Polidori, Quinto Leo –
*born approx. 1937
*charged with
attempted grand larceny in August 1975, charges dismissed in February 1976
*moved to Arizona, employed by
Frederico Jr.
*named by
reporters working on “Arizona Project” as being a former Rochester Mafia figure
Polino, John –
*born approx. 1911
*former Rochester boxing figure
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*testified during
1988 racketeering trial to obtaining betting sheets form Joseph Geniola
Porcello, John -
*arrested in March
1971 gambling bust, fined $300 in April 1972
Primerano, Samuel Joseph -
*born approx. 1958
*indicted on
narcotics charges in February 1991, together with Dominic Taddeo
Prinzi, Philip -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
Prizzi, Anthony -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
Provenzano, Pasquale –
*arrested in April
1928 on charges of operating a lottery
Quaminia, Alfred -
*Rochester gambling figure
*various gambling
arrests
*car bombed in
November 1969
*arrested for
operating a lottery in December 1970
*arrested in May
1975 on charges of bribery
Quinn, John R. -
*born approx. 1940
*figured in
counterfeiting case with Charles Indovino in 1986
*linked to car
bombing of Joseph DiBattisto in July
1985 and shooting of Robert Barone in March 1985
*cooperated with
authorities, claimed to have been paid by Indovino for DiBattistoo bombing, as
well as handling loansharking operation on behalf of Indovino
*sentenced to five
years on counterfeiting charges in October 1987, after having testified in the
bombing case against Indoovino and Pelitera
Ragusa, Sam “Oxie”” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
*numerous gambling
arrests since 1936
Rallo, Jerome -
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
Rallo, Vincent -
*associate
*owned insurance
company
*unsuccessful
Republican candidate for 18th Ward supervisor in 1961
*figured in
1973/1975 union corruption case, in which Vincent Rallo, his two nephews Frank
and Joseph Rallo and Vincent Verrone, former president of barber’s union, were
accused of dividing 3.2 million from a barber’s union apartment project in
Greece, NY
*indicted in April
1976 on arson charges
Randazzo, Joseph -
*arrested in July
1940 on bootlegging charges with among others Frank Dimino and Joseph Conti of Jamestown
Ranieri, Albert –
*born approx. 1964
*involved in 10,800,000 armored
truck heist in June 1990
*arrested in July 1992 with his
father, but no charges were brought and both were released
*teamed up with Anthony Leonardo Jr.
in late 1990s, involved in variety of crimes with him, including narcotics
distributioon and the plot to murder Anthony Vaccaro
*shoots to death Anthony Vaccaro on
May 5, 2000
*sentenced to 30 years in prison in
April 2003 on charges relating to both Leonardo and the 1990 truck heist
Ranieri, Anthony –
*arrested in April 1928 on charges of operating a lottery
Ranieri, Larry –
*arrested in May 1926 for liquor smuggling with Joseph Lodato, Anthony
Misseri, Patsy Amico, Joseph Micheluso and Dominic Gattalaro
Refermat, Josephine -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Reitano, Rocco D. -
*born approx. 1936
*indicted on gambling charges in August 1987, alleged to be operator of
44 Club, sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in prison in May 1988
Remmel, John J. -
*arrested in
August 1971 on gambling charges together with Louis Mancuso, George Rosenberg
and Richard Mayer
Reynolds, Virgil Earl -
*arrested for
murder of Tony Massaro in December 1938, confessed and implicated Louis
Tantalo, also confessed to participating in Agnello slaying nine months earlier
Ribellino, Pietro -
*alleged Black
Hand figure connected with Greco gang
*murdered Joseph
Capello in April 1923
*put on trial for
Capello murder, sentenced to 8 years in prison in January 1924
*during trial, one
of Piccaretto brothers testified on behalf of defense
Ricchueto, Andrew -
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
Richmond, George Allen -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
*operator of Young
Boxer’s Club, a gambling joint
Rickless, Leo -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
Rinaldo, Joseph “Potato
Sack” -
*Rochester gambling figure
Riso, Harry -
*charged with
variety of charges, including extortion, in May 1972 with Gene DeFrancesco,
Frank Valenti and Joseph Zito, a self proclaimed Bufalino Family member who
eventually started cooperating with the FBI
Rivoli, Alfred -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*arrested in March
1971 gambling bust, fined $300 in April 1972
Rivoli, Jack B. Jr. -
*born approx. 1948
*arrested on
gambling charges on July 1985
*arrested in
November 1985 gambling raid, charged with selling liquor without a license
