Source: http://informer-journal.blogspot.jp/2009/
Timestamp: 2018-03-19 22:30:45
Document Index: 464395093

Matched Legal Cases: ['in fine', 'art 1', 'art 1910', 'art 1920', 'art, 1900', 'art, 1920', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art, 1910']

Informer: 2009
Jan 15 - Former FBI Agent John J. Connolly, 68, is sentenced in a Miami Florida courtroom to serve 40 years in prison. He was convicted of second-degree murder, a charge resulting from his information-sharing with Massachusetts underworld informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "Rifleman" Flemmi.
Jan 26 - Paul "the Indian" Schiro, 71, is sentenced to 20 years in prison for racketeering offenses. He was convicted in the 2007 Family Secrets case in Chicago.
Jan 28 - Chicago Outfit leader Frank Calabrese Sr., 72, is sentenced to life in prison for racketeering and participation in seven racketeering murders. He was convicted in the 2007 Family Secrets case.
Feb 02 - Chicago Outfit leader Joseph "Joey the Clown" Lombardo, 79, is sentenced to life in prison for racketeering and a racketeering murder. He was convicted in the 2007 Family Secrets case.
Feb 04 - A 38-count federal indictment is unsealed against a dozen alleged members of the Genovese Crime Family. One of those charged with racketeering and related crimes is former Genovese acting boss Daniel Leo, who is already held in federal custody on other charges.
Feb 05 - Chicago Outfit boss James Marcello, 65, is sentenced to life in prison for racketeering and racketeering-related murders. He was convicted in the 2007 Family Secrets case.
Feb 11 - Federal prosecutors unseal racketeering and murder indictments against Gambino Crime Family acting boss John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico and crime family associate Joseph Watts.
Feb 12 - Six alleged members of the Garrison NY-based "Delmonico crew" of the Genovese Crime Family are charged with racketeering.
Feb 19 - The Scranton Times newspaper chain files court documents charging that two judges involved in a $3.5 million defamation verdict against the company had links to Northeast Pennsylvania crime boss William D'Elia.
Feb 23 - Recent underworld turncoat John Alite, an old friend of John A. "Junior" Gotti, takes the witness stand in Brooklyn Federal Court to testify against accused Gambino Crime Family racketeer Charles Carneglia.
Feb 27 - Colombo Crime Family acting boss Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico, 55, is sentenced to life in prison for ordering the 1999 murder of underworld rival William "Wild Bill" Cutolo. With both Persico and his father in prison, authorities believe there will be a leadership change in the Colombo organization.
Mar 06 - "Mafia Cops" Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa are sentenced to life in prison for their cooperation with the leadership of the Lucchese Crime Family in New York. After a 2006 federal conviction, the trial judge ruled that the statute of limitations had run out. An appeals court reinstated the conviction.
Mar 12 - Former police officer Anthony "Twan" Doyle, 64, is sentenced to 12 years in prison for racketeering-related offenses. He was convicted in the 2007 Family Secrets case in Chicago.
Mar 17 - Gambino Crime Family soldier Charles Carneglia is convicted in Brooklyn Federal Court of racketeering and murders. Prosecutors say he disposed of some of his murder victims by dissolving their bodies in barrels of acid.
Mar 26 - Nicholas Calabrese, 66, is sentenced to 12 years in prison for racketeering and racketeering-related murders. Calabrese admitted to committing 14 gangland murders. He won the lenient sentence by cooperating in the Family Secrets investigation in Chicago and by testifying against his brother Frank Calabrese Sr. and other Chicago Outfit leaders.
Apr 06 - Salvatore "the Ironworker" Montagna, 39-year-old reputed acting boss of the Bonanno Crime Family, is arrested by FBI and immigration agents as he leaves his steel business in Brooklyn. U.S. authorities plan to deport him to his native Canada. (He is also a citizen of Italy, as his family moved him there during childhood.) Authorities say he led the Bonanno organization since 2006 when former bosses Joey Massino and Vincent Basciano were successfully prosecuted.
Apr 06 - A federal judge orders four convicted Chicago racketeers - Frank Calabrese Sr., Joseph Lombardo, James Marcello and Paul Schiro - to pay about $20 million in fines and $4.3 million in restitution to the families of 14 men killed by the Chicago Outfit.
Apr 08 - Anthony "the Saint" St. Laurent, a leading figure in the New England Crime Family, is indicted in Providence for planning to murder New England capodecina Robert DeLuca Sr.
Apr 17 - Nicholas "Little Nicky" Corozzo, 69, is sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for the 1996 racketeering-related murder of Lucchese Crime Family associate Robert Arena. Authorities believe Corozzo may have been poised to take over leadership of the crime family.
Apr 27 - Angelo Prisco, New Jersey-based capodecina in the Genovese Crime Family, is convicted in Manhattan Federal Court of murder, racketeering, robbery, extortion and other offenses.
Apr 28 - Former Deputy U.S. Marshal John T. Ambrose is convicted of stealing and leaking witness information related to Family Secrets Case witness Nicholas Calabrese.
May 03 - Donato "Danny" Angiulo, 86-year-old brother of former New England Mafia underboss Jerry Angiulo, dies in the Boston area of natural causes. Authorities say Danny Angiulo once served as capodecina in the crime family.
