Agency: FBI
Originator: FBI
From: SAC, SD
To: DIRECTOR, FBI
Document date: 11/7/67
Document type: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (11 USC 2107 Note).

DATE: 11-14-2017

JFK Assassination System

Identification Form

Date:

5/20/201

Agency Information

AGENCY :

RECORD NUMBER :

RECORD SERIES :

AGENCY FILE NUMBER :

FBI

124-10289-10194

HQ

92-6054-2186

Document Information

ORIGINATOR:

FBI

FROM: SAC, SD

TO:

DIRECTOR, FBI

TITLE :

DATE: 11/07/1967

'PAGES:

8

SUBJECTS :

LCN, MEMBERS, B/F INT, TIME OIL CO., TRA, MEETING,

MURDER, MOORE, WILLIE

DOCUMENT TYPE: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION : Unclassified

RESTRICTIONS: 4

CURRENT STATUS:

Redact

DATE OF LAST REVIEW: 07/09/1998

OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE

COMMENTS :

.=

v9.1

DocId: 32306064

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Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (41 USC 2107 Hote).

DATE: 11-14-2017

FBI

Date: 11/7/67

(Type in plain text or code)

(Priority or Method of Mailing)

G

Transmit the tollowing in

Via

AIRTEL

TO:

DIRECTOR, PBI (92-6054)

FROM:

SAC, SAN DIEGO (137-1088) (P)

LA COSA NOSTRA

AR - CONSPIRACY

(00: NEW YORK)

Re San Diego airtel to Bureau, 10/18/57.

* SD 1064-C-TE was recontaoted on 10/30/67 and furnished

the following Information on the la Coss Nostra (LON) :

I, SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION

Refer to referenced airtel describing meeting informant

had

10/2/67 with ICN member JIMNCE FRATIANNO, FRANK VOLOTTA,

end BOB CEDAY.

Informant advicec TEGAY NuE attempting to arrange

Cinancine on the part or B.4,C.k. 011 and Helining company,

2441 Pine Streat,

for the purchase

of Tine 012 Company and nolated entorpeises.

The purchase price of Time 011 Company la expected to be

somewhere between 47,500,000 and 60,000,000 a

B.A.C.K, 011 and Her ining company.

Ino .

GEORGE U,

BALLUOMINI, President: and B• OH&GORY CAXUS©. V10©»

President.

92-6057-2186

and a wealthy rancher in the Bsker

Id area.

4 - Bureau (REGISTERED)

(1 - 137-9187)

(1 - 137-13139)

(92-2300) (R) NOV 18 1967

Chicago (92-1173)

(ANG)

New Orleans

Cleveland (92-748) (REG)

Phoenix (Info)

(REO)

San Francisco

10225931

(REG) ALo

- Kansas City

T9P-38T (REGI

St. Louis (Into) (REG)

2.= 100 10000

Tapa (02-218) (RE0 TSUERED),

2-L0B NICHON

V8-11122(130)3 -

San

Diogo (1 -

92-229)

- Miami (92-857) (REOISTANIO)

(2 - 137-1088)

Apptoy Storemento

Sent

Per

Spegial,

Agent in Charge

-JDA Ip8

5

(33)

A NOV2 9 1967

UNREC COPY FILED IN

7. 9187

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Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 USC 2107 Hote).

DATE: 11-14-2017

SD 137-1088

Informant advised TEdAY apparently has a business

front located at 1227 Anza Street, San Francisco, California

in the name of R.C.C. Consultants,

consisting of

GEORGE ROWLAND,

ROBERT L. GILLILAN and A.B. CHAPMAN.

B.A.C.K. 011 and Refining Company has agreed to pay

a fee (for arranging financing) to R.G.S. Construction amounting

to 3a per cent of the total loan obtained, and to ROBERT TECAY, a

of the total authorized stock in B.A.C.K., Inc.

$10 per share upon closing of escrow of the above loan.

in ormant 8d71800 Chat it le this 3o par cent that

ou whiches the babie for hoodlur contacts

TEGAY contacted FRATIANNO, informant, as well

LOUIS TOM DRAGNA, In LOS Angeles, hoping he could obtair.

through their intluence, & Teamsterls toan for 3.A.C.K. to

purchase Time 011 Company. They had reached an agreement with

TECAY that if they were suocessrul in obtaining a Teamster's

Loan or other financing, the informant, FRATIANNO and TEGAY

would split the 3a per cent equally.

