Agency: FBI
Originator: FBI
From: PG
To: HQ
Document date: 09/15/1960
Document type: PAPER-TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

JFK Assassination System

Identification Form

Agency Information

Date:

5/11/201

AGENCY: FBI

RECORD NUMBER :

124-90104-10209

RECORD SERIES :

HQ

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

92-2940-59

Released under the

John F. Kennedy

Assassination Records

Collection Act of 1992

144 USC 2107 Notel.

Case#:NW 56792 Date:

4-10-2018

Document Information

ORIGINATOR: FBI

FROM: PG

TO: HQ

TITLE:

DATE: 09/15/1960

'PAGES:

43

SUBJECTS :

SEBASTIAN JOHN LAROCCA

DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified

RESTRICTIONS: 4; 11(a)

CURRENT STATUS: Redact

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 07/31/1998

OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE, APPROVAL OF IRS

COMMENTS: RPT

v9.1

HH 56792

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PG 92-226

INFORMANTS

PG T-1 is Legat, Rome, Italy, who obtained information from

DR. COSTANTINO FONTANA, Central Bureau, Italian Criminal

Police, Rome, Italy, on 4/18/58.

PG T-2 is former PCI CHESTER STUPAK who was contacted by

SA JOHN S. PORTELLA on 12/13/54 and 10/21/55.

PG T-3 IS PG 585-C who was contacted by SA ROBERT A. VOEGE

on 3/11/58, 6/17/59 and 7/27/59.

PG T-4 is PG 582-C who was contacted by SA PORTELLA on

11/22/57•

PG T-5 is an unidentified employee of the Internal Revenue

Service, Washington, D.C., who furnished copies of LA ROCCA's

income tax returns for the years 1952 to 1956.

these

returns were forwarded Pittsburgh by Bureau letter 4/28/58.

PG T-6 is PCI GEORGE "MOON" MESSER contacted by SA ROBERT A.

VOEGE on 6/17/59 and 7/28/59.

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PG 92-226

DETAILS:

A. PERSONAL HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

1) Birth Data

PG T-I, who requested his identity remain confidential and

who stated he will not testify at any future Federal or state

proceedings, advised that SEBASTIAN LA ROCCA, the son of

IGNAZIO and

ROSARIA SCANCARELLO, was born at Villa Rosa, Italy,

on December 19, 1901, and that he departed from Villa Rosa

prior to 1927, the year in which the registration of the

inhabitants of that community was begun.

2) Citizenship Status

According to the files maintained by the Pittsburgh Office

of the immigration ana raturalization service, Pittsburgh,

Pa., as made available to SA WILLIAM R. WALL On December 12,

1951, DY HAROLD LAUVER, Supervisory Investigator, LA ROCCA

entered the United States on September 2, 1910, at New York

City, N.Y., aboard the

"Principe De Piemonte."

These same Immigration and Naturalization Service records show

that on May 12, 1950, LA ROCCA applied for United States citizen-

On January 20, 1953, a deportation warrant was issued

IA ROCCA by the District Director, Immigration and Natural-

ization service,

Inlladelphia,

Pa.; said warrant was based on

Sections 241(a (4) and 212(a (12)

of the Immigration and

Nationality Act. He was arrested January 21, 1953, and subse-

quently given a deportation hearing as an undesirable alien.

This undesirable status was based on previous arrests involving

LA ROCCA on criminal-type charges.

On August 31, 1953, LA ROCCA

testified before an Immigration and Naturalization Service

Hearing Board that he had been involved in the numbers racket,

bootlegging, and slot machines, but added that he was

no longer

involved in anything

"Pittsburgh Press,"

other than legitimate enterprises.

The

a Pittsburgh daily newspaper, publicized

portions of LA ROCCA's testimony on November 10, 1954, and

reported that LA ROCCA had testified that his financial holdings

amounted to approximately one-quarter of a million dollars and

if permitted to remain in the United States, LA ROCCA testified,

he would not become a burden of the state.

DUS

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PG 92-226

The "pittsburgh Press" of August 6, 1959, carried an article

entitled "LaRocca Ends Battle for Citizenship."

It stated

that

"Pittsburgh racketeer John LaRocca has decided he

doesn't want to be an American citizen after all."

It told

how his attorney, VINCENT CASEY, filed two petitions in Federal

Court at Pittsburgh on August 5, 1959. One asked the court to

stay action by the Immigration and Naturalization Service

on LA ROCCA's nine-year-old petition for citizenship and

the other asked that the application be thrown out completely.

The article said that the Government did not want to

let the matter drop so quietly and contended that LA ROCCA

had to go through with the hearings anyway and show why he

changed his mind.