May 17 - Alfonso "Pizza Man" Tornabene, 86, dies of natural causes. Federal authorities say Tornabene served as a senior member of the Chicago Outfit and helped run the organization during the imprisonment of James Marcello between 1992 and 2003.
May 21 - A federal indictment names 11 Floridians as members of a crew affiliated with the Bonanno Crime Family.
May 23 - U.S. officials deport Rosario Gambino, 67, to Italy. Gambino, a cousin of former crime family boss Carlo Gambino, was linked to Pizza Connection heroin and cocaine smuggling rackets in the 1970s and 1980s.
Jul 01 - Carmen "Cheese Man" DiNunzio, reputed leader of the New England Mafia's Boston branch, pleads guilty to bribery charges related to the Boston area's "Big Dig" highway construction project.
Jul ?? - Burton Kaplan, former New York racketeer and key witness in the Mafia Cops trial, dies of natural causes at age 75.
Aug 18 - The Genovese Crime Family's New Jersey crew leader Angelo Prisco, 69, is sentenced to life in prison for cooperating in the murder of Angelo Sangiuolo and for conducting a series of home invasion robberies.
Aug 29 - Gennaro "Jerry" Angiulo, 90-year-old former underboss of the New England Crime Family, dies of kidney failure at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Sep 17 - Gambino Crime Family soldier Charles Carneglia is sentenced to life in prison for a racketeering and murder conviction.
Sep 21 - John A. "Junior" Gotti's fourth racketeering trial in the past five years opens in New York.
Sep 24 - The New England Crime Family's Boston-based underboss, Carmen "Cheese Man" DiNunzio, is sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty of bribery charges.
Oct 01 - Two sets of raids on the Lucchese Crime Family of New York resulted in 29 arrests. Among those arrested on state enterprise corruption, bribery and other charges were two reputed members of the organization's leadership panel, Joseph DiNapoli, 74, of the Bronx, and Matthew Madonna, 73, of Selden.
Oct 07 - Fifteen alleged leaders, members and associates of the Bonanno Crime Family are rounded up by the FBI. Federal prosecutors say one of those arrested, Joseph "Sammy" Sammartino, 55, of North Arlington NJ, has been a member of the Bonanno ruling panel.
Oct 27 - Anthony "Todo" Anastasio, 80, is convicted in Brooklyn Federal Court of racketeering and extortion charges. Anastasio is the nephew of legendary Gambino Crime Family boss Albert Anastasia.
Nov 05 - New England media report a shift in leadership of the regional Mafia. The Boston area faction increases in importance as Bostonian Peter Limone reportedly replaces Providence-based Luigi Manocchio.
Nov 20 - Gambino Crime Family capodecina Gregory DePalma of Scarsdale NY dies at age 78 at the Butner Federal Medical Prison in North Carolina.
Dec 01 - For the fourth time in five years, a federal racketeering case against John A. "Junior" Gotti ends with a hung jury in New York.
Dec 17 - A 66-year-old Somerville Massachusetts man, Ralph F. DeLeo, is indicted as the "street boss" of the New York-based Colombo Crime Family. He is charged with commanding an interstate crew engaged in narcotics trafficking, extortion and loan sharking.
Dec 21 - Two Gambino Crime Family associates, Letterio DeCarlo, 47, and Thomas Dono, 34, plead guilty to conspiring in the April 28, 1998, murder of suspected Gambino turncoat Frank Hydell. The men also admitted participating in an illegal gambling business in the late 1990s.
Dec 28 - Nick Rizzuto Jr., son of reputed Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto (currently serving time in a U.S. prison), is shot to death outside a Montreal-area construction company.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 9:27 AM 0 comments
Labels: 2009, calabrese, carneglia, colombo, d'elia, deleo, dinunzio, gambino, genovese, gotti, in the news, leo, limone, lombardo, lucchese, manocchio, marcello, montagna, persico, rizzuto
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 9:54 AM 0 comments
MagCloud, publisher of Informer's print edition, has made holiday gift-giving easier with significant discounts on magazine purchases from now through Jan. 1, 2010. If you're looking for a unique present for a mob history aficionado, consider giving the affordably priced Informer issues shown below. Click on an issue description to preview or purchase.
(If you've already purchased some Informer print issues for yourself, this is an excellent time to fill in the gaps in your collection at a bargain price!)
Contents: The Mob's Worst Year: 1957, Part 1, by Thomas Hunt / Capone's Triggerman Kills Michigan Cop by Chriss Lyon / New Orleans Newspaperman Reveals His Role in 1891 Anti-Mafia Lynch-Mob / A Look Back: 100 Years Ago, 75 Years Ago, 25 Years Ago / Book Reviews: Frank Nitti; The Mafia and the Machine; The First Vice Lord; The Complete Public Enemy Almanac / Author Interview: David Critchley / Ask the Informer: Joe DiGiovanni of Kansas City / Current Events: John A. Gotti, James "Whitey" Bulger / Deaths: John Bazzano Jr., Frank "the German" Schweihs, Carl "Tuffy" DeLuna.
Regularly $11.60.
NOW ON SALE for $9.20.