*indicted on
gambling charges in July 1987
Rivoli, Michael B. -
*born approx 1948
*arrested in
August 1978 on gambling charges
Rivoli, Salvatore Jr. -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Roman, George Joseph -
*chaged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Romeo, Carmen -
*arrested in
January 1975 in
connection with large gambling operation, only one to escape indictment
Romognolo, James F. -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Rosenberg, George -
Rochester gambling figure
*numerous gambling
related arrests, many with his partner Louis Mancuso
*arrested in
December 1970 on gambling charges with Louis Mancuso and Michael Marzurchak
*arrested with
Mancuso and Norman Cordaro in February 1971 on gambling charges
*arrested in
August 1971 on gambling charges
*arrested on
gambling charges in July 1977
Rosenheck, Martin -
*convicted for
misuse of funds of Muffin Realty in 1969, sentenced to 1 to 5 years. Also
convicted in this case was former county Democratic chairman William Posner
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons, while arrested on parole from
Muffin Realty case
Rossi, Augustino -
*Canandaigua Black
Hand figure
*met Charles
Lodato at alleged Black Hand banquet thrown at Angelo mark residence in July
1907
*arrested for slashing
the face of Charles Lodato on July 26, 1907
Rossi, Joseph “The Hop” -
*member
*arrested in July
1969 on gambling charges with among others Salvatore Gingello
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
*subpoenaed before
Grand Jury investigating Rochester
organized crime in August 1977
*target of
assassination in 1978, when attempt was made by B-Team to bomb his car
*arrested in
January 1982 on weapon charges, together with Donald Paone, sentenced to 1 year
in September 1983
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982, sentenced to
40 years in prison in December 1984
Ruggieri, Dominic P. -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and George Rosenberg
Rund, Louis V. -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Ruscio, Anthony “Soap Box”
-
*Rochester gambling figure
*brother of Vern
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Ruscio, Frank –
*bootlegging
partner of Joe Lodato
*arrested in
connection with Lodato slaying in May 1927
Ruscio, Vern -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
Russello, Michael -
*alleged Black
Hand figure connected with Rafaele Greco
*claimed to have
been the intended victim of Ribellino, when Capello and Russello were fighting,
Capello was turned around by Russello and accidentally shot in the back by
Ribellino
*held as a
material witness in Capello shooting
Russo, Charles (Real name
Charles Russolesi) -
*brother of
Gondolfo and Jake
*arrested in 1960
on gambling charges
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*operator of
Veterans of Northeast Rochester, a gambling joint
*arrested on
gambling charges in January 1972 with several others
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito, received an 18 month sentence in March 1977
*arrested on
gambling charges in May 1974
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*arrested in
February 1983 on charges of illegal possession of a firearm
*held when
refusing to testify before May 1987 Grand Jury investigating gambling, fined
$10,000 for contempt in March 1988
Russo, Donald -
*son of Gondolfo
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
Russo, Gondolfo “Murphy
Russo” (real name Gondolfo Russolesi)
*brother of Jake
and Charles Russo
*mysteriously
suffered two broken ankles at time of brother Jake’s disappearance
*arrested in
October 1970 gambling raid with 26 others
*operator of
Northway Social Club, a gambling joint
*arrested on gambling
charges in May 1974
Russo, Jack -
*born approx. 1952
*associate
*implicated with
Thomas Marotta in stolen car ring in 1999/2000, confessed in 2004 to have
helped steal cars from parking lot of car sale company Russo was employed by.
Russo, James -
*son of Gondolfo
**arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested with
sixteen others on gambling charges in September 1978
*arrested in July
1985 on gambling charges, fined and oordered to Monroe County Sheriff’s
Department work program in April 1986
Russo, Jake “Jakey Russo,
Jack Russo, John Russo” (real name: Jacomini Russolesi” -
*arrested in Rochester in January 1938, in connection with a
Pennsylvania
robbery in September the year before
*sentenced to four
years in prison on Pennsylvania
robbery charge in May 1938
*plead guilty to
gambling charges in August 1948,
in case involving among others Rene Piccaretto
*believed too have
been involved in torture slaying of Alberto Agueci
Russo, Salvatore M. -
*born approox.