Informant belteves that at this time, ION momber

LOUIS TOM DRAGNA of Los Angeles is now assoolated with

GILLILAN and CARUSO in attempting to find financing for B.A.C.K.

to purchase Time 011 Company.

II, SACRAMENTO DIVISION

In the course of his conversation, informant

mentioned that FRATIANNO has been & LON member for the past

18 to 20 years. In & recent conversation with chattano, he

saze his mother 1s oricioally 111 and he expecte to ty back

to Cleveland to see her in the near future and has asked the

informant to socompany him.

Informant believes he might go

with him, as it will give him an opportunity to contact other

ION members for information.

States PRATIANNO 18 ot111 operating his trucking

company now operating as the camelila trucking Company,

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Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 USC 2107 Mote).

DATE: 11-14-2017

SD 137-1088

Advised that he will fly to Sacramento on 21/3/67

to meet with FRATIANNO and they will then drive to Lake Tahoe

where FRATIANNO has some "business meetings" arranged. Stated

he will report on these meetings upon his retun.

TIL. LOS ANGELES DIVISION

Intormant reported receiving untomatton tron his

caporegima JOb ADAMO that on Sunday, 10/22/67,

a meeting was

held in

the Tos Angeles area attended by NICK LICATA,

consigliere OMMY PALERMO and "capos" ADAMO and DIPPOLITO,

whion tine LICATA was formally appointed the new boas of the

Tos Angeles ICN Family•

No underboss has vet been appointer

DY LIGALA BICATA has told capo ADAMO he

"ats a neoting in

the near future with the informant.

At thie time, the

informant will attempt to determine fron LICATA, his desires

regarding the outstanding contract on the life of AUDYTOCOCO

of Hawthorne, California.

Informant advined that he expects to met in

Los Angeles with ICN member JOHN ROSELLI,

probably sometone

during the week of 11/6 - 21/10/67. At thia time, lue will

attempt to determine 1? ROSEILI has any further Inowledge

regarding the expected vialt of Floride ICN boss, SANtO

TRAFFICANTE, Jr. to Los Angeles.

On 10/26/67, Informant flew to Las Vegas where he

met with the gambler NICK SIMPONIS and ICN member JIMMI®

"The Weasol" FRATIANNO from Sacramento. SIMPONIs appar ntly

is being investigated by IRS and wanted to consult wich the

informant and FRATIANNO to determine if they had any contacte

who could help him with his case.

FRATIANNO apparently had

discussed this problem in the past with SIMPONIS and suggested

the possibility of using THOMAS LOUIS KING (Subject of

Sacramento file 92-24), who le in contaet with California

Assemblyman ROBERT E. BADHAM and who was involved in the

Silverthorn Bank embezzlement case at San Francisco. They

also discussed the possibility of contacting attorney

ALIOTTO, but decided against this as he is running for mayor

of San Francisco at thie time and would probably be reluctant

about contacting them.

03 -

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Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (11 USC 2107 Mote).

DATE: 11-14-2017

SD 137-1038

IV. CHICAGO DIVISION

Informant advised ICN daDo FRANK DA PORTS, 1s now bacl

in Chicago and called hin on 10/27/67, stated his brother-in-Law

JIMMY DE LA ROSA is still suffering fron severe heart trouble.

Stated LA PORLD 18 arious to sell his

"ranch" in Linden,

California and that TA PORIE alaims he has lost about $300,000

in the purchase and operation of his mining property in northern

California.

States LA PORTE has now succeeded in selling the

tracks financed on behalf of JINMIE PRAZIANNO.

trucks was arranged through FRED RE CUPIDO, of Huntington Besch,

California.

LA FOrTs told intornent that in alt he-lost abouc

$30,000 cash as a pesult of his financing FRATIANNO'S trucking

operations.

V. CLEVELAND DIVISION

Incornant advised that ICN member LEO MOCERT at

Akron, Ohio, still intends to come to southern California

this winter.

VI. LAS VEGAS DIVISION

Intormant advised that when he visited las Vegas

on 10/26/67, he met with gambler ABE BENJAMIN who was residing

in Room 1205 at the Stardust Hotel.