Contents: Martyr: Joseph Petrosino by Thomas Hunt / Kansas City Mafia Membership Chart 1910s-1940s by Bill Feather / The Mob's Worst Year: 1957 Part Two by Thomas Hunt / A Look Back: 100 Years Ago, 50 Years Ago, 25 Years Ago, 1 Year Ago / David Critchley Book Review of Open City by William Ouseley / Book Review: The Last Undercover by Bob Hamer / Book News: Cumberland House True Crime Titles / Author Interview: Scott Deitche / Ask Informer: Saverio Pollaccia, Society of the Banana / Current Events.
Regularly $13.20.
NOW ON SALE for $10.40.
Contents: The Dreaded D'Andrea by Richard N. Warner / 80 Years Since the Valentine's Day Massacre / Chicago's Early Mafia Bosses by Thomas Hunt / Chicago Outfit Membership Chart 1920s-40s by Bill Feather / Author Interview: Arthur Bilek / Ask Informer: The Chicago Heights Mafia / Book Review: The Origin of Organized Crime in America by David Critchley / Book Notes / A Look Back / Current Events.
Contents: 1909 Mafia Murder in Danbury, Connecticut, by Thomas Hunt / Maranzano Muddle by David Critchley / Pittsburgh Mafia Membership Chart by Bill Feather / My First Dinner with Mickey by Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood / Book Reviews: The First Family by Mike Dash; Mafia Son by Sandra Harmon / Interview: Patrick Downey / Ask the Informer: John Gotti / Book Notes / A Look Back / Current Events.
Regularly $12.42.
NOW ON SALE for $10.02.
Contents: Castro and the Casinos by Thomas Hunt / Jack Ruby Visits Havana / Buccellato's Bushwick Crew by Justin Dugard / Early Bonanno Membership Chart / Book Reviews: The Mad Ones by Tom Folsom; The Canary Sang But Couldn't Fly by Edmund Elmaleh / Interview: Martha Macheca Sheldon / Ask the Informer: William Flynn's NYPD Career / Book Notes / A Look Back / Current Events.
NOW ON SALE for $9.70.
6. Informer Index - Vol. 1 and 2
Contents: A complete index to the five issues of Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History published in 2008 and 2009.
Regularly $4.80.
NOW ON SALE for $3.60.
(Prices in U.S. dollars. Shipping and handling is added to all orders. Issues can be shipped to mailing addresses in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom.)
Labels: discount, holiday, magcloud, print version
Circulation figures for Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History are shown below. These figures represent readers of the journal's electronic edition and purchasers of its print edition as of Nov. 6, 2009. (Note: Web search engines provide greater exposure for issues as time passes, accounting for the generally greater reader stats of older electronic issues.) No effort is made to approximate the sharing of Informer's downloadable electronic edition.
2226 readers (1797 Scribd, 416 other online, 13 print)
965 readers (670 Scribd, 282 other online, 13 print)
793 readers (608 Scribd, 173 other online, 12 print)
3282 readers (3282 Scribd, print edition not offered)
642 readers (462 Scribd, 160 other online, 24 print)
236 readers (224 Scribd, 4 other online, 8 print)
125 readers (124 Scribd, 1 print)
Average readership for an Informer journal issue: 972.4
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 7:47 AM 0 comments
An index to the five Informer issues published in 2008 and 2009 (Volumes 1 and 2) is now available for download through Scribd (see link below). Professionally printed and bound copies can be ordered through http://informer.magcloud.com .
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 7:39 PM 0 comments
As Fidel Castro took control of Cuba a half century ago, it is commonly believed that he abruptly shut down Havana’s luxurious casinos and nightclubs and banished American racketeers from his island nation. While it is true that the end of Havana’s glitzy nightlife coincided with the final victory of Castro’s revolution, that end was not designed—or even sought—by the Cuban dictator. In addition, Castro’s relationships with American racketeers were far more complex than generally thought. His Cuban Revolution actually benefited from arms shipped to the island by American Mafiosi frustrated with the corrupt regime of Fulgencio Batista and hopeful of establishing a positive relationship with rising star Castro.
In the end, the casinos closed due to American reluctance to travel to postrevolution Cuba, despite Castro’s efforts to keep the tourist dollars flowing in. In this issue, we look back fifty years to the often misunderstood relationship between Castro and the Havana casinos (preview).
In his autobiography, Joseph Bonanno stated that the Buccellato clan of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, played no significant role in the American Mafia. It seems Bonanno ignored the
presence of Giuseppe Buccellato, a key figure in Bonanno’s own crime family and leader of Mafia rackets in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Historian Justin Dugard sets the record straight (preview).
Within this issue, we also look at Jack Ruby’s visit to Havana (preview) and at the membership of the early Bonanno Crime Family (preview). Books coverage includes an interview with Martha Sheldon, reviews and previews. Plus: A Look Back (preview), Ask the Informer (preview), and In the News (preview).
Fifty-six pages including cover and advertisements
Published October 19, 2009.
Labels: 2009 October issue, bonanno, buccellato, bushwick, casinos, castro, cuba, dugard, havana, lansky, ruby, sheldon, trafficante, vol 2 no 4
Until the success of Fidel Castro's revolution 50 years ago,
Havana Cuba was a playground for the wealthy
and a sanctuary for American Mafiosi
"A growing law enforcement threat at home in the early 1950s caused the American Mafia to transplant a number of its rackets to the island nation of Cuba - just outside United States jurisdiction. Protected by a friendly and thoroughly corrupt Cuban administration, the underworld pumped millions of dollars into gambling and narcotics enterprises on the island. The Cuban capital became a playground for wealthy tourists and a paradise for organized criminals."