1927
arrested with his
wife Mary on gambling charges in September 1985
Russotti, Samuel “Red” -
*member
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
*sought in
connection with 1970 Grand Jury investigations, but could not be served a
subpoena because he could not be located
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito. Eventually acquitted
*charged with the
1973 Massaro murder in June 1975, found guilty in November 1976 and sentenced
to prison
*freed in January
1977, after it became known evidence in the Massaro case was fabricated, a
revelation which eventually resulted in a major scandal and civil rights
violation lawsuits by several of the mobsters
*one of leaders of
so called A-Team in underworld struggle of late 1970s
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982, sentenced to
40 years in prison in December 1984
*bomb like device
found on lawn in April 1984
*died in prison on
June 25, 1993
Ryan, Albert Jr. -
*born approx. 1962
*arrested in
November 1985 on gambling charges
Ryan, Tim -
*aligned with
B-Team during late 1970s underworld war, eventually cooperated with authorities
Salemi, Giuseppe -
*one of suspects
in murder of Angelina Spitale
*sentenced to
prison for possession of opium under the name of Joseph Salamone, and was recognized
as being one of Angelina Spitale’s slayers in October 1935, but Spitale himself
failed to identify him positively
Salimano, Salvatore -
*sought in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons, turned himself in a few days after
massive arrests
Sallerson, Jack -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and Geroge Rosenberg
Salone, Angelo -
*brother of Sam
*arrested in October
1932 on fraud charges, together with his brother
Salone, Sam -
*arrested in
October 1932 on fraud charges, together with his brother
*Democratic leader
of 7th Ward in 1940s
*arrested in
connection with 2 million dollar lottery operation in September 1950, in which, among
others, Joseph Corbi, Baltimore Mafia figure and John Melito, ranking Utica
mobster, figured
Salvaggio, Michael –
*arrested for
bootlegging with Joseph Baldo in February 1927
Salvato, Pasquale “Patsy”
-
*slashed with
knife in an argument by one Bruno Reilo in April 1927
*arrested for
liquor law violations as bartender in saloon in 1927
*arrested July 12,
1931, as inmate of gambling house
Sampson, Raymond –
*associate
*aligned with
C-Team in early 1980s mob struggle
*arrested in March
1982 on weapon charges with Raymond Sampson
Santogiacomo, Joseph -
*bootlegging
figure aligned with Boscarino
*related to
Boscarino’s wife
*arrested in
September 1922, after a still was discovered after a fire in the cellar of a
meat market conducted by Boscarino
*figured in August
1926 Boscarino bootlegging ring
Santonato, Louis –
*born approx. 1929
*Rochester gambling figure
*owner of gambling
stamp
*alleged owner of
gambling joint raided in September 1970
*operator of
Yamaha Social Club, firebombed in December 1977
*arrested on
gambling charges in August 1978, together with Jimmy Gingello
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*indicted in 1989
on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly organized
operation, charges dismissed in October 1990
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Sardi, James J. -
*sought in
connection with investigation into Columbus Day bombings in July/August 1975
*dynamite used in
bombings stored at Sardi home, although Sardi himself was more or less unaware
of storage, and totally unaware of purpose for dynamite
*refused to
testify eventually sentenced to four years in prison for contempt
Sardisco, Jean -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Sarfaty, Jack -
*arrested in
January 1970 on gambling charges, as operator of gambling establishment on
behalf of Salvatore Gingello
*arrested in June
1970 gambling raid
*arrested in
August 1970 gambling raid
*arrested in
January 1979 on gambling charges
Scarfia, John –
*arrested in April
1928 on charges of operating a lottery
Scarfia, Joseph -
*involved in
gambling operations with Ira Solomon
*arrested with Ira
Solomon in 1969 on gambling charges, sentenced to one year in prison and fined
1,000
Scarlotta, Luigi -
*member of arson
gang dubbed a Black Hand operation by police
*sentenced to
seventy years in prison on arson charge in Canandaigua in later part of 1922
Scharnney, Michael -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Scherzi, Dominick -
*at one point a Rochester policeman
(before being identified as associating with OC figures)
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings
Scherzi, Ralph -
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
Schiano, Dominick -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Schrier, Andrew “Horn” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
Schwasman, Wayne -
*born approx. 1948
*indicted on
narcotics charges in February 1991, together with Dominic Taddeo
Sciano, Charles P -
*born approx. 1949
*operator of 1455
Club, a Russotti linked gambling joined bombed in May 1978
*arrested in
August 1978 on gambling charges
*arrested with sixteen
others on gambling charges in September 1978
*arrested in
gambling bust netting 32 persons in November 1979
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1985
Sciolino, Joseph Vincent -
*born approx. 1938
*charged with
attempted grand larceny in August 1975, charges dismissed in February 1976
*moved to Arizona, employed by
Frederico Jr.