He stated that BENJAMIN

expects to move to the Landmark Towers Hotel when it 1s opened

in the near Cuture.

Informant belleved the Landmark Towers, in which the

Kansas City Family is reported to have & large investment,

will open in about a month and that it is being completed

with

a seven-million dollar Teanster's loan.

Informant advised the Detroit lanily is still upset

with the

losses they are receiving from the New Frontier Hotel:

that HOWARD HUGhts purchased the land and bullding, but the

hotel operation and casino was leased back and the Detroit

Family has been mable to profitably operate to date.

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Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (41 USC 2107 Hotel.

DATE: 11-14-2017

SD 137-1088

According to ABE BENJAMIN, the employees are inefficient and

"stealing them blind."

They have imported a new general

manager for the casino who is some gambler from the Cleveland

area.

VIL.

TAMPA

Per letter dated 10/24/67, from Tempa to San Diego,

the photographs of ANTONIO DIECIDUE were shown to the informant

and he identifled him as the same person described in previous

communications as being a ICh member.

VILI. NEW YORK DIVISION

Advised about two weeks ago, LON member MARCO, aka..

Mimi Li Mandre of San Diego (92-21), went back to New York

City for a visit.

(LI MANDRE and his son, JOE, both ICN

members now residing in San Diego, were originally involved

in the narcoties traffic in New York many yoars ago and worked

with the PRIZIOLA group in Detroit) •

LI MANDRE told him upon his retun to San Diego,

that the boss of the old BONANO Family in New York has resigned

because of

"i1l health" and that the leadership was ineffectual.

Stated that four men were participating in the leadership of

the Family at the present time and that JOB BONANO was sttempting

to regain control of the family. LI MANDRE told informant that

apparently JOE BONANO has 25 or 30 men behind him who will

assist in regainirg control of his family.

While back in

New York, some of the members of the BONANO Family approached

MARCO and tried to talk him into contacting JOE BONANO and

attempt to use his influence on BONANO to avert open warfare

within the family.

LI MANDRE did not like the idea of becoming

involved and immediately left New York City and returned to

san Diego.

LI MANDRE advised the informant that he intended

to stay in New York a couple of weeks, but when he saw how near

things were to exploding in the BONANO Family, he stayed only

three days.

The informant advised at the present time, the

BONANO Family's leadership is the biggest internal problem

involving 175 to 200 members.

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Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (11 USC 2107 Mote) -

DATE: 11-14-2017

SD 137-1088

New York, refer to San Diego airtel to Bureau,

7/10/67, referring to the ICN murder of "WILLIE MOORE"

according to the informant, was an

Informant for a

The Newark Division has advised that the WILLIE MOORE

referred to by SD 1064-C-TE is probably WILLIE MORETTI, aka.,

Willle Moore who was shot to death by four men on 10/4/51 in

one tenore Renturnt, clareside ears ten deserted

that time, MORBITI held the rank of caporigine in the

family.

the generally accepted view of MORETLI's deach

1s that it was mob directed to silence MORETTI who was alling

with paresis and suspected of being sentle and theretore, a

potential threat.

•MORSITI had appearea before the Senate

Crime Investigating Committee in 1950 and was described as

a willing witness.

News accounts of his testimony at the

hearings described a CHORGE WHITE of the Federal Narcotics

Bureau as sitting in on the hearings.

This death of MORITTI waS discussed with the

informant.

He Identified him as the WILLIE MOORE he referred

to in a previous meeting. Informant sdvised that he was the

one who determined MORETTI was an informant for WHITE because

in a conversation with WHITE in Iijuana, B.C.. Mexico, WHITE

indicated he was aware of the informant's newly appointed

status as caporegime.

This had only just occurred and the

informant reasoned that the only one WHITE could learn it

from was MORETT.

Informant advised that he brought this charge

against MORETTI in a IN meeting in Los Angeles in 1951

-and

among those present at the meeting were-JACK L. DRAGNA

(ICN Los Angeles bosa at the time; JOHN FRIZIOLA and JIMMY

QUASARANO of Detroit: MOMO ADAMO: JOHN ROSELLI: AND SIMONE

SCOZARI (the former Los Angeles underboss).

After Listening

to the informant's charge they contacted JOE ZERILLI, who was

in New York at the time and he arranged for TOMMY LUCHESE to

Investigate the charge.