Nineteen and a half pages article body
Four and a half pages endnotes
Labels: batista, casinos, castro, cuba, gambling, havana, lansky, trafficante, vol 2 no 4
Jack Ruby visits
Havana in 1959
"Jack Ruby of Dallas, a prominent character in an American drama in 1963, appears to have played a role in the departure of American racketeers from Cuba four years earlier. How big a role he played remains uncertain."
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 2:38 PM 0 comments
Labels: cuba, dallas, kennedy, ruby, vol 2 no 4
and the Bushwick crew
By Justin Dugard
"Though overshadowed by a number of his peers, Giuseppe Buccellato was a high-ranking member of the Bonanno Family during the Natale Evola and Philip Rastelli regimes."
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 2:31 PM 0 comments
Labels: bonanno, buccellato, bushwick, evola, rastelli, vol 2 no 4
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 2:23 PM 0 comments
Black Hand ring leader in Connecticut is sentenced.
Black Hander claims to be victim of extortion.
Mafia counterfeiters are arrested.
Future mob boss commits a murder
Criminal lawyer dies.
Dallas nightclub owner visits Cuba
Future NY Mafia boss convicted of obstructing investigation.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 2:16 PM 0 comments
Labels: a look back, black hand, connecticut, counterfeiting, cuba, dallas, new york, vol 2 no 4
NY Lucchese clan clobbered.
Gotti goes on trial for fourth time.
Plea deals likely for South Florida Bonanno crew.
Anastasia nephew on trial for racketeering.
Gambino soldier Carneglia gets life prison sentence.
'Saint' wants plot charges dropped.
New England's Gennario Angiulo dies at 90.
Mafia Cops witness Kaplan dies at 75.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 2:07 PM 0 comments
Labels: anastasia, anastasio, angiulo, bonanno, carneglia, gambino, gotti, in the news, kaplan, lucchese, new england, st. laurent, vol 2 no 4
Researcher Bill Feather provides a chart of dozens of known and suspected Bonanno Crime Family members from the 1900-1940s era. Names, aliases, birth-death-immigration data, birthplaces and ranks are provided.
Click here to preview of purchase this issue.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 1:22 PM 0 comments
Labels: bonanno, feather, membership chart, vol 2 no 4
On the Rock: 25 Years in Alcatraz
New Special Edition 2009
The personal prison story of Alvin Karpis, the longest-serving inmate of Alcatraz penitentiary.
http://www.littlebrick.com/
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 1:03 PM 0 comments
Labels: display ads, on the rock, vol 2 no 4
http://www.lucianotrial1936.com/
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 1:01 PM 0 comments
Labels: display ads, the case against lucky luciano, vol 2 no 4
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 12:55 PM 0 comments
Labels: deep water, display ads, vol 2 no 4
On the Spot is the authority on Gangster Era history. Every issue features a rich and entertaining mix of articles, book and movie reviews, photographs and event announcements.
http://www.onthespotjournal.com/journal.html
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 12:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: display ads, on the spot, vol 2 no 4
1909 Newspaper: Petrosino to be forgotten
Interesting quote about a $450 candle constructed in memory of NYPD Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino and scheduled to be burned in a New York cathedral:
"Poor fools! One century hence the world will know not that Joe Petrosino ever lived, and the candle will be forgot long before that."
The comment came from the Lexington (KY) Blue Grass Blade, May 2, 1909. Strangely, the original Blue Grass Blade - an outspoken atheist newspaper - ceased publication one year after that prediction and is, itself, largely forgotten, while the memory of Petrosino certainly lingers. (The Blade's name recently has been used by a Lexington atheist organization.)
Informer remembered Joseph Petrosino and his NYPD Italian Squad in its January 2009 issue.
Labels: blade, petrosino
Hunt discusses Danbury CT murder
The 1909 Mafia murder in Danbury, Connecticut, was the discussion topic at the Danbury Museum and Historical Society on Oct. 8, 2009. Informer Editor Thomas Hunt spoke to a small audience of 15 people about the slaying of farmer Giovanni Zarcone and that event's connections to the Morello Mafia organization of New York. He traced Zarcone back to his Sicilian roots in Bagheria and tracked his eventful life from his arrival in Manhattan in 1901, through the infamous Mafia Barrel Murder of 1903 to his ambush on a quiet country road on July 27, 1909.
On the 100th anniversary of the Danbury murder, a Hunt article on the 1909 murder was published in Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History. The Oct. 8 discussion was arranged by Brigid Guertin and Diane Hassan of the Danbury Museum and Historical Society.
The text of the Oct. 8 remarks can be downloaded through the Scribd.com service:
(A free Scribd account is required for download.)
The July issue of Informer, featuring the history of the Zarcone murder, also can be downloaded from the Scribd.com service:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/20054920/Informer-v02n3-2009-July
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 4:23 AM 0 comments
Labels: 1909, barrel murder, connecticut, danbury, hunt, informer, morello, new york, scribd, vol 2 no 3, zarcone
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 12:17 PM 0 comments
Making better use of Scribd
To this point, Informer has used Scribd.com to store and distribute the journal's electronic edition. However, Scribd offers a number of other services that could be of use to journal readers, and we intend to make better use of those in the future. One of the more exciting services is the ability to include document previews within non-Scribd websites. We illustrate that service below (using the July 2009 issue as an example).