*named by
reporters working on “Arizona Project” as being a former Rochester Mafia figure
in 1977
*at that time was
serving a three year sentence on a forgery charge
Sciortino, Gabriel “The
Pig” -
*Early Mafia/Black
Hand figure
*leader of Wolves,
a notorious gang aligned with John Mollica
*arrested in
October 1924 on suspicion of having aided the kidnapper of Josephine Gugliuzza,
taken by a rejected suitor. The kidnapper drove Sciortino’s car
*shot to death by
Mollica on November 23, 1924,
in alleged dispute over spoils
Seide, Carl -
*Rochester gambling figure
*sued Democrat and
Chronicle in December 1964
in order to stop the newspaper from publishing profiles
on Rochester gambling figures with Sam Accorso. They lost.
Sereno, Joseph -
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid on place of Louis Mancuso and Geroge Rosenberg
Serpe, Samuel -
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Shapiro, Jack A. -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1985
Sigalow, Norman -
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
Silveri, Robert -
*alleged member
*subpoenaed before
Grand Jury investigating Rochester
organized crime in August 1977
*arrested in
January 1931 on charges of assault
*owner of The
Fernwood, a gambling joint
*building seized
in May 1987
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Simonetti, Raymond -
*born approox.
1941
*indicted in 1989
on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly organized
operation
Sinare, Louis -
*born approx. 1914
*arrested in
October 1931 on robbery charges with Joseph Imburgia and James Gingello
Siracuse, Joseph -
*alleged Rochester bootlegging
figure
*moved to Buffalo, were he was shot
to death June 25, 1929
*murder believed
to have been linked to murder of Rose Resso and turning in of Granata and
LaPlaca
Smith, Gerald J. -
*arrested in
Gingello linked gambling operation in June 1970
Smith, Raymond -
*arrested for
operating a lottery in December 1970
Solomon, Ira “Muggsy” –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*found guilty of
gambling charges in December 1964
Sorbello, Russell S. -
*arrested in June
1970 gambling raid
Spagnola, Joseph -
*arrested in March
1925 in
what police described as a raid on a Black Hand headquarter with Frank Granata,
John Didio, Lorenzo Didio, John Lanzalaco, Vincenzo Lanzaldia, Frank
Dongiovanni, Frank LaPlaca and Salvatore Calrome
Spallina, Salvatore -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Specksgoor, Gerald F.
“Jerry” -
*Rochester gambling figure
*holder of
gambling stamp
Spinelli, Michele -
*arrested July 7,
1922, for blackmailing, in scheme allegedly set up to raise money for Luigi
Guadagnino
Spinnachia, Richard S. -
*born approx. 1955
*arrested in
August 1978 on gambling charges
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1985
*indicted on
gambling charges in November 1987
Spitale, Charles -
*brother of Sam
*arrested in
February 1927 on narcotics charges
*denied
citizenship in April 1939 due to his narcotic conviction
*died in Rochester in February
1948
Spitale, Louis -
*arrested in
December 1938 on counterfeiting charges with among others Anthony Oliveri
Spitale, Sam -
*brother of
Charles Spitale, Rochester
narcotics dealer arrested in 1927
*son-in-law of
Antonio Merlo
*bootlegging
figure, feuding with Morreale mob
*wife murdered in
failed attempt on his life in 1928, for which Morreales were responsible
*failed attempt on
his life made in May 1932, allegedly by Morreale mob, by ways of a car bombing
*arrested in
September 1935 after shooting (but missing) one Benjamin Peprowski during an
argument over traffic
Staccone, Massino -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Stagnito, Salvatore -
*early Mafia
figure
*Involved in
murder of James H. Upton in March 1919. Arrested and charged. Brother Vincenzo,
born approx. 1900, also arrested, but later released.