Their Investigation verified that

MORETTI was an informant of Colonel WHITE's and this was

accomplished by feeding false information to MOREITI.

This

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Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (41 USC 2107 Hote).

DATE: 11-14-2017

SD 137-1038

resulted in MORETTI's murder.

Intormant advised that he

did not know the identity of

the persons in New York who

actually carried out the killing.

For the information of New York, during this

meetins with the informant, he mentioned the existence of smaller

ICN groups in Dallas, Rockford, Illinois, Madison, Wisconsin,

Gary:

Indiana, Pueblo and Denver, Colorado. He will be

questioned further for any knowledge resarding the smaller

Sroups •

IX. DETROIT DIVISION

A separate comunication will be forwarded to

Detroit regarding intormant's comments in accordance with

Detroit airtel to Bureau,

He is being questioned

for detailed information regarding origins of the Detroit

Fantly. structure of the leadership, membership, and his

associations over the years with the Detroit Divis ion.

X. NEW ORLEANS DIVISION

Informant was questioned again regarding FRANK

coPPolA, and stated that he had no Inowledge concerning

COPPOLA's Intluence in the U. S. today.

Advised that as tar

as he knew, COPPOTA had been arrested by the Italian government

and was in

prison for 15 years and his wealth in Italy confiscated.

Advised that when COPPOLA was in the U. S. he was a member of

the Detroit Family and that when deported, much of his business

Interests were turned over to SAM CORELLO, whohimself was later

deported to Italy and the business interests were turned over

to the present ICN boss in New Orleans, CARLOS MARCELLO.

XI. SAN DIEGO DIVISION

Informant advised at this time there is very little

organized criminal activities on the part of the Sicilians.

Those who are bar owners are actively engaged in attempting

to get their men elected mayor.

He is incumbent city councilman

ALLEN HITCH, who has promised them that it elected, he w11?

attempt to decrease the policing and regulations of the bars

in San Diego.

HITCH's campaign manager is HARRY BURNER, who,

for many years, has been a business associate of JOHN LI MANDRI

(JOHN LI MANDRI operates an insurance and real estate office

in san Diego and is the son of ICN member MARCO LI MANDRI and

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Released under the John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 (44 USC 2107 Hote).

DATE: 11-14-2017

SD 137 - 1088

the brother of ION member, JOB LI MANDRI). Informant advised

that the Italian bar owners held a recent

meeting with

HITCH and gave him $25,000 cash to help his campaign.

Intormant advised that ICN member LEO DIA of

san Diego,

who is presently under ins investigation, is

concerned. DIA has been running the local jukeboxes in

San Diego and skimming funds for a long time. States that

DIA is now talking about retiring and returning to Italy to

live.

Informant belleves DIA, by this time, has a considerable

amount of money stashed away in Italy.

States that when ICIN

member TONY MIRABILE was murdered in San Diego, in an attempted

robbery, he had about $200,000 hidden in his apartment.

Staved

MIRABILE was the

"banker" for the Italian bar owners in San Diego

and operated with cash.

This money was never recovered. Informant

advised that I was one of the first to get to the apartment

and he is convinced DIA has obtained the $200,000.

Informant also advised that LEO DIA does not get

along well with the new boes,

NICK LICATA as several years ago,

LICATA attempted to buy somestock ir Southland Amusement

Jukebox Company, San Diego, upon the death of one of the major

stockholders, TOM JONES.

DIA held the controlling interest

at the time and kept LICATA out of the company, selling it to

CHARLIE GILARDI, who is now Vice-Fresident.

LEROS

ALL OFFICES

Requested to furnish any Intormation pertinent or

photographs that can be used as a basis for questioning the

informant in matters where he might have knowledge.

LIE ABOVE INFORMATION SHOULD BE HANDLED IN A MOST

CLACUNSEECL MANNOR AND.

UNDESS ARE SOURCE IS WELL, CONCEALED,

REPORTED ONLY ON THE ADMIVISTRATIVE PAGES OF THE RUPORT

IN WHICH IL IS USED.

, SUCH INFORMATION FROM HIS INFORMANT

IS NOT TO BE DISCLOSED WITH ANY INDIVIDUAL OUTSIDE THE

BUREAU.

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