Informer v02n3 2009 July
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 8:44 AM 0 comments
Labels: scribd, vol 2 no 3
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 4:26 PM 0 comments
Labels: circulation, distribution, electronic edition, free, magcloud, pdf, print version, scribd
You now can visit Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History on Facebook and Twitter.
Informer on Twitter
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 4:10 PM 0 comments
Coming up in October 2009
Informer's next issue (Oct. 2009) will look back 50 years to the end of Mafia-run casino gambling in Havana, Cuba.
Scheduled release date of print and electronic editions is Oct. 26, 2009.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 7:32 PM 0 comments
Labels: 2009 October issue, cuba, gambling, vol 2 no 4
Discount on Informer's print edition
To mark the first anniversary of MagCloud.com, all magazines printed by the service - including the print edition of Informer - are available at a 20% discount through August 31, 2009.
All four issues of Informer's print edition (Sep. '08, Jan. '09, Apr. '09, Jul '09) are now available at discounted prices. Visit http://informer.magcloud.com/ to preview or order the issues.
Labels: discount, magcloud, print version
Electronic subscription price reduced
The price of an electronic subscription to Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History has been reduced to $18 per year (four issues).
As a subscriber to Informer's electronic edition, you receive email notification when a new issue is published. The email provides you with a password-protected web link for the download of that issue in PDF format from the Scribd document sharing service. The electronic edition is easily readable and printable. And it has precisely the same content as the print edition at a far lower price.
It's a good time to renew (or to start) your Informer subscription. For easy and secure online ordering through PayPal, use the Subscriptions links in the rightmost column of our website. (http://mafiainformer.blogspot.com/)
Visit Informer on Facebook:
http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Informer/63288650969
http://twitter.com/mafiainformer
Labels: electronic edition, facebook, subscription, twitter
July 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of a still unsolved murder in the City of Danbury, Connecticut. While the killers of Giovanni Zarcone remain unknown, history has linked them to the New York Mafia organization of Giuseppe Morello. In this issue, we examine the known details of the Zarcone murder and follow the links between the victim and other organized criminals of the era.
What did Mafia boss of bosses Salvatore Maranzano look like? If you believe you know, author David Critchley says you’re mistaken. According to Critchley, a photograph often presented as a likeness of Maranzano is actually someone else’s mug shot. Read more about it and take a look at some actual images of Maranzano—plus Informer’s own approximation of a Maranzano mug shot.
Also in this issue: Researcher Bill Feather provides us with background data on scores of Pittsburgh-area Mafiosi and Informer tackles a question about the “Teflon Don,” John J. Gotti, late boss of the Gambino Crime Family.
Books coverage includes an excerpt from King of the Sunset Strip: Hangin’ with Mickey Cohen and the Hollywood Mob by Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood; an interview with Patrick Downey, author of Gangster City and Bad Seeds in the Big Apple; in addition to reviews of Mike Dash’s The First Family and Sandra Harmon’s Mafia Son.
1909 Mafia murder in Danbury, Connecticut, by Thomas Hunt. After a fruit farmer is shotgunned to death at his home, authorities connect him to the infamous Barrel Murder six years earlier. Eighteen pages. (Preview)
Maranzano Muddle by David Critchley, Ph.D. You may think you know what Salvatore Maranzano looked like, but a widely disseminated photo isn't Maranzano at all. Two pages. (Preview)
My First Dinner with Mickey by Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood. A young Hollywood actor finds himself palling around with California racketeer Mickey Cohen. Four and a half pages.(Preview)
Pittsburgh Mafia Membership Chart, 1900-2000, by Bill Feather. Four pages. (Preview)
Interview: Patrick Downey. Two and a half pages.
Book Review of The First Family by Mike Dash. One and a half pages.
Book Review of Mafia Son by Sandra Harmon. One and a half pages.
Books: New Releases: One half page.
Ask the Informer: The Teflon Don's conviction. One page. (Preview)
A Look Back: 100 years, 75 years, 50 years. One half page. (Preview)
Current Events: DiNunzio reaches plea deal, 11 indicted as Bonanno crew in Florida, deputy U.S. marshal leaked witness info, Nicholas Corozzo sentenced for murder. (Preview)
Deaths: Alfonso Tornabene, Donato Angiulo.
48 pages including cover and advertisements
Published July 15, 2009.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 8:56 AM 0 comments
Labels: 2009 July issue, angiulo, barrel murder, cohen, connecticut, corozzo, danbury, dash, dinunzio, downey, gotti, harmon, maranzano, morello, pittsburgh, tornabene, vol 2 no 3, zarcone
1909 Mafia murder in
(July 27, 2009, marks the 100th anniversary of this unsolved murder.)
"A halo of artificial light surrounded Danbury Hospital, a complex Victorian-style structure located at the intersection of Locust and Hospital Avenues near the official city limits. Light also emanated from the city's almshouse at Broadview farm, a third of a mile further east on Hospital Avenue. In between, the avenue was illuminated only by the quarter moon overhead. Moonlight was sufficient to provide visibility on the roadway itself, but it could not penetrate the tree branches and shrubs growing along the north side of the street."
Fourteen and a half pages article body
including sidebar story.
Three and a half pages of endnotes.
Twelve images.