*had gun permit
when arrested for Upton
murder
Starkweather, Rodney -
*born approx 1947
*associate
*aligned with
B-Team during late 19770s underworld war
*arrested in June
1978 with Anthony Chirico, having explosives in their possession
*named as a suspect
in Gingello murder by police after his June 1978 arrest
*wounded on July
30, 1978, when shot by members of B-Team
*indicted in
November 1978 in
connection with ongoing mob war
*started
cooperating with authorities in February 1979
*indicted in
connection with mob war in April 1979
Staufer, Arthur J. -
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
Stebbins, Leonard -
*born approx. 1941
*associate
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings
Arrested in
February 1981 on arson charges with his brother Arthur
*arrested in
February 1983 on charges of illegal liquor sales
*arrested in
November 1985 on gambling charges
*subpoenaed by
prosecution in 1988 racketeering trial of Loren Piccarreto, fined $1,000 after
coming too late to court on November 16, 1988
*charged in
February 1990 with selling gun silencers
Steed, Frances
-
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Steed, Raymond -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*indicted on gambling charges in February 1972
with Andrew Blanda and Chester Palozzi
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
*arrested in
January 1975 in
connection with large gambling operation, fined $750 in July 1977
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1985
Succi, Robert -
*arrested with
among others Orlando Paone and Ignatzio Castellano in December 1970 gambling
raid
Surace, Dominic “Mickey” -
*son of Ferdinando
Surace, Calabrian gang boss of Newcastle,
operating within Rochester
at on point
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Taddeo, Dominic -
*assoociate
*indicted in
February 1987 on weapon charges and slayings of Nick Mastrodonato, Gerald
Pelosio and Dino Tortarice, left Rochester and remained a fugitive until he was
arrested in Cleveland in March 1989
*sentenced to 17
years in prison on weapon and bail jumping charges in June 1990
*tied to plot to
spring from prison a Columbian with ties to the Medelin drug cartel in July
1990
*indicted on
narcotics charges in February 1991, sentenced to additional 15
years in January
1992
*receives another
24 years in April 1992, after having plead guilty to the three mob hits he was accused
oof
Taddeo, Nicholas –
*born approx. 1886
*Rochester bootlegging figure
*saloon raided in
February 1929
*arrested in July
1948 on gambling charges
Tantalo, Abe -
*arrested in
January 1975 in
connection with large gambling operation, fined $750 in July 1977
Tantalo, Louis “Louis the
Carpenter” -
*Pennsylvania counterfeiting and bootlegging
figure associated with Agnello
*according to
Virgil Reynolds, ordered Agnello slaying, and acted as triggerman in Tony
Massaro slaying
*arrested in
December 1938 for involvement in Agnello and Massaro slayings
Tantalo, Patrick -
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Tarricone, Frank -
*arrested in
connection with large scale bookmaking operation in July 1974
Tascione, Daniel C. –
*charged in
December 1981 for smashing up a bar, with among others Thomas Torpey
Taylor, Thomas E. -
*associate
*convicted of
assault charges in 1961
*arrested on
extortion charges in March 1964, with Al Mancuso and Benny Morganti of Utica
*convicted of
assault in 1976, sentenced to one year in prison, served two months, then out
due to appeal. Case dropped in July 1979
*survived the
attack that cost Salvatore Gingello his life, being only slightly wounded, in
April 1978
*arrested in May
1979 for threatening a detective, convicted in August 1979, fined $250
*in early 1980s,
among leading figures of so-called C-Team, a group of non-member associates trying
to obtain control over the local rackets from the established Mafia
*arrested in
January 1982 on weapon charges, together with Thomas Pelusio
*charged with
assault in March 1982, after having beat Sam Accorso inside the 44 Club as a
warning to established Mafia, sentenced to 2,5 to 5 years in priosn in August
1984
*arrested in June 1982, in connection with
shotgun murder of John Fiorino, indicted and put in trial, no verdict reached
in January 1984
*sentenced to 25
to life in August 1985, after having been found guilty as charged in second
Fiorino murder trial
*plead guilty to
narcotics charges in October 1985, sentenced to three years in November 1985
Terrana, Joseph A. -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Terrigno, Nicholas J. –
*born approx. 1936
*arrested in March
1982 on charges of selling liquor without a license
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
Terzo, Charles -
*figured in 1937
bootlegging case with Dimino brothers
Thompson, John –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Tisa, Stefano -
*arrested July 7,
1922, for blackmailing, in scheme allegedly set up to raise money for Luigi
Guadagnino
Tiraborelli, Joseph -
*alleged soldier
*stepson of Samuel
Russotti
*questioned in
1970 Lupo slaying
*arrested in
February 1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester gambling figures
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested on
gambling charges in October 1972
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings, eventually receiving a six year sentence, conviction
set aside in November 1978
*charged with the
1973 Massaro murder in June 1975, eventually dropped from case
*filed intent to
sue after false arrest after having been discharged from Massaro case in August
1975
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*charged with
assault after hitting journalist photographing his mother leaving the
racketeering trial of Russotti in December 1984, found innocent in March 1985
Tobacco, Vincent -
*associate
loanshark debt
collector for Rosario Chiricio
*charged with
loansharking with Chiricio, plead guilty in July 1979 and gave testimony on
behalf of prosecution, receives probation in August 1979 in return for his
cooperation
Tolbert, James -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Tolbert, Patricia -
*wife of James
Tolbert
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Tolliver, Robert Lee -
*arrested in May
1975 on charges of bribery
Tomasso, Peter -
*boorn approx.
