Agency: FBI
Originator: FBI
From: EDGERTON, HAROLD J.
To: DIRECTOR, FBI
Document date: 07/23/1968
Document type: PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

## Page 1

JFK Assassination System

Identification Form

Date:

4/23/201

Agency Information

AGENCY:

RECORD NUMBER:

FBI

124-10290-10442

RECORD SERIES :

HQ

AGENCY FILE NUMBER: 92-2824-139, 140, 141, 142

ORIGINATOR: FBI

FROM: EDGERTON, HAROLD I.

TO: DIRECTOR, FBI

TITLE:

Released under the John

f. Kennedy

Assassination Records

Collection Act of 1992

144 USC 2107 Notel.

Cased:NW 45754 Date:

11-16-2017

Document Information

DATE:

PAGES:

SUBJECTS :

07/23/1968

52

JFC, RES, AIRWAY LIQUOR STORE, SUR, MED, TRA,

TELCAL, SUBPOENA, ASSOC AND REL, MATRANGA, JOHN,

INTV

DOCUMENT TYPE :

PAPER, TEXTUAL DOCUMENT

CLASSIFICATION: Unclassified

RESTRICTIONS :

4; 10(a)2

CURRENT STATUS: Redact

DATE OF LAST REVIEW:

11/03/1998

OPENING CRITERIA: INDEFINITE

COMMENTS :

INC 3 RPT

v9.1

HH 45754 DocId: 32306802

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## Page 2

DI 92-36

Under date of 11/29/68, the San Diego Office furnished

the following information obtained from SD 1064-C-TE wherein on

11/19/68, informant mentioned and furnished information concern-

ing subject CIVELLO:

The following information came about as result of

meeting of the LCN Family on 11/9/68, at the home of San

Diego Capo JOE ADAMO.

At one point during the meeting NICK LICATA, LCN

Boss, Los Angeles, told the group that his consigliere, 10MMi

PALERMO, was not in attendance as he was on vacation in Texas,

visiting with his first cousin, LCN Boss JOE CIVELLO of Dallas.

be nast counce, a

At another point LICATA told the informant that his

consigliere, TOMMY PALERMO, had recently returned from Dallas,

Texas, where he had been in contact with his first cousin, LCN

BOSS JOE CIVELLO.

The informant advised that for many years

CIVELLO, nas been a close friend of las Vegas casino operator

BENNIE BINION aka Cowboy, owner of the Horseshoe Club. BINION

has recently received a couple of anonymous threatening tele-

phone calls demanding "money or else".

Apparently BINION has

contacted CIVELLO for assistance. CIVELLO asked PALERMO to

contact his family and attempt to determine if the LCN is

behind this in any way in an attempt to shake him down. LICATA

told the informant that to his knowledge his Los Angeles LCN

family is not involved in this in any way.

He wanted the

informant to contact FRATIANNO to determine if he is responsible

for it.

Informant later was in personal contact with

FRATIANNO and FRATIANNO assured him he was not responsible

for these telephone calls. He reported this to LICATA.

has not seen rem since about is in the a days beat he

In the old days CIVELLO

frequently came to Southern California and would go to

rijuana, B.C., Mexico, with the informant and others to eat

quail in

a favorite Tijuana restaurant.

They also used this

occasion to conduct meetings with other visiting LCN bosses.

In those days, CIVELLO frequently went to Los Angeles.

He

believed PALERMO is a first cousin and Frank Desimone

was a

second or third cousin to CIVELLO.

He believed also that in

some way CIVELLO was related to JIMMY LANZA, LCN boss in San

Francisco although to his knowledge CIVELLO

never went up to

San Francisco, but remained in the Southern California area

when visiting there.

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DL 92-36

Information obtained from the records of South

Central BellTelephone and Telegraph Company, 525 Florida

Boulevard, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on 10/28/68, by SA

RICHARD K. BUTZ, was made available by E. E. TURNLEY,

District Security Supervisor, South Central Bell Telephone

and Telegraph Company, 1986 Dallas street, Baton Rouge.

IDENTITY OF INFORMANTS

DL I-l is Dun & Bradstreet report concerning the

JAMES RUSSO brothers as furnished the St. Louis Office.

DL T-2 is DL 289-C, contacted by the reporting

Agent.

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## Page 4

DL 92-36

' IDENTITY OF INFORMANTS

DL T-1 is DL 395-CS contacted by reporting Agent.

DI T-2 is DL 289-C contacted by reporting Agent.

La. gert.

B*

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## Page 5

DL 92-36

On September 27, 1968, DL T-l advised that while

it might appear that JOSEPH CIVELLO has no connection with the

Airway Liquor Store on West Mockingvird Lane, near Dallas

Love Field, she

was present when CHARLES CIVELLO called the

owner

of the real estate where the store is now located, in

1959,

to arrange for the lease of the property.