Labels: 1909, barrel murder, connecticut, danbury, morello, vol 2 no 3, zarcone
Though many believe they've seen a picture of him,
very few know what he really looked like
By David Critchley, Ph.D.
"An apparent photograph of 'Salvatore Maranzano' (at right) has appeared in varied venues, ranging from books to the Internet. What those who print it fail to mention is that it's not of Maranzano at all. The mistake made is a classic case of the much broader problem of inaccuracies plaguing accounts of the American Mafia, which spread myths and misunderstandings."
Labels: critchley, maranzano, messina, vol 2 no 3
Carmen DiNunzio reaches plea deal in Boston.
11 indicted as Bonanno crew in Florida.
Deputy U.S. marshal leaked prisoner info.
Nicholas Corozzo sentenced for murder.
Chicago's Alfonso Tornabene dies at 86.
New England's Donato Angiulo dies at 86.
Labels: angiulo, bonanno, boston, chicago, corozzo, deaths, dinunzio, florida, in the news, tornabene, vol 2 no 3
Question: When and on what charge was John "Teflon Don" Gotti finally locked away for good?
Labels: ask the informer, gotti, vol 2 no 3
A New York Barrel Murder suspect is shot to death in Connecticut.
A future New York crime boss is arrested for robbing a store.
A Brooklyn racketeer and his female companion are killed.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 8:21 AM 0 comments
Labels: a look back, barrel murder, brooklyn, connecticut, robbery, vol 2 no 3
Researcher Bill Feather provides a chart of dozens of known and suspected Pittsburgh Mafia members from 1900 through 2000. Names, aliases, birth-death-immigration data, birthplaces and ranks are provided.
Labels: feather, membership chart, pittsburgh, vol 2 no 3
July's print edition available now
The print edition of Informer's July issue (Vol. 2, No. 3) is available for purchase through the MagCloud service. See: informer.magcloud.com
The lead feature looks back one hundred years to the murder of an Italian fruit farmer in Danbury, Connecticut, who was linked to powerful Mafiosi in New York City. Also in the issue, we speculate on what boss of bosses Salvatore Maranzano looked like, we sit down to dinner with Mickey Cohen, we look over the known and suspected membership of the Pittsburgh Mafia, we interview author Patrick Downey, and we review Mike Dash's The First Family and Sandra Harmon's Mafia Son.
The electronic edition of the journal will be available soon.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 10:04 PM 0 comments
Labels: cohen, dash, downey, harmon, magcloud, maranzano, pittsburgh, print version, vol 2 no 3
Informer is sad to report that another crime history periodical, On the Spot, has suspended publication. On the Spot, published since fall 2006, has focused on crime and law enforcement history of the gangster era - 1920s and 1930s. On the Spot CEO Rick Mattix tells Informer that he hopes to resume publication of the journal in the future and he notes that back issues of On the Spot remain available for purchase. (Click to visit the On the Spot website.)
A far more positive development: Rick has agreed to become a regular columnist for Informer. An accomplished crime historian, he will write on subjects of personal interest to him. We look forward to featuring his column in upcoming issues.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 9:36 AM 0 comments
Labels: columnist, mattix, on the spot
In the July issue (Vol. 2, No. 3) of Informer: The Journal of American Mafia History, we look back 100 years to an unsolved Mafia-related murder in western Connecticut. The murder victim had been among the suspects in the New York Barrel Murder of 1903 and had blood ties to underworld characters across the United States.
What did Mafia boss of bosses Salvatore Maranzano look like? If you believe you know, author David Critchley says you’re mistaken. According to Critchley's article in Informer's July issue, a photograph often presented as a likeness of Maranzano is actually someone else’s mug shot. Read more about it and take a look at actual images of Maranzano —plus an Informer approximation of a Maranzano mug shot
Also in the July issue: Researcher Bill Feather provides us with background data on scores of Pittsburgh-area Mafiosi and Informer tackles a question about the “Teflon Don,” John J. Gotti,
late boss of the Gambino Crime Family.
Books coverage includes an excerpt from King of the Sunset Strip: Hangin’ with Mickey Cohen and the Hollywood Mob by Steve Stevens and Craig Lockwood; an interview with Patrick
Downey, author of Gangster City and Bad Seeds in the Big Apple; in addition to reviews of Mike Dash’s The First Family and Sandra Harmon’s Mafia Son.
Plus... A Look Back, Book Notes, and Current Events.
The July issue of Informer will be available for sale by July 27.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 4:42 PM 0 comments
Labels: cohen, critchley, danbury, dash, downey, feather, gambino, gotti, harmon, lockwood, maranzano, membership chart, morello, pittsburgh, stevens, vol 2 no 3, zarcone
Vol. 2, Issue 2, Apr. 2009 Contents
The Sicilian Mafia in Chicago has been so overshadowed by the post-1930 Capone Outfit and so universally ignored by crime historians that some have reached the erroneous conclusion it did not exist at all. However, abundant evidence exists for the presence of a large and powerful Mafia in the Windy City from about 1900 through Capone’s Neapolitan-dominated consolidation of the Chicago underworld in 1930-31. In fact, there are indications that Chicago’s Mafia once dominated the Italian criminal societies of the American Midwest.
We are happy to devote much of this issue to the historical evidence left by the once-powerful Chicago Mafia. Our featured article is Richard N. Warner’s detailed biography of Anthony D’Andrea, once the supreme underworld authority in Chicago.