1947
*related to
Chester Palozzi
*gambling figure
*testified in 1988
racketeering trial, in which it was alleged he threatened a collegaue of his
who distributed betting sheets concurring with the sheets Tomasso distributed
Torella, Dominic -
*born approx. 1947
*indicted on
gambling charges in November 1987
*arrested in
connection with gambling operation in which Tony Gingello Jr., among others,
figured, in December 1993
Torella, Donald -
*born approx. 1942
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*arrested in
gambling raid in December 1984
Torpey, Thomas M. -
*associate
*bodyguard for
Gingello
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
*with several
others arrested in August 1974 and charged with a variety of charges, including
robberies and beatings
*survived the
attack that cost Salvatore Gingello his life, being only slightly wounded, in
April 1978
*operator of
“Torpey’s Joint”, a gambling place linked to Russotti faction
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*arrested in April
1980 for assault
*charged in
December 1981 for smashing up a bar
*arrested in June 1982, in connection with
shotgun murder of John Fiorino, indicted and put in trial, no verdict reached
in January 1984
*sentenced to 25
to life in August 1985, after having been found guilty as charged in second
Fiorino murder trial
*files libel suit
against Democrat and Chronicle and Times Union, Rochester newspapers, in
September 1986, suit dismissed in October that same year because it was not
filed properly, new suit filed in February 1987, dismissed that same month
Tortarice, Dino –
*linked to C-Team
during early 1980s mob struggle
*investigated in
coonnection with April 1983 shooting of Thomas Marotta
*shot to death by
Dominick Taddeo on August 2, 1983
Trakosis, Vasilios “Billy
the Greek” -
*born approx. 1958
*arrested on
gambling charges in March 1986
*ordered too
testify on behalf oof prosecution in 1988 racketeering trial, but was relucant
to do so, as were many
Triantafilou, Steve –
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
*indicted on
gambling charges in July 1987
Tribunella, Mario J. -
*son of Richard
*linked to C-Team
in early 1980s mob struggle
*indicted in June
1983 oon weapon charges
*under
investigation for Marotta shooting in April 1983
Tribunella, Richard -
*alleged member
*father of Mario
**arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito.
*arrested on
gambling charges in May 1974
*indicted in
September 1989 on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly
organized operation, charged with bribery, charges dismissed in October 1990
*died on April 6,
1996
Trieste, George -
*arrested in
gambling bust in May 1970, together with nine others
Trieste, Joseph J -
*alleged member
*subpoenaed before
Grand Jury investigating Rochester
organized crime in August 1977
*arrested in June
1978 with Robert Palmiere Trivigno and John Trivigno on weapon charges
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982
*at the time of
indictment, business agent for Local 435
*indicted on
assault charges in December 1982, after having slapped, chocked and threatened
a union member who spoke out against mob involvement in the union, acquited on
one charge, no verdict reached on another in March 1983
Trimaldi, Pat R. -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Tripoli, Gary -
*arrested in June
1970 gambling raid
Trivigno, John “Flap” -
*member
*aligned with
A-Team during late 1970s mob war
*arrested in June
1978 with Robert Palmieri and Joseph Trieste on weapon charges
*indicted in new
Massaro murder case and slaying of Thomas Didio in November 1982
*at the time of
indictment, stewart of Local 435
*found guilty of
attempted assault charges in April 1983, after having punched a cameraman
covering the 1982 racketeering trial of Trivigno and his confederates
Troisi, Michael -
*arrested in March
1962 on gambling charges after series of raids staged by Rochester city police and Treasury agents
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating gambling
*arrested in
September 1973 on gambling charges
Tubiolo, Anthony J. -
*indicted in