Source stated

at that time JOSEPH CIVELLO was present with CHARLES CIVELLO

and

was the one who gave CHARLES CIVELLO instructions on

what to say when he talked to the owner about the lease.

Source advised that after CHARLES CIVELLO talked to the owner

on the telephone, CHARLES and JOSEPH CIVELLO allegedly went

to downtown Dallas to the Republic National Bank to obtain the

necessary money required by the lease.

On November 17, 1968, a review of Coles Criss-Cross

Directory of Greater Dallas, Texas, shows the following subscribers

to the telephone numbers noted:

BR 1-1732 - subscribed to by T. G. BEALE, 1090

1509 Carroll Drive, Garland, Texas.

The 1968 City Directory

for Greater Dallas,

Texas, shows one TOM G. BEALE as Regional

Claims Manager, Pacific Indemnity Group.

BR-8-6425 - subscribed to by PAUL J. HOLMES, JR.,

705 Branch Drive, Dallas.

BR 8-3971 - subscribed to by QUINT Q. QUIGLEY,

2538 Ridgecrest Drive, Garland, Texas.

The files of the Dallas Office contain no identifiable

information with T. G. BEALE, TOM G. BEALE, QUINT Q. QUIGLEY, or

PAUL J. HOLMES, JR.

BL 3-1123 is subscribed to by the University of Dallas,

3113 University Avenue, Dallas.

a spot check of subject's residence

at 4908 Gulstream, at 9:30 - 9:40 a.m. disclosed that the auto-

mobiles of CIVELLO and his brother-in-law ROSS MUSSO were both

in

the garage.

Parked at the rear driveway was the Comet automobile

Of CHARLES CIVELLO, and shortly MUSSO and CHARLES CIVELLO were

observed to leave the residence

in the Comet being driven by

CHARLES CIVELLO.

Shortly thereafter at 9:35 a.m. JOSEPH CIVELLO

was observed to depart his residence in his 1964 Oldsmobile, F-85.

- 7-

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## Page 6

DL '92-36

NEW YORK

AT NEW YORK, NEW YORK.

Will note the information

set forth in the details as furnished by T-I, and the

description of the man who visited CIVELLO from White Plains,

New York. It appears this man was ROCCO PELLEGRINO, longtime

acquaintance of the

IANNI family in Dallas, and known contact

of CIVELLO.

New York is requested to promptly forward a

photo of ROCCO PELLEGRINO to Dallas so that same can be

displayed to DL 289-C. PELLEGRINO, as New York has previously'

advised in ICN reports, is member of LCN.

DALLAS

with CIVELLO and JOE IANNI, and furnish to Cleveland Office

for further inquiries.

Will maintain contacts with DL 289-C and Di 275-C-TE

and will display photo of ROCCO PELLEGRINO to DL 289-C when

received from New York Office.

3.

Will check with CARL C. WEICHSEL, President,

Great Northern Insurance Company, concerning the lease on

Airway Liquor Store to determine

if the lease was signed by or

initiated by subject.

ADMINISTRATIVE

New telephone numbers appearing in this report as

result of toll record review are being set out separately to

determine the subscribers:

For information of the Bureau, Dallas directed a

communication to the New York Office concerning subject and his

closest associate in the LCN in Dallas, JOE IANNI, DL 92-192,

an identified member with particular reference to several New

York communications wherein CIVELLO was either mentioned or

referred to by New York sources and in one instance wheree

IANNI may have been referred to by a source... For this purpose,

Dallas furnished New York photos of CIVELLO and IANNI and

requested it display same to live LCN informants.

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## Page 7

DL '92-36

Under date of 9/10/68, under caption, 'JOE IANNI, AR,"

the New York Office advised as follows:

The following informants, who are in a position to

furnish information regarding ICN activities in the New York

area, were contacted on

the dates indicated, and were shown

the photographs of IANNI and CIVELLO:

Informant

Date Contacted

Contacted By

NY 4336-C-TE

8/29/68

SA THOMAS M. DUFFIN

NY 1839-C-TE

9/ 2/68

SA ANTHONY R. VILLANO

NY

5526-C-TE

9/ 5/68

SA ANTHONY R. VILLANO

NY 5813-C-TE

9/ 6/68

SA ANTHONY R. VILLANO

NY 3104-C-TE

9/ 6/68

SA NELSON J. CONOVER

NY 4754-C-TE

9/ 9/68

SA

JEROME N. BOWERS

NY 5042-C-TE

9/10/68

SA WILLIAM J. CRUMLEY

INY 4263-C-TE

9/10/68

SA WILLIAM J. CRUMLEY

NY 4018-C-TE

8/30/68

SA JACK H. LUPTON

The above informants were unable to identify the

photographs of the subject and CIVELLO. They could furnish no

information regarding these individuals. Neither could these

informants advise of any LCN activities between the PELLEGRINO

"family"-and the above-named individuals in Dallas, Texas.