Researcher Bill Feather provides us with a membership chart for a later stage of the Chicago Outfit. We commemorate the 80th anniversary of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre by looking at how the Massacre has been preserved in historical works. Our Chicago history coverage finishes up with a discussion of the early Sicilian Mafia leadership in that city.
Books coverage in this issue includes an interview with Art Bilek, author of The First Vice Lord: Big Jim Colosimo and the Ladies of the Levee, and a review of David Critchley’s The Origin of Organized Crime in America.
The Dreaded D'Andrea by Richard Warner. A former priest, once jailed for counterfeiting, became Chicago's most feared Mafia boss. Twenty-eight pages including notes. (Preview)
80 Years Since the Massacre. We look at what has been learned of the North Clark Street killings over the past eight decades. Four pages. (Preview)
Chicago's Early Mafia Bosses by Thomas Hunt. Long forgotten, several Sicilian families once reigned over the underworld of northwest Chicago. Two and a half pages including notes. (Preview)
Chicago Outfit Membership Chart, 1920s-1940s, by Bill Feather. Five and a half pages. (Preview)
Interview: Art Bilek. Three pages.
Book Review of The Origin of Organized Crime in America by David Critchley. One and a half pages.
Books: New Releases. One half page.
Ask the Informer: Chicago Heights; Capodecina. One page. (Preview)
A Look Back: 1 year ago; 50 years ago. One half page. (Preview)
Current Events: Family Secrets defendants sentenced, Carneglia convicted, Morgentha to retire. Two pages. (Preview)
56 pages including cover and advertisements.
Published April 20, 2009.
Labels: 2009 April issue, vol 2 no 2
A former priest, once jailed for counterfeiting
became Chicago's most feared Mafia boss
"Shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 10, 1921, Chicago Mafia boss Anthony D’Andrea went to dinner with two male companions at a Neapolitan restaurant, the Amato Cafe at Taylor and Halsted Streets. They ate, socialized and played cards for hours.
"At about 1:15 Wednesday morning, D’Andrea’s friend Joseph Laspisa drove him home. For two weeks Laspisa had been acting as the underworld leader’s bodyguard and chauffeur.
"D’Andrea needed the protection..."
Twenty-five pages article body
Three pages of endnotes.
Labels: chicago, colosimo, d'andrea, dispenza, esposito, genna, gentile, labriola, nicolosi, torrio, unione siciliana, vol 2 no 2
"On the morning of Feb. 14, 1929, seven men were killed at the S.M.C. Cartage Company garage at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago. The killings were the result of an effort by the Capone Outfit to eliminate rival gang boss George “Bugs” Moran. Capone’s gunmen, disguised as raiding police officers, succeeded in decimating the Moran gang, but they missed their primary target. Moran was late in getting to the garage and survived the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. On the 80th anniversary of the Massacre, we look at various accounts of that bloody event..."
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 11:15 AM 0 comments
Labels: bolton, burke, capone, chicago, karpis, moran, st. valentine's day massacre, vol 2 no 2
"Early in 1901, Joseph Morici was labeled boss of the Mafia in Chicago’s Little Sicily, a neighborhood just to the northwest of downtown, centered on the six-pointed intersection of West Grand Avenue, North Milwaukee Avenue and North Halsted Street. That Sicilian community overflowed across the old Erie Street bridge into the Near North Side. The neighborhood sat apart from Chicago’s traditional Little Italy, which was further to the south..."
Map of near Northwest Chicago
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 11:05 AM 0 comments
Labels: chicago, dispenza, hunt, morici, nicolosi, spatafora, vol 2 no 2, zagona
Vol. 2, Issue 1, Apr. 2009 Contents
Researcher Bill Feather provides a chart of Chicago Outfit members from the 1920s-1940s era. Names, aliases, birth-death-immigration data, birthplaces and ranks are provided for dozens of members and suspected members of the Outfit.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 11:02 AM 2 comments
Labels: chicago, feather, membership chart, vol 2 no 2
An interview with Arthur Bilek (right)
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 10:55 AM 0 comments
Labels: bilek, books, critchley, vol 2 no 2
'Secrets' defendants get long prison terms
Sentenced: N.Calabrese, Persico, Eppolito, Caracappa, Young, Connolly
Carneglia convicted of racketeering
Morgenthau to retire
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 10:50 AM 0 comments
Labels: calabrese, caracappa, carneglia, connolly, eppolito, family secrets, in the news, morgenthau, persico, vol 2 no 2, young
Colombo Crime Family members and associates indicted; New England Crime Family underboss arrested in corruption probe; Massachusetts hitman pleads guilty.
New York mobsters jailed for trafficking narcotics.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 10:41 AM 0 comments
Labels: a look back, colombo, drugs, murder, new england, vol 2 no 2
Question: What do historians know about a Mafia organization in Chicago Heights?
Question: What is the difference between a capodecina and a capo?
Labels: ask the informer, capodecina, chicago heights, vol 2 no 2
Informer now available in US, UK, Canada
Preprinted copies of Informer can now be shipped to addresses in the United Kingdom and Canada, in addition to the United States. When the Informer print edition was first announced on Sept. 24, 2008, copies could be shipped only to U.S. addresses, due to restrictions imposed by the MagCloud print-on-demand service. MagCloud recently expanded its service area. We are not yet able to offer UK or Canada subscriptions to the print edition.
