Originator: FBI
From: PG
To: HQ
Document date: 10/22/1958
Document type: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

JFK Assassination System

Identification Form

Agency Information

AGENCY:

RECORD NUMBER :

RECORD SERIES :

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

FBI

124-90104-10161

HQ

92-2940-39

Document Information

ORIGINATOR: FBI

FROM:

PG

TO: HQ

TITLE:

DATE:

'PAGES:

SUBJECTS:

10/22/1958

23

SEBASTIAN JOHN LAROCCA

DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION : Unclassified

RESTRICTIONS: 4; 10(a)2

CURRENT STATUS :

, Redact

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 07/31/1998

OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE

COMMENTS :

RPT

v9.1

NW 68262 Docld:32332863 Page 1

7

Date:

5/11/201

Heleased under the John F. Kennedy

Issassination Records Collection Act o

1992 (44 USC 2107 Note). Case#:NW

68262 Date: 09-22-2022

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## Page 2

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION.

REPORTING OFFICE

PITTSBURGH

TITLE OF CASE

SEBASTIAN JOHN

OFFICE OF ORIGIN

PITTSBURGH

LA ROCCA, was.

DATE

OCT 2 2 1958

REPORT MADE BY

ROBERT A. VOECE

CHARACTER OF CASE

INVESTIGATIVE PERIOD 9/2,5,9,

12,16-18, 23-26, 29,30;

10/2,3,6-10,13/58

TYPED BY

smo

ANTI-RACKETEERING

SYNOPSIS:

Neighbors and informants advise that LA ROCCA has still not returned

to Pittsburgh, Pa., vicinity but believe he contacts his residence

regularly in some manner.

Adopted son of LA ROCCA returned to Valley

Forge Military Academy at Wayne, Pa., on 9/16/58 and gave two

checks totaling $1,525 to Finance Officer.

Both checks were drawn

on Washington Trust Office of Western Pennsylvapia National Bank

at Pittsburgh.

Subpoenas still outstanding forl

appear before FaJ for

Jand U. S. jenate Select Committee on

JEK

Law 10(.a)?

Improper Activities in the Labor or

Management Field.

of interest

concerning associates of lA ROCCA and status with

other Government agencies set forth.

IN VIEN OF THE CONVICTION

OF THE SUBJECT FOR ASSAULT WITH INTENT TO KILL

FOR CARRYING A CONCEALED WEAPON,

•HE MAY BE ARMED AND SHOULD BE

CONSIDERED DANGEROUS.

- P.

SPECIAL AGENT

APPROVED

IN CHARGE

CORES MADE:

_ Bureau.

(92-2940) 16e 4260

1

- Baltimore (92-149) (Info)

2

- Buffalo (92-87)

- Detroit

Jacksonville (Info)

- Miami (92-163) (Info)

- New York (92-825)

1

- Philadelphia (92-497) (Info)

3 - Pittsburgh (92-226)

DO NOT WRITE IN SPACES BELOW

12+2940+39

REG. 4

Đ

- 133

14 OCT 23 1958

232

5 8 NOV 3 1958

PROPERTY OF FBI.—This report is loaned to you by the FBI, and neither it nor its contents are to be distributed outside the agency to which loane!

NW 68262 Docld:32332863 Page 2

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## Page 3

PG 92-226

The informant recalled that SPINELLI was a non-drinker who had

been born and raised in Italy and still had a wife and twa

children living there. He described SPINELEI as about 614"

In height and said that he was known in the area as a professional.

killer who hired out on out-of-town Jobs. He stated that when

SPINELLI was crossed up in some manner by the VOLPE brothers in

connection with some stills he owned personally, he became so

enraged that he vowed he would kill ald three.

The informant

stated that he was with SPINELLI when SPINELL Obtained the

weapon with which he killed the VOLPEs and left & moonshine

joint without saying where he was going.

He said he later

by-standers who told

him that SPINELLI had encountered the three VOLFE brothers

eating breakfast at Bazzanno's Restaurant on wylie Avenue,"

Pittsburgh, at which time he gunned them to death.

The informant recalled that SPINELLI gathered

his few personal

belongings together and immediately fled to New Yorks where he

encountered the brother of the BAZZANNO who ran the Pittsburgh

restaurant.

He stated that SPINELLI killed this individual

and that the newspapers related, that BAZZANNO was discovered

with more than 150 ice pick holes in hin and various sections

of his body cut off.

He recalled that SPINEE then fled to

Italy and had nerve enough to settle with his tamily in the same

town in which the elder VOLPE was an offilal. He recalled that

the elder VOLPE was then responsible for having SPINELLI sentenced

to 25 years in prison in Italy because he could not be extradited

to the United States.

The informant advised that following the murder of his brothers,

LOUIS VOLPE was incarcerated by the Pittsburgh Police Department

who thought he had something to do with the SPINELL-VOLPE feud.

He recalled laughingly that when LOUIS, now a close associate of

SEBASTIAN JOHN LA ROCCA, was released from jail, there were a

great many newspapermen on hand and when a flash bulb went off

unexpectedly, LOUIS fainted, believing he was shot.

He recalled

that during the early 1920's, numbers operations in the Pittsburgh

vicinity were incidental to moonshine operations and that most

moonshiners carried numbers cards in their back pockets.

He

suggested that the Pittsburgh Police Department became interested

in numbers only when moonshine became no longer profitable for

them. He advised that he still sees both LOUIS and JOSEPH. VOLPE:

on occasion and has seen both of them with MIKE GENOVESE and

JOHN LA ROCCA.