A review of New York airtel to Bureau dated 1/25/61,

captioned "MICHELINO CLEMENTE, aka, AR", and of the pertinent

log, was made by SA GUY C. BERADO.

According to SA BERADO, the tern "DON" is a title of

respect, and again,

in the parlance of the underworld, "DON"

is used

to refer to

the old bosses in the Italian mob at the

time this mob first became significant as a power in the United

States years ago.

It is noted that CASSELL's Italian-English; English-

Italian Dictionary defines "DON' as a title of honor for priests

and noblemen.

SA BERADO further advised that he could not add to any.

of the information previously reported by the New York Office

concerning the Dallas LCN group.

Identity of Informants

DL T-1 is DL 289-C contacted 8/5/68 by SA BARDWELL D. ODUM.

DL I-2 is DL 275-C-TE contacted 8/15/68 by reporting

Agent.

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## Page 8

FD-263 (Rev. 35*67)

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

REPORTING OFFICE

OFFICE OF ORIGIN

DALLAS

DALLAS

TITLE OF CASE

JOSEPH FRANCIS

CIVELLO aka

DATE

INVESTIGATIVE PERIOD

7/23/68

REPORT MADE BY

3/6 - 7/5/68

HAROLD J. EDGERTON

CHARACTER OF CASE

AR

TYPED BY

CC

REFERENCES:

Report of SA HAROLD J. EDGERTON dated 5/17/68 at Dallas.

Houston letter to Dallas dated 5/22/68.

_P-

LEADS:

HOUSTON

AT HOUSTON, TEXAS. Will interview JOHN F. MATRANGA in

detail

as to his association, how long, and involvement with

subject CIVELLO. Houston will note from its file on CIVELLO that

the subject has previously been in contact with MATRANGA and Houston

will recall Dallas' earlier communication containing information

reported by DL 289-C, who advised that an older man and his son

from Houston were at

the residence of CIVELLO in Dallas and general

CON VIC.

AUTO

FUG.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS CLAIMED

FINES

SAVINGS

None

RECOVERIES

ACQUIT

TALS

CASE HAS BEEN:

PENDING OVER ONE YEAR -EXTYES DINO

PENDING PROSECUTION

OVER SIX MONTHS

YES IX NO

SPECIAL AGENT

IN CHARGE

APPROVED

COPIES MADE:

3

DO NOT WRITE IN SPACES BELOW

12824

-139

REGI

2

2

Bureau

• (92-2824)

USA, Fort Worth

-

Houston (94-192)

- Dallas (92-36)

17 JUL 24 1968

Agency

Request Recd.

Date Fwd.

How Fwd.

By

Dissemination Record of Attached Report

/ OC. A1G, Criminal Division,

Notations

Organized

Crime and Racketeering

Section,

Room 25

1 0808-6-68

NW 45754 DooId: 32306802 Page 8

sister.

STARKET,

# U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1967 0-273-877

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## Page 9

DL 92-36

purpose of the meeting appeared to have something to do with

financial backing, at that time possibly buying land in the

area of the new Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

It is also suggested that before interviewing MATRANGA,

Houston check with the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in Houston,

as the reporting Agent in reviewing files of that agency in

Dallas, noted its files make reference to a JOHN MATRANGA from

Houston in the 1930's who was strongly implicated in a narcotics

operation between Houston and Kansas City,

Missouri.

No identi-

fication of MATRANGA was available in the

files here, but it 15

thöught that if during the interview of JOHN F. MATRANGA sufficient

background data can be elicited from him it will assist Dallas in

determining whether the two are identical. It would also be

pertinent to determine from MATRANGA whether or not he is related

by marriage or otherwise with CIVELLO and if not how their association

started and when.

Bear in mind that any information by way of back-

ground obtained from MATRANGA will not only be helpful to Dallas

but may assist Houston in its investigation of LCN there. Houston

should use caution in mentining to MATRANGA that he was seen in

Dallas to protect informant, however, there is no objection to

asking him if he has ever visited CIVELLO in Dallas. Houston

note MATRANGA previously admitted acquaintance with

the MACEO

brothers SAM and ROSE from Galveston, who were also known con-

tacts of CIVELLO prior to their deaths.

DALLAS

AT DALLAS,

TEXAS.

1.

Will maintain contact with in-

formants concerning CIVELLO's activities and whereabouts.

2.

Will send separate communication to the Los Angeles

Office in effort to locate the testimony of

before

FGI there in

as result of the

during which testimony L

claims he testified for

several hours and furnished considerable background on

and

JEK Law 10(a)2

ADMINISTRATIVE:

Investigative period precedes the period of the prior

report due to the fact an insert was not received in time to be

included.

IDENTITY OF INFORMANTS

DL T-1 is DL 275-C-TE contacted by reporting Agent.

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DL 92-36

DL T-2 is DL 271-C contacted by reporting Agent.

DL T-3 is DL 146-C contacted by SA JAMES W. BOOKHOUT.

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