CLICK TO VISIT MAGCLOUD
Labels: canada, circulation, delivery, distribution, print version, uk
Labels: display ads, vol 2 no 1
Ad: Book Ads
Book ads collection.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 8:39 AM 0 comments
Labels: books, display ads, vol 2 no 1
A 1909 secret mission for the New York Police Department sent Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, leader of the Italian Squad and nemesis of the Sicilian-Italian underworld, into a lion's den. Unknown assassins took his life in Palermo, the Mafia's legendary birthplace. Petrosino is remembered for his toughness, his bulldog tenacity and his selfless devotion to duty. This issue of Informer is dedicated to Petrosino's memory and the sterling example he has provided to generations of Italian-Americans.
We are delighted to call our readers' attention to a new Informer feature - crime family membership charts. This issue holds a detailed chart of the early Kansas City crime family, 1910s-1940s, compiled by researcher Bill Feather. We hope to bring you a new membership chart each quarter.
In this issue we conclude our two-part series, The Mob's Worst Year: 1957. Part 2 includes a discussion of Albert Anastasia's murder, the Apalachin underworld convention and the sudden awakening of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI to the existence of the Mafia.
Books coverage in this issue includes an interview with Scott Deitche, author of The Silent Don and Cigar City Mafia; David Critchley's review of Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950 by William Ouseley; a review of The Last Undercover by Bob Hamer; and additional news.
Martyr: Joseph Petrosino. A century ago, Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino of the New York Police Department was shot to death while on assignment in a foreign land. Eighteen pages including sidebar and endnotes. (Preview)
The Mob's Worst Year: 1957, Part 2 of 2. Fifty years ago, lawmakers, enforcement officials and the American public finally became aware of the depth and breadth of the Mafia underworld. Nine and a half pages including endnotes. (Preview)
Kansas City Mafia Membership Chart, 1910s-1940s, by Bill Feather. Three and a half pages including notes. (Preview)
Interview with Scott Deitche, author of The Silent Don and Cigar City Mafia. Two and a half pages.
Book review by David Critchley of William Ouseley's Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family 1900-1950. Two pages.
Book review of The Last Undercover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dance with Evil by Bob Hamer. One page.
Cumberland House True Crime Titles Search for Homes. One and a half pages.
Books: New Releases. Half page.
Ask the Informer: Sam Pollaccia / The Society of the Banana. One page. (Preview)
Current Events: Top 10 U.S. Mob News Stories of 2008. Two and a half pages.
Deaths: Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, Salvatore Scala, Frank J. Valenti, Anthony Spero. Two pages.
A Look Back: 1 year ago; 25 years ago; 50 years ago; 100 years ago. One page. (Preview)
Bulletins: Gangster History Convention, On the Spot Journal, Mob Tours, National Museum of Crime and Punishment. Half page.
Letters. Half page.
Published Jan. 26, 2009.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 7:37 AM 0 comments
Labels: 2009 January issue, vol 2 no 1
Martyr: Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino
A century ago, Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino of the
New York Police Department was shot to death
while on assignment in a foreign land.
"'Petrosino was a great man, a good man,' former President Theodore Roosevelt told the press. 'I knew him for years, and he did not know the name of fear. He was a man worth while. I regret most sincerely the death of such a man as Joe Petrosino.'"
Sixteen pages article body
including sidebar story
Two pages of endnotes
Eleven images.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 7:10 PM 0 comments
Labels: alfano, bingham, black hand, carbone, cascioferro, costantino, flynn, italian squad, lupo, madonia, morello, palizzolo, petrosino, roosevelt, vol 2 no 1
Kansas City Mafia Members, 1910s-1940s
Researcher Bill Feather provides a chart of early Kansas City Mafia membership.
Names, aliases, birth-death-immigration data, birthplaces and ranks for dozens of members and suspected members of the KC Outfit.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 7:02 PM 0 comments
Labels: feather, kansas city, membership chart, vol 2 no 1
The Mob's Worst Year: 1957 - Part Two
Fifty years ago, lawmakers, enforcement officials
and the American public finally became aware
of the depth and breadth of the Mafia underworld.
The Mob's Worst Year
"Albert Anastasia’s death in 'the chair' might have been preordained. The legendary Mafia boss and accomplished murderer managed to escape death in Sing Sing Prison’s electric chair in 1921, only to meet his end in a barber chair 35 years later."
Seven and a half pages article body
Seven images.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 7:01 PM 0 comments
Labels: 1957, anastasia, apalachin, barbara, buchalter, costello, fbi, genovese, hoover, kennedy, la cosa nostra, moretti, rfk, valachi, vol 2 no 1
Open City: True Story of the KC Crime Family
Reviewed by David Critchley.
The Last Undercover: The True Story of an FBI Agent's Dance with Evil
Cumberland House true crime titles search for homes
An interview with Scott Deitche
New releases: The Origin of Organized Crime in America by David Critchley; Mob Boss by Mike Hudson; Gomorrah (paperback reprint) by Roberto Saviano and Virginia Jewiss.
On the way: Mafia Son by Sandra Harmon; The First Family by Mike Dash.
Posted by Thomas Hunt at 6:58 PM 0 comments
Labels: critchley, cumberland house, dash, deitche, fbi, hamer, harmon, hudson, kansas city, ouseley, vol 2 no 1