The hearing was postponed until the Judge

could rule on the legal points raised by both sides.

The article said that MR. CASEY explained that LA ROCCA

wanted to withdraw his application to save himself further

trouble with authorities and said LA ROCCA has been "harassed

enough.

NED HEIMOVITZ, Naturalization Examiner, Immigration and

naturalization service, Pittsburgh, advisea SA VOEGE that on

angust 11, 1959, a stipulation was

entered into by the Immigra-

Go and Naturalization Service with Attorney VINCENT CASEY

Which provided that LA ROCCA's Petition for Naturalization

LEASE

would be withdrawn with the provision that a new petition would

not be filed in any court for a continuous period of five years.

stated

matter is contained in Immigration and

# Naturalization File No. 2373-Miscellaneous entitled, "stipulation

to Dismiss Petition for Naturalization for John S. LaRocca."

Ohe further stated that the order of the United States District

Court at Pittsburgh is dated August 11, 1959.

3) Education

PG T-I, advised that it was not possible to ascertain whether

or not LA ROCCA received any formal schooling during the time

that he was in Italy.

On February 13, 1958, FLOYD O. SMITH, Supervising Principal,

valley Joint school District, which includes

School had been abandoned and that records of attendance were

not available for students who attended from thirty to forty

years ago.

Both advised that although they had been residents

of Rural Valley-Yatesboro area for forty or more years, they

could not recall the LA ROCCA family.

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PG 92-226

On March 10, 1958, MISS EVELYN LEDERER, Clerk, City Court,

Dunkirk, N.Y., advised that her records reflected that on

December 17, 1930,

one CARI STEIN, Manager of the J. G. Pickard

Store, Dunkirk, N.Y., obtained a

narrant for the arrest of

JOHN

LA ROCCA

for disposing of

chattel mortgaged property.

She stated that on November 5, 1931, LA ROCCA appeared in

court and paid STEIN $115 for

the property originally purchased

and the charge was dismissed. She advised that the J. G. Pickard

Company went out of business approximately fifteen years ago

and that CARL STEIN is deceased.

JFK Law 11(a)

C. ASSOCIATES

PG T-3, who requested his identity remain confidential and who

stated

he will not testify at any future Federal or state

proceedings,

advised that the

"top men" in Pittsburgh rackets

met in the dining room of the Genovese Cocktail Lounge, now

called the Red Eagle Club, 412 Larimer Avenue, Pittsburgh, where

they hold general discussions.

PG T-3 Was of the opinion that

JOHN LA ROCCA held the controlling interest in this club,

although it was operated by MIKE GENoVEsE and his brother,

PHIL GENOVESE. PG 1-3 stated that during the meetings of

various individuals. at the club, JOHN LA ROCCA was definitely

the "big man" in the group and was looked up to by all other

men in attendance.

PG T-3 stated that all orders came from

LA ROCCA Unless SAMUEL MANNARINO was present, in which case SAM

MANNARINO, at times took precedence over LA ROCCA since he was

considered by many as the chief racketeer in the Western

Pennsylvania area ad that JOHN LA ROCCA was immediately next to

MANNARINO. PG T-3 added that it was obvious that MIKE GENOVESE

was next in line after LA ROCCA and was often considered being

groomed for LA ROCCA's position with all of his holdings and

responsibilities.

PG T-3 went on to say that the following individuals have been

and still are closely associated with JOHN LA ROCCA. They have

been active leaders in some type of illegal operations at one

time or another:

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92-2940-54

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PG 92-226

: D'. CRIMINAL ACTIVITY

A Criminal Intelligence Report furnished by Detective JOHN

CHRIN, Pennsylvania State Police, Greensburg, Pa., dated

October 14, 1942, set out that IGNACIO CASTAGLIA and JOHN

te police Ace sp

MICALE operated a pinball machine business under the name

of the Fayette Novelty and Vending Machine Company.

The

office of this business was on East Pittsburgh Street,

Connellsville, Pa.

CHRIN advised that this company was

controlled by

LA ROCCA. In addition, according to CHRIN,

LA ROCCA had a company named the Rock-O-La:. Juke Box Company

which had music boxes in most of the roadhouses throughout

Fayette County, Pa.

This business was believed by CHRIN

to be controlled by MICALE, CASTAGLIA and LA ROCCA. CHRIN

stated that on August 3, 1942, at about 2:50 PM, a shooting

took place on East Pittsburgh Street, Connellsville, between

MICALE and LA ROCCA, MICALE fired a shotgun blast at

LA ROCCA and missed. CHRIN belleved that this was because

of an argument that had ensued as a result of LA ROCCA's

making an effort to place machines in the county without the

consent of CASTAGLIA and MICALE.