connection with credit card fraud case in October 1971
Tubiolo, Angeline -
*wife of Peter
Tubiolo
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Tubiolo, Peter –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
*arrested in June
1970 on bookmaking charges
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
*arrested on
gambling charges in September 1973
Turri, Joseph -
*stored dynamite
used in Columbus Day bombings
Uttaro, Carleen -
*wife of Frank
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Uttaro, Frank -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
Vaccarella, John -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
*arrested in
December 1979 on gambling charges in bust netting more then 40 people
Vaccarella, Leon T. -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Vaccaro, Angelo -
*arrested in
January 1970 on gambling charges, involving junkets to Las Vegas, found not
guilty in September 1971
*indicted in July
1975 for Columbus Day bombings of 1970
*at time of arrest
guns found in his possession, resulting in indictment, for which he was
charged. Resulted in no verdict in April 1979, second trial resulted in
acquittal of Vaccaro
*indicted as
B-Team member, sentenced to 30 years in March 1980
*aligned with so
called B-Team in underworld struggle of late 1970s
Vaccaro, Anthony -
*born approx. 1956
*Greece gambling and nightclub
figure
*partner of Leonardo in nightclub
*business raided in March 2000, cash
and gambling papers seized
*shot to death on May 5, 2000, in Greece
Valenti, Alphonse -
*arrested in July
1940 on bootlegging charges with among others Frank Dimino and Joseph Conti of Jamestown
Valenti, Costenza Peter “Stanley” -
*born February 8, 1926, in Rochester
*brother of Frank
J.
*married daughter
of Pittsburgh
capo Antonio Ripepi
*involved in
produce business with brothers Paul, Anthony, Salvatore and John
*attended November
1957 Apalachin meeting
*presence at
Apalachin resulted in various subpoenas for Grand Jury hearings, both brothers
served short jail terms in connection with these hearings
*named as member
of Bonanno Family by Joseph Valachi in October 1963
*subpoenaed before
Grand Jury investigating Rochester
organized crime in August 1977
*indicted in
connection with mob war in April 1979, severed from trial due to ill health
*died on February 2001, in Victor, New York
Valenti, Frank -
Valenti, Frank Joseph “The
Sphinx” -
*born September
14, 1911, in
Rochester
*brother of Stanley
*moved to Pittsburgh in 1920s
*initiated into Pittsburgh family,
sponsored by Tony Ripepi
*indicted on
murder charges in June 1946 involving double slaying of Frank Evans and Fred
Garrow
*attended
Apalachin meeting in November 1957, at the time again residing in Rochester
*presence at
Apalachin resulted in various subpoenas for Grand Jury hearings, both brothers
served short jail terms in connection with these hearings
*surrendered in
January 1961 when sought on charges of false registration and illegal voting,
eventually sentenced to three years banishment from New York state
*named as member of
Bonanno Family by Joseph Valachi in October 1963
*again went to Pittsburgh
*returned to Rochester halfway 1964
*subpoenaed before
April 1966 Grand Jury investigating organized crime in Rochester
*arrested on
loitering charges in June 1970, with among others Joseph Fino and Roy Carlisi,
Buffalo Mafia members
*subpoenaed before
1970 Grand Jury investigating organized gambling and possible police corruption
*indicted by Grand
Jury in October 1970 on charges of contempt
*collapsed on
sidewalk on September 23, 1971, carried away and driven home by Rene Piccaretto
*charged with
variety of charges, including extortion, in May 1972 with Gene DeFrancesco,
Harry Riso and Joseph Zito, a self proclaimed Bufalino Family member who
eventually started cooperating with the FBI, sentenced to 20 years in prison
*retired to
Phoenix, Arizona, after June 1972 murder of Dominick Chirico, a message of the
Russotti faction to do so
*pled guilty to
charges of transporting guns across state lines in March 1973
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito.