= 10 -

NW 68262 Docld:32332863 Page 3

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## Page 4

PG 92-226

F. MISCELLANEOUS

Status of LA ROCCA with Immigration and Naturalization Service

On September 30, 1958, a discussion was held with HAROLD LAUVER,

Agent in Charge

of Investigations; HARRY GOULD, Acting-in-Charge

of Naturalization Examinations; and NED HEIMOVITZ, Naturalization

Examiner, concerning LA ROCA's status as far as the Immigration

and Naturalization Service (INS) is concerned. It was learned

that the LA ROCCA matter is still in pending status and that the

Pittsbürgh Office has received no further Instructions in this

regard LAUVER advised that although there is no active and

specific investigation being conducted on LA ROCCA, determination

must be made concerning the final disposition of his naturalization

petition.

GOULD advised that he

belleves the INS will sinply await the

return of LA ROCCA before taking further action on his petition.

He explained that only in that way will the Government be able:

to have the petition dismissed "on merit" and with prejudice

so that LA ROCCA will be unable to re-petition within a five-year

period

HEIMOVIIZ advised that he feels sare that he could go

into United States Federal District Court at any time and obtain

the denial of the petition on the grounds that LA ROCCA has failed

to prosecute it.

He suggested, however, that when LA ROCcA

returns he will be expected to

give a satisfactory account of his

whereabouts during the period he was not in the Pittsburgh vicinity

and to show why he did not comply with two subpoenas sent to his

residence.

LAUVER advised that the LA ROCCA file was sent to the District

Chief of Investigations of INS at 70 Columbus Avenue, New York

City, on September 19, 1958, upon request.

He said he is quites

certain that the file

will be reviewed by the United States

Attorney for the Southern District of New York and was requested

specifically for that purpose.

Information Regarding Subpoenas With Which LA ROCCA Must Be Served

ALBERT DIMEOLO, United States Marshal for the Western District of

Pennsylvania at Pittsburgh, advised SA VOEGE on Oetober 10, 1958,

that he has received no new information regarding LA ROCCA and

that he still has two subpoenas outstanding for service to

He advised that the first 1s a subpoena for the appearance

REVIEWED BY

ON

124/97 dad

1 RELEASE IN FULL

RELEASE IN PART

TOTAL DENIAL

JFK TASK FORCE

. = 21 =

JFK Law 10(a)2

93-2940-39 10102)

NW 68262 Docld:32332863 Page 4

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## Page 5

K Law 10(a)2

PG 92-226

before the Federal Grand Jury for the

to testify and give evidence in regard

to an

alleged

violation of

and that

the second is a subpoena for the appearance of LA ROCCA before

the United States Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities

in the Labor or Management Field.: He stated that the dates for

these appearances have not yet been set and that he cannot do

anything further regarding them until LA ROCCA returns to

Pittsburgh or 1s located in some other jurisdietion:

He advised

that he will immediately notify the Pittsburgh Office in the

event he should learn anything regarding LA ROCCA in this regard.

Surveillances Conducted Relating to This Investigation

Spot surveillances were made on September 2, 5, 12, 18, 26 and

29 and on October 3 and 10, 1958, at 900 west Ingomar Road,

ingomar,

and at 12 MeCandless Street, Pittsburgh.

Nothing of

interest to this investigation was observed during these spot

surveillances

IN VIEW OF THE CONVICTION OF THE SUBJECT FOR ASSAULT WITH INTENT

TO KILL AND HIS ARREST FOR CARRYING A CONCEALED WEAPON, HE MAY BE

ARMED AND SHOULD BE CONSIDERED DANGEROUS:

= P=

22

92-2940-39 10aa

NW 68262 Docld:32332863 Page 5

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## Page 6

PG 92-226

INFORMANES

T-1 1s AL BUCK, former Allegheny County Detective and now Vice

President of the Fidelity Trust Company, Loan Department,

Pittsburgh, Pa., who was contacted on October 6, 1950, by

SA ROBERT A. VOlGE and who has requested that his identity be

concealed.

T-2 is H. W. GLENN, Postal Inspector, United States Post Office,

Pittsburgh,

who was contacted on October 3, 1958, by SA VOEGE

who has requested that his identity be concealed

I-3 Is GEORGE "MOON" MESSER, a POL of the Pittsburgh Office

who was contacted on September 29, 1950, by SA VOEGE,

T-4 is

an' anonymous informant who, on June 16, 1958, contacted

Assistant Attorney General D. MALCOLM ANDERSON at the United

States Department of Justice, Washington, D. Ois

by letter

offering to

furnish information to him regarding the activities

of Pittsburgh top noodlums and racketeers.

on that date he

suggested that an insert be placed in the personal column of

"The Pittsburgh Press"

referring to him as

"TIGER" and furnishing

an address where he could write to Mr. ANDERSON personally.

A post office box has been rented by the Pittsburgh FBI Office

and numerous letters regarding the activities of Pittsburgh top

hoodlums and racketeers have been received to date. He has

still not been identified.

T-5 Is Miss MARIAN FOGEL, a PCI of the Pittsburgh Office, who

was contacted on September 12, 1958, by SA NORMAN

I. THOMPSON.

T-6 is PA 573-0 who was contacted on August 17, 18, 19 and 20,

1958, and

again on September 16, 17 and 18, 1958, by SA JOHN S.

PORTELLA.

T-? Is HERMAN ISRAEL of the Scott Rug Company, Pittsburgh, a

confidential source of the Pittsburgh Office, who was contacted

on August 19, 1958, by SA portELLA.

T-8 1s WILLIAM A. DOBKIN, 3215 Kennett Square, Pittsburgh,

a confidential source of the Pittsburgh Office, who was contacted

August 25, 1958, by SA PORTELLA.

T-9 is Miss FRANCES PRIAM, a PCI of the Pittsburgh Office, who

was contacted on October 9, 1958, by SA VOEGE.

= 23 =

NW 68262 Docld:32332863 Page 6

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