On February 27, 1958, GEORGE MESSER advised SA ROBERT A.

VOEGE that he had been in the numbers writing activity

since

about 1928 and was still active in this regard.

most of pittsburgh's present day "big racket men" ensaid that

depended on him solely for protection purposes since he

knew local and state police figures and recalled that JOHN

LA ROCCA was one of these racketeers.

MESSER stated that

LA ROCCA became acquainted with him in about 1941 or 1942

when LA ROCCA was handling all the numbers activity in

the last Liberty section of Pittsburgh and had set himself

up as a "little God." When LA ROCCA became dissatisfied

with his financial gains, he left Pittsburgh on a trip to

Chicago to see friends about paste reel machines with which

he felt he could make more money.

MESSER said a paste reel

was similar to a "one-armed bandit" with the exception that

a small paper-wrapped mint was dispensed after the coin was

placed in the slot and the play was registered strictly

The Chicago

manufacturer of this machine circumvented the

for gambling purposes" phraseology in the law in this manner.

While LA ROCCA was in Chicago, MESSER said he moved into the

East Liberty section and took over the entire numbers

operation.

He turned in his numbers returns to one GEORGE

CHRISTY (now deceased) in PIttsburgh. When LA ROCCA returned

25

Major.

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PG 92-226

to Pittsburgh he became angry with MESSER and his move and

had someone drive

a car over MESSER one night as he was

crossing a street.

MESSER said when he was discharged

from the hospital he found out that his automobile had

numerous bullet holes in it.

MESSER said that because he

thought he would make money in the East Liberty section,

he stayed in the business of writing numbers and actually

forced LA ROCCA out of the numbers business.

MESSER advised that in about 1943, he and LA ROCCA became

friendly and LA ROCCA invited him to share equally in the

ownership of the Coin Machine Distributing Company

which later set up offices at 5746 Baum Boulevard in

Pittsburgh. MESSER recalled that LA ROCCA was completely

bankrupt at that time because of numbers setbacks but

managed to raise enough money to put up his share. MESSER

said he personally travelled to Chicago to arrange for the

purchase of machines to be distributed by this company and

had a verbal agreement with ART ROONEY who allowed him to

place these machines throughout the East Liberty, Homewood

and Garfield sections of Pittsburgh where ROONEY was not

operating.

According to MESSER, ROONEY, who was the present

owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, professional football club,

was the only man who could get paste reels before LA ROCCA

tried, and controlled the entire Pittsburgh vicinity in

this regard. MESSER said that the Government placed a $100

tax stamp on each machine. and the City of Pittsburgh put a

$50 tax stamp on each machine.

He said that other owners of

that company, in addition to himself and LA ROCCA, were

FRANK AMATO, BARNEY MCGINLEY, SAMUEL MANNARINO and F. W.

ZoGG, the latter from chicago.

On August 31, 1953, LA ROCCA, while testifying at an

Immigration and Naturalization Service hearing in his own

behalf, stated he had been "mixed up" in bootlegging,

numbers racket, and slot machines, and that in his earlier

days he had worked as an Indiana County, Pa., coal miner.

LA ROCCA stated that he was then engaged only in legitimate

enterprises.

E. LEGITIMATE ENTERPRISES

On October 10, 1955, LA ROCCA advised SA JOHN S. PORTELLA

that since his trouble with the Internal Revenue Service and

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PG 92-226

$258,500 and that he has had no income from gambling or other

illegal sources in the past ten years.

Regarding the Standard Dryer Distributing Company, 1t 1s

pointed out that prothonotary records

under fictitious

registration, Volume 133, page 42, Certificate No. 42387,

lists the United Hand Dryer Distributing Company, 500 North

Craig Street, Pittsburgh.

The character of this business

was to buy,

sell and distribute mechanical hand dryers,

and

the interested partner was JOHNS. LA ROCCA. The date

the

certificate was issued was May 12, 1954.

PG T-5, who requested his identity remain confidential and

who stated he will not testify at any future Federal or

state proceeding, advised that JOHN LA ROCCA

JFK Law 11(a)

PG T-5 provided the following information pertaining to

LA ROCCA 'S

In 1953,

JEK Law 11(a)

In 1954,

JFK Law 11(a)

In 1955,

In 1956,

LOUIs HOROwITz, a Certified Public Accountant employed by

the Stanley Tishman Firm with offices in the Penn-Sheraton

3 3

93-2940-5909 114)

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