*indicted in
connection with Constable murder in April 1975
*indicted in July
1975 for Columbus Day bombings of 1970
*indicted in April
1976 on arson charges
*paroled from
extortion sentence in June 1980
Valenti, Joseph -
*arrested in July
1940 on bootlegging charges with among others Frank Dimino and Joseph Conti of Jamestown
Valenti, Joseph -
Valenti, Paul –
*apparent cousin
of Valenti brothers
*arrested in July
1918, having figured in case involving stolen money
*arrested for
robbery in October 1926
*arrested with
Joseph Ollis in minor extortion scam in October 1929
Valle, Salvatore C. –
*arrested in
massive gambling crackdown in October 1959
Vallery, James S. -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Veale, Carl -
*indicted for
burglary in June 1926 with Sam Piazza and John Lanzalaco
Venniro, Michael -
*arrested on
gambling charges in October 1972
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Vinci, Michael -
*together with
several others, including Pittston mob boss Russell Bufalino, charged with a
variety of crimes in April 1973, charges based on information provided by
Joseph Zito.
Virgo, Frank -
*early Mafia
figure
*arrested for
maintaining a gambling place in September 1922, together with John Mollica
*arrested for
bootlegging in 1926
Viscardi, Michael -
*charged in
November 1982 in
connection with gambling ring
Visconte, Enrico -
*convicted of
petit larceny acquitted of third degree burglary in November 1947, sentenced to
one year in prison
*arrested in
August 1951 in
a cause involving the defrauding of the Veterans Administration
*found shot to
death on March 20, 1969
Vitale, Anthony –
*arrested in April
1928 on charges of operating a lottery
Vitrano, Joseph J. -
*arrested on
gambling charges in November 1972
Waghorn, Ronald -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
Wagner, Fred W. -
*arrested in
October 1970 on gambling charges with 26 others
Walsh, William G. -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
Wamser, Norman -
*arrested in
September 1974 in
massive major bust
Waters, Jake Alfred -
*arrested for
operating a lottery in December 1970
*arrested in May
1975 on charges of bribery
Weiner, Samuel -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
White, Agnes -
*arrested in
November 1971 in
huge gambling bust, netting over 35 persons
White, Ernest D. Jr. -
*associate of
Monachinos and DeCanzio
*involved in
various robberies in late 1960s
*shot to death by
Albert DeCanzio in 1973
White, Stanley C. -
*arrested in
September 1970 gambling raid
Winder, James -
*indicted in
Indovino linked counterfeiting case in May 1987
Wisner, Donald J. –
*charged in
December 1981 for smashing up a bar, with among others Thomas Torpey
Woods, Edward -
*arrested in March
1977 after a 15 month investigation into gambling
Yanello, Charles -
*born approx. 1936
*indicted in
September 1989 on gambling charges, in what authorities described as a highly
organized operation, charges dismissed in October 1990
*at time of
arrest, was a self-employed contractor and former city police officer (nothing
indicated he committed any wrongdoing while employed by police department)
Zeppetella, Paul -
*arrested in
December 1964 in
massive gambling bust resulting from the D&C series on local gamblers
Zimmerman, William “Zeke”
-
*born approx. 1944
*Rochester fence, sometimes associate of
Rochester Mafia figures
*arrested on
fencing charges in 1974, which eventually resulted in the Monachino brothers
cooperating with authorities
Zizzo, Vincent -
*arrested in February
1970 gambling raid netting a total of 16 Rochester
gambling figures
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